Last month we discussed news that Microsoft had banned hundreds of thousands of Xbox users for using modified consoles. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has now pointed to this round of bans as a prime example of the power given to providers of online services through 'Terms of Service' and other usage agreements.
"No matter how much we rely on them to get on with our everyday lives, access to online services — like email, social networking sites, and (wait for it) online gaming — can never be guaranteed. ... he who writes the TOS makes the rules, and when it comes to enforcing them, the service provider often behaves as though it is also the judge, jury and executioner. ... While the mass ban provides a useful illustration of their danger, these terms can be found in nearly all TOS agreements for all kinds of services. There have been virtually no legal challenges to these kinds of arbitrary termination clauses, but we imagine this will be a growth area for lawyers."

http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/1...rms-of-Service ...

The US Federal Trade Commission has expressed concern at the widely differing approaches to age ratings for mobile games within operator portals and app stores.
In a wider report on violent entertainment and children, the FTC looked specifically at how mobile games are marketed.
Its report claims that US operators AT&T, Sprint and Verizon don't carry age-rating information for mobile games on their portals, but that Nokia and Apple do on their app stores.
However, even then the FTC is concerned that these systems don't necessarily dovetail with the existing ESRB ratings for console and PC games.
"Although mobile game sellers should be commended for instituting rating systems for their products, the proliferation of different systems has the potential to create consumer confusion with the ESRB ratings, a system with which parents are already familiar," says the report.

For now, the FTC is advising parents to monitor what games their children are downloading on their phones.
It's a relatively new issue, and one that's been tackled head-on by Apple with its age-ratings system.
However, with handsets now eminently capable of showing hi-res gore'n'violence, the debate around how mobile games should be rated - and using which system - is set to intensify.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35283...r-mobile-games ...

Studio will not pander to 'territories where adults are not able to make their own entertainment choices'
UK developer Rebellion has emphatically stated that it will not be producing an edited version of its upcoming Aliens vs Predator to appease classification boards who ban the game.
The news comes shortly after it was confirmed that the Australian Classification Board has banned the title in the region, citing its extreme violence as the cause.
“Rebellion is disappointed that its upcoming title Aliens vs. Predator has been banned in Australia,” the studio’s CEO Jason Kingsley stated. “However, as we understand the law in that country the authorities had no choice as we agree strongly that our game is not suitable for game players who are not adults.
“The content of AvP is based on some of the most innovative and iconic horror movies, and as such we wanted to create a title that was true to the source material. It is for adults, and it is bloody and frightening, that was our intent.
“We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...-for-Australia ...

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata reckons that often-overlooked N64 Zelda quest, Majora's Mask, was a "turning point" for Nintendo, and an early glimpse at games of the future.

Speaking in Nintendo's latest Iwata Asks inteview,Zelda top man Eiji Aonuma explains that the game's compact world was the result of a harsh one-year development cycle plan.

"The 'Three-Day System', the idea of a compact world to be played over and over again, came down from Miyamoto-san and one other director, (Yoshiaki) Koizumi-san," explained Aonuma. "We added that to the mix, and then, finally, we saw the full substance of a The Legend of Zelda game we could make in one year."

Iwata went on to add: "Actually, I feel as though, back then, we were given a glimpse of the concept that 'Deep, compact play is one form of the games of the future'. I think in that sense, as a product, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was a big turning point for Nintendo."

We too, want to see the series' darkest game mentioned more in Best Game Ever lists. Just buy it on Virtual Console to see why.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Sega’s sci-fi becomes the latest title to feel the brunt of the OFLC’s ban-hammer
High-profile 2010 release Aliens vs Predator has become the latest in a long line of titles to fall foul of the famously strict Australian Classification Board, and will not be released in the region next year.
In a statement released to GameSpot, the OFLC stated that “the game contains first-person perspective, close-up depictions of human characters being subjected to various types of violence, including explicit decapitation and dismemberment as well as locational damage such as stabbing through the chest, mouth, throat, or eyes”.
The report also took exception to the Predator’s predilection to collecting ‘trophies’ from its human victims and the fact that “bloodied eye sockets” are left when eyes are either stabbed or gouged.
However, the Australian arm of Sega has not ruled out a possible appeal, stating: “We will continue to investigate all options available to us, including the possibility of appeal.”
Sega Europe have apparently already stated that it has no intention to tone down the violence in an effort to appease the also famously strict German ratings board.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36757/AUS-...redator-banned ...

Take Two says its most cherished IP does not need to become an annual franchise
With recent DLC release The Ballad of Gay Tony apparently marking the end of the Grand Theft Auto IV journey, attentions have now turned to what Rockstar may have planned for the inevitable GTAV – but it looks like the wait is going to be a long one.
Though publisher Take Two has not been specific in naming a date – or indeed, revealing any detail at all – about the sequel, talk in its recent investor report seems to dash hopes of a 2010 release for GTAV.
Specifically, Take Two says that GTA is such a “strong franchise” that it doesn’t need annual releases, particularly whilst DLC releases for GTAIV mean that the record-breaking epic is still making money.
Whether that means a 2011 release for GTAV remains to be seen – but that’s the obvious conclusion to draw.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36755/New-...likely-in-2010 ...

BioWare's rocked the very foundations of the internet this morning by confirming that its epic action RPG sequel, Mass Effect 2 is just a bit too epic to fit on a single disc - so it's putting them on two.

Community coordinator, Chris Priestly explains, in handy number form:

"1 - Yes, there are 2 game discs for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions, both the Collector's and standard editions.

"2 - There is a 3rd disc with the Collector's Edition. This is a movie DvD containing making of and other bonus information.

"3 - The PC version is a standard install. You install the information from both discs and then play with 1 disc in the drive. No swapping.

"4 - The Xbox 360 does not have an install and does require disc swapping during play.

"5 - Even though there is a disc swap, it occurs at a carefully planned place in the game (that does not interfere with gameplay) and is done once. You do not swap back and forth. 1 swap and then done.

"6 - Why 2 discs? Answer: Because you cannot fit this much awesome on one disc."

What?! You mean we have to swap the discs?! Disgraceful.

Mass Effect 2 is in the shops on January 29 in Europe with a Collectors' Edition.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

There has been no substantial change in the number of adult brain tumours since mobile phone usage sharply increased in the mid-1990s, Danish scientists say.
The Danish Cancer Society looked at the rates of brain tumours among 20 to 79 year olds from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
They found that trends in cancer rates had not altered from the period before mobiles were introduced.
But they say longer follow-up studies are needed.
The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, says radio frequency electromagnetic fields emitted from mobile phones have been proposed as a risk factor for brain tumours, but a biological mechanism that could explain the potential effects has not been identified.
Cancer incidence
The study was based on 59,684 brain tumour cases diagnosed over 30 years from 1974 to 2003 among 16 million adults.

Brain tumours often take a very long time to develop so we will need to look for any future changes in incidence rates to see if mobile phones could pose any longer-term risks
Dr Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK
During this time, the incidence rate of cancers known as gliomas increased gradually by 0.5% per year among men and by 0.2% per year among women.
For cancers known as meningioma, the incidence rate increased by 0.8% among men and, after the early 1990's, by 3.8% among women.
This more rapid change for women was driven, the researchers say, by the 60-79 year age group.
Isabelle Deltour, of the Danish Cancer Society in Copenhagen who led the study said the lack of a detectable increase in tumour rates up to 2003 may suggest that the time it takes for cancer to develop from mobile phone use is longer than 10 years of exposure or that the number of tumours it promotes is too small to be detected.
She said: "Our results extend those of previous studies of time trends up to 1998 by adding five years of follow-up.
"Because of the high prevalence of mobile phone exposure in this population and worldwide, longer follow-up of time trends in brain tumour incidence is warranted."
Further research
Dr Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer, agreed that further research was needed: "Overall, the scientific evidence tells us that using mobile phones for less than 10 years does not increase the risk of cancer and this large study supports that conclusion.
"However, brain tumours often take a very long time to develop so we will need to look for any future changes in incidence rates to see if mobile phones could pose any longer-term risks."
Mike Dolan, of the Mobile Operators Association which represents all five UK network operators said: "This finding is consistent with previous studies in this field and will form part of the overall body of scientific research.
"The UK mobile phone operators are supporting a large cohort study which is a recommendation of this paper."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8393884.stm ...

Research organisation The NPD Group has released results of its latest survey, entitled Kinds and Gaming 2009, revealing that 82 per cent of 2-17 year olds in the US classify themselves as gamers.

However, in the older age range, particularly among females, the results indicate a reduction in the amount of time spent playing games compared to last year.

The numbers point to around 55.7 million kid gamers in the US in total, of which 9.7 million are between the ages of two and five - the smallest segment - while 12.4 million are between nine and eleven - the largest segment.

The 12-14 age range is the group spending the most amount of time per week on games at 10.6 hours, while across all the age groups kids have access to 2.5 platforms each on average.

"The decline in teen usage of videogames is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition for their mind and wallet share," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group. "In addition to competition from other areas of the entertainment space, more school work, activities, and parent-imposed time limits on gaming are factors which the data suggests may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement."

The survey, which interviewed over 5000 members of the company's consumer panel, also found that over half of the respondents played online, with the 9-14 male demographic contributing the most.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ids-are-gamers ...