Academic Videogame Book Alert!

Kotaku posted this news item about a new text called Videogame, Player, Text which looks to be an interesting read. I'll try to get my hands on a copy of the book and in the meantime research some of the people involved. Something tells me they're writings may be right up my alley.

Full Article at Kotaku

XBox 360 Fall Update

Scheduled to arrive on December 4th the fall 360 update is looking to enable the download of original XBox games onto the new console. These games will cost around $15 dollars (1200 points) and reports are stating that Halo and Fable will be among the first downloads available.

Also in the update will be a parental contorl feature that enables parents to limit the time a child plays the console. Settings can be applied to daily or weekly time limits and hopefully this control will bring parents closer to the hobbies of their children and also ingrain the idea of parental involvement in adults. Remember parents, your tv is not a babysitter, and neither is Crazy Larry down at the bus station!

Uncharted Opening Scene

Have you played the demo yet? This game is freakin sweet!

Mom, Look What I'm Playing!

Found this article in the Bloomington Pantagraph:

"It's just such a waste of time," said Lackman, 47, a power plant operator from Center, N.D. "I tell him, 'Do something that has some lasting value.'"Lackman's avoidance of the digital diversions that captivate his 15-year-old son, Tyrus, is shared by many parents. More than four in 10, or 43 percent, of those whose young children play video or computer games never play along with them, according to an Associated Press-AOL Games poll released Monday.

Nothing new comes from this article but I think it is odd that parents just avoid games altogether and I'm betting these are the same ones who also complain about violence in games. Hey parents, you're the ones buying your teenager these games, maybe you'd like to take some sort of interest! My parents will play Wii Sports and really thats all they need to play, I have 4 siblings and we all grew up playing games, games which my parents were very aware of as far as content goes so maybe parents of teens today need to take an active role in gaming.

Full Article