A Thai distributor is jerking “Grand Theft Auto” off shelves after an avid 18-year-old player confessed to robbing and murdering a cab driver trying to reenact parts of the game. The perp was caught with the injured driver in the backseat when he tried to steer the cab backwards on a Bangkok street. Police noted no mental abnormalities in the young man and his parents described him as “polite and diligent,” but he could face the death penalty if found guilty of the crime. The Thai government is calling for a crackdown, which would include a ratings system and restricted hours for playing the game in arcades.

Who better to tap for cutting edge gaming ideas than gamers themselves, is Microsoft Corp’s new philosophy for the Xbox 360. Taking a page from the book of Facebook and YouTube, Microsoft will take audience participation one step farther by offering 70% of live service and advertising revenue profits with creators beginning later this year. Aspiring developers will have to pass a peer review of their work and maintain a membership to the XNA Creators Club, but the company foresees a doubling of available games for the system. One company representative commented that, “Not only are we democratising game development with Xbox Live Community Games later this year, but we’re creating an opportunity for aspiring developers.”
(Photo Credit: Oleg Prikhodko/iStockphoto)

Wipe away that gamer stereotype of the teenage boy in a dark room late at night, and make room for the new (or old) generation of gamers. According to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, almost a quarter of the playing public is from the pre-Pac Man generation (over 50’s), and one-third of women are enjoying America’s new favorite family pastime. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are all releasing family friendly games that emphasize the group experience and include everything from conducting a full orchestra to creating a universe complete with characters. This changing demographic signals the dawning of a video game “golden age” for some members of the ESA, but they vow to continue serving their original fan base as well.

Slim is in and Nintendo may hop on that bandwagon with the rumored introduction of a slimmed down Nintendo DS that will sell for under $100. The skinnier DS will reportedly feature a built-in accelerometer, but users will have to do without a GBA slot.

With only three days left until this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit, the gaming world has oozed over with rumors about what gaming fans can expect at the conference. European mag NGamer has fueled buzz that both Animal Crossing Wii and Punch-Out!! Wii, a game allegedly used in conjunction with the Wii Fit Balance, will make their highly-anticipated debuts. Other gamer gossip involves Ubisoft’s new project titled I Am Alive that is reportedly a first-person action title taking place in Chicago following a massive earthquake.

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, has made a $5m down payment to book one of the two available seats on Space Adventures’ 2011 flight. Sergey Brin says he is a big believer in space exploration and he is looking forward to the possibility of going into space. Richard Garriot, son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriot, paid $35 million for his seat. He is scheduled to take off in October.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. released Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29th, and since then, I have logged numerous hours on the game. The gameplay is much smoother, missions are more tedious, and the overall experience is FANTASTIC! Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way because the game raked in $500 million in first week sales, making it one of the most lucrative entertainment launches in history.

San Francisco’s Mission Bay Community Church is taking the Buddy Christ concept to a whole new level with their introduction of a Mii Jesus to encourage Easter Sunday mass attendance. Many Nintendo Wii followers have heralded the church’s radical “My own personal Jesus” campaign (or Miisus) as ground breaking in an attempt to think different.

Gary Gygax, co-creator of the hugely popular Dungeons and Dragons, died today at the age of 69. D&D has attracted an estimated 20 million people worldwide since its inception in 1974, with over $1 billion spent on game equipment and books. Expect many memorial gaming nights to follow.

Introduced in the arcades in 1987, Street Fighter and its subsequent sequels were hugely popular in the gaming world. Actors Kristin Kreuk, Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris Klein and Rick Yune have inserted their quarters for the big screen version of the arcade game. The advancement of technology promises to catapult the quality of this film version, unlike the one starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. (All the top celebrity gossip.)

If you have an interest in playing poker online or if you are interested in preserving American freedom, check out an interesting article about the top Presidential candidates and their views on the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. Which candidate has a royal flush and who’s just BSing with a pair of twos?

Bookmark this: WorldGolfTour.com. It’s an online massively multi-player golf game. Think 40 and 50 somethings meet World of Warcraft. Read about how it will singlehandedly bring about the next recession here.

Richard Knerr, the co-founder of Wham-O Inc., which unleashed the Hula Hoop on the world half-a-century ago along with another enduring leisure icon, the Frisbee, has died at the age of 82.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Edney/ iStockphoto)

San Mateo police raided a home poker game (confiscating the $1,300 pot), interrogated the 20 players, and arrested the organizer and one other player last Saturday. Police first said the raid was made because the game was “luring” individuals into the game using a website. They later changed their tune and stated they suspected the organizer of skimming money off of the buy-in fee and that the $5 refreshment fee the organizer charged was illegal. A regular participant has blogged about his experience during the game and the raid, and has stated that he participated in a small, low-stake, friendly poker game. I want to know how the police have time to investigate and crash a home poker game? Must not be a lot of crime in San Mateo.

Hasbro who are the makers of Scrabble, are putting pressure on Facebook to shut down the popular Scrabulous application. Scrabulous is a web-based version of the board game which was started by two Indian brothers. The game became popular after it was made available on Facebook, where now more than two million people play against their friends. I wonder if I’ll ever get to complete my five current games.
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Following up on the Xbox free-video-game truemor, Cem Aykan monitors the daily health of Xbox Live. This is how it looked yesterday. Blue is good. Red is bad.

As many gamers have realized, Xbox live has been experiencing difficulties this holiday season. Many players find their games to be lagging, or not finding matches in the matchmaking mode. The head of Xbox live has promised Xbox 360 owners a free video game to make up for the annoyances… Sweet!

British researchers have found that a group of 13 to 15 year old boys and girls burned up about 60 calories an hour more playing the active sorts of games offered by the Nintendo Wii system, games that mimic movements used, for instance, to bowl, or play tennis, or to box than they did playing more sedentary electronic games on the Xbox 360 system. However, while the Wii provides more activity than passive videogames it is still no replacement for getting some good old fashioned exercise.
(Photo Credit: Damir Karan / iStockphoto)

Texas is set to become the first state to introduce a $50 scratcher lottery ticket. State Senator Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso likens scratchers to crack cocaine. It actually looks like a more expensive habit. A medium sized rock will only set you back $10 to $20 depending on your home town.

Webkinz , the most popular online site for children has apparently begun allowing advertising on their site. This doesn’t sit right with one blogger who is directing other complainers to a site dedicated to complaining. Oh by the way, the advertisements were of the new “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie.

Toyota has teamed with Professor Ryuta Kawashima, developer of Nintendo’s “Brain Age” games, to design a vehicle that will help seniors drive safely. Kawashima believes, “…future cars will be able to monitor brain and emotional activity to back up elderly drivers.” I think this should be for all drivers.

The hard-to-find Nintendo Wii sells for less than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3, but retailers are bundling the console with games, increasing the price. Nintendo America says, “Knock it off!” Well, they didn’t say that exactly, here’s what they said: “…we are not big fans of that.”

Canadians can’t get the Rock Band Special Edition for XBOX 360 and PS3 until the 27th according to an Electronic Arts representative. This sucks, eh?

I’m not a gamer, and I only recognized two names from the list, and one of them includes “Super Mario” in its title! Check out the list and give us your thoughts.

A 15 year old Montreal boy is learning about Internet age profiteering after being caught smoking pot by his Dad. The father had previously purchased the hard to find Guitar Hero III for the son as a $90 Christmas gift, but after catching his son disqualifying himself for a future seat on the US Supreme Court, the father put the game up for auction on eBay. An Australian snapped it up for $9100. No word if the father plans to start a venture capital firm.