VGN for August 12th, 2005

Friday, 12 August 2005

VGN for August 12th, 2005

Videogame news:

Xbox 360 accessories must be authorised or won't work on the system

12:08 The geek culture has been taking verbal pot-shots at Microsoft's aggressive business strategies for some time now, but new information surrounding 3rd party Xbox 360 add-ons has arisen to suggest their fears were true.
C|net is reporting that contracts between Microsoft and peripheral makers 'Mad Catz' Interactive refer to a 'security feature' inside the next-gen machine, which validates each device connected to the console and decides whether the system will accept or reject it.

The move not only allows Microsoft to control the type of input devices available on the system (making Xbox modding a more troublesome process), but also means the company can now demand royalties from sales of 3rd party peripherals, should they so choose. Whilst this is good news for Microsoft, smaller manufacturers are likely to find the measures restrictive.

Thanks to VGN listener Aaron for contributing this article!!

Nonstop Online Gaming Kills S. Korean Man

Wed Aug 10, 1:20 PM ET

A South Korean man died of apparent heart failure after playing an online computer game for 50 hours nearly non-stop, authorities told the Reuters wire service on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old man, only identified by his family name of Lee, was 28, and had been recently fired from his job because he'd missed too many workdays due to constant gaming.

Lee reportedly began playing Starcraft, one of the many online games offered to Koreans, on August 3, and paused only for bathroom breaks and short naps on a makeshift bed at an Internet caf in Taegu, the country's third-largest city.

"We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a Taegu provincial police official told Reuters

Anyone want Ice for your Hot Coffee?

Wed Aug 10, 1:09 PM ET

What some users have called the world's "least-downloaded patch ever" was released Tuesday by Rockstar Games, maker of the under-fire "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" video game.

The patch, which is for the Windows version of the popular game, "prevents and removes the 'Hot Coffee' modification," said Rockstar in a statement on its Web site.

Grand Theft Auto stirred up a firestorm of criticism in July when the so-called "Hot Coffee" modification, or "mod," was published by an independent programmer and widely distributed on the Internet. The mod unlocked graphic sex scenes present in the game, but disabled by Rockstar. In reaction, the video game industry's rating board changed the game's rating from "Mature 17+" (M) to "Adults Only 18+" (AO). Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and other legislators also got in on the act, calling for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation of Rockstar.

Tokyo Game Show

Lists of record-breaking 130 participants and preliminary game lineup unveiled; four next-gen console games expected so far.
TOKYO--With the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 expected to be on playable public display for the first time, this year's Tokyo Game Show is possibly the most anticipated since 1999, back when the PlayStation 2 made its public debut. According to the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA), the primary Japanese game-industry organization that organizes the Tokyo Game Show, the number of exhibitors for this year's TGS, as of August 7, has just about reached 130 companies at 1,429 booth units, breaking last year's record of 117. So far, 73 of the companies have announced a total of 166 games and products for this year's show, including mobile games and peripherals. 30 of those are online games.

Four next-generation console games are already set to be exhibited by third-party publishers, although it's unclear whether any will be playable. Konami is scheduled to show off the PS3's Metal Gear Solid 4 and the female fighter Rumble Roses XX for the Xbox 360. MGS 4 was initially announced at E3 in May, although no actual in-game screens were shown (or have been released since). Koei will also have two next-generation console games on display: Ni-Oh for the PS3 and Dynasty Warriors 5 for the Xbox 360. The list of next-generation console games should lengthen once Sony and Microsoft reveal lineups for their booths.

Dirk the Daring...again.

Disney Mobile working on "exact reproduction" of Don Bluth's animated arcade classic.
More than two decades after Dirk the Daring debuted in the original Dragon's Lair, the bumbling knight is poised to make his return to the arcades, and anywhere else you can bring your Sprint PCS or Verizon Wireless mobile phone. Disney Mobile is promising that Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair, developed by MMJ Games, will be "an exact reproduction of the classic arcade game," with 25 levels of pushing-a-button-in-the-direction-of-a-flashing-item gameplay along the way to rescuing the fair Princess Daphne from the fire-breathing dragon Singe. Gamers will also be able to post their high scores and compare them against others on a competitive leaderboard.

What I've been Playing:

Red Ninja. Ouch.

Psychonauts--thanks Cybertron!!

Ninja Gaiden with Hurricane Packs.

Incredible Hulk Demo. Wow.

Anime news:

AFO this past weekend. Vid? Let me check on it...

Con corner:

Dragon*Con is weeks away!!!

Next week "Tales from Dragon*Con" returns!!