Posted May 01, 2008 at 08:41PM by Ryan C. Listed in: News, Grand Theft Auto 4, Games Tags: Electronic Arts, Sony, Verbatim, Strauss Zelnick
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GTA IV - Image 1Enjoying your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360? Then good news, as Take-Two are also enjoying GTA IV, but in a completely different way. Needless to say, they're rolling in it.  Check out all the details in the full article, and see how the success of the sandbox game of the century has pretty much led to a stalemate between aspiring takeover agent and potential takeover victim.

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Posted Oct 04, 2007 at 06:09PM by Nicolo S. Listed in: Rumors, Games Tags: Sony, Verbatim, OPM, Official PlayStation Magazine, Team Ico
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Just one of the epic bosses in Shadow of the Colossus - Image 1It's been a while since Team ICO's Shadow of the Colossus gave Sony PlayStation 2 owners a unique experience brought about by topnotch game design and spectacular art, which was the spiritual sequel to another stand out title called ICO. We're among those who are patiently waiting for either of these two to get a sequel, but some fans took a step forward and squeezed out info from the UK Official PlayStation Magazine. There hasn't been any confirmation (concrete or otherwise), but it does seem like Team ICO is working on a sequel.

Fan group Team ICO Gamers sent out a query to OPM UK about any info pertaining to Team ICO's activities, and received an interesting reply. Here it is, verbatim:

We asked Sony boss Kaz Hirai what was going on with Team ICO a couple of months back. As he was pleading ignorance, one of the other execs present blurted out. "I'm pretty sure they're doing the sequel." Our fearless reporter immediately asked. "What, the sequel to ICO or Shadow of the Colossus?" Then the room filled with knockout gas...


Not much, eh? We did hear about Team ICO developing a new title for the PS3, but there were no details about the mysterious project. When they talk about a sequel, we can only guess that the game will be set in the same world as ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Whether we'll be seeing the horned kid or the wanderer, we're hoping to learn more about the world Team ICO has always kept under tight wraps.

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Posted Jul 06, 2007 at 01:36PM by Ryan C. Listed in: News Tags: Jack Thompson, UK, Verbatim, British Board of Film Classification
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Jack Thompson - Image 1


With today's games being tailored for mature tastes and yielding graphic content, controversial lawyer Jack Thompson thinks America should be just as strict and as efficient as UK in rating titles and making sure those ratings stick.

This is after the entire hubbub of Rockstar's Manhunt 2, being refused a rating (which is tantamount to a ban) by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The following is Mr. Jack's statement, verbatim:

The UK does it much better than the U.S., which rates a game that's inappropriate for minors and then sells it to them. I think the U.K. has got it right. You rate a game and you can't sell it to people if it falls in a certain category - the rating actually has a sanction, whereas in the U.S. the rating means nothing.


Jack Thompson also cited the root cause of the problem in the U.S., being that the authorities' failure to punish or discipline those who ignore the ratings and continue to sell violent games to children. Whereas in UK, such acts mean paying up a hefty fine, or doing time behind bars.

He says that currently, there isn't a single law in the law books that prevent a ten-year-old child from purchasing a mature-rated game, and that other countries should do well to follow UK's system.

However, to be fair, shouldn't the first line of defense - if one considers exposure to mature-rated games as an assault to morality - for minors be their own parents or guardians? Perhaps, with responsible parenting and proper communication between the 'rents and the kids, this wouldn't be an issue.

Isn't that something to think about?

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Posted Jun 13, 2007 at 11:08AM by Ryan C. Listed in: News, Resistance: Fall of Man Tags: Sony, Verbatim, Tony Blair
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Tony Blair - Image 1Everyone has their own say about the Church of England's dispute against Sony, and earlier we've just covered a game developer's insight about it. Now, it's none other than Prime Minister Tony Blair putting his own two cents into the matter. And it looks like he agrees with the Church as far as companies like Sony should start acting more responsibly is concerned.

The topic about cathedrals being shown in videogames popped up just today, in a recent session of Prime Minister's Questions - with Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd putting forward the question himself. Here's his exact question, just so you see how he asked it - it's interesting to see that he cites Sony's legal tactics before going into the actual heart of the matter.


When large organisations like Sony find their copyright has been breached, they're very quick to use the law.


Would the Prime Minister agree with me then that when Sony used images of Manchester Cathedral as part a game which extols gun violence, this was not only in bad taste but also very, very insulting to not simply the Church of England, but people across the land who think it's inappropriate that big corporations behave in this way?


What's more interesting is The Prime Minister's response to it. Here it is, verbatim:


I agree with my honourable friend. I think it's important that any of the companies engaged in promoting these types of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others.


I think this is an immensely difficult area, the relationship between what happens with these games and its impact on young people. I've no doubt this debate will go on for a significant period of time, but I do agree. I think it is important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as an interior responsibility for profits.


While he doesn't exactly agree on the Church's stand, he does agree about the part about companies being responsible about its impact on the youth. And with the actual point of contention here being whether the Church of England, as a whole, was put in a bad or defamatory light by one of its Cathedrals being displayed in Resistance, there's going to be a lot of debate as far as who's ultimately in the right is concerned.

What do you readers think? Agree or disagree with the PM's opinion on the whole deal? Let us know by your comments.

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