This short movie shows my exact point of view regarding Second Life, the MMORPG that lets you play… another life. I can understand why you want to be a hero and kill beasts and such, but why would you want to have a second life? One life is one too much for some people.

Sony fans in Europe may want to find another way other than selling their aging PS2 systems if they need a little extra cash to buy a PlayStation 3 when it’s released on March 23rd. Sony recently made news when it was revealed that a chip responsible for PlayStation 2 compatibility has been removed from the European version of the PS3, in favor of a somewhat less-compatible software solution. Sony Corp noted that the change will make mass production of the console quicker and easier, cutting costs in the process.

It’s no secret that Sony has been losing money on every console they sell, all in the hopes of covering their losses and turning a profit off of add-ons, third-party licenses, etc. Anyone that ever purchased a dirt-cheap printer and then paid five times more than that just for the ink will know this tactic is nothing new. But with the amount lost on every PS3 sold (the words ‘hemorrhaging cash’ come to mind here,) it would be in Sony’s best interest to save any pennies they can on their current console war offering – A war where the chief competition costs half as much and has three times the interactivity.

Is this a subtle sign that the console giant may be losing a little faith in its masterpiece’s marketability? Or are choices like this just simple economics, a typical effort to streamline production, maybe learning from past mistakes made in the US and Japan at product launch, making sure there’s actual product on the shelves? That’s an unknown to me at this point, as well as if Sony plans the same schematic update in future US and Japan PS3s, but hey, that’s why the readers here get to reply, isn’t it? What’s your insight?

I’ve asked myself that question after watching a report on the damages caused by Nintendo Wii’s straps, but that’s not important. Have you noticed that the arcade games and consoles tend to get more user interactive as time passes? I believe that’s a good thing since people like you and me will rise our butts from the comfy chair and move in order to play. It all started on the old Nintendo consoles when you were going Duck hunting or shooting people in the Wild West. You were carrying a gun that you were pointing to the TV in order to reach the goal. How many of you still remember that? Those were the early years.
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After the tragic attack of Sebastian Bosse in the town of Emsdetten placed on the Dutch border, in which Bosse attacked and wounded 37 people that were in his former school at the time, the violence was blamed on Bosse’s addiction to Counter Strike, the famous PC video game. Regarding this Günther Beckstein the Bavarian intern minister declared that there is no doubt this violent game had tremendous effect upon Bosse’s already unstable mind this leading to the regrettable incident at Emsdetten.

As a reaction to this “status quo” a law proposal was launched that states any violence in games “on humans or human-looking characters.” should be punished by fines and/or up to one year of prison time. This applies to both gamers and producers! As a natural response gaming companies are preparing protests against these drastic measures.

For the moment the situation is uncertain and the way things look like it will be so for a while. The way I see it violence in games in not worse than what you see on TV in movies or on the 5′o’clock news. In fact some say that you release negative energy and frustration trough games, it seems not everybody thinks so…

Nintendo currently has 62 available games for their newest gaming console, Wii. Out of those, 15 games are not launched yet, but are expected in the first quarter of 2007. The rest are available for immediate purchase.

The list covers important titles from all gaming genres, from simple Arcade to complex Sport simulations.

According to the gamers, The Legend of Zelda and its sequel, The Twilight Princess are the most addictive and well sold, so far. Experience the original smash-hit adventure on the NES! Ganon, the King of Evil, has broken free of the Dark World and has captured Hyrule’s beloved Princess Zelda. But, before she was caught, Zelda managed to shatter the Triforce of Wisdom and scatter its eight pieces throughout Hyrule. You begin your adventure by finding a small wooden sword in a dark cave. Then, as you grow in stature, experience, and strength, so do your weapons. Help Link collect the captured pieces of the Triforce, rescue the princess, and thwart Ganon’s evil plans!

I haven’t talked about games lately and now I will try to mend that, and I will do so by presenting a series of short, online games that made my free hours more fun.
This two games are quite simple but they’re just fascinating by the micro-universe they create. Samorost1 and Samorost2 take you in to the world of small weird creatures that strive for small weird goals. I have finished both games just for the fun of music and micro-steam-punk universe.

Falling sand game has quite a few versions but i like most Pyro falling sand game, it’s just a flash particle simulation but with a lot of patience and some ingenuity you can create some interesting structures to blow up, or to slowly burn, as you like. You have numerous materials to experiment with so give it a try.

This one is small and lacks the visual flavor, but makes you think when you reach the upper levels. This one is for the ‘geeks’. I give you Telescope.

This is it for now, but rest ensured there’s more where this came from!