When Slash000 paid US$ 10 to pre-order Duke Nukem Forever through his local GameStop, little did he know that he would have to wait 12 years to wait for an answer. Unfortunately for him, the answer might be a disappointing "no" now that 3D Realms has run out of money and can no longer continue the game's development.

The government of UK has made it known that they're apparently not a fan of racing simulation games such Gran Turismo. According to a government-backed report, these games are responsible for creating "a cachet of excitement and glamour around speeding."

Keith Bakker is the founder and head of the first and only clinic that treats video game addiction in Europe so he should know what he's talking about when he says most "videogame-addicted" gamers aren't actually addicts.

Dr. Tanya Byron has raided airwaves again with her latest endeavor with video games. After her six-month review of game violence, she was able to write and front a BBC TV show wherein she linked playing video games to heroin addiction. More details can be found in the full article.

Sony and Microsoft have always trumpeted the next-gen multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But why is the iPlayer, the popular online video service from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) with the Nintendo Wii instead? BBC's Darren Waters sheds some light over at the full article.

Heads up, Nintendo Wii owners! A new firmware update now available for download, and it could be as hefty as the previous IOS37 version. There's no changelog available, but you can learn more by heading over to the full article.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have already gotten access to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) through the use of the iPlayer.It was revealed that the Nintendo Wii will also be getting a version of the player as well. Head on over to the full article for more information.

After the whole Manhunt 2 (PSP and Wii) fiasco and the controversy it spawned, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is now facing heavy scrutiny to see if it still remains a viable option for the classification of video games. More in the full article.

The results are in: chosen as this year's Ultimate Game of the Year in the Annual Golden Joystick Awards is (dun dun dun) Gears of War! Gears of War also won the All-Nighter Award, Editor's Choice Award and is the Xbox Game of the Year.

Other winners of the 25th Annual Golden Joystick Awards are the Nintendo Wii, which won Innovation of the Year, World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade as the Online Game of the Year, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as the Nintendo Game of the Year, and God of War II as the PlayStation Game of the Year.

Here are the other winners of the Golden Joystick Awards:

• Girls' Choice Game of the Year 2007: Guitar Hero II
• Family Game of the Year 2007: Wii Sports
• Handheld Game of the Year 2007: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
• Mobile Game of the Year 2007: Final Fantasy
• Soundtrack of the Year 2007: Guitar Hero II
• Developer of the Year 2007: Codemasters
• The Total Film One to Watch 2007: Assassin's Creed
• Retailer of the Year 2007: Game
• Publisher of the Year 2007: Nintendo
• PC Game of the Year 2007: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Here's to another year of great games!

Looks like Electronic Arts isn't just about going global. EA Executive VP Gerhard Florin commented to BBC that within 15 years, the game industry will see only one platform in the market. It's an interesting notion and not exactly an uncommon one.

The idea isn't a "one console to rule them all" bit but more of a convergence of technologies, a single platform that can sustain the demands of the consumer as well as bring the best out from all the worlds. Coming from a developer's point of view, the idea is that programming would be easier:

We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible. [...] You don't need an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii - the consumer won't even realize the platform it is being played on.

Screen Digest analyst Nick Parker believes that it's not about one console rising above all the others: rather a console that can provide channels for the publishers - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - to deliver their games. This prevents a monopoly of distribution of games, if not hardware.

However, Florin believes that hardware will basically boil down to game-centric PCs. The current participants of the console wars - the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Wii - are just a step away from it themselves. If that's the case for future consoles, then even hardware isn't a monopoly, much like how all the parts of a PC isn't dependent on one company.

With all the consoles striving for technology convergence - developing the boxes to become a media hub and not just a gaming console - it's not really a strange idea to imagine that a convergence of console tech is the next step. Perhaps the logical, inevitable step.