Headlines, Politics, Press Releases
ESRB Finally Plays the Games They Rate
Have you ever looked at the ESRB label on the back of a game only to ask yourself, “What the hell does that mean?” Vague descriptions such as “Comic Mischief” and “Mild Violence” (as opposed to “spicy violence”?) have plagued the ESRB’s rating system for years, potentially confusing parents trying to decide whether or not Conker’s Bad Fur Day would be a worthwhile purchase for the kiddies. Yet, as of November 12, in an attempt to help clarify what content can be found in each game, the ESRB has added “rating summaries” for games on their website.
Way back in 1972 when Pong, the world’s first successful video game, hit the market, no one could’ve imagined how huge this medium would become. The industry has evolved from its humble digital-table-tennis roots to raking in money comparable to the film industry. It has become so large, both financially and culturally, that people have started taking steps to ensure the preservation of the medium’s history. On September 19th, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) announced the creation of the UK’s first official National Videogame Archive (NVA), a joint venture between Nottingham Trent University and the National Media Museum in Bradford, which will catalogue gaming’s history “from the humble beginnings of 1972’s ‘Pong,’ to the blockbusters of the 21st Century.”
Genesis Interactive, Inc. (GI) today announced that Giant Realm, Inc. will exclusively represent the advertising inventory displayed on GotGame.com and GameVee.com.
Players hoping to get their platform-jumping, level-creating juices flowing with the PS3’s LittleBigPlanet are going to have to wait another week, and not for the usual reasons. Instead of the normal “ensuring performance quality” hoopla we’re all used to, it seems LBP had a genuine problem: Arabic passages from the Quran had inadvertently been used in the game’s “Swinging Safari” level.
SouthPeak Interactive has announced their acquisition of Austin-based Gamecock Media Group.
The developer of the Halo series, Bungie Studios, sure knows how to throw a birthday party. On September 25, exactly one year after the release of Halo 3, Bungie tantalized gamers with footage from an upcoming expansion for their most popular franchise. The trailer showcased a major city being ravaged by a cloud of landing pods, followed by the tagline “Prepare to Drop.” Forum boards ignited with speculation, while Bungie remained quiet. But thankfully, answers were finally revealed at October’s Tokyo Game Show: Halo 3: Recon is coming in Fall 2009.
A great day to stay in and watch a video. Genesis Interactive, Inc. today announced its acquisition of GameVee.com, the premier video sharing site for gamers, for approximately two percent of its outstanding stock. GameVee, dubbed the “YouTube for Gamers” by WRAL-TV, boasts over 65,000 registered members, more than 64,000 user-submitted videos, and over 1.8 million page views per month. In addition, the service’s video content is embedded on other websites several thousand times every day.
On October 2nd at their fall conference, Nintendo announced a brand new member to the Nintendo DS family, the DSi. Reinventing existing systems seems to be the trend with the current generation. Does that mean the DSi is something to overlook? You be the judge.