Um, what?

US video game angers Chavez allies

1 hour, 18 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan lawmakers are complaining that a video game to be marketed by a U.S. company next year provides a blueprint for violently overthrowing President Hugo Chavez.

The game, "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," simulates a military invasion of the oil-rich South American nation and will be released by Pandemic Studios of Los Angeles.

"A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone," Pandemic says of the game on its Web site.

Venezuelan lawmakers who back Chavez called it the latest example of a U.S. government-inspired propaganda campaign against Chavez that could even help lay the psychological groundwork for an actual invasion.

"This could be a point of departure," lawmaker Luis Tascon said on Thursday. "The United States has an impressive media machine. In that machinery the gringos are always the heroes and their adversaries are always the villains."

An executive at Pandemic said the video game would be released in 2007 but declined to comment on its content. A public relations firm representing the company did not return calls for comment.

Chavez has been locked in a war of words with Washington as he pushes his leftist agenda in Latin America, with the United States charging that the self-proclaimed revolutionary is trying to destabilize the region.

Wii shall not pass...$250.

Posted: 14:06 on 25 May 2006

By: Jon Wilcox

Following the release of its financial results, Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii console won't be priced higher than $250 (£134) in North America, and although a similar ceiling for Europe hasn't announced the company has stated that will be similiarly affordable.

In the statement, the company also confirmed earlier reports that it expects up to 6 million Wii units to be sold between its fourth quarter 2006 launch date and the end of March 2007, with around 17 million copies of Wii games sold in the same period.

Continuing the teasing strategy of old, Nintendo concluded the statement by revealing that launch dates, finalised prices, and further details on the Virtual Console, will also be announced shortly.

The price ceiling is $49 less than the Xbox 360 Core System in the US, and a massive $249 cheaper than the basic PlayStation3 model, though these figures could increase by the time the final price is unveiled.  

PC hits 1.4 billion

Wed May 24, 6:12 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. spending on video games for personal computers hit $1.4 billion in 2005, according to an estimate released by market research firm NPD Group on Wednesday.

Online subscriptions to PC games and gaming Web sites accounted for about $344 million of those annual sales, said

NPD.

Faster Internet connections are making it easier for consumers to play games online and to download game content that had once only been available in stores, said NPD, which last year began tracking online subscriptions.

Subscriptions to play specific online titles -- such as "World of Warcraft" from Blizzard Entertainment and Vivendi Games (VIV.PA) -- reached roughly $292 million in 2005, with about 1.4 million paid subscribers.

Casual gaming sites, such as Electronic Arts Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ERTS - news) Pogo.com or RealOne Arcade from RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq:RNWK - news), had sales of around $52 million in 2005 and had 1.05 million paid subscribers. Such sites often include puzzle games that can be played in a 15-minute coffee break.

Major U.S. game publishers such as EA and Activision Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI - news) expect downloads to grow into a substantial business, although that part of the industry is just starting out.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier said digital downloads appeared to have contributed about 3 percent of total PC market sales in 2005, which would amount to about $42 million.

Rumor section!

No used games?

[PS3] Sony makes moves to stamp out lucrative second-hand market

Words: Matt Cundy

Wednesday 24 May 2006

High street games shops have been told by Sony that there will be no PS3 pre-owned sections in their stores as it will be illegal for customers to sell any next-gen PlayStation games that they've bought, retail sources have revealed to GamesRadar.

It seems that Sony is planning to adopt a licensing system that will mean gamers won't own the PS3 titles that they've paid money for. Instead, they will only be purchasing the licence to play the game and that the software itself will still be Sony property - meaning that the disc won't be the customer's to sell.

We assume that the thinking behind this move will ultimately be to stop PS3 games being resold several times - which currently snatches potential sales away from Sony - and to counter the impression in consumers' minds that games are only really worth their pre-owned price and are not worth buying new.

When we contacted Sony, it issued us with the following statement: "We have made all of the official announcements at E3 and cannot make any further comments at this time. We will be announcing more news running up to PlayStation 3's launch."

Rumor control.

What I've been playing:

Ouch. My freaking head.

Anime News:

Convention Corner:

MetroCon!

Odd Sony press conference song