Video Game addiction plea doesn’t fly

A judge convicted Daniel Petric today for killing his mother and wounding his father over a video game dispute. Defense lawyers cited Petric’s addiction to Halo 3 in an attempt to reduce his culpability, stating that he was insane at the time of the attack.

This defense did not work, due to evidence of prior planning. Our sincere condolences to the bereaved in this tragedy.

Secret San Francisco Street Fighter club becomes less secret

For those that can keep violence in the digital realm where it belongs, Capcom will soon host another Street Fighter Club, this time in the San Francisco area. If getting access to all the Street Fighter IV console characters, arcade cabinets, and "some very special surprises" interests you, and you’re over 18, head to Capcom’s blog for suitably cloak and dagger instructions on how to attend.

Congressman wants health warnings on M-rated games

Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced the "Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009" last week, which attempts to label games with the following message, a la cigarettes:

"WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

Baca feels that the ESRB doesn’t do an adequate job of educating consumers, and that a warning sentence will do the job that a big box with content descriptors could not.

"The videogame industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," Baca said in an issued statement. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products."

This statement doesn’t mention studies that find no link between games and violence, or the fact that no court has acknowledged a connection between the two.

ESRB lists Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen for Wii release

Speaking of the ESRB, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen popped up on their rating list today, signaling the game’s eventual release on the virtual console. The game has a cult following, being one of the rarer SNES tactical RPGs around.

Just make sure you listen to the right music when it eventually comes out.

Microsoft content with current generation of hardware

Microsoft will stick with the 360 for a few years yet, President of Entertainment & Devices Robert Bach confirmed. Since the original Xbox launched in 2001, and the 360 followed in 2005, a four-year term would put the next Xbox somewhere in 2009.

Bach is in no rush to push out new hardware, as his division finally turned a profit in the last fiscal year. In addition, he realizes that it will take more than updated hardware and bigger numbers to make the next generation successful.

"Just coming up with something that’s faster and prettier isn’t going to be sufficient," Bach said. "The life cycle for this generation of consoles — and I’m not just talking about Xbox, I’d include Wii and PS3 as well — is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations."

Launching new hardware in the middle of a recession probably wouldn’t be the wisest move either.

Braid creator censures Microsoft’s mandatory charges

A premium Braid theme is now available on Xbox Live for 250 points of Microsoft’s fun money, which equals about $3.10. This price, according to Braid creator Johnathan Blow, was mandated by Microsoft.

"We want to make it free, but Microsoft doesn’t like giving things out for free," Blow said. "But if you do buy it, you can be secure in the knowledge that you own one of the few Premium Themes that is not an advertisement — there is no text in the Braid theme anywhere. (Seriously, Microsoft, what is with the Subway: Eat Fresh Theme?)"

"The man" won that fight, but Blow’s hippie spirit lives on. In an attempt to compensate for the unwilling charge for the theme, Blow is offering 20 free copies of Braid to the first entrants that correctly identify 10 games based on their screenshots. I got three, what’s your score?