Voice actors reap no royalties from video game work

Despite the fact that they're involved with some of the biggest-selling games around, voice actors see no residual income for their work, even when a game moves a billion dollars worth of merchandise.

May 21, 2008 - 11:54AM CT - by Michael Thompson

Gamers are different: a look at how gaming makes the mind

A new book takes a well-organized and thoughtful approach in dealing with children and video games. In this excerpt, Kourosh Dini, MD, describes the ways that being a hardcore gamer can change the way you think.

May 19, 2008 - 11:59AM CT - by Ben Kuchera

ID, please: Bill would mandate carding for M-rated game buys

A new bill hopes to criminalize the sale of M-rated games to minors by forcing retailers to check ID for M-rated game purchases. Like every attempt before it, this, too, will end in failure.

May 08, 2008 - 11:59AM CT - by Ben Kuchera

NASA wants to get its game on

In order to promote learning in the STEM fields, NASA is looking to pair up with a game developer to create a MMO for all to play

April 24, 2008 - 08:30AM CT - by Matt Ford

Blame games: bill says content makers liable for violence

A misguided law proposed in Arizona would make creators and distributors of violent video games and movies liable if their content is thought to be responsible for inspiring a terrorist act or felony. The bill is problematic on several levels.

April 08, 2008 - 08:37AM CT - by Ryan Paul

Massachusetts lawmakers debate ill-advised video game law

Making the battle to keep violent games out of the hands of children a legal one has never been successful in the US courts. Tomorrow, Massachusetts may become the next state to pass unconstitutional video game legislation.

March 17, 2008 - 12:56PM CT - by Ben Kuchera

Media Coalition joins fight against California videogame law

While Governor Schwarzenegger defends a California law that would criminalize the sale of violent games to children, a powerful group of media interests including the RIAA and MPAA have gotten involved in the case. The ESA has some powerful friends in the fight against regulating video game content.

February 28, 2008 - 11:53AM CT - by Ben Kuchera

EU: one license, DRM scheme to rule them all

Online content sales in Europe are expected to generate more than €8 billion a year by 2010, but the continent's lack of multi-territory licensing and use of proprietary DRM is holding it back. The EU is "encouraging" stakeholders to fix the problems.

January 03, 2008 - 02:05PM CT - by Nate Anderson

Gamers: POTUS candidates hate you for your freedoms

In a recent survey on media issues, no presidential candidate swore off regulating the video game industry, and one candidate seems be salivating at the thought of it.

January 02, 2008 - 08:03AM CT - by Nate Anderson

Oklahoma videogame law dropped by judge's killshot

In a ruling that will surprise no one, Oklahoma becomes the latest state to have a law restricting minors' access to video games thrown out by a judge.

September 18, 2007 - 01:49PM CT - by Nate Anderson

Video gaming to be twice as big as music by 2011

Ubisoft's CEO believes that gaming will grow by 50 percent over the next four years. We look at past sales figures and future projections to see if trends bear out his optimistic assessment. (Hint: things are looking good for gamers.)

August 30, 2007 - 07:20AM CT - by Nate Anderson

New survey shows that kids like games rated M for mature

A new study shows that most boys and many girls like playing games rated M for mature, despite being in middle school.

July 03, 2007 - 03:45PM CT - by Jonathan M. Gitlin

Illinois raids welfare to pay for failed video game violence legislation

Recent hearings revealed that the State of Illinois spent $1 million defending unconstitutional video games legislation. The story gets even worse when you learn where the money came from.

May 28, 2007 - 11:52PM CT - by Ken Fisher

Google patent for game ads evaluates user actions, psychology

A recently-published Google patent application highlights a new system for serving in-game ads that builds up a psychological profile of gamers based on their actions, words, and saved game files, then serves them targeted advertising.

May 15, 2007 - 11:27AM CT - by Nate Anderson

Gamers affected by violence... on the telly and the big screen, that is

The British Board of Film Classification says that gamers are less caught up in in-game violence than in violence on the telly, and they are consistently able to distinguish between gaming and real-world violence.

April 17, 2007 - 11:15PM CT - by Nate Anderson

God of War 2 sex minigame found! M-rated goodness inside

The first God of War had a minigame that allowed you to show off your prowess in the bedroom. The sequel is no different.

March 18, 2007 - 07:10PM CT - by Ben Kuchera

A look inside the sounds of Formula One Championship Edition

While graphics play a huge role in how much we like a game, when sound is done well, it's one of the more immersive parts of the experience.

March 14, 2007 - 10:24AM CT - by Ben Kuchera

Console gaming growing in popularity among all ages

The adoption rate of game consoles in television-owning households has risen nearly 20 percent over the past two years, outpacing the growth of television-owning households themselves.

March 05, 2007 - 05:09PM CT - by Jacqui Cheng

God of War PSP coming in 2007

God of War 2 packaging contains teaser for upcoming PSP title.

March 04, 2007 - 04:27PM CT - by Ben Kuchera

Game Review: Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PS3)

Sony rocks the house with an inexpensive and feature-rich download from their Playstation Store. Who thought we'd get a PS3 Tekken this good, this soon?

March 02, 2007 - 01:16PM CT - by Ben Kuchera