Gamertell

A visually impaired gamer named Alexander Stern is suing Sony, Sony Online Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment America for not offering features that make their games accessible for people with visual disabilities.

According to Stern, by not including these options, Sony is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The law suit claims that Stern has written several emails and letters to Sony requesting these features for games - mainly on MMOs - and Sony hasn’t complied. The suit also mentions how other companies, including Blizzard, have allowed the use of mods or other third party programs to incorporate features including visual cues or voice overs for gamers with “disability impaired visual processing”.

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Epic Games is making a breakthrough in the games community by offering one of the most acclaimed game engines, the Unreal Engine 3, free to the public.

Now anyone can get their hands on this technology by downloading the UDK, or Unreal Development Kit.

The Unreal Engine 3 has been used in blockbuster first-person shooters including the Gears of War franchise, Unreal Tournament 3 and

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Activision is launching a campaign to educate parents about the ESRB ratings system and how to make an informed decision when buying a game for their kids. This campaign, called “Ratings are not a Game”, is backed by Dr. Cheryl Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Activision has created a series of videos where Dr. Olson explains how parents can get involved in the different types of games played by their children. The videos also explain the different ratings of the ESRB and feature child psychologists that talk about the personal and social skills that children can develop by playing certain kinds of games. Engaging in multiplayer matches in certain games can help develop social skills and strategy games can help with problem solving skills. Also, some action games can help with coordination and motor skills.

These videos are a great idea as they help parents in having a better understanding of games and how they can even prove helpful in the right circumstances…

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Professional basketball players are getting a little help on the court from their video games. Advanced motion capture and artificial intelligence allow them to apply what they see on their consoles to the real world.

In a recent interview various NBA players talked about the ways video games including NBA2K10 and NBA Live help improve their game. The fact that most of the players in the game are motion captured to the last detail helps deliver a truly realistic experience, allowing players to experience the game from a different perspective.

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As part of the promotion for the upcoming sequel to Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft is presenting a short film based on the characters from the game.

The film is divided in three chapters and will serve as an introduction for the story in Assassin’s Creed II.

The film is called Assassin’s Creed - Lineage and takes place a few years before the setting of the game. Each of the three episodes will follow the father of Ezio - the protagonist of the new game- who is introduced as Giovanni Auditore da Firenze in the first chapter.

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Two of Discovery Channel’s most popular series, Man vs. Wild and Deadliest Catch, are being turned into video games. Discovery Communications is working closely with publisher Crave to adapt both series.

Man vs. Wild is a survival series featuring British adventurer Bear Grylls. In this series, Bear pits himself in inhospitable locations using only basic tools to survive, create a shelter and find his way back to civilization. The upcoming Man vs. Wild game will not feature Bear but will present the player with similar situations as the ones portrayed in the show and will require them to use the skills taught by Bear and his guidance to survive.

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Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus has been granted endorsement from the United Kingdom’s Department of Health. In a move that has surprised many, now Wii Fit Plus will be allowed to use the logo of the Change4Life campaign in its advertisements and stores - and probably on the product itself - beginning next year (2010).

The Change4Life campaign is a program sponsored by the UK’s government aimed at promoting an active lifestyle and a healthy diet. Now Nintendo will join other major companies including Pepsi and Cadbury providing funds to support the campaign. 

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Kalypso Media USA, a small company based in Baltimore, is entering the tough video game publishing business in a time when most companies are downsizing or even closing doors.

Even though the company opened in June 2009, its published its first game, Tropico 3. It is a strategy-game based on a fictional island called Tropico where players take the role of the island’s president, managing its resources, businesses and politics to create a successful and balanced country with happy citizens. Tropico 3, rated “Teen” by the ESRB, is already out for the PC and coming to Xbox early 2010.

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Researchers from the University of Iowa conducted a study to analyze the relation between gaming for prolonged periods of time and attention levels when performing certain tasks.

The results indicated that the group that played games more than 40 hours a week had significantly less proactive attention - the kind used in anticipation of events - while reactive attention -  the kind triggered by an event - was similar in both groups.

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Platinum Games’ debut title, Bayonetta, is coming out next week in Japan and, according to Japanese game magazine Famitsu, the game is good.

The first looks at the game are getting perfect scores from different reviewers in Famitsu magazine. This honor had been reserved only for games like Metal Gear 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time so if this is any indication, this game shows a lot of promise…

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