Developing software and hardware that allows us to save the game so we do not have to leave it on would allow us to turn it off during a meal break or overnight without loosing our place. Additionally, come clever programming would allow the console to go into a lower power, standby mode when not in use.

Holy shit that's brilliant! If only every game that's come out over the past 12 years had had some sort of save function...why just think about what a better place the world would be! We'd be able to leave our games and come back to them, and power outages would no longer cause us to lose hours and hours of progress. Seriously Walmart, you're starting a revolution here.

I hereby urge all game developers to work some kind of save function into their games, if not for us, then for our planet. And while I'm at it, if the console makers could create some sort of screen dimmer for their systems in case we leave the game alone for while, that would be amazing too.

As a way of saying thanks to Walmart for this great revelation, I hereby offer an idea I've been kicking around. What if we had giant, soulless stores filled with every kind of merchandise available to man, where people could go at all hours of the day and night to satiate their every shopping need? It would be completely awesome! We could force people out of their homes to make room for the stores, and what the hell, even prop up a near-dead elderly person out in front, dress them in a blue vest and call them a greeter!

No no, don't thank me. You helped our industry save the planet. It's the least I could do.

Green Gaming? YUP! [Walmart Check Out Blog - Thanks Uncle Bob!]

So when I received creator Dogwood Alliance's announcement I took them up on their offer to answer questions. Explain to me, I asked as nicely as I'm probably capable of, how your game, a straight port of Pac-Man with some colors changed, represents "saving forest creatures by collecting excessive packaging and recycling it?" They were kind enough to reply, citing the opening sequence and the end-of level "call to action" petition. They also pointed me to environmental blog Gristmill's mention of the game, which generally mirrors my opinion. So many missed opportunities. I may have built a reputation for taking pleasure from negative reviews of serious games, but I'd really much rather write positive ones. I just never seem to get the opportunity to do so.

As he points out, the short page on the creator's website does a much better job of informing the audience than the game, which does very little informing at all. 'If the two pages of text on a webpage offers so much more rich and subtle information than a game, then why bother with the game?' he asks. Why indeed — I've played some interesting 'serious games,' but really, a mere Pac-man clone does not a 'serious game' make. At least, not an effective one.

Packaging Man: Skip the Wrapper and the Game [Water Cooler Games]

Sony has a very good record in our ranking guide. They have committed to eliminating these chemicals from mobile devices. But why are we finding them in such high percentages in a console? This is a tool used by children in our homes. None of these chemicals exist in Sony's Vaio laptop. So if they can do it for a laptop, why can't they push this for the console also?

Greenpeace has taken things into its own hands. Literally. The environmental organization has dissected each of the three major game consoles and examined how environmentally sound the consoles' innards are.

Results, after the jump. Onward!

PLAYSTATION 3
• The console contains some bromine-free circuit boards — unlike the other two consoles
• The fan housing, however, has the highest level of bromine in a single component
• It contains PVC, but not as much as the Xbox 360

Xbox 360
• Only console containing DiNP phthalates — found in the AV cable.
• It contains the highest concentration of phthalates
• The console has more PVC than the Wii and the PS3.
• Its housing materials had lower levels of bromine, though.

Nintendo Wii
• Phthalates level is lowest of the three and doesn't exceed EU laws limiting phthalate.
• It has the lowest level of PVC of the three.
• Unlike the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the Wii doesn't contain Beryllium.

FASCINATING.
Greenpeace Results [SmartPlanet Thanks, Adam!]
Greenpeace Results [BBC]

"A Glupod gamer has a real purpose and a human mission," says Ioannis, managing director and co-founder of Something Inc. "Glupod is more than a game. It's a simple, fun way to do good that anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can participate in."

What an excellent idea! stirring the competitive nature of gamers - even casual gamers - and applying it to real-world issues. I approve wholeheartedly. I tried to find more details on how the actual financial transaction works, but I've yet to find anything concrete. The money has to come from somewhere though, and I am assuming there will be some way to charge your glucs to a credit card or some such.

You can head over to Glupod.com right now and sign up for the newsletter, which grants you a free glupod upon the game's official launch. Not sure what the actual game bit entails, but I'm sure it'll be something simple and casual. Let's just hope they have a backup plan in case the player sucks. "Sorry little Naboo, your player lost. We're going to need that food back."

Yes, my imaginary sponsored child is named after a Star Wars planet.

Glupod: Online Game Lets Players Save Real Lives

ATHENS, Greece, February 25/PRNewswire/ — If you could help end world hunger, save endangered species or reverse global warming by having fun playing a game online, would you do it? Beginning this summer, you can.

A small group of socially conscious people from three continents have developed an online game designed to help the environment and fight poverty in the real world by turning game rewards into real-life help for social and environmental causes.

The game, called Glupod, will debut worldwide on May 30. It's the brainchild of Ioannis Tsiokos of Athens and a small band of colleagues at Something, Inc. who collaborate online from Greece, India, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Glupod players will be able to provide food for a starving child in Africa, protection for a whale species going extinct or offset carbon emissions and help fight global warming - all by playing Glupod, the first Video Game to deliver direct emotional fulfillment to the player.

In a nutshell, Glupod gives gamers a variety of real-world causes to choose from and enables them to convert their in-game winnings into actual help for that cause.

"Being a casual game at its core, Glupod is a simple and emotional online experience that both children and adults can enjoy in their free time" says George Rokas, an angel investor in Something Inc. "Glupod fosters human fulfillment by enabling players to make substantial difference in the world in small chunks of time. Giving back has never been so much fun."

Now Nintendo has finally responded to Greenpeace's accusations that Miyamoto dines only on the finest baby eyes. Here's the letter they sent to various media outlets in response to the rating:

Nintendo is surprised by the content of the Greenpeace report.

Nintendo takes great care to comply with all relevant regulations on avoiding the use of dangerous materials, recycling of materials etc.

For example, all Nintendo products supplied worldwide are designed to comply with relevant global standards.

In order to certify that Nintendo products comply with standards for hazardous chemical substances, Nintendo has established the Green Procurement Standards, which require our component suppliers certify that any parts including hazardous chemical substances should not be delivered, and Nintendo fully controls its products in the company.

Nintendo is always actively looking at ways to continue to increase its environmental stewardship and holds this as a corporate priority worldwide.

The Greenpeace ranking criteria score companies on what they are doing beyond what is required by legislation. This is not a law enforcemen ranking Guide - we are looking for environmental excellence...Green procurement standards are a start. However other companies publish their chemical policy to allow independent assessment by customers. If Nintendo has this policy it should include all chemicals of concern and be public about it to their suppliers and customers alike. Many other electronics companies have published their chemicals policy...Well we have made two simple suggestions already:

Commit to phase out the worst toxic chemicals

Implement a global recycling policy

Nintendo has yet to do either of these, unlike many other electronics companies.

Read more on Greenpeace's new console initiatives here.

Nintendo response [greenpeace]

EA And BP Collaborate To Include Climate Education In SimCity Societies

New Game in PC Gaming's Most Popular City-Building Series to Feature Alternatives to Carbon-Producing Energy Sources

REDWOOD CITY-Oct. 10, 2007-Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and BP have collaborated to include climate change education within SimCity Societies, the next iteration in the genre-defining city-building franchise that has sold more than 18 million games to date. The collaboration brings together world-class game building skills and industry expertise on energy, electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions to highlight the impact of electricity generation on the emissions of carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change. The low-carbon electricity choices and monitoring of SimCity's carbon emissions provide an entertaining, fully-integrated and accurate look at some of the causes and some of the major solutions available to combat rising levels of carbon and to help address the threat of global warming. SimCity Societies will be available at retailers across North America and Europe November 15.

"Since their inception in 1989, SimCity games have served as excellent creative and educational tools to convey complex subjects. With SimCity Societies, we have the opportunity not only to demonstrate some of the causes and effects of global warming, but also to educate players how seemingly small choices can have a big global impact," said Steve Seabolt, Vice President of Global Brand Development for The Sims Label at EA. "BP was one of the first major energy companies to publicly acknowledge the need to reduce carbon emissions and begin taking precautionary measures. As such, they are the perfect partner to help educate people on this important social issue in SimCity Societies."

The game does not force players to power their cities any specific way, but allows them to make choices, each of which come with advantages and disadvantages. Similar to real-life, the least expensive and most readily-available buildings in SimCity Societies are also the biggest producers of carbon dioxide, an invisible gas that contributes to global warming. Should players choose to build cities dependent on these types of sources for power to conserve their in-game money, their carbon ratings will rise and, at reaching critical levels, the game will issue alerts about the threat of the various natural disasters like droughts, heat waves and others that may strike their cities.

Alternatively, players can strive to create a greener environment and avoid hazards caused by excessive carbon emissions by choosing from a variety of BP Alternative Energy low-carbon power options. Using hydrogen and natural gas plants to wind farms and solar power, SimCity Societies encourages people to learn about some of the causes and consequences of global warming in an engaging, educational and meaningful way. While these power sources maintain nearby property values and keep the cities' citizens safer from disaster, they also mimic real-life in that they cost players more of their funds, and do not produce as much power as less green options that take up similar space. Informative real-world snippets about power production and conservation will also be available in-game, informing players of global warming issues both virtually and in reality.

"The time was right for this partnership. EA was developing the next iteration of the SimCity series at the same time that we were looking for opportunities to raise awareness about low-carbon power choices," said Carol Battershell, Vice President, BP Alternative Energy. "EA has a powerful reach to the next generation and BP has a suite of low-carbon power alternatives. In our collaboration through this innovative game, we can provide education on the issues surrounding climate change, its association with carbon emissions and the ability to take early positive action through low-carbon power choices."

The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming franchises in history, having sold more than 18 million games worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base game releases include SimCity 2000tm (1993), SimCity 3000tm (1999) and SimCity 4 (2003). SimCity Societies is being published by Electronic Arts and developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment.

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I bet you thought Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol was just a fun adaptation of a carefree Gamecube franchise: WRONG! In fact the DS game that hit Wal-Mart stores today is the "one of the first games based on the growing environmental movement."

In the game players use the mini, fruit-fucker-esque robot to plant flowers, build park equipment and defeat toxic enemies... sadly he doesn't deflower any fruit. To celebrate the green game's release Nintendo is going to give away 500 tree seedlings to a random selection of people who register on the FruitFuckerChibi-Robo site by Nov. 9

Nintendo also points out that as a company they currently recycle paper company-wide, limit the use of colored paper and purchase recycled paper towels, report covers, message pads and writing pads. They also recycle more than 70 percent of the "waste" generated at its headquarters... hmm, I wonder if that includes all of those copies of Pokemon Dash.