UK's Sunday Times Advocates Video Game Tax

To combat the problem [of obesity] before it spirals out of control, the Sunday Express today urges the Government to plough the huge amount of tax generated from video games revenue into developing sports ­facilities for children.

This is a rather hilarious article that once again places the blame of obesity in children on video games. They encourage a tax to games so that the money can be used to advocate outdoor activities for children.

Personal responsibility or taxing unhealthy foods? Naaaaah. We don't need that around there.

Stephen Colbert on Cover of Sports Illustrated

Comedian Stephen Colbert appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month. He is singled out for his efforts on The Colbert Report, which saved the US Speedskating team's future in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics by raising $250,000 to sponsor it when the previous sponsor backed out.

How (Not) To Sell Beatles MP3s, Part 2

I previously talked about a bizarre story about a company named BlueBeat selling Beatles MP3s for 25 cents each. Today, shortly after the matter went to court, the judge issued a summary beatdown by making a permanent injunction, saying:

Defendants deliberately obfuscate them, relying on technobabble and doublespeak rather than evidence or legal authority… If there were any remaining doubt, it is put to rest by the testimony of Plaintiffs' head of technology, who confirmed that the digital files being distributed and publicly performed by Defendants are copies of Plaintiff's recordings, with only minor technical variations consistent with the process by which recordings are compressed into (i.e., copied into) digital MP3 files.

Let it be known now that the mere process of recording an MP3 does not constitute a new work, even in the eyes of the court. Although no decisions have been made yet, this is surely a sign of the final verdict by the judge.

Gold-Plated PS3 Anyone?

What recession?

"Luxury customization" company Computer Choppers is decorating 5 special PS3s:

This winter They are customizing five 24kt Gold & Diamonds PS3 Slim as one of their special limited editions. They each come with a customer choice of 18kt Gold Logo with 2ctw VS White Diamonds or Platinum Logo with 2ctw VS White Diamonds. Each console receives a limited lifetime warranty. An official announcement is coming in about two weeks. Pricing won't be released till that time.

You can be sure that while it'll be expensive, it might also be something that's featured on Colbert Platinum. Oh, also, it does not include a hard drive. I wonder how it works, since I think all PS3s need it.

Nintendo Records First Quarterly Decline in Six Years

You can blame it on the economy, but I think it's more than that. The bubble has burst. While Nintendo is still going to post good numbers (just not as good as expected), I really do wonder how much longer lack of third-party hits is going to keep developers making games for their systems.

Lament, While Syncing

People often ask me what it's like to work in the game industry. I tell them it's an awesome job... except for the part about it being a job. I get to think about all sorts of crazy things and how to put them in a game. On good days, I learn a lot from some of the smartest people in the world. It's awesome.

But the one thing about working on things you like is that you may like them less after you see how they're made. Sometimes, being a software engineer on games isn't nearly as glamorous as you'd think.

I ran into this letter posted on Gamasutra recently which perfectly sums up some of my thoughts about working in such a huge industry where you spend half the day just syncing code.

It's depressing but true, but I present it to you as a reality, not a cry for attention. Any job is eventually just a job. Funny how we humans are good at screwing things up.

Sensational Statistics: PSP Go Edition

Gamasutra has an article reporting:

This is followed by a series of quotes indicating that Sony is very happy with this development. What isn't mentioned anywhere is that these numbers are staggeringly disappointing. This is a case of using impressive-sounding numbers to misrepresent the facts.

Let's analyze things here. Sales of PSP hardware have tripled week-on-week in the week immediately following release of the PSP Go. This means that the new platform is selling, at most, three times as many units as a normal week of the PSP 3000. The PSP 3000 is already known to have not been selling all that well... and for a release week, you'd expect the numbers to be through the roof.

So not only do things not look good already, it's more than likely that the numbers will go down exponentially over the next few weeks (perhaps getting some bumps over the holiday season). Unless the PSP Go is one of the rare breeds that sells consistently well over an extended period of time, this should be alarming news for Sony.

Coupled with harsh reviews, the PSP Go is actually in a very precarious position that should alarm the manufacturer and the potential buyer.

Fighting Pirates in the 21st Century

NPR's "All Things Considered" ran a very interesting piece about modern-day piracy measures. Because guns are generally not allowed on most trade vessels because the crews don't know how to use them (and various legal issues, I am sure), ships have had to turn to less conventional ideas.

For example, the Force 80 Water Cannon (pictured above) can jet 1400 gallons of water a minute up to 100 yards. Since it can be operated remotely, it is quite safe for the user - at least, if they have a working knowledge of video games!

Still, sadly, I think the future will probably lie in private militaries and militias gurading these ships. Caravans will only help until pirates learn to band together too.

Calvin and Hobbes on Bailouts

This comic was so far ahead of its time.