Apr 30
Jack Action writes “The University of British Columbia runs a summer camp where kids get to play computer games for three hours a day. The camp organizers say it is ‘a good social opportunity for some kids who didn’t fit into other programs.’ However, health professionals declare they are ‘troubled’ by the camp. A professor in UBC’s department of medicine says kids should be outside and engaged in ‘unstructured play,’ while the CEO of an NGO that monitors kids’ health chimes in that they already spend too much time in front of screens and not exercising. Do the health experts have a point, or are they just criticizing something they don’t understand, or perhaps is not to their taste?”
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written by Soulskill
\\ tags: canada, Games, Video Games
Apr 30
eldavojohn writes “Sure, they’re stepping all over proprietary rights and copyright, but something must be said about the amount of bliss-filled nostalgia inside Exploding Rabbit’s Super Mario Crossover. If the plumbers never really did it for you, you can now kill those goombas as Link, Mega Man, Samus, Simon Belmont, or Contra’s Bill. Goodbye jumping and spitting; hello slicing, whipping, and shooting. Is this one of the early firsts in the new genre of video game mashups?”
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written by Soulskill
\\ tags: classicgames, Games, Video Games
Apr 30
An anonymous reader writes “Infinity Ward may be suing Activision under allegations of low payment and no royalties, but it seems some developers are still happy to work with the publisher — it has just signed a 10-year deal with Bungie, the studio behind the popular Halo series of FPS games. Activision will publish all of Bungie’s games in the next decade — although Bungie will own the IP. The terms of the deal are similar to those brokered by former Infinity Ward chiefs Jason West and Vince Zampella when they signed with EA after being fired in March.”
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written by Soulskill
\\ tags: business, Games, Video Games
Apr 30
An anonymous reader writes “Blizzard has released the Mac client of the StarCraft II multiplayer beta. If you already have an invite for the PC beta, the Mac client is available under your Battle.net account.”
A recent patch also added a map editor to the StarCraft II beta, which has already led to some interesting projects.
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written by Soulskill
\\ tags: Games, mac, Video Games
Apr 29
Hugh Pickens writes “The Washington Post reports that officials at George Mason University are quickly finding out that they have vastly underestimated interest in the school’s new bachelor’s degree in video game design. ‘We’ve been overwhelmed,’ says Scott M. Martin, assistant dean for technology, research, and advancement at GMU. ‘Our anticipated enrollment for the fall is 500 percent higher than we expected.’ George Mason first offered the program last fall, when officials anticipated that it would enroll about 30 full-time students, but currently 200 students are enrolled and that number is increasing. Course titles under the program include ‘History of Computer Game Design,’ while other courses focus on computer programming, digital arts, and graphics and motion capture. Although many colleges offer courses and degrees in computer gaming in the United States, GMU offers the only four-year program in the DC area, an important market for gaming because serious games — those used to train military and special operations, doctors, and others who use simulators — are becoming a market force in the region because of the proximity to federal government centers.”
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written by timothy
\\ tags: education, Games, Video Games
Apr 29
Precision noticed that Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade fame have made the Time 100. The writeup talks about Child’s Play and PAX and lavishes deserved adoration upon the pair. I’ve always envied their ability to maintain control over their brand and use it for appropriately portioned good and evil 
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written by CmdrTaco
\\ tags: Games, Video Games
Apr 29
Stoobalou writes “A Californian Playstation 3 user has filed the first class action lawsuit against Sony over removal of the ‘Install Other OS’ function from the Playstation 3. The action seeks to redress Sony’s ‘intentional disablement of the valuable functionalities originally advertised as available with the Sony Playstation 3 video game console.’ The suit claims that the disablement breaches the sales contract between Sony and its customers and constitutes ‘an unfair and deceptive business practice perpetrated on millions of unsuspecting customers.’”
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written by CmdrTaco
\\ tags: Games, os, Video Games
Apr 29
Stoobalou writes “A Californian Playstation 3 user has filed the first class action lawsuit against Sony over removal of the ‘Install Other OS’ function from the Playstation 3. The action seeks to redress Sony’s ‘intentional disablement of the valuable functionalities originally advertised as available with the Sony Playstation 3 video game console.’ The suit claims that the disablement breaches the sales contract between Sony and its customers and constitutes ‘an unfair and deceptive business practice perpetrated on millions of unsuspecting customers.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
written by CmdrTaco
\\ tags: Games, playstation, Video Games
Apr 29
Hugh Pickens writes “Fox News reports that the Boy Scouts of America — a group founded on the principles of building character and improving physical fitness — have introduced merit pins for academic achievement in video gaming, a move that has child health experts atwitter. ‘It could be quite visionary and exciting or it could be a complete sellout,’ says Dr. Vic Strasburger. ‘I don’t see anything wrong with that as long as they’re not playing first-person shooter games, violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content. The question is, who’s going to supervise the scouts?’ Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts can earn their pins by spending an hour a day playing games, teaching others how to play better, and researching the best price for games they’d like to buy.”
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written by samzenpus
\\ tags: Games, Video Games
Apr 28
On April 15th, Microsoft terminated Xbox Live support for the original Xbox console, marking the end of online multiplayer for many older games. However, a group of Halo 2 players have refused to give up online play by leaving their consoles on and connected since then. Overheating consoles and dropped connections have taken their toll, but at present, 13 players are still going strong.
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written by Soulskill
\\ tags: fps, Games, Video Games