It seems like SCi Entertainment is finally getting into the role of the reluctant "father", ready to give away his daughter (i.e. Lara Croft) at the altar. It was confirmed recently that SCi will be entertaining the possibility of opening a major business investment in the near future to help get the company back on track. You can read a statement released by the company explaining this move in our full article.

Keeping up with the SCi Entertainment takeover bid? Well, if you put money on Time Warner, then this update might make you re-think your wager: it seems that NBC is putting forward big money to be the king of the hill, in terms of being considered as the top buyer. Just how big, you ask? Try a hundred million greenbacks. Enough money to choke a mammal of colossal proportions. Check out the details in the full article.

A lot of people have split opinions on the effectiveness of in-game advertising. However, Sony's chief executive Howard Stern expressed his doubts on the potential of that particular marketing trend. He wasn't alone in the idea either; other big names from major companies such as NBC Universal and Activision Blizzard voiced similar sentiments.

For more details, check out the full article after the jump!

 

Love the quirky and sometimes crazy television series The Office? Well, the NBC comedy series is coming to the PlayStation Portable, the Nintendo DS, and the PC. The port was announced by casual game developer, MumboJumbo who has just signed with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group.

The tag team combination will get the crew of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch as bobblehead dolls. Players will get the chance to pull pranks and complete tasks in this upcoming video game. Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group's Bill Kispert, vice president and general manager (Interactive) expressed enthusiasm over the project:

The cast and creators of 'The Office' have done a fantastic job delivering a show with a personality all its own. MumboJumbo is an innovator in the casual games space, and developing a game with them that combines the quirky characters and humor of the show with a proven, addictive game mechanic we think will be welcomed by fans and casual game players alike.

Reportedly, The Office video game will be available for download online for PSP, DS, and PC around fall of this year.

   

Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil have obviously found an ally in the person of NBC's Meet the Press">Tim Russert, host of NBC's "Meet the Press" talk show. In the show's episode yesterday, Russert pointedly suggested that the Virginia Tech massacre could have been an offshoot of the growing violent video games culture.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, a guest in the show, gamely (no pun intended) asserted that "we do have evidence that children... exposed to violent television and video games, that that certainly does net out in more violent behavior." As to what those evidences are, she never really did expound on.

But Russert wasn't content with merely getting a nod from Secretary Spellings. He then turns to Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and asks, "Any thought of looking into video games and the impact they may have on young children?" While certainly not being impressionable, Leavitt also wasn't exactly forthcoming, stating that "we have to look at a lot of things."

And this might actually be the better answer between the two guests. After all, it's rather foolhardy to outright believe that video games are indeed responsible for the macabre act Cho Seung-Hui launched against his schoolmates. In fact, the so-called "Counter-Strike theory" is just as good as stale meat on a shiny silver plate. The policemen have already searched through Cho's room in campus, and they have yet to find any evidence that he was a video game player, much more, of violent ones at that. Even if they did, this will do little in tangibly proving that it was the "Counter-Strike demons" in Cho's head that prodded him to carry out his deadly deed.

At the end of the day, while the rest of the nation is busy looking under rocks trying to find off-tangential answers to questions that are shaking up our system, and while there are some who are spectacularly trying to spin their blame-game, there remains 33 families waiting for justice and mourning for the loss of their loved ones who will never be coming home.

After all of the intense courtroom drama that we've had just a few days ago about video games being involved in murder cases, the situation has turned tail. A defense attorney just claimed that video games made his client "do it." But before we get into the whole mix of things, let's open the court record:

Over at Klamath Falls, Oregon, 20 year-old Patrick Morris is charged with the murder of 15 year-old Diego Aguilar, who died after being shot five times with a 12-gauge shotgun. Ouchie. The story goes that Morris was in a fit of rage and intended to kill Aguilar after finding out that the diamond he received in some drug-related exchange was, in fact, a fake. More on the legalese side of things, to quote KOBI NBC 5:

The attorney for the defense says that violent video games such as Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto may have blurred Morris' ability to distinguish reality and the consequences of his actions.

HOLD IT! After Devin Moore's murder case from a few years back, once again, GTA has been thrown into the mix. Further details of the entire case are still a bit foggy, but whatever the scenario, the on-going debate on violent video games triggering murderous actions will never end. You can't deny the fact that violent games are available in all gaming platforms. But arguing about its influence on a murder... That's something else.

When Vivendi Games dismissed rumors about the existence of a Battlestar Galactica MMO, fans were like "Come on, we want that game!" We know exactly how you feel so this bit of news should cheer you up.

Vivendi is in fact doing a game inspired by the hit TV series and it is coming out on Xbox Live Arcade as well as Windows PC. After a lot of guessing on the part of the fans, Ed Zobrist, President of Sierra Online (a division of Vivendi Games), finally made it official:

We're huge fans of "Battlestar Galactica"and are thrilled to have the opportunity to create a game inspired by the TV series. NBC Universal is working closely with us so that players will be able immerse themselves in the "Battlestar Galactica" universe and re-live their favorite missions from the TV series.

While Battlestar Galactica won't come out before Fall of 2007, fans can now have a glimpse of the game by downloading Gamer Pics and Themepacks at the Marketplace. Lastly, details about the game are still scarce as of now, but Sierra mentioned that developer Auran Games implemented both single and multiplayer modes.

Also, players can take part in intense space battles as a pilot for either the humans or Cyclons. We also heard that legendary ships from the television show will be featured on the game as well. Legendary, eh? Which ships would those be?

"America in an instant became the land of the indivisible," said former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw. "There are so many lessons from that time for our time, none greater than the idea of one nation greater than the sum of its parts." He was speaking at this year's ceremony marking the attack on Pearl Harbor 65 years ago.

While you can't turn back time you can relive that historic day via the PC game Attack on Pearl Harbor. The arcade-style air combat game for PC CD-ROM set in World War II's Pacific Theater. Players can sign up for either side as the daring US gunner turned pilot Douglas Knox or Japanese ace Zenji Yamada.

Unlike the historical event, either nation can win the war in Attack on Pearl Harbor depending on player skills as they battle for supremacy behind the cockpits. The Japanese air fleet includes Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", the D3A1 Aichi "Val" and the B5N Nakajima "Kate" while the US counters with Chance Vought F4U Corsair, the Douglas SBD Dauntless and the Grumman TBM Avenger.

Published by Legendo Entertainment, Attack on Pearl Harbor has the following features:

• Simple, straightforward control scheme that'll have anyone flying in seconds
• Widescreen gaming support coupled with dazzling special effects provides a beautifully rendered backdrop of the Pacific
• Option to play Douglas Knox of the USAAF or fighter pilot Zenji Yamada of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
• Riveting action in the most prolific fighters, bombers and torpedo-bearing aircraft of the WWII Pacific Theatre
• Fight the selfsame battles that determined the outcome of the war, from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima

Check out the screens at the Full Article.