After years of playing the defensive game against Washington's continual attempts to over-legislate video games, the Entertainment Software Body now plans to take a more aggressive tack.

Michael Gallagher (pictured left), who has headed up the ESA since founder Doug Lowenstein's resignation last year, has indicated the organization will start courting Washington politicians in the months to come--deep in the midst of Republicans and Democratics choosing their presidential nominees.

"We will be writing checks to campaigns by the end of this quarter," said Gallagher to The New York Times. "This is an important step in the political maturation process of the industry that we are ready to take now. This is about identifying and supporting champions for the game industry on Capitol Hill so that they support us."

The ESA will establish a political action committee (PAC) to push the interests of the games industry; it represents Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony--the industry's traditional Big Four--as well as increasingly prolific game publisher Disney. Gallagher said the group intends to donate $50,000-$100,000 to campaigns this year.

Though few attempts to curb or restrict video game sales have seen any measure of success, games remain a frequent target for politicians who see harm in... Read more

Midway has confirmed that a number of the employees at its Austin studio have been laid off. This news follows Midway's recent announcement that two of its executives, CFO Thomas Powell and senior marketing VP Steve Allison, resigned from the company.

"It was a routine reduction," a representative told Gamasutra. "We recently completed a project down there, and as part of a down-ramp of the product lifecycle, we did let some people go, but things are still full steam ahead at Austin."

The resignations and firings are likely part of the recently announced restructuring led by newly-elected chairwoman Shari Redstone, whose goal is to guide the company to its first annual profit since 1999.

Late last November, creative director Harvey Smith was let go from the Austin studio after he classified the development of BlackSite: Area 51 as "so fucked up." Smith's comments were made shortly after the release of the PC and Xbox 360 versions, but before the PlayStation 3 edition hit stores.

ESPN.com announced today that it has entered a content agreement with Major League Gaming to bring competitive professional gaming to the ESPN network.

As part of the agreement, ESPN will serve as an outlet for MLG news and provide coverage of the league's 2008 Pro Circuit Competitions with streaming matches, scores and professional player interviews. The network plans to provide coverage to a variety of its programs and platforms. MLG will host ESPN co-branded online gaming tournaments.

ESPN.com has also launched a dedicated competitive gaming section, featuring news, team spotlights and player bios.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) developer Infinity Ward was shocked to discover an unexpectedly high level of piracy in regards to the PC versions of its acclaimed FPS.

After using his blog to reveal that the developer is quite happy with the recent number of PC owners playing the game online, the studio's community relations manager fourzerotwo expressed amazement at how many of those players were running a pirated copy of the game.

"What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen / cracked CD keys of pirated copies (and that was only people playing online)," he posted under the heading "They Wonder Why People Don't Make PC Games Any More."

Renowned development houses id Software and Epic Games chimed in on the matter last year, with both noting that they were pursuing multiplatform development due to piracy of their PC titles. Two of last year's biggest PC titles--Epic's... Read more

Publisher THQ has announced its plans to acquire Big Huge Games, the developer behind the Xbox Live Arcade board game Catan (X360), the Rise of Nations PC RTS series, and The Asian Dynasties expansion for Ensemble's RTS Age of Empires III (PC).

The acquisition, which THQ hopes to complete soon, will cement Big Huge Games as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The studio will remain at its present Timonium, Maryland location, and will also retain its management and employees.

Big Huge was already working closely with THQ for its upcoming RPG, which is being designed by The Elder Scrolls series veteran Ken Rolston and will arrive on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2009. It is also known to be working on a "quirky" Wii title.

"THQ provides an ideal environment to help us develop new, innovative games for both core gamers and mass market," said Big Huge president Tim Train. "We believe their passion for games, developer support, and understanding of the creative process is without parallel in the industry."

Update: Engadget has received a comment from Goschy's wife, who claims he is not yet planning to sue Nintendo over the matter.

Original story: Patrick Goschy, former Midway staffer, invented the Wii Remote ten years ago.

At least that is what he intends to prove when he takes Nintendo to court soon. Unlike similar cases, Goschy says he has the patent proof to back up his claims, in addition to hard evidence--evidence that has already spread to the internet.

A brief YouTube video, exhibit A, shows a pantsless Goschy demonstrating the device with the help of Ready 2 Rumble Boxing on a Dreamcast. For your evidentiary enjoyment, this video is viewable after the link. ... Read more

Midway's hopes of acquiring properties like Tomb Raider and Kane & Lynch will have to wait; Eidos parent company SCi has put a stop to discussions concerning a takeover and is no longer entertaining offers from potential buyers, Yahoo reports.

The company cut off talks after a lack of any formal offers from interested parties and a belief that the company would not be sold for its full value.

In lieu of a corporate bail-out, SCi has announced that it expects a financial loss for 2008 and plans to shift the release dates of four titles—including Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld (PC, PS3, X360)—into the fourth quarter in the hopes of boosting sales via the holiday rush.

In the wake of explosive controversy surrounding reports about publisher influence over gaming press outlets, print publication Electronic Gaming Monthly has specifically named three publishers that have restricted coverage of their games from the magazine. Editor-in-chief Dan Hsu, often known for his sharp tone regarding the relationship between publishers and press, outed the companies in an editorial in EGM's February issue. As the issue is being sent out to subscribers, word of the piece comes from Video Game Media Watch.

The specific publishers mentioned were Ubisoft, Midway, and Sony Computer Entertainment. According to Hsu, Midway is disallowing coverage of its Mortal Kombat games and Sony its sports games to EGM.

Particular divisions or segments within Ubisoft were not mentioned, although the magazine recently scored Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed with scores of 4.5, 6, and 7 (each out of 10), generally lower than the overall press average. (Shacknews' own Nick Breckon was similarly unenthused with the game in ShackCast 20.)

Hsu insisted that the publisher restrictions will not affect EGM's judgments on the relevant products or companies.

Often recognized as the "father of computer gaming", legendary designer Sid Meier (pictured left) will be recognized for lifetime achievement at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards.

Meier, creator of standout and genre-defining PC titles like Civilization and Pirates!, has already received just about every award the industry has to offer for his achievements in development and design. Meier was a co-founder of MicroProse and currently works as creative director at Firaxis Games.

Said Game Developers Conference's Jamil Moledina, "Now that the rest of the industry is actively targeting the broader audience, it’s fitting to honor him with our highest award and thank him for his continuing example of inspiration for the video game community."

The honor was awarded by the editors of Gamasutra in association with an advisory committee that included Clint Hocking of Ubisoft, Raph Koster of Areae, Ray Muzyka of Bioware, Ryan Lesser of Harmonix and Brian Reynolds of Big Huge Games.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of news that Magnavox Odyssey inventor Ralph Baer will be receiving the GDC Pioneer Award.

Meier is currently working on Civilization Revolution (PS3, X360, Wii, DS), which marks the first Civilization title developed directly under Sid Meier since 1996's Civilization II.

Exploring CES is a lot like fishing. You spend a lot of time waiting. The food is bad. Most of what you catch is boring.

Robotic vacuum cleaners. 3D goggle gimmicks. Expensive stereos ruined by impossible acoustics. More TVs than you would ever care to look at in one day. Yes, CES has all this junk and more, ready and waiting for you to toss back into the over-saturated pond of electronic spawn.

That being said, what follows below is the result of my first catch. It's a smattering of games, gadgets, and some truly useless, expensive machinery. Enjoy!

RIP HD DVD
There it stood above the South Hall, like a towering mausoleum. Draped in black, the mourning had already begun.

After the announcement that Warner Bros. had turned coat and shifted to Blu-ray exclusivity, the HD DVD camp simply canceled their pre-CES press event. They had been suddenly trumped, and a format contest that seemed destined to become a war of attrition now seems over after a single, powerful shot.

Exhibitors remained defiant, touting the advantage of HD DVD, because... Read more

Chief executive of McDonald's UK Steve Easterbrook told the Times Online that games deserve some of the blame for rising childhood obesity rates.

While the executive admits that McDonald's food plays a part in the expanding waistlines of children, Easterbrook points out, "there’s a lifestyle element: there’s fewer green spaces and kids are sat home playing computer games on the TV when in the past they’d have been burning off energy outside."

Though not mentioned directly by Easterbrook, it can be inferred other possible scapegoats for child obesity would also include schooling, television, reading, coloring books and hobby kits.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii has garnered praise for its motion-sensitive controls and upcoming fitness-oriented software, which while not quite as beneficial as a nightly jog around the block, at the very least prompts the waggling of pudgy, misshapen arms.

Take-Two Interactive Software, parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar Games, today announced that it has acquired Czech Republic based developer Illusion Softworks. The studio will join the 2K Games publishing label as 2K Czech.

Illusion Softworks is behind such games as Hidden & Dangerous, Mafia, and Vietcong, some of which were distributed by Take-Two's various publishing labels. The company is currently working on Mafia 2 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

"We have an excellent working relationship with 2K Games and the utmost respect for them," said 2K Czech Petr Vochozka. "We are pleased to become a 2K studio and are confident that this new partnership will strengthen our current and future projects."

Electronic Arts has completed its $860 million acquisition of VG Holding Corp., owner of renowned development studios BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios.

With BioWare and Pandemic now officially part of the EA family, the two studios will produce ten new franchises based on six EA-owned properties. BioWare is currently known to be working on Dragon Age (PC), a Sonic the Hedgehog DS RPG, an untitled MMO strongly rumored to be set in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic universe, with reports indicating that the other two entries in the planned Mass Effect (X360) trilogy and a sequel to Jade Empire (PC, Xbox) are on the wayas well.

Pandemic is currently working on two open-world titles, Saboteur (TBA) and the ever-controversial Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS2, PS3, X360), with the latter title expected to release shortly.

BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will... Read more

Wisconsin state senator Jon Erpenbach (D) wants to keep 17-year-old non-violent offenders from being tried as adults in his state, a proposal that seems to be facing little contention--what is more controversial is that Erpenbach wants to pay for the juvenile rehabilitation programs by establishing a new 1% video game sales tax.

Erpenbach's statements on the matter, as reported by local Madison network WISC, suggest he associates gaming with minors, providing a link between the tax and its purpose. "The idea being that this is kind of a kids/kids thing," he explained. "In other words, if we're going to do this for kids maybe this would be a good way to go about it."

Critics of the target of the tax include state representative Steve Nass (R), who points out video games are unrelated to juvenile crime. The state senator indicated he would take other suggested funding proposals into consideration for the bill.

Defending the program's aim, Erpenbach said, "It's the right thing to do because not all 17-year-olds belong in the adult system when it comes to non-violent offenses. ...If you treat certain situations in a juvenile delinquent-type of a setting, as opposed to an adult setting, chances are there's going to be less of a problem when the kid gets older."

The CMP 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards have announced that Magnavox Odyssey inventor Ralph Baer, commonly hailed as the father of video games, will receive the organization's Pioneer Award for his contribution to gaming.

"In the inaugural year of the Pioneer Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards, it felt natural to bestow that award on the man who established our entire industry," said Game Developers Conference executive director Jamil Moledina.

The award committee was comprised of editors from the CMP-owned gaming site Gamasutra, as well as distinguished industry figures from Ubisoft, Arae, BioWare, Harmonix, and Big Huge Games.

International Game Developers Association executive director Jason Della Rocca will also be honored at the proceedings, where he will be the recipient of... Read more

PipelineFX's Qube! is the latest piece of software to be added to BioWare's ever-increasing stable of development tools, the two companies have announced.

Described as a "distributed processing and render farm management system" that enhances "productivity through pipeline acceleration," Qube! will be used in the creation of future BioWare releases, including its long-known return to PC role-playing, Dragon Age.

Recently purchased by EA, BioWare is best known for the Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights series of PC RPGs, Mass Effect (X360), and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox). Among other projects, it is currently working on a Sonic the Hedgehog RPG for Nintendo DS and an untitled MMO, heavily rumored to be set in the Knights of the Old Republic universe.

"We were able to integrate Qube! into our pipeline in less than a week and immediately started seeing results," said Dragon Age principal programmer Peter Woytiuk. "Qube! has given our artists more time to produce and iterate on content, which is key to creating the next generation of BioWare games."

Viacom subsidiary MTV's game division has announced plans to work with prolific Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Kangaroo Jack, Flashdance, Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers) on a new "game incubation studio" that intends to create new entertainment properties that will start life as video games.

According to the announcement, the studio will be staffed by "a team of experienced video game experts, artists and storytellers." The move is part of MTV's previously announced plans to invest $500 million into games.

In an interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo, MTV executive VP Jeff Yapp explained that Bruckheimer will work with additional studios, either internal or external to MTV. Yapp sees the venture as challenging established publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision: "I already think we are," he said. "How's that for arrogance?"

Bruckheimer has some experience with adapting games to film--he is a producer on the upcoming Prince of Persia film--and, as well, a number of his Hollywood works have been translated into games. Meanwhile, MTV Games has been involved with numerous video game projects, most recently including Harmonix's... Read more

Strong sales of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed (PS3, X360) may have staved off the long-rumored EA acquisition of the publisher, reports the Financial Times.

EA bought a 20% stake in Ubisoft back in 2004, a move many regarded as a precursor to an eventual merger. Though the topic is a constant source of discussion, with both Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillmeot and EA COO William Gordon chiming in on the matter, EA has yet to take any further action, while Ubisoft has diluted EA's American holdings in the company down to 15.4%.

Now, with sales of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed exceeding 2.5 million copies and estimated to hit 5 million by March, the French company's worth just shot up again, making a possible acquisition all the more expensive. At present, Ubisoft's market value is pegged at $4.3 billion, and PC and DS editions of Assassin's Creed are due out next spring.

Earlier in the month, Activision and Vivendi Games unexpectedly merged, creating what it claims to be the largest third-party video game publisher. The move triggered a rash of speculation about the possible acquisition targets of other companies, especially EA, as it previously held the mantle of the world's largest publisher.

The ESA's annual E3 Media & Business Summit will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center when it runs between July 15 and 17, 2008, the organization has announced.

This year's shift towards a smaller, more professional show with more exclusive attendance was accompanied by a change in location, with the event taking place across numerous locations in Santa Monica instead of a centralized hub, as in previous years.

However, the show's return to its former holdings does not indicate the ESA will be loosening the strict invitation-only attendance policy on the event once known for its glamorous excess.

"The Summit is first and foremost about getting business done," the ESA told Gamasutra. "The intent of this show is to be a business-to-business opportunity and it isn’t centered or focused on general consumers."

Gamer-driven charity Child's Play has raised more than $851,000 since this year's drive kicked off in November, according to its official site.

Of that, $225,000 came from the Child's Play charity dinner auction, which took place on December 11. The rest of that sum has arrived in the form of Amazon.com gifts and cash donations.

Founded in 2003 by Penny Arcade creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the organization provides hospitals around the world with the means to better entertain sick children.

Last year, the charity raised over a million dollars, a total it claims is "within striking distance of beating" before December 31.

"Give to Child's Play or I will punch you in the face and then you will be in a hospital and you won't have any video games to play because not enough people donated," stated Shacknews editor-in-chief Chris Remo, adding, "Jerk."