Slashdot Mirror

Gamespot reports that despite new information on the Revolution, there is still much we don't know about the console. Shigeru Miyamoto hinted at the DIEC that there was yet more to reveal about the Revolution controller. From the article: "At the Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference held in Kyoto, Japan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's chief game designer and creator of the Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises, gave the keynote speech. He talked about the history of controllers for Nintendo's various consoles, from the pre-NES systems to current consoles like the GameCube. He ended his lecture with words toward the future, specifically the Revolution, stating that there's more to its controller than what's already known. 'The [Revolution's] controller still has another secret,' stated Miyamoto. 'But it's something that we'll reveal next year.'"

von_blapp writes "EA is being sued over the Super Star feature that is included in Madden '06. Pernell Harris, owner of Virtual Jam is suing EA over a confidentiality violation. Harris claims when he met with EA in '03 he discussed a game called Heart Of A Champion, in this game players take high school athletes from the schools to the pros insuring their grades are kept up and even picking their parents for the optimum gene pool. This is the same feature as in the current game released by EA."

Gamespot reports that Nintendo has opened an office dedicated to the next-gen sequel to Smash Bros. From the article: "Heading up the new studio is the series' original creator, Masahiro Sakurai. He returns to the Nintendo organization after a two-year absence. According to Famitsu, Sakurai was persuaded by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata to return to Nintendo over conversations that took place at the E3 Expo held earlier this year. Preparing a new Super Smash Bros. game with such short notice was not easy for Sakurai, given the game's tight development schedule."

Gamespot has another article in its continuing series on 'The Greatest Games of All Time'. This time they profile The Sims, the Will Wright PC classic. From the article: "While The Sims was certainly revolutionary, it wasn't simply the revolution that makes it one of the greatest games of all time. Like all truly great games, it is the timeless and continually entertaining gameplay that makes The Sims so worthwhile. And while in the years since its release there have been many more versions to choose from, there's something quite heartwarming and familiar about the original game and its very specific choices, the sublime stainless steel refrigerator, the Henry Moore-esque statue, and that handy dandy little burglar alarm."

An anonymous reader writes "Senator Clinton has introduced a doozy of a game bill. It mandates an investigation of the gaming industry to determine how pervasive hidden mature content like the 'Hot Coffee' mod is." GamePolitics is reporting on the bill itself, as well as the ESA's response. From the latter article: "While we are gratified that the Senator holds the ESRB in such high regard that her bill would give these ratings the force of law, the courts have made clear that giving a private party governmental powers is unconstitutional. Beyond that, the bill clearly infringes the constitutionally protected creative rights of the video game industry. Thus, if enacted, the bill will be struck down as have similar bills passed in several states...." More commentary at Gamasutra.

Pichu0102 writes "Gamespot reports that a bevy of details will be released about the Nintendo Revolution at 2006's E3 event." From the article: "So when will be the Revolution's coming-out party? Unsurprisingly, it will be at next year's E3. Specifically, the console will be unveiled at Nintendo's pre-E3 press event, which is slated for 9:30 a.m. Pacific time on May 9, 2006. The venue will be the Kodak Theatre--home of the Academy Awards--in Hollywood, California."

The fortunes of game studios are fickle. Gamasutra reports that former Blizzard developers have formed another studio. This time, vets from Blizzard North have congealed Hyboreal Games. Their first title is slated to be a PC game entitled 'Starfall'. Meanwhile, ShaggusMacHaggis writes "Stainless Steel Studios, developers of Empire Earth, Empires, and the yet to be released Rise & Fall, have shut their doors. Despite the game being 'almost gold', Midway wanted the game held back from an October 05 release date, instead being released in Feb 06. The catch was that Midway did not want to pay Stainless Steel Studios for this delayed time period."

mkraft writes "A gamer fed up with his new Xbox 360 crashing every 20 minutes has fixed the problem by raising the power supply off the ground with some string. Goldeneyemaster over at the GameSpot forums indicates that the main reason for his Xbox 360 freezing up is the power supply overheating. The solution is to lift the power supply off the floor and allow the air to circulate better around it."

Well, it's Thanksgiving here in the states, and besides a tryptophan coma that means only one thing to a lot of U.S. males: Football. In the spirit of the Holiday, Gamespot has an article examining the performance of box-art sports heroes for this year's games. From the article: "Did those cover studs turn into pine-warming duds this year, or are they meriting that cover appearance with more brilliant play on the field? It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, and the Eli Mannings from the Kellen Winslows. Who got bit by the Madden Curse? Who made the cover but hasn't seen a smidge of game time yet?" Seperate the who from the what now?

Over at Gamespot Bob Colayco fires back at David Jaffe, who you may recall referred to game journalists as vultures, saying that Jaffe's ideas about what journalism should be are just as uninteresting as the most sycophantic game plug. From the article: "Am I the only one who picks up rags like Entertainment Weekly, skips the fluff in front, and goes straight to the reviews sections? Maybe that attitude is really dehumanizing. But I don't think it's any coincidence that other entertainment industries started going to crap when people started caring more about our manufactured pop stars and their gossip than they did about the product. This is why we have reality shows with the likes of Jessica Simpson."

Well, it's here. Braving long lines and launch parties, and even jail time, those that were willing to pony up the time and money have their hands on the first player in the next-gen war. 360 impressions are available all across the web, with [H]ardOCP and Gamespot offering exhaustive experiences for the interested gamer. The BBC, as always, offers a bigger perspective on the launch, and Gamasutra confirms that Microsoft is in for the long haul in the games industry. From the BBC: "Sony and Nintendo are planning to unleash their next gen consoles during 2006, giving Microsoft an edge over its rivals. The software giant is virtually tied with Nintendo for second place, way behind Sony, in a games market worth $25 billion globally. Microsoft has ambitious plans for its new machine. It said it expects to ship up to three million 360s worldwide within 90 days. But the company has admitted that the worldwide launch of the console could mean shortages in the run-up to Christmas. The console is due to hit Europe on 2 December and Japan on 10 December and some retailers are also warning about limited supplies."

Gamespot reports on the results from Friday's Spike TV Video Game Awards. Top Game honor went to RE4, while King Kong and World of Warcraft both took home several category nods. From the article: "As much as Spike might have refined the show over its past pair of efforts, it was clear the network had not yet found a way to perfectly merge the subject matter, the celebrities, and the audience. Nowhere was evidence of this more pronounced than in the significant number of audience members heading for the exits right after Missy Elliott's climactic performance, having seen all they came for and not caring to find out who was going to take home the Game of the Year award. Winners for Best Gaming Publication, Best Gaming Website, and Best Gaming Blog were not announced at the show. "

Gamespot has the word that ads from Massive, Inc. will now be incorporated into The Matrix Online. The ads, like those in sister-MMOG Planetside, will be in the form of billboards and signage. From the article: "One big difference that players will notice is that the Massive ads will be refreshed and updated with greater frequency. Sony notes that current ads in the game for fictional products and services will continue to remain a part of the game. Sony has also said that the ads will not be animated, and will not affect the game's performance. Another effect of the inclusion of Massive ads into The Matrix Online is that player advertising in Mega City will be possible, and Sony might run contests in the future to select player-generated ads and incorporate them in the game. "

GameSpot Hardware writes "GameSpot has compiled a detailed evaluation of what to expect from the upcoming Xbox 360 based on the type of cabling that you are forced to use. The article shows multiple image overlays to show the quality difference created when you take the unit down from its high definition origins." From the article: "In the name of gaming science, we went out and purchased an RF modulator just to see how our 360 looks using the connection. Unsurprisingly, the RF cable offered the worst image quality of all the cable types we tested. Even with our Canon S400, the colors appeared noticeably more faded, akin to a '70s-esque sepia effect. That might look OK if you're taking shots of your friends discoing out to Saturday Night Fever, but it doesn't fly while playing Xbox 360 games."

GameSpot Hardware writes "GameSpot has compiled a detailed evaluation of what to expect from the upcoming Xbox 360 based on the type of cabling that you are forced to use. The article shows multiple image overlays to show the quality difference created when you take the unit down from its high definition origins." From the article: "In the name of gaming science, we went out and purchased an RF modulator just to see how our 360 looks using the connection. Unsurprisingly, the RF cable offered the worst image quality of all the cable types we tested. Even with our Canon S400, the colors appeared noticeably more faded, akin to a '70s-esque sepia effect. That might look OK if you're taking shots of your friends discoing out to Saturday Night Fever, but it doesn't fly while playing Xbox 360 games."

Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo will allow parents to control what games can be played on the Revolution based on game ratings and other factors. From the article: "The password-protected system will let parents set which rating categories are acceptable for their children, and prevent the system from running any software outside the approved range. The system is based on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's industry standard ratings, and each game's rating will be encoded on each Revolution disc. Nintendo says the system will be instituted on every Revolution console worldwide, presumably utilizing the local ratings system of each region."

Gamespot reports that the backwards compatible list for the 360 at launch in Japan is ... somewhat abbreviated. From the article: "While the US list of Xbox games playable on the Xbox 360 has more than 200 titles, the Japanese list only carries 12 games. Microsoft Japan notes that additional titles will be added to the list in the future, so it might be a matter of time before the remaining games from the American list appears."

Gamespot reports that a study funded by the ESRB found that parents generally agree with the ESRB's ratings. From the article: "The study was conducted over 11 days in October, and included more than 400 parents. Each participant was shown footage from eight random games out of a pool of 80 titles rated by the ESRB within the last year. Each parent was asked to rate the game, then told what the actual rating was and asked to rate the rating as 'about right,' 'too strict,' or 'too lenient.'"

A topic we've touched on several times in the past here is discussed in the answers to another of Gamasutra's Questions of the week. Underrated games are the order of the day. From the article: "Natural Selection by Unknown Worlds is an outstanding work combining FPS action and RTS strategy elements. NS has gained a great following, but it has been overshadowed by success of Counter-Strike. The game play of NS naturally draws players to work together. I have always found the teamwork in NS better than most other FPS network games. The variety of classes in Aliens and Marines provides a lot of depth of play to experience. The RTS elements in the game were beautifully put together." I've always been partial to Shiny's Sacrifice , a weird little First Person RTS title where you play a mage that summons all of your units. Any titles that you think didn't get the attention they deserved?

Once again the ever popular topic of 'Games as Art' rears its head in a Gamespot editorial. Matthew Rorie talks the artistic and social value of games, and touches on comics and film to boot. From the article: "As of now, innovation in games is driven more by commerce than by any kind of noble artistic ideal. For that to change, and for games to be taken more seriously by people who don't play them, games need to become cheaper to make, they need to be made by more- diverse groups of people, and they need to be more accessible to nongamers. You could argue about the accessibility point, but the other two factors aren't improving, and they probably won't improve anytime soon. Most game companies seem to be preaching to the choir by developing games that will mostly appeal to people who are already interested in them."

Gamespot reports that the much-discussed launch title list for the Xbox 360 is now available. The list, from the article: "Amped 3 (2K Sports), Call of Duty 2 (Activision), Condemned: Criminal Origins (Sega), FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup (Electronic Arts), Gun (Activision), Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios), Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts), NBA 2K6 (2K Sports), NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts), Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts), NHL 2K6 (2K Sports), Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios), Peter Jackson's King Kong (Ubisoft), Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios), Quake 4 (Activision), Ridge Racer 6 (Namco), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Electronic Arts), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)"

In yet another completely unexpected move, Sony Online Entertainment is offering players who purchased the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion for SWG before Nov. 3rd a refund. The recently announced massive overhaul has upset a lot of people. From the Gamespot article: "To appease some of those angered by the reworking of Star Wars Galaxies, Sony Online and LucasArts are offering refunds to anyone with a Galaxies account in good standing who purchased the Trials of Obi-Wan before November 3. Players seeking refunds should send their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and Station Name to refunds@soe.sony.com ... All requests must be made by December 1, 2005."

exdeath writes "Halflife2.net announced that Valve's follow-up to last years acclaimed shooter Half-Life 2 will not be releasing in November 2005 as originally planned. From the post: 'Just wanted to give you a quick update on Aftermath, specifically its ETA. We're working very hard to finish this new episode for HL2, however, its going to take us a bit more time to get it into top shape. As such, the target release for this one is now Feb/March of next year.'" Confirmed by Valve. Ensaddening.

Game Politics reports that Jack Thompson has removed himself from the Alabama court case against members of the games industry. From the post: "Thompson's flamboyant profile, take-no-prisoners style of communication, and frequent press releases and media appearances were the subject of a defense motion on behalf of video game industry clients to revoke his Pro Hac Vice (visiting) admission to the Alabama bar. The motion to remove Thompson from the case occupied much of last Thursday's hearing before Judge Moore in Fayette County. By day's end the judge asked both sides to submit opinions on the Pro Hac Vice revocation motion as well as another defense motion to dismiss the case on a summary judgment for lack of merit." Gamespot has commentary as well.

As seemingly one of the few gaming properties not already optioned for a film, Gamespot reports that rights to a Castlevania film have been purchased by Crystal Sky Pictures. From the article: "Paul W.S. Anderson will direct the film, after having game-to-movie experience with Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil. Steven Paul and Benedict Carver of Crystal Sky and Anderson and Jeremy Bolt of Impact Pictures will produce the movie. No cast has been announced, and production is set to start in mid-2006."

Gamespot has the news that Blizzard's upcoming action/stealth title Starcraft: Ghost is officially no longer in production for the Gamecube. From the article: "Speaking to GameSpot, a Blizzard staffer confirmed that the game is now only being released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2, meaning the previously announced GameCube edition has been canceled ... Unfortunately the GameCube has no online service and since so much work is going in to the online portion, it would be additional work to release only part of the intended game."

deadtroll writes "Gamespot is reporting that Bioware is teaming up with Pandemic and Elevation to create a mighty tri-continental juggernaut of supercoolness." From the article: "Now it has become clear the Elevation isn't done with games--not by a long shot. On Thursday, the company will announce it is backing the alliance of two major independent developers, Pandemic Studios and BioWare, into a new super-developer. Canada-based BioWare is a celebrated developer of role-playing games stretching from 1997's Baldur's Gate to the forthcoming Mass Effect for the Xbox 360. Pandemic is a much newer shop, but has enjoyed success with a string of hit action titles, including Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries, and Destroy All Humans!"

Gamespot reports that the much anticipated (by me, at least) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is delayed until 2006. From the article: "In a conference call with analysts today, Take-Two Interactive announced that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is being delayed until the second quarter of its next fiscal year, which runs from February to April 2006. While this is still technically within Microsoft's 14-week "launch window" for the Xbox 360, it means that the game will not be on sale when the console arrives in stores on November 22."

Besides the Burning Crusade announcement, there's lots of interesting stuff going on out in California. Gamespot reports from the scene and has a first look at the Blood Elf starting area. Meanwhile, Next Generation has the lay of the land from the first day of Blizzard's games get-together. From the Gamespot article: "As for the scene, Morhaime announced that slightly fewer than 8,000 attendees would be at Blizzcon, and there seemed to be about that many people crowding in Hall A of the Anaheim Convention Center. The line for showgoers to pick up their free goody bags seemed to snake as long as a line for a ride at nearby Disneyland, looking to be easily more than an hour's wait. Though there were dozens of computer stations, lines for Blizzcon attendees looking to play the new expansion pack were also quite long. Two GameSpot editors stood in line for about an hour to get 30 minutes of play time with the content."

Besides the Burning Crusade announcement, there's lots of interesting stuff going on out in California. Gamespot reports from the scene and has a first look at the Blood Elf starting area. Meanwhile, Next Generation has the lay of the land from the first day of Blizzard's games get-together. From the Gamespot article: "As for the scene, Morhaime announced that slightly fewer than 8,000 attendees would be at Blizzcon, and there seemed to be about that many people crowding in Hall A of the Anaheim Convention Center. The line for showgoers to pick up their free goody bags seemed to snake as long as a line for a ride at nearby Disneyland, looking to be easily more than an hour's wait. Though there were dozens of computer stations, lines for Blizzcon attendees looking to play the new expansion pack were also quite long. Two GameSpot editors stood in line for about an hour to get 30 minutes of play time with the content."

Gamespot is running an article in which crazy man Ken Kutaragi boasts that the PS3 may be capable of running games at 120 fps. From the article: "Never mind that even newer TVs aren't capable of refreshing the screen 120 times in a single second. Kutaragi said that when new technology comes to market, he hopes to have the PS3 ready to take advantage of it. As for the Cell chip at the heart of the PS3, Kutaragi also had high hopes for its future beyond gaming. Using high-definition TV as an example, he said that the Cell chip could take advantage of the technology in many ways, such as displaying newspapers in their actual size, showing multiple high-definition channels on the screen at once, and video conferencing. He emphasized that the Cell can be used to decode more than 10 HDTV channels simultaneously, and it can also be used to apply effects such as rotating and zooming."

Hatedlegion writes "Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been released on Steam." Gamespot has details, and a hands-on look as well. From that article: "If you've played through Half-Life 2, the gameplay in Lost Coast isn't going to set the world on fire. You fight your way up a sheer cliff face, trading fire with those pesky Combine soldiers every step of the way. You'll occasionally have to deal with some of the more vicious sorts of headcrabs, and at the end you'll have to bring down a Combine gunship with Gordon Freeman's trusty rocket launcher. You'll have to solve a couple of light physics puzzles as well, which we won't detail for the sake of preserving at least a little of the surprise. You'll even get to talk to an old man at the beginning of the level, who provides you with the impetus to head up into the hills and engage the Combine in the first place."

Hatedlegion writes "Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been released on Steam." Gamespot has details, and a hands-on look as well. From that article: "If you've played through Half-Life 2, the gameplay in Lost Coast isn't going to set the world on fire. You fight your way up a sheer cliff face, trading fire with those pesky Combine soldiers every step of the way. You'll occasionally have to deal with some of the more vicious sorts of headcrabs, and at the end you'll have to bring down a Combine gunship with Gordon Freeman's trusty rocket launcher. You'll have to solve a couple of light physics puzzles as well, which we won't detail for the sake of preserving at least a little of the surprise. You'll even get to talk to an old man at the beginning of the level, who provides you with the impetus to head up into the hills and engage the Combine in the first place."

Gamespot is reporting that a violent games bill similar to the one recently signed into law in California is being considered in Florida. From the article: "The bill bears more than a passing resemblance to the game restriction bill California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law. The language for what constitutes a 'violent video game' is identical, as are the $1,000 limit on fines resulting from breaking the law and the requirement that violent games be labeled with a 2-inch-by-2-inch sticker depicting a solid white '18' outlined in black. About the only difference between the two bills is that Diaz de la Portilla's legislation makes it illegal for violent games to be made available to minors in arcades as well as in stores."

Lots of rumours out there right now about the next-gen consoles. It's in question, right now, exactly how backwards compatible the PS3 will be. Gamespot reports: "When responding to questions about whether or not the SCPH-75000's backwards-compatibility issues heralded similar problems with Sony's next-gen console, she demurred. 'It's hard to say the PlayStation 3 will be 100 percent backwards compatible but as we said earlier this year we aim to make it so as much as possible,' Sakamoto said," Meanwhile, 1up.com wonders exactly how pricey the console will be. From that article: "In the past months, the Japanese blog CoolGamer has been a dependable source of early information regarding the Japanese game market. Not once has their news turned out to be a false lead, so that's why it was pretty important today when the site updated with a small notice saying 'PS3 price set below 40000 Yen,' which is about $400 at current exchange rates."

Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo plans on a global launch for the Revolution. From the article: "Talking about the Revolution in an interview with Nikkei Business, Iwata stated, 'I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible ... It [the Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube'"

Gamespot is reporting that Jack has taken his beef to the Feds regarding the dangerous pixelantes over at Penny Arcade. From the article: "In a letter addressed to John McKay, US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and sent to media outlets, Thompson this morning said the site was using a variety of means 'to encourage and solicit criminal harassment' of him. Thomspon wrote to McKay, 'Please help me if you can,' but did not include specific actions he wished to have taken against the site. McKay's office prosecutes cases investigated by several law enforcement agencies in Western Washington, including the FBI." PvP is also running a parody indicating that Jack has appealed to the Justice League for assistance with Gabe and Tycho.

hattan writes "Wal-Mart has playable Xbox 360s on display with demos of Call of Duty 2, Kameo, and King Kong. Joystiq has a look at what the setup looks like, with a rundown on locations where you can play." Gamespot provides more details on the setup, including the news that you'll be able to download content from these kiosks once the systems are on the shelves. Unrelatedly, but interestingly, Xbox.com has revealed a deep level of interconnection with the new gamer card system between the 360, Xbox Live, and Xbox.com. You'll apparently be able to look at your gamer card on the web, because Microsoft likes value adding stuff.

Gamespot is reporting that the VSDA and the ESA have filed a suit against the California governor in response to the passing of that state's violent games bill. From the article: "The complaint alleges that the new law violates the First Amendment by restricting access to games 'based solely on their expressive content' and unconstitutionally compels speech by manufacturers, distributors, importers, and retailers by requiring them to label violent games with a 2-by-2-inch sticker of a solid white '18' outlined in black."

Edge Online has a short piece on Xbox VP Peter Moore's announcement of the Live Arcade's full potential. Gamespot has a list of the planned titles, which is thoroughly impressive, including hits like Bejeweled 2, SmashTV, and Wik:Fable of Souls. From the Edge article: "Amongst the 40-odd developers slated for further Live Arcade development are Namco, SEGA, Konami, Capcom, SNK Playmore and Hudson Soft providing a selection of their retro titles, as well as the usual lineup of casual PC game producers like Wild Tangent, PopCap, and GarageGames, but the two most unexpected additions to the list are Mizuguchi's upstart Q Entertainment and AntiGrav/Guitar Hero developers Harmonix."

Gamespot has the news that the World of Warcraft expansion will be playable at BlizzCon this year. Our own ScuttleMonkey will be there, and should have some sort of first hand impressions for us when he returns from the wilds of the west. Relatedly, MMORPG.com has a lengthy look at the Battlegrounds, analyzing what works and what doesn't in Blizzard's PvP emporiums. Finally (and confusingly), Battle.net seems to indicate that some sort of announcement should be coming our way today. Update: 10/07 23:13 GMT by Z : As discussed in the comments, the "new thing" for today was a redesign of the battle.net site.

More information continues to become available from the X05 event. Spitfire15 writes "id Software has announced a new Wolfenstein game coming onto the Xbox 360. During Peter Moore's section of X05's keynote speech he introduced id Software's Todd Hollenshead to the stage. As soon as he got on he unexpectedly announced that id Software and Raven Software were already underway with the next installment of the Wolfenstein series." Additionally, Bioware groupie writes "Today Bioware announced a new science fiction action-rpg that is already in development, Mass Effect. It will only be released for the Xbox 360 with no PC port planned and it's promising photo-realistic graphics, squad based gameplay, and continuous character development." Both titles won't make the launch window. The launch titles themselves are still up in the air, a little more than a month before the console launches. Gamespot reports: "In an effort to clear up the confusion, GameSpot asked David Reid, director of platform marketing for the Xbox, what the exact 360 launch lineup is. He said that 'there will be 15 to 20 Xbox 360 titles available on launch day' with around another half-dozen making it to market by the end of the year."

e03179 writes "According to Reuters, 'the Oscar-winning creative team behind the The Lord of the Rings films, including director Peter Jackson, has been named to run the production of the upcoming film based on Microsoft Corp.'s blockbuster Halo video game, the company said on Tuesday.' The film will be shot in New Zealand and Jackson's production and post-production studios will be used. World-wide release is set for mid-2007 by Fox and Universal. The then rumor was started by Gamespot two weeks ago and was previously covered by Slashdot." Okay, *now* I'm interested. More details available on the Bungie site.

Gamespot's Rumor Control column this week handles the usual spurious talk that swirls around the game news sites. One (sadly) factual rumour they report on details gamer-hunting lawyer Jack Thompson's new role as a lawmaker. From the article: "Repeatedly, Thompson has called for states to pass laws criminalizing the sale of M-for-Mature rated games to minors. Now it appears he may get the chance to pen such a law himself. In an e-mail sent out Thursday, Thompson says he has 'been asked by the Office of the Governor of the State of Florida, Jeb Bush, to draft and submit to him and to Florida legislators a bill that will prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors.' ... When queried by GameSpot for more details, he would only say that he is the only person thus far who has been asked to submit a bill to the governor's office about M-rated game sales. He did not offer details about what kind of penalties the bill would prescribe for offenders or whether or not said penalties would be imposed solely on the clerks selling the games or also on the establishment selling the game and/or the game's publisher."

Gamespot is reporting that Xbox chief officer Robbie Bach expects half of all Xbox 360 owners to use the Live service. From the article: "Bach confirmed that currently, only 10 percent of Xbox owners--some 2 million users--subscribe to Xbox Live. With the addition of the free 'Silver' version of Xbox Live, Bach believes that about 50 percent of the console's owners will go online via the 360. However, they will still have to pay to play games online via the new Xbox Live Gold."

Gamespot is reporting that the price for Sony's next-gen console is still something being worked out. Additionally, we're not going to get the chance to play demos for the system until February of 2006. From the article: "When asked why there were no playable PS3 games at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, as previously promised by SCE president Ken Kutaragi, Saeki revealed that there was a long discussion inside Sony before the show opened. While many executives argued that it would be good for the public to play demos, eventually the decision was made to only show E3-style trailers, as it was the first time the PS3 was being shown publicly in Japan. When asked if there would be any changes to the February PS3 event where playable demos will be on hand, Saeki did not respond directly. However, he did say that SCE is planning something for the event that is sure to be a 'major' surprise. "

Gamespot is reporting on an article from the WSJ, stating that id software turned down a takeover bid by Activision earlier this year. Former employee Adrian Carmack, who was let go around that time, now states that his termination from the company was the result of a subtle ousting by the other owners. From the article: "... it is Carmack's contention that the other id owners deliberately rejected all of Activision's offers so they could then fire him, thereby acquiring his shares for a fraction of what the publisher would have paid for them. He claims that his fellow co-owners, which control a combined 59 percent of id, began a death-of-a-1,000-cuts-style approach to force him out--closely monitoring his hours, stripping him of privileges, and denying him access to board-related documents. The other board members also ceased redistributing profits as dividends in 2004 (for the five years prior to that, Carmack had received approximately $3.5 million per year)." Coverage also available from Gamasutra.

MJXG writes "Gamespot has posted an article related to the adver-teasement Microsoft has set up at Origenxbox360.com. It seems that the counter will be hitting zero in less than 12 hours. It is speculated that once the zero-hour is reached, the site will open up with puzzles and riddles which may give away information or even prizes pertaining to the 360. Also from an article on xbox.ign.com, "In a somewhat shocking discovery, there is a Latin message written into one of the tree's lower branches. To view the message, zoom in a few times on the furthest left root near the bottom of the tree. The message reads 'in hoc spatio arbor noster floruit, fecundus pomis Elysii ignoti, quo in loco ludent electi, ab Originis angelis circumdati'. We consulted the IGN annals of ultimate intelligence and wisdom and came up with the following rough translation: 'In this place may our fertile tree bloom with fruits in strange elysium, where in the place of the chosen, angels surround the origin'." Something big is about to happen."

Sid Meier is a household name in gaming. Titles he's designed, such as Railroad Tycoon, Pirates!, and Civilization, are pillars in the history of PC gaming. This year the fourth chapter in the Civilization series of games is being released, and we have a great opportunity. Today we're asking for questions about design and philosophy to pass on to Mr. Meier. On Wednesday, we'll be asking for questions to give to the Civilization IV development team. That day you'll have the chance to ask technical questions about the moddability and design concepts that went into the game. For today, here's your opportunity to put questions to one of the most respected game designers in the industry. Keep them topical, and one question per post please. We'll pass on the ten best questions, his responses will go up as soon as we get them back.

Gamecloud has a piece on the moddability of Civilization IV. The article goes into detail about the numerous levels at which content creators can change the game of Civilization. From the article: "The next level offers Python and XML support, letting modders with more experience manipulate the game world and everything in it. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) files can be edited in standard text editors or in special XML file editors that have ease-of-use features like a grid view. Editing these files will allow players to tweak simple game rules and change or add content. For instance, they can add new unit or building types, change the cost of wonders, or add new civilizations." This is a more detailed look at a topic we've discussed before. Gamespot has a preview of the upcoming title, as well.