Doctor Who: The Adventure Games first pics of Shadows of the Vashta Nerada

Doctor Who fans keen to glimpse the latest episode in the hugely successful Doctor Who: The Adventure Games series.

Never mind Move and Kinect use your brain to control video games

A wireless headset that can interpret brain waves to control video games and other onscreen action, had been shown off at a hi-tech conference.

Nintendo launch BBC iPlayer for Nintendo Wii [UK] - Watch the BBC on your Wii

The BBC and Nintendo UK unveil a new version of the popular BBC iPlayer on Nintendo’s Wii. First made available through the console’s internet channel in April 08, BBC iPlayer will now be available as a dedicated ‘Wii Channel’ to provide Wii users with a new, richer experience of the BBC’s TV and Radio on demand catch up service. The new Wii Channel is expected to be available from 00:01 on Wednesday 18th November.

Video gamers could take part in real live events drive F1 live in real race download demo link

In this BBC report Dan Simmons looks at a technology that promises gamers the chance to compete against real sportsmen in real events.

Pay what you want for Championship Manager video game 'sold for a penny' as first time that a pay-what- you-want model has been tried with videogames

Fans of the popular football video game Championship Manager will be able to choose how much to pay for the new version of the title.
Developer Eidos is offering a download of the game from a penny, along with a £2.50 transaction fee.
It is the first time that a pay-what- you-want model has been tried with video games, said the developer.

UK rock band Radiohead used a similar sales strategy in 2007 with its album In Rainbows.

A survey found that nearly two-thirds of downloaders paid nothing for the album.

The new game will be available to download until 10 September, when the price will rise to £29.99.

Additional content for the game will be sold throughout the year, costing £5 for six updates.

"This is the first time an initiative like this has ever been tried in the videogames market," said Roy Meredith of Eidos.

Source: BBC

Holland fights bird flu with video game

From the BBC

Like many other nations, the Netherlands is battling swine flu on many fronts.

At the forefront of the fight against the pandemic are the ranks of specialised doctors and millions of anti-viral tablets. But it also has one unusual weapon to call on - a videogame designed by experts at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam.

Dubbed "The Great Flu", the game is based on the threat that the emergence of a new flu virus and its rapid spread across the globe would pose to humanity.

"The game is based on the need to increase public awareness to the threat posed by a pandemic and the measures in place to contain it," said Albert Osterhaus, head of virology at the Erasmus Medical Centre and one of the experts involved in creating the game.

Full post on the BBC website here...

Radio 1's and 1Xtra's Big Gaming Weekend

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend (22-25 May), BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra will be taken over by the wonderful world of computer games. The weekend will be jam packed with gaming themed content from reviews, to soundtracks, DJ leaderboards and a poll to find the best game ever.

Whether you're into collecting gold coins, eating blue ghosts, performing unearthly fighting combos, fitting shapes together against the clock or multiplaying with distant friends there will be something for all gamers.

The highlight of the weekend will be BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra hosting an online poll to find the greatest ever computer game. A panel of industry experts will compile a list of their top 100 games and then listeners will be invited to choose their top three from the list.

Scott Mills will launch the poll on Friday 22 May between 6.30am and 10am and the results will be revealed on Bank Holiday Monday during Mistajam's show which is simulcast on BBC Radio 1& 1Xtra between 7pm and 10pm.

Over the weekend the legendary Live Lounge will be turned into a gaming arcade where Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ's will battle it out in the gaming leaderboards and listeners can follow online.

Throughout the day on Bank Holiday Monday, starting in Scott's show there will be the chance to listen to the best tunes from gaming soundtracks - chosen by both listeners and the DJ's. Jo Whiley will be joined by computer games expert- Johnny Minkley. At 1pm, Fearne Cotton and The Surgery presenter Aled Hayden-Jones host a special 'gaming' Surgery. Greg James will continue with the gaming soundtracks between 4pm and 7pm and then hand over to Mistajam's simulcast for the big countdown of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra's poll of the greatest ever computer games.
Finally Rampage from 1XTRA will launch their gaming blog which will become a regular feature on www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra

Entropia PC video game granted banking licence by Sweden

Online game Entropia Universe has been granted a licence to be a bank.
Issued by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the licence means the game can be more closely tied to the real world finances of players.
Mindark, the developers of the game, said it aimed to launch a fully-functioning in-game bank within the next 12 months.
At current exchange rates, 10 PED (Project Entropia Dollars) are worth one US dollar.

Unlike many other online games, which charge a monthly subscription fee, the software for Project Entropia is free to download and install.

Read full post here on the BBC

Xbox Live players target of Hackers

Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network.

The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game.

More at the BBC site here...

Half-Life 2 video game modified for fire safety training

Researchers at Durham University have modified a video game and turned it into a fire drill simulator.

The team used The Source Engine, the 3D game engine used to drive Half-Life 2, and created a virtual model of one of the university's departments.

Developers plan to use it to examine people's behaviour in a fire and to train people in good fire practice.

The simulator can be adapted to mimic the interior of most buildings, although modification will be needed.

Durham University's Dr Shamus Smith, who helped spearhead the project, told BBC News that that while bespoke 3D modelling software was available, modifying a video game was faster, more cost effective, and had better special effects.

"The video you see is an example of how to escape the Computer Science Department of Durham University.

"We were interested in using game technology over a customised application and The Source Engine, from Half-Life, is very versatile.

"We used the simulation to see how people behaved in an actual fire situation and to train people in 'good practice' in a fire.

Know-how

The team at Durham say the virtual environment helped familiarise people with evacuation routines and could also help identify problems with a building's layout.

By customising a video game, a finished representation of a building could be completed in just a few weeks without needing to learn or develop additional programming skills.

However, while the simulation worked for most people, those who played a lot of video games did rather unusual things.

"If a door was on fire, they [gamers] would try and run through it, rather than look for a different exit," said Dr Smith

Non-gamers treated it as a more serious exercise.

In other studies, gaming technology has also been adapted to simulate lab accidents, teach people about cooking safety, and to help people overcome arachnophobia.

Source: BBC website

Games will 'eclipse' other media - BBC

Video games are poised to "eclipse" all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith.

The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

He said video games were prospering as interest in almost every other category of entertainment declines...

40% growth

He quoted US market statistics which showed that between 2003 and 2007 sales of movie tickets fell by 6%; the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, sales of recorded music slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat.

'Story telling'

The powerful processors in consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 meant that games were getting ever more realistic and immersive, he said.

"Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," said Mr Griffith. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films."

Read the full story on the BBC...

Getting a job playing games for a living

Work doesn't have to be a chore. For the third in our series on dream children's careers, Lucy Rodgers meets a man who as a teenager fell in love with video games - and now designs them.

Most modern-day youngsters, and many a 21st-Century adult, will have whiled away a good number of hours playing the latest shooter, vehicle simulation or strategy video game.

But for Jez Harris such virtual pastimes are not just an enjoyable hobby, they are his career. The 28-year-old designer, who has yearned to work in the industry since he was a teenager, is paid to create the simulated worlds we enter from our bedrooms or living rooms.

Read the post on the BBC website here...

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Bob the Builder video game out on Nintendo DS

Bob the Builder - Festival of Fun on Nintendo DS.

Throughout 2007, Bob the Builder held 2nd position in the pre-school boys market, number 1 pre-school position on BBC2 in November and December and is consistently in the Top 20 licenses in the traditional toy market*. The popularity of Bob the Builder is evident: the official Bob the Builder website receives an average of over 25 million hits a month, and BBC's Bob Magazine is in its 8th year and still selling over 60,000 copies a month. Series 17 is due to air in 2009 where Bob and the Can-Do Crew will be produced in fantastic new CGI "Race to the Finish", and a brand new feature-length direct-to-DVD special went on sale 3rd November 2008. Bob's 10th anniversary will be kicking off in 2009, launching with the special 10th Annual and limited-edition products.

Entertaining tasks, intuitive controls and frustration-free gameplay all add up to a fun experience for young players. It's summer time in Sunflower Valley! The community project is going so well that Mr Bentley has suggested a festival to celebrate. There will be food and music and fun for everyone. Bob and the 'Can-Do Crew' are called to help clear the area and build the Dome for the event. Full use is made of the unique Nintendo DS input mechanisms, allowing the player to use the touch screen technology to control the game play and blow the leaves off the screen using the microphone! The player can tackle 10 exciting activities with Bob and all their favourite characters including Dizzy, Spud and Mr Sabatini from the pizza shop!

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BBC want family to travel back to atari, Walkman and Spectrum days...

Remember your first Atari console, the Walkman and the mini disc? Would you like to revisit the wonder of the Teasmade and the Trimphone? Have you ever wondered how much technology has changed our lives?.

The search is on to find a family to travel back to the dawn of the digital age that was 1970 for a new television series, co-produced by The Open University and the BBC. The programmes will look at the impact that technology has had on family life over the past 40 years. The makers of Edwardian Country House, Who Do You Think You Are and New Tricks are looking for a family to take part in a unique living history experience for BBC FOUR.

The three part series will take a modern British family back to the 1970s and then fast forward them through the domestic technological revolution of the 1980s and the 1990s…right up to the present day.

In the 1970s the family will experience life without the technology we’ve begun to take for granted; they’ll live a seventies life in a seventies house without Sky +, Facebook and the Wii. It’s a chance to see how we did homework without the Internet, how we socialised without mobile phones in an era where encyclopaedias and dial phones were the order of the day. As the family move through the 70s they’ll road test all the gadgets and appliances that would have been available during that decade, from 70’s telly, vinyl and games consoles to slide projectors and deep freezes… They’ll see first hand how far technology has come and its impact on our family life. It’s a huge nostalgia trip for mum and dad and it’s a chance to see just which family member really is the most technologically savvy.

The 1980s will bring ever-advancing computers and changes in the kitchen that promised to make life easier. The family will have to adapt to the rapidly changing technology that entered British homes in the ‘80s, they’ll get to grips with walkmans, pocket TVs and early microwaves. The 90s will see even more change within the home, early email, rudimentary mobile phones and the kids’ electronic games that were all the rage. Once the family have navigated their way through ‘90s life they’ll be transported through the Noughties and arrive back in the here and now. We’ll ask what lessons they’ve learnt regarding the role of technology in family life and their attitude to the transformation of their home since 1970.

But our family won’t be going it alone. They’ll have an expert IT support team on hand to help with all of their technological enquiries. From confusing computers to misbehaving microwaves, the team will help the family deal with historical teething problems as they get to grips with their ‘new’ gizmos and gadgets.

The series will chart the technological revolution of the past 40 years and assess the impact these changes have had on an everyday British family. By the end of the experiment, the family will have experienced almost 40 years of technological change in a short space of time; they’ll have an unparalleled insight into how much our lives, homes and relationships have been influenced by technology.

Are you a home-owning family with at least three children between the ages of eight and eighteen? Are you keen to show your children how much life has changed since your childhood? Are you interested in modern history and how technology has transformed the family home? Or maybe you’re looking for a challenging but rewarding nostalgia trip?

Free to play mountain bike video game with the BBC and CBBC

CBBC joining Greentube´s media-partner network of high quality free download games

BBC, one of the world´s leading TV-broadcasters and well-known in the industry for its proven interactive competence, has signed a license-deal with Vienna-based Greentube AG, to adapt one of its high quality free download games for the UK public service audience.

Based on an existing games engine that delivers multi player down hill racing which is financed through in-game advertising, the BBC Children's department has adapted this to support their olympic programming and promote their own shows in the dynamic banners.

The "Mountainbike Challenge 08" presented as the flagship-game of the "Sports Village" section has attracted numerous CBBC visitors since the launch in early August 2008.

The game-season will commence until the end of October 2008.





Eberhard Dürrschmid, CEO of Greentube: "We are very proud of the BBC joining our network of global partners for our high quality games. This is another proof of concept for us and honours the work we are doing and the constant improvement of concepts and games we are living for. We have been developing into a major player for casual online- and download multiplayer games within the past 5 years."

Greentube´s series of free download sports games is attracting more than 7 million global players and is still on its way to expansion, as new games will be added to the existing portfolio within the next 12 months and a series of new media-partners is going to license the new season of "Ski Challenge", starting in December 2008.

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Chaos at Mercenaries 2 video game £20,000 petrol giveaway

A stunt in which £20,000 of petrol was given away in north London to promote a computer game has been criticised as "irresponsible and dangerous".

Traffic was gridlocked outside the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park as drivers queued for £40-worth of free fuel each.
The promotion began at 0630 BST and ended about four hours later.

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: "Whilst a lucky few might have got free petrol, hundreds of residents have faced misery".

Earlier Gamezplay story here...

More on Mercenaries 2 give away at BBC web site...

Army use video games to train for battle - BBC

In the lab, more than 30 PCs are running a military training simulator called Virtual Battle Space 2.

The Army is using the software to teach soldiers about to be sent on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq how to deal with ambushes, roadside bombs and other threats.

Some 2,000 troops have used it so far, and some of the first trainees are currently stationed in Iraq.

More on the BBC website here...

Half a million people make a living playing video games - BBC

Nearly 500,000 people in developing nations earn a wage making virtual goods in online games to sell to players, a study has found.

Research by Manchester University shows that the practice, known as gold-farming, is growing rapidly.

The industry, about 80% based in China, employs about 400,000 people who earn £77 per month on average.

The practice is flourishing despite efforts by games companies to crack down on the trade in virtual goods.

Big industry

Professor Richard Heeks, head of the development informatics group at Manchester who wrote the report, said gold farming had become a significant economic sector in many developing nations.

More from the BBC here...

Research paper link...

Killzone 2 video game enters final polish

The creators of highly-anticipated first-person shooter Killzone 2 have spoken about their hopes for the game, which is due out on PlayStation 3 in February 2009.

Hermen Hulst, managing director of Amsterdam-based Guerrilla Games, says it has been in development for three years so that the firm could make the game match the original vision.

Source: BBC Website

E3: The best games on show from the BBC

E3 has shut its doors for another 12 months and it is time to reflect on what was shown and which games emerged as best in show.
A few years ago at E3 publishers were able to match their ambitions for specific games by building ever bigger and more elaborate stands.
But now the show is much more reserved and journalists have more of a chance to play games, meet the developers and get a real sense of what titles will impress.

More from the BBC