Gamertell

The UK is all set to revamp the videogame rating system according to the recommendations made by Dr. Tanya Byron, who is heading a review into the ill effects of games and the internet in the U.K. Byron told Next-Gen that the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has assured her that the government will adopt her recommendations in full.

Byron also talked about the appreciation her report has drawn from British parents but her suggestions might be…

MORE »

We interrupt your steady stream of run-of-the-mill blogging, to bring you this awesome tale of revenge.

At the center of this case is a stolen Xbox 360, pilfered alongside a laptop and TV from one Jesse McPherson of Philadelphia while he was away at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin at the beginning of March.

McPherson eventually managed to track the laptop to a local pawn shop. Upon examining the security footage, he found pictures of the culprit…

MORE »

Much like cartoons, most gadgets and videogames are really not meant for kids. Let your toddler play Grand Theft Auto for a while or mess with your iPod and you’ll probably not be too happy with the results.

As a safer and more education alternative, LeapFrog Enterprises has been selling the Leaspter educational gaming system for about four years in retail stores across the US. This Summer (2008), LeapFrog will update the Leapster with web connectivity and also release a new handheld, web-enabled system called Didj…

MORE »

Sony gave the PSP a new lease on life with the launch of the slimmer PSP Slim and Lite, and now it has aided the handheld’s sales prospects by making Skype available on it. Skype will add an entirely new dimension to the PSP by allowing gamers to make free calls over the internet to other Skype users across the globe. PSP owners will also have the option of calling any landline or mobile phone anywhere in the world at a small cost. The long rumored PSP Phone might not become a reality, but the addition of Skype should satiate communication-thirsty PSP owners.

PSP-2000 owners will have to download the 3.90 firmware upgrade to use Skype. All you need to do is connect to the internet using the PSP’s Wi-FI, attach a PSP headset ($19.99) and the PSP-2000 headphone’s remote control, and save the Skype application on a Memory Stick Duo. Then you are all set to use the app, which can be accessed through the XMB menu’s Network option. Just to remind any ecstatic PSP-2000 owners, if you don’t have an existing Skype account, make sure to register on another Skype device beforehand.

MORE »

Nintendo doesn’t know what it’s doing with multiplayer online gameplay.  It’s just that simple.

The Famicom and the Super Famicom, and the Nintendo 64 had online peripherals which were never a wide enough success to release in the US market.  Nintendo tried, and it decided nobody cared… and then the online gaming market exploded.  Nintendo was too far ahead of its time. Then, the DS and the Wii came along and Nintendo promised wireless internet connectivity right out of the box.  But Nintendo has left us sour in the one aspect that it has always claimed deserves the most attention:  The games.

MORE »

Just in case, for some odd reason, you own a Wii and haven’t downloaded Opera’s web browser yet, June 30, 2007, is the last day you’ll be able to do so for free.

Everyone who has downloaded the browser will continue to get the service for free, assuming you didn’t delete it (or back it up on a memory card).  If you do try to download it on July 1, 2007, or later, it will cost 500 Wii Points, which is not a huge loss, but probably not worth it for such a low-res, keyboard-less portal to the web.

MORE »