Rockstar Games just confirmed that they have released a patch for the Playstation 3 version of GTA IV which was causing issues with online play.

Rockstar Games has released a GTA IV patch for Playstation 3 today that prevents Gamespy’s servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up. We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that, together with our hardware partners, we continue to strive to give our fans the best possible interactive entertainment experiences possible. This update will ensure that everyone will experience Grand Theft Auto IV the way it was intended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

Looks like Microsoft's prep work for the game mostly paid off.

We've already contacted SCEA who tells us that they're aware of the issue and "looking into it." We haven't been able to get through to Rockstar support via telephone, but continue to try. We're awaiting response from their public relations team and will update when we hear more. In the meantime, PS3 owners who are experiencing connection issues with GTA IV should let us know in the comments.

"With the launch of our Direct2Game commerce service, GameSpy is now bridging its dual heritage in digital distribution and in-game technology, opening up new revenue streams and business models for publishers and developers," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment.

GAMESPY TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES NEW IN-GAME COMMERCE ENGINE, DIRECT2GAME

New Commerce Service Will Enable Publishers to Build In-Game Stores and Allow Gamers to Purchase Add-On Content From Within Games

BRISBANE, Calif. - February 19, 2008 - IGN Entertainment's GameSpy, a leader in multiplayer and online gaming technology, today announced the launch of Direct2Game, a new in-game commerce service that will allow publishers and developers to create and manage in-game storefronts, selling and delivering add-on content directly to gamers. Building on the successful foundation of IGN's Direct2Drive, a leader in the digital distribution of games, GameSpy now offers developers a one-stop service to create new revenue streams and expand the range of content available to consumers.

Direct2Game's service will enable gamers to purchase and download add-on content, such as maps, mods, expansions, sequels, and soundtracks. The service will also give developers access to a robust catalog of program interfaces, empowering them to create in-game "storefronts" to market their products. GameSpy will also provide full digital rights management (DRM), billing, and customer support to Direct2Game developers, backing innovations in videogame technology with a high level of client support.

"With the launch of our Direct2Game commerce service, GameSpy is now bridging its dual heritage in digital distribution and in-game technology, opening up new revenue streams and business models for publishers and developers," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment. "This new service further demonstrates our commitment to publishers and developers who want to directly offer new content and experiences to their valuable core fans."

In addition to Direct2Game, GameSpy continues to be a leader in multiplayer and online gaming. The company's suite of high-end technology enhancements enables videogame developers to build community experiences that transcend the barrier between in-game and out-of-game environments. Core features like instant messaging, friend rosters, and advanced matchmaking capabilities offer developers a turnkey toolset for constructing dynamic communities around their games. In addition to these community elements, GameSpy also provides tools for developers to build extensive player profiles, ranking systems and in-game voice applications. GameSpy technology is featured in more than 500 titles and the company most recently partnered with Epic Games to integrate GameSpy multiplayer technology into Epic's Unreal 3 game engine. This partnership powers the recently-released Unreal Tournament 3 on both the PC and PLAYSTATION®3 platforms.

Word of warning, though, PC snobs, the PS3 version supports keyboard and mouse controls, too.

The agreement will bring "seamless" PS3 and PC online functionality to games that license UE3, including matchmaking, leaderboards, instant messaging and secure player profiles and stats. Could Epic's own Unreal Tournament III be the first UE3 game to support the GameSpy tech? With UTIII snubbing Games For Windows Live, it's starting to sound like a possibility.

Massive press release after the jump.

GAMESPY AND EPIC GAMES ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO INTEGRATE GAMESPY MULTIPLAYER AND COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY INTO EPIC'S UNREAL® ENGINE 3

GameSpy to Join Epic's Integrated Partners Program

BRISBANE, Calif. - August 15, 2007 - IGN Entertainment's GameSpy, a leader in multiplayer and online gaming technology, and Epic Games today announced a licensing deal to incorporate GameSpy's suite of online technology into Epic's Unreal® Engine 3, one of the industry's most popular game engines. Under the terms of the agreement, GameSpy will join Epic's prestigious Integrated Partners Program, and its technology will be immediately available to any publishers or developers that license Unreal® Engine 3.

By incorporating GameSpy's online technology into Unreal Engine 3, the two companies have created an integrated one-stop solution for game developers looking to leverage the world's most advanced multi-player technology and game engine in one package. The partnership will span both the PC and PLAYSTATION®3 platforms within Unreal Engine 3, enabling seamless PLAYSTATION®3 and PC online functionality. Functionality available to Unreal Engine 3 licensees via Gamespy will include cross-platform gameplay, communication tools and competition applications.

"Epic and the Unreal Engine 3 are on the leading edge of next-generation and multi-platform gaming, and we are very pleased to join the Integrated Partners Program. GameSpy is committed to working together with Epic to address a broad range of needs for the connected gamer, including multiplayer matchmaking, in-game and out-of-game messaging, persistent player communities, and competition systems," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment. "Over the past months we have fully integrated a broad suite of GameSpy online technology in Unreal Engine 3 and have built a fantastic working relationship with Epic. We look forward to extending that relationship with a number of new technologies customized for Unreal Engine 3 to be introduced over the next 12 months."

By making available many leading community tools and technologies, GameSpy will provide game developers with the opportunity to have PLAYSTATION®3 and PC users play, communicate and compete together as a single community. GameSpy technologies available to license immediately include:

* GameSpy "Matchmaking" is a robust and flexible matchmaking system that makes it easy for gamers to find suitable opponents effortlessly
* GameSpy's "Comrade" in-game middleware and desktop technology that enables seamless in-game to out-of-game community features, such as instant messaging, in-game voice communication, and friend rosters
* GameSpy's "Sake" will allow developers to store data securely online, enabling gamers to build extensive player profiles and maintain game statistics
* GameSpy's "ATLAS" advanced statistical system for dynamic leaderboards and tournaments within the game and on the web
* Future feature sets developed by GameSpy will all be incorporated into the Epic Partnership.

"We're very excited to welcome GameSpy into the Integrated Partners Program," said Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games, Inc. "GameSpy is the leader in multiplayer gaming technology and has a vast amount of experience in developing rich and sophisticated multiplayer systems with community and commerce features that Epic and its Unreal Engine 3 licensees can directly benefit from. Having GameSpy integrate their technology into our engine and provide direct support for our licensees is a huge value-add for Unreal Engine 3."

In additional to providing multiplayer online features, GameSpy will also join Epic Games' Integrated Partners Program (IPP). The IPP program establishes a formal business relationship with selected companies making cross-platform technologies which integrate with, and are complementary to, Unreal Engine 3. Under the IPP program Epic provides continuous Unreal Engine 3 source code access and full technical support to IPP members. Companies who join the IPP agree to provide a high level of technical support for UE3 licensees through Epic's established support channels, keep their implementations up-to-date with the latest UE3 versions, and work with Epic on potential promotional and co-marketing efforts.

GameSpy technology integration is immediately available and several developers have already licensed the integrated GameSpy technology, including Codemasters' Turning Point: Fall of Liberty and Ubisoft's Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway.

About GameSpy

GameSpy, a division of IGN Entertainment, is the leader in multiplayer gaming technology. Utilized by each of world's top ten publishers, GameSpy's technology is accessible on eight different platforms and featured in more than 500 current titles. With more than 19 million registered users, GameSpy has the tools, expertise and ingenuity to help connect gamers, induce competition, foster community and create new commerce opportunities. IGN Entertainment is a unit of Fox Interactive Media.

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of May 2007, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the Web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.

About Unreal Engine 3

The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and a best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 is expected to maintain those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. Unreal Engine 3's new toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained at www.unrealtechnology.com.

About Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and game engine technology for PC and console. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in their Unreal® series and their latest game, Gears of War®, broke sales records on Xbox 360 selling more than 3 million copies worldwide in the first ten weeks and awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by multiple media outlets including Gamespot and Gamepro. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including, Console Game of the Year winner, "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell TM" by Ubi Soft; PC Gamer's Game of the Year, "Deus Ex" from Ion Storm/Eidos; "America's Army: Special Forces," by the United States Army, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (PC) by Electronic Arts. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic Games was also awarded Studio of the Year at the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards and Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through Epic's Web site at http://www.epicgames.com.

Unreal and Gears of War are registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners

"PLAYSTATION" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

In May of 2005 GameSpy announced a similar agreement regarding the Nintendo DS, and the handheld technology has been used in multiple titles, including Animal Crossing DS.

"This partnership will expand our wireless community of players on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Millions of Nintendo DS users have already logged on using GameSpy's technology, and now Wii owners will be able to do the same in a fun and easy-to-use environment."

NINTENDO'S Wii TO LEVERAGE MULTIPLAYER TECHNOLOGY FROM IGN ENTERTAINMENT'S GAMESPY

Leader in Multiplayer Technology Enables Exclusive Community Functionality for Nintendo's Hit Console

Los Angeles, CA- March 13, 2007 - GameSpy, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, announced today that it will provide multiplayer technology to game publishers developing titles for Nintendo's Wii video game system. As part of an ongoing partnership with Nintendo, GameSpy has developed middleware technology to enable Wii titles to offer community features, such as friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data.

"This partnership will expand our wireless community of players on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Millions of Nintendo DS users have already logged on using GameSpy's technology, and now Wii owners will be able to do the same in a fun and easy-to-use environment."

"Nintendo has been an invaluable partner and we look forward to expanding our relationship with them in the future," said Jamie Berger, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products and Technology for IGN Entertainment. "Our goal is to extend our ground-breaking work on the Nintendo DS to provide Wii users with the social, community and multiplayer tools that we believe will expand the online gaming experience to the mass market."

Pok mon Battle Revolution, the first Wii game to utilize the technology, launches on June 25, with multiplayer features similar to those leveraging GameSpy technology in several Nintendo DS titles.

Prior to this development agreement for Wii, GameSpy and Nintendo brought gamers wireless community options for Nintendo DS . The service provided an innovative network for portable video games, allowing people around the world to link easily and wirelessly to play games. The partnership represented GameSpy's first foray into portable games.

About GameSpy

GameSpy, a division of IGN Entertainment, is the leader in multiplayer gaming technology. Utilized by each of world's top ten publishers, GameSpy's technology is accessible on eight different platforms and featured in more than 400 current titles.

About Fox Interactive Media:

A division of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), Fox Interactive Media (FIM) offers a global, border-free online network that caters to consumers by giving them the platform and tools to express themselves, communicate with each other, and engage with the best music, TV, film, sports, information and more. The company's worldwide network includes such category leaders as MySpace, IGN Entertainment, FOXSports.com, RottenTomatoes, AskMen, AmericanIdol.com and more that together comprise one of the largest and most engaged audiences on the Web.

About Nintendo

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii , Nintendo DS , Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.2 billion video games and more than 387 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario , Donkey Kong , Metroid , Zelda and Pok mon . A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.

# # #

Since my impressions were so brief—basically me in God Mode trying out each readily available weapon against the droves of dumb-as-rocks enemy bots—I'll withhold my opinion until I've properly formed one.

Gamespy, on the other hand has some neat details on the game, including info on Unreal Tournament 3's weapons and control scheme. The good news, as you've probably figured out by the title of this post, is that you can choose the stock SIXAXIS controller, with tilt-look, or go PC-style with a USB keyboard and mouse. Nice! Michael McWhertor

Unreal Tournament 3 Preview [Gamespy]

By: Wagner James Au

In this column's March debut, we laid out the basics that gave life to Preview Ho, explaining how hyped-up previews are the enemy of good games, since publishers use them to secure shelf space from the major retailers, no matter how crappy the ultimate title. (And read this great Escapist story to understand how dependent the industry is on chains like Walmart.)

Later in the month, we found out it was even worse than that, with major gaming sites selling premium editorial space to publishers. When called on it, one editor adorably defended the practice by saying it was "pretty common both in print and online".

I was curious what the game industry's leading advocate thought about the practice, so I contacted the press office of the Entertainment Software Association but despite repeated requests, received no answer. Though they're sponsored by publishers, you'd think the ESA would be disturbed by a "pretty common" practice that's totally at odds with its goal of presenting the industry as a respectable medium with fair, ethical standards for promoting their product. (What, they'll take a controversial move like banning booth bimbos from E3, but they can't say anything about this?)

But hey, maybe the ESA doesn't check their e-mail much.

Anyway, let's roll out the two top candidates for April's biggest Ho, and explore how they work, like most of the gaming press, to serve the publishers' interests (who are also their advertisers) at the expense of you, the gamer. (And yes, we started with way more than two; believe me, Preview Ho could be a daily column.)

The first Ho contender was spotted by Kotaku editor Brian Crecente on the blog of a site called, appropriately enough, RedAssedBaboon. (If a Preview Ho were a baboon, he'd have a...) Props to Red Assed's "Rappateng" for joining us, whether he knows it or not, in a bloggers' call to arms against the gaming press. His post focused on "Splinter Cell Essentials" for the PSP, a game that was, on review, almost universally slagged, even by Gamespy, which gave it a withering 2/5 review. But Gamespy's preview by Will Tuttle called it "One of the best games on PSP".

And that's the line Ubisoft used in the advertising for the game.

Pause and consider that. Gamers like you stop at the PSP retail shelf, presented with a few dozen games to choose from. You pick up "Splinter Cell Essentials", maybe because you like the Clancy franchise— and hey, since Gamespy says it's among the PSP's best games right on the goddamn box, you blow your $40 on that one.

I contacted Gamespy editor John "Warrior" Keefer for an explanation. Staggeringly, Keefer says he authorized Ubisoft to use the "best games" line in their advertising copy for "Essentials".

"It is the publisher's job to try to make their game look as good as possible in their marketing of the game," Keefer e-mailed me. "My job is to make sure they don't use our quotes out of context. All quotes have to be approved through me." For the preview, Tuttle actually played just three levels made available at the time by Ubisoft, which is also a Gamespy advertiser— and that was enough, both of them insist, to nominate "Splinter Cell Essentials" into the Best Game pantheon of an entire platform.

"Bottom line is that it was unfortunate that the game was radically different from what Will originally saw," Keefer explained, "which makes our quote stand out even more. He said he stands by the original quote because at the time he made it, the graphics and lighting were phenomenal and it did a very good job of fleshing out the universe. Unfortunately, the rest of the game did not pan out with the demo."

The qualifier "at the time" is particularly delicious— sort of like a Nevada working girl who says you're her favorite client ever, because at the time, she's trying to pry a $40 tip from your fingers. Still, we have to credit Keefer for at least attempting an explanation.

The other nominee in this month's Ho search is PC Gamer, as helmed by editor-in-chief Greg Vederman. As it happens, Vederman brought himself to our attention by publishing a widely-praised editorial announcing that his magazine would no longer accept ads from "virtual gold farming" companies which sell gold coins from World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs.

In the US at least, this is still a small cottage industry, so it's hard to believe a teeny company like IGE could afford to spend much in advertising, certainly not compared to multinational corporations like Microsoft, Sony, Vivendi, and EA that already swamp the front pages of magazines like PC Gamer.

But still, it's at least some kind of stand, isn't it, with Vederman the lone hero of the gaming press drawing a line in the sand?

Maybe in his own imagination. Because here's the thing: the pages of PC Gamer may not run ads from virtual gold companies, but the magazine's entire preview section is an advertisement.

Have a look at May's issue:

Preview for "Medal of Honor Airborne" from Electronic Arts, by Chuck Osborn: "[This game] has already done something I previously thought was impossible— it's gotten me excited about yet another WWII shooter... I'll be there, ripcord at the ready."

Preview for "World in Conflict" from Massive Entertainment, by Logan Decker: "ITS UPCOMING RTS PHENOM... ABSOLUTELY BLOWS OUR MIND." [sic... and sick]

But the clincher is the cover story, an extensive preview of BF2142, also from Electronic Arts (via DICE studios). Now Battlefield 2 is a great game for its genre (though hardly 2005's all-time best), but judging from advance gameplay footage, BF2142 is basically just a mech warrior-themed add-on, with little new added to BF2's basic design. You'd have a hard time convincing preview writer Dan Stapleton of that, however, since when shown a library of futuristic weapons and vehicles in action he is capable of achieving orgasm:

"Come the end of the year," he promises, "DICE will be giving you an all new reason to practice your skills... [in a game] that fundamentally changes the nature of warfare. Could BF2142 be our Game of the Year in the making? It wouldn't surprise anyone here and... we're not so bad predicting the future."

I guess it wouldn't surprise me, either, since in May's Letter From the Editor, Vederman speaks obscurely about how he "inked this month's Battlefield 2142 cover contract" with Electronic Arts, and that he personally "brokered the deal". In my experience, a "deal" that is "brokered" usually involves an exchange of money or services, so it's unclear what Vederman means here, unless it was just that; his phrasing certainly leaves that impression. In any case, something was expected by Electronic Arts when they let PC Gamer have exclusive advance coverage of their unfinished game. (What that was, exactly, will have to remain secret between EA and Vederman,. Greg Vederman didn't reply to my e-mail asking for his commentary for this article.)

Here is what Vederman said in his acclaimed editorial denouncing gold farming companies: "For the record, PC Gamer's official stance on these types of companies is that they are despicable... [because] they all-too-often ruin legitimate players' fun." Call me crazy, but it will also ruin players' fun when they pre-order copies of BF2142, Medal of Honor Airborne, and World in Conflict, based in part on the hype PC Gamer gave them, then discover all-too-often that they've wasted their time and money on ass product. (For by simple iteration of Sturgeon's Law, they'll be lucky if even one in three of these games truly lives up to the magazine's hype.) This is not even mentioning how press previews like PC Gamer's are used by publishers to promote and market their product, or as we saw with Gamespy and Ubisoft, actually made part of their advertising campaigns.

It's why Vederman's refusal to accept gold farmer ads is so disingenuous, considering all the thoughtless, unqualified boosterism of incomplete, undistinguished titles PC Gamer does on behalf of its potential advertisers. It's sort of like the madame of a Paris whorehouse waddling into her lobby filled with clientele and pointing a chubby finger, not at the banker or the Parliamentarian or the bishop already paying their bills, but at the peg-legged dwarf with 20 Francs waiting his turn in the back of the room, and thundering "ZIS IS A RESPECTABLE ESTABLISHMENT! WE DON'T TAKE ZE MIDGET AMPUTEES IN ZIS PLACE— GET OUT!"

Which is also why, after a close race, Vederman helps PC Gamer take April's Preview Ho crown.

For in the end, there's no bigger Ho than a Ho on its high horse.

Send samples of egregiously fawning game previews and information on backroom deals that influence them to au@kotaku.com, including previews that are used in advertising copy. Tips from editors and writers in the game press especially welcome—all correspondence kept strictly confidential.

Update: Although we try to give companies opportunity to respond before a column is run, PC Gamer's Dan Morris had this to say, "Wagner James Au made a ridiculously cursory attempt to contact PC Gamer for comment on this article, sending one email to a general reader mailbox. Our spam filter killed it, probably due to his misspellings in the subject line. He failed to follow up, despite the fact that editors' email addresses are prominently published in the magazine, or, for that matter, that I have repeatedly invited him to contact me by phone for comment on stories such as this.

If he had made a serious attempt to get comment from us, we'd have told him that PC Gamer accepted nothing from EA for our Battlefield 2042 cover story. I continue to be dismayed that Au is allowed to skirt the most basic ethical consideration of his trade — a good-faith effort to get comment from his subjects.

Sincerely, Daniel Morris, Associate Publisher, PC Gamer" We have offered Mr. Morris a comments invite which he may or may not use to respond to any questions from readers in the comments.

When I launched Kotaku's Preview Ho column a couple weeks ago, I did so on the assumption that the gaming press hyped up their previews primarily to stay in good stead with the publishers, whose access and ad revenue they depend on. But in the case of the top two gaming sites, at least, I quickly learned that the story is more complicated—and disturbing— than even that.

Shortly after the first Preview Ho, I was contacted by a former media buyer for various game publishers. This person was irked by the game media's pretense that previews were pure editorial. But unlike their readers— or for that matter, me— my source had hard proof they were much more than that.

"I was the media buyer who made the purchase," the source told me, "signed the insertion order, and then followed up to make sure that what we had been promised was in fact delivered."

What was delivered, my source went on, was editorial placement on the two largest game websites for a sizeable fee.

This source sent me some invoices for a game studio client. (For good measure, I faxed copies to my Gawker editors.) Several were from Gamespot, and while most of the items referred to legitimate ads, a couple mentioned something called "Front Door rotation"— or what Gamespot staffers refer to as a "gumball". Gumballs are those thumbnail screenshots you see on the front page of Gamespot, when you visit the site— clicking on these takes you to an article about the game.

In the Gamespot invoice I looked at, a gumball for two weeks cost the media buyer's client over $7000.

"You can purchase messaging plus units that increase the likelihood of an article about your game showing up on their front page," the source said. In other words, if you want your game to get more editorial prominence, you pay extra.

Then the source showed me an invoice for the same game, this one from
IGN/Gamespy. What Gamespot calls a gumball, Gamespy calls, less charmingly, a "Gamespy Spotlight". But the content and the principle is basically the same: the Spotlights are those thumbnail screenshot links that you see on the site's front page. "What you're looking at on the front page is not what the editors decided is the best game," the media buyer informed me.

Reached for comment, both the editors of Gamespot and Gamespy, unsurprisingly, have a much different way of looking at their policies.

"I can confirm that GameSpot does offer publishers programs that promote their content on our site using a variety of means," Gamespot Executive Editor Greg Kasavin acknowledged. "The promotion causes gumballs linking to specific content to appear more often than other gumballs (which are auto-generated for all new content and displayed randomly and dynamically upon page load)." But for the "vast majority of cases", he goes on, the gumball doesn't feature Gamespot editorial, but an official asset like the game's trailer or a playable demo. "Our editors have the authority and responsibility to decide which content gets top billing," Kasavin added.

I asked Kasavin about this "vast majority" of gumballs— what was an exception, where a paid gumball linked straight to Gamespot editorial?

As it happened, he said, such a gumball is currently in play, for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for the Xbox 360. "I wouldn't want you to jump to the incorrect conclusion that the extra push being given to the review must mean that the game's publisher somehow influenced the review in the first place," Kasavin added hastily. "My guess is this promotional deal was negotiated after we decided to give the game a positive review, but since I'm not privy to the details of these types of deals, I don't know for sure." He insisted that Gamespot maintains a strict separation between editorial and ad sales.

IGN/Gamespy had a similar explanation for the selling of their editorial space.

First noting that the practice is "pretty common both in print and online", Peer Schneider, IGN's VP of Content Publishing, described their Spotlights as "'sponsored' slotting, sometimes called 'digital reprint.' This is a practice where advertisers want to make sure coverage of their titles is seen. For example, some magazines sell their cover image (or part of it) to the highest bidder." Schneider insisted IGN and GameSpy don't sell their "top story" placement to anyone. "We have, however, designated spots that can be 'sponsored.' What this means is that a publisher interested in exposing more users to a title (including games, movies, etc.) can book a one-day sponsorship in what we call 'spotlights.'" Like Kasavin, Schneider enunciated a principle of strict separation between editorial and ad sales.

"In the time I have been here (six years now)," Gamespy editorial director John "Warrior" Keefer added, "there has never been any deliberate intent to deceive our readers. If anything, we try to err in the other direction. I am a strong proponent of editorial integrity. My staff knows that the quickest way to get on my bad side is to mess with GameSpy's name or reputation. We have made a few mistakes (Donkey Konga, anyone?), but those we have never shied away from or tried to sweep under the carpet (I spent three days after Donkey Konga answering questions and posting on boards)."

Hos, or honest brokers? We leave that to the readers of Gamespot and Gamespy to decide. To us, however, their answers raise more questions than they answer. Can any indy game studio really compete for attention against publishers who can afford to stack the deck? With so much money at stake, how separate can editorial and ad sales truly be? And what would happen if it were discovered that, say, the websites of Premiere and Entertainment Weekly charged the studios extra to put their trailers (no matter how mediocre) in a prominent place on their page?

We leave readers with those questions to ponder, as well. For now, consider this a glimpse inside the sausage factory, where games often reach the public awareness not because of their quality, but because of the billing that goes with them.

And the search for Hos continues.

Send samples of egregiously fawning game previews and information on backroom deals that influence them to au@kotaku.com. Tips from editors and writers in the game press especially welcom—all correspondence kept strictly confidential.

Michael Guerena and Mark Wagner, of the Orange County Department of Education, put together a cool video to dish the dirt on education through gaming.

Guerena, a Kotaku-reader, wrote in to say that he and his colleagues are "very serious about getting teachers and schools to adopt games as part of their curriculum."

Instead of just spouting off their personal beliefs about the learning goodness built into many games, the two sought out experts in the field and got them to talk about it.

Notable interviews include the legendary Dr. Henry Jenkins, Dr. James Gee, Clark Ladrich and GameSpy's Dave Kosak. An impressive list. The department also offers classes on video games in education.

I love to see the positive virtues of gaming extolled, especially when it's someone inside the system singing the praises.

Edugaming Film [OCDE]