Quinn Pitcock, the almost 300-pound defensive tackle attempting a comeback with the Seattle Seahawks following a bout of depression-induced (and self-diagnosed) videogame addiction, has survived the first round of cuts with his NFL team and racked up four tackles in the Seahawk’s first three preseason games.

Pitcock also opened up to the Dayton Daily News (he attended Ohio State University) about his trouble with videogames, labeling Call of Duty as his game of choice. Pitcock indicated that on a “typical day,” he would wake up at 3 PM and then play until 6 or 7 AM the next day.

Playing as Randy the Random 1, Pitcock said, “First-person shooter games were my thing. I was ranked at one point 55th in the world.” Read More

Denver police are on the hunt for two men that stole $1,200 worth of video games from an area Ultimate Electronics store. The men were caught by surveillance cameras taking turns distracting the employees at the store; while one would grab the attention of clerks, the other would pocket the video games.

The theft happened on Aug. 10 at 11:15 a.m. Surveillance pictures also captured the get-away car. Police are asking anyone that knows about the crime to contact them through Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). If your tip helps catch the two men you could be eligible for a cash reward, which you can then use to buy some videogames. Oh and you can also call in a tip anonymously.

According to a new report from DFC Intelligence, the market for English based free-to-play games will grow from $250 million in 2009 to $2 billion by 2015. DFC Intelligence says that growth will be attributed to broadband adoption and consumer comfort with buy digital content. Further, DFC Intelligence says that, by the end of 2010, English free-to-play games will have 128 million registered users.

"For many Korean companies the market in North America has not taken off nearly as fast as they expected,” said DFC analyst Insun Yoon. “Much of this can be attributed to the immature infrastructure and a lack of established payment and service mechanisms. The good news is that this is starting to change and consumers are starting to realize that the game play of top high-end F2P games can be quite sophisticated." Read More

For the last four years the FCC has been kicking around the idea of a coast-to-coast free wireless service. The idea came through a proposal from M2Z Networks, who would build out the project over the next decade, and pay five percent of its annual revenue to the United States Treasury in return. But today M2Z announced that the FCC has told the company that the commission was "dropping the concept."

FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman tried to explain why the commission passed on MZ2's proposal:

"We gave careful and thorough consideration to the proposal, but ultimately determined that this was not the best policy outcome," Ruth Milkman, chief of the FCC's Wireless Bureau told Ars Technica. "We remain vigilant in our efforts to facilitate the universal deployment and adoption of broadband, especially through the much-needed reform to the Universal Service Fund."

MZ2 CEO John Muleta fired back: Read More

While Sony may have the makers of the X3Jailbreak under an injunction in Australia (at least until this Friday), a homebrew alternative has already found its way on the Internet. The open source alternative called PSGroove has been released and - unlike an earlier version of the software - it doesn't contain certain features that could be used for piracy.

Of course, with certain features removed, users might not be as keen on using this solution as a replacement for X3Jailbreak. For starters, PSGroove doesn't allow re-routing of Blu-ray traffic to either the internal hard drive or an external device, which means that playing a backup copy of a game or movie is not possible.

So if doesn't allow you to play backup copies or games and movies, many may wonder what its usefulness is. Read More

LucasArts confirmed that today that it had let some of its staff go - a response to an earlier rumor that it had fired 30 percent of its staff. In a statement to multiple publications a LucasArts representative said that it was reorganizing its development teams to address the "needs of the internal studio."

The LucasArts representative would not discuss the actual number of employees let go or which departments they were cut from. Full and brief statement from LucasArts below:

"LucasArts is reorganizing its teams to better address the needs of the internal studio. Unfortunately, this means adjusting staffing. LucasArts continues to be committed to creating a first-class internal studio – and to fostering relationships with trusted external partners – in order to deliver quality games that amaze and inspire fans."

We'll have more on this story as it develops. Source: GamePro

Decatur, Georgia-based Paste Magazine has fired the bulk of its employees and is closing its print publication, according to an Associated Press report and several tweets from former employees. Paste Editor-in-chief Josh Jackson told the AP Wednesday that the print magazine will keep its website, but will no longer send print copies to its 200,000+ subscribers. Nine employees were let go on Tuesday afternoon. Three employees - including EIC Jackson - will help keep the website running for the time being.

Paste Magazine is best known for its thoughtful writing on the music industry, indie artists and a variety of mediums including books, television, movies and video games. The website gets 1 million unique visitors each month, according to Jackson.

Last year the magazine asked its readers to donate money to help it survive a downturn in advertising revenue, drawing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The donations did help the company stay open, but Jackson says that the company simply "ran out of fumes." Read More

Rhode Island Democratic gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio (pictured) is now attempting to block the $75 million loan used to lure Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios from Massachusetts.

Caprio, who is also the state’s General Treasurer, has expressed tepid uncertainty about the deal all along, calling for the state’s Economic Development Corporation to modify the loan and questioning the bond structure that will finance it. Read More

As a September deadline looms for submitting amicus briefs in the Schwarzenegger v. EMA Supreme Court case, both sides are still hard at work recruiting advocates.

In an excellent Law.com story on the subject, a few claims and quotes jump out, including a comment from Activision Blizzard EVP and Chief Public Policy Officer George Rose, who said, “We wouldn't be surprised if the number [of states siding with the industry] was equal or exceeded the number backing California.”

Meanwhile both California Supervising Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzini, who will argue California’s side on November 2, and Louisiana Department of Justice Appellate Chief S. Kyle Duncan, who authored the brief for states backing the California law, seem to think that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff “is taking the lead in drafting a brief supporting the industry and discussing it with AGs of other states.”
Read More

In light of the controversy surrounding the ability to play as the Taliban in Electronic Arts’ upcoming Medal of Honor, Northern California’s Times-Herald solicited reader input on the title, in the form of letters to the editor, and listed them on their website.

The responses range from ambivalent to angry, and probably represent a decent enough cross-section of opinions. Samplings of the responses are shared below, led off with our personal favorite:

Aubrey Cosentino: I don't think they should have even made this game, let alone try and release it. I would never buy it. My brother is in the Navy and served over in Iraq. It's a slap in the face to Americans is what it is; first they want to build a temple, now this game, come on now ...

Linda Peterson: I would NOT buy it -- but I don't play or buy any war games at all. I think the Taliban option is in extremely bad taste. Offensive even. Read More

An online videogame backed by the right wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), launched in advance of regional elections to be held on September 26, depicts the province of Styria as overrun with mosques and tasks players with stopping further ones from being built.

A Reuters story claims that the “Bye Bye Mosque” game has drawn over 60,000 visitors since Monday, in addition to criticisms from the local Islamic community, Social Democrats and the Green Party. A local Islamic leader named Anas Schakfeh called the game “tasteless and incomprehensible,” adding, “This is religious hatred and xenophobia beyond comparison.”

As the game ends, a message reads, “Styria is full of minarets and mosques. So vote for Dr. Gerhard Kurzmann (pictured) and the Freedom Party on September 26 so that this doesn’t happen.”
Read More

An Alaskan law that goes into effect on July 1, and deals with the electronic distribution of indecent material to minors, has come under fire by free speech advocates.

Section 11.61.128 of the Alaska Statutes, signed into law by Governor Sean Parnell (pictured hugging his predecessor) in May, calls for parties to be criminally liable for media transmissions (or hosting) of material that is considered “harmful to minors.” Additionally, violators can face up to two years in prison, could be forced to forfeit their business and would have to register as sex offenders.

Those in opposition label the law as “broad censorship,” and claim that “it bans from the Internet anything that may be ‘harmful to minors,’ including material adults have a First Amendment right to view.”
Read More

As Microsoft continues to try and get its Xbox 360 to market in China, an executive for the company outlined why Kinect may be a valuable asset in its push and how MS plans to combat piracy in the Asian country.

Simon Leung (pictured), Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Chairman and CEO for the Greater China region, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, first noted why China is such an attractive region, if it wasn’t already apparent, stating that China would soon be the world’s largest PC market, while it's already tops in the mobile phone and broadband categories.

Leung indicated that China is becoming a growing adopter of cloud computing, which could help protect Microsoft, as Leung stated, “… you cannot pirate a cloud application.”

Asked about selling consoles in China, Leung responded: Read More

Speaking in Nashville, Tennessee yesterday at a symposium on intellectual property enforcement, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke publicly staked out the Obama administration's position on piracy and copyright infringement. It involves a quote from Vice-President Joe Biden.

According to Locke, copyright infringement is simply theft and should be dealt with accordingly. He also has a lot of sympathy for songwriters - who are being ripped off when it comes to royalties. First his comments on copyright infringement:

"I think it's important to lay down a marker about how the Obama administration views this issue," he said of online copyright infringement. "As Vice President Biden has said on more than one occasion, 'Piracy is flat, unadulterated theft,' and it should be dealt with accordingly."

Strong medicine. Now his comments on the fate of songwriters: Read More

Broadcasting & Cable reports that progress is being made in talks between the FCC and stakeholders. With a Sept. 2nd deadline looming, the FCC would probably like to have these meetings out of the way so they can make a decision on what to do next. Unfortunately, these meetings with stakeholders may prove to be fatal to key parts of the regulatory framework that the FCC and net roots groups were hoping to implement by reclassifying broadband and mobile services under Title II.

The report cites an investor note from Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Rebecca Arbogas, who says that "a general agreement that included concessions on wireless network neutrality by operators, commitments to a robust public Internet, and an expanded FCC role" are on the table. An anonymous source close to the talks also tells the publication that these negotiations "remained a work in progress."

Arbogas also wrote that she sees four possible outcomes: Read More