The average age of a gamer is starting to edge higher. Gamers are also less healthy and more depressed than those who don't partake in our particular brand of entertainment. That's what a CDC survey suggests, at least.

Midway is now owned by Warner Bros. -- by default. The LA Times report that the media conglomerate has won the bidding rights to Midway for US$ 33 million. So how come they won it by default? According to reports, the big WB was the only one who had a "serious offer".

A couple of Sony's massive online games -- Zipper Interactive's MAG and SOE's very own The Agency -- are rumored to be gearing up for beta releases soon. More after the jump.

There has been a lot of buzz about the upcoming 2008 ION Game Conference. If you plan on attending the event, then you might be interested in knowing that early registration for the event has now been opened and will close by March 17 this year.

For more information on the 2008 ION Game Conference, scoot on over to the full article.

Ever since the Online Game Development Conference (OGDC) started, more than a few big names have graced the event. However, it won't be known as the OGDC for much longer. Evergreen Events has announced that it will now be known as the ION Game Conference.

Want to  know more about this change? Head on over to the full article by clicking on our "read more" link below for more information.

Thanks to the game spearheaded by John Woo, Midway Games moved up the ranks to take 35% of Europe's market share after Stranglehold (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PC) reached target sales numbers earlier than expected. Stranglehold remains on the top ten of UK's best selling Xbox 360 titles, and gives Midway a bright future for 2008. "Our goal was to get to 35 per cent in 2008. We've gotten there this year," said Midway CEO David Zucker after crediting Stranglehold as one of the major factors.

More details and Tequila at the full article!

Team USA has won the overall championship in the recently-concluded World Cyber Games (WCG) 2007 held in Seattle, Washington this weekend. The champs bagged a total of 6 medals, just one medal shy of a deadlock with South Korea's seven-medal record.

The Americans dominated in various platforms and came out on top in Gears of War, Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing, Tony Hawk's Project 8, and Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs

This year also saw the emergence of Germany in the RTS genre with 4 medals, topping powerhouse South Korea's three-medal performance. The United Kingdom also put on a stunner as they swept Starcraft with an unbeaten streak in the Singles game courtesy of star player Apollo.

When all was said and done, more than 700 players from 74 nations expressed their fulfillment in their participation throughout the event. Victory may not have been for everyone, but there was much happiness to be shared.

The World Cyber Games is the biggest e-sports gathering in the planet. It was founded in 2001 and has been one of the industry's most celebrated shindigs ever since, attracting fans and media from all over the world.

We've just heard that music composer Inon Zur has created an original musical score for Electronic Arts' and Crytek's technological masterpiece, Crysis. The music will be tied around the modern cinematic theme for the PC first-person shooter, soon to debut on PCs worldwide on November.

 

If Zur doesn't strike you with a hint of familiarity, he was the composer for SOCOM II: U.S. Navy Seals soundtrack. That same soundtrack snagged a finalist position in the Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) Awards at the Game Developers Conference. In a surprising turn of luck, his Men of Valor theme had to snag the Best Original Instrumental award away from the SOCOM II track.

He has diverse composing experience across CGI movies and games, including Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. And he never shied away from Hollywood either; orchestral scores to the likes of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Kingdom of Heaven," "The New World," "The Pacifier," "Fantastic Four," and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" are all chalked up to his name.

Keeping in theme with Zur's dynamic orchestral taste, Crysis' original score was recorded together with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra in Seattle. The game's musical scoring is also featured in PLAY Magazine's August 2007 issue, where Zur talks all about the musical scoring process and the score's inspiration.

But Crytek's audio director, Joseph Zajonc, could only hint at what avid gamers and gaming critics could expect with the Crysis soundtrack:

Inon’s ability to describe a complex situation through music is uncanny. [He] has such an enthusiasm for composing, it’s a joy to work with him. He really wants to provide exactly the right material for a given game moment, often coming up with an approach that surprises.

Multiplay is encouraging all LAN game enthusiasts to come and participate in i31 event which is now one of the biggest game gathering of the sort in Europe.

Spanning 1,500 square meters of space, players can bring along their own computers and hook it up on the LAN. Once underway, the gamers can compete in multiplayer skirmishes on titles currently on the World Cyber Games (WCG) lineup, on both PCs and Xbox 360s open to the public use.

Samsung is one of the main sponsors of the event along with other industry heavyweights like Asus, Packard Bell, Intel, Scan, Philips, Crucial and Antec. All of the firms have come to participate to show their support for the popularity of gaming on the PC.

Software giants are also there to add spice to the shindig. EA will be giving a demo of Crysis, THQ will show off Frontlines: Fuel of War and Activision will let players get their hands on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. The winners will then be flown to Seattle where the best of the best are poised to prove once more who the king of the PC gaming hill is.

Multiplay Managing director Craig Fletcher was proud to comment "this is the largest and most interactive exhibition we have ever organised".

Microsoft Corporation has officially become the first platform-owning company to support the Pan European Gaming Information (PEGI) Online system which seeks to help parents protect their kids from possible threats which may arise in the online community.

The Seattle-based company therefore adheres with the standards set by the movement which means that it will help safeguard children in the means that it is most capable of.

The PEGI recognizes this and commended Microsoft for having the Family setting system for the Xbox 360 console that allows parents to screen what's going in and out of their kids' game systems.

"We’re really happy to be the first platform holder to sign up to PEGI online and to having been a major contributor to the PEGI Online Working Group," says Microsoft Regional Vice President Chris Lewis.

He adds "it’s a great step forward to help us extend the information, education and protection PEGI ratings give to gamers into the online space with Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE. We take responsible and safe video gaming very seriously and will continue to work with partners in empowering parents – and provide great digital entertainment for consumers."

PEGI is the core of the movement that aims to help children stay away from negative things that may influence their development through video games. PEGI Online is its extension into cyberspace- an area which it sees as a possible source of dangers that are hard to combat.