December 31, 2006
December 26, 2006
December 25, 2006
Gaming Gets a 'Crossfire'N'Gai
N'Gai at Newsweek has up a quick article highlighting the start of a series that could be considered gaming's answer to 'Crossfire'. Hosted by the GameTrailers site, 'Bonus Round' is set to be a frequently-produced show highlighting and discussing issues
Garry Williams: Man of the Year? - at SPOnG.com Games Companies People News Editorial Contains Starts with Ends with Exactly or here Skin Fancy a change of scenery? Take our site skins for a test drive. Just click on the
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Virtual Console Christmas is Retrotastic 57 comments The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. (Score:1) by on Friday December 22, @01:33PM Slow news day is slow? [ ] by
article Promising start, but can the Wii win us over? gallery Bungie show us the goods review Classically inspired review Paul sings in the terraces preview Kicking up a storm in the RTS genre… review Not Sylvanian Families review Decrepit review Late
Posted on 23 Dec 2006 by SquallSnake7 By: Zachary Gasiorowski Hudson Entertainment just announced that an enhanced version of the arcade hit, BurgerTime, is now available on cell phones. This updated edition of the game, titled BurgerTime Special, is
holy_calamity writes 'The Science Museum in London is hosting a Mindball Championship next week. Pairs of opponents wired up to electroencephalogram (EEG) machines use their brain waves to push a ball towards an opponent. The challenge is that to win,
December 24, 2006
December 22, 2006
DISGRUNTLED CONSUMER LAUNCHES WII
As you have probably heard, there have been some problems with the wrist straps for Nintendo’s new Wii controllers and Nintendo announced a voluntary replacement program last week. In the meantime, a Wii purchaser from Texas has filed a lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming that Nintendo engaged in “unfair or deceptive practices†by telling consumers that the Wiimote’s wrist strap was meant to prevent the controller from flying from a user’s hand during use, but then providing a strap that was not effective for that intended use. The lawsuit also claims that the wrist strap defects are a breach of warranty. Nintendo has responded by stating that the lawsuit is without merit. Coverage at:http://shorl.com/buvomyfroduka(GameSpot) It will be back to the drawing board for console makers who have to re-think anti-piracy technology in consoles after the Australian government announced plans to pass amendments legalizing mod chips that circumvent certain kinds of anti-piracy technology. Under the amendments, technologies which prevent the use of copyrighted material legally bought in a different geographic region will not have the benefit of anti-circumvention laws. Only those mod chips whose sole purpose is to thwart anti-piracy technology will be illegal. The amendments are suspected to be passed this week. More coverage on this at Australian IT:http://shorl.com/gejosepupredri Toys "R" Us is said to be under investigation by the Better Business Bureau over its Wii bundling practices. Some Chicago consumers are complaining of having been misled and railroaded into purchasing Wii bundles costing about $200 more than an advertised price (not for a bundle). The BBB is reported to now be “apparently challenging Toys "R" Us on its advertising of the Wii†while Toys "R" Us has apparently told NBC that it was not an advertising problem and that it was simply a "misunderstandingâ€, that consumers that wish to return the bundle and purchase the cheaper product will be allowed to so. Mere bundling is not necessarily illegal. coverage at:http://shorl.com/bobrybigamoda(GameDaily)
Illinois, $510,000; Washington state, $344,000; St. Louis, $180, 000; Indianapolis, $318,000; Michigan, $182,349… All in USD!
In April, Michigan’s video game law was declared unconstitutional and now the state has been ordered to pay the video industry’s legal bill.
Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, is quoted as saying that "In nine out of nine cases in the past six years, judges have struck down these clearly unconstitutional laws, and in each instance ESA has or will recover its legal fees from the states. What's worse, the politicians proposing and voting for these laws know this will be the outcomeâ€.
coverage at:http://shorl.com/hygrutrapifoni(GameDaily)
In the mid-80’s, Keirin Kirby (better known to us video game lawyers of the ‘80s as "Lady Kier") was the lead singer of a band called "Deee-Lite". But wait—that’s not all! Kirby was more than just a retro-funk-dance pretty face: she was also a dancer, choreographer and fashion designer. And she believes she has created a distinctive look and character.
Enter Sega.
In 1999 Sega released Space Channel 5, a futuristic space game which featured a character called "Ulala" who dressed in an outfit similar to the outfits Kirby liked to wear (i.e. mini-skirt, tank top with a number on the front, pink hair in pigtails, etc.). THQ later released a Gameboy Advance version of the game.
Kirby sued, claiming that the game misappropriated her likeness and identity. The lower court dismissed the lawsuit (through summary judgment). Kirby appealed but lost.
The courts found there were similarities between the appearances of Kirby and Ulala, so Kirby at least had an argument that her likeness and identity were misappropriated. However, the courts also found that the First Amendment (freedom of expression) provided a complete defence to Kirby’s claims because Ulala was not a literal depiction of Kirby—there were sufficient differences between Kirby and Ulala.
At one time or another, many of you have probably considered basing a video game character on one of the many buff, distinctive and charismatic video game lawyers at Davis. And you probably wondered how to do it.
Well here’s how. According to the California Court of Appeal, all you need to do is ensure that your work contains "something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with new expression, meaning, or message."
The test in Canada will likely be different, of course, but there doesn’t appear to be any video game case law on point yet. But heck, we’re willing to make some, so here’s a link to our photos: http://www.shorl.com/divofrakodefri
Kirby v. Sega is here:http://www.shorl.com/distokimynagu
Just two weeks after the release of the Nintendo Wii, the Wall Street journal has reported cases of numb arms, sore shoulders and “Wii-elbow†caused by jerky or repetitive motions. It’s not just the Wii gamers, of course, that can suffer from overplay - Dr. Daniel Latch, a gamer and a chiropractor, says that gamers on all consoles overwork their thumb tendons and neck muscles. Similarly, Dr. Chester Quan, an optometrist, is seeing a growing trend in nearsightedness and, in teens, a need for more frequent changes in prescription which he says is likely attributable to an increased exposure to computer screens and video games. So, could these type of overplay-related injuries lead to a product liability suit against a console maker? It would appear at least theoretically possible. What about product warnings, though? Will warnings in the console manual about the dangers of repetitive motion be sufficient to shield a console maker from this kind of product liability claim? We note, for example, that such warnings also appear on both the Wii and Xbox360 web pages though, until a product liability claim based on repetitive injuries is litigated, it’s not clear how much protection the warnings will ultimately offer. Coverage at:http://shorl.com/gigotovynino (CBS5.com)
December 21, 2006
December 19, 2006
THE AUTHORITY ON OCCUPATIONAL
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Tis the season for metrics. The companies that keep tabs on the Internet have released a flurry of statistics over the past couple of weeks, all of them with the same conclusion: e-commerce is growing still. Nielsen//NetRatings' Holiday eShopping index put on a few pounds, expanding by 20 percent year-over-year. eShopping visits have gone from 469 million for the week ending December 10, 2005, …
NEW YORK — To mark the opening yesterday in Times Square of M&M's World New York, a 25,000-square-foot retail store "dedicated to the colorful chocolate fun of all things M&M's," city residents put on bathing suits and dunked themselves in the familiar red, blue, green, and yellow candy-coated colors, thereby transforming themselves into human versions of the iconic sweet treat.
Modern, exotic, capable personal electronic gadgets are hard to create. While Apple takes months and months to create them, customers living on Internet time, well inside Apple's OODA loop, are frustrated. Will Apple stay the course
Parking tickets are making for a happy holiday for some kids in Mississippi.
YORK, Pa. — After hearing about the theft of more than 200 toys from the Voni B. Grimes Gym's annual "An Evening with Santa" program, York, Pa.-based Rutter's Farm Stores placed collection boxes in each of its 44 York County convenience stores and asked for toy donations.
December 17, 2006
December 16, 2006
December 15, 2006
Gamecube 'Zelda: Twilight Princess'
Today is a huge day for Gamecube gamers in the US, as today is the day when Gamecube version of 'The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess' begins trickling onto store shelves. Booya! I say 'trickling' because a) the game…
What would happen if Aryll from 'Zelda: Wind Waker' fished out a Wii Remote and started swinging it around? I can answer that in one word: hilarity. This is quite an impressive video and it cracked me up a few…
The other night, Allison and I had one of our favorite salads for dinner and as we were eating, we started naming the ingredients using Twilight Princess characters and items. No, we didn't have too much wine, we're just strange…
In 1993, the Atari Jaguar was positioned to blow the competition out of the water. With a household name, a history in gaming, cutting edge technology, and commitments for a ton of developers there was no way the Jaguar wouldn't…
During the month of November, most eyes were focused on sales data for the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 in order to crown the winner of the first battle of the next-gens. While that was taking place, Nintendo quietly outsold…
I came across this San Francisco Chronicles piece which helps you decide what older game system to purchase if you can't afford a Wii or PS3. There's a lot of good advice in there including the fact that the GameCube…
December 14, 2006
December 13, 2006
December 11, 2006
'Gears of War' walkthrough
I'm happy to report that the LB 'Gears of War' walkthrough and strategy guide is complete. I'm currently replaying the game, this time on "casual difficulty", taking screenshots as I go. I'm also searching for a few final Cog Tags….
Did you miss out on the PS3 or Wii? Don't worry, because there are plenty of Xbox 360s available for the holidays, and the X360 is a fantastic console (some would even say it's a much better console than the…
Earlier today I posted about a sweet deal at Dell.com, where you can get a Premium Xbox 360 for only $340 ($60 off MSRP). Now I'm here to tell you about an even sweeter deal over at Amazon.com. Amazon customers…
The day after Thanksgiving (aka 'Black Friday') is, quite possibly, my favorite day of the year. There are few things better than waking up from a tryptophan enduced sleep, brewing some coffee, pouring it in my favorite travel mug, then…
The New York Times (free sub. req.) are adding their two cents on the console war and guess who wins? The Wii and the Xbox 360. At this point, the PS3 has yet to receive any love from any major…
December 10, 2006
December 9, 2006
December 8, 2006
December 7, 2006
Discover the Major Quantitative
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46451) has announced the addition
LONDON (Reuters) - Those who need an excuse to enjoy themselves this festive season now have a very good one: having fun has become cheaper, while day-to-day living expenses have rocketed.
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46401) has announced the addition
Aberdeen will be getting into festive mood twice this weekend when the lights on two Christmas trees are switched on. 2006/12/01 00:00:00
December 6, 2006
Discover the Major Quantitative
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46451) has announced the addition
LONDON (Reuters) - Sweets-to-DVDs retailer Woolworths said on Tuesday its full-year results would be at the lower end of analysts’ expectations at best following a tough few months of trading.
— Buy your own iPod!
NOVEMBER 28, 2006 — With 48 percent of consumers planning to buy toys this year, Barbie still ranks as the No. 1 toy for girls, while TMX Elmo comes in on the top of boys’ wish lists, according to the National Retail Federation's (NRF) 2006 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.
December 5, 2006
Halo 3 Beta Registration
Posted on 4 Dec 2006 by Nick2444 Internet collapses at hands of salivating gamers Registration begins tonight for the much anticipated Halo 3 multiplayer beta. Starting in spring 2007, select gamers who register at http://www.halo3.com will have an
As the Nintendo Wii is launched in Japan (and subsequently sold out) more games are released in the first week of December. The Sony PlayStation 3 receives the first new titles outside of its initial launch with the boxing game Fight Night Round 3 and
Posted on 4 Dec 2006 by Nick2444 Court calls evidence linking violent games and real life violence "unreliable" By Joey Sinicki This week, a Louisiana district court shot down a proposed law that would heighten penalties for those who gave minors
commercial now on Live Marketplace - Halo 3 for 360 - Please enable Javascript to view the Ticker Remember Me Halo 3Publisher: MicrosoftDeveloper: BungiePlatform: Genre: First Person ShooterRelease Date: 2007 - Posted 05-12-2006 - 10:35am -