Gaming

Although I'm neither a teenage girl nor a mother, if there's one thing TV and movies have taught me, it's that by denying that "bad boy" boyfriend, she'll only want him more. If you really think about it, that concept could easily be applied to ... Manhunt 2, the latest and already most infamous in Rockstar's line of shock 'em and rock 'em video games. Last week, Manhunt 2 was outright banned in the United Kingdom. As the ratings board there denied even setting a suggested age for the title, it effectively made it illegal for retailers to sell. Although Americans are far more accepting of good ' ... (view more)

When it comes to banning video games, Britain is not a world leader. The country has nixed the releases of just two titles in its history, the most recent being Rockstar's highly controversial Manhunt 2. The outright ban comes as a denial by the ... British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to even rate the game. According to the BBFC's director Daniel Cooke, Manhunt 2 is guilty of an "unremiting callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing." Manhunt 2 is similar to the original title, which ... (view more)

So far this year, the Nintendo Wii is kicking some serious butt. If you were to deconstruct the not-so-secret ingredients to the Nintendo Wii's success, two compounds would bubble to the top: unique, motion sensitive controls and a considerably low ... price tag. Although it lags behind both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 in graphics and media features, the Wii is both innovative and cheap. While Microsoft's console may not have fancy "Wiimote" controllers, recent rumors have suggested the company is considering a significant price drop of the Xbox 360. The first such report on the ... (view more)

With Sony confirming it will now be laying off workers in both Europe and the United States (while "restructuring" Japanese operations), the company appears to have little choice but to reduce the price of its PlayStation 3. Sony's console is ... responsible for the gaming division job cuts, largely because, although extremely powerful, the PlayStation 3 has simply been too expensive. It seems Sony may be creeping ever closer to that much-needed price slash, with its president calling such a move "a possibility". For those that can afford it, the $599 PlayStation 3 includes a Blu-ray high ... (view more)

Can the video game industry break the technology-created age barrier? Although nothing is certain at the moment, Microsoft has made attempts to do so. In conjunction with game maker Electronic Arts, Microsoft brought a day of gaming to a pensioners' ... settlement in Finland. This specific venue was a prime choice, since Finland is home to the most rapidly aging population in Western Europe. The motive behind this day of electronic recreation was to gauge interest in gaming among pensioners. For the seniors, however, playing video games was merely a way to strengthen relationships with their ... (view more)

As a result of his creating the video game "V-Tech Massacre", Australian Ryan Lambourn, all of 21, has received plenty of criticism. However, he's also received plenty of attention, being featured on web mainstay MSN -- all this for a game that ... looks like something that's been rejected a Seal of Quality from Nintendo for its 1985 NES console. Here's the deal: the game, in rather primitive 8-bit-like graphics, depicts a killer slaughtering students. It's not nearly as realistic as Manhunt or Grand Theft Auto, and doesn't have much on Pac Man violence. However, the name alone has suckered in ... (view more)

It may be safe to say that Microsoft's much-anticipated operating system (OS), Windows Vista, has, at least in the eyes of the mainstream and even tech media -- fallen flat. Some complaints have surrounded the OS' extensive technical requirements, ... its new, controversial interface changes, and of course, its cost. That's why the Microsoft hounds over at ZDnet have comprised a list of possible suggestions to improve the company's PC software. How? Put the Xbox team in charge at Redmond HQ. Although the Xbox and newer Xbox 360 have had their struggling moments, the latter's current position in ... (view more)

Microsoft officially announced the Xbox Dashboard Spring Update this past Monday: a move that is sure to ignite spring fever among the game console's millions of users. Headlining the update is a new Xbox 360 accessory -- a QWERTY text-input device ... will directly connect into the Xbox 360 controller and will support text and instant messaging capabilities. (Source: itwire.com.au ) Scheduled to be launched on May 7, the new add-on will enable Xbox 360 users to access the Windows Live Messenger service through their game console, allowing gamers to identify each other by tags and communicate via ... (view more)

Math, Science, English, and Philosophy: those are the types of courses university students expect to be confronted with. Will video games soon be added to that list? Yes, video games. David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the ... University of Wisconsin-Madison, is pushing to have gaming adding to the curriculum. If he succeeds, students could eventually have chemistry and video games on the same class schedule. It's not as farfetched as it sounds. After all, video games *do* have their practical uses: The U.S. military uses games to train its soldiers. Teenage cancer ... (view more)

When a company as powerful and influential as Electronic Arts (EA) gives its seal of approval, people stand back and take notice. As previously reported on Infopackets, Apple recently added video games to the growing list of media that can be ... downloaded for the iPod from the iTunes web store. Now EA is putting its full weight behind Apple's portable unit. "Consumers have an appetite for a diversionary-type game experience -- a snack where they can play for five minutes," stated Mitch Lasky, the leader of EA's mobile gaming division. The iPod is not in competition with standalone portable ... (view more)