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Poor turn virtual gold into cold hard cash
Nearly half a million people in developing countries make their living by earning virtual goods in online games and selling them to players for real cash, a study has found. The practice is called gold-farming, and researchers at Manchester University say it's growing rapidly despite games companies' crack downs. They say the industry, based mostly in China, employs some 400,000 kids to play games like World of Warcraft, fight monsters and win gold. They exchange their winnings for an average of £80 per month. There's also a market for individuals to buy directly from the growing workforce of gold-farmers. Nearly half a million people in developing countries make their living by earning virtual goods in online games and selling them to pl... more
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Video Game Nostalgia
Mario, Mega Man and Sonic are just a few of the popular video game characters featured in an art exhibit in Hollywood, California.
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Your chance to sleep with the Super Mario Bros.
DIY genius in 8-bit.
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The Passively Multiplayer Online Game, PMOG
Da oggi aperto a tutti, PMOG è il primo gioco multiplayer passivo della storia. Giochi navigando e navighi giocando.
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Birmingham team wins the computer gaming world championship... and $500,000
"Championship Gaming SeriesTM (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, announced that Birmingham Salvo defeated San Francisco Optx 22-15 in the 2008 World Final championship match last night to win US$500,000 and the coveted Mountain Dew World Champion trophy, following a thrilling live competition broadcast to more than 450 million viewers worldwide.
Months of mental and physical training paved the road for Birmingham's successful championship run. The CGS 2008 season began in March, as gamers from across the world competed in NFL-style Combine events with the hope of winning CGS professional gamer contracts. 18 teams emerged, comprised of the best gamers in the world who all had their sights set on winning the CGS 2008 World Final, the $500,000 top prize for this year's CGS World Champion team, and the Mountain Dew Trophy -- the ultimate symbol of excellence in competitive gaming. Eight top teams advanced to the World Final, which kicked off in mid-July and culminated with tonight's championship match."
Source: Business News Wire "Championship Gaming SeriesTM (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, announced that Birmingham Salvo defeated San ... more -
Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs: the game
You don't need a degree in business studies to play this, but dexterity is required.
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NY law to restrict violent video games
ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. David Paterson signed a law Tuesday that he said will lead to restrictions on video game violence and help families better monitor grisly games.
The law will create an advisory council to study the effects of violent games on the children. It will also require parental controls on game consoles by 2010 and prominent displays of age ratings on game packages.
But critics say the bill is too vague and too watered down to accomplish its goal. And critics including the group Americans for Tax Reform contend that curbing video violence wasn't really the point in New York or nearly a dozen other states that enacted similar laws, only to see them struck down by courts as unconstitutional.
"It's moral preening," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "The bill is unconstitutional and has been found that way in other states. And when the inevitable lawsuit comes, the state pays for everybody's legal expenses."
"The reason it is politically popular," he said, "Is the average citizen will read a headline that says, `State Legislature is against violence in children's video games.' They are unlikely to read a headline that says, `Legislature will waste $70,000 of your tax dollars.'"
"It also unfairly singles out the video game industry over all other forms of media," said Richard Taylor of the Entertainment Software Association. "If New York lawmakers feel it is the role of government to convene a government commission on game content, they could next turn to other content such as books, theater and film."
Violations of new labeling and parental control provisions in New York could result in $100 civil penalties. However, the parental controls and the voluntary ratings are already common in the industry.
Language making a felony of selling video games that are sexually explicit or contain depraved violence was lost during furious lobbying that derailed the bill in May 2007. That provision would have made the law among the strictest in the nation.
Then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer made a high priority of the issue in 2007 and it was the subject of several press conferences. The effort continued in the Legislature after Spitzer resigned in March after being disgraced in a prostitution investigation.
The new law was strongly supported in the Senate and Assembly this legislative election year.
The question was never whether to do something about video games that star automatic weapons and gore — that's been politically attractive for years, resulting in legislation in the other states besides New York. The question has always been how to do it without losing a constitutional challenge in the courts.
A prime sponsor, Republican Sen. Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, said the felony provision wouldn't have held up in court, but the remaining elements should stand and help limit access to the games. When the bill was passed this spring, Lanza said the criminal sanction sought by some is already addressed at least in part under pornography and other laws.
Most of the cities and states that have seen their regulations invalidated by courts tried to equate video violence with pornography and restricted the sale of the games to children. The courts have ruled the restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution's freedom of speech protections.
"New Yorkers do not need the state judging which video games are appropriate and which aren't," said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "Parents, not government committees, should be responsible for making those judgments." ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. David Paterson signed a law Tuesday that he said will lead to restrictions on video game violence and help familie... more -
Amazingly Primitive Online Games: Chimpanzees Don't Lie
Little Chimpy has some great online games for you to try and perhaps he can teach us all an even a larger lesson.
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Wii drinking for kids!
A new release for Nintendo's incredibly successful Wii console entitled "Frat Party Games: Beer Pong", will allow users as young as 13 to simulate a drinking game.
Some have suggested changing the name to "Pong Toss" (it's got a certain ring to it doesn't it?), but the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which rated the game as 'T': suitable for teens "saw no ties to promoting alcohol within the game", and that "players are just tossing balls in a cup". True, but tossing a balls in a cup to force opposing team members to drink beer...
It also gives a whole new meaning to the phrase I really enjoy 'Wii drinking', which a few years ago would've gotten you some very weird looks! A new release for Nintendo's incredibly successful Wii console entitled "Frat Party Games: Beer Pong", will allow users... more -
Tech Report: Spore
Ben takes a sneak peak at “the most ambitious game ever.”
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Capcom (game developer) Is Going To Teach Physics And Maths In Game Play.
Video game developer Capcom is working with a leading academic on an initiative to embed subliminal lessons about physics and maths in game play.
Nipan Maniar, a senior lecturer in creative technologies at the University of Portsmouth, who created the cultural awareness game C-Shock, is collaborating with Capcom to provide structured learning environments in games. Video game developer Capcom is working with a leading academic on an initiative to embed subliminal lessons about physics and maths in... more -
I'm a Video Game Junky
Video game addiction is a growing trend. In this pod, by vc2 producer Jake Futernick, we meet a female college student, a married father and talented pianist who are, or have been, addicted to video games. Video game addiction is a growing trend. In this pod, by vc2 producer Jake Futernick, we meet a female college student, a married fat... more
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If video game power-ups existed in everyday life ...
Photoshop contest! Invincibility ... yeeeahhh!
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Oregon Trail on your phone
You can now get Oregon Trail on your phone.
This is so great. Nothing like reliving your childhood while you're stuck waiting for the train. You can now get Oregon Trail on your phone. ... more -
Rock Band saves marriage
Finally, something positive in the media about video games!
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GTA4 voice actor wants more money
Michael Hollick, the voice of "evil-Borat" Niko Bellic in the controversial Grand Theft Auto IV , wishes Rockstar would've paid him more for fifteen months of voice work. He was paid the standard $100,000 set forth by the Screen Actors Guild, but feels that given the games stellar sales ($500 M), he deserved/deserves a bigger paycheck. Michael Hollick, the voice of "evil-Borat" Niko Bellic in the controversial Grand Theft Auto IV , wishes Rockstar would'... more
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Rare: Microsoft's Best Hope For All-Ages Gameplay
Once, the videogame industry had to fight against the perception that all games were for children. Nowadays, some game companies are struggling to make quality games for kids.
Microsoft has assembled a crack team of studios that churn out Mature-rated titles like there's no tomorrow. The Xbox 360 has no shortage of Gears of War or Halo. But the company has not been nearly as successful at creating family-friendly entertainment. When Microsoft entered the console war in 2001, it purchased Rare, a Warwickshire, UK-based game developer, from Nintendo. Today, the company unveiled two new games that it hopes will re-energize the family market on Xbox 360 -- Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (pictured).
Rare's designers stress that what they're making aren't games for kids. They're games for families.
"It's like a Pixar movie," says Justin Cook, lead designer of Trouble in Paradise. "I love some of those movies more than my kids do, but we'll all sit and watch them. There should be more games that do that. When I was a kid, games were for kids because kids were buying them -- but now we're grown ups. I sometimes wonder how kids are going to get to the place where we are, in the same way. It'll be nice if there was this gentle ramp of games they could buy and build up to."
Microsoft wanted the original Viva Pinata, which it released in 2006, to be the vanguard of its kids-games strategy with Xbox 360. In the game, players raised a garden full of living pinatas, maintaining their ecosystem and growing their paper menagerie. Although the game was critically acclaimed, sales didn't quite live up to the scores.
The chance to crack open the Pinata for a second time has allowed Rare to re-examine the game. "When we set off to do a game for kids, we wanted it to be on lots of levels so everyone could enjoy it on their own terms, which is why the game is structured the way it is," says Cook.
Open-ended gameplay is one thing, but some people felt the original Viva Pinata felt too aimless. To that end, they're spreading the design of the new game in both directions -- a more structured main game with harder challenges, and a less-punishing, more open "Just For Fun" mode. Once, the videogame industry had to fight against the perception that all games were for children. Nowadays, some game companies are s... more -
Girlfriend vs. your gaming console
How do women feel about a man's love for video games?
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Review: Ideazon MERC Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
Ideazon’s MERC Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard is a very unique keyboard, clearly geared towards gamers. Ideazon has gone out of the way to try and pack in everything to give gamers the edge on PC games. Keys have been moved around a bit, things are illuminated for late-night gaming, etc. With all of these unique features, does it actually improve your gaming experience?
The first feature worth noting with this keyboard is clearly the illumination. The keyboard can light up to three different colors, red, blue, and purple. You also have the choice to set it to various brightness levels. Every key is illuminated, making late-night gaming in the dark very easy without having to turn all of the lights on in your room. The only minor hiccup with this is the fact that you have to play around with the lights every time you reset your system. Ideazon’s MERC Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard is a very unique keyboard, clearly geared towards gamers. Ideazon has gone out of ... more -
A blast from the past
Kevin Anderson talks about his favourite retro video games.
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