The record-breaking feat took place during the UK Download Festival in North West Leicestershire's Donington Park over the weekend. Kerrang FM's Christian Stevenson, 440 gamers gathered around the EA demo trailer, taking up imaginary axes in order to rock out to Motörhead's "Ace of Spades".

Said Steveneson:

‘That was one of the raddest jams I've ever been involved with. The crowd played their air guitars better than Eddie Van Halen! Then they destroyed 'em good and proper. Who cares, right? They can go to the air guitar shop and get another one. Sick to the infinity of sickness! I want a crowd like that at every gig I'm at. Awesometacular – air guitar world records rule!'

And that's just the sort of ridiculous, over-the-top enthusiasm that makes me proud to have not gotten a job straight out of broadcasting school.

A Guinness Book of World Records official was on hand to verify the record, which destroyed 2008's record of 318. Gaze upon the faces of the triumphant English youth and be awed. AWED.

Richard Thornhill purchased two used Grand Theft Auto titles from a Gamestation store in Cheltenham on Sunday. Upon opening one of the game boxes, a cling-film packet dropped from between the pages of the game manual containing four ecstasy pills, which he promptly brought to the local police station. Thornhill shudders to think what could have happened if his 12-year-old son or 16-year-old daughter had found the pills.

"I have two children and my son plays Xbox all the time. He could easily have opened the box and found them. I dread to think what the consequences would have been if he had. He is only 12. He could have died."

Of course any 12-year-old should know not to eat random pills they find inside video game boxes, but that's beside the point. The point here is that Gamestation sold a man a video game with psychedelic drugs inside it. How does that happen? Gamestation said:

"We have rigorous procedures for accepting pre-owned titles and checking them before they are put back on sale. We have launched an immediate investigation and we will work closely with police to find out what happened in this instance.

Anyone who has ever traded in a game at GameStop knows full well that they never, ever check the game manuals. One could theoretically print out a bunch of porn from the internet, wrap the game manual's cover around it, trade in their used copy of Animal Crossing, and then wait for the headlines to appear. Not that I am suggesting anyone try that, of course.

Somewhere in Gloucestershire a raver is completely kicking themselves right now.

Father of boy, 12, finds ecstasy tablets in video game manual [Telegraph via Game Politics]

Interested players who'll be in the London, England, area on on February 12th can visit whatisfearlive.com and enter for a chance to be one of eight players selected for a F.E.A.R. 2 multiplayer battle in a top-secret location. Those who don't make the cut will still be able to watch what happens live on the website on the day of the event.

Not sure what they've got planned, but you can probably bet there's going to be some LARPeting (marketing via Live-Action Role-Playing) involved. It's just what they do.

The raid occurred in Staffordshire, England, at a house that was running an illegal copied games business via online classifieds site Gumtree.com. The raid kicked off with an ELSPA investigator and a Staffordshire Trading Standards officer visiting the house of a 30 year-old unemployed man, delivering a console to be altered. While they waited, the game pirate offered them copied Xbox 360 titles, which were purchased to be analyzed.

Having enough evidence for a warrant, the house was raided earlier this week, netting the investigators more than 1,000 copied games - 700 Xbox 360 titles, 300 Wii games, and 100 for the PlayStation 2 - along with several modded consoles. The man confessed to his crimes, admitting to running the operation for two years.

And he would have continued running it if not for that damn team of ELSPA investigators and their dog. Congratulations, ELSPA, for successfully solving the mystery of the chipped 360. May the Scooby snacks flow like wine.

First Raid of 2009 Busts Chipping Operation

Computers with burners and over 1,000 illegally copied games seized in raid

Friday 9th January/... A raid at a Staffordshire house has resulted in the apprehension of an unemployed man who operated an illegal chipping service on several websites – all linked to Gumtree.com, a classified ads and community site. In an intelligence-led operation involving Staffordshire Trading Standards and investigators from ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), the home of an unemployed 30 year-old man was raided this week.

Prior to the raid, an ELSPA investigator and a Trading Standards officer had visited the residence and handed over a console for alteration that would enable the console to play illegally copied games. Whilst at the property, the offender also offered the undercover investigators pirated Xbox 360 games and three rogue Xbox 360 titles were purchased. The console and games were then forensically examined to provide the evidence needed to obtain a search warrant.

Four computers with burners and more than 1,000 illegally copied games were seized in the raid – including 700 Xbox 360 games, 300 Wii titles and 100 PlayStation 2 games. Three Xbox 360 and two Nintendo Wii consoles were also seized. The offender, who cannot yet be named for legal reasons, made a full confession at the time and admitted to running the illegal operation for approximately two years.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said: “ELSPA works closely with Trading Standards across the country and we would like to thank Staffordshire Trading Standards for their excellent work in bringing this online operation to an end. Our team in the Intellectual Property Crime Unit (IPCU) will step up its fight against counterfeiters and illegal chipping services in 2009. Such illegal activity can pose real health dangers for the public and certainly deprives gamers of any proper quality control. Furthermore, it can cause the industry to lose vital income and with it jobs across the UK. “

Nigel Cotton, Senior Investigating Officer for the Staffordshire Trading Standards Department, added: ”Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards Officers will continue to take enforcement action to reduce counterfeiting to protect the people and businesses of the county. Offenders face up to ten years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. We also pursue any proceeds of crime with a view to confiscation.”

A POCA (Proceeds Of Crime Act) investigation has already begun to estimate the criminal gain from the offender’s illegal activities.

Ends.

Need for Speed is all about the racing, however, and EA will be inviting the top drifters and time attack cars from all over the world to compete in an international race battle, along with a manufacturer time attack exhibition.

The event will be open to the public, and is penciled in for the Brands Hatch Circuit near London, though negotiiations are still underway. Hit the jump for more details, or visit www.needforspeedlive.com, where I am certain they will eventually catch up with the press release.

EA BRINGS NEED FOR SPEED TO LIFE IN NEXT SUMMER'S BIGGEST DRIFT AND TIME ATTACK RACING EVENT
London to Host Need for Speed Live 2009 International Race Event

GUILDFORD, UK – November 5, 2008 – Today at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced Need for Speed™ Live, a unique festival and competition that celebrates car culture. This first-time event will be open to the public and will be hosted next summer at the world famous Brands Hatch Circuit* located near London, England. The weekend-long experience will be a showcase of entertainment, videogames, music, car shows and displays designed to appeal to fans of racing games, proud owners of hot vehicles, fans of exotic cars and motorsports enthusiasts.

Need for Speed Live will invite some of the world’s top drifters and time attack cars from across Europe, North America and Japan to gather in one location to compete in a battle of the continents. Need for Speed Live will also include demonstrations by some of the world’s most famous race and exotic cars in a manufacturer time attack exhibition.

“For over 14 years, Need for Speed has been at the forefront of automotive culture and this Live race event brings the spirit of Need for Speed games to life with all of the energy, adrenaline and sexiness that the franchise represents,” said Rod Chong, Creative Director for Need for Speed Live. “Need for Speed Live will definitely push each driver and their cars to the limit as they contend with dramatic elevation changes and harrowing fourth-gear 100 mph drifts.”
For more information on Need for Speed Live, please visit www.needforspeedlive.com.

* To be confirmed; Negotiations in progress.

フランスにおける子会社設立に関するお知らせ" [Capcom]

"It looks like our industry might have found its first Sundance. GameCity is a unique approach to a videogame festival that seems long overdue," Lorne Lanning.

GameCity loves Gatecrasher

New Venue for 2008 event

Special season *just* for students who want to enter the industry

More tea-parties confirmed

Dates to span popular pagan celebration

Nottingham UK, 30th October, 1st November. Now into its third year of ground-breaking games, premiere screenings, exclusive appearances - GameCity continues to bring you what other festivals can't. And a little of what they won't. Building on the success of the the previous two years, GameCity 3 promises buck the trend of phoning in lazy sequels by delivering a brilliant third installment where even Spider-Man and the Godfather couldn't.

GameCity is a festival celebrating the culture and potential of videogames, bringing the people who play them into contact with the people who make them - and who want to make them. Taking place across an entire city, GameCity brings gaming to huge variety of venues - from cinemas and market squares, to restaurants, cafes and schools. It remains the only event in the world to bring developers, students and lovers of interesting culture together in Indian restaurants.

Strongly supported by the games industry - GameCity is also unique in the way it bridges the divide between gaming and the wider world. The festival is perhaps the most visible example yet of the public sector stepping up and explicitly supporting the development of the games industry. Iain Simons, festival director commented, "We're delighted with the support that the festival has gained from the City of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University - its lead partner. It feels like a real milestone on the journey to mainstream culture for interactive entertainment that an event like this can happen at all - and then be embraced by the public sector."

"It looks like our industry might have found its first Sundance. GameCity is a unique approach to a videogame festival that seems long overdue," Lorne Lanning.

"GameCity shows us how a videogame shindig should be run" - Edge.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Running from 30 Oct to the 1st November, this is one Halloween party not to be missed.

www.gamecity.org

The girl was walking with a friend when a man, aged 16 to 18, ran up and kicked her in the leg, before taking the portable. That's kinda crap.

Has the Playstation Portable become the candy of the 21st Century?

Man grabs portable PlayStation from girl, 9 [Get Bracknell, via Gay Gamer]

The £372 million anti-obesity initiative doesn't overlook video games, and encourages parents to regulate the amount of time kids spend playing online, using some of the available family timers for consoles. The report also says the Department of Health will research the "impact of this 'screen time' on children's outcomes", observing how playing video games affects kids' physical fitness and overall health.

Industry professionals in Britain say that they support the decision and are willing to collaborate:

In response, director general of ELSPA [Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association] Paul Jackson said: "We look forward to working with the department on strategies to help in the education and support of parents and children. We as an industry wish to encourage healthy lifestyles and will therefore also take the opportunity of informing the government of the huge amount of active gaming devices and games which offer more active and interactive play."

I'm always encouraged when video games aren't seen as the source of all obesity problems in kids, and it's a step in the right direction whenever a government can recognize that games really aren't bad in moderation.

ELSPA welcomes anti-obesity scheme [MCV]

MAKE WAY FOR THE Q Wii N [The People]
[via Videogamer.com]

'Most of them have their own TVS and mobiles and 37 per cent are playing computer games for three hours or more a day - more than in most countries in the study.'

Video games blamed for reading problems [Metro.co.uk - Thanks Garwai]

£950,000 SEEDA grant ensures NCsoft Europe's growth in Brighton

Wednesday 26th September/...NCsoft Europe, one of the world's leading online gaming publishers, has announced that it is planning to expand its Brighton base and create over 100 new high skilled jobs following a major investment from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

In its first three years NCsoft Europe has grown rapidly employing more skilled staff with every new project, which have included the launch of top games such as Lineage® II, City of Heroes®, Guild Wars®, City of Villains®.

The NCsoft office in Brighton is the European HQ for NCsoft Corporation, the Korean digital gaming developer and publisher. It began its operations in Brighton with three people in September 2004 and now employs 112.

SEEDA is injecting a Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE) Grant, ensuring continued sustained development. NCsoft's growth will allow it to diversify following the development and launch of a series of new products.

NCsoft is using SEEDA's SFIE to facilitate the expansion of its current base at Lanchester House, Brighton and support the company's move to the CityPoint development in two years time. 110 jobs at the company will be safeguarded and 116 new jobs are to be created by 2010.

Geoff Heath, NCsoft's CEO explains:

"Brighton is a lively and growing hub for the creative and software sector. Our expansion will stimulate local competition and the exchange of best practice in the region. SEEDA's support of our investment will help grow the business and keep us and Brighton at the forefront of our industry, both nationally and internationally. We'll also be in a position to recruit and further develop the very best talent available."

Jeff Alexander, Executive Director, SEEDA's Global Competitiveness division added:

"NCsoft has attracted national and global attention since its arrival in Brighton. The company is a magnet for highly skilled jobs- this is vital to Brighton and to the region and helps the South-east achieve the goals of the Regional Economic Strategy.

"The news is good for NCsoft and for Brighton and underlines SEEDA's commitment to attracting highly skilled creative employees with computer and language skills to the South East"

NCSOFT EUROPEAN OFFICE EXPANSION TO CREATE OVER 100 NEW HIGH-TECH JOBS [Develop]

More Moore Here [UK:R]