It is innovative, it is new, and it is far removed from the more traditional methods we have been using. I believe that is what we need if we are to reverse the number of Scots families suffering the tragedy of a loved one being lost.

Xbox games tackle drink driving [bbc]

Apple stock was up 5.01 (4.28%) on news that probably had nothing to do with this at all. Full press release after the jump.

EA SHIPS FOUR GAMES FOR THE MAC

First EA-Published Titles Ever for Mac OS X

Redwood Shores, Calif., - August 17, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that
Battlefield 2142TM, Need for SpeedTM Carbon, Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixTM and Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium WarsTM are now available to order for Mac users. These are the first games ever published by EA for Mac OS X, Apple's advanced operating system. Users can go to the Apple Store (www.apple.com) to purchase the games today.

All games will also be available at Apple's retail stores nationwide. Need for Speed Carbon and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be available on Tuesday, August 21, and Battlefield 2142 and Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars will be available on Tuesday, August 28.

The first games from EA for the Mac are:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, licensed by
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is shaping up to be his most exciting yet. Fearing that Hogwarts' venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about the return of Voldemort in order to undermine his power, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge's ministry-approved course leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared, so Hermione, Ron and Harry form "Dumbledore's Army" with the goal of preparing themselves and other courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that looms against VoldemortTM and his Death Eaters.

Need for Speed Carbon - What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon
immerses you in the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals' neighborhoods one block at a time. As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve.

Battlefield 2142 - Earth, 2142. As a new ice age depletes the planet's resources, two massive multinational coalitions wage a brutal war for the only cause that matters—survival. Armed with a devastating arsenal of futuristic weaponry and gear, including active camouflage, EMP grenades, and sentry guns, plus Battle Walkers and vast airborne bases called Titans, you must coordinate the efforts of your teammates to win the war for Earth's last fragile pieces of livable land. With extensive improvements to the groundbreaking Battlefield 2TM ranking and upgrade system and the new Titan gameplay mode, Battlefield 2142 brings the franchise's award-winning online warfare into a harsh and desperate future.

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars - The year is 2047. A massive nuclear fireball explodes high in the
night sky, marking the dramatic beginning of the Third Tiberium War and the long-awaited return of the most groundbreaking Real-Time Strategy franchise of all time. Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars unveils the future of RTS gaming by bringing you back to where it all began: the Tiberium Universe. With the corrupt substance Tiberium blanketing most of the Earth, the infamous Kane is back to lead his Brotherhood of Nod in a massive global assault on the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the few remaining livable Blue Zones left on the planet. Only you can stop him. Featuring state-of-the-art next-generation graphics, an epic story, and truly innovative features such as the ability to transform online battles into a spectator sport, Command & Conquer is about to reinvent RTS gaming ... again. Welcome back, Commander.

Further rounding out EA's portfolio of Mac games is the release of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 08 and
Madden NFL 08 in the September/October window.

In addition to these games, other EA titles available for Mac include The SimsTM 2, The Sims 2 Open for
Business, The Sims 2 Pets, The Sims 2 Nightlife, The Sims 2 University, The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff, The
Sims 2 Seasons, The Sims 2 Life Stories and more.

Screenshots from the games can be found at http://www.info.ea.com.

Sadly, I got suckered into pedaling my way through a tortuous ten minutes of Need For Speed: Carbon only to realize I'm terribly out of shape and despise being on display. Plus, I found myself irrationally jealous of the man who got to play Oblivion on the nice bike. Avoid this hall at all costs if you hate being the subject of humiliation gaming! Michael McWhertor

There's nothing more disappointing than the promise of gawking at dozens of pornstars after having played Need For Speed: Carbon on an exercise bike and being denied. If I'd have known the above, I'd never have come to this hellhole. Michael McWhertor

Don't feel like playing your games to get the unlockable content? Then buy your progress, you lazy, horrible business model supporting prick! Major Nelson updated his corporate blog to send us the good news: 1120 points (or $14 USD) worth of cheats for EA's Need For Speed Carbon are available for suckers who like to flush cash down the toilet via the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The most exciting news for chumps with poor money management is that you rubes will be getting bonus cars (2006 Shelby GT500, 1987 Corolla GTS and 2006 Pagani Zonda F) exclusive to the Marketplace. The rest of us are so jealous!

Have fun with your microtransactions, losers! Michael McWhertor

Need for Speed Carbon: Various In Game Content [Major Nelson]

You may have read a few weeks back about the Xbox forum poster who was involved in a horrible hit and run accident where not only did his truck get totaled, but his Xbox 360 took a beating as well. Miraculously, although the 360 looked thrashed, it actually still worked!

Well, it seems the folks on the Xbox forums took pity on the guy and he got (rather ironically) a free copy of Need For Speed Carbon directly from EA. Not only that but he received a missive directly from Major Nelson himself informing him that his sad 360 would be replaced.

Hopefully, they won't make him pay for the shipping. Flynn De Marco

Re: My Xbox 360 Survived a rollover accident, and being ran over. [Xbox Forums | Thanks, David]

NBA 07
Need for Speed Carbon
Mobile Suit Gundam
Motorstorm
Tony Hawk Project 8
Call of Duty 3
PS3 Music Browser
PS3 Picture Browser
PS3 Movie Browser

Brian Crecente

And here it is, the last of our videos from yesterday's Playstation 3 event in New York City. I'll post a round-up tonight. Until then, soak in what I think might very well be Need for Speed Carbon. The game looks sorta generic and bland, but maybe I'm missing something. Brian Crecente

Newsweek's gaming guru N'Gai Croal just kicked off a new feature on his gaming blog called Alt-Ctrl which will look at some of the different ways the Wii remote and PS3 SIXAXIS will be used to play games.

In the first installment, Croal managed to get an exclusive first look at the four control schemes in the Wii version of EA's Need for Speed Carbon.

The default method will have gamers use the Wii Remote as a steering wheel, but EA found that more experienced gamers didn't like that style so they created three alternatives.

Those alternatives use both the Wii remote and the nunchuk attachment. In the first one, you rotate the nunchuk left and right to steer, and tilt the Wii remote forwards or backwards from a 45-degree position to accelerate or brake, respectively. For both the second and third alternatives, you hold the Wii remote at a 90 degree angle and tilt it forward to accelerate, while using the Z-button on the nunchuk to brake. The difference is that in the second alternative, you rotate the nunchuk to steer; in the third, you steer with the nunchuk's analog stick.

The development team went through more than 20 configurations before they settled on these four, Croal reports. He adds that he found the first alt method the most comfortable. Hit up the link to see the rest of the screen shots. Brian Crecente

Alt-Ctrl: An Exclusive Look At Need for Speed Carbon on the Wii [Newsweek]

Some people get it, and some people don't. Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier does. She's done some acting work in Electronic Arts Need for Speed Carbon and seems to have a good handle on this video games converging with Hollywood poppy-talk. She says:

Games tend to be more surreal than the movies, and they still render the characters so you've got celebrities that come in to read parts for the game, so it's fun for gamers to feel like they're working with these familiar actors. But I think the line that separate games and movies is pretty clear—for now anyway.

Video games and movies are two very different mediums. And just because something works in-game, doesn't mean it deserves a motion picture. Like I said, Vaugier gets it. Too bad many film directors and producers don't. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Yahoo Games]

Sequel-loving Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier (Saw 2, House of the Dead 2) is staring in Electronic Arts' cross-platformer Need for Speed Carbon. She was filmed in front of a green screen, which will then be sprinkled with magic dust for her in-game performance.

How did she like it?

Being able to work in a videogame for the first time and working with the Need For Speed Carbon team at EA has been a great experience for me. This is a game that evolves the racing genre, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Playing the role of Nikki allows me to take a completely fresh approach to acting and push the boundaries of the creative process.

Not to mention, pick up a nice pay check in the process. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Next Gen]