Category Archives: America

Sony has introduced a Vita referral programs which will hands out $20 in PSN credit along with 1,000 Sony Reward Points for every person who purchases the handheld after you recommend it.

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Senator Jay Rockefeller reintroduced his controversial bill to US congress yesterday – which calls for further research into the impact of violent games on children – after it failed to pass earlier this month.

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Sony has flipped the switch on the web storefront for the US PlayStation Store.

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US VP Joe Biden has said while there’s no definitive proof violent games and media cause people to go on shooting rampages, the public shouldn’t be afraid of “facts” which may come from research on the matter.

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Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy has said some video games “destigmatize” violence.

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Utah representative Jim Matheson has introduced a bill which would enforce ESRB ratings, making it illegal to sell a game without a classification stamp. If successful, the bill would bring the US in line with Australia and the UK, where classification is required for commercially released games. GamesRadar reports the bill is unclear on how it would apply to small developers and indies selling games online; the ratings requirement doesn’t extend to the App Store in Australia, for example. Happily, ESRB ratings for smaller titles are free and can be obtained quickly.

US vice president Joe Biden has presented 19 executive actions to president Barack Obama as part of a plan to reduce gun crime – and none of them mention video games in any way, according to a Politico report. Games were, as usual, highlighted by media and interest groups in the wake of the tragic events at Sandy Hook last year, but after meeting with games industry representatives the politician apparently decided to turn his attention to other potential causes for the US’s disturbingly high gun crime levels.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.

Aaron Swartz, programmer and Internet activist who helped scrap the Stop Online Piracy Act bill from passing in Congress through his Demand Progress group, has died.

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A Fire Emblem: Awakening 3DS bundle has been announced by Nintendo of America for the US and Canada. Announced overnight through Twitter, the hardware bundle contains a cobalt blue 3DS with the game’s logo etched on it – same as the one released in Japan back in April 2012 – and the game itself is pre-installed on the system. NoA didn’t provide a price for the bundle, but said more information will be made available soon. Shots of the lovely colored 3DS and its box are below. A demo for the game will be made available on the eShop January 17. It releases through the shop and at retail February 4 in North America. The game lands in Europe in April

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US VP Joe Biden is meeting with representatives from the video game industry today, to hear more opinions on policy proposals regarding a violent video game study.

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Nintendo shares are up 5.6% due to US sales figures released by NPD last night.

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Common Sense Media has released the results of a study conducted in the US, which found that 75% of parents surveyed believe violence in video games contributes to violence in
the United States.

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Siren, or Forbidden Siren to those of us in PAL regions, is coming to the US PlayStation Store next Tuesday, a post on the US PS Blog has announced. The 2003 survival horror classic didn’t set critics on fire at launch but has become a cult favourite, noted particularly for its deliberately traditional Japanese spooks, which went down well just as Asian horror cinema was gaining wider appreciation. The SCE Japan production spawned two follow-ups including a PlayStation 3 re-imagining of the first one. No word on pricing or European launch as yet.

The International Game Developers Association has offered to assist US vice president Joe Biden with evidence-based research on whether violent video games and media contribute to gun violence.

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US Senator Jay Rockefeller’s congressional bill which would research the impact of violent games and media on children died once the 112th congressional session ended last Thursday on January 3.

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The Violent Video Games Return Program, a community initiative started by representatives from Southington, CT, has been cancelled by its organizers. The program would have allowed residents to trade-in their violent games for $25 a gift certificate donated by the Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce. According to Polygon, a spokesman said the January 12 event would have created an “unnecessary amount of logistical details,” but the group will still hand out certificates to parents who had a chat with their children about violent games as a goodwill measure. The initiative was created in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, which took place 30 miles from Newtown, CT on December 14.

American vice president Joe Biden is to discuss the thorny and oft-debated issue of gun violence with games industry representatives, new reports suggest.

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THQ, Gaia Online, NCsoft and Funcom have joined Operation Game Over, with the result that over 2,100 online game accounts linked to registered sex offenders have been wiped. GamesIndustry reports the new additions to the initiative join Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard, EA, Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony, who collectively erased more than 3,500 accounts in an earlier purge. Operation Game Over is an extension of New York’s Electronic Securing and Targeting of Online Predators Act, which requires known offenders to register their online ID details, offering community hosts the opportunity to ban them. The program is intended to assist in protecting minors from sexual predators.

This week’s PlayStation Store update has a bevy of new Vita games for USA members – Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, Burn the Rope and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Plus, the Angry Birds Trilogy pack and Jordan Mechner’s Karateka.

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Thieves have made off with $2 million worth of Wii U consoles after a raid on a warehouse.

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