The last time we had an article on a Change 4 Life campaign, it was when the group supposedly linked gaming to obesity. The ad was fine and I thought that the publishers who rejected it were taking it out of context. This time, however, it seems a little different. Another Change 4 Life ad, printed this time, shows a kid leaning back, holding a PS3 controller and lazily playing games, with a title that reads, "Risk an Early Death, Just Do Nothing." Poking on the same buttons are they? Find out more.

A study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates found that gamers are willing to welcome in-game ad exposure in exchange for price cuts in games. If it means seeing a Starbucks shop on every block around GTA if they'd sell the game for half the price, why not?

Rock Band's (also on PlayStation 3, Wii) got some nice deals for its Xbox 360 version going on right now, and this time the rhythm title is offering selected tracks for a discount price of 80 Microsoft Points for a limited amount of time. Interested? We sure are, too. Check out the list of discounted songs in the full article.

Some of you may remember when McDonald's UK CEO Steve Easterbrook took a stab at the video game biz last week, relating it to child obesity.

Daily Star writer Paul Vale had a snappy comeback to the McDonald's bigwig saying that the fast food franchise should look at itself first. Read more about this in the full article after the jump!

McDonald’s UK boss Steve Easterbrook recently talked about the company's moves in light of the growing concerns regarding obesity.

While Easterbrook was quick to point out the measures they were taking to slim down their food, an off-hand statement he makes indicates that he think video games are partly the cause of growing waistlines. More details up ahead in the full article.

While there's no doubt superstars of the NBA get a lot of exposure on and off the court, nobody can deny the intensity a good game of college basketball stirs up when you've got two of your favorite teams playing against each other. Electronic Arts is eager to please college basketball fans by bringing to us the latest in the series of March Madness basketball fever with NCAA 08 March Madness.

This year the developers have added a lot of features that's sure to please sports fans and gamers alike. The Dynamic Post Play feature gives players an in-depth and strategic view of what it's like setting up a play and dominating the boards. You can literally take charge of both your offensive and defensive strategy and choose how you want take down the opposition by posting up your people with this brand new feature.

Of course you can't ignore the other regular features in a college basketball video game. The crowd's Intensity Control Meter can swing the tide of the game by cheering their team on to victory or even lowering the opposing team's morale.

You can also check out other features like the Floor General Playcalling system, which allows you to customize your team's playbooks. Dynasty Mode is more involving than ever as you build your school's reputation as they enter the Pre and Post season NIT, the McDonald's High School All American game, and even an option to go online and play customized leagues and ESPN on Demand.

This year's cover will be graced by none other than former University of Texas small forward Kevin Durant. You can expect to see ESPN's trademark college basketball broadcasters Dick Vitale and Brad Nesslers giving a play-by-play commentary on each and every game you play. Fans will also be able to see Erin Andrews make her video game debut as the sideline commentator as she provides real-time injury updates and other insights and observations during the course of each game.

NCAA 08 March Madness is expected to come out this December 18 for the Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3.

Well, it looks like there's no turning back now.

As it turns out, Valve is starting to test out the use of in-game ads for their titles, and the first guinea pig for this experiment is none other than Counterstrike 1.6 (screenies above, both courtesy of SK Gaming). Despite the flurry of protests that the mere mention of in-game advertising tends to generate, many game companies may soon be following Valve's lead.

While some fans argue that the sight of a real-world item being advertised inside a game tends to be detrimental to the whole experience, devs have noted that this form of advertising is actually beneficial for everyone in the long run.

After all, it generates revenue for game-makers.

Revenue equals more (and better) games.

More games equals happy gamers.

On top of that, there have been promises that the ads will remain discreet and out of the player's way.

At the moment, Valve is displaying advertisements for Portal and the upcoming Orange and Black boxes, all of which are their own products.

There have been earlier reports that Google ads may also end up invading the gaming world, and this has caused many to fear the possibility of having to encounter an in-game advertisement for Starbucks in a war-torn, World War II setting. After all, can you imagine running into an ad for McDonald's as you're crawling the trenches in games like Call of Duty or Brothers In Arms? Or perhaps one for Pedigree puppy food during an Unreal Tournament deathmatch?

On the other hand, there are also those who are willing to reach a compromise between revenue generation for the game companies and immersive gaming experience for the gamers. One point of this compromise involve the conditions which specify that ads that appear in games must be carefully chosen to match the theme and setting of the game itself.

Read the rest of the article after the Jump!

 

No, that's not a McDonald's-M&M's-inspired Xbox 360 controller design. Go on...take a closer look. Still got a question mark hovering above your head? Fine then, let's drop the guessing game (which was actually futile since you'd get it from the title..you did, right? Right?). That's actually a custom "Kill Bill" controller. Are you now getting it? Well that sure got you to take a harder second look...

Yep, cool, eh? And guess what? It's up on eBay for sale! As of press time, the bid is at US$ 20, with a history of four bids. If you're interested, you'll be relieved to know that you have five days and 21 hours to go before the bidding ends. So, if you want this for yourself, go click on the Read link below and slash out the competition with your PayPals.

Uma Thurman not included.

We play games - we don't play consoles. I don't know about you or the others, but as a "gamer" (a title that I'm proud of), I enjoy games. My title isn't "consoler" - so it's not my job to play consoles. Yes, we play games on consoles, and some consoles are better at some things (and worse at some things) than other consoles, but that's just part of gaming.

I started off with that intro because here's another "oh no, the consoles are mixing" news item that makes some people wet their pants even though it really isn't news: there are Sony ads in a UEFA game for other platforms. So we made this clarification. (And we really should clarify this before rumors get out of hand.)

• Sony is a sponsor of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations. There are Sony ads at UEFA events. If you watch a UEFA game on TV, you'll see a PS3 ad somewhere near the goal. If there's a UEFA game, chances are there'll be a Sony ad somewhere on the field in that game.
• If a UEFA game comes out for the Xbox 360 or Wii or whatever, then chances are you'll see Sony ads somewhere on the edge of the field near the Vodafone, MasterCard, Ford, and Heineken ads.
• That's exactly what's happening with the new UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 game from Electronic Arts that has been announced for the Xbox 360, for the PC, and for the PSP. Who knows - the final build may even have PSP and PS2 ads.

 

So there's the explanation. A guy in McDonald's uniform buys food at Pizza Hut. The Apple support guy owns a PC. The Electrolux repair man owns a Maytag dishwasher. It's no big deal.

I just want to play games - don't you? And if it's good football ("soccer" to my friends), then so much the better.

Anyone here who doesn't like McDonald's? You got your McBurgers, McSodas, McFries, and McSundaes... What more can you ask for? McVideoGames, that's what! And they're hosting gaming events all the way past McMidnight!

MidnightGamingChampionship.com is holding a competition in Mickey Dee branches all over the Dallas/Fort Worth area, from September 23 all the way to the championships on November 18. The games will be every Saturday, from 9p.m. to 4a.m. (Pajama party!), and every week, players may register online on the official website.

The event will have three different games: NCAA Football 07, Guitar Hero, and Tekken 5. And prizes include a $1,000 Best Buy Gift Card, an Xbox 360, and a PSP! So, better take out those consoles and practice your McThumbs&Fingers! The competition is going to be McFierce!

Buy: [NCAA Football 2007 for Xbox 360]
Buy: [Tekken 5 (Dark Resurrection for PSP]