So I just saw on CNN some lady from LionLamb.org getting press time saying that the tie-in between entertainment media (videogames/toys) and making children more violent is a proven fact. Even more so that the correlation is stronger than stuff like calcium and bones or lead poisoning and affecting intelligence. This of course goes against the announcement made by the Surgeon General as well as the FTC and many others. Amusing. So I checked out the official page and saw this action figure from MGS2 listed as bad: (The "dirty dozen" list)

Metal Gear Solid 2, Sons of Liberty, Solid Snake,McFarlane Toys

Why we chose it: The six toy action figures in this series represent characters from the new Konami video game Metal Gear Solid 2, rated M for Mature by the video game industry.

Maybe I'm missing something, but isnt this saying a toy is considered inappropriate for a child and will make him/her violent based on the merchandise tie-in? Even though the child is not exposed to any of the violence from the game and only has a plastic action figure? update: Jack told me what I was missing, think Joe Camel syndrome.

Of all people, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has picked Regis "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Philbin to educate parents about computer games and their ratings through a new PSA spot. Previous promoters of the ratings system have been Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter. Thanks HomeLAN.

Here's one you dont see ever day, or well... ever? The FTC is preparing to to release a report tomorrow which will be slamming the movie and music industry about minors being able to purchase / see mature content as you'd expect, but they have decided to praise the video game industry. Thanks T.J. Young.

Jason got word of this earlier but I couldnt find someone to confirm the story, however the guys at IEMag must know someone because they have gotten confirmation that Next-Gen Magazine, one of my all time favorite gaming magazines (back when I read them) is closing up shop. Total bummer. Next-Gen is owned by Imagine Media

it was also explained that the last issue of Next-Generation will be the January 2002 issue. Next-Generation magazine began publishing issues in January 1995, and closed today, December 4, 2001.

Doh.

Update: HomeLAN Fed has some more information on the closing. Basically the magazine was no longer profitable with about 100,000 subscribers at the end of its run. Imagine Media will focus on their remaining magazines.

Looks like CPL has finally got their foot in the door with ESPN. A forum post by the CPL president announces that ESPN has confirmed that they will be coming to the event. Thanks ShackES. The CPL is also of course in talks with G4 Media, the upcoming TV network that will be focusing on video gaming. Seriously, did anyone really think this day would come?

The proof is in the pudding or something though, How much attention will ESPN actually give the upcoming $150,000 CPL event? Also, Will that G4 Media TV channel actually ever make it off the ground? I sure hope to get that G4 channel here in Austin, not that I imagine I'd be interested in watching it for more than a little while for the novelty value though.

note: Whining about having the word 'pro' or 'athlete' attached to gaming is so 1999. Get over it, this isnt the place.

A little while ago we got the PR about G4Media, the new gaming TV network that is about to launch. Figured you guys would want to see the website which I failed to link before.

Here's one that's a bit interesting. A new television network is being launched by in associate with Comcast. The G4 Television network. It's a bit surprising given that other computer/entertainment oriented TV shows have been hacking back these guys want to launch an entire TV station.

Capturing the excitement and worldwide popularity of video, computer, online and wireless games, Comcast Corporation announced a new original programming network called G4. The network is set to launch in April, 2002. Comcast Cable and Insight Communications have committed 7 million subscribers. The announcement was made today by Amy Banse, Vice President of Programming Investments, Comcast Corporation; Charles Hirschhorn, Founder and CEO of G4 Media and Debra Green, Chief Operating Officer of G4 Media. G4 is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week television network that will be the source of entertainment, news and information for video game enthusiasts. [snip]

FGNOnline, one of the biggest gaming industry news pages out there has shut their doors. There's some interesting letters from the editors etc describing the work that went in to the page. We've lost another one guys, I just hope our good fortune here at the Shack continues. Thanks Kyle.

Here's a pretty interesting article that ran at Chicago Tribune about a week ago that we missed. Violence in games (heard about that?) and the new "anxious world" that we are dealing with.

As was mentioned here a little while ago, Mumbo Jumbo games responsible for Myth3 has already folded up their California shop just after the game shipped. The Myth Wolf Age guys have an employee going on record:

The entire Myth III team was terminated on November 2, 2001. The basic reason was that there was no next project lined up and funded, nor was there expected to be in the near future, it's expensive to keep a team of salaried people around doing nothing

Lets play where in the world is Pat "Velcro Wallet" Hook?!

Looks like EA has closed up shop on their "Platinum Service" idea which had players paying to use particular games online according to AVault.

As of December 7, the subscription service and its games Air Warrior, Silent Death Online, Triple Play Web Baseball, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Web Golf will no longer be available.

What is also interesting to note is that EA will be offering free multiplayer online gaming support (Like Blizzard does with Battle.net) for Need for Speed, NASCAR, and some Knockout Kings Web Boxing game.

It's a bit surprising that a company with as many big titles and as much money as EA wouldnt be able to pull off a subscription service for game players online. Considering it's the company publishing these titles who have direct control over the contents of the box and ability to directly market the service... But then again we've seen how many companies give up and fold doing this?

Then we've got the EverQuest, Asheron's Call, DAoC, etc out there having people pay $10 a month just to play one game online.... hrm...

Blue Monday has posted an interview with Steve Fawkner, producer of the upcoming Warlords Battlecry 2 strategy sequel. Thanks double time this morning Stomped

Here's some fun for the whole family. The US Army is funding the production of a couple of videogames (Thanks Blues) that will be released on "next generation consoles" as well as PCs. Check this stuff out:

The Institute for Creative Technologies, which is jointly operated by the United States Army and the University of Southern California said on Thursday it would develop two combat video games, with financial and tactical backing from the Army. The Los Angeles-based institute said it will partner with FCS -- itself a joint venture of studio Sony Pictures ImageWorks and video game developer Pandemic Studios -- and Quicksilver Software to develop two games to be released over the next two years. ``C-Force'' will be released for next-generation consoles, while ICT and Quicksilver will partner on ``CS-12'' for PCs. Both games will have as executive producer Rob Sears, who produced the combat titles ``Mech Commander'' and ``Mech Warrior 3.''
[snip]
The institute was formed in 1999 with a $45 million grant from the Army as a partnership among academics, video game makers and creative talent in Hollywood to design advanced ''virtual reality'' and simulation training systems for the military. [snip]

A couple more casualties of the web wars to report. TweakFiles.com recently closed down as well as TeamXBox. (Although TeamXBox says 'dont count us out' just yet). Sorry to see them go. :(

Cached.net has an interview with Razer talking about their recent rise from the dead. Looks like they had a bridge loan intent letter that got yanked when the market turned. That is pretty much a ball of suck.

Well this isnt something you see every day. Remember those Razer mouse guys? Remember when they went out of business and never paid up on that prize money they had signed on with CPL for? (CPL later found another company to take their place). Well it looks like Razer is back, at least in limited form. It also looks like Razer hasnt gotten in to optical stuff yet though. This quote should amuse you:

There will be lots of critics (aren’t there always?) to tell you that you need to use an optical or a wireless mouse for competitive gaming. But we all know what product has given the top gamers in the world THE competitive edge!

Yeah!

While there are no official releases out yet, apparently 3DO is downsizing. The Austin, TX office has been closed down, and word is that the Redwood City office (headquarters) is going to be laying people off as well. Apparently their last few games haven't sold as well as expected, and their stock price has been in the toilet for awhile now. No word yet on how many are being let go, or how large the Austin office was.

Update: Monkeystone Games sent out this announcement announcing their existance and their first game Hyperspace Delivery Boy, due November 1. The current staff consists of John Romero, Tom Hall, Stevie Case, Lucas Davis and Brian Moon, with Moon joining the ex-ION Storm members from Ensemble Studios. Though the first game Hyperspace Delivery Boy is a Pocket PC title, the company will be creating Game Boy Advance titles too in addition to publishing titles.

"Monkeystone is a fun company dedicated to great gaming experiences on all handheld platforms, from the Pocket PC to mobile phones to portable videogame systems. The convergence of all these markets is coming, and it's exciting to be on the first wave of quality products!" says Hall. According to Romero, "We're getting back to our roots: small fun games on a stable platform that can be developed within months. Everyone is multi-talented and because of that, we can stay small -- which is how we like it here at Monkeystone. It's great being able to get things done instantaneously because everyone is right here working together."

In addition, there is an interview with Stevie Case, John Romero and Tom Hall on Voodoo Extreme, talking about their new company the and game Hyperspace Delivery Boy.

The flavor of the week to kick things off is gaming & terrorism articles. You can check out a few different ones at AVault , VoodooExtreme , and FiringSquad which all cover pretty much the same ground. Should game content be changed due to the recent attacks? As someone who didnt really lose anyone close to the recent disasters it's really hard for me to say. I try to imagine the incredible amount of pain I would feel if I lost my fiancee in the WTC. Then I try to imagine if seeing references to the WTC would cause me pain? Then what about the recent Counter-Strike map that features a crashed jet for example?

It just seems like a losing battle to try and be super-sensitive to this kind of thing. The super-sensitive types already hate games for being too violent and allegedly encouraging violence. Should we really pull every game that has any type of reference to terrorism or the WTC or the Pentagon off shelves until they can be reworked?

What would you think is a reasonable idea of how the gaming industry should react to all of this, if at all?

Here's some survey results a lot of people have been wanting to see. The recent Half-Life v1108 release included an optional poll that people could fill out giving their machine/connection specs out. Check em out. A few of the more interesting notes:

- Only about 10% on modem connections
- GeForce2MX & TNT2 most popular by far
- Near even split between AMD & Intel CPUs

What is also something to note though and something I've always felt about polls like this. The guys with the higher end machines and better connections are probably 83.245% more likely to participate in a poll to share that info. I'm also told that 81.32% of statistics are made up, but I think someone is just making that up.