Usually, the trend has been to experience a noticeable dip in the amount of news coming out the week before the GDC. However, this year's pre-event week proved to be a rather different one from those I've experienced in the past. Unexpectedly, but fortunately, there were a great deal of updates. It was a busy one, alright, and thank God you stuck with us throughout the week, making it such a blast!

What if you want to get your hands on a game the whole world is raving about and you find yourself unable to get it at the local Wal-Mart? What would you feel? Frustrated? Annoyed? Short-changed? Well, all of these emotions come pretty close to what people from the South Pacific area are feeling right now.

"Knock it off, Nintendo!" These are the strong words relayed by Aaron Rex Davies and many gamers from New Zealand, Australia, and other countries in the South Pacific region. What's their beef with Ninty? Apparently, they have been extremely frustrated with the delayed release dates to many of Nintendo's in-demand Wii titles reaching their local shores.

In a formal letter addressed to Nintendo, Davies wrote a comprehensive nine-page report detailing various studies on the matter. In the report, it shows the massive difference between the release dates of similar Wii titles within the US and Australia (with the worst taking as long as seven months). Also, issues such as the age-old NTSC versus PAL compatibility, the release of games made by other third-party distributors, as well as the game availability alternative presented by modchips were discussed in minute detail.

All of these were addressed and circulated by Davies through various sources such as Digg and Aussie-Nintendo. His efforts have been met with a very receptive welcome by many gamers with the same sentiments.

This may give Nintendo the much needed eye-opener they need to focus their attention on their South Pacific market this time around. However, no response has been given by the gaming company so far. We'll make sure to keep everyone updated with any further news on the matter, however. A downloadable copy of Aaron Davies' report is available on his site.

Making its rounds on Digg is a website showing off the additional details of the security exploit on flash players. Earlier, it was speculated that such a vulnerability could very well be used to enable homebrew on the Nintendo Wii, but for the most part, it's simply being used as a tool to bug out your flash players (and consequently, your Wii).

As explained by Liam OMurchu over at Symantec, a specially crafted flash video is all that's required to freeze your console. Because it takes a flash video to freeze your Nintendo Wii (as well your PCs and Macs), it seems that anyone malicious enough to want to annoy people can simply upload the bug-inducing vid on a video upload site to cause havoc.

It's already got a fix for computers, but the Wii has yet to get its own. Needless to say, be careful where you surf if you're using your console to do so.

In any case, you can check out the video below to see its effects on the Wii (at the 1:32 mark). Don't worry though: it's a Symantec-made video that only shows the effects, but isn't actually the bugged vid itself. For more information, feel free to click on the read link below.

Making its rounds on Digg is an update on the tale of exergamer J.R. Cook. Cook, who began a weight loss regimen through playing with Nintendo's Wii console and Wii Sports, finds himself living the dream as he gets to play games while losing weight.

According to his most recent blog post, Cook has lost approximately 40 pounds since he started playing, totalling 10 pounds lost each month. As you can see from the above picture, the weight he's lost has had important repercussions with regard to his clothing, as well as his self-esteem.

He writes,

In the end, you still have a fat J. R., but not AS fat J. R. and by far a happier and more positive J. R.... That's not really so hard to fathom considering 4 months ago I was 270 pounds. Once I reach 190, I'm still considered overweight for my height (but not obese any longer) and I'll definitely want to get to a normal weight of around 150-160.

To show an example of my progress, I give to you a picture of me currently in my old favorite pair of jeans. These jeans had actually barely fit me and I didn't need a belt to keep them on when I started the plan.

For all those folks who've needed the inspiration to try gaming as exercise, it's certainly a reason to start trying it out. How about you? Interested in doing some exergaming?

Remember when we reported earlier on how Play magazine said Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would "be the biggest revolution in FPS gaming since Halo"? Well, turns out there's more to that. Because not only was it compared to Halo. As revealed in the actual scan of the magazine, that first-level boss fight is said to be "an intense Ridley battle that plays out like a God of War."

We posted the scan we've spotted via opnickc's post on Digg, and by clicking the thumbnail below, you can read the text of Play's article. There's more info there on the Hypermode which allows Samus to feed off of the Phazon's power of corruption - the way I see it, think Samus Aran letting loose when she's got her monthly period. Question is... Will Nintendo include a Hypermode Samus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Besides, you can't have Princess Zelda have all the booty-kicking fun.

Now, for the scan... Feast your eyes on those screens! And Play magazine seems to be right: Third Prime's a charm!

We've said it before and we'll say it again: The Wii gives even the laziest people on earth some motivation to get up and be active. Needless to say, the phenomenon of Wii-based weight loss is still astonishing, even after so many people have spoken up about it already.

Well, making its rounds on Digg is a new exercise regimen: a 10-week program whose main draw is using the Nintendo Wii to lose weight. The site lists the effectiveness of different Wii Sports games in burning calories, and offers friendly advice for people who are new to video gaming as well.

One thing makes us somewhat hesitant though. There's a decidedly large gap between using the Wii religiously for weight loss and having a balanced weight loss plan that includes a healthy diet. Not that everyone follows a diet and all, but it adds credibility to the plan, at least.

In any case, there's definitely an outpouring of support for using the Nintendo Wii as an exercise tool and gaming machine. Let's just hope people remember to stretch before punching an imaginary opponent with the Wiimote.

Now we know many gaming sites have re-iterated and argued this point over and over again - that the story concepts and the driving of the story are just as important as the quality of the visuals. But given Ars Technica's technical nature and prowess over technology, it's amazing they've been able to put their point across so vividly with a game everyone could relate to.

 

Well, just about everyone in gaming of course. Valve's Half-Life 2 was the first of the games they cited in their multi-part investigation, whose story was written by Mark Laidlaw. The incredible effort and time placed into the "written" content of the game reflects immediately in the opening sequence.

We don't know about you, however, but Half-Life 2 still isn't a keeper in this blogger's books if it comes to gauging art. In fact, aside from the opening sequence, there's very little dialogue or "written" content that is memorable in the game. Even after playing the game over 10 times.

You can hop right into the article by Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica via the "Read" link below. Currently, the article spurred another heated discussion about graphics and visuals versus game design and storylines over at digg.com">Digg, but if you'd like top place your two-cents right here, feel free to do so.

 

The movie was nice, the game seems to be okay, but the graphics for the Wii version of the game are uncomfortably absent. IGN's review of Vicarious Vision's Spider-Man 3 video game for the Wii has spawned quite a big fiasco over on Digg, as the Game Nation blog's AhrenBa lauded the sad state of Spidey for the Wii.

As IGN's review mentions, there are definitely some things lacking in the graphics department for the game:

While its sheer size is ambitious, the presentation and make-up of the environments are definitely not. The webslinger zips through blurry, unrefined city blocks that pop in and out of existence and are almost entirely void of pedestrian life below... no matter where you go, the area looks pretty much the same as the place you came from.

AhrenBa's entry probably echoes many sentiments gamers and reviewers had when they noticed these sorts of problems for their game: "I am sorry but, as a Wii owner, I am highly dissatisfied with the way developers are handling the graphics for Wii games. The PS2 version looks better than this, and we know for a fact that the Wii has more powerful hardware than the PS2."

How do you feel about it? Do you think some of your Wii games are getting sloppy treatment from developers just because they're Wii games? Let us know in the comments.

Now that evidence shows that Cho Seung Hui didn't own a single video game at the time of the Tragic shooting, a new article over at MSNBC questions Thompson's fervent accusations. This is in light of his recent interview wherein he responded to IGDA criticism.

The MSNBC article notes that contrary to Thompson's claims of counterstrike being a "killing simulator" for youths, Cho didn't need much skill to shoot as many people as he did. Eye witness accounts indicate that many of the victims were shot at point blank range.

Moreover the article notes that Sternheimer, a sociologist at the University of Southern California and author of the book "Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth" points out that before this week's Virginia Tech massacre, the most deadly school shooting in history took place at the University of Texas in Austin way back in 1966, before the days of pong.

The article says that nobody realises that since the advent of videogames, violence rates in the US have declined "precipitously." Sternheimer even notes that it is likely that any 23-year-old man living in America has already played a videogame. How many 23-year-old men go out on a killing spree?

The MSNBC article goes on to note this nice gem:

For those who didn't grow up playing video games, the appeal of a game like "Counter-Strike" can be hard to comprehend. It can be difficult to understand that the game promotes communication and team work. It can be hard fathom how players who love to run around gunning down their virtual enemies do not have even the slightest desire to shoot a person in real life.

As a commenter on Digg noted, the truth is that massive multiplayer killing fests are really just slightly more complex and themed versions of cops-and-robbers. An online and engaging visual form of "tag" wherein players "tag" one another in the form of virtual kills, in a world where there are no real consequences. A game of tag in a world where death isn't really malicious or evil, or "desensitising" - death only means waiting for the next play round or respawn.

It is a competitive environment where sportsmanship is still the norm; where it is expected that after all the boasting and chest-thumping is done, the winning party will get up and shake the losing party's hand and say "good game."

The Digg title said "Research: Video Games Make You Stupid" catchy, yes, but that wasn't what the whole story was about. Basically, the report on InformationWeek said that a January survey by Harris Interactive of more than 1,100 youths aged 8 to 18 revealed that addicted hardcore gamers receive lower grades in school than their peers.

It's not that it automatically makes you dumber. It's just that they noted that those addicted were more likely to be diagnosed with an attention deficit problem... ooh look balloon. Where was I? Oh yeah. The Harris Interactive study also found that that aside from performing poorly in school, the addicts are more likely to get into physical fights and are physically heavier than non addicts.

Not all studies have shown that videogame play is negative. A previous study conducted last year by Beth Israel Medical center in New York found that surgeons who played video games before participating in a performance test completed it more than 11 seconds faster than doctors who don't play games. Yes folks, problems solving skills, the ability to see connections, and overall hand-eye coordination. Classic stuff gamers have been spouting in defense of their passion.

So what's with the videogames makes you dumber title in the Digg post? Well, the guy who dug was just probably looking for diggs, and probably felt that a catchy title was needed.

Simple explanation for all of this: More time on videogames, less time to study, unless you're a freakin' genius you're bound to fail a test - any test - that you didn't study for. More time on videogames, less time for physical activity - well thank god for the Wii. And lastly, More time on videogames, means less time socially, meaning more time getting bullied and beaten up. There's your "physical fights" right there. I mean, if you came across the guy in the video below, wouldn't you want to beat some sense into him?

Oh, and ignore my simple explanation. I'm no expert.