Get your Sex on...line.

By Lisa Baertlein 58 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The adult entertainment industry is on the verge of making online gaming sexier at a time when mainstream publishers are fighting a political and cultural war over erotic content.

The controversial topic will be the subject of a conference in San Francisco on Thursday, where many of the growing industry's big names will gather.

"This is the newest industry and the oldest industry in the world coming together," said Jezebel, a telephone sex business owner and operator of the virtual Bareback Bordello in RedLightCenter.com, an online game inspired by Amsterdam's famed Red Light District and now in test.

Like popular games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Second Life," Utherverse Inc.'s RedLightCenter is an online universe that can support thousands of players. Unlike the mainstream games, where virtual sex happens in areas apart from the main thrust of play, RedLightCenter starts with sex.

"Our product is adult-themed and it's only for adult users," said Utherverse Chief Executive Brian Shuster.

The majority of video game sales in the United States come from console and hand-held game sales. Hardware makers Sony Corp. (6758.T), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) and Nintendo Co. Ltd (7974.OS) have long declined to license development software to game makers whose titles include sexual content.

Still, sex has been the hot-button issue for the $12.6 billion U.S. video game industry since its ratings board last summer slapped an "Adults Only 18+" label on Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s (Nasdaq:TTWO - news) best-selling "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" game. That move followed the discovery of an explicit sex scene known as "Hot Coffee," which could only be unlocked and viewed with a computer download.

Retailers, who do not carry adult-rated games, pulled the title from shelves, costing Take-Two millions of dollars and putting a chill on an industry accustomed to self-censorship.

The incident inflamed critics of video game makers -- whose average U.S. customers is an adult man over the age of 25 -- and spawned crusades by lawmakers who want to impose fines on retailers who sell sexually explicit or violent games to minors, despite several court rulings that have blocked such laws on First Amendment grounds.

"I'm not interested in playing the political game of getting a game out in a box and getting it rated. Games have been sickeningly violent over the last decade. Now that they start to show breasts, the government is up in arms," said Shuster.

RedLightCenter is only available via online download.

Howard wants an XBOX.

Sir Howard gaffs at the D: All Things Digital conference during an interview with the Wall Street Journal...

Posted: 12:42 on 08 Jun 2006

By: Jon Wilcox

For all of Sony's perceived confidence ahead of the launch of PlayStation3, it seems that the company's boss Sir Howard Stringer has just one thing on his mind. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal at the D: All Things Digital conference, the Welshman revealed how pleased he was with the box office performance of The Da Vinci Code, commenting, "...It also beat Xbox 3 in Europe in its second weekend."

Corrected by the WSJ journalist that he actually meant "X-Men 3", Stringer replied, "There's an obsession!"

So is the Sony boss having sleepless nights over Xbox 360, or was he just caught up in the forthcoming next-gen console war? We'll put it down as a simple mistake...

Man bites Dog 

By Laurie Sullivan

TechWeb.com Wed Jun 7, 8:36 PM ET

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has sued the state of Minnesota in Federal District Court seeking to overturn state legislation that tightens restrictions on children and teens buying games with adult themes.

Under Republican Representative Jeff Johnson's measure, minors who purchase games rated M for mature or AO for adults only would be fined $25. Minnesota's Republican governor Tim Pawlenty has signed the bill into law.

The new state law also requires video game retail outlets to erect signs that explain the rating system.

"The complaint was filed on June 6, and we plan to file a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing the statue from going into effect on Aug. 1," Gail Markels, ESA's senior vice president and general counsel said on Wednesday.

The ESA calls the bill unconstitutional and seeks to dismiss it through the lawsuit. The industry organization believes parents and retailers are doing a good job in monitoring the games kids purchase.

Parents are involved in the purchase or rental of games 89 percent of the time, and 87 percent of the time children receive their parents' permission before purchasing or renting a video game, according to the ESA.

Real or Fake? Kevin explains...

By Charlie Demerjian in Taipei: Monday 05 June 2006, 03:35

AFTER BREAKING THE news to me about PS3 RSX speeds earlier on the flight to Japan, my row-mate said 'if you think that's interesting, wait till you see this. Cell is hurting, badly'.

For those of you that believe in religions with karmic tendencies, scoops like this meant one of two things, the wings of the plane are about to fall off and I am going to die in a fiery ball, or worse yet, the movie selection will be worrisome. Cell memory access appears to be broken, RSX has half the triangle setup rate of the ATI chip in XBox360, and the true horror, Big Momma's House 2 and a Queen Latifa movie.

With the movie selection still making my brain throb from the glances I caught, I furiously took notes on what the source was saying. He started out saying that the RSX can only write about half as much vertex data as it can fetch, not an ideal situation by any stretch, but survivable.

Then came the horrible news, RSX appears to be limited to setting up 275 Million triangles/second, anemic compared to the 500+ million in XBox360. When asked about this apparent thumping dished out by MS, the reply from one notable ISV relations boffin was a terse 'What a Piece of Junk'. Talk about a steak in the heart.

Half the triangle setup capability in the PS3, could things get worse? Yes, far far worse, how about another disparity of three orders of magnitude? No, I am not joking, looking at Sony's own figures, Cell appears to be pretty badly broken.

Virtual Arcade News

Posted: 19:17 on 07 Jun 2006

By: Chris Leyton

In a day of Wii revelations - although the all important price and date comes later - Nintendo's Satoru Iwata today talked openly about the Virtual Console, well, discussing the price that gamers can expect to pay for independent games at least.

Following a similar model to Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service, Nintendo hopes to slow down the current trend of escalating prices, based around increasingly sophisticated videogames. Such "Compact Games" will likely cost "between 500 and 1000 yen" (£2.37 and £4.75) according to Iwata-san, a figure that compares favourably to the likes of Marble Blast Ultra and Outpost Kaloki for 800 Microsoft Points/£6.80 on Xbox Live Arcade.

In traditional Nintendo fashion, Iwata failed to talk about "classic" titles from previous Nintendo formats, along with the MegaDrive and PC Engine; leaving the question of whether gamers will own or rent such desirable titles until another time.

VGN follow up--Major League Gaming

Sixto Ortiz Jr., newsfactor.com Tue Jun 6, 10:05 AM ET

The Super Bowl. The World Cup. The Masters. The Video Game

World Series. Yes, you heard that right: USA Network, which reaches about 90 million cable subscribers in the U.S., announced in April that it will broadcast the entire season of tournaments produced by Major League Gaming (MLG), the four-year-old professional video game league.

The network isn't saying how much it paid for the coverage, but it seems safe to say that MLG's deal doesn't come close to the multibillion-dollar contracts the National Football League has inked with CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN. For a fledgling video-game league that wants the same name recognition as

NASCAR or the World Poker Tour, however, it's a huge step forward.

Parents despairing over the countless hours spent by their kids playing video games now have a glimmer of hope that, yes, gaming skills might have a payoff. And who knows? In a few years, the next Tiger Woods might not even have to get up from his chair to dazzle us with his prowess.

What I've been playing:

Oblivion

Ultra Marble Blast

Uno...still.:)

 COD2

Anime News:

Anime Explosion

When: Midnight, Friday, June 16

Where: The

We will begin wristbanding at 10:30 pm at the table just inside the lobby.