His latest project is the Nintendo Wii SUPREME, for which he wants the equivalent of US$483,883. The console contains 2,500 grams (88 oz.) of solid 22ct gold and the front buttons house 78 x 0.25 ct flawless diamonds. The total of all 78 diamonds is 19.5 karats.

The total value of the gold and the two diamonds is considerably less than what Stuart Hughes is asking. What's more, you'll have to play your SUPREME Wii with a NORMAL Wii Remote.

Let's say that the gold is US$1,000 an ounce for a total of about $88,185. And the diamonds are about, say, between $1,200 and $1,500 a karat for a total of somewhere between $23,400 and $29,250 for the diamonds. Both bring the grand total to approximately $117,435 — not including the price of a Nintendo Wii and labor. Stuart Hughes site says that it takes six months to make one of these things. Stuart Hughes' time is very valuable. Six months will cost you, give or take, $365,565.

Only three of these will be made. You can buy it online, too. Go ahead, do it.

Stuart Hughes [Official Site, Thanks Kal!]

The statistics, which came to light as a result of a written answer to a question by a Parliament member in the House of Commons yesterday, indicate that only four games in the past five years have been refused BBFC classification. All four instance occurred in 2007, and Rockstar's Manhunt 2 for the Wii, PS2, PC, and PSP could very well account for all four. and those were all reviewed and granted classification the next year.

In contrast, thirteen films have been refused since 2005. TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson finds this data very telling.

"There have been hardly any instances of the BBFC refusing classification for video games. In fact, during the past five years, there have only been four games deemed unfit or unsuitable for classification, as opposed to 13 films – more than three times the amount of games. It is important that these facts are placed in the public domain as they clearly counter some of the unfair stereotypes about video games."

Of course, for a more accurate idea of the film versus movie ratings ratio we'd have to know how many movies versus games passed through the BBFC ratings procedures during the reported years, but the data we have is good enough for a forum argument.

Back in July, the city's council asked for suggestions for two new roads. After getting over 100, the city council narrowed down the choices to eight. Those choices can be voted on via internet by anyone able to access the internet. You don't have to be a Derby resident! Which means that the city will most likely be getting a street named after Lara Croft.

It has been noted that there is a connection between Derby and Lara Croft. The studio behind the original Tomb Raider was based in Derby before shuttering in 2006.

Vote in the link below. Vote wisely.

Derby [Official Site via Derby Telegraph via Joystiq via The Escapist]

The comments, by the Rt. Revs Mark Bryant, Brian Smith and John Goddard, apparently first appeared in a news release sent out in the past week, written and reported by a freelance journalist. I couldn't find a copy of this release. MCVUK, whom we cited yesterday, only reported Capcom's reaction to the comments; MCVUK did not originally report the clergy's remarks.

Anyway, the Rt. Rev. Smith said his remarks were taken out of context and made out to be more authoritative than they were. "I made it clear that I was not qualified to make a comment," Smith told TVG. "I suggested that the researcher should contact someone in one of the dioceses in London where I understood she was working."

Rt. Rev. Bryant added that his comments had been misrepresented. "I know enough not to go offering outright condemnation of things about which I know comparatively little," he said.

So, OK, sounds like these guys were played to type for purposes of someone's attention-grabbing news release. Sounds plausible. My original point still stands: Why did Capcom even bother to respond? Either these guys, or the people using them, are pikers looking to stir up a fight. Best to just let that dog lie.

Priests Misrepresented In Resident Evil PR Stunt News [Total Video Games]

Not sure who Bishop Bryant, Archdeacon Brian Smith or the Right Rev. (that's right, Rev.) John Goddard are, but they say the game promotes violence and an interest in the occult. Blah blah blah, encourages violent behavior, blah blah, slippery slope, blah blah, we know better than you. Really, it's like they ripped a page from World's Zaniest Scolding Clergy Mad Libs, filled in the blanks and mailed it as a press release.

Capcom's Leo Tan says to MCVUK:

This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society's ills on video games. It's just absurd. Most games (and movies) like Resident Evil show characters fighting evil not supporting it. Unfortunately the clergy is showing a lack of understanding of the video games industry and is too quick to splash the holy water and lump video games players into stereotypical boxes.



And the three ministers were thus chastened, apologized for their knee-jerk scapegoating and said they would get back to making their communities better, rather than making games worse.

Or, they just nodded smugly that they got a defensive reaction from Capcom. Yeah, I'm betting on the latter.

Capcom Responds to Clergy Criticism [MCVUK]

The Guardian goes on to report that the campaign will run for six weeks, using games like Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 to gauge players' skills in quick-thinking, problem solving and team work.

In which case, they really don't want me. When I'm not leaving my teammates to die in Left 4 Dead 2, I'm busy getting lost in airplane fuselages in Modern Warfare 2 until somebody's good enough to come knife me. And I haven't even bought Assassin's Creed II yet. Oh, and I'm American.

Here's what the British government has to say of its campaign:

"As well as tackling 'traditional threats' GCHQ's work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems," said a GCHQ spokeswoman.

"This means we can offer excellent training and careers for people with specialist technical skills. However, the fact remains that many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox LIVE helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner," she added.

Government intelligence organisation targets recruits with Xbox Live ads [The Guardian]

Thanks for the tip, Josh!

Neil Thompson, the U.K.chief, told GamesIndustry.biz that "We're still very much in the baking on Natal and there's a lot of things to get decided on it." That goes for word that the unit would be either £50 (about $80) or even as low as £30 ($50), with as many as 14 titles available at launch and 5 million units shipped. In the face of such specifics, which were said to come from Microsoft visits with developers, Thompson basically offered a general, "nuh-uh."

"No. They weren't accurate, they were rumours," Thompson said of MCV's report. "I've got nothing more to say about it. We're still very much in the baking on Natal and there's a lot of things to get decided on it."

GamesIndustry.biz says it will later have further in-depth interviews with both Thompson and Microsoft Europe boss Chris Lewis, but it doesn't sound like either are going much further on this subject.

Microsoft Dismisses Natal Launch Rumours [GamesIndustry.biz via GamersReports]

Starting at 12:01am on Wednesday, November 18th, Wii owners in the UK will be able to download the new BBC iPlayer Wii Channel, giving them instant access to recent television and radio programs on demand without having to navigate to the service via the Wii Internet Channel. The upgraded service now features a full-screen interface for a higher quality experience overall. Nintendo UL general manager David Yarnton talks up the new channel.

"Our partnership with the BBC is another way in which Nintendo is looking to broaden the market for its products by offering compelling and relevant content to families. BBC iPlayer offers Wii owners another reason to turn their console on everyday and adds to the already established non gaming content on Wii that includes Wii Channels for news, weather forecasts and an internet browser."

Yes, another reason to turn your Wii on every day, along with all of those other perfectly valid reasons, which I am sure will strike me any moment now.

Traditional family values during the holidays? So like relatives getting in fights and drinking too much? Kidding!

"As a father-of-four, I'm well aware of the role that computer games play in youngsters' lives and they undoubtedly have a place," says the hotel's managing director Stephen Leckie. "However with Christmas holidays being the ideal opportunity to spend quality time with our families, we're asking our younger guests to set their consoles and games aside for just a few days of the year and, instead, sample some new activities which they may never have tried before."

Sounds like Mr. Leckie is assuming that video games aren't something children and adults can play together. I, of course, am assuming that he is assuming. The hotel does offer loads of kid friendly activities for children to enjoy, such as an indoor playland.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Hotel bans Christmas video games [BBC via Yahoo! Games]

"One thing I wanted to add before I go for you Brits: communicate. Don't be scared of a microphone," said Faliszek. "You guys are notorious non-talkers on both 360 and PC. Americans are just chattering away, working together as a team. If you want to work together as a team you've got to talk!"

And talk a lot — just like Chet is doing. Talk, talk, talk.

"You can go into a random 360 game on US servers and it's crazy talk. It's fun. I think a lot of people knock that community but again and again I'm surprised by how fun that is."

Crazy talk! Fun! Click the link below to read more chatter from Chet. Read it aloud, even. That's talking, no?

News: Valve: British gamers are "notorious non-talkers" [CVG]

According to game site GameSetWatch, UK gaming even GameCity and the Nottingham City Council have announced that Takahashi will design a children's playground for Nottingham City at Woodthorpe Grange Park.

Takahashi is currently spending a month in the area and talking to children and locals as well as the City Council landscape architect. Back in 2006, Takahashi expressed interest in a playground "that's soft, and with lots of big blocky shapes, and a place [kids] can't really get hurt - very colorful - where kids can roll around and be free. But it's probably okay if they occasionally get hurt too."

Councillor David Trimbl says, "We're delighted to have Takahashi-san on board and very much looking forward to working with him on this unique collaboration."

Takahashi Designing Children's Playground In Nottingham [GameSetWatch]

Those without Sky subscriptions can subscribe for £15 and for £19 for sports channels. Twenty-four channels are currently on the Sky service.

According to Sky's David Mercer, terrestrial channels are not yet available and programs won't be shown in HD because of poor British broadband speeds.

"For BSkyB it offers further evidence that its future subscriber growth is not dependent on its traditional satellite set-top box strategy," said Mercer.

"For Microsoft it is further confirmation that the Xbox is on its way to becoming not just a games console, but rather a complete home entertainment system."

When asked when Sky is coming to the PS3, Sky's Stephen Nuttall told TechRadar, "So we - Microsoft and Sky - are very focused on making this an enormous success this autumn and working together to deliver a great project.

"...To be honest we're kind of neutral about how people access our content and don't feel we should proscribe how people should be watching Sky. Our job is just to give people options."

For more impressions and pics of Sky Player on Xbox 360, check out Electripig.co.uk.

News: Sky dodges PS3 player question [CVG]
News: Sky on Xbox Live OUT with 24 channels [CVG]

EA's new FLIPS series takes books from some of today's best children's writers to deliver what are essentially extended director's cuts of their works to the Nintendo DS. Children will be able to read books from Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer, and Enid Blyton, with quizzes and reference links built right in to help encourage getting to the end of each chapter.

"I'm over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on the Nintendo DS with EA's new FLIPS range," said Eoin Colfer, author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. "Everyone knows that reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might finally get them reading my books!"

Here's what they've got lined up so far:

Enid Blyton (Egmont) - The Enchanted Wood®, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World – Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World – Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World – Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)– Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) - Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) - Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

That's an impressive list of reading materials right there. The first four FLIPS titles are being released in the UK on the 4th of December, with each release featuring six to eight books for the low price of £24.99. Will the Nintendo DS succeed where libraries and book stores have failed? We'll find out then.

BBC newsperson Robin Lustig has a post up titled "Is Japan a dying nation?" Here's the rub and the game connection in his piece:

I'm no social psychologist, so I wouldn't dare to come up with an explanation for why Japanese couples aren't having enough babies. But one theory is that Japanese women are increasingly reluctant to marry, because they think Japanese men have shown themselves unable to adapt to the needs of a new, more flexible society - and have retreated into a fantasy world of comics, video games and animated pornography where they feel less threatened.

Lustig's original piece is much longer obviously and can be read in full right here. I suggest that you do read the entire piece before commenting!

His post is making the internet rounds in Japan, and the Japanese internet, namely hugely popular bulletin board 2ch, has a smattering of opinions about it. Here are some of them, translated by DannyChoo.com:

-Make reality more interesting than games please.
-Yeah I can live on games alone.
-If everybody became obsessed with games then we would live in a peaceful society.
-Reality does not want to deal with me you idiot.
-The world in the monitor is reality. The world we live in is just imaginary.
-To be honest, I don't want a (real) woman.
-Love Plus is reality.
-There are too many Japanese people anyway so decreasing the population would be just right.
-But the 2D world is ideal.
-Oh and its OK to be obsessed with movies and books then?
-My (2D) girlfriend is Aika-san. She lets me meet her whenever I want and greets me with a smile if I forget a date - and she does not cost money. Thats all I need.
-His words are racist.
-I'm 30 and earn 3.5 million yen (35K USD) - how am I supposed to get married?
-Why is somebody from a declining country (England) telling me this?
-The decline of the population has nothing to do with games or manga.
-My partner is Hatsune Miku. I would do anything for her and we are thinking of having kids.
-I tried to face reality and it became Love Plus.
-We must fight reality!
-They should make a game for the DS called "lets face society"
-A country of Neets (England) being worried about Japan?
-Not sure about England but the hurdle to getting married over the past 20 years in Japan is gone up too high - socially and financially.
-Unless there are more job positions then I cant face reality.
-Girls in games wont cheat on us.
-The solution is to make reality in games.
-I'm too busy with work to think about getting married.
-But Sanya is too cute.
-Solution is simple - make it so that anime and manga characters can get pregnant.

There are something like over 2,500 comments in this same thread on this issue. I don't see that the declining population as something that can simply be pinned on men who like reading manga and playing video games — or pinned on women who want to focus on their career. There are larger societal issues at hand.

For example, if both parents do work and have small children, they need daycare. Well, daycare is harder to come by than in North America — there is public daycare called "hoikuen", but parents must apply in advance and there is no guarantee that they'll be able to put their kids in. Something like this seems like a bigger deterrent to having children than, say, playing Konami DS games, no?

Another issue is that Japan was traditionally an agriculture society with large, extended families. Five children was not some outrageous number! But as the country industrialized in the late 19th century and early 20th century and as it rebuilt during the Post War Era, the extended family structure broke down. Childcare was easier when living under the same roof as opposed to stuffed in tiny urban apartments.

Wonder why these issues weren't touched upon...

マンガやゲームに夢中となり、現実社会と向き合わない男のせいで日本は衰退していく…英BBC記者 [痛いニュース(ﾉ∀`) via DannyChoo]

During the weekend several tipsters emailed us with horror stories about the European launch of NCsoft's new MMORPG Aion. Like North America, many citizens of the UK and Europe found themselves waiting in line for hours at t time to get into the game. Others didn't even get that far. Kotakuite Andrew pointed us to a set of screens like the one seen here, telling players that there were simply too many people connected to the servers to join a queue.

NCsoft responded in much the same way they responded to initial queues with the much the same response they did the North American version, though today they announced the opening of two new servers, one for English and one for the French. Hopefully those two will help ease the pain of eager players across the European continent.

As the BBC's consumer site Watchdog points out, PS3 has broken down without warning, giving owners the dreaded YLOD. (Not nearly as catchy as RROD!) But out of 2.5 million PS3s sold in the UK, only 12,500 have been effected by Sony's own admission. You do the math.

"The phrase 'yellow light of death' has been adopted by certain members of the online community to describe the situation in which PS3 systems have shut down following the illumination of the yellow light on the PS3's front panel," Sony explained. "The yellow light indicator is simply a non-specific fault indicator that can be triggered in a range of different circumstances."

The sudden failures are believed to be most common in the 60GB launch models.

While Sony'd replace consoles free of charge if this happened under warranty in the first 12 months of purchase, the company would not do that for consoles after that — and whaddaya know, BBC Watchdog states that the problem is plaguing consoles after 18-24 months of use. To fix the machine, UK PlayStation 3 owners need to pay £145 — a figure which was reduced to £128 in August 2009. Sony provides owners with door-to-door delivery of a good-as-new console. (Extended warranties, folks!)

This isn't profitable for Sony, reports Watchdog. In fact, the company is actually making a loss on this service.

"We entirely refute the suggestion that PS3 consoles have an inherent defect or other design issue," Sony stated. "Of all PS3's sold in the UK to date, fewer than one half of one percent of units have been reported as failing in circumstances where the yellow indicator is illuminated."

Show of hands: Who's had system failure issues with their PS3?

Watchdog: Sony PlayStation 3 and the "yellow light of death" [BBC]

I've been wondering how well Scribblenauts would work over in the UK, as over there taking off your pants has far stronger connotations than it does on the U.S. side of the pond. Well now we know, thanks to a press release assuring UK customers that they can safely draw water from a tap, stroll down the pavement, and partake of an ice lolly without having to mess about with our butchery of the language.

"Fear not mistaken pants-over-trouser-wearers, as Scribblenauts developer, 5th Cell, has gone out of its way to localise the UK release of Scribblenauts to include words specifically for the UK market. Faucets, popsicles, sidewalks, diapers and, of course, the meaning mess that is football and soccer, will confuse British DS owners no more..."

Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS will be out on October 9th...sorry, 9th October in the UK.

The new price is a £30 drop from the current retail price, and the the Xbox 360 Pro will be phased out in the United Kingdom.

While the price for the Xbox 360 Arcade is static in the US, it will be priced at £159.99 (US$259) — as expected.

It's official: Xbox 360 price cut announced [MCVUK]

The title, Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches, is based on medieval Welsh folk tales.

"We have to try and translate this game into Welsh, but there's just not enough Welsh speakers in the gaming market to justify the translation costs," said the studio's Noel Bruton. "Sources suggest there are around 600,000 Welsh speakers overall. A lesser number would be gamers, and only around one in 20 gamers might be interested in an adventure game."

However, Burton adds, that doesn't mean the game should not be translated. Ironically, the studio is based in Wales, but the English-born developers don't know enough Welsh to localize the 30,000 in-game words.

The developer does offer would-be translators "something" if "something" is made from sales of the Welsh version.

Translation appeal on video game [BBC] [Pic]

"My concerns were risen when my son went out and bought himself a gaming magazine to read the reviews of the latest Xbox 360 games," mayhem writes. "To my surprise the only thing that did was the last 4 pages of the magazine that contained major full page spreads of mobile sex games, videos and pictures."

"...I turned to the front cover to see if there was a 18 rated sticker anywhere on the front of the magazine," mayhem continues. "Nothing. Absolutely no indication that the magazine contained content unfit for young eyes."

Mayhem's 8-year-old daughter went to various UK book sellers to see how easy it would be to purchase game magazines — game magazines with adult ads in the back.

"My 8 year old daughter walked in on her own and when straight for the gaming section," mayhem writes. "On the lower shelf she picked out several magazines including Play (a Sony PlayStation 3 Magazine) and 360 (a Microsoft Xbox 360 magazine) both of which are published by Imagine Publishing. Neither of these titles had an 18 or 15 certificate on them."

But in the back, there were adult ads, so mayhem complained. After doing that, mayhem and child headed to more small shops to buy more game magazines with dirty ads in the back. "We found that at every shop we had gone to that she could easily walk in and buy literally any gaming magazine she liked," mayhem continues. (Of course she can! They're not rated ages 18-years-old and up!)

"On one occasion even some with 18 certifications from a local news agent," mayhem writes. "I was amazed my 8 year old daughter can by pornography in this form." Hey, we're amazed you let her — all in the name of research.

Though, this "pornography" looks more like adverts for phone sex and adult cell phone games and not actually pornography per se. Weekly British tabloids have more actual pornography in them! There are dodgy adult ads in telephone booths and, heck, even the phone book. It's endless.

Sure, Imagine Publishing might want to re-examine how it generates ad revenue. It might not, and the ads it is running could very well be acceptable under UK law. If it is, the issue is not with the bookstores or the publisher even, but with the law. (And what about ads in other under 18 magazines? Were those checked as well?)

We do thank mayhem at Overclocke3D for creating a dialogue about this issue.

News :: Not much left to the Imagine'ation - Magazine publisher serves up porno to minors [Overclock3D.Net via GamePolitics]