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May 19th, 2012, 01:08 Posted By: wraggster
Let's face it: right now, the head nods and other rudimentary controls of Google's Project Glass are mostly useful for looking good, sharing photos and not much else. A US patent application submitted last September and just now published, however, raises the possibility of more sophisticated control coming from your hands. A ring, a bracelet or a even a fake fingernail with an infrared-reflective layer would serve as a gesture control marker for a receiver on heads-up display glasses. Having this extra control would give the glasses-mounted computing room to grow by learning gestures, and it could even depend on multiple ornaments for more sophisticated commands -- at least, if you don't mind looking like a very nerdy Liberace. We can imagine the headaches a hand-based method might cause for very enthusiastic talkers, among other possible hiccups, so don't be surprised if Project Glass goes without any kind of ring input. That said, we suspect that Sauron would approve.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/18/g...ng-controller/
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May 19th, 2012, 00:42 Posted By: wraggster
Price promotions are an industry staple, but few have got the trade talking like Microsoft’s latest offer.
The platform holder’s US stores are selling a 4GB Xbox 360 and Kinect for just $99. The catch? It comes with a two-year subscription to Xbox Live, priced at $15 per month, and an early termination fee.
This model is commonplace in other sectors: smartphone handsets are discounted or free with contracts, and media packages like Sky+ come with a free set-top box.
But it’s rarely been tried in gaming before.
As sales fall, format holders need new ways to make consoles more appealing. And the benefits of subscription packages make it difficult to fathom why this hasn’t been tried earlier.
“Lower upfront costs could make the console appear more affordable, despite the fact that it’s actually more expensive when you add the two-year subscription,” said Jia Wu, connected home devices director at research firm Strategy Analytics.
“In essence, it is a financing deal just like a car loan.”
Tesco entertainment director Rob Salter added: “A fixed term contract guarantees an ongoing direct relationship with the customer, which will hopefully secure greater retention and the ability to market directly to the customer. This alone has significant value to the platform owner.”
THE SMALL PRINT
However, the games industry can’t just assume that the subscription model can be lifted wholesale from the mobile and media markets.
One mobile operator exec told MCV that such offers would introduce credit risk: “You only want to let someone walk out with an Xbox if you are confident they will pay their bills. I’d add that given the failure rate of some consoles there might need to be a service element, like a premium repair service in the life of the contract.”
It’s also important to remember that a network contract is mandatory when using a mobile phone but Xbox Live is not entirely essential for 360 owners. Time will tell if the significant two-year commitment to an optional service proves to be a selling point or a deterrent.
The subscription itself may put off consumers already snowed under by monthly fees: rent, bills, insurance, phone contracts.
And let’s not forget phones and TV are viewed as must-have utilities. Video games are still very much a luxury.
A NEW ERA?
But if Microsoft – or whoever else tries this practice – irons out the kinks, it could have huge implications for the way consoles are sold.
The next generation is on its way. And while we won’t know anything about the new consoles until E3 at the earliest, you can guarantee they won’t be cheap.
360 launched at £280, PS3 at £425. Both 3DS and Vita have suffered slow sales after launch – thanks in part to £200+ price tags branded “expensive”. So imagine how a £500 NextBox or PS4 would struggle in today’s market. Subscriptions could be the answer.
Even the current consoles could benefit. Streaming services are becoming more prominent in today’s market, and enable this generation to run more powerful content.
Analyst Nick Parker says: “Streamed content does not require high-end hardware – just a connected device so that cheaper dumber local clients can be deployed and sold through subscriptions.
“If streaming and browser games take off, as I expect them to, then any connected device will be competition to consoles: smart TVs, set-top boxes, mobiles and tablets.
“Microsoft is testing the water, both in terms of consumer acceptance of the financials and prioritisation of a service-led platform. It may also indicate a future direction for the next gen – with less emphasis on the box’s specifications and more on services.”
That was OnLive’s vision – selling a console through retail and games packages via subscription. Now that a big brand like Xbox is trying its hand, perhaps consumers and the trade will take notice of what could become more commonplace in future.
“It will be interesting to see what level of interest exists for this model,” said Salter. “In the end, it is about the value it represents and the trade-off between a lower entry point and a two-year commitment. Customers will decide whether it is a good deal overall to them.
“We will be watching this with interest.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/analy...-future/096280
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May 18th, 2012, 23:02 Posted By: wraggster
Japan's consumer affairs agency has declared the controversial complete gacha randomised item mechanic illegal, confirming developer expectations.
The gacha system acts like a slot or capsule toy machine, with players paying a nominal fee for a chance to unlock items. The complete, or "kompu", gacha mechanism locks away a highly rare item until other items have been unlocked.
From July 1, companies employing kompu gacha mechanic will be subject to penalties, though many companies abandoned the system last week, leading analysts to describe the situation as a "disaster of historic proportions".
http://www.edge-online.com/news/japa...gacha-mechanic
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May 18th, 2012, 00:16 Posted By: wraggster
Revolutionary’ new gameplay features will make this year’s FIFA the best in the series to-date, says EA.
The game’s studio has implemented what it describes as ‘the deepest feature set in the history of the franchise’. These include an overhaul to the in-game dribbling, free kick and first-touch mechanics.
And FIFA 13 line producer Nick Channon told MCV that this will help the game recapture the excitement lacking from FIFA 12.
“These are very much game-changing features that wil usher in a gameplay revolution for the franchise,” Channon told MCV. “Whilst FIFA 12 is lauded as the absolute best in the series, at times it lacked the excitement and out of chair moments that FIFA 09 and 10 had.
“We’re putting those moments back in with gameplay features that create a true battle for possession and give you freedom in attack.
“With these features and others that we haven’t announced, this will be the best FIFA game we have ever developed.”
Channon also dismissed concerns that the advancements to the FIFA gameplay are making the football franchise inaccessible to novice players.
“We believe that most people who play FIFA, whether a hardcore gamer or a first-time player, wants to play a game as realistic and authentic as the games they watch every weekend,” he said. “We all want our football heroes to look, move and respond like they do in real life so our goal each year is to make the most realistic football game ever.”
Like with previous iterations of FIFA, FIFA 13 will feature heavy digital and service-based elements, including big changes to EA’s Football Club.
“We want to be the most connecting brand in the video games industry,” said EA Sports President Andrew Wilson.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/this-...ve-made/096199
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May 18th, 2012, 00:13 Posted By: wraggster
Sometimes the games industry can get too caught up in willy waving with other forms of entertainment.
But this week comparisons with cinema are fair, if only to remind us how rough things are for games retail at the moment.
The UK’s boxed software market has generated £320m this year, while 2012 cinema Box Office receipts currently tally close to £340m.
Roughly neck and neck, then. But when you consider that the Hollywood summer season is just gearing up – while June, July and August are looking pretty sparse for games – you see the problem.
Cinema has new Spider-Man, Batman and Men In Black sequels to look forward to, plus the usual-but-popular family animated movies and some grown-up fare.
Aside from the interactive tie-ins to said movie sequels, games retail has… well, very little.
The problem here isn’t that our market won’t catch up with film in 2012 – because it will – it’s that the big games are some way off. And when they come, they come all at once.
This has been a problem for the trade since virtually time immemorial. But by now you’d have thought publishers had got to grips with planning. A smoother schedule would please retail, diminish the attraction of trading in relatively new games, give games room to breathe, and satisfy consumers year-round.
Certainly the number of families queuing up to see The Avengers proves they will hand over £40 if you offer access to decent big-budget entertainment on a rainy day.
But in big boxed video games there is very little on offer right now, much to the industry’s discredit.
SLOW PROGRESS ON PEGI, BUT IT’S BEEN WORTH IT
Parliament re-opened last week, and with it kick-started the process to turn PEGI into the de facto ratings for games.
This has been a slow, drawn-out affair, with a handful of delays and miles of red tape to cut through.
Forgive yet another comparison to the movie world, but: provided the transition is now relatively smooth, decoupling games from the BBFC’s authoritarian methods adds a level of credibility to games.
Through this process, the trade will have earned self-regulation – not many big-money business sectors can claim to have pulled that off.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...-retail/096201
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May 17th, 2012, 14:23 Posted By: wraggster
Vita was the headline casualty in Japan as game market sales fell heavily in the seven days following the nation's Golden Week holiday period.
<figure style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px currentColor; width: 300px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); text-transform: none; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; clear: both; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; word-spacing: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; display: block; white-space: normal; position: relative; orphans: 2; widows: 2; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="article-image article-image-alt article-image-300"> </figure>Sales of Sony's latest portable slipped from 10,583 units to 6,340 during the week ended May 13, representing a new weekly low. Sales of the top-selling system, 3DS, almost halved to 46,425 units, Andriasang reports.On the software front Mario Party 9 remained the top seller, although weekly sales declined from 144,585 copies to just 37,353. The highest new entry was PS3 exclusive Starhawk, which debuted at No.4 with 12,873 sales.
Weekly hardware sales (previous week)
- 3DS: 46,425 (91,868)
- PS3: 12,996 (23,478)
- PSP: 12,247 (20,033)
- PSV: 6,340 (10,583)
- Wii: 6,073 (15,789)
- PS2: 1,212 (1,611)
- X360: 1,023 (1,420)
- DSi LL: 819 (1,097)
- DSi: 387 (814)
Weekly software sales (life to date)
- Mario Party 9 (Wii, Nintendo) 37,353 (334,821)
- Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS, Nintendo) 16,530 (361,790)
- Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City (PS3, Capcom) 14,553 (319,505)
- Starhawk (PS3, Sony) 12,873
- Super Mario 3D Land (3DS, Nintendo) 11,260 (1,574,788)
- Monster Hunter 3G (3DS, Capcom) 9,105 (1,442,475)
- Mario Kart 7 (3DS, Nintendo) 9,045 (1,704,350)
- Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS, Nintendo) 7,636 (269,519)
- Mario & Sonic at London Olympics (3DS, Nintendo) 4,933 (162,270)
- Conception Please Give Birth to My Children (PSP, Spike Chunsoft) 4,600 (44,639)
Announcing earlier this month that worldwide Vita sales stood at 1.8 million units as of March 31, 2012, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai said "software and services must be strengthened" if the company's to hit its annual targets for the handheld.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-low-in-japan/
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May 17th, 2012, 01:47 Posted By: wraggster
The new range of Tritton headsets will be distributed to major UK retailers by Gem Distribution.
The distributor and retail services provider will supply its retail partners with the latest Xbox 360 headsets, which come from peripherals giant Mad Catz.
Initial products in the range will include the 40mm Trigger Stereo Headset, the 50mm Detonator Stereo Headset and the Primer Wireless Stereo Headset, as well as a Ghost Recon: Future Soldier-branded Dolby 7.1 headset.
More models will follow later this year.
“Mad Catz is an established and well respected brand that has an exceptional reputation for offering quality and bespoke design, all at a competitive price,” said Gem sales director Neil Willerton.
“Gem are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to represent the Mad Catz Tritton range as they continue to expand.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/gem-s...tz-deal/096134
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May 17th, 2012, 01:08 Posted By: wraggster
So you’ve got a really cool project that requires a wireless controller and a ton of different channels. What are you going to do? Are you going to go pick up an expensive RC controller? Nah, you’re going to build your own. This project makes a generic 20 channel controller for your projects by stuffing an SMDuino and an XBee module inside a ps2 controller. Unfortunately you lose the force feedback since you have to remove the motors to make space for the extra components and batteries. You do end up with a decently ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing controller though.
http://hackaday.com/2012/05/15/unive...s2-controller/
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May 16th, 2012, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster
US social gamers are spending less per person, but playing more mid-core titles
The landscape of the social gaming world continues to change; more input from market research firm SuperData suggests that the average amount of revenue brought in from each gamer has been dropping, from $45.58 to $37.59 in the span of a year. This number might be dropping, but the firm does recognize that more and more gamers are paying for titles.
According to analyst Janelle Benjamin, games considered 'mid-core' are helping to drive business in a market expected to tip $1.8 billion by the end of the year in the US and $1.4 billion in Europe. By 2015 SuperData expects the global social game market (on social networks and mobile) to hit $13 billion. The mid-core games are pushing more and more players to pay, something close to 2.5 percent of social gamers. This is a marked increase over 1.4 percent from last year.
"Mid-core social games are clearly driving the current momentum," said Benjamin. "This emerging genre represents a different gaming demographic that spends substantially more."
The best performing games on the market remain shooter and strategy titles, notes Benjamin. The hardest hit games in the genre are from farming-type genres, much like FarmVille.
While an 18 percent drop in average sales per user might be cause for concern, the increase in paid conversion actually indicates a growth in overall revenues per title. Developers are seeing a wider swath of the market embracing paid titles, with many new players not spending as much as those who have embraced paid social games over the past year.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-says-analyst
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May 15th, 2012, 23:59 Posted By: wraggster
A charity 5-A-Side football event held by HMV and sponsored by Microsoft has raised £19k for Teenage Cancer Trust.
Sony Music emerged as the winners of the tournament, having come from two goals down to topple runners up OMD 4-3. Sony Music’s Ryan Slack was named as the player of the tournament.
“HMV is, of course, also hugely obliged to Microsoft, whose sponsorship and on-the-day support helps to make this annual event possible,” an HMV statement read.
“Over the years its value to us must have amounted to the best part of £200,000. So huge and special thanks to them and to Samantha Earley and Marcus Toon in particular.”
Here’s the complete list of contributors to the event:
BBC Consumer Products (Greg Wilson), Bravado (Alex Mitchell), Faber (Clare Yates), House of Marley/HoMedics (Tim Joslin), Island Records (David Hawkes), Koch Media (Deane Punter/Steve Crisp),Libertine London (Will Wright/Emma Herridge), Lionsgate (Ben Grunbaum),MEDGE,Ministry of Sound(Rob Watson/Andy Pegler/Mark Findlay),Momentum Pictures (Rob Bentley/Neil Williams), Ninja Tune(Sam Upton/Darryl Defoe),Paramount Home Entertainment (Tony Glasscoe), Skullcandy (Henrik Anderson), Sony Music (Greg Lawton), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Mark Bowron), Teenage Cancer Trust (Laura Martin), Twentieth CenturyFox (Chris Shiels/Richard Kinney/Kate Longbottom)Universal Pictures (Martin Nichols), Warner Bros. (Sam Howes/Nik Leighton/Tracey Stewart) and Warner Music (Paul Reeve).
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/hmv-a...r-trust/096072
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May 15th, 2012, 23:42 Posted By: wraggster
Royalties went unpaid for two years; No settlement reached as lawyer seeks full figure
Publishing giant Activision has paid a portion of its employees $42 million in long-delayed royalty payments for Modern Warfare 2, as part of a wider lawsuit between the company and development staff.
The lost bonuses were initially due after the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, which broke sales records when it launched in November 2009.
In 2010, as many as 38 development staff – known collectively as the Infinity Ward Employee Group – went on to sue Activision for unpaid royalty payments.
At the same time, and in a separate case, two of the studio’s directors – Vince Zampella and Jason West – launched a lawsuit against Activision, seeking various damages after the pair was dismissed for “insubordination”.
That lawsuit, which also incorporates EA, is still going ahead.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...vision-lawsuit
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May 15th, 2012, 00:37 Posted By: wraggster
The UK games retail market was down a third in a tough April for the trade.
Retailers made £45.8m from software sales last month, a 34.1 per cent drop over the same period last year.
Just over 2m games were sold at UK retail, a year-on-year decline of 33.2 per cent.
However, there were significantly more games released in April 2011, including hit titles Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat.
Last month’s highest charting new release was Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars, which reached No.2. Activision’s Prototype 2 managed No.5, despite only being on sale for two days when this data was collected.
EA was the No.1 publisher once again, with FIFA Street established as the month’s biggest selling game. EA had five titles in the Top Ten.
Xbox 360 was the leading platform. Nintendo enjoyed its own success as Wii, 3DS and DS grew in market share.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/2m-ga...t-april/096009
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May 15th, 2012, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster
UK games stores have applauded Activision’s ‘risky’ new direction for Call of Duty.
Black Ops II thrusts the series 13 years into the future, and introduces non-linear gameplay to the franchise.
“I sense that there's a real commitment from Activision and Treyarch to raise the bar once again for the Call of Duty franchise, and the setting and weapon details that have been released are the first big step in driving the series further,” said HMV’s head of technology and games Ewan Pinder.
“The return of zombies is also a great announcement and one I think fans of the series will welcome."
Play.com games buyer Keith Sharpe added: “It’s testament to Activision that they continue to push the boundaries and once again offer gamers a refreshing new take on the genre. I think it’s great to see that in the current economic climate, publishers are prepared to keep taking risks and not sell the consumer short by taking the safer option.”
Pre-orders are already tracking ahead of every Call of Duty released so far. Amazon revealed last week that its day-one pre-order total is three times higher than the original Black Ops.
“Activision has to be commended for trying to offer gamers more content for their money, and I am especially excited about the non-linear gameplay,” said Asda’s head of games Andrew Thompson.
“Asda went live with online pre-orders for Black Ops II at 3am on the day of announcement, and for the first time ever, we announced this on Twitter. We feel that social media will play a big part in sharing all the news on this year’s big releases.”
The Hut Group’s business development head Sarah Jasper added: “The new direction seems like a logical step, and depending on how this is implemented the non-linear gameplay should make it even more accessible to the wider gaming market.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches on November 13th.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/retai...of-duty/096010
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May 15th, 2012, 00:27 Posted By: wraggster
Sniper Elite V2 remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for a second week, despite a 38 per cent drop in sales.
Starhawk is the week's only true new entry, but Sony's PS3-exclusive shooter debuts in a lowly 17th place. Telltale's Back To The Future: The Game, published by Deep Silver, enters the chart at number 38 in its second week on shelves thanks to a 39 per cent jump in sales.
The top ten remains fairly static, with Prototype 2 sliding from two to four, swapping places with FIFA Street. The only other change isAssassin's Creed Revelations' re-entry at number ten, knockingCall Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to eleven and beating it by fewer than 100 sales.
01. Sniper Elite V2 (505 Games)
02. FIFA Street (EA)
03. FIFA 12 (EA)
04. Prototype 2 (Activision)
05. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
06. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
07. Kinect Star Wars (Microsoft)
08. Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
09. Battlefield 3 (EA)
10. Assassin's Creed Revelations (Ubisoft)
http://www.edge-online.com/news/snip...chart-top-spot
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May 14th, 2012, 01:31 Posted By: wraggster
US retail results have arrived for April.
NPD’s latest report states hardware sales accounted for $189.7m, accessories brought in $148.6m, and software sales contributed $292.1m. In terms of year-over-year, accessories saw a very marginal increase, while hardware and software sales saw dramatic drops.
Microsoft continued to dominate the US hardware chart, finishing ahead of the pack for the 16th consecutive month. 236,000 360 systems were sold during the period, with the Kinect Star Wars bundle helping to drive the average selling price up for hardware in general.
Prototype 2 claimed the top spot in software sales, with Kinect Star Wars finishing in second as the number one selling exclusive.
The industry as a whole brought in $630.4m, down 32 per cent from last year’s $930.9m (though the NPD did add that the ‘total consumer spend’ on games including digital is estimated at $1bn).
Here is the full list of April’s top sellers:
Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms including PC)
- Prototype 2 (360,PS3)
- Kinect Star Wars (360)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
- Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)
- NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
- The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (360, PC)
- Mario Party 9 (Wii)
- Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
- Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
- MLB: The Show (PS3, PSV)
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/april...er-year/095840
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May 14th, 2012, 01:22 Posted By: wraggster
The money generated from overall game sales in the US during April has been estimated at a whopping $1bn.
This figure from The NPD Group includes sales of hardware, accessories, new and used physical games at retail, rentals, digital downloads, add-on content, subscriptions, mobile games and social network titles.
It’s the first time the entire US games market has been taken into account during a single month. Previously, the data only included sales of boxed product.
Prototype 2 was the best-selling game in the US last month, and boxed sales made up $630.4m. Read the April 2012 NPD salesnews story for more specific details.
NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier said: “I think the new physical retail content sales reflect a very light release schedule in terms of the amount of compelling new games.
“Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it’s a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last.
“For some insight into digital purchasing of content, we can look at the performance of points and subscription cards which were up 75 per cent in units over last April. These could very well have been last minute additions to Easter baskets early in the month."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/npd-o...n-april/095917
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May 11th, 2012, 03:00 Posted By: wraggster
Specialist games retailers cannot survive without second-hand, says Blockbuster.
The firm’s UK commercial director Gerry Butler has hit back at trade-in critics, and told MCV that the current new release business model is broken and in need of a radical overhaul.
“If you’re a specialist you need certain margins to run your business,” he said. “When you are in a commoditised industry, those margins evaporate.
"And supermarkets use games as potential loss-leaders, so specialists can’t survive. That’s why there are less games shops than there were three years ago. Without pre-owned, those companies cannot survive.
“When the market was growing, nobody spoke about trade-in. It didn’t matter. Everyone was hitting their numbers. But as soon as someone starts missing the numbers, they are like: ‘Well this trade-in is killing us. How do we stop it?’”
Butler says the key to hitting the numbers again is by changing how video games are sold into stores.
“I think the distribution strategy employed by the publishing world is broken and needs to be fixed,” he added.
“It is the whole way the industry is structured. Just think about consumer brands like Coca-Cola and how they are built. You create huge pre-awareness and then make sure you have full availability in the marketplace.
“In video games, the publisher has to pay substantial royalty payments to the platform holder upfront, which makes the cost of games high. Then they go to the retailer, and the retailer has to guess the number of units it is likely to sell. Then the marketing begins, and it might turn out we don’t have any stock left.
“It’s not a good situation if the TV ads are running and you’ve no stock.
“Let’s come up with a model that is fair and equitable and long-term and sustainable. This current model is not long-term and sustainable.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/block...e-owned/095822
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May 11th, 2012, 01:39 Posted By: wraggster
After a drawn out saga, the Government today began the Parliamentary process to have the PEGI ratings for video games become the de facto classification in the UK.
The dual-ratings system that has seen responsibilities shared with the BBFC and its iconic symbols seen on DVD, video and film will come to an end.
A statement from the DCMS said that the benefit is "a simpler and stronger age-rating system for video games".
To recap: relying 100 per cent on self-certified PEGI labels will mean that more contentious games won't have to be submitted to the BBFC for approval.
Now the Video Standards Council will have the power to refuse an age-rating for a video game if it includes extreme content.
"The new system will stop inappropriate video games being sold direct to young children while providing industry with a simpler system for having games age rated," said the DCMS.
"The PEGI system is specifically designed for video games and the age rating on the packaging will be accompanied by information about the type of content that led to the rating."
Jo Twist, CEO of games and interactive entertainment trade body UKIE, which has fought hard for the transition to the simpler ratings, said: “We are pleased to hear that the PEGI regulations are another step closer to becoming the UK’s sole age rating system for video games, giving much needed clarity for consumers.
“We are also in the planning stages of a major awareness campaign to help the public understand the system and other aspects of responsible gaming as soon as PEGI become law in the UK.”
VSC Chair Baroness Shephard added: “This news is very welcome and finally gives us the mandate to undertake the role of statutory video games regulator in the UK. The VSC is fully prepared and ready to carry out the vital role of providing consumers with a single, straightforward games rating system whilst ensuring that child-safety remains our first priority.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/end-i...gi-plan/095826
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May 11th, 2012, 01:37 Posted By: wraggster
Retailers that sell games rated 12 or over to younger children could be jailed.
The decision comes as part of today's new Government process to have the pan-European PEGI ratings become law.
It will add further power to the PEGI ratings, which are being made the sole classification for video games, ditching the BBFC logos.
Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey said: “The new system will benefit both parents and industry by creating a stronger, simpler age-rating system.
“It will give parents greater confidence that their children can only get suitable games while we are creating a simpler system for industry having their games age-rated.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-go...o-games/095827
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May 10th, 2012, 00:49 Posted By: wraggster
We see a pretty steady stream of projects that use Xbee modules. They’re one of the more reliable and popular ways to add a wireless aspect to your project. But we don’t often see them used to their full potential. Since there’s a microcontroller onboard, many simple tasks can be accomplished without the need for an addition microcontroller. [Stephen's] showing how this can be done, by reading the stick and button data from a game controller using only an Xbee module.
His test setup uses an Arduino to drive servo motors on the receiving end of the hardware. You can’t do everything with Xbee, but the sender is where this concept comes into play. [Stephen] grabbed an older gamepad which is meant for use with a PC game port. The joystick uses potentiometers to measure position data, and the buttons simply complete a circuit. He altered the joystick by adding voltage dividers to the pots, and pull-up resistors to the buttons. From there he just wired it up to the Xbee and set up the module’s firmware to package and transmit the data. It’s a nice way to do more with less.
We had a little discussion here at Hackaday about Xbee modules which seem to be in short supply. Some of us think it’s due to the flooding in Thailand. If you’ve got some info on the situation, or just want to share your own conspiracy theory, let us know in the comments.
http://hackaday.com/2012/05/09/direc...-with-an-xbee/
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