Tech Culture- Page 292

Judge: Subway system can't ban violent-game ads

Is a public-transportation system allowed to turn away ads for all "mature" and "adult" video games? An Illinois court that has been grappling with that question says no--at least for now.

Since July, the Entertainment Software Association, an organization that represents the video game industry, has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the Chicago Transit Authority over the display of ads for violent video games on buses, subways, and other places where the CTA operates. The CTA contends that those ads have no business near its patrons. The ESA says the ban is unconstitutional.

Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer of the Northern District Court of Illinois granted the game group a preliminary injunction on Thursday, allowing violent ads to be placed within the CTA's operational control. Judge Pallmeyer said her concerns were rooted in the U.S. Constitution.

"The advertisements the CTA wishes to ban promote expression that has constitutional value and implicates core First Amendment concerns," Pallmeyer wrote in her ruling.

"In an effort to avoid public controversy and to protect its riders from the effects of their own private choices, the CTA singled out for prohibition all advertising references to a solitary class of product--mature and adult video games, which (unlike alcohol and tobacco) are themselves forms of protected speech and which are legal for people of all ages to purchase," Judge Pallmeyer continued. "While the CTA would likely be entitled to enforce such a ban, were it serving solely as the proprietor of its own non-public-forum property, it cannot do so in a forum that this circuit has explicitly found to be a designated public forum for free expression."

A similar issue between the CTA and Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive erupted in 2008, when the CTA removed all GTA IV ads from its buses and display places. The parties eventually settled, resulting in Take-Two being allowed to display GTA ads for six weeks.

The ESA's battle with the CTA started in January of last year, when the transportation authority's Ordinance 008-147 took effect. That ordinance prohibited advertising that "markets or identifies a video or computer game rated 'Mature 17+' (M) or 'Adults Only 18+' (AO)." It was a direct response to the aforementioned GTA IV ads.… Read more

What is Halo Reach's 'Super Secret Game Mode?'

Twice a year, Halo creator Bungie holds internal competitions called pentathlons where teams play Bungie video game titles, as well as offline game classics like Pictionary and Hacky Sack. Bungie calls it a "celebration of gaming" for Bungie employees.

On Wednesday, Bungie wrote a blog post discussing this year's Winter Pentathlon. Included with all the other titles participants will play, the company included the latest installment in the Halo franchise Halo Reach, which is scheduled to hit store shelves later in the year.

Typically, a mention of an upcoming release in a Bungie pentathlon wouldn't matter. … Read more

Justice Dept. to scrutinize Comcast-NBC deal

The potential merger between Comcast and NBC Universal will be under the regulatory microscope of the Justice Department.

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday that it would be the agency to spearhead a review of the $30 billion deal that would give Comcast majority ownership of NBC, Universal Studios, and a host of cable TV franchises. Both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission typically look into mergers that involve potential antitrust issues, but DOJ is taking the lead on this one. Ultimately, the Federal Communications Commission will also need to examine the deal.

First revealed last October, … Read more

Xbox 360 is most-used game console, Nielsen says

As the game console wars rage on, new findings from Nielsen may give Xbox 360 fans a little more fodder for their bragging rights.

According to the market researcher, Microsoft's Xbox 360 is the most-used console when measured by its share of total usage minutes, capturing 23.1 percent of gaming time. It is followed by the PlayStation 2 with 20.4 percent of usage time and the Nintendo Wii with 19 percent. Surprisingly, the PlayStation 3 didn't make the list top-three list.

But Nielsen didn't stop there. The company said that 54 percent of American homes … Read more

Nielsen: You sure have a lot of TVs

There might not be a TV in every room in your house, but it wouldn't be surprising if there were.

As of November, according to media researcher Nielsen, 29.9 percent of TV-owning households in the U.S. have four or more televisions--that's very close to one-third of the 115 million domestic domiciles that have at least one television set.

Among the other, relatively impoverished TV households, 25.1 percent have three sets, 28.3 percent have two, and 16.7 percent have a measly single TV.

As you might expect, that many televisions translates to some lofty … Read more

Disney opening 'magical' Times Square store

Disney is going theme park with its new Times Square retail store.

Perhaps trying to emulate the retail magic of Apple stores, Mickey Mouse & Co. will be transforming an old retail space in New York's Times Square into an interactive store with theme park attractions and children's exhibits.

Hoping to attract young consumers and their parents, the store will conjure up an interactive princess castle and a kids' theater offering animation and storytelling for the younger crowd. Also on display will be specific activities for kids, special events, and even celebrity guest appearances timed with major Disney … Read more

Box office sales outpace disc sales in 2009

It hasn't happened since 2002, but box office sales beat out disc sales in 2009, market research firm Adams Media Research said in a report released on Tuesday.

According to Adams, U.S. viewers weren't so keen on buying DVDs in 2009. While it found that consumers spent $250 million buying movies online in 2009, the firm found that physical disc sales dropped by 13 percent year over year, from $10.06 billion in 2008 to $8.73 billion in 2009. Those figures include Blu-ray Disc sales.

Adams said box office spending increased to $9.87 billion in … Read more

Video games outsell movies in U.K.

In the last year, consumers spent more money on video games in Britain than on films, including both trips to movie theaters and films on DVD, new figures compiled for U.K.'s Daily Telegraph indicate.

In the 12 months leading up to the end of September, 1.73 billion British pounds (about $2.8 billion) were spent on video games, according to data-monitoring company GFK Chart-Track. The U.K. Film Council said 1 billion British pounds ($1.6 billion) were spent at the British box office during the same period, with an additional 198 million British pounds ($320 million) … Read more

Kid gets Xbox 360, loses mind

For all those who believe the apocalypse is close at hand, I have a video that will surely save you from such dire imaginings.

This little delight from YouTube shows that we are, indeed, bringing up our children to believe in a better tomorrow, one in which human beings will finally place their priorities in the correct order.

Please enjoy the sight of a child (Is he eight? Nine?) expressing his sheer at-oneness with his firmament when he espies that his Christmas gift is an Xbox 360.

No one can possibly tell me that this is anything other than sheer, … Read more

Online holiday sales hit $27 billion

Holiday shoppers brought good cheer to e-commerce retailers, spending $27 billion online from November 1 through December 24, a 5 percent jump over last year, ComScore reported Wednesday.

The period from Black Friday through Christmas Eve was also bright and merry as sales grew by around 3.5 percent, even after adjusting for an additional shopping day this year. Consumer electronics proved to be the hottest selling category, rising 20 percent. Larger retailers outpaced smaller vendors thanks in part to their use of free shipping and marketing via social-networking sites, said ComScore.

The growth in this year's online holiday … Read more