Enjoying your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360? Then good news, as Take-Two are also enjoying GTA IV, but in a completely different way. Needless to say, they're rolling in it.  Check out all the details in the full article, and see how the success of the sandbox game of the century has pretty much led to a stalemate between aspiring takeover agent and potential takeover victim.

Bad news for those of us playing the waiting game on the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC). Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, revealed the version's current state of development, and it's suffices to say it's not looking good. It seems that one of the game's main draws - that is, the ability to create and download mods for the game - is hampering the development process. Here's hoping that we get a build that's more or less similar to that of the PS3 and PC version. Rein's own words at the full article.

 

The last time we updated you on Jack Thompson's latest exploits to keep violent games out of children's hands, we told you about the lawyer from Florida allegedly posting a comment on the GamePolitics website, stating that he'll be going after Take-Two once more in response of the critically-acclaimed FPS for the Xbox 360 and PC, Bioshock.

Now, it seems that he's taken action indeed, in the form of a written complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the game's ads, televised during WWE Smackdown. His letter, verbatim and snipped for brevity:

Take-Two… is aggressively marketing its newest Mature-rated video game to kids under 17 years of age… On this Friday’s night’s 8 pm Eastern time airing of WWE’s wrestling program “Smackdown,” there were repeated ads for Take-Two/Rockstar Game’s Mature-rated, incredibly violent BioShock…

A check of the demographics of the audience of that program reveals that teens under 17 years of age watch that program in huge numbers…

Remarkably, the video game industry is running ads for games like BioShock on teen-intensive television programs while at the same time its industry-captured “watchdog,” the ESRB, is running a self-congratulatory ad campaign to assure parents that the video game ratings system is working and that the industry can be trusted not to target their kids with these Mature-rated games. It is all a lie, as the BioShock ads prove.

This rampant fraudulent trade practice is precisely what “Big Tobacco” did with its “Joe Camel” and other teen-targeting ads, while at the same time lying to Congress that it was not marketing its adult product to kids.

Comparing a game rated Mature to an addictive and life-threatening substance? Certainly strong words coming from Mr. Jack Thompson. Although it's true that some children under 17 do get to watch WWE Smackdown, it is to note that pro-wrestling shows are also more violent, with risky and life-threatening wrestling moves and bloodletting.

And let's not forget the edgier, sexually-themed angles that WWE has taken in the past, of course. With these, doesn't Bioshock fit into the major demographic that WWE itself is aiming for?

In any case, Mr. Jack Thompson has made his move. What will Take-Two's be? Only time will tell. Let us know what you think about this recent development by your comments.

It seems Florida-based lawyer Jack Thompson's at it again, and apparently the latest item in his agenda is to appear in an upcoming episode of Dr. Phil as a "game violence expert" - with the host of the show himself, Dr. Phil, inviting the attorney over. This bit of news comes from a comment posted on a recent Game Politics article, with the poster bearing the name of none other than Jack Thompson himself. Here's the statement, verbatim:

You all can relax. Dr. Phil’s people called me last week, and at that point they were going to take the show in the direction of video game violence. They indicated they wanted me on the show. I got a call yesterday, and they decided to take the show in a different direction, with the focus on role-playing game addiction. They have a girl who has that problem.

Look, I’m giving you the straight scoop here, so knock off the flaming at least in response to this. Dr. Phil’s people were very nice, very professional, and quite enthusiastic. Of course, Dr. Phil was spot-on after V-Tech, given the link to video game play by Cho substantiated by the New York Times and the Washington Post (you won’t read about that here).

Of course, with Internet anonymity and GamePolitics' commenting system not needing any sort of verification to post, it certainly does read like some of the past statements the attorney has made. It's also worth noting that in a more recent article, the individual posting as Jack Thompson also made note of upcoming horror FPS Bioshock(Xbox 360, PC), promising quite a hard time for Take-Two. The comment itself:

By the way, since Dennis McCauley has proven once again, by this thread, his Jack Thompson obsession, please note that big trouble is on the way for Take-Two re Bioshock. Hooah!

Is BioShock going to be the next game in Mr. Jack Thompson's sights? While the game certainly has violence - lots of it - it also supports a gameplay where you can use the environment (and your Plasmid abilities) to approach the game in a less violent and more stealthy, security-alarm-evading manner.

There's also the decision of either killing or saving Little Girls - probably the only ones left "sane" in Rapture - after defeating the Big Daddies that travel with them. In my opinion, that certainly gives Bioshock an edge over the other, more violent titles out there, if we're to nitpick violence in videogames itself.

Certainly a very interesting update in the case of Jack Thompson. What about you, dear readers? What's your two cents in the matter? Let us know by your comments below.


Buy: [Bioshock (Games for Windows)]
Buy: [Bioshock (Xbox 360)]

While it's generally a good rule to rest your eyes every so often after clocking in some hours of full-color videogame action, there are times when it's the game's fault. This could be the case with the recently-released Marathon Durandal on the Xbox Live Arcade, with many users complaining about motion sickness during continued play.

So what's causing the motion sickness? We're not quite sure, but comments flying around the interwebs give out a specific reason: Simulator Sickness. They say it's quite prevalent with older First Person Shooter games - way back when the developers themselves haven't yet figured out how to make the player's vision bob up and down naturally while walking.

The lack of this and other elements result in queasiness, nausea... all sorts of nasty things.

Of course, the complaints have reached Freeverse, the people behind Marathon Durandal. Their statement, verbatim:

We have been made aware that some gamers are experiencing discomfort with continued play of the recently released Xbox LIVE Arcade game Marathon Durandal. Within the next few days we will implement a dash message on the download screen to advise users on steps they can take if this affects them and are investigating other options to address the issue.

Of course, nothing beats resting your eyes after every hour of gameplay. It's a rule we unfortunately forget whenever we're too much engrossed into games.

With today's games being tailored for mature tastes and yielding graphic content, controversial lawyer Jack Thompson thinks America should be just as strict and as efficient as UK in rating titles and making sure those ratings stick.

This is after the entire hubbub of Rockstar's Manhunt 2, being refused a rating (which is tantamount to a ban) by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The following is Mr. Jack's statement, verbatim:

The UK does it much better than the U.S., which rates a game that's inappropriate for minors and then sells it to them. I think the U.K. has got it right. You rate a game and you can't sell it to people if it falls in a certain category - the rating actually has a sanction, whereas in the U.S. the rating means nothing.

Jack Thompson also cited the root cause of the problem in the U.S., being that the authorities' failure to punish or discipline those who ignore the ratings and continue to sell violent games to children. Whereas in UK, such acts mean paying up a hefty fine, or doing time behind bars.

He says that currently, there isn't a single law in the law books that prevent a ten-year-old child from purchasing a mature-rated game, and that other countries should do well to follow UK's system.

However, to be fair, shouldn't the first line of defense - if one considers exposure to mature-rated games as an assault to morality - for minors be their own parents or guardians? Perhaps, with responsible parenting and proper communication between the 'rents and the kids, this wouldn't be an issue.

Isn't that something to think about?

The Xbox 360 has it all: powerful graphics, a great games library, online support, and downloadable content. These pros, as well as a multitude of other good points, has helped make it a solid contender in the on-going console wars.

Unfortunately, all the cons that have made it what it is today are outweighed by one devastating con, and that's the infamous red ring of death plaguing Xbox 360 owners worldwide. But things might be turning around for the Xbox 360 as we speak.

Corporate VP and Chief Xbox Spokesperson Peter Moore recently sat down with Gamespot and talked about what Microsoft is finally doing to combat the red ring of death. Looking at the measures they're taking, it's not only going to be costly on Microsoft's part, but also an unprecedented gesture of customer care in the video game industry.

So, what ARE they going to do about the red ring? Peter Moore enumerated these measures, and they are as follows:

1. Improvements on the console itself that they believe will reduce the chances of the red ring happening.
2. An expanded three-year warranty for the red ring, meaning that for three years, consoles who get the red ring will be repaired for free.
3. Retroactive reimbursement of out-of-warranty payments for the red ring.

Very powerful measures indeed. When asked about what brought about the costly decision to put those measures into motion, Peter Moore merely said that they wanted to take care of the people - the Xbox 360 owners - that they haven't been taking care of very well these past few weeks.

He explained as well that with the red ring being a hardware failure error, he considers it as not doing right by the fans, and Microsoft seeks to redress that. The program includes ALL consoles, from the very first Xbox 360 sold during the console's launch to the consoles not even rolled out of production lines yet.

Know more about Microsoft's new Xbox 360 program after the jump!

Just like Blu-ray, HD DVD announced the release of a recordable media before burners are even revealed. Early this month, Hitachi and Mitsubishi announced that July 5 will see the entry of 15GB HD DVD-R media in Japan. They promised that the RW and dual-layer versions will also be coming out later in the summer. They stayed true to their words.

Although the HD DVD-RW has not been announced yet, Mitsubishi reveals that a 30GB dual-layer HD DVD-R will surely come out next month. The single-sided media can hold 150 minutes of HD content encoded at a 24Mbps playback rate. Mitsubishi highlighted the fact that the coming dual layer disc uses high-sensitivity dye for accurate recording on both the near-side and inner storage layers. Just like Blu-ray discs, the HD DVD discs will include the AACS copy-protection technology.

Verbatim may soon offer the 15GB and 30GB HD DVD-R discs in the future as the company is owned by Mitsubishi.