Reports are coming in that people have managed to buy an early copy of BioShock from Toys R Us. Whether it's an early release, a media promotions event or a shipment error is still unclear.

One report from Nike Talk forums comes from iceman3699 who said he just saw it behind the glass counter while he was out to buy Madden NFL 08 at Toys R Us and simply asked for it.

What's more is that he bought it during a promotion from Madden where the second game you buy is half off. Then he used a 20% off coupon. Result? Bioshock for US$ 29.99.

The receipt pictured is from North Bergen, New Jersey but if one has it chances are most of the others do. One account from Joystiq said that his local branch in Virginia will also have them stocked.

(Suddenly a massive stampede is heard around the world heading in the direction of the nearest Toys R Us branches.)

"I choose you Homebrew!" Valve's marketing director said. Okay, not really, but Doug Lombardi did point out that the next-gen game console should embrace user-created content. Because the viewpoint of the world's marketing experts say that games on any platform would primarily be online, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo might want to open up their doors to content from users.

 

"I would argue that it's the biggest component those guys have to get over if they want online to matter," said the PC gaming platform advocate. The PC already has adapted to accommodate the creativity from average users. Valve's own Half Life and Team Fortress Classic were very good multiplayer games.

But when a college student from Canada and a high school student from New Jersey got hold of Valve's code, they created Counter-Strike which simply kicked the life out of Half-Life and Team Fortress formerly on top of the multiplayer game list. Lombardi sees that the PC has the ability to outlast the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, because it allows user-created content.

"The PC has that great advantage; has had that great advantage, and it comes from multiplayer and modding starting in the early '90s and [online] multiplayer only showing up on consoles in 2000 or 2001," said Lombardi. He noted that it has had more that a decade's worth of advancement that the restrictive next-gen consoles have to catch up with.

Games that originate on the PC with level editing tools are often repackaged without the customizability on consoles. Xbox Live Arcade's Eets was cited as an example. Valve even admits that a console port of Portal will probably also reflect the same restrictions.

But Sony is slowly getting there with Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet, though it still comes with a certain limitations. "I would love to see [user-created content capability] happen, but I think the platform holders are always going to need certification, which means it's usually going to have to be a commercial thing," Lombardi concluded.

The independent game development studio Saber Interactive, who is responsible for video games like TimeShift and Will Rock, is happy to announce that it just hired one of the industry's veterans to head Saber's game content division. That guy is Rick Raymo and he sure has a lot under his belt.

Raymo has been working in the video game industry for 19 years now, and about 30 titles are credited under his name. Some of the more notable ones include Duke Nukem 3D projects, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Death Rally and Max Payne. The creative director also used to work with companies such as I.D.G., GT Interactive, GameSpy, Red Jade, Interactive Studio Management, and Hudson Soft. Before Rick Raymo accepted his new post at Saber, he was working with HBO Interactive Entertainment as a production executive, and was responsible for spearheading efforts to create interactive properties out of the company's internal licenses.

Saber's new guy wasn't able for comment, but the company mentioned that Rick Raymo is more than happy to join them. He will be stationed at Saber's HQ in New Jersey and from time to time, he will also be making his rounds in Saber's production studio in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most of his work will be focused on the design and production team who are working on current and upcoming next generation titles.

Welcome aboard Saber's ship Rick Raymo!

There are things in life that will never go away and will hold true even after the day we die. You don't believe us? Pop tarts will always be sweet. Government officials will always take advantage of its people. Paris Hil Piracy. While the first few are sad, hard drawn facts, the last one on the other hand is full of gray areas.

At any rate, it seems that government is hell bent to end this problem once and for all. Just like the other day, for instance, New Jersey authorities raided the home of Newark resident Derek Ramirez and the latter was arrested under New Jersey's Anti-Piracy act. Accordingly, Ramirez has been making copies of Xbox 360 games.

According to one representative for the Essex, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office, the Entertainment Software Association had been trying to track Ramirez for some time now. The official added that their operation started early last November, with them conducting undercover purchase of the said pirated software.

Furthermore, the officials had seized a couple of Ramirez's belongings including DVD burners, computer towers, modded Xbox 360 systems, and several hundred pirated games. Aside from selling and pirating games, the 24-year old Ramirez is also accused of placing online ads offering to modify Xbox 360 consoles to play pirated games.

If the allegations are proven to be correct, the suspect will face up to five years in prison and will need to pay "substantial fines." Currently, Ramirez's hard drive is being kept as an evidence. The official, lastly, wouldn't divulge any information regarding the estimated street value of the pirated goods.