Gamertell

Gadgetell is live at what may be Bill Gates’ final CES keynote address.

Will he talk about the Xbox game systems or the future of videogames? Check out the live coverage going on right now!

Oh, and keep smacking that REFRESH button at the Gadgetell Live Blogto get up-to-the-minute updates during the keynote address. Oh yeah, it’s that live.

Read [Gadgetell Live Blog] Read [Gadgetell]

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Check out the gallery: Gadgetell's Live Blog of Bill Gates' final CES keynote

During a lengthy radio interview with Tom Brokaw about his newest book “Boom!: Voices of the 60s” with Hugh Hewitt,  Hewitt brought up NBC’s role in the Virginia Tech Shooting incident where Cho Seung Hui, suspected of learning how to shoot using videogames, and NBC aired his Hui’s self-made video.

Brokaw didn’t hesitate to attribute violence being encouraged by videogames and blogging not by NBC. Hewitt originally asked about the Virginia Tech shootings and was it appropriate for NBC to run the killer’s videotape during the live broadcast of the event, then challenged Brokaw as to why he felt it was okay to air a self-made video that was obviously mimicking a movie. Hewitt’s stand was that the video encouraged potential copy cat killers and promoted violence rather than show how demented the shooter was.

“Yeah, they did,” Brokaw answered. After Hewitt asked if that video wouldn’t incite anyone else to do the same Brokaw explained, “No, I don’t. I think…to get back to something we were talking about earlier in general thematic terms, I don’t think we’re doing a very good job about talking about violence in this country, either. You know, Virginia Tech went away. We didn’t have any ongoing dialogs in our communities or on the air about the corrosive effect of violence. It was not what he, what people saw of him on the air that will drive them, it’s what they read in blog sites, and what they see in video games. It’s that kind of stuff that I think is cancerous. And I’m a free speech absolutist, but I think that at the same time, we have to have free speech in some kind of a context. And part of that context is a discussion of the possible effects of it.

“I’ll leave the video game comment alone, because it’s broadly dismissive and idiomatically ignorant enough that I’ll just sound cruel going after a 67-year-old South Dakotan with an enviable public and industry awards list. And he’s not wrong in his assessment of way the country has a horrible track record when it comes to dealing with its weirdly hypocritical stance on violence (violence in games is fine, for instance, but sexual themes and even partial nudity are big no-nos),” he said.

Brokaw also bashed bloggers, calling them echo chambers for cynical albeit occasionally amusing blathering.

“But the blog comment just sounds like an angry, resentful, old-media-journalist dig. Sure, blogs are often un-sourced, are frequently little cults of personality or echo chambers for cynical albeit occasionally amusing blathering, and they can certainly sound or seem to function as “mob-like.” But they’re also tremendously effective ways of applying (increasingly) democratic pressure to a monolithic, deleteriously corporatized informational superstructure, a means of confronting a mainstream media that’s increasingly less informative, insightful, carefully sourced, and journalistically competent than its newer, somewhat hostile peers,” he said. “Journalists are under intense scrutiny from bloggers, and many companies are struggling to integrate their online operations into the newsroom without lowering standards of verifying and reporting information. Much of that pressure is healthy. Clear away the rhetoric and animus of those who yearn for the annihilation of traditional journalism (the hated “MSM,” or mainstream media) and journalism will be better for the scrutiny that the blogosphere offers.”

After Brokaw’s long winded explaination about bloggers and gamers he became upset when Hewitt tried to cut the show short because of time. Brokaw was not finished with Hewitt and continued to argue his point. The show became explosive as the two bickered over the Virginia Tech Shootings and how the media handled it.

“Wait a minute. Why would you disagree with me? You’re ... I mean, don’t you want to know, aren’t you a free speech absolutist? Don’t you want to know what’s going on?” Brokaw pleaded with Hewitt to let him explain his views and when Hewitt accused Brokaw of manipulating the Va. Tech shooting information and airing a video that spawned copy cat school shooters. Brokaw became defensive and responded, “But we did it in context. We didn’t put him up there and say this was a great heroic figure. We showed how dark he was, and what the reality is. And it put a lot of campuses in this country on alert. And it’s changed … one of the things that I agree with the NRA is that if people have mental health records that are out there, people who sell guns should have access to them.”

It was an interesting debate between the Brokaw and Hewitt, you’d have to read the transcripts for the full argument and a chuckle. Especially when Hewitt accused NBC of creating the copy cat in Finland where a teen went to his school with a gun and opened fire.

Read [PCWorld] Transcript [Hugh Hewitt Show]

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When information about Capcom’s upcoming Street Fighter game was posted on Blogeek, a tiny little Brazilian gaming site run by Douglas Pereia, Ziff Davis was furious. The information was meant to be held exclusively for the next issue of EGM.

Naturally, gaming websites around the world, including Gamertell, found the information and posted it.

Blogeek received the information from an anonymous source and felt it was legitimate enough news story and posted it. When EGM Brazil caught wind of it, they were furious to find the web had the scoop on a story meant just for them. In fact, the publisher of Brazilian EGM, André Forastieri, sent Pereia threatening e-mails. The first message read:

“The content you posted in the site blogeek is property of Ziff Davis, given from Capcom only to Ziff Davis and EGM issues, with embargo for the publications. Your publication of this subject is theft of intellectual property and should have immediate legal consequences. Ziff Davis and Futuro want you to cut off the content form your site immediately.”

According to Kotaku, Ziff Davis and Capcom lawyers are currently working to see what they could do to Pereia should the sale of the Street Fighter IV issue suffer from the early leak and hold Pereia responsible for the damages.

Pereia tried to make peace and have removed the post from Blogeek with an apology to its readers for the leaked information (the caps are theirs, now ours):

“IT WAS NOT OUR INTENTION TO MESS WITH ANYONE. LIKE EVERY NEWS SITE AND BLOG, WE JUST WANTED TO PASS INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE INTEREST FOR ANY SUBJECT.

JUST TO CLARIFY, WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY NDA, AND FAR LESS WE WOULD HACK ANYTHING FROM ZIFF DAVIS. A SOURCE CAME TO US AND PASSED SOME INFOS AND THE TWO PICTURES, AND WE PUBLISHED THEM.

ALTHOUGH WE STILL DON’T THINK WE SHOULD, WE REALLY WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO ANYONE WHO GOT HURT WITH THE INCIDENT.

ZIFF DAVIS WAS THREATENING US, AND WE ARE REALLY AFRAID, OF COURSE.”

EGM and Ziff Davis continued to pick on Pereia and has threatened him with police visits and lawsuits for supposedly stealing information from EGM’s IP sites. Which Pereia stands firm that the information came from a legitimate source and no hacking was involved. No threats have been sent out to other game blogging and news sites have appeared yet.

Site [Kotaku] Site [Blogeek]

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The world may never know who Surfer Girl really is but its a good thing she’s here. Through her blog, titled Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars, she brings to light game industry insights and rumors of things to come. Normally the general public would never hear about such things but, thanks to her dedication and rapier wit, her tidbits are starting to get the attention of many game news sites.

Many rumors may develop into nothing but the information she provides to readers generally offers some insights into the videogame industry.

Surfer Girl tends to update daily. More often than not the information is related to video games but occasionally insightful views on politics or other topics may pop up. One of the best parts about her blog is the time she takes to interact with her readers. If someone scrolls through the comments on an entry, there will likely be numerous questions on the status of certain games. She takes the time to respond to each of the comments including questions like, “Why is Rush Limbaugh so popular?” to which she responds, “People like listening to someone far less intelligent than them to be reminded of how intelligent they are.”

Even if the information she provides are unconfirmed rumors, her blog is always an interesting read. I know I always take the time to stop by once a week and see what might be coming to the DS and PSP. Its kind of like visiting a video game psychic - fun to think about, but don’t take everything as the gospel truth.

Read [Kotaku Australia] Site [Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars]

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