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First-day sales of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" broke records, raking in an estimated $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone. The video game went on sale all over the world on Tuesday, but Activision provided figures Thursday only for North America and Britain. The company estimates that it sold about 4.7 million copies of the game in the first 24 hours in those markets, making it the biggest-selling launch in the history of entertainment. The latest installment in the "Call of Duty" action franchise was expected to at least match last year's...

Players of a new video game are reportedly cast as terrorists who murder unarmed civilians in an airport in scenes described as "reminiscent of last year's mass killings in Mumbai". Secret video footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was leaked earlier this morning, showing one level where characters wearing body armour over business suits shoot down other characters. The footage of the massacre — described by gaming blog IGN as "some of the most violent-looking and realistic scenes we've seen in a video game" — was published on YouTube but later pulled because of "copyright infringement". It showed...

The year is 2011. President Obama has just outlawed the private ownership of firearms, announced that the Constitution has been dissolved and revealed that the United States is going to be replaced by the North American Union, an amalgamation of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Revolution breaks out. Your part in this is to help capture Obama and the renegade Cong (former Congressional leaders). This is the premise of a new online community and game calling itself United States of Earth. The extensive site is almost overwhelming in the sheer amount of information it provides, but centers around a browser-based...

The guitars blare a familiar tune and Kurt Cobain approaches the microphone, moppish hair covering his haunted eyes. But when the lyrics kick in, it's not the words to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that come out, it's "You Give Love a Bad Name." Cobain, or at least his computer-generated likeness, can be made to sing the Bon Jovi anthem (and many other non-Nirvana songs) in "Guitar Hero 5." And that has his estate threatening legal action. The game features two Nirvana tunes among the 85 songs that come with the game. Once players successfully complete one of those songs, Cobain's...

A highly-anticipated hockey video game that features realistic fighting scenarios and black eyes is a useful tool to teach children that brawls are part of the game and in some cases can help you win, says a former NHL captain. Retired Vancouver Canucks player Trevor Linden, well-loved in the city and not known for getting into frequent dust-ups, endorsed "NHL 10" Monday prior to its next-day launch across North America. "Fighting in hockey is not something you necessarily want to promote, but at the same time, you want to make children understand that it is part of the game and...

Angry Barry is a political parody high definition 2D side scrolling beat em up in the tradition of classic titles such as Bad Dudes. It is a purely independent title created with an ‘indie’ mentality – making whatever game you want to make without corporate pressure dictating what is created. This game is released for X-Box Live (on X-Box Live, check your Community Games tab, and then go to Action/Adventure games) for the lowest cost possible (400 points), and will be released in the coming months for the PC. In ‘Angry Barry’ you play the role of the titular...

One picture says it all: http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=623861 "Video Game Idea of the Century!" http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3143589&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366448 "This is the greatest videogame patent I've ever read #1 " http://www.google.com/patents?id=aAuzAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=exalted&as_psra=1&as_psra=1

CAIRO — An influential Islamic group branded an online video game depicting religious figures fighting each other as offensive to Muslims and Christians and successfully demanded Tuesday that it be taken offline. In the game "Faith Fighter," caricatures of Jesus, the Prophet Muhammad, Buddha, God and the Hindu god Ganesh fight each other against a backdrop of burning buildings. God attacks with bolts of lighting and pillars of fire while the turbaned Muhammad can summon a burning black meteorite. The Saudi-based Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents most Muslim nations, said it should be removed from the Internet. "The...

It's an old cliché that the more repressed a society, the more extreme its pornography—but more upsetting than RapeLay is the social environment that birthed it. The premise here is that a wealthy man is out for revenge against the schoolgirl who had him jailed as a chikan, or subway pervert. The epidemic of chikan is an enormous problem in Japan, particularly in major cities, where trains are so crowded that it's easy for predators to conceal their crimes. In Declan Hayes' 2005 book, The Japanese Disease, the author describes a community of salarymen who organize online "groping associations" and...

It's official: The Beatles will come together digitally this September for their much anticipated Rock Band debut. MTV Games has announced a September 9 launch date for the worldwide release of the Fab Four's interactive adventure, to be titled The Beatles: Rock Band... With a little help from their friends at Harmonix--the company that created the Rock Band concept--the Liverpool quartet will let you sing and play your way through all eras of its career. You'll be able to take on the role of John, Paul, George or Ringo, using either your Rock Band instruments or special Beatles-like instruments that...

Seattle, WA -- The large online retailer Amazon.com has dropped its listing for a controversial Japanese video game called Rapelay that involves raping women and forcing them to have abortions. The so-called "rape simulator" game was sold on the web site and included a graphic description of the gameplay.

If you get enough points, you go to level #2 where the video game has Charleton Heston and Colonel Sanders coming out of their graves vs 2 little kids. The lack of sensitivity and good taste is not surprising when it comes to PETA. But, using Charleton Heston and Colonel Sanders and asking people to put them back in their graves is just disgraceful.

<p>A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher's sudden divorce from her online husband in a virtual game world made her so angry that she logged on and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.</p> <p>The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo City said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.</p>

Aug. 6th Direct Action: Stop the Military Recruitment of Children Help Stop the Army’s Child Recruitment Program“America’s Army” Videogame Targets Children as Young as 13South Park Game Companies Profit from Illegal Recruitment Program Rally and Direct Action, Noon, Aug. 6thSouth Park, (btw 2nd/3rd, Bryant/Brannan) San FranciscoTell the companies “Break contract with the Army, No more child recruitment” “America’s Army” is a game developed by the U.S. military to instruct players in “Army values,” portray the army in a positive light, and increase potential recruits.  The “game” is the property and brainchild of the US Army, which admit freely, and with pride, that...

"The Parents Television Council has berated the Entertainment Software Association and the videogames industry at large for trying to "buy influence in Congress." The New York Times recently reported that a new political action committee formed by the ESA would soon be making donations to politicians who support the videogames industry. The PTC denounced the ESA's plans in a statement this week. “The videogame industry continues to fight meaningful accountability for selling inappropriate material to children. The industry has been exposed repeatedly for its reprehensible behavior and now they are looking for ways to buy friends in the government,” said...

Call of Duty 5 Confirmed Guitar Hero 4 and more in the works too. by Martin Robinson, IGN UK UK, December 3, 2007 - Activision Blizzard has confirmed that Call of Duty 5 and Guitar Hero 4 are both in development just hours after news of the company's merger hit the wire. And while the news is unlikely to come as a shock, if Activision Blizzard's recent boasts are anything to go by we could see both of the series reaching bigger and better heights. Indeed, during a conference call held today Activision CEO Robert Kotick and Jean-Benard Levy spoke...

MIAMI (AP) - A Japanese computer science student fails to take a full load of university classes and loses his student visa. A 10th-grade Indian girl is detained because of a high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security. These are two of the characters in ``ICED!'' - a new video game that invites players to step into the shoes of foreigners who run afoul of the U.S. immigration system. It is part of a burgeoning genre of video games that examine major social and policy issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation in Darfur and...

No longer content adhering to the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Microsoft on Thursday announced that it will extend its Xbox 360 warranty coverage to three years from date of purchase. The warranty covers any consumer who experiences the general system failure indicated by three flashing red lights, more commonly referred to as the "red ring of death." Both shipping and repair costs will be covered. The new warranty will represent a $1 billion pre-tax charge on Microsoft's earnings for the year's final quarter. This marks a notable setback for the company's Entertainment & Devices division, who...

Spartans Overwhelmed at Thermopylae, Again March 22, 2007 by Eugene Borza A technically exciting videogame of a film, 300 loses touch with a critical and moving event in Greek history. Herodotus, the ?Father of History,? told many good stories, but there are few tales in his repertoire that surpass his narrative of the last-ditch stand of the Greeks against numerically superior forces at the pass of Thermopylae in August, 480 B.C. A huge military force led by Xerxes, the Persian King of Kings, crossed the Hellespont from Asia into Europe, intent on the subjugation of Greece. Whether Xerxes intended this...

On the radio a couple of weeks ago, Hugh Hewitt suggested to me the terrorists might try to pull a Spain on the U.S. elections. You'll recall (though evidently many Americans don't) that in 2004 hundreds of commuters were slaughtered in multiple train bombings in Madrid. The Spaniards responded with a huge street demonstration of supposed solidarity with the dead, all teary passivity and signs saying "Basta!" -- "Enough!" By which they meant not "enough!" of these murderers but "enough!" of the government of Prime Minister Aznar, and of Bush and Blair, and troops in Iraq. A couple of days...

PHILADELPHIA -- A 25-year-old North Philadelphia man has been charged with killing his young daughter. The mother said 17-month-old Alayiah was violently punched by Tyrone Spellman over a video game. "My baby is gone at the hands of her father," Mia Turman said tearfully. "I have to put her in the ground, I shouldn't have to do this." As the 21-year-old took a nap inside their row-home on the 1500 block of 29th Street, Turman left Alayiah in the care of Spellman, who also goes by the name Anwar Salahuddin. Turman said that when she woke, "I asked why my...

A first-person perspective computer game called “Night of Bush Capturing,” was released to jihadist forums today, Friday, September 15, 2006, by the Global Islamic Media Front, a jihadist mouthpiece, and visual and print media organization. The game, which is a modification of an older game, “Quest for Saddam,” features six-levels, culminating in a gun battle with a character representing U.S. President George W. Bush. Each of these stages, given titles such as: “Jihad beginning,” “American’s Hell,” “Searching for Bush,” and “Bush hunted like a rat,” contain a Mujahid with several weapons traveling around a U.S. forces’ camp, which is covered...

Sorry I don't have more details about this but CNN is on in the background here at the office and they were showing a videogame about assassinating President Bush. I couldn't listen to hear what they were saying about it but the very fact they were promoting it and showing video of how it looks to murder the president is rather over-the-top in my opinion. I doubt they'd be so blase about it if the videogame allowed you to assassinate Bill Clinton. CNN- The Moonbat's most trusted channel.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - God's army will begin battling the Antichrist and his minions in a video game version of post-apocalyptic New York City to be released on Friday. A beta version of Christian-based computer strategy game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" will be released aiming at the kind of mass-market success garnered by films such as "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Passion of The Christ." The game is based on the 15 "Left Behind" books by evangelical Christian authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which have logged sales in the tens of millions. "Eternal Forces" is set at the...

Venezuelan lawmakers are complaining that a video game to be marketed by a U.S. company next year provides a blueprint for violently overthrowing President Hugo Chavez. The game, "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," simulates a military invasion of the oil-rich South American nation and will be released by Pandemic Studios of Los Angeles. "A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone," Pandemic says of the game on its Web site. Venezuelan lawmakers who back Chavez called it the latest example of a U.S. government-inspired propaganda campaign against Chavez that...

DENVER (AP) -- An online game based on the Columbine High School massacre is drawing criticism from relatives of those who died in the 1999 attack, including a father who says it trivializes the actions of the two teen killers. The game, Super Columbine Massacre RPG, was posted on a Web site last year, but is becoming more popular now. It draws on investigative material, including images of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide.

The rapture has come, and the believers have been gathered up and taken to heaven. As for everybody else: They've been left behind to duke it out in a smoldering, apocalyptic New York City. That's the scenario in a soon-to-be-released Christian-themed video game. Meanwhile, in the real world, the Christian community is engaged in its own skirmish over the virtues or vices of the concept of a Christian video game that involves killing. "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," which is made for PCs and will be unveiled at the E3 show next month, is a classic struggle of good vs. evil....

A TEENAGER obsessed with a killer video game was yesterday found guilty of murdering his sister by torching his home in a twisted bid to slaughter his entire family. The 16-year-old — who modelled himself on a half-human/half-demon PlayStation 2 character — also hit his brother with an axe leaving him brain-damaged. The lad always wore black Goth clothes and called himself Dante after the killer character in 15-rated game Devil May Cry, the Old Bailey heard. He launched the arson attack to rid himself of his family in the hope he would be adopted by a rich couple. The...

He may look like an innocent cartoon bunny, but the star of a new award-winning video game by a Montreal-based designer has sultry intentions in mind. Lapis, the blue-hued main character of a prototype video game by Heather Kelley, a designer with Ubisoft, wants to help women take a "magical pet adventure'' to their "happy place." Lapis the cartoon bunny teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation. The prototype teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation on the cartoon. Players tickle, touch, tap, and stroke Lapis using the touch screen...

Sony's third-person shooter "SOCOM 3: US Navy SEALs" was the best-selling video game in the United States in October, market research firm The NPD Group said on Tuesday. Electronic Arts had the second and third most popular games with sports titles "NBA Live 06" and "Madden NFL 06." The top three sellers were all for play on Sony's PlayStation 2 console, according to NPD, which tracks sales of software and other retail products. The No. 4 title was Take-Two Interactive Software's urban action game "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories" for Sony's PlayStation Portable. Rounding out the top five was...

Infamous Film Director Uwe Boll Signs Suicide Pact with Game Developer 'Running With Scissors' Start firing those AK-47s into the air because "Postal", the game franchise that politicians, parents groups, countless cowardly reviewers and over a dozen sovereign nations don't want you to play has just become the latest game to make the transition to the big screen. Running with Scissors (RWS), the world's most dangerous software company, has signed an appropriately apocalyptic deal with renegade filmmaker Uwe Boll to bring the most controversial franchise in gaming history to the screen in all its blood-drenched, ironic glory. Despite everyone from...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ignored strong lobbying from software makers and signed legislation Friday that bans the sale of violent video games to children. Passed by the California legislature last month, the measure follows heated national debate after game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pulled its best-selling game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" from retailers this summer because of hidden sex scenes. "I am a parent myself and I think this is extremely important that we know what our kids watch or what kind of games that they play," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "I am a big believer...

Take-Two Interactive Software on Friday said it would resume sales of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" in October, two months after the violent game was pulled from store shelves because of hidden sex scenes. Take-Two's Rockstar Games publishing house said that starting Oct. 18, it would sell a special edition of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" for Sony's PlayStation 2 console system. It will include a DVD with a backstory to the game and a documentary film called "Sunday Driver." Take-Two also will release a bundle of "Grand Theft Auto 3," "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto:...

Though the Nintendo Revolution was partially unveiled at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, its controller is the final piece of the venerable hardware manufacturer's next-generation puzzle. Speculation about the device has run rampant, because its manufacturer has made a point of keeping it well hidden. Nintendo has chosen only to drop hints that it would be an integral part of the Revolution's unique gameplay experience.

I just found my son viewing a video for a video game that is making light of disasters and even making reference to a "Chocolate Jesus" in its promotion materials. In light of recent events in New Orleans and the world... I am so upset by what I have seen, I simply don't know what to do. This is my first time posting to this forum after being a long time reader. The article about this game can be read here: http://pc.ign.com/articles/647/647404p1.html

Star Wars Battlefront II is the sequel to last year's hit online multiplayer shooter. The 2005 version adds space-based dogfighting combat and improved single-player gameplay. Look for it to hit the PC, the PS2, the Xbox, and the PSP on November 1- - the same day as the Episode III DVD.

Gov Jeb Bush in video game -- "I do not look like as buff as that receiver for the Miami Dolphins that I played there," Gov. Bush said. "I cannot tell you how much fun this is going to be to send this to Crawford, Texas. I'm sure my brother will like it -- maybe not as much as me." The highlight of the event was a surprise computer animation featuring Gov. Jeb Bush in a Miami Dolphins uniform and his brother, President George W. Bush, playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Animated characters of Gov. Jeb Bush and his brother,...

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. Just last month the star power of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was the driving force in getting the Entertainment Software Rating Board to re-rate GTA: San Andreas as "adults only" following the infamous Hot Coffee revelations. Clinton called for an FTC investigation, and vowed to introduce legislation aimed at preventing the sale of games to minors. Now, as ace game journalist and Kotaku editor Brian Crecente reports in the Rocky Mountain News, two powerful game industry figures are hosting a $1,000- a-plate fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton on Sept. 14 at Washington D.C.'s Phoenix...

Anti-game activist brands ESA "criminal" Crusading attorney Jack Thompson blasts lobby in general, its "thug" president in particular in open letter to game industry. Hot on the heels of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's call for federal game legislation came a very public and very unlikely thank you. Miami lawyer and ardent game-industry critic Jack Thompson, who has vocally blasted games on 60 Minutes, CNN, and other media outlets for over a decade, publicly praised the Democratic senator from New York in an open letter. "I, as a lifelong Republican, am going to thank Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton," he said. However,...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has attacked violent video games as "a silent epidemic" among children, said she wants a federal investigation into one of the most popular, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." Clinton, D-N.Y., is asking the Federal Trade Commission to probe how users of the game can access "graphic pornographic and violent content" for the game from the Internet. In a letter dated Thursday to FTC chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras, she also urged the agency to examine whether the game's rating of "M" for mature should be changed to an "Adults Only" rating. The Entertainment Software...

Enough with the endless controversy over violence in video games. Instead, let's talk about sex. Raunchy, full-contact sex -- the sort of thing you'd see in a porn movie, only with cartoonlike, computer-generated images. According to some software-savvy game geeks, you can find this kind of seamy excitement hidden inside one of the world's most popular computer games, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As if Grand Theft Auto lacked for controversy. It's already the computer game that critics of the industry love to hate because of its relentless brutality. GTA has inspired a spate of legislation in such places as...

MIDDLETON [--] A local 14-year-old boy and his family learned a powerful lesson after he received a slight electrical shock from a lightning bolt while playing video games Wednesday afternoon. David Robinson, of 239 New Durham Rd, said he was playing Grand Theft Auto 3 on his Play Station in his basement bedroom while a powerful storm swept through the region. A lightning bolt struck the ground near Robinson's room around 2 p.m. and some of the residual electricity made its way into Robinson's television. "My TV went out a few seconds before I got a shock," Robinson said, adding...

LOS ANGELES--Today saw the second of the big three console makers announce its next-generation platform. At its pre-E3 press conference, Sony Computer Entertainment gave the world its first look at the PlayStation 3, as it is now officially called. While the device's price has not yet been set, its release window--spring 2006--has. Flanked by Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Kaz Hirai, SCE head Ken Kutaragi introduced it as a "supercomputer for computer entertainment." The name was not unexpected, since Sony had been running an extensive teaser-ad campaign prepping the public for the PlayStation 3. The company had laid...

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has released a game called Food Force. Available for download for free, the game is compatible with Macs and PCs. The WFP's goal in releasing Food Force is to educate players about world hunger and the work the aid agency does. The game puts players in charge of a hunger relief effort on the fictional Indian Ocean island of Sheylan, ravaged by a civil war, flooding and drought. You lead a crack multinational team of WFP professionals including a logistics officer, nutritionist and air drop specialist, and you must lead the team through six...

OK, I don't love the first-person shooter games like "Grand Theft Auto," but I've played them enough to know they don't make me into a killer either. Check out the hack job "60 Minutes" did on the game. First, video games were linked to childhood obesity because teens sat around playing the games instead of exercising. Now, CBS’s “60 Minutes” is linking them to something far more destructive – murder – while ignoring obvious points that make the claim look ridiculous. The Sunday, March 6, 2005, broadcast of CBS’s news magazine showed Co-editor Ed Bradley reporting on a lawsuit about...

Microsoft Corp. started selling Halo 2, the sequel to the best-selling title for its Xbox video-game machine, as more than 7,000 stores opened at midnight Monday to cater to enthusiasts eager to buy the futuristic shooting program. The company hopes the fanfare will overshadow its biggest competition, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 that came out two weeks ago and is expected to be the top seller industrywide this holiday season. A number of area stores joined in the nighttime opening, including EB Games in Jensen Beach. The 24-hour Wal-Mart stores in Miami and...

Halo 2, the sequel to the top selling game for Microsoft's Xbox, will be released on November 9th. Joe Staten, the Microsoft employee and writer responsible for the storyline of both games, will use the new game (targeted at teens) as a political protest against the Bush Administration. For those who don't know story of the Halo games, it takes place in the future when vicious and radically religious alien forces called "The Covenant" are in a war with the human race and have trapped a lone human warship light years from Earth near the heretofore unknown Halo, a huge...

DALLAS (AP) -- An upcoming video game lets players re-enact the Swift boat mission in Vietnam that won Sen. John Kerry a Silver Star award for battlefield heroism. The first-person shooter "Kuma War" uses a ripped-from-the-headlines approach where gamers can download and then relive actual battles, mainly from the current war in Iraq. Beginning Sept. 30, the "John Kerry" mission will be available for download as an add-on pack for the game, made by New York-based Kuma Reality Games. The Kerry mission is based on the Navy's records of the encounter on Feb. 28, 1969. Playing as Lt. John...

Move over Lara Croft. Say hello to Lt. John Kerry, action video game hero. Later this month the presidential candidate's service in Vietnam -- the subject of ongoing controversy -- receives the full video game treatment with "John Kerry and the men of Swift Boat PCF-94." Available for download from kumawar.com as a free seven-day trial, the game will put players in the combat boots of a 25-year-old Lt. Kerry on Feb. 28, 1969, the date he earned his Silver Star citation. Players will have the opportunity to view and participate in the action from Kerry's perspective, up to and...

It was only a virtual Baghdad, baking under a virtual sun. As in real life, though, troops were dodging gunfire. I was at the Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina Del Rey, Calif., playing a new X box video game called Full Spectrum Warrior. Leading eight men in an Army squad on a patrol of the war-torn city, I got a taste, however approximate, of why Iraq is such a hard place to be a soldier these days. My job, as squad leader, was to order my soldiers where to go and what to do. First, I sent half of...