Sony Computer Entertainment America says the pair of Chilean promos were "totally fake." And so does the president of BBDO Chile, who said in a statement that the spots, one featuring Nazi imagery and the other a heart transplant from Joan of Arc, were "never approved" by Sony. Oh, and he has a public apology to go along with it.

This creative design did not involve and was never approved by Sony Computer Entertainment or Sony. This "mock campaign" was developed by BBDO Chile staff and was submitted to various creative competitions/festivals without prior notification or approval from SCE/Sony, and it is not representative of the views or advertising policies of SCE/Sony. BBDO Chile apologizes for using this creative concept without authorization or prior approval, and for its misrepresentation of the PlayStation brand and its values.


Cristián Lehuedé B.
Presidente Ejecutivo
BBDO Chile

Apology accepted! After the PlayStation thumb dick ad from last year, we can understand how BBDO Chile might think that all bets are off.

Earlier today, the European PR folks posted on Twitter that "EA LOS ANGELES ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF COMMAND & CONQUER 4," linking to an official press release on the matter. One that doesn't yet exist online. Joystiq managed to catch it (and nab a screen shot), probably furthering to ruin some poor PR person's day.

EA's made no secret that a Command & Conquer 4 is in the works, so an announcement—an official announcement that we can officially read on the internet—won't surprise us.

We're sure it's a valuable lesson learned. Don't post it on the internet if you don't want it on the internet, I always say.

EA accidentally announces Command & Conquer 4 [Joystiq]

We've gotten word through a few readers about the mistake, which Microsoft attributed to a "technical glitch." The virtual money should be credited back to accounts sometime within "the coming weeks."

That's a little more than two months to fix a 400 point error, but hey, they fixed it, and even if it's fake money, they gave people a little extra for their trouble. Here's the full message sent to those who were overcharged:

Dear Xbox LIVE Gold Member:

We launched Deal of the Week program on Feb 23rd, 2009 as an added benefit to your Gold membership and we are very excited to see the overwhelming response we have received from our loyal users such as you.

As a result of the increased transactions we know that you experienced an intermittent Xbox LIVE issue, which resulted in you being charged full price of 1200 points for the ‘Braid' deal instead of the discounted price of 800 points. We sincerely wish to apologize for the
technical glitch and would like to take this moment to thank you for your patience and understanding as our team worked around the clock to fix this problem.

We will not only be crediting back the 400 points that were overcharged, but also be crediting an extra 100 points as a token of our appreciation and as a thank you for your loyalty during this period. You will see a credit of 500 points in your account in the coming weeks.

It seems that certain Windows Live ID email addresses that you need to have in order to set up an Xbox Live Gold account are set to expiring after a certain period of inactivity on the users part. once the email addresses expire and are deleted, taking any Gamertag associated with the account with them, even if the user has updated their Live account with a new email address in the interim.

GamesIndustry.biz looked to Microsoft for comment on the issue, receiving the following response:

"We are investigating this issue and don't have any further comment to make right now. Any consumer with any issues regarding their Xbox 360 or Xbox Live account should visit xbox.com/support or call their country's customer support number."

Until such a time as the issue is fixed, we suggest you take a moment to log into your Hotmail account every once in awhile, just in case.

Xbox Live accounts hit by email expiry blunder [GamesIndustry.biz]

Seems EVE Online likes to grab images of the Mac OS X CPU monitor occasionally and send them into space. That giant gas cloud is a pretty good indicator of what's going on in your Activity Monitor utility at any given time. Handy, maybe, but causes serious interference with suspension of disbelief.

my god, it's full of cpu meters [Flickr via del.icio.us]

Both products have since been removed from Nintendo's software release list. We hope this wasn't too crushing of a blow for your future Nintendo hardware-based purchases.

SEGA comments on Nintendo date listing [Eurogamer]

"We support the PSP with innovative game experiences and plan to publish around 12 PSP games this fiscal year, including titles for some of our top-selling brands," damage controlled a spokesperson. Glad we've got that settled so Ken Kutaragi's "people" can stop with the harassing phone calls and that Yves Guillemot can turn his ignition key without fear of his Beemer exploding.

Ubisoft: We still support the PSP [GI.biz]

SITE released a statement to clarify its position, stating that it never claimed the images were produced by terrorists, although it didn't admit to knowing from the start that they were video game images. Said the contractor:

SITE reported to its subscribers that extremists posted the image to a password-protected forum affiliated with al-Qaeda. This is entirely accurate. Moreover, this information was part of a report describing the general atmosphere in this forum with regard to extremists' discussions on weapons of mass destruction, making its context all the more important. This report in its entirety is also completely accurate.

It also doesn't like that the Telegraph called it "red faced," either, and says the publication never actually read the report, and nor does it subscribe to its services. Hit the jump for the contractor's full statement:

SITE Rejects Telegraph's Inaccurate Claims

On May 30, 2008, the Telegraph newspaper ran a misleading story, "SITE red-faced as Islamist 'Washington ruin' image turns out to be from Fallout 3 game," which incorrectly and falsely described analysis provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Discussing a computer-generated image of a destroyed Capitol Building in Washington that was posted to a jihadist forum, the Telegraph claimed, without any basis, "The SITE Intelligence Group said that the image, showing a ruined Capitol Building in Washington, was created by extremists as part of discussions about the feasibility of nuclear strikes against the US and Britain."

This claim is entirely false, as is the characterization that SITE is "embarrassed" or "red-faced."

SITE rejects the claims by the Telegraph and stands fully behind the accuracy of its information and analysis. SITE at no time maintained that the image "was created by extremists."

SITE reported to its subscribers that extremists posted the image to a password-protected forum affiliated with al-Qaeda. This is entirely accurate. Moreover, this information was part of a report describing the general atmosphere in this forum with regard to extremists' discussions on weapons of mass destruction, making its context all the more important. This report in its entirety is also completely accurate.

The Telegraph is not a subscriber to SITE's services. Apparently, the newspaper made these erroneous claims without actually reading SITE's original report, and the basis of their information for their incorrect article is unknown to us.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a leading provider of intelligence and analysis to governments, organizations, and institutions across the world, has contacted the Telegraph to correct their factually inaccurate and misleading article.

According to the UK Telegraph, SITE found the Fallout 3 images in a video called "Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror," posted on two possibly al Qaeda-affiliated, password-protected websites, where it also gleaned chat logs from users discussing nuclear attacks on the West.

SITE primarily monitors possible terrorist communications, activity and propaganda for government, business and media clients. We've contacted them to ask about the mix-up and have not yet received reply. We've also contacted Bethesda to see how they feel about their game images possibly being used as propaganda by terrorists, and are awaiting comment.

In an ironic twist, by the way, SITE is based in Bethesda, MD.

SITE red-faced as Islamist 'Washington ruin' image turns out to be from Fallout 3 game [Telegraph]

Apparently I possess some sort of bizarre, mutant powers of suggestion, because somewhere between there and here, several websites began reporting the two titles as actual updates. I'm not talking tiny little sites like Wii60 either. IGN sites Gamespy and Gamestats ran with it...heck, G4 even went to the trouble of making a video about the imaginary update, which I am guess won't be up for too much longer, so enjoy while you can. Update - As expected, video went bye-bye.

I don't suppose it counts as plagiarism if they don't read the article closely enough to realize it isn't real.

Soul Blazer – The Virtual Console Release That Never Was? [Virtual Console Reviews - Thanks Aaron!]

That's potentially bad news for consumers, who may have had their personal e-mail information sent to others, opening them up to heavy spamming. It may also be bad news for Activision, as the e-mail blasts may violate the company's online Privacy Policy. That policy states that Activision has "taken steps to assure that all information collected will remain secure and in its original form" and that "Access to all personal information is strictly controlled."

If you're one of the many that have a complaint about Activision's handling of your information, they instruct you to contact the company's Business and Legal Affairs/Privacy Policy department at (310) 255-2000.

Each year the helplessly out of touch National Institute for Media and the Family puts together a very brief buying guide for parents, hoping to help them steer clear of games that the institute sees as some sort of threat to family values and toward more wholesome games. This year's guide recommends games like Need For Speed: Pro Street last seen being promoted by naked Page 3 girls and 1990's classic Super Mario Bros. 3. Go NIMF:

Parent Alert! Games to Avoid for your Children and Teens
Assassin's Creed M
Call to Duty 4 M
Conan M
The Darkness M
Jericho M
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men M
Manhunt 2 M
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles M
Stranglehold M
Time Shift M

MediaWise Recommended Games for Children and Teens
FIFA Soccer 08 E
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock T
Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour E
Madden NFL 08 E
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games E
Need for Speed Pro Street E+10
The Sims 2: Castaway T
Super Mario Bros. 3 E
Super Mario Galaxy E
Viva Pinta E

Unfortunately, the west coast office has no access to a copy of The Eye of Judgment with which to test this out. It's actually I'm quite interested in pursuing, as I asked the game's North American producers just how they had planned to circumvent card copying and cheating at E3 earlier this year. They didn't seem the slightest bit concerned at the time.

Given that one of their revenue streams may be drying up, should guilt-free players opt not to drop $15 on theme packs or $4 on booster packs, we wonder how concerned they are now.

Thanks for the tip, macavity.

As you can see, my copy of the card sucks. I printed it out on my little $50 Canon IP1800 photo printer, which I use so rarely that it took me a good half hour to find the USB cable to hook it up. Once I had the printout in hand, I headed over to the game. I thought about cutting the card out of the paper, but in the end it didn't really matter.

Here we see the Biolith Bomber, easily scanning into the game despite the poor quality of the printout. The camera resolution is relatively low, so the symbols on the card need to be easily recognizable. Unfortunately this also makes them easily to duplicate as well.

Just to make sure, I registered the card with my online deck. Worked like a charm.

So what does this mean? Well for me, nothing much. I'm a collector, so I'll be buying cards no matter what. For the general public, however, I predict it is only a matter of time before hi-rez card scans appear for download on the web. Cards still have to follow game rules, however, so it shouldn't affect gameplay at all. The main effect will be seen by Sony and Wizards of the Coast, who make the cards and boosters. What looked like a lucrative endeavor might end up with more money in the pockets of printer cartridge manufacturers than anyone else. Hopefully measures can be taken to enhance the copy protection in the future. For right now, there's nothing special about the ink here whatsoever.

As a final note, don't do this. We sincerely do not recommend that anyone obtain cards this way. It makes you a dick...unless done for demonstration purposes, of course.

Take-Two said it received a "Wells" call last Thursday from the staff of the SEC's enforcement division. The staff plans to ask the Commission to file charges related to its investigation into the company's stock options practices and seek a civil monetary penalty.

Take-Two said it is cooperating with the SEC and expects to resolve the investigation through a settlement rather than litigation.

We'll see what the SEC has to say about that.

Take-Two Gets 'Wells' Notice From SEC [Forbes]

Apparently, someone over at the Sony Connect Web site, which features "downloads powered by Sony", doesn't know what the company's flagship driving game looks like. They mistakenly used a screengrab from their competitor Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 to promote Gran Turismo HD Concept. Whoops.

Fortunately, someone got access to the PlayStation press site and updated the image before anyone noticed. I mean...

Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Michael McWhertor

Frankly, I'm scared to click on most links on the internet. I find myself frightened that I'll somehow land on some scatalogical fetish web site or I'll be forced to rewatch some vicious beheading and vomit across my laptop. This internet fear has now creeped into my viewing of Wii-centric clips. I've become such a wimp that I get sweaty palms while watching what I'm sure will contain HDTV screen destruction. Fortunately, this amusing clips contains no such electronics snuff. Enjoy with confidence. Michael McWhertor

Don't you just love it when retailers have no friggin' clue what they're selling? DON'T YOU?! Kotakuite David sends this along:

I got a pretty thick 100 page Circuit City catalog in the mail this week. Right near the middle are ads for the PS3 and Wii. They picked quite a subtitle for the top of the PS3 page I thought. Maybe they're selling one with a SIXAXIS controller with a rumble pack? Maybe the console has a built in rumble pack? Maybe the catalog editors are clueless?

In answer to your questions: Nope. Nope. Yep. Brian Ashcraft