On Wednesday Mr. Bruckheimer's company will announce a deal with MTV to develop actual video games, which would probably start appearing on store shelves in 2009. The new games will be based on fresh concepts rather than on current MTV shows or on Mr. Bruckheimer's vast library of past projects, which includes the "C.S.I." television franchise and movies like "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

As its audience has grown more interested in video games, MTV, a division of Viacom, is trying to follow them. In August, MTV announced that it would invest more than $500 million in its interactive entertainment business over the next two years. Several weeks ago, it released Rock Band, a well-reviewed game in which players operate instrument-shaped controllers in time to pop songs.

But this deal marks the company's first attempt to develop titles that do not involve music or its already established television shows.

"This is more analogous to a film deal," said Van Toffler, president of the MTV Networks Music and Logo Group. "We'll have a handful of people who will develop and nurture ideas."

So in case you guys haven’t heard Activision who has brought us such amazing games like Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, and of course Call of Duty, Blizzard whose name to fame is of course the ever popular World of Warcraft, and Vivendi who brings out the family friendly games such Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, have decided to merge business now aside from making this an $18.6 billion dollar company, they will now also be the largest video game only company to exist. The new company name will be Activision Blizzard and Vivendi will then have a 52% stock share in the company.

Considering the list of games that these companies have produced, you can guarantee that over the next year this company will be a true force to be reckoned with. Will this be the final deal for the new founded gaming giant? Or will they be like a growing shark eating up any little fish that makes a name for itself? Only time will tell, but until then one thing remains true, we can expect big things from the new multi-billion dollar company in the near future.

"We wish them good luck and look forward to the competition," Ramsdale told Eurogamer. "We believe that EA still has the industry's strongest portfolio of game franchises and we're always at our best when we have a clearly defined competitor."

"You'll be able to see who's gaining traction and losing traction," said Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. However, Pachter predicted that the 2008 holidays will be even more competitive if the Wii is in better supply and if prices of all three consoles drop further.

The Wii, which sells for $250 and features a motion-sensitive controller, sold 13.2 million units worldwide as of September, Nintendo said. Microsoft reported that the Xbox 360 -- in models priced from $280 to $450 -- had sold 13.4 million units at the time. Then, in October, U.S. sales of the Wii exceeded Xbox 360 sales, according to the NPD Group. Combined with the Nintendo console's strength in the Japanese market, that effectively would bring the two into a dead heat in cumulative sales.

The PlayStation 3, which sells for $400 and $500, has sold 5.6 million units worldwide, a company spokesman said. Sony's PlayStation 2 dominated the previous console generation.

A Writer's Guild representative told IGN today that only a handful of game writers are currently represented by the union, and that they fall out of the jurisdiction of the current strike. Part of the impetus for the Videogame Writing Award is to draw more game authors into the WGA fold.

"By recognizing the skill and craft of videogame writing, the Writers Guilds intend to raise the profile of these writers so that they can get WGA contracts and benefits for this work" WGA West President Patric M. Verrone said at the award's announcement back in September.

While the film and television industries will be inconvenienced by the strike, we gamers should be in the clear.

Of the nearly 3,500 children between the ages of 2 and 17 that the NPD surveyed, one-third responded that they are spending more time playing games than they did a year ago. As of press time, an NPD representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment on how the habits of the remaining two-thirds had changed.

The report also found that PCs are the primary gaming platform for kids, with children starting to game on the system at age 6, and continuing through the age of 17, the longest stretch of time of any gaming system measured. According to the NPD, the "gaming lifecycle" begins with kid-focused systems.

As boys get older, they migrate to plug-and-play TV games, then previous-generation consoles and handhelds. At age 10, they move to cell-phone gaming and the current crop of systems from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. On the other hand, girls tend to leave gaming behind as they get older.

NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement that the switch from casual to core gamer happens between the ages of 6 and 8, which suggests that this span of time is "a critical age at which to capture the future gamers of the world."

A good ending should be "narratively satisfying" and should evolve from the actions of the player. In other words there should be some kind of conclusion to the story and the player should feel like their character actually had something to do with reaching that conclusion. However the storyteller has to be careful how he presents the ending of the game.

Why do so many video game endings suck? Gamers want big spectacular games that are fun to play. Video games usually end with some kind of dramatic shoot out, spectacular escape, or the ultimate boss battle followed by a quick bit of story and some dialog to wrap up. Although the boss battle/epilogue ending gets boring fast the alternative isn't a winning move either. Unhappy endings are rarely appreciated. Adding drama to the climax by, say... killing the character off or punishing him in some way is sure to piss the player off. It also takes the character out of the player's control which has a similar effect. Also when a player is confronted with an unhappy ending they tend to dismiss it as being unreal. They'll wonder what they could have done differently and often try to go back to fix their screwups.

Spencer Halpin has been working on Moral Kombat, a documentary on video game violence, for a long time. He's finished the film and has posted this trailer for it on YouTube. Spence, the brother of Entertainment Consumers Association founder Hal Halpin, interviewed me for this film a while back at the Dice Summit in Las Vegas with a green screen behind me. I talked about the loss of my brother to real-life violence and how I can reconcile that with playing violent games. He's made the film a visual wonder by splicing in game footage in the background behind the interviewees. What's cool is not just the discussion but the melding of visual images that relate to what the interviewees are saying.

More than 3000 entries were submitted on GamePro.com. The winning entry was proposed by California resident Dante Padre, who has won a trip to the E For All Expo for his submission Padre explained his inspiration behind the E for All Expo name, saying that "this show seems to be about inviting everyone to participate...they even asked gamers to create the name."

The E for All Expo, commonly considered a follow-up to the now-defunct E3 Expo, is officially endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), making it the video game industry's official go-to expo.E for All Expo will offer consumers the opportunity to test-drive the latest in games and gadgetry, as well as purchase products they enjoyed over the course of the three-day event at on-site retail facilities. Additional attractions are in the works:

high-profile videogame tournaments

job fair/networking opportunities

family-friendly offerings

the acclaimed Video Games Live concert

The Expo will also take advantage of soon-to-be-expanded LA Live area adjoining the LA Convention Center and Staples Center.

"We've witnessed a growing demand for a consumer-focused interactive entertainment show these last few years - both from consumers and from the industry," says Mary Dolaher, executive vice president of IDG World Expo. "E for All Expo will offer an unprecedented opportunity for people who share a passion for games to try before they buy - and to interact with the people who created them."

Programmers, for example, require a specific set of skills and may benefit from a college education, with video-game-specific college programs cropping up faster than innocent victims in Grand Theft Auto.

"It's a calling you have to have. They are much more interested in the enthusiasm first, but the credentials are important," he said.

If you don't have the money or the desire to go to college, a home-brewed game, a witty blog, clever and spot-on game reviews or a successful track record in game testing are all ways to get a foot in the door.

Many people make their start in testing, but the work can be grinding. It's low-paid -- around the same as donning a headset and working the window at a fast-food establishment. It can also be mind-numbing -- it is not unusual to play the same game or even the same level for months until it's bug-free.

Speaking to Next-Gen, a clearly excited source closely related to the event (who opted to remain anonymous) all but confirmed the GamePro Expo. However, the source stopped short of complete confirmation, as official word regarding the event is very likely to surface by the end of the week [An IDG rep indicated to Next-Gen that an official announcement is due next week. - Ed].

According to GameSpot's report, the L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau expects 30,000 attendees initially, with growth expected. E3 2006 hosted around 60,000 members of the gaming community. GamePro Expo will reportedly take place at the L.A. Convention Center, big E3's old stomping grounds, on October 18, 19 and 20, 2007.

GamePro Expo is also expected to host trade show, consumer and competitive gaming aspects, with gaming competitions possibly taking place in the Staples Center.

Earlier this year, the ESA, which ran the "old" E3, announced the virtual collapse of the event and its reformation into the E3 Media and Business Summit. As the name indicates, the event will be much more business-focused, taking place in smaller venues and hosting around 5,000 invite-only attendees.

comScore Media Metrix, the leader in digital media measurement, today released the second quarter results of Game Metrix, a quarterly syndicated study analyzing gamers' cross-platform behaviors and attitudes. The study combines the passive observation of online behavior, including visitation to online gaming and gaming information sites, with the results of a survey of 800 respondents who provided their attitudes regarding gaming and other usage information.

Contrary to popular belief that gamers are primarily teenage boys, results of the study indicate that video games have much broader appeal. On average, gamers are 41 years of age with an average annual income of $55,000. Further, females account for 52 percent of the gaming audience. The average gamer has been online for nine years and 84 percent have broadband access at home.

"The most popular drivers for purchasing games seem to fall into two basic categories - game experience and word-of-mouth," commented Erin Hunter, executive vice president of comScore’s Media and Entertainment Group. "These findings underscore the importance of marketing to, and listening to, experienced gamers. Familiarity with a particular game can influence both the gamers' direct purchase behavior, as well others' purchase behavior through positive word-of-mouth."

As for making a name for themselves in the market, Sullivan feels that some of the biggest competition comes from MMOs, not because they are competitors in the genre, but because people simply enjoy playing them so much.

"For retail PC games, I think the biggest problem is World of Warcraft," Sullivan said. "It is such a compelling MMO game that it sucks up a lot of money and time that would normally be spent on other retail PC games."

The games industry is looking at new ways to deliver content to gamers and episodic content is seen by some as a way of meeting demand and distributing to consumers in new ways.

"One of the problems is that you are getting a piece of a game," Mr Rein told the conference.

"You are typically paying $20 for a third of a game and waiting at least six months between episodes. That's a long time.

"When you are watching a TV show it's not that big a deal to wait a week between episodes because you are not paying for it - it's advertising supported."

But he said gamers were more fickle and that competition from new, full cost, heavily marketed titles would result in diminishing returns for episodic content.

The store, located on a private island in Second Life, is set to open as soon as this weekend. The news has SL residents considering what it means that the first real-world fashion brand has made an entrance to Second Life. Fashion is one of the virtual world's biggest industries, and the fashion business in SL is extremely competitive. So it's not a surprise that the first real-world retail brand to set up shop in SL is a fashion retailer.

The fashions themselves are patterned after American Apparel's real-world clothes, and were designed by several designers, including Aimee, though she wouldn't say who else was involved. The clothing will be priced "high-priced reasonable" compared to other SL fashions, Aimee says. No comment either on where the revenue from clothing sales will go — which leads me to believe it will go to the designers as part of their compensation

Schionning says that it's just an experiment and that the company is not trying to make money with the venture. A token sum will be charged for clothing, but the prices are not yet set. This is "not a profit-making venture," he says.

Its real-life retail outlets typically feature racy, disco-era photographs of scantily clad girls and have been at the center of controversy over the kitschy decor, which has used 1970s Penthouse magazine covers. The 6,000-square foot virtual store is modeled after the hipster brand’s bi-level Tokyo outlet.

The initial fashion selection will offer 20 styles of American Apparel’s signature logo-free casual wear: basic T-shirts, tank tops, undergarments and swimwear. Second Life residents may be privy to real-world promotions and discounts from American Apparel, and the marketing tactic may boost actual sales with a link to the online store, the company said.

When complete, the team behind the site believe it will be the first complete online record of a rapidly changing industry and a useful resource for those who don't know their Pong from their Pac-man.

"We have created the Game Innovation Database in order to create a historical record of which innovations appeared when, and why they are important," said Professor Jesse Schell of Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, and one of the team behind the site.

"So many videogame innovations have occurred so fast that there is a danger that many fascinating and important innovations will be forgotten."

The website currently has nearly 400 entries that describe the first appearance of a new experience in a videogame or feature on a games machine.

Snaking is a technique that takes advantage of the "mini-boost" technique that is popular in many racing games. Basically, the players has to powerslide into a turn, and upon release, gets a slight boost of speed. Now, by applying this technique repeatedly, especially on straightaways, a player can constantly weave back and forth, harvesting constant mini-boosts, and maintaining a speed far higher than normal.

The New York-based Massive literally injects ads into video game environments. A 3D shoot-em-up game like Swat 4, for instance, could feature masked bad guys leaping behind a drink dispenser selling Coca-Cola's Diet Sprite or weild an AK-47 in front of a Batman Returns poster. Pizza boxes, billboards and images on TV screens are all places where Massive carefully place its ads, which the company says adds realism to the overall gaming experience. Now that Massive is being folded into the Microsoft family, not only will it work with Xbox Live and MSN Games, it will eventually tie in with online advertising hub adCenter.

Microsoft's co-president of the Platforms and Services division, Kevin Johnson, said in a statement that the acquisition of Massive would "expand opportunities for advertisers and enable connection to a broader audience of digital consumers.” Massive Chief Executive Mitchell Davis added that his company now had the prospect of extending its technology into a "vast array of new markets and online environments."

The Entertainment Software Association on Monday announced the launch of a new political network for video game players called the Video Gamer Voters Network.

The website was created for American adults to take action on policy issues affecting the computer and video game industry.

"With over seventy bills to restrict game sales to minors already pending in state legislatures across the country this year, it's time for gamers to make their voices heard loudly and clearly, to let politicians know that they will no longer stand by and let games be the scapegoat for larger social problems," said ESA president Doug Lowenstein.

"Gamers can join together through the Video Game Voters Network to send a strong message to politicians to let them know that gamers care, that they vote, and that they will no longer tolerate these unconstitutional, unnecessary, and uninformed attacks on this important form of entertainment."

"In every other generation, the first guy to 10 million consoles was the number one seller in the generation," Ballmer told FORTUNE in an interview on Thursday afternoon. "Did we just get an even better opportunity to be the first guy to 10 million? Yeah, of course we did."

But Microsoft will not formally revise its projected market share for the Xbox 360, and it will not speed up production to capitalize on Sony's delay, because it's already producing the Xbox as fast as possible. "We've been saying 'make them faster' before yesterday," says Ballmer.

When the Xbox 360 launched last holiday season, Microsoft had its own missteps. Shortages led to sales of only 600,000 systems from the debut on November 22 through December 31, far fewer than Microsoft and market analysts expected.

There is still a production bottleneck because of problems with a component vendor, whom Ballmer declined to name, but he expects Microsoft to sell 5 million systems by June. "We're sort-of on track," he says, "though it would've been nice at Christmas to have one for everyone who wanted one."

"Now we're starting to cook. We're building a vibrant, rich and profitable business model for the future," Moore said.

He admitted that the problems were also caused in part by the fact that the console launched in North America, Europe and Japan almost simultaneously, but said while this strategy was controversial, "It was the right decision."

"It's what we needed to do to bring next-gen gaming to a global audience. There have been short-term shortages, but we're driving a clear advantage as we go forward," Moore said.

He went on to highlight the success of the Xbox Live service, stating that more than four million pieces of content have been downloaded since launch. While only 10 per cent of original Xbox owners have used the service, 54 per cent of Xbox 360 owners have connected to Xbox Live - and Microsoft intends to "maintain that all the way through Xbox 360's life cycle."

But David Pratt, the former federal defence minister who now works as director of international issues with the Ottawa-based disaster-relief agency, is urging software developers and video game distributors to voluntarily respect the Red Cross trademark in future products or face possible legal action.

"The fact that the Red Cross is also used in videos which contain strong language and violence is also of concern to us in that they directly conflict with the basic humanitarian principles espoused by the Red Cross movement," Pratt said in a Jan. 31 letter to a Vancouver law firm that represents several Canadian game developers. "The crux of the problem is that the misuse of the Red Cross in video games is not only in contravention of the law, it also encourages others to believe that the emblem of the Red Cross is 'public property' and can be freely used by any organization or indeed for commercial purposes."

In an interview Tuesday, Pratt said the proliferation of red cross images in video games "debases the currency" of one of the world's most recognizable symbols and could undermine the emblem's effectiveness as a sign of neutrality, protection and humanitarian aid in conflict zones around the world."

Pratt added that he's had a positive response from most companies informed of the Red Cross's concerns, but noted that "we've had some resistance" from one major game developer that isn't planning to stop using the emblem. He wouldn't name the company.

The retail prices of titles such as Madden NFL '06, NBA Live '06 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted have fallen by $10 to $20 this week, according to a report issued Thursday by Banc of America analyst Gary Cooper.

Significant percentages of consumers in the US and Canada between the ages of 12 and 21 are owners and users of entertainment-related consumer electronics, according to Forrester Research. Over two-thirds of people in this age group own PCs, DVD players, home stereos, mobile phones or handheld devices. Additionally, one-quarter own MP3 players and Internet-enabled or camera phones. But gaming presents the best opportunity for marketers who wish to reach this audience. Over 90% own a gaming device, and three-quarters play online and offline games on their PC.

Two main avenues are open for advertising through games: in-game advertising and advergaming. The former is an extension of the product placement common in movies and television, and can range from graphical representation of a product in a game to wholesale sponsorship of a gaming title. With the increase in open-ended gaming that allows a player to wander around a virtual world (such as the Sims or Grand Theft Auto), opportunities for product placement are numerous. Advergaming refers to a game, usually online, that is wholly intended as a promotional device.

Aside from ads integrated into games themselves, marketers would be wise to advertise on related Web sites. Young consumers spend more hours per week on the Net than adults, and Forrester found that much of this time is spent on sites related to gadgets and games — almost 80% visit games sites, almost 50% visit movie sites and over one-third visit music sites.

The study finds that a gradual evolution in the gaming industry is more likely than a revolution in the way people play games and use consoles.

Although gaming is a huge industry, the report warned that turning a profit will become increasingly difficult.

For players such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo the fact that the market is reaching saturation point coupled with the increasing costs of producing both games and consoles means profit margins may not be a big as they would like.

What happens when Apple speculation and video game speculation meet: platform wars of biblical proportions! Under speculation here is whether or not Apple has any interest in reentering the console gaming arena with the expected relaunch of their diminutive Mac mini.

Even more importantly, the mac mini has enough software and computational power to do much more than this: it can also advance over the game market, a market that Microsoft is trying so fiercely to conquer. With a new mac mini including a killer graphics board, Apple could relatively easily attract a large number of game producing companies. By doing this, Apple would be integrating into one product the chief technologies of home entertainment: video, music, and games.

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.

"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.

But those who actually got the system in hand are breathing easy and living it up, right?

Some of them are. But others are posting a plethoral of problems with their brand-new 360s, from game crashes to hard drives that simply don't work.

One reasonable gamer lays it out like this: "Between my friends and I, we bought six machines at the Zero Hour event. Of the six, my machine has a dead hard drive, another machine is working but is rather flaky (seen some strange behavior-the drive may also be scratching discs, as my friend's copy of Condemned is now unplayably scratched, but we don't know if the drive caused it-the machine has also had problems booting games and being turned off...), one seems to be good, and I haven't heard yet about the status of the other three."

A fraction of the Xbox 360's that are being sold have problems which could cause graphical errors, freezing or even corruption of the Xbox's drive. Some of the consoles are uncapable of playing any games, and just shut off or show graphical messes when they are used.

Microsoft's report said that these bugs are in a "very minor fraction" of the Xbox's sold. Microsoft expects to have sold up to 3 million Xbox 360's before the end of the year, while Sony doesn't intend on releasing their Playstation 3 for almost another year.

"We are making sure that the people that are having problems are getting their issues resolved quickly," said a spokesperson from Microsoft’s Xbox department.

But many gamers were furious that they didn't get their Xbox 360s this week, despite preordering months in advance or waiting in line outside stores all night. And a small but very vocal percentage of new owners are flooding gaming websites with reports of overheating hardware and crashing consoles.

Few things suck more than getting your new toy home and finding out it's already broken. But every recent console launch has been plagued with technical problems - disc read errors on the Xbox, overheating circuit boards on the PS2, random resets on the Dreamcast and original PlayStations that would only work properly while upside down.

Microsoft claims the Xbox 360 failure rate is on par with any other piece of complex consumer electronics, but since we don't have access to their figures, we have no way to tell.

Whatever the case, the company is offering free repairs or replacements to those whose issues can't be resolved with a call to customer support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX.

They gathered in the rain in Manhattan, where a Best Buy opened its doors at midnight. They stood in line all night at chain stores like Target.

Mr. La, a car salesman in San Francisco, had preordered one Xbox 360 from a local EB Games store, which he picked up at midnight. Then he waited in line to buy a second one at a nearby CompUSA store, after deciding not to wait at the Target.

He said he was hoping that stores would sell out of their initial supplies and he could make a profit selling his second machine.

"I think I can get at least $800 for it," Mr. La said of the system, which costs $399 in stores.

Electronic Arts Inc., the world's biggest video game publisher, has reduced prices on some titles by 20 percent to spur sales and thwart competition, an analyst said on Monday.

"NBA Live 06" and racing titles "Burnout Revenge" and "NASCAR 06" were among the console games subject to the price cut from $49.99 to $39.99, Banc of America Securities research analyst Gary Cooper said in a client note.

Video game sales have been soft in recent months as consumers await new console technology. Microsoft Corp. is releasing the Xbox 360, the first next-generation gaming machine from a major player, on November 22.

The final shipment of the US Consoles on the 22nd is 1,098,200.

Microsoft plans on selling 4 million 360's within the next 5 months worldwide.

There are currently 2,190,876 accesories being shipped on the 22nd to the US

There are currently 29 Games that will be available BEFORE the end of the 2005

There are current plans for sequels to NEW franchises that arent even out on the 360 yet.

Microsoft plan on expanding there Xbox Live user base to 14 million users by the end of the 360 lifespan.

What's really intriguing about this (other than we now have a numerical value for how many people are going to be riding the short bus home from Best Buy) is the number of accessories. How many accessories do YOU want for your 360? At minimum I'm buying an extra controller, a Charge and Play pack, and two rechargeable batteries. That's four.

What's two million divided by one million? Two. Is four more than two? Yes.

The rumors, apparently, are true. According to retailers in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami and Houston, there will be mass shortage of Xbox 360 units on the targeted launch date of November 22. IGN contacted dozens of stores around the country, including Gamestop, EB Games, Electronics Boutique, Target and Walmart. One short-tempered clerk at a Gamestop in New York estimated that Xbox 360 units will not be available for walk-in customers until April. That's right, April.

April is obviously the worst-case scenario, but every retailer we spoke with that accepted preorders estimated that walk-in customers will have to wait until January for their new system. And since none of those retailers are accepting any more preorders, there may be a lot of disappointed little gamers this Christmas.

Sean Kang, Director of Strategy, the man responsible for identifying social and cultural trends for NCsoft Europe says, "Online games have thriving social communities, and it's only natural that they, as gamers, should follow similar trends to followers of other forms of media. Films, videogames, comic books, all borrow from each other and it's often the same audience being entertained. And right now, villains are in."

Eurogamer editor Kristan Reed says, "There's an inherently dark side to even the godliest soul. Videogames give us the chance to indulge in the sinister glamour of playing the bad guy - and all without fear of being locked up for it. Games have definitely become darker over the years, and some of the most popular titles have been the ones that have recognized that we all love playing the villain."

Vivendi Universal Vice President Greg Goodrich had a humorous take on the issue: "I guess it all depends on the genre you are speaking of and your definition of a 'villain'. In Star Wars I like to play as 'The Empire'. In Warcraft I prefer 'The Horde', both villainous factions. Obviously, our societal limitations do not allow me to blow up a planet nor do they allow me to hunt Night Elves with extreme prejudice, so glorifying these activities in a video game should not make the socially conscious too upset. Games to me have always been about escaping into a world that I could not otherwise be an active participant. They are fun because my normal daily activities do not include running from the police, jumping from buildings, or casting fire bolts from the tips of my fingers. From the most basic level, this is why we have fun playing games. We are empowered with abilities we would not normally have. If we were limited to paintballs, speed limits and flag football, we would not have the desire to play them virtually. However, there is one case example that I know of in gaming that glorifies villainous activities which should neither be glorified nor condoned. You should absolutely not be allowed to play The Yankees in MVP Baseball."

Fox Broadcasting Co. has acquired the rights to develop THQ's best-selling sci-fi video game "Destroy All Humans!" into a half-hour CGI-animated comedy by former "King of the Hill" writer/co-executive producer Jim Dauterive. The deal marks the first time a video game will be used as the basis for a primetime network television program. The script will be developed through 20th Century Fox TV, where Dauterive has an overall deal. Set in the 1950s, the third-person action game puts players into the bulbous gray head of Crypto 137, an alien who has landed on Earth and is intent on destroying it.

Beginning this year, with offices located on site at EALA, Spielberg will work directly with EA's development teams to offer his signature style of storytelling to the concept, design, story and artistic visualization of the new games. EA will own the intellectual properties and the game franchises will be developed, published and distributed worldwide by EA. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master t