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FTC Rules Against Take-Two Interactive
Posted by Thea Davis Categories: Action, Corporate News, Culture,
The Federal Trade Commission has ruled that Take-Two Interactive was deceptive in its marketing of “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” but its finding is a mere slap on the wrist as the company was not even ordered to pay a fine. The ruling stems from the fact that Take-Two Interactive “did not tell consumers that the game discs contained potentially viewable nude female characters and a potentially playable sex mini-game,” FTC officials said. During the normal course of the game said content was inaccessible. The problem arose when hackers exposed the presence of these hidden scenes and posted a program on online called “Hot Coffee” that would unlock the hidden content in the PC version of the game.
A complaint about the deceptive advertising of the game had been lodged by Senator Hillary Clinton. The FTC has placed the company on what amounts to probation—“if they again violate the ratings (again), they will be subject to a civil fine of up to $11,000 per a violation.” The judgment comes after nearly a year-long investigation.
Read More 
| Kotaku
Gallery: FTC Rules Against Take-Two Interactive
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John Rosemond, a family psychologist and features writer, re-issues a warning as to the destructive nature and divisive properties of video games. Rosemond made his original warning back when video games first surged in popularity and was promptly criticized, even by The Charlotte Observer, his home paper. Since then, he says that his “opinion has been confirmed by research, and hundreds of parents have shared with (him) their negative experiences with these nefarious devices.” The mother of several young children wrote to him recently with another sad sack tale of how video games had taken over her family’s lives. All of these parent stories, illustrating what he stated long ago, go in what he calls his “I Told You So” file.
Read More | Hartford Courant
Gallery: The Problem with Video Games
Alan Kotok has died. Kotok, an early pioneer of computer video games, entered MIT as a 16-year-old prodigy. There he became one of the original “hackers” – a member of the group of MIT students who developed “Spacewar,” contributing to the game’s design and serving as an inspiration to the group. “Spacewar,” arguably the world’s first computer game, ran on a Digital Equipment PDP-1 computer and was developed in 1962 as a hobby project. In an interview in 1990, Mr. Kotok said, “The only money I made from Spacewar was as a consultant for lawsuits in the video game industry in the 1970’s. I have all this fame, but it’s in a very narrow circle.” Kotok was 64. The cause of death was listed as a heart attack.
Read More | New York Times
Gallery: Alan Kotok Dies at Age 64
“Stop being such a p**sy. Learn how to skillfully manipulate women into becoming gamers!” is Mr. Destructoid’s rather tongue-in-cheek response to Hardcore Gamer’s “How to Transform Your Girl into a Gamer” lessons, which Destructoid unequivocally states do not work. Mr. Destructoid advocates that far more drastic measures be taken. In his own Six Step Program, Mr. Destructoid says to forgo the niceties and go straight for the jugular – in other words, “you must lie, manipulate, bribe, and be a total jerkoff.” For instance, gamers should look to the gorilla for inspiration when trying to change their girlfriends into a more acceptable model.
The highlights of Mr. Destructoid’s Six Step Program are: “Step 1: Study Alpha Males,” “Step 2: Flip the Arguments on Her,” “Step 3: Shower a Lot – Like 10 Times a Day,” “Step 4: Employ Peer Pressure,” “Step 5: Make Gaming Expensive and Unattainable,” and “Step 6: Nuke Feminine Resources, Rip Out Her Soul.” In short order, you will “upgrade her ass to a next-gen version.” Either that or be in jail… You decide.
Read More | Destructoid
Gallery: Your Game Date
ESRB Rolls Out Penny Arcade Public Service Announcements
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Culture,
Today, the Entertainment Software Rating Board officially announced their new public service announcement ad campaign targeted at informing parents on the categories in the game software rating system, and how to effectively use these to make educated choices for their children. The new “Okay to Play?” campaign will consist of print and radio ads, targeted at various markets, and in parallel, there will be a series of five print ads co-developed with web comic Penny Arcade published in various “gaming enthusiast” publications.
With all the current focus on banning or regulating violent video games running through various state and Federal government legislative bodies, the focus has been on the effectiveness of the ESRB now more than ever. It should be noted that ESRB ratings should be considered a tool for consumer education, and not a replacement for an active parental relationship with the child’s gaming habits. The ESRB has made mistakes, after all, most recently with their upgrade of the rating given to Elder Scrolls: Oblivion after further content review. The best way to counter the accusations of video games corrupting the youth of today is by having an informed populance that can make effective decisions about what games they will be playing, and not having overly restrictive bans on content.
The ESRB is hosting the images and MP3s from the parent-targeted campaign, as well as the first two images from the Penny Arcade enthusiast campaign on their website.
Read More | ESRB.org
Gallery: ESRB Rolls Out Penny Arcade Public Service Announcements
Cancer patients are fighting back, not with chemo but by playing video games. Re-Mission pits Roxxi, a nanobot, against cancerous cells along with other side effects of cancer. The game is in the third person perspective and the graphics are near PS2 quality. The game was developed by Hope Labs and was created with input from doctors and cancer patients. Re-Mission is geared towards teens and young adults and has shown promise in improving patient behavior.
During a study involving 375 teenagers those who played the game used their oral chemo medicine more often and as a result had 20% more drugs in their system. Those patients also reported an increase in their quality of life. The game has also provided new avenues for Doctors to talk to teenagers who may not otherwise open up. Dan Neumann, a cancer patient and avid video gamer, took part in the development giving critical feedback to the developers.
“Adding a small level of violence helps, All kids enjoy shooting things in video games.” Re-Mission is available free to cancer patients or can be purchased for $20. The game requires a mid range Windows PC.
Read More | Re-Mission
Gallery: Re-Mission: Video Game Helps Cancer Patients
In celebration of England’s first game in this summer’s World Cup tournament there will be a big party in London. The event, sponsored by Microsoft to promote the Xbox’s role as official console of the 2006 World Cup, centers on a huge projector screen that will broadcast the England/Paraguay match live. Visitors to the event can jam to a state-of-the-art sound system, or yell along with cheerleader performances. Microsoft plans similar events for each England (and Australia) game, and expects over 1500 fans to attend the first event this Saturday.
Read More | Virgin.net
Gallery: Xbox World Cup Party
Apple computers, people either love ‘em or hate ‘em – there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. Converts preach the gospel, while the rest just shake their heads. Regardless of what one feels personally, given the fervor of gamers in general and of Apple computer users specifically, one would expect that gaming on a Mac would be a match made in heaven. But Apple has yet to emerge as a dominant gaming platform, much to the dismay of the dedicated gamers who also happen to use Macs.
Apparently the reason is because “Apple has no real corporate interest in the gaming community and does not see computer games as a path to success or a better image for Apple.” This is the opinion of John Martellaro, a writer at The Mac Observer, and he feels that games will never be pushed as an enticement to buying a Mac, because Apple works very hard to insure that people don’t just think of Macs as toys. The official focus of Apple, the company, has been to emphasize serious pursuits, and gaming just doesn’t cut it.
Read More | Mac Observer
Gallery: Gamers Get No Love from Apple
Game manufacturers, like Namco, have created products with a supposed health benefit. Reports claim these “mind games” will delay the onset of dementia. Millions of copies have been sold in Japan, as older people are looking to stave off the effects aging by keeping mentally active. The games are set to launch next in Europe.
Some of the games include mental exercises that test Math skills. There is no hard evidence the games actually work, but with people’s livelihood on the line, what’s the harm in playing? Diminished capacity due to ageing is something we all have to face, eventually (unless, of course, you plan to “live fast and die young”). Developing games for the aged market set is an up-and-coming area of gaming industry expansion.
Read More | BBC News
Gallery: Grandma Games?
Even though Susan Michelle Pruett hit a $1 million jackpot at an exclusive video poker tournament, she might lose the big game in the end. Pruett is accused of embezzling at least $750,000 from her employer and then using the money to feed her gaming habit, spending the loot on gambling at Lake Tahoe casinos. She is now facing numerous charges along with her husband.
The $1 million prize that Pruett won at the video poker tournament prompted an investigation by the IRS, during which time unaccounted for earnings traced to checks paid by Pruett’s employer came to light. The checks, whose signatures were allegedly forged by Pruett, were sent to her own business.
Read More | KCRA 3 (AP)
Gallery: Gamer Draws Wrong Kind of Attention
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