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E3 Underway

Tues, 15 July 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: E3.net | thanks: Industry hob-nobbing

The best upcoming titles, and the best developers on the planet, under one roof

Apparently lots of green lights means Xbox and/or Microsoft.

The annual trade show of upcoming gaming content known as E3, is ready to get under way in its 2008 edition.

The show, held in Los Angeles, has already been proceeded by announcements for a myriad of new titles, including the upcoming Lord of the Rings title, LoTR Conquest, and another Bioware RPG, Dragon Age: Origins.

As the spiritual successor to BioWare's Baldur's Gate(TM), one of the most successful role-playing games in the industry, Dragon Age: Origins represents BioWare's return to its roots, delivering a fusion of the best elements of existing fantasy works with stunning visuals, emotionally-driven narrative, heart-pounding combat, powerful magic abilities and credible digital actors. The spirit of classic RPGs comes of age, as Dragon Age: Origins features a dark and mature story and gameplay.

- IGN

The showcase runs from the 15th of July up until the 17th of July.

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Fallout 3 Refused Classification

Wed, 9 July 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: GameSpot | thanks: Our friends at the Classifcation Board

For once, the rumours were true...

A typical fan reaction to Falliout 3's banning? Could be.

Bethesda's latest offering, apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3, will not be hitting Australian shores after being refused classification by the OFLC.

The most recent reports indicate that the banning has occurred largely because of certain representations of drug use in the game, that "bring the 'science-fiction' drugs in line with 'real-world' drugs."

"The player can also select and use Morphine (a proscribed drug) which has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain when the character's extremities are targeted by the enemy." In Fallout 1 and 2, players could take a wide range of drugs both to boost health and character attributes. Both games were freely available for sale in Australia and were rated M.

And despite the violence in the game, the OFLC's ruling is solely concerned with drug use in Fallout 3. The ruling states that "the violence throughout the game could be accommodated at an MA 15+ level of classification".

- GameSpot

The game is the most recent of several games to be banned in Australia, the latest being the title Shellshock 2, which was banned on the basis of its violence.

There has been no word from either Bethesda or distributor Red Ant as to their next move, or whether a 'toned down' version of the game will be resubmitted for Australian classification.

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Microsoft Witholds XP From Future Sale

Mon, 30 June 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: SMH | thanks: Vista...

XP sales halted at some retailers in favour of Vista

It's not that bad...right?

Microsoft is set to stop selling popular operating system Windows XP to major system builders and other retailers, only allowing sales of their newer OS, Vista.

Companies such as Dell and Hewlett Packard will no longer be able to procure the operating system for sale with their machines, and consumers who buy from these brands will either have to stick with Vista, or downgrade to XP after their initial purchase.

Microsoft will still allow smaller mom-and-pop PC builder shops to buy XP for resale through the end of January. A version of XP will also remain available for ultra-low-cost PCs such as the Asus Eee PC.

- SMH

Even though there has been a substantial call from consumers for Microsoft to continue selling XP until the release of Windows 7 - due in 2009 - Microsoft have refused to back down.

However, they will continue to offer full technical support for XP until the end of 2009, with limited support continuing further through 2014.

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Diablo III Announced

Sat, 28 June 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: Blizzard | thanks: The horrible, wonderful French

Diablo gets another sequel, and a 3D facelift

The generic busted bridge has never looked so good

Blizzard Entertainment has today revealed the long hoped-for Diablo III.

The announcement, made at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris, was accompanied by a cinematic trailer as well as a demonstration of the gameplay.

"We've wanted to expand on the epic story and gameplay elements of the Diablo universe for some time now," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We know that players have also been long awaiting a return to the series, so we're very excited to be sharing this announcement with Blizzard gamers here in Paris and around the world today."

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram.

- Blizzard

The game will include 5 different character classes, including the barbarian and witch doctor. Players will set out to explore old and new locations in Sanctuary, all wrapped together by a brand new 3D engine.

While it has been announced that the game will feature on both PCs and Macs, and will also make use of Blizzard's own Battle.net, there has been no indication as to an expected release date.

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US broadband deployment falling behind

Fri, 27 June 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: ars technica | thanks: Competitiveness

100Mbps of "affordable" broadband available to all Americans by 2012

How far we've come...?

American telecom law firm, Baller Herbst Law Group, have stated in their latest report, that in order to be competitive, action must be taken to improve America's broadband service.

The group is pushing for 100Mbps of "affordable" broadband available to all Americans by 2012, with 1Gbps service available by 2015, so that communities with slower broadband (or none at all), don't get 'left behind'.

The report praises the public/private partnership model of e-NC and suggests that local and state governments across the country need to take their broadband destinies into their own hands to keep from missing out on the massive benefits of fast 'Net connections. But when it comes to a new "moon shot" effort for the entire country, some kind of national leadership would do plenty to help.

Even casting a vision for broadband would be useful, but "the current Administration in Washington has simply refused to come to grips with the reality of America's descent into mediocrity on almost every internationally-recognized indicator of success in broadband deployment.

- ars technica

Furthermore, the report warns that if the broadband service in the US does not improve, the country is in danger of dropping sharply in international broadband rankings.

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