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January 16, 2012

US to postpone vote on "flawed" SOPA

Majority leader says no vote will be held until both parties reach consensus on controversial anti-piracy bill.

The US House Of Representatives will not vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act until a consensus is reached.

The claim comes from Darrell Issa, Republican representative and chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee. He said he had been given assurances by majority leader Eric Cantor that there would be no vote on SOPA, and that a hearing scheduled for Wednesday would be postponed, until both Democrats and Republicans were happy with the wording of the proposed legislation.

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US to postpone vote on "flawed" SOPA

Majority leader says no vote will be held until both parties reach consensus on controversial anti-piracy bill.

The US House Of Representatives will not vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act until a consensus is reached.

The claim comes from Darrell Issa, Republican representative and chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee. He said he had been given assurances by majority leader Eric Cantor that there would be no vote on SOPA, and that a hearing scheduled for Wednesday would be postponed, until both Democrats and Republicans were happy with the wording of the proposed legislation.

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Opinion: Truly great games

Leigh Alexander on how personal context shapes our views of a game’s level of quality and importance.

I’m not trying to be smug – or controversial – when I say The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is not one of the greatest videogames ever made.

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FIFA 12 retains UK number one

FIFA 12 is the UK all-formats number one for a fourth consecutive week despite sales falling 54 per cent from the previous week. The top ten is broadly unchanged from last week, with Zumba Fitness holding onto sixth spot with its sequel rising five places to number seven.

FIFA 12 is the UK all-formats number one for a fourth consecutive week despite sales falling 54 per cent from the previous week.

The top ten is broadly unchanged from last week, with Zumba Fitness holding onto sixth spot with its sequel rising five places to number seven. It's been a good week for Bethesda, with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim rising two places to number three, and discounting at retail seeing id Software's Rage climb to eighth.

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Dev accuses Codemasters of illegal working practices

A former member of the development team at Codemasters' Guildford Studio has accused the company of imposing excessive, unpaid overtime on staff in the run-up to the release of Bodycount, and threatening bankruptcy proceedings if he failed to return a payment that it claims was made in error.
http://jheriko-rtw.blogspot.com/search/label/Codiesgate
Reinventing The Wheel

A former member of the development team at Codemasters' Guildford Studio has accused the company of imposing excessive, unpaid overtime on staff in the run-up to the release of Bodycount, and threatening bankruptcy proceedings if he failed to return a payment that it claims was made in error.

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SOPA author backs down on DNS blocking

Lamar Smith, the Republican representative behind the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), has removed from the controversial bill the requirement for ISPs to block DNS addresses of websites deemed to be hosting copyrighted material. In a statement, Smith admits he had removed the DNS clause after discussions with industry groups, but insisted that SOPA was necessary to protect US business interests and that the clause could return at a later date.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/13/sopa-lamar-smith-removes-dns-blocking
VentureBeat

Lamar Smith, the Republican representative behind the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), has removed from the controversial bill the requirement for ISPs to block DNS addresses of websites deemed to be hosting copyrighted material.

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January 14, 2012

News round-up January 9 - 13

The Consumer Electronics Show, TVs in the cloud and the end of ICT as we know it - a week in videogames.

You can keep up to date with news you might have missed by subscribing to the News round-up topic using My Edge. Visit the Charts topic page to see the UK, Japanese and Nordic charts for the week, and the Daily Links topic page to see our adventures in the more obscure corners of the internet.

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News round-up January 9 - 13

The Consumer Electronics Show, TVs in the cloud and the end of ICT as we know it - a week in videogames.

You can keep up to date with news you might have missed by subscribing to the News round-up topic using My Edge. Visit the Charts topic page to see the UK, Japanese and Nordic charts for the week, and the Daily Links topic page to see our adventures in the more obscure corners of the internet.

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January 13, 2012

Reviews round-up January 9 - 13

Including Star Wars: The Old Republic, Crush3D and two classics in the form of Top Gear 2 and Disney's Aladdin.

Each week, we'll be posting a round-up of the reviews that have been added to the site over the prior five days. Along with our assessment of all the most important new releases, we'll also be adding older reviews over time, eventually building up to a full archive of every review we've published.

This is a big job, but if there are any reviews you'd particularly like to see on the site sooner than later, let us know in the comments below and we'll prioritise those.

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Double Down acquired for $500 million

Social game developer Doubledown Interactive has been acquired by International Game Technology (IGT) in a deal worth $500 million (£326 million). IGT, predominantly a designer and manafacturer of slot machines, says the deal "propels [it] into a leadership position within social gaming." Double Down's most popular social game, Double Down Casino, ended 2011 with 1.4 million daily users and placed fourth in Facebook's list of the year's most popular games.

Social game developer Doubledown Interactive has been acquired by International Game Technology (IGT) in a deal worth $500 million (£326 million).

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Report: Xbox.com security flaw behind Live account hacks

Hacking victim declines Microsoft's offer to investigate and works it out by himself.

A network infrastructure manager claims that lax security on the official Xbox website is behind the recent spate of Xbox Live account thefts.

Analog Hype reports that the security flaw was found by Jason Coutee, who had his own account stolen and 8,000 Microsoft Points purchased using his stored credit card details.

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Telling Modern Warfare's story

We meet Spov, the CGI specialist behind the cutscenes in Activision's bombastic series.

How to tell Modern Warfare’s sweep of rapidly exploding global conflict? Its tightly contained levels, while driven by sensational set-pieces, hardly attempt to spin the tale of international intrigue and personal strife, Machiavellian villains and gruff special forces operatives. 

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Mojang working on three new games

Two unannounced projects could see release in first half of 2012, says CEO Carl Manneh.

Minecraft developer Mojang has three unannounced projects in the works - and two of them will be announced, if not released, in the first half of the year.

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Out There: What do games mean?

Does meaning in games arise from the game rules, or the players? Plus, game maps drawn from memory and the magic cooldown period.

Game theorists and academics have a habit of arguing a lot, the ludology versus narratology debate being one of the big ones from times past. Now a hot topic is 'proceduralism'. Proceduralism is the practice of reading a game's meaning through its design. But are games truly readable through a process that rather ignores the human aspect of the act of play?

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Naughty Dog to "change the industry" with The Last Of Us

Studio seeks to "raise the bar" of videogame storytelling.

Uncharted developer Naughty Dog says that its goal with its latest project, The Last Of Us, is to "change the fucking industry" and improve videogame storytelling.

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The Friday Game: Let's Play - Ancient Greek Punishment!

Chris Donlan discovers the classical world’s endless capacity for unpleasantness in this Flash button-masher.

When the Indie Games blog digs up a button-masher called Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment, it’s hard not to become a little curious. Luckily, Dr Pippin Barr’s latest rewards curiosity rather richly. It rewards it, as the name suggests, with torture.

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EA hits billion-dollar digital target

CEO John Riccitiello confirms publisher meets its long-standing revenue target in memo to staff.

Electronic Arts has achieved its long-standing goal of making a billion dollars (£652 million) a year in digital revenue.

The milestone was revealed in an internal memo leaked to Kotaku, in which CEO John Riccitiello also announces a reshuffle of its management team and the departure of a senior executive.

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Making games available to all

Accessibility charity SpecialEffect explains how it helps players with disabilities to enjoy games.

SpecialEffect’s ‘Gamers For Good’ campaign launched in late September and has already inspired cookbooks, gaming marathons and a trek up Ben Nevis. The charity, which helps players with disabilities to enjoy games, has been embraced by the industry and the gaming community alike. Director Dr Mick Donegan tells us about the organisation’s approach, and what 
the industry could do differently.

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Making games available to all

Accessibility charity SpecialEffect explains how it helps players with disabilities to enjoy games.

SpecialEffect’s ‘Gamers For Good’ campaign launched in late September and has already inspired cookbooks, gaming marathons and a trek up Ben Nevis. The charity, which helps players with disabilities to enjoy games, has been embraced by the industry and the gaming community alike. Director Dr Mick Donegan tells us about the organisation’s approach, and what 
the industry could do differently.

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Average UK game industry salary is £33,123

The UK videogame industry's average annual salary is £33,123, research has found. MCV's annual survey, based this year on 975 respondents - 579 of whom were based in the UK - from development, publishing, retail, services, PR and media, found the median salary rose eight per cent from last year's £30,667.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/mcv-s-2012-uk-games-industry-salary-survey-the-results/089686
MCV

The UK videogame industry's average annual salary is £33,123, research has found.

MCV's annual survey, based this year on 975 respondents - 579 of whom were based in the UK - from development, publishing, retail, services, PR and media, found the median salary rose eight per cent from last year's £30,667.

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NPD: US retail takings down 21 per cent

The US videogame market shrank by 21 per cent in December, according to market research firm NPD Group. Total videogame sales at retail in December were $3.99 billion (£2.6 billion), down from $5.07 billion (£3.3 billion) in December 2010. That's largely down to hardware sales, which fell 28 per cent, and accessories, sales of which were down 27 per cent. Software sales fell 14 per cent year on year.

The US retail videogame market shrank by 21 per cent in December, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Total videogame sales at retail in December were $3.99 billion (£2.6 billion), down from $5.07 billion (£3.3 billion) in December 2010. That's largely down to hardware sales, which fell 28 per cent, and accessories, sales of which were down 27 per cent. Software sales fell 14 per cent year on year.

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Only a third of ICT teachers are qualified - study

As government clears the way for computer science in schools, the Royal Society highlights lack of suitably skilled teachers.

Just 35 per cent of UK teachers of information and communications technology (ICT) have a qualification considered relevant to their subject by the department of education.

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January 12, 2012

CD Projekt drops legal threats

CD Projekt has confirmed that it is to stop pursuing, and threatening legal action, against those it believes downloaded pirated copies of PC RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/12/splendid-cd-projekt-to-stop-legal-threats
Rock Paper Shotgun

CD Projekt has confirmed that it is to stop pursuing, and threatening legal action, against those it believes downloaded pirated copies of PC RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings.

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EA Play4Free hits 25 million users

Electronic Arts' freemium label, Play4Free, now has more than 25 million registered users, the publisher has announced. Play4Free includes Battlefield Heroes and Need For Speed World, each of which crossed the ten million user mark earlier this month, as well as Battlefield Play4Free, Dragon Age Legends, Battleforge and Lord Of Ultima.

Electronic Arts' freemium label, Play4Free, now has more than 25 million registered users, the publisher has announced.

Play4Free includes Battlefield Heroes and Need For Speed World, each of which crossed the ten million user mark earlier this month, as well as Battlefield: Play4Free, Dragon Age Legends, Battleforge and Lord Of Ultima.

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Wrong is often right

The best playtesters are often those developers think as the wrong players of their games, says Graham McAllister.

Playtesting games is very much a science. The process of designing tests, conducting them and analysing the results is much closer to running a psychology experiment than simply playing games.

But just as important as choosing the right methods is selecting the right players. So who are they, and is it possible to select the wrong players?

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