Secret service turns to video games to recruit future spies

In years gone by, potential recruits to the secret services would be approached with a quick flash of the old school tie, or a discreet chat in an Oxbridge junior common room.

The spymasters of today are resorting to very different tactics to sign up the next generation of spooks: GCHQ, the government's electronic eavesdropping service will this month become the first intelligence agency to post recruitment adverts in the virtual worlds of online computer games.

The advertisements will appear as billboards in the backgrounds of computer games such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

A spokeswoman for GCHQ - the surveillance branch of the intelligence service - said the agency was looking for recruits who were "computer-savvy, technologically able, quick thinking".

"We find increasingly we have to use less conventional means of attracting people ... to go beyond the glossy brochures and milk-round stalls," she told the Times.

The agency hopes to "plant the idea in the minds of younger players" of pursuing a career in the secret services.

"We will monitor the results from this campaign and are ready to change our recruitment methods. We know we can't stand still," the spokeswoman said.

The move into computer-game adverts is the latest sign that the security services are attempting to shift their recruitment practices away from the old-boy networks. Earlier this year, MI5, the security service, advertised for staff on the side of London buses.

GCHQ was consulted on its scheme, but the decision on where to place the adverts was made by its advertising agency, TMP Worldwide.

Kate Clemens, head of GCHQ digital strategy at TMP, said: "Online gaming allows GCHQ to target a captive audience. Gamers are loyal and receptive to innovative forms of advertising."

In recent years, Britain and the US have put increasing emphasis on "information warfare" in their efforts to confront terrorism and rogue states.

But thrill-seeking video gamers hoping to live out their Tom Clancy fantasies in the real world may well be disappointed by the reality.

GCHQ is the signals intelligence branch of the security services, and its main work is the interception and decryption of emails and phone calls. Most of the recruits will be software experts who will be put to work at the agency's main listening post at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

Source: Guardian

Solo games live on in multiplayer world

Video game developers, eager to please all consumers, are increasingly including features that let gamers play with or against their friends.

With Microsoft trying to convince people to plunk down $50 a year for its Xbox Live service, and Sony eyeing the sale of movies and music over its fledgling network, developers are under more pressure than ever to include some sort of online component.

The best-known example may be Microsoft's "Halo 3", but last week also saw the release of "The Orange Box" -- a collection of "Half-Life 2" content from Electronic Arts that includes a long-awaited multiplayer-only title called "Team Fortress 2". The week before that had the launch of "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars" from Activision.

Yet for all the balanced play and refinement of a "Halo 3" or "Warhawk", sometimes you just want to dig in and work on a game by yourself.

Several recent and upcoming titles illustrate that solo gaming is still going strong.

More from Reuters

Later this month, owners of Sony's PlayStation 3 can get their hands on "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction", the latest addition to one of Sony's most popular franchises.

Although some past titles starring the furry protagonist and his robotic sidekick let gamers play against each other, usage data showed something unexpected: only three percent of players bothered to try out that part of the game.

"It's something that can appeal to anybody and a lot of people just don't enjoy multiplayer," Brian Allgeier, lead designer on the series, said of the decision to focus on the single-player story.

Sony to sell video game 'Cell' chip to Toshiba

Sony is selling its advanced computer chip operations to Toshiba, both companies said Thursday, in the latest sign that Sony is raising cash and shedding operations to focus on its core electronics sector.

The sale, set to be completed by March, includes the manufacturing business for the "Cell" chip used in Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console, a Toshiba spokeswoman, Hiroko Mochida, said.

Toshiba, which already had a collaboration with Sony in developing and making the Cell, will continue to produce chips for Sony's video game unit, she said.

A new company will be set up in April, with Toshiba owning 60 percent, Sony getting 20 percent, and Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony's gaming unit, getting a 20 percent stake.

The new unit will make the Cell and other advanced chips, the companies said in a statement.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"There were no market-moving surprises," said Mitsuhiro Osawa, a Tokyo-based consumer electronics analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

The sale fits Sony's plans to scale back on unprofitable businesses, and gives its chairman, Howard Stringer, funds to invest in factories to make more televisions and digital cameras.

Development of the Cell, in which Sony invested more than ¥200 billion, or $1.7 billion, led to a loss at the chip unit last fiscal year.

Sony has increased profitability under the leadership of its Welsh-born chief executive, Howard Stringer, the first foreigner to head Sony. Stringer took the helm in 2005, and cut jobs, shut plants and dropped unprofitable divisions.

Japan's top business daily, The Nikkei, reported Thursday that the deal was estimated at about ¥100 billion, or $858 million.

Toshiba said that the agreement would allow it to expand its chip business by increasing order volume.

Earlier this year Sony cut its stake in the online broker Monex Beans Holdings, and last year sold interests in a wide range of retail activities like cosmetics and restaurants.

Separately, Sony said that it would rely on IBM for developing and manufacturing the futuristic 45-nanometer chip.

Sony will no longer invest in the IBM operation, but it will continue to work in partnership with IBM on research on the advanced chips, the company said.

Kaz Hirai, the Sony executive in gaming, said that by relying on the IBM and Toshiba partnerships, Sony would be able to better focus on the entertainment business of games.

"SCE is committed to develop further the PlayStation business and offer new and innovative interactive entertainment," he said in a statement.

Flat-panel TVs and other gadgets require advanced chips that are expensive to make, and competition is intense.

Sony, whose sprawling businesses include the studio that made the "Spider-Man" movies, has revived its money-losing electronics business in recent years.

But it is still losing money in its gaming unit, battered by the success of the Wii console from its rival, Nintendo.

Toshiba, an electronics maker that owns a stake in Westinghouse Electric, the U.S. nuclear reactor manufacturer, has done well with its flash-memory chips that are widely used in cellphones and digital players.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Update - Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy hitting retailers in the next four weeks or so, the creative brains behind the project recently discussed the game in the Creator's Voice bringing with them new videos and an orgasmic orchestrated theme.



Game Orchestral Music Recording



Source: Wii japan site

SmackDown v Raw 08 Advert

Nintendo's Wii - remote is the perfect toy for bikini-clad women in promoting the upcoming SmackDown! Vs. RAW 08

Super Smash update: Little Mac joins the Brawl

Nintendo have released a minor update today on the Official Smash Bros. website, revealing a return of one of the classic Punch Out! characters, Little Mac, as an assist trophy.

Once there was a legendary man. He knocked heavyweight boxers many times his own size to the mat en route to a W.V.B.A. title.

Little Mac appears from Punch Out!

PDC World Championship Darts 2008

Mere Mortals is not a name that you hear everyday in the games industry. As such, it might surprise you that they have had their fingers in the pies of hundreds of games, from conversions and ports, to being subcontracted to work on other developers’ franchises, and of course working on their own original titles. PDC World Championship Darts 2008 is their latest original game, and we got to play a preview build exclusively, as detailed in our feature. What do we actually think of the game, though?

PDC World Championship Darts on Playstation 2 was somewhat of a surprise hit when it first appeared. Unexpectedly, in the run up to Christmas 2006 it became a big seller, reaching into the upper end of the best seller charts with online retailers such as Play.com – the official PDC licence being attached no doubt helping out. With this success in hand, it was perhaps inevitable that a sequel would rear its head to capitalise on the clear interest that the market displayed in darts games. Luckily for us, Wii has also appeared since then, and so as well as a Playstation 2 sequel, PDC 2008 is also coming to Nintendo’s console. Unlike many other PS2/Wii multiplatform titles, however, the Wii offering is not a mere port – it is in fact the primary version that is in development.

You only have to look at the presentation of the game to see that PDC 2008 is intended to best the original in every way. Immediately seeming bigger and better, the overall quality of the menus, the in-game visuals, and the whole presentation has been obviously polished up. Whereas the first game was passable on this front, it pales in comparison to the new version. The most impressive visual feature of PDC was the faces of the darts players, which were pretty close to real life, but they had their restrictions – little movement, for example. Now, though, with a whole new engine, the rest of the visuals have been beefed up. The faces are now even more impressive and have more expressions (maybe also thanks to the team being allowed more access to the players themselves, rather than hunting around the Internet for images they could use as sources). The character models in general have been spruced up so that they resemble the players more accurately, and everything has a cleaner look. The animation is more natural too, thanks to hours of study of the professional players’ mannerisms and postures with footage of matches, as well as more use of motion capturing. It’s still not the prettiest game you’ll ever see, but it’s safe to say that quite a lot of work has gone into making things look hugely better over the first PDC title.

This isn’t the only area of improvement, though. The modes that existed in the first game have been expanded to include more – the party games mode, for example, now looks to be more of a focused area than before, geared towards casual multiplayer gaming, ideally for after you tumble in from the pub. The career mode now includes more tournaments than before and allows you to start out either as a professional player who must keep his stature, or as a newbie who must make their way through the ranks and prove themselves to be worthy of matching up to the (literal) big boys. What tournaments you qualify for, and your ranking, is determined by how much money you are able to earn by winning matches – lose too much, and your bank account is going to take a hit and send you plummeting down the ranks. If you choose to start out as a new player, you can create your own in the expanded Create-A-Character mode. Whereas in the original PDC you could only do some basic customisation, the 2008 edition gives you many more options to consider, from the appearance of the character, to their favoured dart types, to even setting a signature technique (i.e. the numbers they prefer to hit to finish a match). You can also now choose the gender of your created beasts, just in case you really want to be a female darts player this time around.

Source: Cubed 3

London Wishes 'Good luck' To Lewis Hamilton With Giant Message Made Of Car Skid Marks

Battersea Power Station was engulfed with engine noise and screeching tyre smoke this morning, as a special message of good luck was embezzled onto the ground for Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, which could see him walk away as Formula One World Champion.

As these pictures show, the message was created entirely by the skid marks of a sports car and a motorbike, using blistering wheelspins and breakneck handbrake turns to lay rubber onto the tarmac to produce the words 'Go Lewis!' in giant 50-foot lettering.

And while bemused onlookers assumed the stunt was related to the filming of the new Batman movie, currently taking place at the iconic Battersea landmark, it was in fact nothing to do with the the caped hero of Gotham City - but a very different type of Gotham. The message was created for the launch of the biggest racing game yet on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, 'Project Gotham Racing 4' (Bizarre Creations/Microsoft Games Studio), a high-adrenalin arcade racing title which rewards players with death-defying slides and sideways driving. The concept of 'Skid Art' is also the theme of the Project Gotham Racing 4 TV advertisement currently being aired.

Driving the Caterham sports car in the pictures was the UK's top stunt driver, Russ Swift, who got through three sets of tyres to create the image.

Xbox wishes Lewis Hamilton the very best of luck in Brazil this weekend!

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core for Wii

505 Games today shifted up the pace of their release schedule with the announcement of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core for Nintendo Wii in February 2008.

Developed by Yokohama-based Arc System Works, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core is the third instalment in the series and is widely cited as one of the most carefully balanced fighting games in existence, thanks to a refined combat system with three new gameplay modes.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core features over 20 deadly combatants and includes an alternate EX version of all the existing characters. On top of all this, the game also introduces two reinvented fighters, A.B.A. and Order-Sol, who have never been seen outside of Japan.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core delivers a range of all-new moves, including the ‘Force Break’, a special move which consumes 25 per cent of the Tension Gauge when used; ‘Slashback’, a form of parrying with reduced block stun; ‘Slip Throws’; and moves which make opponents stick briefly to walls or slide across the floor of a stage.

In addition to major gameplay changes, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core features the first major aesthetic change for the series since the original release. All voices, including that of the announcer, have been re-recorded or replaced with previously unused samples, in some cases with different actors.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core makes maximum use of the Wii controller, allowing players to move characters with the control pad on the Nunchuk and use the Wii Remote for both simple and special attacks. Some of the less powerful attacks are mapped on the Wii Remote buttons and the special attacks are executed through both button and movement with the Nunchuk or the Wii Remote.

The final layers of polish on Guilty Gear XX Accent Core come with redesigned playable character artwork and two new music tracks, Launch Out and Keep The Flag Flying.

The final mix is a fighting masterpiece.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core will be published by 505 Games for Nintendo Wii in February 2008.

Google AdSense and video games

Bafta 195, Piccadily, London - 23rd October - 8.30 - 5pm

Tiga is pleased to announce that Eva Woo Product Marketing Manager of Google Adsense will be flying over from the US to be a keynote speaker at Tiga’s Cross Media Conference ‘Working with Games’ on the 23rd October.

Eva will give the general audience an idea of where Google are headed with games content. She will also describe how publishers and developers can monetize even further their game property in areas such as ‘Gadgets’.

Other speakers from TV, film, advertising and games include Endemol, BBC, 19 Agency, Ubisoft, TT Games and advertising agency BBH.

This event is kindly supported with funding from the London Development Agency. Other partners include PACT, BAFTA and Scottish Enterprise.