Archive for April 2nd, 2008

Electronic Arts logo - Image 1The Byron Report has caught the attention of quite a number of individuals with a stake in the video game industry.

While others have concurred with the conclusions made in the report, some have questioned the recommendation that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) be given the responsibility of rating all games classified as 12 by PEGI.

Electronic ArtsUK vice president and general manager Keith Ramsdale recently spoke about the Byron Report saying that while they welcome Dr. Byron’s review, the video game industry as a whole has been unanimously clear that the system they want to use is PEGI. Here’s why:

PEGI is an efficient system to help people make appropriate content choices for players of all ages. A Nielsen study showed PEGI has 94 awareness with the UK game-playing public and it follows a tougher regime than the BBFC. In 2007 PEGI gave 47 titles an 18 rating but BBFC downgraded 21 of those to 15 or less.

He further explained that the adaptation of a system specifically for the UK will bring about certain difficulties such as “added complexity for developers, publishers and crucially retailers.” An interesting point considering that PEGI will still be used by other countries. In effect, all games will have to be rated by two separate organizations.

Ramsdale continued by saying that EA believes that PEGI is the most suitable system for rating games at the moment. In addition, they’ll “engage with the appropriate Government departments to ensure the right decisions are made in the best interest of the British public.”

source pc.qj.net

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Guitar Hero III Mobile - Image 1BlackBerry owners who felt as if they were left out of the Guitar Hero mania when the franchise was made available for mobile phones can now heave a sigh of relief: Guitar Hero III Mobile will be finally released for Research in Motion’s BlackBerry this month.

Guitar Hero III: Mobile will have 15 tracks readily available, which includes tracks such as “You Really Got Me”, and “Black Magic Woman”.

If you’re thinking that 15 tracks is just too few for a Guitar Hero game, then you should know that Hands-on Mobile intends to release three tunes every month, with varying difficulties (easy, medium, expert).

Magmic Games will distribute the game via its Blackberry-centric on the internet gaming store, Bplay.com. Pricing for the game is yet to be announced; the game will be available through the top four mobile carriers in North America.

Will Hands-on Mobile be able to pull off a Guitar Hero game nicely on Blackberry handhelds without any need for special peripherals? We’ll know for sure once the game goes live.

source mobile.qj.net

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Electronic Arts - Image 1

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