Prison Break video game to bust out this fall

Friendly Computers found out that the “Prison Break” video game, which is based off the TV series will be released this fall. If you are a Prison Break fan, you may want to read this:

"Prison Break" may be done on TV, but the video game is getting a second chance.

Before the series was killed by Fox this year at the end of its fourth season, the Prison Break video game was canceled last fall by Brash Entertainment, the now defunct publisher of games based on movie and TV licenses.

But Slovenia-based developer Zootfly, which was producing the game for Brash, decided to fund the project to completion itself. It has just signed a deal with publisher Deep Silver, part of Britain-based Koch Media, to release Prison Break this fall.

"The cancellation was a blessing in disguise because we got to spend more time on the key gameplay features and get rid of the half-baked ideas Brash management pushed on us," Zootfly CEO Bostjan Troha said on the phone from Slovenia.

Releasing a licensed video game when the property on which it's based no longer exists is a difficult business proposition, but Troha said he's counting on the show's loyal fan base, many of whom protested its death, to support the title. The CEO said he's still working with Fox to secure some of the show's actors to do voice work.

Prison Break and Where the Wild Things Are, which is set for release this fall but is still searching for a publisher, are the last of Brash's games far enough along in production that they'll eventually see the light of day.

 

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/05/prison-break-game-to-bust-out-this-fall.html

Using generators for games can create a new twist in storm dangers

Friendly Computers wonders if it is worth playing video games after a natural disaster?

Many fans of video games say they're addictive.

But are they worth dying for?

After Hurricane Ike hit Texas last September, many people fired up gasoline-powered generators not to turn on their lights or refrigerators but to play video games, a study in today's Pediatrics says.

Running a generator in a garage — a common mistake after storms — can cause a dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that sends 50,000 Americans to the emergency room each year.

Of the 37 people treated for carbon monoxide poisoning at one Houston hospital in the first 36 hours after the storm, 21 were in homes where generators were run to play video games, says author Caroline Fife. Fifteen of these victims were children, not including one 3-year-old who died before getting to the hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center.

Nearly 2 million people lost power during the storm, and 1 million remained without power one week later, the study says. Many patients said they were afraid to leave generators outdoors for fear of theft, Fife says. Floodwaters also can make it hard to place generators outside.

Fife says it was difficult to entertain children after the hurricane, when fallen trees, live power lines and newly homeless animals made it too dangerous for kids to play outside.

And children and adults alike have come to see video games and cellphones as essential, says Fife, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Research shows that children spend 25% of their waking hours, or 41/2 hours a day, with TV or video games.

Yet children weren't the ones who turned on the generators, which are complicated to operate, Fife says. Parents were operating them, in some cases to enjoy video games themselves.

Generators should never be used indoors, even in a garage, because carbon monoxide can seep into the house, says Fuyuen Yip, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They should always be used outdoors.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-25-generators_N.htm

Epic Games founder: Realistic graphics in video games 10-15 years away

Friendly Computers found this article about how realistic graphics will be in video games. Read below to see what is predicted to happen:

In 10 to 15 years, video games might sport 100% lifelike graphics, says Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney in an interview with Gamasutra.

Sweeney -- whose studio is responsible for shooters Unreal Tournament and Gears of War -- tells the gaming site players can expect realistic visuals in games soon.  Here's more from the Epic founder:

We're only about a factor of a thousand off from achieving all that in real-time without sacrifices. So we'll certainly see that happen in our lifetimes; it's just a result of Moore's Law. Probably 10-15 years for that stuff, which isn't far at all. Which is scary -- we'll be able to saturate our visual systems with realistic graphics at that point.

Sweeney says finding the computing power necessary to render these visuals and accurately modeling human behavior and interactions are the major hurdles to achieving realistic graphics.

 

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/05/67280517/1

New paradigm: rentable game downloads for handhelds

Why go to the store when you can download your games from home? Friendly Computers thinks this will be a cool and “earth friendly” alternative to game discs. Read more below…

What will happen to the video game rental trade and companies like GameFly and Blockbuster when the market changes, and when the more direct channel -- downloads over the net -- takes over? Sony looks to be thinking ahead to that point, as evidenced by its own recent survey.

The handheld market it going to be the first to drop hard copy and go fully downloadable. With the iPhone unexpectedly proving itself a viable outlet for small-footprint, small-price tag games, Nintendo dropping its customary cartridge slot upgrade on its DSi, and rumors of a new disc-less PSP, the changeover is imminent.

In light of this impending change, Sony has been gauging consumer interest in a direct-to-PSP game rental service. The survey says: "The service will enable you to download a fixed number of games during your subscription period (the subscription period might renew weekly, monthly, or some other time period), you will be able to change the games you have chosen for the download once your subscription term renews. At launch, there will be an extensive catalogue of games to choose from, with more titles being added to the catalogue each month."

It then asks the survey participant to choose which options would most attract them to the service. In April, Sony began to test the consumer predilection for downloads be releasing the sequel to its popular title Patapon only as a download. Sony issued the statement: ""We're considering a digital only format for the Patapon 2 release as a one-time test case as we continue to explore consumer preferences for digital content."

According to an unnamed source speaking to Develop Magazine today, Sony privately informed game studios at the recent Game Developers Conference in March that it planned to open a subscription rental service.

This type of service has been tried a number of times in the past for home video game consoles, going all the way back to the 1980s with the Atari 2600 Gameline and Intellivision's PlayCable. The concept was revisited in the '90s in the United States with Sega Channel on Sega Genesis, and the XBAND for both Sega and Nintendo's 16-bit consoles. These services all charged a monthly fee and gave the user unlimited access to a catalog of game titles, which would rotate in and out of circulation.

This, however, will be the first service of its kind for a handheld.

Source: http://www.betanews.com/article/New-paradigm-rentable-game-downloads-for-handhelds/1242930052

Calif. takes appeal for violent video game law to Supreme Court

 Friendly Computers recently learned about a court case heading to the Supreme Court that may lead to the ban the sale of some video games to minors. Read more below…

The debate over selling violent video games to minors might be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Associated Press is reporting California Attorney General Jerry Brown has appealed to the court to reinstate a law banning the sales and rentals of games to minors.

According to AP, a federal appeals court struck down the law in February, claiming it violated the right to free speech.  Brown says the same justifications for banning minors from pornography can be applied to the sales of violent games.

Game Politics has a copy of California's appeal.  The law's author, state senator Leland Yee has praised the decision.

"California’s violent video game law properly seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of excessively violent, interactive video games,” said Yee in a statement on his webpage.  "I am hopeful that the Supreme Court – which has never heard a case dealing with violent video games – will accept our appeal and assist parents in keeping these harmful video games out of the hands of children."

As news service AFP points out, the law requires games labeled with an "18" to be prohibited for minors, with steep financial penalties for violations.
Update at 4:23 p.m. ET: Entertainment Software Association President Michael D. Gallagher has responded to the appeal, issuing the following statement: “We are confident that this appeal will meet the same fate as the State’s previous failed efforts to regulate what courts around the country have uniformly held to be expression that is fully protected by the First Amendment. California’s taxpayers would be better served by empowering parents and supporting the ESRB rating system.”

Update at 5:30 p.m. ET: Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin commented on the appeal in a statement: "I was disheartened to hear that Governor Schwarzenegger is petitioning the Supreme Court over labeling and sales of video games, especially given the fact that nine similar pieces of legislation have been overturned on First Amendment grounds, costing the respective cities and states much-needed taxpayer funds. Coupled with California’s $21B economic crisis and the fact that the Governor is about to lay off teachers en masse, it’s shocking to the conscience. This was a frivolous political football back when the state had money to burn. Now it’s out-and-out irresponsibly politicized."

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/05/67062931/1