Games Digest

Video games are protecting children from the menace of evil TREES

The number of injuries sustained by children falling from trees has plummeted in recent years. The Times puts this down the fact that the “Xbox generation” of kids enjoys a life sedentary entertainment where shattered limbs and mouthfuls of broken teeth have no part to play.

But apparently this is a BAD THING. Usually newspapers and the rest of the mainstream media is obsessed with highlighting any potential damage a video game might do to a child’s fragile young mind but now, because games aren’t physically harming kids, we should be worried.

Children are now just as likely to injure themselves by falling out of bed as they are by putting their strength and agility to the test in the leafy heights of mother nature’s organic deathtraps living playgrounds. So councils and academics want things to change:

"We've got nothing against climbing trees, it can be a great way of kids learning to deal with risks,” says a spokesman from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. "We have asked ourselves whether it's better to break a wrist falling from a tree than developing Repetitive Strain Injury from playing computer games."

I dunno, is it?

Related posts: The Times on games, smack and teenage pregnancy | Ten wicked games children should avoid

More comparisons between gaming and smack: this time led by Dr Byron

I’ve never taken heroin. Even so, I’m pretty sure that gaming and class A drug abuse are very different things. Therefore it’s pretty odd that the two, err, ‘practises’ should come into close comparison on a TV show featuring Dr. Tanya Byron who so recently presented a very open and balanced review of the video games industry. It's not the first time such comparisons have been drawn, but at least last time it was just by a narrow minded old hack we could just take the piss out of.

Let’s not get over excited too quickly though: Byron does not DIRECTLY compare video game addiction with heroin addiction, but it was during the same program, ‘Am I Normal?’ which aired last night on BBC 2 (check it out here on iPlayer), that issues over heroin addiction along with video game addiction were discussed.

Arguably there’s not really a problem with that; there have been several reported cases of ‘addicted’ gamers causing harm to themselves by simply refusing to put down the mouse and keyboard and MMOs are normally to blame. I’ve personally met a few people online whose obsessions have seemed unhealthy – one guy I met playing World of Warcraft when it first launched who claimed to have taken psychological leave from his job just so he could play more. Can’t be sure he wasn’t fibbing, but he certainly played more than anyone with a job could possibly have done.

But on the other hand, as gaming gains a foothold in popular culture, is it really fair or wise, reasonable or responsible to use a prime time TV documentary to mix together graphic images of drug taking paraphernalia and video gaming? Not really.

Dr Byron’s experts weren’t up to much either. One was counsellor Stephen Noel-Hill, a recovering gambling addict who now runs a clinic in Amsterdam for video games ‘addicts’. Funnily enough, he “believed computer gaming has become an addiction every bit as pernicious as more conventional drugs”. How odd that he should think that when he charges two and a half grand a week to help these ‘addicts’ recover.

The MMO addict wheeled out for the cameras was one Michelle Hart, 39, who spends most of life – when not working – playing World of Warcraft. But is Ms Hart really endangering herself with her ‘addiction’? Is it ever going to drive her to theft or render her homeless or affect her job? Clearly not if it has not done so in the past two years she has been playing.  In fact her greatest crime it seemed was to struggle to decide between going to the pub with her mates or carrying on the game.

“People have said to me come out for drink or something and there’s always that questions: do I want to go out and drink or stay in and play?"

Fine, so her online ‘addiction’ is interfering with her normal social interaction. But let’s look at this another way. Imagine she wasn’t talking about video gaming – a scary new entertainment medium that is met each day with terrifying new sensationalist headlines. Imagine that she just watched a lot of telly.

“People have said to me come out for drink or something and there’s always that questions: do I want to go out and drink or stay in and [watch TV]?"

Kind of sounds like a pretty normal decision to me (and assuming there was ever anything but shite soap operas and daft documentaries on, it might even warrant some serious thought).

I don’t want to argue that there is no such thing as a video games addiction – I’ve seen enough to know that obsession can result in harm to a player’s social and probably even mental welfare. I just think it’s utterly unfair to muddy this discussion with other far more serious addictions like heroin and gambling, whose existence is clearly documented and has considerably more readily available sufferers who genuinely SUFFER and experts who don’t have a vested financial interested in blowing their own trumpet.

Games addiction <i>should</i> be given greater study to determine whether it is a true phenomena or merely the visible manifestation of an inner psychological problem. It would seem more responsible to consider it in its own right though without tarring it under the same brush as intravenous drug use. I thought Dr Tanya Byron would be the first person to understand that. Apparently not.

Source
MCV

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“Huge digital generational divide” prompts Byron to propose a mandatory age rating system for UK games

Interplay officially planning Fallout MMO and return of other classic series

It has been rumoured for a while, it has even been confirmed officially, but now Interplay is definitely back, baby, and firing off important sounding press releases to financial types. Check it out:

“2007 set the foundation for our growth strategy. Going forward, we have the vision, unique intellectual property, and low debt and operational costs to help us pursue financing for our various projects,” said Interplay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Herve Caen.

Heck, there’s enough buzzwords in there to make any sound minded venture capitalist erupt in fountain of investmentgasms.

Why is Interplay on the up and up? Well, it sold off the Fallout 3 IP to Bethesda (creators of Oblivion) for a cool $5.75 mil, and, because they don’t look like they’re about to balls it up completely, that paves the way rather neatly for a Fallout MMO, which Interplay still owns the IP for.

That’s going to take a really serious wad of cash to bring to fruition, so: “at the same time, the company will leverage its portfolio of gaming properties by creating sequels to some of its most successful games, including Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Descent, and MDK.”

Descent! Holy wow – I hope so. Some of those others will do too I expect. Keep your eyes peeled on the Interplay website for a grand relaunch which will confirm what the company is up to.

Source
Gaming Today

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Rubbish game has rubbish ads banned in UK - Kane & Lynch related

As you may gather from the header, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Kane & Lynch. I find its immature storyline and archaic gameplay style astonishingly dull and seriously offensive to us modern gamers.

Well, it’s yet more bad news for Eidos – apart from the sales figures mind you, as incredibly enough people are STILL stupid enough to pick up a copy – as the Advertising Standards Authority has banned UK television and print ads for the title.

It took a mere 26 complaints to force ASA’s hand, stating that “The majority of the complainants believed (the) ad was offensive, because it included shocking images, which condoned violence, particularly towards women.”

If you’ve seen either ad, you’ll see their point, as it is a pretty graphic advertisement indeed. One of those created to cause a little disruption rather than show what the games all about. Though why it’s taken this long after the games release to make the final decision beggars belief. Either way, the games crap.

Source: Eurogamer

Related posts: Rubbish games sell - Kane & Lynch sells over a million,  Eidos fakiny Kane & Lynch reviews, scores? 

Gerstmann speaks on his firing - refuses to comment further

Well it seems that the whole Gerstmann/Gamespot has finally come its natural conclusion. In an interview with GamesRadar, Gerstmann has been talking about his unceremonious departure from Gamespot after 11 years of service.

Speaking on potential jobs after his spectacular departure, Gertsmann almost finally admitted that his termination wasn’t quite as amicable as we’d been led to believe. “Well, it was really kind of weird, because I was fired, and kind of went home, decided to sit on the couch and just mope for a while I guess, because, you know, it's a pretty soul crushing thing to have happen, to lose your job.”

Sadly he’s reluctant to let on too many details due to the entire legal situation, so chances are this is just about as much as we’re even likely to know. But at least we’re finally firmly aware that this split wasn’t quite as safe and simple as Gamespot would have us believe.

Source: GamesRadar

Related posts: Gamespot: Gerstmann's firing was "purely for internal reasons", CNET finally respond to Gamespot reviews editors departure

 

The Times compares video games to “smack and teenage pregnancy”...

... but let’s not take this out of context; Giles Whittell, author of this latest source of gamer ire is content to slap these things all together under the same banner, seeing them as little more than a “colossal waste of time”.

And there was me thinking that this was just another off-hand, ill-informed dismissal of an increasingly popular leisure activity as a perilous blight on society. Oh and a great way of scoring internet traffic off a defensive, often scorned, easily roused, and thriving internet community.

It’s okay though. Mr Whittell just doesn’t like games. Actually he “hates them, on or offline”, and “the way they suck real people into fake worlds and hold on to them for decades at a time”. Seems I’ve been playing the wrong games – my attention is rarely held for more than a few months and only then if it is something particularly spectacular. Sometimes not even then – I breezed through Bioshock in less than a week and haven’t had time or particular inclination to go back to it since. I may well do, but that’ll be what... another week. *gasp*.

Or does he mean games in general? In which case, true, I have been hooked into these fake worlds for nearly two decades. Of course the magic of cinema and literature have also had that degrading affect on me too. I’ve not tried chasing the dragon or knocking up my teenage girlfriend, but if they’re in the same league, sign me up.

However, it’s far more wholesome to “overdose on wind, rain, mud, gravy, tents, mountains and overcooked bacon”. That’s funny, as a child I did a lot of walking with my parents, a pursuit I still enjoy to this day. And I also had my nose stuck firmly to a Nintendo (and Atari Lynx upon occasion) and managed to finish all my homework too. Am I some kind of unwitting multitasking GOD?

In the end it’s pointless getting worked up about this kind of shallow attempt to anger gaming enthusiasts – and don’t be mistaken, it is exactly that; it has no other purpose, otherwise the ridiculous drug abuse and teenage pregnancy angle would have been left in the bin where it belongs. I’ve no doubt that every single entertainment medium has suffered from the same level of ignorance over the centuries – why should games be any different? Mr Whittell is entitled to both his opinion and to decide whether he wants to bring his children up with or without the baleful influence of video games corrupting their impressionable young minds.

One thing I don’t actually agree with is the oft used argument that because gaming can only evolve to take a more important, influential role in society, to restrict children from playing them is in some way inhibiting their development. They are your kids, and it’s your money you have to spend if you decide to allow them access to the medium. If you don’t want to and restrict them without being completely unreasonable, that is your crack. It’s never too late to learn new skills after all, and who’s to say that gaming in ten years will even remotely reflect the way it looks today.

Source
The Times

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It’s WAR!!! War with Canada! How dare they be so reasonable?!?

Do you know what makes me sick? It’s other countries treating games companies like they’re worth something. As though they’re an immensely important part of a budding entertainment medium. As though they’re a valuable part of our digital heritage. The nerve of it!

But do you know who’s the worst? Bloody Canada! And to think it’s part of our great Commonwealth too. Is this – THIS – how they choose to repay us? By giving TAX BREAKS to deadbeat games designers. I’ve become so stuck between choking with rage and spitting with anger that I’m in danger of soiling myself.

Thankfully someone in the UK has the nerve to stand up to these Canadian upstarts: The UK’s Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport has started an investigation into the legality of Canada’s tax incentives for games studios. They “may not be compatible with World Trade Organization principles” a filthy rag called The Vancouver Sun admitted callously before publically acknowledging a passing level designer. On the street. Disgusting.

In response to this horrific display of pro-gaming incentives, some layabout UK games studios claimed that they’d like some tax incentives to help keep them competitive. And maybe some meat with their gruel. Well don’t worry – they aren’t getting either tax breaks or gruel.

Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism minister Margaret Hodge has declared that it would be far more worthwhile to consult the legality of the Canadian offer via the World Trade Organisation than to consider the possibility of a tax break. In fact by the time they had all finished laughing the suggestion from the room, everyone needed a good long sit down.

Source
Develop

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Tabloid offers cash for stories on "how computer games turned you to crime"

A “job post” at a media/entertainment jobs website is asking for people to talk about how gaming has turned their lives to a crime ridden mess in exchange for “hundreds of pounds.”

“A national newspaper wants your story and will pay hundreds of pounds to the right person,” opens the offering, getting the promise of money in right from the off. It continues. “Write a few lines about how computer games turned you to crime and if it's something we like, we'll call you straight back.”

In other words, the tabloids are after a few juicy stories to splash across the front pages during the run up to the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, and they fancy something with a bit of “truth” behind it rather than the meaningless dross they usually offer up.

Sadly the site itself requires registration and a subscription fee in order to submit a response, meaning that my original idea of flooding said site with a mass of gaming related tales of woe will sadly remain unfulfilled.

But next time you see some scum from societies lowest rung shouting how Grand Theft Auto turned them into drug crazed, car thieving, murdering tosser, just remember this little advert. Good old British journalism. Best in the world.

“Huge digital generational divide” prompts Byron to propose a mandatory age rating system for UK games

As promised, the Byron Review arrived this morning to the squawking of many a news outlet. Unfortunately for thetabloids who were no doubt looking for a vitriolic tirade against the evil of video games, Dr Byron’s report was refreshingly even handed and clearly had a good idea of what it’s talking about.

If we learned anything from the Manhunt 2 saga and the constant barrage of false accusations gaming is subjected to in the mainstream press, there’s a problem with the current ratings system. Dr Byron claims this stems from a “huge digital generational divide” which basically means that children are running virtual rings around their parents who don’t have the first idea of what they’re buying, what their kids are playing, and who’s supposed to be ensuring it’s safe.

This is how the Byron Review proposes to tackle it:

• Introduce a mandatory age-rating system for all games, to be handled by the BBFC
• Ensure that retailers defying the age-rating are punished appropriately
•  Make age ratings on the game boxes larger and clearer
•  Ensure that in situations where there is a risk of actual harm, restrictions can be adequately enforced
•  PEGI will continue to rate 3+ and 7+ titles.

As you can see there’s little to get over-excited about. Well, The Times still found something, and that’s given at least some excuse to poke fun, but apart from that it’s almost depressingly easy to swallow.

Probably the most important aspect of the review is the call for greater education for parents and guardians on not just the risks of this new digital world, but also the huge benefits to be gained from it.

"You would not send your child to the pool without teaching them to swim, so why would you let them online without teaching them to manage the risks?" Dr Byron said.

Along the same lines, Byron argued against the notion that games desensitize players to violence and accusations that violent games are harmful to children. However she does point out that though the links between the factors have so failed to be demonstrated in scientific study, the fact is it is hard to do so without stepping into extremely murky ethical territory.

Unfortunately, as level-headed as the review may be, it is actually up to the government as to how it intends to interpret and enforce it. But from what you can read, there seems to be little reason at present to fear for the creative freedoms of the games industry.

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Ubisoft buys Tom Clancy’s name

Ubisoft has announced that it has acquired the intellectual property rights to the name Tom Clancy, the two magical words that turn any generic bit of semi-plausible modern terrorist bashing into a ‘geo-political’ masterpiece.

The precise details of the deal – such as how much the writer formerly known as Tom Clancy got paid for his good name – are being kept quiet. But we do know that Ubisoft now has the rights to the name for use in videogames and related products, which include books and movies.

The move has also proved a healthy one for Ubisoft share prices, prompting a 12% boost. There’s good reason for this too: Tom Clancy-based titles accounted for 30 percent of Ubisoft sales in its fiscal year through March 2007. The name was the fourth-best selling video-game brand in the U.S. in 2006, with sales of $161 million, according to Ubisoft. And the company stands to save $7.8 million each year in royalty payments now.

So look forward to an ever increasing list of Splinter Cells, Ghost Recons, Rainbow Sixes and of course the new IP, EndWar, in the coming months.

Source
GamesIndustry.biz

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Byron review to land on March 27th - which ratings system stands to win?

The UK government’s hotly anticipated study of the effect of video games (ant the internet, but that part seems to have been shunted aside), conducted by Dr Tanya Byron is due to be released on March 27th.

There’s an air of foreboding surrounding the study because it could have far reaching consequences for video games in the UK. It is expected, but by no means guaranteed that the report will propose a mandatory ratings system to be applied to all games in the UK.

So... BBFC or PEGI?

Depending on how you look at it, the BBFC seems to have utterly undermined itself in the months preceding the report. This was due to the Manhunt 2 controversy; twice the BBFC tried to ban it and yet following an appeal to the VAC and a High Court ruling, it has recently been granted classification. The BBC’s Darren Waters observes that this “leaves the organisation with its credibility bruised and battered.”

In the same light, anti-video game MP Julian Brazier has struck out at the VAC ruling and stated that “This shows once again that the BBFC and its appeals system do not meet the concerns of the public.” Well just a second there Julian... The BBFC did its damndest to try and keep the game off Britain’s shelves. It’s hardly its fault that it doesn’t have autocratic rule over the whole system, and you know, that’s actually a good thing.

His idea is to introduce a public appeals process to overturn decisions made by the BBFC. Sorry gamers, looks like you won’t be playing that game you were looking forward to. Turns out an angry mob of Daily Mail readers heard it give you points for raping seal cubs and they’ve said no.

Anyway, back to the, err, point. BBFC or PEGI? Perhaps the BBFC’s credibility has been left in tatters. Certainly the bitterness with which it treated the VAC’s decision wasn’t enormously professional. But there’s a chance that given the political climate, its strong moral stance will stand it in good stead. PEGI meanwhile has just kept its head down other than to say ‘We rate games as games, not as films, which the BBFC does”. Sure, which is why the BBFC blocked Manhunt 2 and not Hostel 3.

But why would you want the BBFC to take full control of games ratings? It did, after all attempt to censor a game recently and that isn’t exactly great for the industry. Well, unfortunately there are an awful lot of Daily Mail readers out there. All it takes is one crime with all but the most tenuous link to video games and suddenly you’d think that the devil himself presses them in the seventh layer of hell. If we want games to be accepted as a mature, sophisticated entertainment medium then we have to overcome the witch-hunting that surrounds them.

And for better or worse, the BBFC is the best chance of doing it. Sure PEGI is there for the purpose of rating games and games ratings only. Arguably that makes it more suitable. But which of the two has the more recognisable easy to follow ratings system. Frankly, very few people have the first inkling that there even is a PEGI rating system and its daft series of icons borders on useless.

Source
Kentonline, BBC, MCV, GamePolitics

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Government stays out of game / violence debate following Manhunt 2‘s successful appeal, says no conclusive evidence for the link

Government stays out of game / violence debate following Manhunt 2‘s successful appeal, says no conclusive evidence for the link

At the end of last week, Rockstar overturned a decision by the BBFC to refuse classification of the game, effectively banning it from sale in the UK. Following a High Court ruling, the Video Appeals Committee decided to grant the game classification. It could be on shelves as early as June.

Despite the fact that both the VAC and BBFC should, in theory, be working towards the very same goal, the BBFC maintained a significant air of bitterness about the ruling and reluctantly conceded that they had “no choice” but to grant classification now.

What’s most surprising is that although there’s a big juicy video games violence debate in here, the UK government has decided to stay out of it. "The classification of Manhunt 2 is a matter for the BBFC and the Video Appeals Committee," said a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

"It is important to note that there is no conclusive evidence of any link between playing computer games and violent behaviour in real life. Our concern is to make sure that inappropriate material is kept away from children."

I think we people of Britain can all unite in saying: “Who are you and what have you done with my government?”

This statement is particularly interesting given that we are not far off the much hyped Byron Report being published. This report has been subject to much speculation and it is currently believed that it will propose a mandatory video games ratings system for the UK. Importantly, this could be headed up either by the BBFC or PEGI.

Presumably the BBFC’s spat with Rockstar and the VAC hasn’t left it smelling of roses. I feel that it came out looking a little embittered and quite decidedly powerless. Or perhaps the fact that it stuck to its guns and stayed firm in its beliefs will reflect better on it in the long run. For now though it looks like any extreme content can get through the system as long as it complains loudly enough about it.

Anyway, the statement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport certainly doesn’t suggest that we’re on the brink of a major ratings upheaval or any serious tightening on video games’ content restrictions. Quite the opposite in fact.

Source
Eurogamer

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MP wants more censorship, claims games let players “rape women”

Remember Keith Vaz? Yes, he’s the one often referred to as the UK’s answer to a certain Miami Attorney. Naturally, while the US gets one impassioned, borderline obsessive cap able of turning anyone’s personal tragedy into his own political agenda with terrifying speed, we get one slightly grubby little man who’s record player appears to have broken a long while ago.

At this politically sensitive time for video games, Vaz has stepped up in support of a new private member’s bill fronted by Conservative Julian Brazier to insert a new level of censorship into the games ratings procedure. It works like this: should the group decide they don’t like one game in particular, they can delay until the BBFC dances to their tune. Cunning.

Alas for the bill (which sounds like yet another pathetic example of the state attempting to nanny us), Keith Vaz weighed in with his best shot – claiming that video games allow players to simulate rape. Can’t say I’ve played that one.

Here’s the whole rambling statement in full:

“Someone sitting at a computer playing a video game, or someone with one of those small devices that young people have these days, the name of which I forget— [Interruption.] PlayStations or PSPs, something of that kind. [Interruption.]

"Well, whatever they are called, when people play these things, they can interact. They can shoot people; they can kill people. As [Julian Brazier] said, they can rape women."

Clearly Keith is so committed to his cause that he knows there’s no need to bother finding out what these wacky video games consoles are called, or what people play on them. He knows injustice when he sees it and his campaign has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with scaremongering his way to winning the odd Daily Mail reader vote. No sirree.

MP Edward Vaizey later called into question the rape statement but, because Keith Vaz had already left the building, could not receive a satisfactory answer. The BBFC was not aware of any such game.

However, Brazier attempted to defend the ridiculous statement by neatly changing the subject to that of Vaz’s famous Manhunt case. This refers to the tragic murder of Stefan Pakeerah, in which Vaz claims that Manhunt played an influencing role in motivating the killers.

This time, Margaret Hodge (Minister of State (Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport) stepped in and pointed out the one glaring hole in the Manhunt argument: that the game was found in the victim’s possession and not the killer’s.

Source
SPOnG

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Games > Music, closing in on DVDs too

The Entertainment Retailer’s Association has revealed some quite shocking, but pleasing statistics: in the UK, revenue from games sales is beating that of music. That makes it second only to the DVD movie industry but even that isn’t far off.

The high street music retail industry is obviously being hard hit by the growing trend for (legal) music downloads.  Meanwhile, the price of DVDs are dropping in price fairly rapidly. We can’t even be that far off having a decent online movie download system similar to that enjoyed by music either, although there’s still the introduction of Blu-ray to consider.

But what I want to know is when will high street retailers acknowledge this to the point that the whole ground floor of HMV or Virgin Zavvi will be turned over for racks upon racks of console and PC games? That would be a sight to behold. I’d almost miss the quiet little basement back rooms that games are normally confined too.

Source
MCV

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Havok Cloth and Havok destruction unveiled

Havok, the bods behind the physics in a whole host of games, have shown off a couple of neat looking tools at GDC- Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction. As their names suggest, they deal with the simulation of cloth and destructible materials respectively.

For the full story, see xboxer.tv

Source:
Kotaku

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Hardcore games should be the niche, says PlayFirst boss

PlayFirst Boss John Welch believes that casual games should be the mainstay of the gaming industry, with hardcore games a niche. Speaking at GDC, he stated that "The point here is we have the opportunity to elevate video games to become a first-tier form of entertainment, like TV. We will have succeeded when casual games goes away as a category, and hardcore games is the niche."

For more, see xboxer.tv

Source:
Gamespot via Eurogamer

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PEGI warns UK Government against ‘cinema-style’ ratings for games

The Interactive Software Federation Board has issued a stark warning to UK PM Gordon Brown against dropping its widely recognised PEGI ratings in favour of cinema style ratings. This comes after last week’s Guardian report that, on the back of the Byron Review, the government would be changing the way games ratings work so that titles would require a legally-enforceable rating, hotly tipped to be handled by the BBFC.

Speaking to trade mag, MCV, ISFE director general Patrice Chazerand said “It’s a step backwards. “If we are to see a move to movie-like classification, I would see it as a mistake.”

Chazerand’s argument that games are not the same as movies is compelling and sensibly questions why the BBFC would be better equipped to handle the ratings responsibility. However, it is clear that fears of losing business are part of the equation too – Chazerand also argues that “If [the UK] Government goes for a national solution over a pan-European one, I would take it as a blow to PEGI and not a reflection of the industry being global”.

There have been more than a few cases of games receiving different rating in different European countries – Germany’s USK, for example, has a far stricter stance on video game violence than most. It is clear that different cultures have wildly differing attitudes towards many of the most taboo video game subjects – such as violence, nudity and drug use – and there is a strong argument that a pan-European rating system wouldn’t be an appropriate solution for all.

Obviously we’d like to live in a society where all video games were universally accepted, where games designers could be free to express themselves without fear of censorship or risking unintentionally offending someone. But it is also clear that there is a growing distrust surrounding games and that a stricter ratings legislation may help reassure those parents deceived by sensationalist headlines that video games are not a set of evil, mind warping digital narcotics hell-bent on the corruption of the young.

Not only that, but the BBFC has already been handling some of the more controversial cases – such as Manhunt 2 – and despite Rockstar’s objections it has done a reasonably well balanced job.

We will need to wait for the official arrival of the Byron report to see what will really be done, but with its implications being such a hot topic of discussion, is it really likely that the government would pass up the opportunity to score a few points?

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Fresh hints at a legally backed games rating system for the UK

Adding fuel to the news leaked by Scotland on Sunday last week, The Guardian has chimed in with its own claims that the UK government is gearing up to introduce a “legally enforceable cinema-style classification system” for video games. This legislation would make it illegal for shops to sell games to children under the recommended age.

Given what we’ve heard so far, it is highly likely that the Byron Report, findings from which are due to be released in March, will be the basis for this move.

Currently, video games sold in the UK have two age ratings. The BBFC rating is similar to that which is used on films, and is legally binding for retailers. However, only the minority of games receive this classification (which makes you wonder how Manhunt 2 managed to get in so much hot water). The rest use the Europe-wide PEGI system.

With supposed connections between video games and violence periodically surfacing in the mainstream media, a stricter age-rating system might help calm the fears of misled parents. But given that the BBFC system is already in place and in use, it doesn’t seem likely that making classification a legal responsibility would do much to change the status quo. We expect to hear more on this plan once the Byron report is completed.

 

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Fresh hints at a legally backed games rating system for the UK

Adding fuel to the news leaked by Scotland on Sunday last week, The Guardian has chimed in with its own claims that the UK government is gearing up to introduce a “legally enforceable cinema-style classification system” for video games. This legislation would make it illegal for shops to sell games to children under the recommended age.

Given what we’ve heard so far, it is highly likely that the Byron Report, findings from which are due to be released in March, will be the basis for this move.

Currently, video games sold in the UK have two age ratings. The BBFC rating is similar to that which is used on films, and is legally binding for retailers. However, only the minority of games receive this classification (which makes you wonder how Manhunt 2 managed to get in so much hot water). The rest use the Europe-wide PEGI system.

With supposed connections between video games and violence periodically surfacing in the mainstream media, a stricter age-rating system might help calm the fears of misled parents. But given that the BBFC system is already in place and in use, it doesn’t seem likely that making classification a legal responsibility would do much to change the status quo. We expect to hear more on this plan once the Byron report is completed.

 

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Fears mounting that PM will use ‘Byron Review’ for gaming crackdown

A leak from Whitehall – as reported by Scotland on Sunday and subsequently MCV – is sparking fears that Gordon Brown is about to start an aggressive anti-gaming campaign. This will come as part of the conclusion of the Byron Report, Dr Tanya Byron’s industry and society focussed investigation into the effects of video gaming and – portion regularly overlooked – the internet on Britain’s children.

Despite most parties considering Dr Byron’s approach to be about as reasonable and rational as they come, there seem to be concerns within the industry that the PM might want to spin this differently or in such a way that might imply the industry wasn’t in agreement with the report. Certainly Brown has not been shy about scoring cheap political points off video game violence over the past few weeks, but not in any explicit way. But with fears of Britain’s knife and gang cultures mounting, maybe the temptation to bow to tabloid mentalities and blame it all on The Evil Video Games with be too much to resist.

However, no official announcement has been made yet and we’re optimistic that if Dr Byron’s review is the fair, open minded report it was shaping up to be then any torch and pitchfork approach would be pretty wide of the mark. The most we can really expect is that video games will be subject to compulsory age ratings – possibly through the BBFC – just as films are now, meaning stricter adherence to age guidance. In the end that’s only a good thing for the industry and it might put a dampener on some of the more hysterical elements in the press.

Source
MCV

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Fancy yourself as a game designer? YoYo Games offers prizes for the best examples of indie gaming genius

Ever sat back and criticised the latest alleged multi-million dollar piece of gaming genius, and proudly proclaimed that “you could do better”? Well, now is your chance to give it a try as YoYo Games have announced their latest gaming competition, with $1,000 to go to the best.

YoYo Games, in simple terms, is a bit like YouTube, but instead of millions of rubbish guitar players ruining some classic tracks, it gives the chance for indie gaming developers to upload their own creations for the rest of the world to enjoy.

This latest competition challenges you talented folks to create a “casual game” that is some way utilises “ancient civilization” as a theme. In other words, you’ve an obscene amount of scope available to craft your own little slice of gaming brilliance, and aim for the top prize.

Not only will the game judged the best achieve the $1,000 prize (with second claiming $500, and third $250) but it’ll be proudly displayed on the YoYo Games site along with over 12,000 other titles that have been created in under a year of going live.

In other words, if you’re a budding young game creator, get registered and give it a go. And if you do, be sure to post in the comments to this post and let us take a peek at what you can do.

Source: YoYo Games

Halo wars not bound for PC, says Microsoft

Microsoft's responded to the recent rumours that Halo Wars will be making an appearance on the PC and will feature cross-platform play. Speaking to IGN, Microsoft indicated that there were no plans to develop for Vista, stating that "Halo Wars is being developed from the bottom up for the Xbox 360 and its control scheme to ensure that we deliver a groundbreaking console RTS experience."

For more, see xboxer.tv

Source:
IGN via CVG

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More Portal on the way

In an unsurprising turn of events, Valve's Doug Lombardi recently revealed that we haven't seen the last of the Portal universe. Speaking to Eurogamer, he stated that ""There'll be more Portal, for sure. But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."

For the full story, go on over to xboxer.tv

Source:
Eurogamer

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Gamers could graduate to 360 from Wii says Microsoft's Jeff Bellcould

Microsoft exec Jeff Bell thinks that the success of the Wii could be a good thing, going so far as to say he's "thankful that the Wii has been able to open up a lot of people's minds that gaming is fun for everyone." He added that "We're positioning ourselves to be ready if, in fact, gamers find they're ready to graduate from a certain experience potentially with the Wii, either because it's limited on the type of gameplay that's available or the technology in that box."

For the full story, see Xboxer.tv

Source:
1UP via CVG

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First Alone in the Dark gameplay footage hits web

The first gameplay footage of Alone in the Dark has hit the web, with this latest trailer showcasing the title's impressive looking physics, first person gameplay and rather neat looking inventory system. For a full set of impressions, head on over to xboxer.

Source:
Xbox360Fanboy

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This week's top ten in gaming for the UK

The top ten charts for the UK have just been posted courtesy of Chart Track, and Nintendo are having a predictably good time of it, with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games taking first place, Brain Training and More Braining Training for the DS taking second and third respectively and Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii in fourth. The 360 version of Call of Duty 4 rounds off the top five. For an Xbox 360 centric look at the charts...

Read the full story at xboxer

Source:
Kotaku

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Duke Nukem on Xbox Live Arcade soon?

PC classic Duke Nukem 3D could be on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade in a matter of months, according to a story over at IGN. Citing "sources close to 3D Realms," an XBLA version of Duke Nukem 3D is due over the "next several months." Apparently it'll feature four player co-op, as well as eight player death match.

For more on this story, see xboxer.tv

Source:
IGN via Kotaku

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Left 4 Dead slated 4 late summer release

According to a recent story on Shacknews, we can expect to see zombie blaster Left 4 Dead appearing on PCs and Xbox 360s in "late summer." The game, developed by Turtle Rock studios, makes used of Valve's Source Engine,  Players will able to co-operate together to fend off zombie hordes, or switch over and terrorize human players by playing as zombies.

For the full story, see xboxer.tv

Source:
Shacknews via Eurogamer

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Answer the Call of Duty (4: Modern Warfare) from your Mac in May

It’s all very well Apple creating all these eight core Mac Pros running ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics cards if there’s no decent games to play on them. Hell, at that rate you might even have to start using them for work or something. Bleurgh. Mercifully, you won’t even want to think about designing fancy 3D graphics or compiling high definition videos very soon as you’ll be able to get down to some serious FPS gaming.

Asphyr Media has just announced that it will be bringing the third Infinity Ward (that’s the devs that make the good ones) CoD title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, to the Apple systems from May. And that’ll give you unfettered access to the intense online battlefield and possibly without the bugs and niggles that have been marring the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 experience.

It joins the likes of EA’s Spore that are on the admittedly sparse list of new games heading Mac-ward. I can’t help but think that audience will be fairly limited though, as surely all the really dedicated Mac gamers would just be circumventing the problem by using boot camp.

Source
Kotaku

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WGA announces nominees for best 'Videogame Writing'

Ever wondered which are the games that feature the best writing? Well wonder no more as the Writers Guild of America has announced its nominees in the ‘Videogame Writing’ category.

Only 5 games make up the full compliment, with the awards to be announced on Saturday, February 9^th.

2 PC only titles (at least PC only as it stands right now) make the cut, with stunningly good looking RTS World in Conflict, and glorious moral obsessed action-RPG The Witcher apparently the best examples of videogame writing for 2007.

As for the consoles, quirky PSP actioner Dead Head Fred makes an appearance, as does The Simpsons Game, and oddly, Crash of the Titans.

Fantastic to see game writing receiving some recognition, but surely there are better examples of writing out there? Half-Life for example? Or how about Mass Effect? Or Call of Duty 4? Or even Bioshock?

Source: WGA

Rubbish games sell – Kane & Lynch sells over a million

It’s always distressing when a stunningly wonderful title fails at retail. You know, when that absolute classic somehow manages to be neglected by the gaming masses, and disappears off the shelves quicker than a magazine featuring the first fully naked shots of Scarlet Johansson. And I don't mean in same great - oh my, we've sold a MILLION copies of this in just over an hour - way.

But it’s equally irritating when a load of tosh manages to still make masses of cash despite its well publicised rubbish-ness. Which means I’m more than a little saddened to hear that the terrible Kane & Lynch: Dead Men has managed to shift over one million copies so far.

Word from SCi seem to hint towards this success pointing towards the potential for this to be the start of a brand new franchise. So we can expect more of this tripe. I place the blame squarely on you daft sods you picked up a copy for making me lose a little more faith in the trends of the great gaming public.

Just think. Instead of that rubbish, you could have bought Call of Duty 4. Or Uncharted. Or Ratchet and Clank. Or Halo 3. Of FIFA 08. Or Guitar Hero 3. Or even a bloody Atari 2600 with a huge bundle of games. Come on people. Show some sense.

Source: Next-Gen

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Goldeneye 64, original Perfect Dark rumoured to be heading for Xbox Live Arcade

The latest round of net rumours -this time courtesy of Xbox Evolved- claim that Rare's planning on releasing the original Goldeneye 64 later this year on Xbox Live Arcade, complete with Xbox Live functionality and updated graphics. Apparently, Banjo Kazooie and the original Perfect Dark are also in the works.

Source:
Kotaku

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BioShock 2 to be a prequel?

2K Games has refused to comment on the latest set of rumours that a BioShock successor would in fact be a prequel to the original, depicting the fall of the city of Rapture. Orginating from Czech site Hrej, the game's supposedly in pre-production and is slated for a 2009 release. 2K Games has replied stating that it had "nothing to announce at all."

For more, see xboxer.tv

Source:
videogamer.com

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FIFA 08 obliterates PES 2008 in sales during 2007

The biggest selling games of 2007 have finally been announced, and there are a number of major victories for the likes of EA, Nintendo, Microsoft, and even THQ.

The biggest victory, however, has to be for football fans everywhere. With the Pro Evolution Soccer series stagnating with this years shocking effort, it’s absolutely fantastic to see that FIFA 08 claims the top selling spot, way ahead of forth placed Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

Fellow EA title, The Simpsons Game, heads in at number 7, just behind the hefty selling Xbox 360 exclusive Halo 3. Nintendo claim three separate places in the top ten, with the original Brain Training standing tall at number 2, More Brain Training coming in at 5, and Wii Play sneaking in at number 8 thanks to the inclusion of the rare Wii Remote.

 The sublime Call of Duty 4 places well at number 3, with Assassin’s Creed and WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2008 rounding out the top ten. We’d love to give you some figures, but ELSPA hold the copyright, and we don’t want to get on their wrong side.

 

1. FIFA 08 (EA)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
5. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
6. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
7. The Simpsons Game (EA)
8. Wii Play (Nintendo)
9. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
10. WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008 (THQ)

Source: GamesIndutry

Metal Gear Solid 4 360 rumoured, again

A fresh set of Metal Gear Solid 4 multiplatform rumours are making their rounds on the net, with a recent story at website XboxFamily claiming a Konami distribution rep has told them that an Xbox 360 version is due to follow 12-14 months after the PS3 release.

For the full story, see xboxer.tv

Source:
XboxFamily via Kotaku

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Jade Empire 2 on the way?

There are signs that a new Jade Empire game is on the way, according to a recent post by Mercury News Writer Dean Takahashi. Writing on his blog, he stated that “I talked with someone who saw code for Jade Empire 2. It's coming for he Xbox 360, and it's real. It's not much as far as scoops go, but I'm on vacation. What do you expect? Happy New Year."

For more, go on over to xboxer.tv

Source:
Mercury News via CVG

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eEmp

Tales from the other side of the counter – Xmas edition

The traditional holiday rush has reached its peak, and finally folks seem to be more eager to stay at home in the warm, rather than brave the high street to nab that last pair of socks for granddad.

From the other side of the counter – the poor sods working their fingers to the bone for barely any more than minimum wage – things have been a little intriguing, and a whole heap frustrating.

The insane popularity of the two Nintendo consoles rose to yet another peak, with stock levels being back to 0 within a few minutes of arriving in store. Not that most understand that stock is almost impossible to receive, as numerous parents who finally realise that their spoilt brats aren’t going to receive their number one present descend into rudeness, and pathetic shouts to shop staff that they’ve single handedly “ruined Christmas,” for little Johnny. The stupid sods.

The Xbox 360 continued to sell in steady numbers, with the Premium being the top seller due to some wickedly cheap priced bundles lumping in the likes of Halo 3 and *spits* Need For Speed: ProStreet. The ‘Arcade Pack’ remained on the shelves with not a single unit changing hands. As for the Elite console, it’s not too shocking to discover that only a few folks were happy to shell out the extra cash for a bigger hard drive.

Sony have had a good run the closer Christmas came, with sales of the PSP suddenly rivalling the 360 for seemingly no apparent reason. Maybe a case of kids having to plump for their ‘second choice’ with DS’s all sold out? As for the PS3, the rush after the still fairly recent price-cut slowly calmed down and current sales are neck-and-neck with the Premium 360.

Games wise, the usual suspects were the biggest sellers. The various SingStar titles sold by the truckload, though the PS3 iteration remained merely a steady seller. The delightful FIFA 08, and the rubbish Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 also sold in hefty numbers, as did the PS3 Tomb Raider-a-like Uncharted as word spread of its absolute genius. The various Guitar Hero iterations shifted in ridiculous numbers too, particularly at its cheap price point.

The good taste award goes to DS owners who snapped up numerous copies of the sublime Hotel Dusk literally minutes after the stock hitting the shelves. Good on those folks eager for a decent yarn. Bad taste award goes to those DS owners who actually purchased the various ‘Imagine’ titles, featuring the likes of ‘Babies’ and ‘Fashion Designers’. Blimey. Any old crap really will shift at this time of year wont it?

So, the big winners are essentially the retailers who have done astonishing figures the last few weeks. The losers are the shop workers, who have all the idiots attempting to return titles they purchased elsewhere on Boxing Day, still to look forward to. Fantastic.

 

UK games sales jump 25 percent in 2007

The rapid rise of video games has continued through 2007 as the year goes down as the biggest ever for the UK. ChartTrack expects that around 78 million games will have been sold by the end of 2007 – a whopping 25% year-on-year increase – with the biggest sales coming, unsurprisingly, in these last few weeks. The third quarter – I’m guessing that the enormous Halo 3 has no small part to play in this – was also a particular highlight, with revenues leaping up by a staggering 36 percent to over £330 million.

ELSPA Direct General, Paul Jackson said “Gaming is now enjoyed by everyone, young and old, male and female.  Interactive entertainment is now truly mass market, and this is just the beginning of a period of real sustained growth.”

All this bodes well for the future of games as the industry continues to establish itself alongside longer running industries such as music and movies. The increased revenues from games is also encouraging from a developer and publisher’s perspective as it means that the escalating costs of games development will have a better chance of reaping a profit. This is in turn good for gamers who want to see more original content as it puts less pressure on these companies to depend on long running franchises to make their money back.

That said, 2007 was a great year for original IP, however, 2008 looks like it will be more a year of the sequel as more than a few big names are set to make a comeback. The likes of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Theft Auto 4 are destined to make a serious impact but hopefully this won’t risk eclipsing fresh thinking in games design.

Source
MCV

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MTV pins hopes on Jerry Bruckheimer and Hollywood thinking for future games production

MTV is clearly not messing about when it comes to getting involved with the games industry. And when I say ‘not kidding about’ I mean of course they are going to give it a liberal dousing in sticky wads of cash money. MTV’s grand scheme is this: they’ve signed Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer (you know the guy – think of a film or a TV show and chances are he’ll be pulling the strings somewhere) to produce games for them.

Mercifully, the new studio being created as a result of this deal will not be handling the shameless cash-ins that tie into many of Bruckheimer’s productions. Instead it will be handling brand new IP. We’re not sure what kind of IP, nor what kind of games or of which genre. But they shall be games! We’re almost 100% certain of that.

Part of me is appalled (but no surprised) that the shallow Hollywood model is being so obviously crowbarred onto games production. We’ve already seen more than our fair share of Hollywood-esque big budget productions that are all big explosions and steroid fuelled meatheads offering very little creativity or thought about evolving the video game medium. The last thing we need is even more budget and even meatier heads.

But those that I have enjoyed – such as Gears of War – I have done so not because of their blockbuster sheen but because I find the whole thing hilariously silly and slightly tongue-in-cheek. Too many on the same lines would get very old, very fast.

On the other hand, I’m actually really intrigued to see what will happen when Hollywood values and Hollywood budget are so liberally smeared on the games design process. No one’s going to make me buy them either when they inevitably turn out to be toss. But who knows, maybe something decent will come out of it.

Straight forward, linear (I’m wanting to say Hollywood-esque again here) approaches to games design, particularly when there’s a darned good storyline involved, are often enjoyable and have provided memorable moments in games gone by, but there’s a growing trend for games to move away from this restrictive narrative model (often towards Sandbox models) or at least to make it as secondary to other portions of the game (such as CoD4). Features like quality multiplayer, user customisation and player freedom are looking like they’ll be an increasingly important aspect of future titles and I’m not sure that Hollywood thinking is quite able to account for that.

Maybe I’m pre-judging this unfairly, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of it. Particularly if I can ridicule it for pissing money away on shallow unengaging movie wannabes.

Source
PaidContent

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Opinion: Facebook and OpenSocial gaming are changing the face of gaming, but consoles are the future

Over at our big brother-blog, Tech Digest, fellow editor Stuart Dredge writes; “the next title that's a true paradigm shift in gaming, won't be on a console or handheld device - it'll be on a social network.” I thought it only fair to offer some kind of reply to temper his blatant Facebook fanboyism with some of my own console-centric thoughts.

Facebook’s surge to global dominance has been the kind of thing that every would-be web entrepreneur dreams of. Its seemingly overnight success has been by no means impeded by the introduction of the Facebook Platform earlier in the year which opened the floodgates for all kinds of pointless time wasting applications that at least satisfy a Ludologist’s interpretation of gaming. For all the countless amounts of pure garbage, however, there are few shining gems. Tech Digest cites the recent arrival – Tower Bloxx – which made the leap from mobile phones to Facebook bringing with it new social networking features.

As you play Tower Bloxx and build up your score, the pictures of your Facebook friends are displayed on the side of the game window showing their scores and allowing you a more immediate feeling of satisfaction, plus the allure of potential bragging rights, as you pass.

This of course instantly doubles the appeal of the game as it generates a competition, not between you and some slack-jawed thirteen year on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but someone you actually know and haven’t wanted to throttle within ten seconds of meeting them.

Is this the future– the long sought Game 2.0, the place where social interaction and video gaming finally meet in blissful union – then? Hell no. Facebook’s elephant in the room, particularly when it comes to these games, is the fact there‘s actually no means of generating money or financially rewarding those whose applications do claw their way to the top of the dung heap.

As a result Facebook games will remain as little more than intensely budget pastimes, unable to evolve beyond bedroom programming. Not that there’s anything wrong with bedroom programming, which has itself been responsible for a more than significant number of truly brilliant games, but there is also an undeniable appeal in the bigger budget efforts involving teams of talented people working towards one goal.  While Facebook applications could be a great testing ground for new ideas, without real fiscal incentive or reward, they can’t hope to evolve much further than their current rudimentary status and are destined to sink into insignificance at around the same time as Facebook inevitably will – just as soon as we all start signing up to MybookSpace or Facebebo or whatever.

I’ll concede that Google's recently announced OpenSocial initiative, which is designed to be enjoyed over multiple social networking platforms, has a better chance of success, but as few players will presumably want to pay to play such games or be lumbered with intrusive advertising mechanisms, there remains the same lack of incentive to really push the boundaries of what can be done with the gaming medium.

That’s not to say that the social networking model has nothing to offer console gaming; there is a huge amount to be learned from the overwhelming popularity of games like Scrabulous (currently enjoying over half a million active users each day – as much or more than any big budget alien shooter can ever hope to achieve) and, more importantly, the way it is enjoyed.

So far all three of the current-gen consoles (Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3) have tried different ways to connect players in a social space. But it tends to be in a clunky impersonal way and, in one case, then charges you for the pleasure of it.

The true strength of the console platform is its potential to enhance gaming as an entertainment medium – not just in terms of graphical spectacle, but in narrative and gameplay and, yes, social interaction. While social networking platforms struggle to reward new thinking in game design, the console platforms also struggle to encourage it – a point epitomised by the sheer number of generic shooter titles and endlessly running sequels.

I’m confident though that, sooner or later, the console giants will wake up and smell the coffee, or risk labouring under their finite niches indefinitely, which, as the cost of development continues to rise, will be an increasing handicap. The social networking model provides an answer to that; giving players access to social space that it is contextually relevant to them and their real lives. Facebook, for the most part, encourages you to do the legwork and actually get out and meet people – it then provides a handy means for keeping track and in touch with them afterwards. Consoles don’t have that to anything like the same degree, unless you and all your friends happen to all own the same consoles and games, and any chance of taking console gaming forward will have to approach the problem from a far more open perspective.

The next real paradigm shift in gaming won’t come from a first person shooter, an MMO, a brain exercise or a Facebook application. It will smash down the artificial barriers between all three and take what is best about big budget collaborative efforts, social networking and the fact that a standalone console unit has the potential to be both more powerful and significantly cheaper than any home computer, to form a far greater whole.

Al Warmington is editor of Games Digest and PSPSPS. He spends more time playing PS3 than any half-arsed Facebook game because the last thing he wants to do after a long day slaving over a hot PC is look at another damned PC. TVs are okay though.

For more consumer technology and Web 2.0 news, check out Shiny Media's Tech Digest blog.

TIME magazine puts Halo 3 at number one for 2007

A recent top ten list from TIME magazine has put Halo 3 at the at the top place for 2007 releases, writing that it's the “perfect hardcore first-person combat simulator.” Second place was taken by The Orange Box, with Rock Band and Super Mario Galaxy at places three and four respectively.

Go on over to xboxer for the full list.

Source:
Time via Kotaku

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Bizarre to work on next Bond title?

The latest product of the mighty global rumour mill, also known as the internet, says that Bizarre Creations will be manning the new James Bond project for Activision. It was Activision that rapidly snatched up the developer back in September adding some decent racing heritage to its sizable line-up and it was them that snaffled the new Bond licences away from EA in May.

Given Bizarre’s experience in the racing genre, it seems safe to suspect that any Bond related franchising will be related to shooting geometric shapes with a spaceship the driving aspects of the Bond universe. Sounds like a decent idea – since GoldenEye on the N64, every single Bond game has systematically sucked, so anyone or anything bringing fresh thinking and fresh talent to the movie license cash in can’t really go far wrong.

MCV reckons there’s someone else lined up for the purposes of Bond titles though, so if this rumour is to be believed, it is more likely to be a spin off series. That sounds less likely – Project Gotham with guns? Please – but who knows.

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Devil May Cry IV demo slated for early 2008

Fans of the Devil May Cry IV series will be pleased to hear that Capcom's planning on releasing a demo early next year. Featuring a sample of levels from the full game, it'll let you play as newcomer Nero and put his new moves through the paces.

For the full story, go over to xboxer.tv

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