Phillips, hot on the heels of their "innovative" Ambilight technology, announced that they're shifting their focus slightly and are going to aim at gamers for another application of their visual witchcraft. They?re dubbing this incarnation amBX - pronounced am-bee-ex.

amBX will not only feature the technology behind Ambilight, but will incorporate "active furniture," fans, heaters and audio/video to completely envelop the gamer in a "sensual masterpiece" (well, I made up that last quote).

Aimed initially at the PC gamer, Phillips believes that this has what it takes to take gaming to the next level. It will use scripted events that will be programmed into games, and these will interact with the peripherals you have "strategically placed" around your gaming environment. Phillips will be working with peripheral manufacturers and game developers to get this technology all in sync.

"Imagine the room of the future, where all electronic devices are amBX-enabled," the company proclaimed in a press release about the new technology. "The treacherous road to Saigon will turn your room jungle green, swimming with dolphins will splash it deep blue, 'Halo' [a hit Xbox video game] jumps will turn your fans on full, lightning storms will strobe your white lighting, and attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion will blast on your heaters."

The law, which California lawmakers passed and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in October, would require that violent video games be sold with labels identifying them as suitable for those 18 and older, and would have allowed fines of up to US$1,000 against retailers who rented or sold those games to minors.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte ruled that appeals against the law had a chance to prevail on free-speech grounds. Though the judge did find that at least one game, "Postal II," contained scenes that were "especially cruel and depraved," he said that didn't mean that the state should step in and stop them from being sold to certain individuals.

In fact, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton recently said she plans to introduce federal legislation that would limit what type of businesses could sell mature- and adult-rated video games.

Such a bill would undoubtedly face both fierce lobbying from game developers and other niches of the entertainment industry, which might fear a spread of the attacks on video games to movies and other forms of media.

In what looks to be the University of Michigan library (the video is hosted on a personal UM website), a guy dressed up as Pac-Man bellows and cries for help as he is pursued by Blinky the red ghost, all the while making the infamous "wocka wocka" sound effect as the chase progresses through the computer lab.

On behalf of The Silver Lining Development Team, we would like to thank the thousands of fans that made this possible by emailing VUG and spreading the news; we would also like to give a special thanks to Matt Compton and Cat Tyson, organizers of SaveKQIX.org for such unconditional and wonderful support, as well as everyone who helped them in this kind effort. Also, special thanks to Rod Rigole "Vice-President of Legal Affairs" and Marcus Beer "Senior Public Relations Manager", both from VUG, for their great help during the negotiation. Without any of the aforementioned, none of this would have happened.

The cloak has dropped and the silver lining appeared. You, the fans, made it happen.

Even though the Arena Football League is still miles behind the National Football League, the game still has its stars. John Dutton, a former pigskin tosser at the University of Nevada is one of the sports' brightest, and will be immortalized as the first cover athlete for the first game of Electronic Arts' Arena Football franchise.

Dutton led the Crush to the 2005 championship, and he has a history of winning. The QB also earned some finger hardware in 2002 when he was named the MVP of ArenaBowl XVI as the play-caller for the San Jose SaberCats.

Nissan is looking to capitalize on the Xbox craze by showcasing a prototype vehicle with an integrated Xbox. The Urge has two seats that are modeled to like a cockpit, so the passenger will get to pretend he's driving while the driver hopefully isn't too distracted to do the real thing.

Yes, this is a concept car, so it remains doubtful that a car would ever sell with an Xbox integrated into the dashboard. However, since DVD players and entertainment systems are already standard fare for the rear passengers on some SUVs and minivans, adding a game console would be a logical progression.

Players take control of the Chibi-Robo, a household maintenance robot that belongs to the Sanderson family. As the Chibi-Robo, players must navigate the house cleaning up after the Sandersons, as well as helping the local robots and toys with their problems. Chibi has limited juice, however, so strategy must be used as the gigantic household is navigated. The tiny robot dreams only of becoming a Super Chibi-Robot (and who could blame him...) but to do so he must rise through the Robo Ranks. Every time Chibi completes a task he is awarded with "happy points" as well as a little robo-cash. In order for Chibi to achieve his dream, necessary steps have to be made.

The world is full of tons of toys and robots, each just waiting for Chibi to do their dirty work. The house is a gigantic environment, however, so the little robot will need to build bridges, climb ladders, and upgrade his tools to reach every inch of the house. The more tasks completed, the more supplies earned.

Chibi-Robo is an ingenious design, and is tons of fun to play. Its presentation and game play are inspired by a variety of popular titles. Think Animal Crossing meets Katamari, with a little touch of Mario. The game also realizes its own comedy, often making parody of Nintendo products. During battles, for example, players may use their Chibi-Blaster in the classic third-person view, or opt to go first-person a la Metroid Prime. The blaster can even be charged, and it's moments like these were Chibi-Robo really shines.

"For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, me and my colleagues are killing monsters," said a 23-year-old gamer who works in the makeshift factory and goes by the online code-name "Wandering."

"I make about $250 a month, which is pretty good, compared to the other jobs I've had," he said. "And I can play games all day."

He and his comrades belong to the latest global industry to use cheap Chinese labor - the fast-growing world of online gaming, which generates $3.6 billion a year, according to DFC Intelligence, which tracks the online gaming market.

They are workers with quotas and bosses who equip them to thrash online trolls, gnomes and ogres. In the hours these workers play, they accumulate gold coins that they can sell for real money to game players around the world, who then use the coins to buy better armor, amulets, magic spells and other accouterments to climb levels or create more powerful characters. The Internet is filled with classified advertisements from small companies, many of them in China, auctioning off their powerful figures, called avatars, and individual gamers marketing virtual weapons and wares.

Ballmer commented to the Citizen: "In these new consumer electronics devices based on new chips, there's always the question of what yield will you get out of the manufacturing process of the new chip. We're getting a little less, but not much less than the yields we expected, and we know that the yields we expected will probably outrun supply."

However, Ballmer noted: "We decided to go ahead and launch rather than wait until post-Christmas and get a few million units out into the hands of users. We're doing our best."

In addition, in remarks at a technology executive conference reported by Reuters, Ballmer quipped, in an apparent attempt to defuse some of the frustration over limited stocks of Microsoft's next-gen console: "The Ballmer children do not have their Xbox 360 yet. I'm in the same boat as many of you. Thanks to the wonders of [financial regulation act] Sarbanes-Oxley, management does not get a free Xbox 360."

Wendel, the better-known competitor, did what his fans have come to expect and dominated Kaasjager in four straight matches.

"There's a reason why they call him Fatal1ty," one spectator explained as Wendel dispatched Kaasjager in a hail of rockets.

Unlike the other competitors, many of whom still attend college or high school, Wendel plays full time and has acquired superstar status in the computer gaming community that he has turned into a business.

This year Wendel has earned about $600,000 in licensing fees and another $231,000 in tournament winnings. In trying to turn video gaming into a sustainable, professional venture, he and his licenser, Auravision, of Woodland Hills, California, have spent $50,000 helping other gamers attend gaming events around the globe.

One of the nicest thing in the game is that they can take pictures of your(as a sheep) while playing so that you'll send them to your friends. Furthermore you can earn more points if you manage to collect Mentos candies during the game.

Games featuring graphic scenes of cannibalism, "F.E.A.R." and "Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse," were among the 12 "games to avoid" listed Tuesday by the National Institute on Media and the Family.

"It's something we've never seen before," said institute president David Walsh, warning that today's games are "more extreme" and more easily available to underage kids than ever before.

1. Far Cry (M)
2. F.E.A.R. (M)
3. The Warriors (M)
4. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (M)
5. True Crime: New York City (M)
6. Blitz: The League (M)
7. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (M)
8. God of War (M)
9. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (M)
10. Urban Reign (T)
11. Conker: Live and Reloaded (M)
12. Resident Evil 4 (M)

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (E 10+)
2. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer (E 10+)
3. Peter Jackson's King Kong (T)
4. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (E)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (T)
6. Sly 3: Honor Amongst Thieves (E 10+)
7. We Love Katamari (E)
8. Sid Meier's Pirates! (E)
9. Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX3 (E 10+)
10. Backyard Baseball 2005 (E)

In "Stubbs the Zombie," the lead character eats the brains of humans as blood splatters across the screen.

"It's just the worst kind of message to kids," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who joined institute officials at a press conference announcing the group's 10th annual video game report card. "They can be dangerous to your children's health."