Recent talks of games and censorship show politicians' lack of understanding

Since I came a part of video game press, scouring other gaming news sites and viewing reader feedback has taught me many things.  One surprising fact that I was previously unaware of is Australian's rather unfair censorship policies, which many of you have brought up in your comments.

Last night on ABC's Q&A, a panel of Australian policitians revealed just how little they understanding they possess regarding censorship and video game content.  GamePolitics included a clip posted on YouTube with their coverage of this televised debacle.

Interestingly enough, Fallout 3 initiates the discussion with a fan sporting a Fallout 3 t-shirt asking the first question.  The big issue here is that Australia does not have an 18+ rating and as a result, many video games are simply banned or "refused classification."  The brief description of Fallout 3 given by the announcer makes the audience member chuckle a little out of embarrassment for just how terrible it all sounds on paper, but politicians are supposed to be above all that, right?

Only Senator Mark Arbib maintained any semblence of good sense, appearing the most unbiased among his peers.  For those of you who don't feel like watching the clip, here's is a partial transcript:

Announcer: Okay, so here's the question... Should there be censorship of these things, or should people over the age of 18 be able to buy these things with an R rating and play them, even though, as we've just heard, they're obviously extremely violent?

Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout: Look, I mean if they're over 18, they'll find one way or another to get hold of it, Tony, and they do. But, as a mother of three kids, two of whom spend an awful lot of time playing these sorts of games, I mean I just find the whole thing appalling, the minds that come up with this stuff. Now Grand Theft Auto is one of the more famous games that seemed to turn everyone into a car thief, you know?. My Jordan thankfully didn't do that. But... I mean I'm not a censorship girl... But violent games, violence breeds violence. It's not nice.

Sen. Nick Xenophon: I think we need to listen to the psychologists who've looked into this. And this is different in the sense it's interactive. People get immersed in these games and I think there's a real risk. I think as a society we can live without it.

Announcer: But does the risk warrant censorship?

Sen. Xenophon: Look, I think it does, when you look at some of the concerns of what it can trigger in some minds, then I think we need to be just a bit cautious about it.

Sen. Mark Arbib: To actually ban them they must be terrible games. So, personally, I'm probably thinking R rating over the age of 18 is fine because as you said, if you wanna play to game, you're going to get it somehow. But I haven't seen the games so I really can't judge whether they should be banned or not.

Announcer: ...these things are being banned because there isn't a rating system on video games... that means anyone of any age can buy them...

Sen. Arbib: As I said, I think there's a strong argument to actually have a rating system, for all games, no doubt about it. And not just an R rating, but ratings just the same as ratings for the movies... so yeah...

Sen. Barnaby Joyce: You can't just say you can see it, therefore you should be allowed to see it, otherwise you legalize snuff movies and all sorts of profane things which I don't think take our society ahead... we had the thing with avatars, is that the right term, where people can actually go out and rape people. Now, this is not acceptable. You have to draw a line... you must take into account... those who are vulnerable to influence, how they would be affected by that. And if you don't, well you suffer what comes next. I, too have four kids... I want these kids to grow up in quiet, unaffected streets. And if there's someone playing a video game where they're raping someone, I'm not feeling good about the place, so, knock it out.

Christine Jackman, Journalist: I agree, we urgently need a rating system. I'm not a pro-censorship person, either... (to the audience member in the Fallout 3 t-shirt who asked the question) Can I throw it back on you... why would you want to play it...?

Audience member: I want to play the game because it's a story-driven experience that you could experience in a movie... however the Australian government won't let me.

Christine Jackman: And how many hours do you think you or your friends would be playing those games a day?

Audience member: It differs between everyone... the average gamer is anyone nowadays. The Queen has a Wii... it's not a question of who's playing them or how long they're playing them, it's a question of whether we're allowed to as adults...

The announcer goes on to mention that the average gamer is around or over the age of 30.  Jackman tries to backtrack by mentioning that games are interactive and not purely visual experiences and as such, ethics is still playing catch-up with technology until they can better understand the effects video games may have on behavior. 

We'll ignore all the research concerning this topic that are now floating out there; what could they possibly hope to offer other than a clearer perspective on the subject?  Perhaps it would benefit the Australian government to look into some of those studies before making snap judgements.

As a non-gamer audience mentions, there really are greater threats to society and general well-being than video games, and he brings up gambling as one of these problems.  Clearly, pokies (slot machines) and gambling have a greater impact on Australian society, yet these politicians are busying themselves with unjust censorship of video games, which haven't been proven to have any direct effect on negative behavior or society as a whole.  The rest of audience then expresses its approval with a round of applause before Xenophon continues.

As "special producer"..?

Star of many an adult feature Tera Patrick has signed on for the vaguely GTA-ish Saint's Row 2. Most would probably expect her to be some kind of character in the game and not much else, but nay, Tera is contracted as a "special producer." Not sure what this entails, but according to the game's community website, more details on her role will be revealed July 30th exclusively on IGN. Either here or on GameGrep, we'll surely have the information for you.

More than that, Tera will be making a special appearance at THQ's Comic Con booth on Saturday, where she'll meet fans and sign exclusive Saints Row 2 artwork (with bodyguards in tow, I assume).

Developed by Volition, Saints Row 2 will be out October 17th on Xbox 360, PS3, and according to Eurogamer, PC as well.

Background
Saints Row 2 is set years after the original Saints Row in a Stilwater both familiar and strange. The explosive conclusion to Saints Row has left the player wounded, betrayed and thirsty for revenge, and now it’s time to take back the city that has forgotten him. A sequel to the first open-world title on next-generation consoles, Saints Row 2 features all new customization options, including gender, age, voice, crib and gang customization. The sandbox just got larger with a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, offering all new locations to explore with new vehicles, including motorcycles, boats, helicopters and planes.

Mattrick still not sold on Blu-ray as the definitive high-def solution either

Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division senior VP Don A. Mattrick already made headlines last week when he boasted that the Xbox 360 would best Sony's PlayStation 3 in global console sales "this generation" during its E3 conference. Mattrick's confidence didn't let up one bit in an post-E3 interview with Eurogamer, believing his company will also overtake Sony in the console software race with a telling lead over the course of the next three or four years. Yep, he's still got the global console market in mind too.

Part of Mattrick's confidence stems from the established Xbox 360 userbase, and he deemed the average 360 user to be "the most sophisticated media consumer on the planet". The 18-26 year-old crowd likely has their own income, and more importantly they potentially have better influence on the gaming habits for both their younger and older family members.

We know that our third-party partners have a tremendous well of content coming to our platform so there's support. We know that we're driving the majority of their revenue and profit growth. We know that in prior generations, whoever creates that ecosystem where people can scale, can be profitable, can grow, that they tend to win.

The other thing we know is Sony's given guidance and said their goal is to create ten million units this coming year. Needless to say, our aspiration is to do more. We also know we have a volume lead both in Europe and North America, and with that volume lead in the aggregate, when you add in Japan, is larger than Sony's.

Mattrick conceded they had to pull Bungie's upcoming game from their conference, as part of a number of changes made quite simply to keep things under ninety minutes. On the bright side, he did hint at a possible "well-attended" Halo-only event where Bungie's as-of-yet unrevealed title could make an ever bigger impact "in a more intimate setting than the E3 briefing".

The commentary keeps up in a response to how Microsoft should feel about Blu-ray emerging triumphant over HD-DVD as the next-gen optical disc format of choice. The Xbox 360 previously backed HD-DVD over Blu-ray, before Toshiba pulled the plug on its internal HD-DVD development. Mattrick was certainly not about to imply that the Xbox 360 could potentially support Blu-ray as a result, and instead explains that if high-definition content is what the consumer wants, the Xbox 360 already has them covered with digital downloads.

I think that what people want is digital high-def content, I think that's what our box provides, and we've announced several movie partners - and one in particular, Netflix, for the streaming technology. People love being able to download and interact instantaneously with high-def content. I don't have to go somewhere, I don't have to buy a disc, I don't have to pay a 12-14 dollar or 6-7 pound premium to do that. I don't have to have my face be two feet in front of my TV to see the difference.

Yeah, we heard the franchise is pretty popular over there

The DS port for Enix's Dragon Quest V (now published under Square Enix) was released in Japan last week, and by Media Create's reckoning it's already sold well over 600,000 copies over the course of just three days. It's easily the chart-topper for the past week, and Media Create's sales figures only reaffirm just how hot the Dragon Quest property remains in Japan.  It's also the best Dragon Quest launch yet on the Nintendo handheld.

DQV for the DS is actually the second remake of the original SNES title released back in 1992; it was already remade once for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, and the DS remake shares more in common with the PS2 port. Coming in second place overall is another new title, Gundam Battle Universe, this time for the rival PlayStation Portable platform. The gap between DQV and Gundam was quite large, with the latter title selling 138,000 units in its first week. Meanwhile, last week's number one seller, Persona 4, slipped down to third place.

Japan Game Software Sales 2008/07/13 - 2008/07/20

More free games needed

According to a market research firm study conducted by Parks Associates, in order to keep the MMORPG realm thriving, more free games will be needed. Why? Not enough people are willing to pay a monthly fee to participate in the virtual worlds.

Over 2,000 online gamers were polled for the research, and the results were that only 'hardcore' gamers were interested in subscribing, while "social, dormant, and leisure gamers all show significant interest in a free-to-play, microtransaction-based model." Moreover, 14% currently not playing subscription-based MMORPGs would be keen on playing them if it was free, and 2% from the same group were up for the idea of paying.

The conclusion reached is microtransaction models (where players can purchase goods and whatnot in the game for what is typically a small fee) work best.

"World of Warcraft, with over 10 million players, exceeded expectations for subscription-based MMORPGs, but it's unlikely any other publishers will achieve the same in the near term using a subscription model," said Parks Associate's director of broadband and gaming, Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai.

Of course, this should raise the question "Why can WoW be so successful but not anything else?" Should then other developers be learning something from WoW, or offering their own equally solid and innovative take on the genre and charging monthly for it? Has the game crowded the market, and the only hope now for MMORPG devs to be successful a different model? Many questions, so feel free to debate.

I, for one, fully relate to those who don't want to pay a monthly fee. I'm pretty into games and all, but it's certainly not my life (not to imply everyone who pays for an MMORPG makes games their life). In either case, I'm not willing to pay a monthly fee for such a thing, but MMORPGs do interest me. The appeal is pretty obvious, but to some it's just not worth a monthly admission. I applaud the study, but I think the answer is more specific: we need good free MMORPGs. There are tons and tons out there (seems like more lately), but they all seem more or less mediocre, and judging from forum posts all over, the attitude is often this: give up on the idea of a solid one, comparable with say, WoW or Age of Conan. Mythos was looking great, but internal problems saw that get canned, so who knows if it'll see the light of day now, especially in good form. But the point is this: there seems to be a wide open gap for an addictive, innovative free MMORPG waiting to be filled. I'm thinking the only questions are when will it be filled, and who will fill it?

..and Nintendo

"As game designers, the trend is often for concentrating on pushing graphics, or other capabilities, or network features in new games," [Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto says to The Telegraph]. "But I like to think that game designers would be better off trying to think about things such as health or mental improvement, rather than technology itself."

Naturally, not everyone agrees with Miyamoto's or Nintendo's philosophies, whether it's gamers, developers, or publishers. But certainly, they have their place as much as the technology fiends. In either case, this approach has obviously worked well for the company, what with such huge successes as Wii Fit. Miyamoto feels they've widened the horizon, and this is a positive thing:

"The games industry was really narrowing to a very core set of gamers. So I think it's a really good thing to see the industry moving in a direction where it is attracting more gamers. At Nintendo, we are very fortunate to have achieved such a large share of that."

Indeed, at this point, a certain portion of Nintendo fans feel almost betrayed with this shift towards, I suppose, more universally appealing games. But he says not to let things like E3 form one's entire perception of the company at this point (as touched on in an earlier piece), because they've still got you in mind:

"Making these 'traditional' games is what I am best at. Because games of that nature take upwards of two or three years to make, we always have to keep the teams working on those projects going. At any given time, the team could be five to ten people, or it could be 50-plus. People are always switching in and out of those teams. They are all working on more Mario, Zelda and Pikmin projects. And they all work in close proximity to me, so I can keep a good eye on them."

On the evolution of gaming and its future, something which no doubt Nintendo has helped usher in, Miyamoto states the entertainment aspect will steer the way for the gaming giant:

"Nintendo looks at those things absolutely from an entertainment perspective. Using the kind of technologies that develop in future, and thinking about how to interface with them, will be the direction things go in."

Certainly, I don't think I'm really one to get ahead of things, but it is terribly fun to think about the future of technology and gaming. So, anyone else excited about the next Nintendo system? Or the one after, or the one after..

Digital Camera Print Channel launches

Nintendo has teamed up with leading photoimaging company FujiFilm to launch a new Wii channel in Japan which will allow users to order prints of digital photos through the Wii itself. More precisely, users can use the new "Digital Camera Print Channel" to access photos from digital cameras and mobile phones stored on SD card media. Once the SD card is transferred to the Wii, the channel itself will allow the user to format their photos for use in four different types of products:

• Individual photo prints measuring 89 x 127 mm for 30 yen ($0.28 USD) each.
• A 20-page "square" booklet for 1575 yen ($14.80 USD); users can provide captions for their photos.
• A larger, 6-page "standard" booklet for 2480 yen ($23.30 USD), featuring 11 page design templates including some Mario-themed ones.
• A set of 30 business cards measuring 91 x 55 mm for 500 yen ($4.70 USD), again from a selection of templates. You can even use your Mii avatar as the business card photo if you're in the mood.

Once the desired photos are selected and organized through the templates, the user places their order with FujiFilm who will handle the development and delivery of the product. Payments will be made to FujiFilm through credit card; Wii Points are not supported at the moment. There's no word yet over whether or not Nintendo will offer a similiar service via Wii Channel outside of Japan, but recent firmware updates for North American Wii consoles suggest localization being a possibility.

blah blah blah

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stands ready to defend his company's performance and priorities in an interview with VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi. Aside from getting all huffy over some tough investor-related related questions (e.g. "I don’t think the investors give a sh!t about our quality. They care about our earnings per share."), Riccitiello reiterates EA's commitment to all current generation platforms.

"There are three strong players in the sector. They have all got their respective demographics and geographies. Blu-ray on the PS trumps DVD on the Xbox 360. Xbox Live trumps the PlayStation Network. The wand controller trumps the traditional controller. They’ve all got their rock, paper, scissors competition going. The $249 Wii price trumps $349 Xbox 360 price. We are playing all three. We’re not trying to avoid your question. Nintendo is pretty happy with its market position."

However, Riccitiello does note that there is now a bigger window of opportunity to nab a meatier portion of marketshare on Nintendo platforms, traditionally dominated by Nintendo itself. Indeed, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian muses that longtime Nintendo supporters EA and Ubisoft are the most committed to benefiting as third party Wii developers. This is especially true now that Nintendo remains mum over its first-party offerings, which are still under development.

On the Wii side of things, Riccitiello believes there will be merit to the recently announced MotionPlus peripheral for the Wiimote. Early impressions of the Wii MotionPlus-enhanced Wiimote already appear quite positive (at least with Wii Sports Resort), hailing the newfound control bestowed upon the once gesture-oriented gameplay mechanics.

"The Wii MotionPlus is going to be good. If I had to pick one thing we suffered from, it was imprecise control on the Wii. That meant certain genres were never going to perform as well on the Wii. There are a couple of franchises in our booth. Go look at Dead Space and imagine playing that game with a wand and a Nunchuk. If they improve the precision, then you could have a good experience. There is no doubt that Wii Speak will appeal to a certain group of people. I thought what was nice is that they created an opportunity for third parties to be more successful."

Third parties have some breathing room now that Nintendo's first party stuff is still under wraps

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stands ready to defend his company's performance and priorities in an interview with VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi. Aside from getting all huffy over some tough investor-related related questions (e.g. "I don’t think the investors give a sh!t about our quality. They care about our earnings per share."), Riccitiello reiterates EA's commitment to all current generation platforms.

"There are three strong players in the sector. They have all got their respective demographics and geographies. Blu-ray on the PS trumps DVD on the Xbox 360. Xbox Live trumps the PlayStation Network. The wand controller trumps the traditional controller. They’ve all got their rock, paper, scissors competition going. The $249 Wii price trumps $349 Xbox 360 price. We are playing all three. We’re not trying to avoid your question. Nintendo is pretty happy with its market position."

However, Riccitiello does note that there is now a bigger window of opportunity to nab a meatier portion of marketshare on Nintendo platforms, traditionally dominated by Nintendo itself. Indeed, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian muses that longtime Nintendo supporters EA and Ubisoft are the most committed to benefiting as third party Wii developers. This is especially true now that Nintendo remains mum over its first-party offerings, which are still under development.

On the Wii side of things, Riccitiello believes there will be merit to the recently announced MotionPlus peripheral for the Wiimote. Early impressions of the Wii MotionPlus-enhanced Wiimote already appear quite positive (at least with Wii Sports Resort), hailing the newfound control bestowed upon the once gesture-oriented gameplay mechanics.

"The Wii MotionPlus is going to be good. If I had to pick one thing we suffered from, it was imprecise control on the Wii. That meant certain genres were never going to perform as well on the Wii. There are a couple of franchises in our booth. Go look at Dead Space and imagine playing that game with a wand and a Nunchuk. If they improve the precision, then you could have a good experience. There is no doubt that Wii Speak will appeal to a certain group of people. I thought what was nice is that they created an opportunity for third parties to be more successful."

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello

Microsoft service opening the floodgates for inde devs

Much like Nintendo has reached out to independent developers with WiiWare, Microsoft is now following suit via Xbox Live, opening up their doors for the inde crowd.

Announced today, the corporation said it will start to sell "user-generated" games later this year via Live, sharing up to 70 percent of the revenue with the developer. How awesome is that!

Microsoft has been offering production tools to the public for two years now under the "XNA" initiative, which would allow the finished product to work on the Xbox, PC, or Zune.

The deal here is an aspiring developer pays a $99/yr premium membership to the XNA Creators Club; in return, they get a hefty revenue cut (hey, it's a lot better than what musicians get), proportional to how well their game sells. Speaking of which, the titles will go for $2.50, $5, or $10, in Microsoft Point form, of course. A peer review system will help keeps things in check, too.

"Not only are we democratizing game development with Xbox Live Community Games later this year, but we're creating an opportunity for aspiring developers," Chris Satchell, chief technology officer at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business group, said in a news release.

Microsoft is expecting double the amount of games to be available for its console when the Community Games sector of its Live store comes out of beta this fall, so get crackin'.

"New game, new genre, new geographical area, new leader"... that's the new Team Ninja

Team Ninja producer and Ninja Gaiden series mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki quite visibly parted from his parent company Tecmo on very bad terms last month over unpaid bonuses and behind-the-back badmouthing, allegedly from president Yoshimi Yasuda himself.  However, Itagaki-san would not resign from Team Ninja before slapping Tecmo with a lawsuit for his troubles.  This in turn spurred other employees to leave and sue the company on behalf of their colleagues for "gross labour violations" and shaky accounting.

While Tecmo is imploring the media both local and foreign to not engage in distortion of the situation, the company itself promised that Team Ninja will live on even without the presence and vision of Itagaki.  Tecmo's president Yasuda provided further details with Bloomberg Japan, explaining that Team Ninja will begin making a bigger focus on the North American market with a new title that's completely unlike anything the studio has done before:  "'New game, new genre, new geographical area, new leader' are our four keywords."

Armed with such keywords, this suggests a fresh start for Team Ninja with something perhaps not already seated in their staple Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises.  Then again, it would be hard to accept these franchises being sidelined for long considering their pedigree with entrenched gamers.

If you have a creative mind, you may be able to receive income for it!

Stage building modes have been featured on games for a while, spanning over many different genres. Whether it is a skate park, a stage for brawling, or a large map to battle it out on, it has always been fun to create levels and play them. If you are in this boat, then you may enjoy what Sony UK's David Reeves has led us all to believe with comments he told PS3 Fanboy:

"What we're trying to do with LittleBigPlanet is almost iTunes meets eBay in the sense that once an individual or a developer has qualified by producing certain levels or certain add-ons, they will then be able in the future to exchange these and make money out of them"

However, just because you've created a stage doesn't mean it will automatically be put up as downloadable content that other users have to pay for. It has been suggested that the the top tier of stage builders could be put in a special group that have the privilege of uploading their levels, so that they may reap the benefits later. Mr. Reeves also had this to say about the costs of the levels, and how well your level is depends on how much you will make:

"Even if you charge less than one Euro, it doesn't take many downloads if you've got a really strong LittleBigPlanet level for people to be able to make money. It's a great way for people to show others what they can do"

LittleBigPlanet, set to be released in October of this year, is an action game, but promotes having more than one player playing. You create a little doll (this will act as an avatar) that is very small compared to the large worlds that will be explored. The idea is play, create, share. By playing through these worlds, you will earn achievements. Then these achievements unlock certain parts that you can use to create a level. Once you've created the level, you can share it with friends.

Even though all of these details concerning the possibility of players receiving a profit from DLC have yet to be confirmed, it sure looks like it will be interesting to see what cool and creative levels actually will make it as purchasable DLC.

'Not possible right now,' says Kojima

Speaking on BBC's Click program, Metal Gear creator Kojima made a comment on what's in store for the future of gaming, and when:

"We will keep on making games for consoles and the graphics and sound quality will get better and better. But I think no matter how much we improve the quality, there is only so much we can hear or see. The next level will be when we start improving the backgrounds, the things you don't instantly see but enhance the experience."

"For example, there are leaves in the background and when you water them they grow. Instead of the backgrounds being pre-programmed, they actually respond to what the player does. This is not possible right now but maybe in the future it will be, and that is when we will have entered the next era of gaming."

It's easy to get really bent on the progression of technology (and nothing against that) while forgetting how far we've come in such a short time. I mean, just two decades ago you were probably playing stuff like this:

And now you're playing this:

Seriously! I think that's quite something to achieve in about two decades. But of course it is cool to think about how much further we can go, and how fast. I wonder if what Kojima is talking about will be possible with the next generation of consoles or not, and if the graphical leap this time will be as big as it was in previous generations.

Kojima is currently rumoured to be working on a new game based on RPG series Snatcher, one of his earliest works. Reportedly, this will be a collaboration with Suda 51 (No More Heroes).

'Creatively Glorifying God', 'How We Can Fund Missions Via Entertainment', more

Christians are gamers, too (apparently)! The community has stepped up since days of old though, and are having their own conference this year, titled the Christian Game Developers Conference. Speakers, workshops, expo time, all that good stuff, you'll see it there. Below you'll find a list of speakers, workshops, and panels.

Speakers

• Jay Moore, The Strategery Group
• Ken Kavanagh, ClickToy Interactive
• Scott Wong, Brethren Entertainment
• Chris Skaggs, Soma Games

Workshops

• Wisdom or Waste?, Tim Reddington
• How We Can Fund Missions Via Entertainment, Ed Armstrong
• Creating AI-Bots in Multiplayer Games, Laurene Wells of Heaven's Blessings Tiny Zoo
• Virtual Team of Volunteers, Charlie Mauck
• The Dev
• Challenge: Quickly Creating Value, Dan Olds
• Creatively Glorifying God
• Jerry Moore - Game Design.

Discussion groups & panels

• Game Evangelism
• The Life Cycle of a Bug
• State of the Industry

Dan Olds' will be showing his latest film at the event, as well, titled "Song Man," which is described as such:

Song Man is the story of a young Jewish man, David, an out of work musician struggling with life, love, and faith, who's unaware that people all over the world are following his music and spiritual journey through the songs he writes; among them, a couple of contract killers trying to prevent him from claiming the inheritance that rightfully belongs to him. The film features the biblical card game "Prophecy", which Dan created and is published by Epos Entertainment.

Registration is still open to anyone who wishes to attend and can be done through the website found below; cost is $75 for two days or less or $90 for all three days. The experience is promised to be 'unique.'

Don’t miss this opportunity to gather with other Christian developers to discuss and pray over the exciting things God is doing in this industry!  July 24-26, 2008, Portland, Oregon.

Why the PS3 version, and why now? Read on..

Many may remember a time during which rumours were floating about regarding a PS3 version of BioShock. Particularly, I recall an interview with creator Kev Levine on Joystiq some time ago - being questioned about such a thing, Levine responded basically with a "no comment." Of course, as we all know, no comment is a comment, and now that the dust has cleared, we can see why he had to respond as such. Anyway, VideoGamer got ahold of 2K to discuss what happened, being now they're at liberty to say:

"Originally we announced BioShock as a next-gen game and didn't specify platforms," stated [Markus Wilding, International PR director, 2K]. "Then we were approached by Microsoft and at that time that deal made perfect sense for everybody, so we did it. As far as exclusivity deals go these days, they expire after a certain time, and then it was up to us to decide if it would make sense to release a PS3 version such a long time after the 360 version. BioShock has such a huge fan base and we literally got emails almost every day from people requesting, asking for a PS3 version or asking if it would be possible.

"Basically we chose the right time and we had the opportunity after a while, and we said all right, we'll go for it. Obviously we couldn't announce it for a while. Had we announced it at the time we launched the 360 version, basically we'd nullify that deal, so we had to work it so both parties would be pleased. That's the basic story. There's no big surprise in there. As long as you have an exclusivity, you cannot talk about other platforms."

As for when it started, Wilding says it was a ways after the 360 version was done:

"The development basically started, let's see, I can't put a finger on it, but certainly not right after we shipped the 360 version, because at that time we didn't know if it'd make sense to release a PS3 version. BioShock was a big team, but it wasn't like 200 people working, so it wasn't like we could say "hey, let's work on a version that might not even come to light". So I can't give you an exact date, but after the 360 version was done. When the right time came we could announce it and we did."

Now, regarding BioShock 2, he says nothing will surface on it at least until the PS3 version is released late October, as that's what the team is focusing on right now. Stay glued to your seats, BioShock fans.

But Wii and DS still lead the console hardware pack (surprise!)

It's that time of the month again where the NPD Group makes its monthly console gaming industry sales figures public, and we're treated to their teardown for June. Compared to May, June's industry sales increased greatly thanks to stronger software and hardware sales across the board.

June 2008 US Games Industry Summary

Total sales - $1.69 billion USD
Console software - $872.6 million USD
Console hardware - $615.1 million USD
Console accessories - $202 million USD

June 2008 US Hardware Sales

Nearly all consoles enjoyed a healthy boost in sales, particularly the PS3 numbers which practically doubled thanks in no small part to Metal Gear Solid 4's release. The PS2 makes its return to the NPD charts after its mysterious disappearing act in May, and surprisingly it had a pretty good run last month, just over 30,000 units short of the Xbox 360.

Somebody is clearly happy with their console sales thus far, as Nintendo is quick to boast that their lifetime-to-date sales for the Wii have since surpassed those the Xbox 360. Microsoft's console launched ahead of its rivals, and company reps at first company to reach in sales ought to be crowned this generation's console race victor. Perhaps realizing just how quickly Nintendo managed to gain ground with the Wii in a short period of time, they now maintain that the first to 100 million will be the victor.

June 2008 US Game Software Sales

The big winner on the software sales wars last month was easily Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4. Old Snake's old spice was just too irresistable for those who really wanted to finish the tactical espionage fight. Unfortunately, MGS4 didn't manage to break over one million units in sales during its first month, unlike GTAIV and Mario Kart Wii.

As with May, only one Guitar Hero game made the charts in June, but this time it's the new DS release which launched with a bang. Indeed, Activision already noted Guitar Hero On Tour was its finest DS launch yet, and the publisher (naturally) is already gunning for a DS sequel. That Guitar Hero DS peripheral sure proved to be less of a turn-off than the naysayers expected.

Another new entry into the charts was Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360. The latest game in Team Ninja's punishing action game series has nothing to be ashamed of by jumping straight to third place in its first month of release. Sadly, the game's release was shadowed by the resignation of Team Ninja's outspoken head producer Tomonobu Itagaki, and his subsequent lawsuit against his former parent company for unpaid bonuses.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has all but fallen off the face of the charts in June, as did both the new Pokemon games. On the flip side, Wii Play is still hogging a spot in the top ten months after its initial release. Wii Fit also remains on the chart after launching in May, but its sales figures have dropped quite a bit by over 300,000 units.

Meanwhile, three different versions of Lego Indiana Jones occupy the bottom part of the NPD software sales chart. No doubt the game was basking in the warm glow of the recent motion picture release.

Where da party at?

Sure, E3 has brought us lots of goodies, news, screenshots, trailers and all that fun stuff this year, but what about the dark, seedy underbelly? Industry executives, at EA and Ubisoft no less, are slamming the conference following its end.

Being interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, EA boss John Riccitiello said, "I hate E3 like this. Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we'll have to have our own private events."

Ubisoft's head Laurent Detoc echoed his sentiments: "E3 this year is terrible. The world used to come to E3. Now it's like a pipe-fitters show in the basement." Rightfully declared, most would say; E3 was once something of a party in itself, where 60,000 gamers, execs, developers and booth babes alike would rub elbows. Now? A 5000 invite-only press affair. So discreet!

Moreover, the event used to take place in May; Ubisoft VIP Alain Corre says this choice of setting was critical:

"It's one milestone in the communication of your products throughout the year, and it's important because it's the ramp-up for Christmas. [But] E3 here, mid-July, in the Convention Center in downtown LA - it's not appropriate I would say."

Even Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has his concerns, which he voiced to MSNBC:

"For a very long time, E3 was an event where — and certainly Nintendo included — catered specifically to the core gamer. Now we look at more … an opportunity for us to introduce new concepts and new types of play that we intend to bring to the broader audience, particularly because of the media that gathers at E3 now.

So while attending an E3 event like this, they might be given the impression that Nintendo is no longer focusing on the games that appeal to the core gamer, in fact we’re still working on many of those titles, but it’s just not the type of event where we’ll be showcasing that anymore."

Of course, all this disdain and concern is useless without some action: will E3 be the same again next year, or will folks like John Riccitiello stick to their word and flat-out abandon it if nothing changes?

It's on! Well, just about.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced the first details of its Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008 tournament. The competition is set to begin with regional heats this summer worldwide, with the grand final taking place at the Tokyo Game Show event in October.

Open to the best Metal Gear Online players from Europe, the US, Japan, and Greater Asia, individual territories will host regional championships; winning teams will receive all expenses paid trips to Japan. The first one of these will take places in the US at ComiCon in San Diego; full details for the Euro dates will be announced via the official site (listed below) in coming weeks.

Background

Metal Gear Online is a dedicated online title included in Metal Gear Solid® 4: Guns of the Patriots, an exclusive title for PLAYSTATION®3, which took the market by storm on its release in June. Featuring unique characters, a wide range of weaponry as well as many levels taken from and inspired by the Metal Gear Solid Series, Metal Gear Online is the ultimate team based online tactical shooter which allows up to 16 people to play simultaneously. Retaining the highly renowned stealth combat gameplay of the Metal Gear series, players can immerse themselves in this whole new multiplayer online experience as they are dropped into a series of war zones where a host challenges await them.

Study reveals new long-term benefits

According to the American Medical Association, ADHD is “one of the best-researched disorders in medicine.” However, despite this, no one really knows what causes ADHD or how to cure it. So when a new approach comes along, it's welcomed with open arms by the scientific community. Well, just such a thing has happened, and it's resulted in some great findings.

A "first-of-its-kind survey" was conducted by Information Solutions Group on behalf of PopCap Games (who you may have read about before). Involving 13,296 respondents, about 220 were children suffering from some level of ADHD. According to the results, certain types of video games appear to have a therapeutic affect on the disorder, lessening symptoms and helping kids focus. And of course, kids love it, and doctors and parents alike couldn't be more pleased. Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a Stony Brook, New York-based psychologist of 25 years’ experience reports:

“It seems that children with AD/HD often lack that sense of control that comes much more easily to their non-AD/HD peers. Playing casual games such as Peggle and Bejeweled, among others, is one area in their lives in which these children can experience some sense of control with the added benefit of achieving success in something. Both of these aspects, taken together, can serve to enhance the child’s self-concept and self-esteem.”

Joe P. of Athens, Georgia, a father of a child diagnosed with ADHD, wrote in response to the survey, “He seems more relaxed and calm. We have also noticed after playing games, he can concentrate on school materials such as math, in which he has the biggest struggle, and not get frustrated with problems he doesn't understand.”

He ain't the only one, either, but hey, space is limited!

Here's a breakdown of the benefits cited:

• 83% cited Improved concentration skills/Increased attention span
• 70% cited Improved hand-eye coordination/Manual dexterity
• 64% cited Stress relief/Relaxation
• 60% cited Learning (pattern recognition, resource allocation, spelling, typing skills)
• 56% cited Mental workouts/Memory strengthening/Mentally sharp and focused
• 55% cited Mood-lifting
• 51% cited Positive affirmation/Increased confidence/Sense of accomplishment

Apparently Dr.No, Draco, Baron Samedi, Nick Nack and Jaws were all unsuccessful

You can't keep that Bond guy down. After countless movies, a tall stack of books and a bevy of games, Bond is making another apperance soon, in Quantum Of Solace.You have to hand it to the guy -- Bond's managed to keep fans entertained since the early 1950's. Quite the stretch!

Based on the upcoming Bond film of the same name, the Quantum of Solace game will be coming in the fall for pretty much every platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii, and the DS.

Four different developers (Treyarch, Beenox, Eurocom and Vicarious Visions) are working on the different versions of the game, so it'll be interesting to see what they all come up with.

The Xbox and PS2/3 versions will be built upon the engine that powered the best-selling Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Here's some of the game's attributes from the press release. Warning: this information will explode into a giant fireball within 30 seconds, so read quickly.

• Be the New Bond – The Quantum of Solace game marks the first time players can become the dangerous and cunning Bond as portrayed by Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

• Combat Variety – From silent take downs and sneaking through confined spaces, to one-on-one shoot outs and large scale battles, players experience a variety of gameplay that challenges them to think through situations and choose how they progress, whether it’s through covert means or confronting enemies in full force.

• Advanced combat and Realistic AI – Players engage in both first-person and third-person gameplay that allows gamers to be Bond in unscripted battles against the world’s most evil villains and mercenaries.

• Cinematic Appeal – Filled with armed combat, massive explosions and vertigo-inducing chases, gamers are immersed in an authentic Bond universe and drawn into epic movie moments with theatrical camera angles, split screen effects, picture-in-picture sequences, and amazing environments inspired by real world locations such as Montenegro, Venice, Bolivia and Austria.

• Unparalleled Bond Multiplayer Experience – Bringing James Bond to next-gen consoles for the first time, gamers now have the ability to battle online in a variety of modes.

40GB PS3 to be phased out, with 80GB model to be the one PS3 to rule them all

Like its bitter rival Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment makes known its intentions to introduce another console SKU into the market, whilst retiring another.  At its E3 press conference, SCEA confirms a new 80GB PlayStation 3 "Core Pack" scheduled for launch this September.  Priced at $399 USD, it's actually $100 USD cheaper than the current 80GB models which now come bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4.

SCEA's senior marketing VP Peter Dille notes that the upcoming 80GB PS3 will replace the currently available 40GB model, introduced last October.  With nearly all the previous PS3 configurations being phased out, SCE will at some point make the upcoming 80GB model its sole PS3 console for North America.  However, no price cut appears to be on the horizon for the 40GB PS3.

Outside of the larger built-in hard drive storage, the 80GB PS3 is pretty much the same console as the outgoing 40GB edition.  Unfortunately, that it will continue to lack backwards compatibility with PS2 games thanks to its lack of the PS2-based "Graphics Synthesizer" GPU, in addition to skimping out on the built-in card reader seen in the earlier PS3 models.

Playing as Darth Vader, the Secret Apprentice, and Yoda

Siliconera was lucky enough to get their hands on a Soul Calibur IV demo and try out the Star Wars characters in the game, and so what follows is a brief rundown of the main "features" and moves of each character.

Several features, however, are shared amongst all three characters. For one, the second meter underneath the character's life bar is linked to their force powers (Force Meter, perhaps?). Two, despite the armor breaking system, the SW characters take "battle damage", but don't have any dramatic effects or scars like the other characters (i.e. you can cut parts of their clothes off), meaning you can't knock off Vader's helmet, for example. But hey, who really wants to see that feeble crusty old white mug, anyway?
 

Darth Vader
 
Moves: choke, powerful unblockable burning force punch (VADER PAUNNCH!!)

Note: Using either of these moves without an adequate amount of force power will result in you being stunned.

Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice

Moves: force levitation, fast lightsaber strikes

Yoda

Moves: Force Cancel (a temporary glowing green shield that stuns enemies when they attack, kind of like Blanka's electrical discharge), jump attacks

Sadly, custom made Jedi Knights aren't available in the creation system, and the 'classes' from it are gone; created characters have 'cloned' fighting styles, from the already available characters. Bonus characters like Angol Fear (pictured below) are clones too (many clones).

A demo for the game is planned, but not until after it's released. Some smart marketing, there.

For gamers on the dole

Yet another E3 announcement (well, two really): Sony is launching a Greatest Hits line for the PlayStation 3, as they did years previous with the PS2 to the delight of gamers and soccer moms alike. But probably even more exciting, a list of cheap and exclusive new titles are planned for the PlayStation Store/Network this year. This all seems to be in keeping with Sony's "2008 is the year of the PS3" mantra:

"The PlayStation family of products is unsurpassed in 2008 with a lineup of exclusive content for all platforms developed by the best and brightest development teams in the world," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of product marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We are dedicated to driving the industry forward leveraging our technology and development resources to offer consumers a wide variety of innovative titles, from casual games to hardcore games."

So, behold, a list of budget titles to look forward to:

• Siren: Blood Curse (July 24, $9.99)
• Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (Q3)
• Pixeljunk Eden
• flOwer
• Fat Princess
• Crash Commando

Regarding the Greatest Hits lineup, starting July 28, SCEA will offer ten titles at first for the reduced price of $29.99, but of course, more will be added regularly. A list:

• Warhawk
• Motorstorm
• Resistance: Fall of Man
• Call of Duty 3
• Need for Speed: Carbon
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
• Assassin’s Creed

Solid Snake's VA lands another job..but no voice-overs here

Looks like 2K Games aren't the only ones investing in the movie industry: Capcom has announced it'll be putting its weight behind a Lost Planet film.

Announced at an E3 press conference, the film will be penned by David Hayter, known to some as the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series. Hayter has also worked as a writer on the first two X-Men films, The Scorpion King, Lost in Oz, and is currently in pre-production for the film Watchmen.

No release date has been set as of now.

Capcom president and chief operating officer Kenzo Tsujimoto also said the company intends to create many more game-to-film franchises in the future. Capcom, of course, is known for starting the trend with series' films like Street Fighter and Resident Evil..but hopefully this one turns out to be of higher caliber.

Lost Planet has sold over two million units worldwide.

Background:

On a lost planet fight for survival, hunt for revenge... Your memory lies in pieces, like shattered glass... Green Eye... your father... lying dead on the ground. These memories continue to haunt your steps. But now is not the time for quiet contemplation. The Akrid are attacking! It's time to put it all on the line, avenge your father and save the tattered remnants of humanity. Find Thermal Energy, destroy the Akrid menace. On a lost planet, your destiny will unfold...

Log into the PlayStation Store and rack up sales and rental fees for digital video from major studios

Sony's E3 press conference at last opens the curtains on its video content delivery service for the North American PlayStation Network, making digital sales and rentals from a selection of almost 300 motion pictures and over 1200 television episodes live on the PlayStation Store.  The whole video catalogue includes offerings from studios like 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Walt Disney Studios.  Video content will be available in both standard and high definition formats, though HD video appears to limited to only rentals at the moment.

Rental rates will range $2.99 - 5.99 USD, while movies available for purchase are priced from $9.99 - 14.99 USD.  Movie rentals from the PlayStation Store have a grace period of of 14 days, but viewers will have 24 hours to finish watching a video after first beginning playback.  According to hands-on reports, file sizes for SD video downloads range from 1.5 - 2GB, and HD content is expected to occupy 5 - 8GB of hard drive space on the PlayStation 3.

Sony has leveraged tech from Marlin Digital Rights Management for protecting and managing digital content.  As expected, users will be able to transfer video downloads between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles.  This is nice, because you will not be able to view video downloaded from the new service using Remote Play.  Users can also browse the PSN video store via PC, but any video content purchased/rented this way will be for use with the PSP.

The PSN video store will be available for Europe and Japan later this Fall.

(Image Source: PlayStation.Blog)