Gamenews Weekly
Production Pages
14 June 2005 Gamenews Weekly: Production Pages - games in development in Australia. To get the next issue, and lots more, subscribe to Gamenews Weekly today!

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Industry
Japanese Game Industry Article
Business Week Online has a long article on the Japanese game industry and whether it is able to reclaim former game glory as "champs of the game industry." For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [31 March 2005].

Society
Bizarro World: Two 9 Year Old US Kids trade Video Game for Gun TheKansasCityChannel.com has a story of how a mother called police after her 9 year old son said he was off to swap an X-Box game for a gun; another 9 year old kid had the gun. For the brief article, click here. By Tim Richards. [31 March 2005].

Society
Nintendo Pushes Big Mario Onto Hollywood Street
A press release from Nintendo pushes the case for their character and trademark Mario, "the biggest star in video game history" says the company, and other famous video game characters, to have their own 'Interactive Entertainment' part of the Hollywood walk of fame. For the press release, click here. By Tim Richards. [31 March 2005].

Industry
Canada Makes Claim to Ubisoft?
Canadian media CTV.ca has an article about Ubisoft and their Montreal game studio, following the release this week of Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for console. Notwithstanding the historical and contemporary connection between Canada and France, if you didn't know better, you would think from reading the article that Ubisoft is headquarted in Canada, with the report stating "the wildly anticipated Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, the latest in a long line of popular video games to come out of Montreal based Ubisoft.". Last time I looked Ubisoft was still a French based conglomerate, listed on the French stock exchange. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [31 March 2005].

Government
USA: Transferable Tax Credits to get Film Biz may be used for Game Biz
The business pages of 2TheAdvocate.com has an article about two Louisiana business groups, who have started a study to consider whether the American State of Louisiana can "lure video-game developers with tax credits, just as it has done with the movie business." They are also considering the establishment of a video game incubator for fledgling game companies. Regarding tax breaks for movie businesses, the article reports the "motion picture Investment Tax Credit has helped generate $555 million in movie and television projects in Louisiana since 2002, according to the Governor's Office of Film and Television... [and] taken a $95 million bite out of state revenue collections." The tax credits are transferable, and apparently sold for 70% of their value to other entities keen to apply the credits to their liability. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [30 March 2005].

Society
F1 Driver Uses Video Game to learn Track
A racing news website, Crash.net, reports that F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve said, in an effort to learn about a circuit in Bahrain, that he is "going to play with an F1 video game that includes this track to get used to the layout." For the article, which is otherwise very non game related, click here. By Tim Richards. [30 March 2005].

Events
Game Developers Conference 2005 (US)
A review of the recent Game Developers Conference 2005 notes the number of academic institutions present and comments "it could be that there is a growing demand for university trained and certified game developers (particularly artists) or it could just mean that academia is finally realizing that game development is as viable an industry as accounting or agriculture." For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [29 March 2005].

Development
Korea Online Games
Korea's media interest in online games and Starcraft in particular continues (see Gamenews.com.au "Game Longevity" 21 March 2005, below) with the Korea Herald online reporting that South Korea "has quickly grown into a global leader in broadband Internet penetration and Net-enabled computer games were among the killer applications.... it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that the huge success of "StarCraft," a real-time strategy computer game by U.S. software developer Blizzard Entertainment Inc., led the online transition of the local game industry once dominated by console-based products." For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [29 March 2005].

Government
UK Computer Games to Carry Bigger Classification Descriptors
The UK Government has announced that "computer games are to carry larger age symbols and descriptions of their content in a bid to help parents understand what their children are playing." The Government reports the move comes following meetings between Government and the Game Industry "to stop 18+ rated video games getting into the hands of youngsters." The changes will commence May 2005 and means that "games which are classified '15' or '18' will carry a description of content on the back of the packaging while the age symbols will double in size." The Government notes that "only 1.6 per cent of computer games are rated 18 but they account for eight per cent of sales." For the announcement, click here. By Tim Richards. [29 March 2005].

Industry
How do Gamers 'Consume'?
American based Game website IGN has announced findings of a 5000 subject survey (90% of respondents were male) which found that Gamers ("consumers"): * spend more than US $700 a year: US$341 on console titles, US$233 on PC games and another US$140 for accessories. * play games an average of 20 hours a week; ten percent spend 40 plus hours a week. * and that they influence others by advising 5 to 6 people per month about computer, console or game-related purchases. * Further, when it comes to buying video game titles, consumers make their purchase decisions based on game reviews and media such as trailers, screenshots and demos and that game buyers do a great deal of research online on titles they are thinking about purchasing. * Few gamers choose their games based on the publisher or developer. * Gamers who buy online make more frequent purchases, an average of five times per month, than gamers who go to stores (an average of just over three times per month). * Gamers, 50 percent of them, rent games, and on average rent 11 games per month, and 60% of game renters eventually purchase the title they rented. For the press release, click here. By Tim Richards. [29 March 2005].

Industry
Video News About Women Game Designers
American ABC News has a video news item online, highlighting female game designers in Electronic Arts. Click here. By Tim Richards. [29 March 2005].

Government
New Twist to US Proposals to Ban Certain Computer Game Sales
Efforts by lawmakers in the United States of America to ban the sale of certain computer and console games (see Gamenews.com.au 18 March 2005 below) has taken an interesting turn with news Senator Clinton (former President Bill Clinton's wife who is Senator for New York State) has taken up a "morality war on violent video games", according to the UK's The Sunday Times. The interest comes from the fact Hillary is a 'democrat' and that banning violent video games is a typical 'republican' issue, referring to the main political parties in the US. The Sunday Times reports that Hillary Clinton has condemned games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "as a “major threat” to moral health." The Sunday Times reports ""Children are playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them,” the senator and former first lady said. “This is a silent epidemic of media desensitisation that teaches kids it’s okay to diss people because they are a woman, they’re a different colour or they’re from a different place.”". Senator Clinton has joined forces with two republican Senators to lobby President Bush and Congress "to launch a $90m (£48m) investigation of the impact of electronic media on children’s “cognitive, social, emotional and physical development”." For the article, click here. Senator Clinton is a savvy politician with strong support from her constituents, who has earned substantial respect in the political world, and is tipped to be the Democrat's 2008 presidential candidate. The Senator's announcement was actually made 9 March 2005, at a children's media conference organised by Kaiser Family Foundation, in support of new research they have done. For the conference details, click here. For the Senator's presentation (transcript) click here. By Tim Richards. [28 March 2005].

Legal
Dual Shock: Sony vs Immersion Corp
Business Week online reports that Sony Computer Entertainment has lost a patent infringment case in the US Federal District Court in Oakland California, concerning their PS2 dual shock controllers, and will appeal to the US High Court. The case was brought by Immersion Corporation and started back in February 2002. The decision of the Federal District court included an order to suspend sale of the PS2, however it is reported that the order is not in effect while an appeal is in process. The court awarded over US$90 million to Immersion. For the article, click here. A write up on Immersion Corporation in Forbes from February this year can be found here. Forbes reports that Immersion has "240 patents, and another 280 pending" and has "a firmer grip than almost anyone else on the always-overdue-but-promising science of haptics, which combines software and motors to add a tactile interface to the digital world." Immersion's technology is used in a variety of products in different industries, and for example its "surgical-training machines can flawlessly reproduce the sensation of inserting a catheter into a vein" reports Forbes. By Tim Richards. [28 March 2005].

Society
Game Technology Used as part of Physical Exercise Classes
A short but nevertheless interesting article from the American ABC News website reports on efforts by a high school to use game technology as an alternative form of physical exercise. The educator involved says "she offers students a choice between playing more traditional team sports like basketball or baseball, or using what they call the "fitness room" where students use a video game console to play games that get their blood pumping." The students seem to appreciate the alternative sports option. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [26 March 2005].

Consoles
PSP Launch in North America
Reports on the Sony PSP launch in America which took place Thursday, are now coming in. For an early look at public reception, see the online business section of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle which reports sales took off in the big cities but were a bit flat in their local area. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [26 March 2005].

Education
US: College Game Development Club
A local Houston community newspaper reports on an initiative by a college computer instructor to provide students with an opportunity to understand game development, through the twice weekly, Gaming Enterprise Guild. The Gaming Enterprise Guild is running three projects, a learning game for the college, a gaming engine, and a mobile phone Java game. It is thought that computer games "can be used as an exciting and interesting training tool for educators". For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [25 March 2005].

Industry
US Actors Push for More Equitable Share of Video Game Industry
Backstage.com reports on negotiations currently underway between American performance artists and actor guilds on one side and computer game producers on the other, concerning interactive media terms of engagement. The actors groups believe the growing game industry isn't sharing enough of the wealth created. The report explains session fees are provided to actors with only name stars receiving the best compensation, being a tiny share of each sale; quoting from another source the report says "While this isn't unusual in show biz, stars are often paid six-figure salaries but end up having to be replaced or re-tracked by scale performers who 'voice match' them. While it would be difficult to replace a big star on screen, it's not difficult to do so on a video game." For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [24 March 2005].

Industry
GameForce.com.au Video Game Rental
Queensland based GameForce Pty Ltd has announced it is now ready for business with website www.gameforce.com.au. GameForce.com.au offers gamers the ability to rent Xbox and PS2 games online. Users of the service pay a monthly subscription fee in return for access to over 600 game titles; the higher the fee, the more games can be rented at anyone time. Games are sent out by post. Company director Bryan Wain says "The online rental of games has been hugely popular in America, and is growing quickly in Australia. Gamers have realised the benefits of renting online such as cheaper prices, convenience, a wider range and no limit to how long a game can be rented for." GameForce is currently offering four membership plans ranging from one game at a time for $19.95/month, to four games at a time for $49.95/month. The founders of GameForce.com.au previously ran GamePost.com.au, the same type of business. GamePost.com.au started in 2003 and was closed recently. By Tim Richards. [24 March 2005].

Industry
Eidos Gets bail out Offer
Ireland Online reports that "computer games maker Eidos received a financial lifeline today after a private equity firm featuring rock icon Bono struck a £71m (€102.4m) takeover deal." For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [22 March 2005]

Events
ACMI Melbourne: Seminar Wednesday 23 March 2005
Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), located at Federation Square, has organised what looks to be an interesting presentation by Gonzalo Frasca, speaking from experience on the potential for computer games to affect public opinion. See here for an article about Mr Frasca. By Tim Richards. [22 March 2005] See the Gamenews.com.au Q&A with Mr Frasca, left column.

Details
Gonzalo Frasca from the USA
Speaking at ACMI, Federation Square Melbourne
Wednesday 23 March 2005 at 7pm
Cost $15/$12 concession
Contact 03 8663 2200; www.acmi.net.au

Consoles
Xbox Cable Problems; A Cover Up in Progress?
The Sydney Morning Herald reported online yesterday on a serious power supply problem with the Xbox, commenting that "Microsoft said it was recalling 14.1 million Xbox power cords after customers reported minor burns and fire damage due to faulty units." It appears the issues go much deeper. The article reports on an online petition, entitled 'The Xbox power cord coverup', which states "Microsoft's recall of the Xbox power cords is a coverup of the real problem...Many of the older xbox consoles came with a power supply manufactured by Foxlink Technologies, Ltd., and are of a poor design. The power plugs on these supplies are not secured strongly to the circuit boards, and will often break the solder joints which carry power into the unit. These broken solder joints are the cause of the popping, sparking, smoking, and fires...". For the Age article, click here; and for the petition, click here. By Tim Richards. [22 March 2005]

Government
Aust-US Free Trade Agreement; A Threat to Australian Mod Chipping
Bigkid.com.au reports on a slashdot.org posting causing alot of interest, concerning Sony Computer Entertainment Australia getting ready to use the Australia-American Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to base a new case for outlawing PS2 mod chips; see here. To implement the already agreed FTA, some Australian laws will change, including copyright laws. The slashdot article refers to an article in the Australian IT, "Sony push to outflank PS2 mods", see here. At the present time the Australian High Court is deliberating on an important legal case on chipping; Sony sued a mod chipper and the case has taken the last few years to wind its way from the Federal Court, via the Federal Court of Appeal, to the High Court. Should Sony be unsuccessful, the Australia IT reports Sony will launch a new case based on the changes to the law brought about by the FTA. By Tim Richards. [21 March 2005]

Development
Game Longevity
The longevity of computer games has been explored recently by the Korea Times, on the back of two new books on the subject. "Will Starcraft Survive Next 10 Years?" provides an interesting view of game longevity and the potential for sequels to destroy a game's popularity. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [21 March 2005]

Classification
'Narc' Sparks Media Interest
The Sydney Morning Herald article "Activists urge classification review" raises issues with the game classification system in Australia (see here), issues sparked off by the yet to be released game 'Narc', which was reported on in the article "New game smacks of grim culture", also published by the Sydney Morning Herald (see here) and which made it to the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald's sister paper, the Melbourne based Age. There is no 'R' classification in Australia for interactive entertainment like computer games. By Tim Richards. [21 March 2005]

Government
Illinois, US: Proposed Law to Ban Certain Computer Game Sales
The Washington Times reports that "measures to ban the sale of graphically violent and sexually explicit video games to minors in Illinois, Maryland, Alabama and the District of Columbia face constitutional challenges under the First Amendment right to free speech." The Illinois House of Parliament "voted 91-19 to send retailers who sell or rent violent or sexually explicit video games to children younger than 18 to jail for up to one year and fine violators $5,000." the Washington Times reports, the proposed law is known as the 'Safe Games Illinois Act'. For the article, click here. While the proposed law needs to be approved by the Illinois Senate before it becomes a law, it is a slap in the face to the American self-regulated game industry, which through the Entertainment Software Association Rating Board (the people that put the hopeful notice 'games may cause seizures' in game manuals and console game load up screens), provides for the same types of games to be sold to people under 18, but certainly within specified classifications that do not go younger than a certain age cut-off. The Illinois bill covers only certain types of games, and in the article, a sponsor of the proposed law (i.e. an elected representative who supports the proposed law) says "Killing an alien wouldn't fall under the bill," in response to a hypothetical question. However, if the alien looked human, "human-looking space aliens would fall under the ban on violent video games" reports the Washington Times. For the press release of the elected representative who introduce the proposed law, click here. A current copy of the proposed law can be found here. By Tim Richards. [18 March 2005]

Society
We have both types of games, Country and Western!
The Columbia News Service reported this week on 'faith based computer games'. There's no mention of the Russian programmer who made "Ichkeria, Operation Flash-Point" about the Russian offensive against Chechen independence (the Russian programmer is against the Russian offensive), or of "Special Force", released by the Lebanese organisation Hizbullah in 2003. For the Columbia News Service article, click here. By Tim Richards. [18 March 2005]

Industry
Hong Kong Game Company Article
The China Daily has an interesting article about a Hong Kong based game develop, showing substantantial success in the computer game market. The company is Firedog Computer Entertainment Ltd, which started in 1999, provides niche simulation games for the region. The founders of the company were looking for another avenue for their range of comics, and believe their animation staff are the key strength of the company. The company's Cupid Bistro! is available on Xbox in Japan, and now Playstation 2. For the article, click here. By Tim Richards. [18 March 2005]

Industry
UK Publisher Digital Jesters To Enter US Market
18 month old UK game publisher Digital Jesters has announced it is entering the US market with the launch of "Bet On Soldier", a good looking first-person shooter for PC. Terry Malham, commercial director and co-founder, remarks "in just over a year, we have managed to publish over a dozen PC titles in Europe... While we are still a young company, we felt it was time to challenge ourselves by reaching into the U.S. market." Digital Jesters was formed by ex-members of German based CDV's UK office, which closed in 2003. Bet on Soldiers allows players to bet on the outcome of encounters with specific enemies. The Digital Jesters press release states "before entering battle, players wager on which particular enemy soldiers they are going to kill." Bet on Soldiers has done well in Europe, and was developed by French developer Kylotonn. Links: www.betonsoldier.com; www.digitaljesters.com. By Tim Richards. [9 March 2005]

Industry
Adam Lancman, the Captain of the Australian Game Industry, has Passed Away
Mr Adam Lancman, one of the key figures in the Australian game development industry, has died over the weekend. Adam, President of the Game Developer's Association of Australia and head of Atari's Australian operations, for a long time was a great contributor to the game industry both here and overseas. Adam was a highly experience game company leader and would have had a difficult job ensuring the Melbourne operations of French conglomerate Atari, formerly Infogrames, had a steady stream of high profile work for local game developers. However Atari Melbourne House, as it is known, did produce some great branded titles including Transformers. Adam was a busy man but nevertheless found time to encourage people in the game industry on a personal basis. Adam's leadership of the industry's key association, the GDAA, was testament to his ability to cut through the personalities in the developer world and make them all work together to develop the game development industry in Australia. Our condolences to his family, and our thoughts are with you. By Tim Richards. [7 March 2005]

Conferences
Australian Game Developers Conference 2005 "Developing Dreams"
This year's AGDC, set for 1st to the 3rd December 2005, will be held at Federation Square in Melbourne. The annual event, and the key game industry conference in Australia, will feature the Australian Game Developers Awards, the second Pitching Competition and Pitch to Publishers Day, a Trade and Retail Expo, an Academic Summit, and social functions such as the Women in Games Luncheon. Several speaking programs will be provided together with international and local key note speakers. See www.agdc.com.au for further information. By Tim Richards. [7 March 2005]

Classification
New Game Classification in US
The US Entertainment Software Rating Board, a body set up by the US interactive entertainment software industry in 1994 to regulate itself, has introduced a new category of game classification to fit between its 'everyone' and 'teen' classificiations. The new classification, E10+ (Everyone 10 and older), was introduced 2nd March 2005 "to help consumers more easily differentiate between games that have content appropriate for the whole family and games that are suitable for ages 10 and older" reports the ESRB news release. Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, says "the content of computer and video games continues to advance in terms of sophistication, complexity, and graphic quality...given this evolution, the new E10+ rating category will provide consumers, particularly parents, with more precise guidance on the age appropriateness of certain titles, fulfilling our goal of helping ensure that the right games are selected for their children and families." Prior to the new classification, there were five classifications, from Early Childhood through to Adults Only. The ERSB reports that last year, of the 1,036 game ratings assigned by the ESRB, 54% received the E (Everyone) rating. The new classification seeks to recognise the significant developmental differences between very young and teen-age children. By Tim Richards. Link: www.ersb.org [6 March 2005]

Industry
Game Developers Conference (USA) Starts Tomorrow
The Game Developers Conference, or GCD, starts tomorrow and runs until Friday 11 March. It will be held in San Francisco. Australia has a large contingent going over with the Victorian government supporting 9 of the studio going (all Victorian based studios). See the Victorian Government press release here. For a run down on the key presentors, see this Digital Game Developer article. By Tim Richards. [6 March 2005]

Industry
Non Infotech Cluster, Farming State, in America, Developers Own Game Industry
See this lengthy article from the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier about their local retro game collectors. The article is generally espousing the growth of the game industry, and half of the article is on a local game company Phantom EFX that developes and publishers PC games and has the market for gambling games sewn up. Phantom EFX has been growing between 200-1000% year on year for the last five years, according to the Phantom EFX Chairman Darin Beck, quoted as saying "we're now in every major retailer in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom... We never dreamed it would get this good this fast. All we hoped for in the beginning was that we would get some traction in the marketplace." Beck goes on to say the game industry is a "difficult industry to get into... A series of unlikely events occurred for us to get where we're at. To accomplish what we did in Iowa is unheard of." For the article click here. By Tim Richards. [6 March 2005]