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U.S. Executed 32 Federal Search Warrants Looking For Wii Mod Chippers

Today U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states as part of an investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips for various video game consoles, including Nintendo’s Wiiâ„¢ home video game system. The mod chips designed for the Wii console circumvent the security embedded in the hardware and allow users to play counterfeit Wii software.

This Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting video game piracy. Nintendo has worked closely with this branch of the Department of Homeland Security, and fully supports its actions and other investigations currently underway.

NCAA Foootball 08 To Show Real Time Weater Updates In Game

Electronic Arts and The Weather Channel Interactive today announced that the recently released NCAA Football 08 features the ability to experience real-time weather conditions and updates through a service provided by The Weather Channel. The latest version of the top selling college football video game will use up-to-date information from The Weather Channel Interactive to reflect accurate, real-time weather conditions at NCAA stadiums.

If a winter storm threatens the Northeast, the Eagles of Boston College will play through the snow. Hurricane threatens Florida? See how the Gators field goal kicker deals with 50 mph winds. Through a deal with EA SPORTS, the sporting division of Electronic Arts, The Weather Channel will provide real-time weather to the game via the Internet.

“This is a long-awaited feature for gamers - it is the first sports game we know of where actual current weather conditions will affect weather conditions in the game,” said Derek Van Nostran, director of marketing for The Weather Channel Interactive. “The Weather Channel Interactive welcomes this opportunity to work with EA Sports to bring an extra dose of realism to the game.”

TWCI provides a custom weather data feed to EA SPORTS for each stadium location. Every time a player with a live Internet connection loads a new game, they have the option to choose real-time weather from TWCI. The video game will then use the current conditions at the selected location to create the weather experience for that game.

“We are always looking to add more realism to the game experience,” said Jeffrey Luhr, producer for NCAA Football 08. “Adding real-time weather conditions from The Weather Channel interactive truly helps gamers feel ‘in the game.’”

Developed by EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 08 is now available in retail stores on the PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems, and Xbox and Xbox 360 video game systems from Microsoft.

Forza 2’s First Ever Downloadable Content

The first downloadable content for Xbox 360’s acclaimed racer “Forza Motorsport 2” is now available. Speed on over to Xbox LIVE Marketplace now to download the all new free Nissan car pack, featuring three premiere Nissan models: the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima, and 350Z.

To celebrate this release, Xbox and Nissan will be hosting several activities focused around these new additions to “Forza Motorsport 2’s” already extensive car list. The first of these activities will be a Nissan Sentra SE-R tournament on Xbox LIVE. Fans are encouraged to customize and upgrade their Sentras and then race head-to-head in an all-out Nissan Sentra brawl. The 32 bracket 256 player tournament will kick off on 18th August and take place over the course of seven weeks. It will finish on the 6th October with a championship race live at the L.A. Auto Show. Finalists will compete for a series of prizes including a chance to win a new Nissan! Full tournament details, registration and rules can be found at www.xboxlivetournament.com starting on 10th August.

In addition to the tournament, Nissan and Xbox will also be hosting an in-game customisation contest, as fans utilise the incredibly deep livery system of “Forza Motorsport 2” to create unique and stunning paint jobs on their Nissan Sentra SE-Rs. The contest will be judged by a panel comprised of Turn 10 developers and Nissan representatives, as fans battle for the title of ultimate Nissan customiser. Full contest details and rules can be found at www.xboxlivetournament.com also starting on 10th August.

Also the famed Peugeot 908 race car is also now available for download. Coming off a second place finish at the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 908 not only brings yet another amazing racecar to the Forza universe, but it is also the only paintable racecar to be included in the game. Please visit forzamotorsport.net for a full list of available downloadable content, as well as in-depth Pit Pass reports, Auction House bid wars, tournament standings, and stat tracking.

Chicago Chimera Are Champs In Championship Gaming Series

In the title match, the Chicago Chimera trumped the Carolina Core 22-21 in the Championship Gaming Series North American final, broadcast live and in HD on DIRECTV’s The 101.

For Chicago, who precariously held pole position in the league standings through most of the league season, victory did not come easy. Falling behind 12-4 on defeats to Carolina in DOA female (2-5), FIFA (0-2) and DOA male (5-2), Chicago appeared to be giving the final away.

But the Chimera found its footing in Counter-Strike, running away with a 13-5 romp over the Core to pull even with a 17-all team score.

Waiting in the wings all night was the dominant force of Wesley “Ch0mpr” Cwiklo and Jason “Jason X” Exelby, the dynamic PGR duo. Carolina’s Brent “Rex” Dimapilis did his best to run Cwiklo off the road early in the race, but the 18-year old from Camarillo, CA slipped through to finish first, giving Chicago the championship.

“I thought we were out of it,” confided Chicago GM, Brian Flander. “But our Counter-Strike guys really showed up for us tonight and the PGR team finished it off. This is just unbelievable.”

Chicago Chimera receives an additional $100,000 team bonus on top of their salaries for the win and their overall record improves to 10-4. Both teams go on to the global finals to be held in Los Angeles this November.

Pleaseeee Make A New Game … PLEASE!

I can’t wait for the day when more game makers finally forget about trying to latch onto the so called latest “craze” and try to bring something new to the game market. The average game player is 33 years old and we have just about seen it all when it comes to games.

We need something new, something different in our games. Don’t just add a number to the title, change the graphics and the maps along with maybe adding a new weapon or two, and then call it “SameOldGame 3” **cough, cough Halo 3**. It’s almost like what is going on with the movie industry now days. How many remakes or sequels have you see at the box office in the last 5 years? (Way to many to even count) Full Story »

13 New Resident Evil 5 (X360 PS3) Screenshots

Here are 13 new screenshots for the upcoming game Resident Evil 5 (X360 and PS3 screens)

Chicago Chimera And Carolina Core Make It To The Finals

The first-ever playoffs for the Championship gaming Series drew to a close last night with Chicago and Carolina left standing after a long, tightly contested league season.

Chicago Chimera 25, New York 3D 22

Chicago Chimera cruised into the CGS Region 1 final last night with thanks to the performance of it’s league leading PGR racing team.

Falling behind New York after losses in DOA female, FIFA, then DOA Male, Chimera drew even (19-19) with an upset defeat of 3D’s legendary Counter-Strike squad, setting up a dramatic finale in the PGR event. Paced by Camarillo, CA native Wesley “Ch0mpr” Cwiklo’s first place finish, Chimera edged out 3D to claim a spot in the Region 1 final.

Carolina Core 22, San Francisco Optx 19

Carolina Core likewise fell behind San Francisco Optx (1-8) after DOA Female and FIFA. The strength of the PGR team again proved pivotal with Oxnard, CA native Brant “Rex” Dimapilis taking first and hometown hero Joe “Phantom” Tackett of Jacksonville, NC taking second for maximum points to pull the teams even at 9-apiece. Carolina stumbled in Counter-Strike losing 10-8, giving Optx a 2 pt team advantage (19-17). Then in the decisive moment of the match, Ryan “Offbeat Ninja” Ward of Edmonton, Canada, a powerhouse in the DOA male division all season, blanked Cardell “Cheppelle” Thomas of the Optx 5-0 to drive Carolina into the final, 22-19.

The finals are set for Monday July 30th at 7pm PST in Manhattan Beach, CA.

**Special guest Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of the Dead or Alive series, will be on site.

EA Opens It’s Doors In Russia

Electronic Arts Inc., the world’s leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced the creation of a new EA entity in Russia. The new office, established to directly serve Russian consumers and retailers, is another step in the company’s growth strategy in Central and Eastern Europe and adds to EA’s global presence in over 40 markets outside of North America. EA intends to contribute to the rapidly growing market for interactive entertainment in Russia. The Moscow-based team will focus on bringing more localized game offerings to Russian players, more direct engagement with the gaming community and greater collaboration with retail partners.

At an event planned later today in Moscow, EA will host members of the government, industry and media to outline plans for bringing the best and latest innovations in interactive entertainment to Russia. Later this year, two of EA’s most popular franchises among Russian consumers, Need for Speed and FIFA Football, will launch in fully localized Russian versions for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, adding to the company’s existing portfolio of games localized in Russian for the PC.

“Russia represents a significant opportunity for the games industry,” said Peter Laughton, EA Vice President and General Manager of Central and Eastern Europe. “This is a very dynamic marketplace, with a world class retail environment and consumers who have the intellect and appetite for interactive entertainment. We’re looking forward to bringing tailored offerings to Russian consumers that incorporate local language, music, and celebrities into some of our most popular titles”.

The Russian video game market is estimated at $250 million today, and is expected to more than double in the next three to five years. An increasing number of gaming consoles, PCs and game-enabled mobile phones will encourage the trend, along with compelling games content and a vibrant retail environment.

Protect Your Right to Play Games, Join The Video Game Voters Network!

The Video Game Voters Network is a place for American gamers to organize and defend against threats to video games by registering to vote and letting Congress know how important this issue is to the community. Without a critical mass of adult video game players who are registered to vote and willing to stand firmly behind their games, politicians will continue to fire criticism at games and game players in order to score easy points for their political campaigns.

Video games are fully protected speech under the Constitution, and receive the same First Amendment protection as books, movies, music and cable television programs. The Network opposes efforts to regulate the content of entertainment media, including proposals to criminalize the sale of certain games to minors, or regulate video games differently from movies, music, books, and other media. The Network also enables gamers to stay educated about issues, reach out to federal, state, and local officials, and register to vote. The Video Game Voters Network is a project sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group representing America’s video game publishers.

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The Video Game Voters Network brings you this web video about the attack on video games, which is in the spirit of a game trailer. The “Fight For Video Games” trailer shows how politicians and media critics have set their sights on video games, just as they have with comic books, movies and music before, but now you can ensure they lose this struggle, just as they lost in other battles against free speech.

Do your part to raise awareness of the attacks on video games and help promote the “Fight For Video Games” Trailer - Watch It, Share It, Comment on It, and Embed It on your website.

Game Is On In London This October

As one of the world’s most famous cities, London is a cultural hotbed for every kind of industry from banking to fashion. This October the capital plays host to the video games industry as the London Games Festival brings the very best of the gaming world to life in the city. The 2007 London Games Festival will see a selection of over 40 events taking part in locations across London from 22 - 26 October 2007.

Following on from the success of last year’s festival, the 2007 London Games Festival is bigger and better than ever before, with a focus on creating positive, engaging events for a mainstream audience as well as core gaming fans. Over 40 different events have already been confirmed by major industry players in key London locations and dozens more fringe events are being planned by newcomers to the industry. Supported by everyone from publishers to personalities and trade bodies, London Games Festival is supported by publishers including Activision, Atari, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Konami, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sega and Ubisoft, with more to be announced soon.

Reflecting on London’s huge wealth of culture, London Games Festival will offer a staggering diversity of entertainment ranging from live concerts, to art installations and professional gaming tournaments. With something for everyone to enjoy, whatever their taste or gaming experience, this event is designed to highlight the industry and help increase awareness and uptake of its products.

Highlights on offer this year include the British Academy Video Games Awards, celebrating the best achievements in gaming; Videogames Live at the Royal Festival Hall, a concert for around 2,000 guests; The Virtual Worlds Forum, a lecture for up to 600 guests on the corporate opportunities in virtual worlds; DWS Legal Forum, examining the legal boundaries of the industry; The Science Museum: Quantifying Immersion in Games event; the Eurogamer Careers Fair and an ELSPA forum looking at the perception of gaming.