Gamertell

According to SignonSanDiego.com there’s a growing concern about children learning unpleasant behaviors through game addiction and warns that parents should pay attention to what their child is playing even more, especially the Nintendo Wii.

Grant it, the Nintendo Wii is so easy that even my cat, Maki, can figure out how to play with it. But I’m not quite sure why a Wii system should a cause for an alarm. When I read this article by Jennifer Davies, a Union-Tribune staff writer, Davies focused on a family with three toddlers ranging from 18-months old to a five year old playing Wii-Tennis…

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Another snippet of Guinness World Records: Gamers Edition news has come in, which seems to be a plausible reason for us to start a dedicated site for Guinness related news. Anyways, game creator Sid Meier, the creator of the Sid Meier Civilization game franchise is the industry’s most awarded game developer, a record duly recognized in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008. This announcement was made by 2k Games in a statement on May 29, 2008. In case you are not aware, Meier happens to be the Director of Creative Development at 2K-owned Firaxis Games development studio…

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FROM APPLETELL - Grab your chef’s hat, put on your oven mitts it’s time to start cooking! In the game Cooking Academy you’ll be able to test out your culinary skills in the kitchens of a prestigious culinary school. You have the chance to prepare eggrolls, gyoza, pancakes, crème brulee and many more.… MORE »

We all know that the Wii has found extensive use as a fitness device besides being incorporated into rehabilitation programs world over. There have been a few researches to study its relationship with a player’s health and fitness but a deeper understanding of the subject can fashion a fitness revolution of sorts. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced grants worth $2 million for research on effects of video games on health through its Health Games Research program…

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In the global fight against terrorism numerous government and private organizations have kept their ears to the ground, trying to prevent the next 9/11. Now it seems that Bethesda Softworks, a Maryland based developer which created the Elders Scroll series, has unwillingly become part of terrorists’ war on the Western world.

No, Bethesda isn’t dropping the controller and mouse for AK47s and joining Al-Qaeda, but it seems that even the world’s most fearsome terrorist group is also a fan of Bethesda’s upcoming game, Fallout 3…

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World War III, the sequel to the hit conflicts WW1 and 2, is coming to the Xbox 360 this summer.

While this war won’t pit the world’s superpowers in a global struggle in the real world, gamers will get the chance to play Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s EndWar in open beta through Xbox Live to help ready the game for its October 7, 2008, release.

The beta is expected to run from June 2008 through July 2008. All Xbox players with a Live Gold membership can sign up for the beta on the official EndWar web site. The beta will require…

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FROM APPLETELL - The iPhone is a great gaming device as it is now. However, add multiplayer support to some games and you have yourself one killer network! What makes me say this? iPong of course! A developer named Kondo over at a Japanese company has created a multiplayer pong game for the… MORE »

Very soon you might be shuttling between a Playboy party and a Roberto Cavalli fashion show. Sony has constantly been trying to improve the Playstation Network, as the online experience plays a pivotal role in this era of gaming. One of the newest additions to PSN is Playstation Home, an interactive 3D world for PS3 users, currently in closed Beta.

Now Sony has made one more place available for Home users to explore when they decide to get out of their virtual apartments. Playstation Media and Events Space is a venue for virtual events within Home, which recently allowed some of the Home’s “closed beta” users to be part of Playstation Day on May 6, 2008, from their living rooms (or mother’s basement)....

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According to a post at Joystiq, now may be the best time to nab a PS3 from Wal-Mart. The retail giant will be offering $100 gift cards to those who buy Sony’s console between June 1-7. Apparently, the following week, the gift cards (same amount) will go to purchasers of Blu-Ray players (which also includes the PS3).

As writer Alexander Sliwinski points out, the smartest deal would be to purchase the slick 80Gb Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle, and pocket the $100. Not a bad deal at all - I may even go for it myself, despite my ill will towards the ‘Mart. Then again, maybe not.

Read [joystiq]

The rumors are flying that reviewers of mega-hyped Metal Gear Solid 4 are under some strange restrictions (from publisher Konami) in what they write. According to Kotaku and MTV’s Multiplayer blog, reviewers (professional journalists, mind you) are being asked to gloss over such details as the install size (on the PS3) and the length of the cut scenes (which have been rumored to be extremely long).

If this is true, then its yet another sign that the game companies have an unhealthy stranglehold on the enthusiast press (the kind of relationship that fosters disasters like gerstmanngate). How ridiculous is this - film distributors don’t get to tell movie reviewers not to mention an actor’s poor performance in a scene, for instance. I suppose it’s all part of the growing process (and this information is still distinctly in the realm of “rumor"), but the fact that it’s even plausible gives me pause.

Read [Kotaku]