But scrolling through the database — past the three-legged sea horse, past the seven-eyed wildebeest and the half-motorcycle-half-pig — revealed something many users didn't expect. Buried among the more wholesome attempts were two-legged dancing testicles, a "giant breast monster" and a four-legged, "phallic fornication machine," for starters.

You can almost hear the concerned-sounding voice of your nightly news anchor during a commercial teasing a full investigative report on how Spore is raping our children's minds.

The CNN report covers all of the angles. First the get the word from the Spore development team.

"Whether it's modeling clay, dolls or crayons, a small number of people can be counted on to use it for something vulgar," Lucy Bradshaw, "Spore's" executive producer, told CNN.

Modeling clay, dolls, crayons, mashed potatoes, doughnuts, small pieces of plastic you find on the floor...all of these have been used (by me) to simulate sexual acts in the past. Am I in league with the spornographers? Should I be campaigning for freedom of virtual penis like the 37-year-old web developer who calls himself "The Spornmaster?"

"It was a totally ridiculous overreaction," the 37-year-old Web developer said. "I admit it is silly and juvenile, but I don't think there's anything perverted, vile or awful about it. If people find it offensive, they can simply not search for it online. No one is forcing anyone to see this content."

Or perhaps I should side with the more morally upright but sadly ignorant segment of the population who wants to see such creations banned?

"I consider this very similar to child pornography, at least to the extent of distributing the material to children," 18-year-old Michael James from Calgary, Alberta, told CNN.

Just an FYI here James, giving pornography to a child, while reprehensible, isn't child pornography. It's giving porn to a child. Comparing a Spore penis monster to child pornography is like comparing a school shooting to the holocaust - it's stupid, and people tend to get angry at you when you do it. Or use it as an example.

No, I think I shall side with the more moderately against, like University of Georgia student Miles Moffit, who reacted with the characteristic grace and poise we Georgians have come to expect from a UGA attendee. "

My initial reaction to discovering it in my final game would be to ban it so it wouldn't show up again and then blow it to pieces for the sheer satisfaction of it," Moffit said. "Go ahead, create a walking phallus. See how long it lasts in the databases and galaxies of Spore."

Ahh yes, the sheer satisfaction of blowing up a giant penis monster. Yeah. Moving on.

Now EA of course will allow players to choose whether they want to see everyone's creations, only their friends, or none whatsoever, so parents really need not worry about their children being exposed to sex through EA's Spore.

Just...you know, everywhere else.

Video game's user content spawns naughty Web 'Sporn' [CNN Technology via Game Politics]

Unsurprisingly, those not weened on joysticks, like 55-year old mother Karen Kimball, bemoan"the violence, the obsession" their kids are subjected to while gaming. One might think that more time alloted to spending time with your kid and a wireless controller might help one relate a bit better.

Kids, it's time to add copies of Scene It? and Wario Ware Smooth Moves to the Amazon wish list. Get a wireless controller into the hands of your crusty old folks the sooner the better.

Poll: Parents and video games don't mix [CNN]

Presidential Pong wasn't the best newsgame we've ever done (that one was probably Airport Security, a game about the arbitrary nature of TSA screening). But it was effective enough. Released right around the first Presidential debate, the game was intended both to introduce the primary candidates and to satirize the very idea of debate. In Pong, players return tennis volleys. In Presidential Pong, they return campaign volleys. Politics is, as ever, optional.

Since then, we've been getting regular abusive emails and phone calls from Ron Paul supporters.

Here are a few choice words from emails we've received.

Censorship or Age Discrimination? Check FEC rules on corporate funding of candidates!
one would think that with all the internet hype about ron paul, he would have made it into your game before at least half of the candidates you put on.
stinks! Why cant I put Ron Paul up there and watch him pong with the best of them?
Where's Ron Paul? I know how the business works - you've probably already got paid for it, and it's as finished as it is going to get

The reason, by the way, is that Ron Paul wasn't going to appear in the first debates. So we didn't include him in the game, which was about those debates. CNN has continued to promote the game on their main Politics page, thus the confusion. The phone calls are really best, because they just don't let up. Even when we explain the situation, they just accuse us of being Ron Paul hatas.

Why the ire, fair Ron Paul supporters? How could a peace-loving libertarian invoke such wrath? Perhaps Ron Paul fanciers are just that devoted. Or perhaps Ron Paul is indeed the Internet's candidate, the Howard Dean of '08.

In the game, all of the candidates have a power-up commensurate with their best features as candidates. I suppose if I were to add Ron Paul to the game now, his would unleash a fury of emails and telephone calls.

Presidential Pong [CNN.com]

"The thing we most hope to gain by having a CNN presence in Second Life is to learn about virtual worlds and understand what news is most interesting and valuable to their residents," said Susan Grant, executive vice president of CNN News Services.

OK seriously, why does every Playstation 3 pricing announcement have to turn into an enormous clusterfuck of confusion?

Let me lay it out for you, generically speaking:
1. First come the rumors about something.
2. Then come the general denials from Sony.
3. Then come more rumors in bigger publications.
4. Then come the categorical denials from Sony.
5. Then comes the statement the contradicts the categorical denial.
6. Then comes the announcement.

Apparently we are currently at step number five with this latest PS3 price drop rumor. At least if Thomson Financial Services (a competitor of Bloomberg and Reuters) and CNN Money is to be believed we are. In the latest story about the price rumor, Thomson reports the rumor as written about by a French newspaper and then follows up with this dandy of a Sony statement:

A Sony spokesman would not confirm the figures cited by Les Echos but said an announcement was 'imminent'.

OK, so correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that slightly contradict Sony saying they have "nothing of the sort planned"?

Sony to Cut Playstation 3 Price in Run-Up to Christmas [CNN Money]

... But it will never air in the US (damn you, CNN, for gipping us on the good content - who wants to watch Larry King, anyways?). In yet another example of nice, positive press - focusing not on video games turning kids into psychotic nutjobs, but on the positive interaction possible in virtual worlds (but frequently not in the real world) - CNN International's "Future Summit" talked with two panels of researchers, developers, and other interested parties about "virtual worlds" and what people do in them.

While aspects of it reminded me of the horrible videos we were subjected to in high school science classes, it's always nice to see positive press out there (especially when it involves people with letters behind their names). The clip was edited down to the 8 minutes above from 50 minutes by Nick Yee, a recent graduate of Stanford University who focused his dissertation research on online games and virtual environments. I'd like to see the whole thing, but alas, there's no CNN International on my TV anymore. Maggie Greene

CNN Future Summit [Terra Nova]

Weekly stories will follow up the program on the site. There's no mention on whether or not any of this footage will be broadcast in Second Life or any other virtual world, but I'm sure furries are allowed to watch it from their televisions if they wish to do so. Kim Phu

CNN Future Summit [CNN via Game|Life]

And if you're still pissy about having to refer to your new Nintendo console as the Wii, maybe this dull the pain of not owning a "Revolution."

Japanese people have a funny habit of abbreviating names. For instance if you have a "Family Computer," people call it "Famicom". We at Nintendo had thought of giving it a name that can not be abbreviated. It is a very short official name, and we wanted to add other words to create a new additional name. Such as "Wii Sports" "Wii Play" and so on. We debated how the Wii might be thought of in the English speaking countries. And we came to a conclusion that there is no other choice but to use this short, appealing name.

Feel better? I'm guessing "no." Michael McWhertor

Shigeru Miyamoto Talk Asia Interview [CNN]

According to website CNN Money, Google Inc. is currently in negotiations to purchase Adscape Media, a San Francisco company that provides in-game advertising to many major companies. This is just another in a long line of bids by Google to buy up companies so they can stretch their advertising presence in as many types of media as they can. If the Adscape purchase goes through, it would mean that Google would be able to deliver in game ads over the internet, directly into the games. How exactly that would work, I'm not sure, but don't be surprised if you wake up one day to find a big ole' Google Billboard staring you in the face when you load up your favorite game. Flynn De Marco

Google may buy video game ad firm [CNNMoney - Thanks, Voldtaengler]

The reporter does another typical "in depth" mainstream media story on the game industry and offers other people's differing opinions on whether or not you should only use tiny motions to control your Wii or get your ass of the couch and wave your arms wildly like a total spaz. Chiropractor, Karen Ericson, says get your lazy bones up and use the full range of motion, while Bloggers Chris Grant and James Wiley (from that other game blog) warn against the dangers of overzealous playing. Grant and Wiley then go on to get their asses kicked by the intrepid reporter in a round of Wii boxing. Said reporter seems very pleased with himself after the punch fest is over and his opponents lie bleeding and motionless on the floor.

Watching this leaves me with one burning question. Doesn't CNN have an editor in their company? (hmm, why does that phrase sound familiar?) "The hard pite might be keeping a grip on it" ? "Full rain of motion"? This is CNN, people, not some sort of blog where no one pays attention to the massive amounts spelling mistakes... Flynn De Marco

CNN Money's Chris Morris asks himself (and answers) the question: If I were shopping for video gaming execs, what would I buy them for Christmas?

One of the overpriced, luxury items we've previously covered, which Morris finds perfect for retro gamer Peter "Petah" Moore, is the DreamArcades 100-inch video arcade center.

I'm sure Pete will adore it, Chris, I know I love mine!

But what to get Nintendo prez Reggie Fils-Aime and recently promoted Sony exec Kaz Hirai? I'll keep it spoiler free, as you may want to find out what to drop $70,000 on your millionaire loved ones, too. Michael McWhertor

Gifts for the video game elite [CNN]
The 100-Inch Arcade Set Up [Kotaku]

The Second Life real estate mogul is expected to give a press conference (in-game, of course *sigh*) tomorrow morning to announce the milestone, something Fortune's law blogger sees fit to report.

Why does he consider it a big deal? Oh, it's very dry stuff really, but there are legal issues to be weighed with virtual real estate, taxing of said e-property, and the legal ramifications of Linden Labs' responsibility should Second Life citizens see their in-game assets destroyed. I find it significant as it's the first Second Life story not involving furry sexplay to pique my interest.

Thanks for the tip, Jordan. Michael McWhertor

Anshe Chung: First Virtual Millionaire

But this piece is different. Why? Because it not only features Dear Leader, Brian Crecente, waxing journalistically about his the industry, but also former Kotaku contributor Luke Smith, bearded 1UP news reporter extraordinaire.

Plus, you get, as a free bonus, insight from other respectable game dudes like the studly Simon Carless, the dark and mysterious Brandon Sheffield, the stern, but fair, Greg Kasavin, and a host of other big name writer types.

Good stuff that might clue you in on how unglamorous the whole job can sometimes be and how respected names in the industry see the business. Michael McWhertor

Game Journalists On Game Journalism [The Escapist]

Remember what we said about more Wii surprises and revelations coming? The latest Edge magazine may have some of the Wii-tails we've all been waiting for.

Some of the more interesting items are how Nintendo signed CNN on as the news channel for the Wii in the US and Japan, how Sega shifting development from PS3 to Wii, and how Nintendo planned to launch the Wii for 150 in the UK and $200 in the US, but retailers didn't want it to be a bargain bin system.

Nintendo's also planning to release a DVD-capable Wii in 2007 after disabling DVD playback in the first-generation Wiis. It's doubtful that adding this feature will spur any more sales, since even your grandma has a DVD player by now.

Hit the jump for the Laurent Fischer interview. Jason Chen

Wii and DS tidbits in the new Edge magazine #1 [NeoGaf via Aussie Nintendo]

- He doesn't expect all of society to immediately jump on board from day 1. At first it will probably be mainly the hardcore and casual gamers buying it, but little by little he expects more people to come on board through word of mouth, advertising etc... much like the DS. He says word of mouth has played a huge part in the DS's success in Europe.

- He says in Europe the DS has done a wonderful job of capturing the female gamer and the casual gamer, but getting the non-gamers still has some way to go yet. NOE's goal is to get the DS selling as fast as it is in Japan where on a weekly basis they're still not able to fulfil the demand, becaue they're attracting such a broad audience. "In Europe I don't expect us to be in that position for some time, but we're on the way. It will take one year, certainly and with the Wii it will take the same time. We know it's a long way to get out of the videogaming ghetto"

- He says when creating games Nintendo doesn't say "this is going to be a gamer's game and this is not." He says a lot of hardcore gamers enjoy Brain Training, because it's something different and another good example is Animal Crossing. Nobody at Nintendo thought Animal Crossing would be a very massmarket game. It started out as a hardcore game with people around the world going crazy for it, then it became a bridge between the hardcore, casuals and the wider population, which included females and people looking for a different concept. In Japan they were surprised by the strength of Animal Crossing's sales and every week NOE says "WOW" at the sales. He said on the GameCube it only sold 150,000 in Europe but the DS game has already passed 850,000

- He says for months and months he had to sit and see journalists politely smiling when he told them DS is stronger than the PSP, but he knew from the start it would take off eventually, because he tested it on the people around him. He said his wife kept stealing his DS which has never happened with their other consoles and his neighbour - an awful old lady - became addicted to Zoo Keeper. She'd played Tetris long ago and now she was hoooked on Zoo Keeper. "If there was one person who wouldn't play a videogame, it was her"

- He says he's not worried that people can download the old (Virtual Console) games on the PC. He says it's important to be able to play them on your TV screen and doesn't think playing a NES game on the PC is something you'll really love. "Of course, you can play them on your PSP via emulation too! [laughs] Actually most PSP owners I know are using them for Nes and SNES games"

CNN/Money's "Game Over' column by financial reporting stud Chris Morris leds us to believe that Sony will take a price hit on the PSP this holiday, lowering the MSRP of the handheld to $149 USD. In fact, analyst P.J. McNealy is quite sure of it.

There is a price cut coming in the second half of the year. [The PSP] has lost momentum. Nintendo has had a great run since it launched the DS Lite and Sony needs to regain some ground.

Analysts point to Sony's stockpiling of PSP hardware as an indicator that the company may make a revived retail push with new stock at a new price, combined with heavily promoted releases like Loco Roco and GTA: Vice City Stories. Add to that Sony's forthcoming online store with digital content and original PlayStation titles, and Sony could have a very healthy Christmas. Michael McWhertor

PSP price cut might be imminent

FiringSquad has an in-depth article in which they quiz mainstream media outlet writers about games writing for the average joe:

Lev Grossman, who has written a number of video game themed articles for Time magazine, has a slightly difference stance on the subject of "dumbing down" such an article for the mainstream media. "Sure. We do it all the time. "Dumb down" makes it sound like a bad thing, but the fact is, I'm not writing for a hardcore audience, and you always want to pitch your writing to the people who are reading."

They interview a variety of writers who offer a gamut of opinions on Dumbing Down, but the general consensus is that it should be done. It goes on to point out that the big outlets don't publish as often as, say, every twenty minutes (ahem) and that game companies know they have to "feed the beast".

So even if CNN snipes our story about Duke Nukem Forever being signed exclusively to the Phantom, and furthermore being developed into an animated series for the WB by Uwe Boll, we'll still have lots of fiddly minutiae to gibber about after the big blab. Let's hear it for job security. Eliza Gauger

Gaming in Mainstream Media [FiringSquad]