Late Night Consoling

During a meeting attended by Japanese government officials and members of the game development, publishing, and manufacturing community, Sony confirmed that its upcoming PlayStation 3 next-gen console will feature comprehensive parental content restriction capability. The move comes along with recent controversy in Japan regarding violent games, which led to several prefectures restricting the sale of Grand Theft Auto III to minors. Sony seems more than willing to include protection in consoles if it will go towards easing the minds of government officials concerned that video games are contributing to youth violence. The company included parental controls in its PSP console, and notes that the PS3's capabilities will be much broader.

Sony's attitude came off different than that of many Japanese game publishers, who were more critical of the government's opinions. Representatives from Square-Enix and Namco both stated how important it is to remember that there is a lack of conclusive scientific evidence linking video games to violence or a negative mental state.

Microsoft, which was also represented at the meeting, confirmed that its soon to be released Xbox 360 console will include parental restriction features.

Even with the NEXT GENERATION officially starting in just about a month with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360, speculation on the release dates of the other two next-gen parties, Sony's PS3 and the Nintendo Revolution, is just that: speculation. However, Ken Fisher of Ars Technica feels that he's narrowed down the Revolution's release window to some time in May or June 2006 for the Japanese market. He bases this on various official Nintendo comments regarding the console's release date as well as recent comments by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

He also points out that Iwata stated just yesterday to a Japanese business publication that Nintendo will be attempting a simultaneous release with the Revolution, a strategy Microsoft is employing with Xbox 360. Given this, he expects Revolution to hit North America and Europe within two weeks to two months after shipping in Japan, which would peg it vaguely around next summer. He points out that Nintendo has been tightening up its release schedules lately, with the DS launching almost simultaneously in Japan and North American with Europe a few months later, while the Micro had only a week's delay between North America and Japan, and less than two months' delay until its European launch.

There's so little information to this rumor that it's hard to even call it a rumor, so forgive me if I indulge. In the most recent Bungie Weekly Update posted by Bungie's update guy Frank O'Connor, there is what seems to be a suggestion that Halo 1 and/or 2 might have visual improvements or updates when run on Xbox 360. When describing what he's going to do when he gets his Xbox 360, Mr. O'Connor indicates he will replay Halo 1, then says, "We're going to have more to tell you about how Halo one and two look on 360, and it's all good news."

What kind of good news? Well, we have no idea. Let's just hope it's not another countdown.

Those of you who have followed Headfirst Productions' Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth are aware of the myriad delays that have befallen the long-awaited action/adventure title based on the writing of H.P. Lovecraft. In development since 1999, the PC version of the game was originally set for release in 2001 but was pushed back repeatedly. Well, the wait is finally over, as Dark Corners of the Earth will be shipping this week for Xbox. It appears that PC and PS2 versions of the game are no longer set for release, so if you need your dose of impending soul-crushing Lovecraftian horror, now's the time.

('Course, you'd probably know this already if you read the weekly release list.)

Publisher SCi Entertainment Group, which earlier this year acquired publisher Eidos to become the UK's biggest video game publisher, is currently speaking with various other companies regarding a possible buyout of SCi. To nobody's surprise, one of those companies is Electronic Arts, whose bountiful and unmatched money reserves suggest that if EA really wanted to buy out SCi, other bidders would represent nothing more than vague annoyances. However, if it turns out that EA is not in fact interested, other prospective buyers include Apax Partners, which owns substantial stock in mobile game publisher JAMDAT, and Midway, which in the last couple of years has been aggressively acquiring various development studios.

The biggest obstacle SCi faces is the company is still somewhat unproven, which makes it not quite as attractive a buy given its newly-huge size. After taking into accounts its recently-acquired Eidos properties, however, the company does control the rights to franchises such as Deus Ex, Hitman, Championship Manager, Conflict, and, of course, Tomb Raider.

The NES celebrated its twentieth birthday last week, and in commemoration 1UP has launched a five-day feature all about Nintendo's venerable console. Today is The Comeback Kid: Commemorating 20 Years of Playing With Power.

Laura M. Holson at the New York Times writes a bit about the convergence of Hollywood and gaming, in particular focusing on the Michel Ancel-designed game adaptation of Peter Jackson's upcoming King Kong remake.

1UP chats with ex-Bungie founder and current Wideload head Alex Seropian about the recently-completed Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Xbox, also PC).