In an effort to raise fitness awareness in schools, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be hosting a Dance Dance Revolution Governor's Challenge for all K-12 students, a nice change of air considering his stance against violent video games.

Konami's Dance Dance Revolution gaming franchise will be used as a workout facility in Marvin Elementary School's new fitness center located in Los Angeles. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will also grace the facility's grand opening with his presence in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Aside from making normally couch-potato kids from 765 West Virginia schools dance and tap their way into fitness as part of the West Virginia Initiative, Dance Dance Revolution is also being used as an instrument in childhood obesity studies.

Will the old guv'nor show his moves as well? Do check this space for updates.

Check out more information about the Governor's challenge in the Read link!

(Editor's Note: The tenth issue's rolled out, and you can bet on it this won't be the last! Far from it. So far, you guys have done a great job sticking by us with our little weekly attempts at recapping the highlights in the industry, and for that, we really are grateful. Yeah, yeah. We've said thanks a hundred thousand gazillion times. But for as long as you guys are around, then there isn't any reason for us to stop, right? We hope you continue to take in your fill of our weekly dose of the QuickJump QuickPeek. So, with that said, on to the meaty stuff of this tenth serving! Enjoy!)

To take from our comments section, we open this edition with a: READ THIS AND YOU WILL BE EXCITED. Ha! Talk about spammage. Antics aside, we've reached the big one-oh for QuickJump QuickPeek and with it, you better get ready for all the beef in today's Issue 10. The world of gaming is not one to sit idle after all. At every turn, there is action to be had, lessons to be learned, insights to be gained. There is something that makes certain things standout in history, be it a contribution in the PSP coding scene, or in the outlook of the raging next-gen console wars. So what's been hot this week? On with the Peeking, boy-o!

The rest of the issue is waiting right behind the Full Article link!

 

While the world was still reeling from the shock of the horrible tragedy that is the V-Tech shootings, a formal investigation into the murderer's background - as well as what could have been done, and what should be done to prevent anything like this from happening again - was launched, and has recently concluded. Its findings, which should provide at the very least, solace to the bereaved, also provide an answer to a question that the videogame community (as well as the rest of the world) had been asking: was violence in videogames a factor in Seung Hui Cho's outburst?

The answer is a resounding 'no'.

This comes directly from the full report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, spearheaded by none other than Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, with the actual material hosted on his official website. Excerpts that best convey this affirmation presented as is:

Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog. None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars.

Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:

I like to listen to talk shows and alternative stations, and I like action movies…My favorite movie is X-Men, favorite actor is Nicolas Cage, favorite book is Night Over Water, favorite band is U2, favorite sport is basketball, favorite team is Portland Trailblazers, favorite food is pizza, and favorite color is green.

Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark.

With various critics of videogames such as Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson pointing to videogames as a major influence in the V-tech killings before the findings themselves were published, it's certainly interesting to find out just what the reaction of the masses will be, now that these results have come to the public light. We'll be here to update you on developments as they happen, and you can let us know what you think by your comments below.

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.)

The New York State Senate has just passed new legislation that seeks to (once again) curb video game violence. Bill S.5888, sponsored by Senator Andrew Lanza, was introduced just last Thursday (May 17) and was subsequently passed Tuesday of this week (May 21).

According to the press wire that's in circulation, this bill's agenda is to first create the Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence, a board that's designed to review the current Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).

The two other provisions of this bill include a requirement for all New York State retailers to place rating labels on their games, and to establish a Parent-Teacher Anti-Violence Awareness Program.

What I find counter-intuitive (and a little absurd) is that while the bill's provisions seem sensible, Lanza added this statement in the press release in order to make it seem more imperative to pass the bill into law:

The recent release of 'V-Tech Massacre,' a sick game which exploits the Virginia Tech University tragedy, is a painful reminder of the culture of violence which has severe consequences on our youth and society.

We assume he means V-Tech Rampage, Ryan Lambourn's highly controversial Flash game, which Mr. Lanza also attempted to parallel to Rockstar's upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV.

Indeed, while I agree with the legislation's movements for increased awareness, it's unsettling to know that the primary motivations for this legislation appear to be a knee-jerk reaction to the Virginia Tech incident and a game not affiliated with the large-scale video game industry. Of course, that's just my two cents on the matter - time will tell what revisions will play out as this bill goes through its paces.

What about you, QJ readers - what's your take on this new bill? We've posted a read link for the original press wire which details the bill's full mechanics. Read up on that and feel free to post a reply.

We feel sorry for the victims that lost relatives and loved ones during the V-Tech incident. However, it's hard not to feel the same towards the video game industry that takes all the blame.

Recently, a Virginia Tech Review Panel was held and it was suggested that violent video games should be banned like heroin. Why? Panelist Don Phau not only mentioned Jack Thompson's allegations against Counter-Strike motivating Cho Heung-Sui, he also claims that the game is related to the Erfurt school shooting in Germany.

According to this Thompson-wannabe, FPS games were made after the Vietnam War by the industry to make money. He also stated that Microsoft developed Counter-Strike. What's next? Mario's mushrooms are actually drugs?

"These games, I propose, should be banned. The same way you cannot buy heroin; the same way you cannot be a 16-year-old and buy pornography," said Phau. He would've been correct, if we lived a few years ago before the law against selling video games to minors have been passed.

This man is obviously uninformed though, so cut him some slack. He even gave figures: 82% of kids can buy M-rated games. His report is pretty much seven years old, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting incident, it seems that the issue of violent video games will be figuring in the 2008 presidential campaign. Yesterday, the first volleys were fired by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney during a graduation speech at Regent University in Virginia.

Here's what Gov. Romney said as reported by the Deseret News:

Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and TV and video games. The Virginia Tech shooter, like the Columbine shooters before him, had drunk from this cesspool.

Romney, a Republican presidential hopeful, was at Regent speaking to a conservative Christian audience. So, what do you think folks? Will the issue be brought up again and again during the campaign? Leave a comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) president Hal Halpin has given his own two cents on the matter concerning Paul Hwang, the Chinese student from Clements High School in Fort Bend who was expelled for playing on a Counter-Strike map that resembled his high school.

In a statement to GamePolitics, Halpin said that "Paul Hwang's only crime was bad timing. He had the misfortune of uploading his mod during a period of time in which the nation was, perhaps unduly, made sensitive about the supposed link between violence and video games."

Here's the rest of the statement:

It seemed to me that the law enforcement authorities acted with prudence and that the school board should do similarly. This will likely be the first of many such instances where older generations who don't understand a medium, fear it, and as a result there will be reactionary decisions made. It's incumbent upon gamers to persevere and to prove the rule and not the exception. Only together, and over time, can we accomplish such a lofty goal.

A lot of people have pointed to the recent Virginia Tech shooting incident as one of the reasons for the seemingly hasty expulsion. However, some reports also say that Hwang's Counter-Strike map had already been uploaded prior to the Virginia Tech shooting. So, is it timing or something else? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

We just reported earlier about the rather belated news of the expulsion of a Chinese student. He was expelled from Clements High School because he was spotted playing a game of Counter-Strike on a map that, according to the police, was based off of his own high school's floor plan.

Unfortunately, because many facts have been hidden from the media, I, for one, am very skeptical about such a claim. I've searched high and low for more information on the story, but all of it revolved around relations to the Virginia Tech shooting and some executive board members soiling their underpants fearful of another incident. The most specific of facts were hidden, but to what aim? Fairness? Speaking of fairness...

Authorities claimed that hallways in the map were reminiscent of the student's high school's hallways. Granted that may be so, is the high school made up of just those hallways?

It's sad that we ended up drawing speculations here, but because the evidence (the map layout coupled with the high school floorplan) was never revealed to the media, can you blame us for doing so?

But let's take this into another point of view. There are many issues that gamers and some third-party onlookers have raised with this development, just about equally for and against the rash decision of the district board. First is the issue of maps depicting real-life locations and understanding what map making entails.

The second issue that people have had, which includes the 17-year-old senior's supporters, involves blowing the Virginia Tech shooting to proportions way off the "common sense Richter scale." In fact, it either began to look like the budding of another racial stereotype or, as one district board member claimed, the first of probably many overreactions, thanks to the VA Tech shooting and anti-video game activists. But let's tackle these one by one.

Click on Full Article to read more on this opinion piece.

Recently, a Chinese student in Clements High School was expelled for having played Counter-Strike in a level that had hallways reminiscent of his own school's hallways. Following the parents' appeal for reconsideration, the Ford Bend Independent School District had postponed the meeting because four of the school board's members refused to show up.

The appeal was the fourth part of a long appeal process, ultimately ending up with a meeting with the Board of Trustees.

Defending their stand, the FBISD trustees who stayed away said that the meeting itself "circumvented" the disciplinary process. Board member Stan Magee stated that the meeting could have expedited the resolution of the case. Unfortunately, third-party onlookers have began to say that the board's rash decision was an overreaction to the Virginia Tech incident.

Coupled with the video game-related banter coming from anti-video game media icons, even Magee admits that their resolution was an effect of fear, stating, "I think we overreacted as a result of the Virginia Tech ordeal." Although the Chinese community rallied behind the 17 year old boy, there are many sentiments that have risen against the act despite people applauding the quick response of the board.

FBISD spokeswoman Mary Ann Simpson stated, "This goes back to Columbine. Ever since that horrid incident took place schools today have to take every incident that is reported very seriously." She iterates that these things had to be taken seriously, and that students needed to know that such things aren't taken lightly anymore.

Only Magee, Simpson and Ken Bryant appeared in the meeting on Monday at the districts headquarters. The other four members, namely Steve Smelley, Sonal Bhuchar, Cynthia Knox and Laurie Caldwell, did not arrive for the 5:30 p.m. meeting, which became cause for the meeting to be cancelled.

Ultimately, the 12th grader has been barred from graduating from the school and has been transferred to  M.R. Wood Alternative Education Center. What do you think? Feel free to discuss, but keep it clean people. We might just give out two-cents worth on this, too.