The big buzz just a few days ago loomed over the societal-political sector, when a video game violence bill beset by a preliminary injunction was held back permanently after courts found the law was unconstitutional. The bill, proposed by senator Leland Yee and former California Assemblyman, was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger back in 2005.

But before the law could come into effect on January 1, 2006, the collective alliances of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA), and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) countered the law with a suit. The result rendered the law useless when courts decided to place a preliminary injunction on the law.

Like many other video game laws, the California video game violence law wanted to restrict the sale of violent video games (as classified by the law) to anyone under the age of 18. It only went as far as punishing violators with a US$ 1,000 fine, but back in Monday, the law was proven unconstitutional and was rendered ineffectual - permanently.

The game industry, instead, had provided invitations to the political sector to aid in the much-needed re-education of purchasing decisions and rating systems for media and to encourage parents to partake in the game selection process for their inappropriately aged children. But it appears the politicians will not sway so easily.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has suggested that he will appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte and stand by the bill "the Governator" signed into law two years ago. In defense, he commented:

I signed this important measure to ensure that parents are involved in determining which video games are appropriate for their children. The bill I signed would require that violent video games be clearly labeled and not be sold to children under 18 years old. Many of these games are made for adults and choosing games that are appropriate for kids should be a decision made by their parents. I will vigorously defend this law and appeal it to the next level.

As GamePolitics put it, "It’s not over until it’s over in California," and we couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Few games far into the horizon can capture the collective imagination of QJ's Games For Windows team, but StarCraft II definitely more than cuts it. It's been almost a decade since the original came into the scene and every PC gamer who's ever played it is more than ready for the sequel. This video has Blizzard developer Chris Sigaty talking about the game. Check it out:

If you've been listening to his short discussion, you'll realize that the whole game has changed to an extent that you'll still probably feel that you're in the StarCraft RTS universe but with everything smoother and richer than ever. If we know Blizzard as well as we do, they hardly ever miss their targets.

The sad news is the release date's details. This game will come out "when it's ready" and we know what that means. Still, that's the Blizzard School of Thought for you: it's always an ambitious project with years of polishing. Say, is anyone thinking of Diablo III? We'll probably get to play that with our kids.

PopSci caught a bite with Spore creator Will Wright, the game developer responsible for rendering millions glued to their computer screens with their worldwide hit, The Sims series. His latest creation, due to ship this fall, took him seven years to finish. The game, showing its Sims roots, allows players to create worlds all the way from the microscopic up to the galactic scale.

Growing up, Will always thought that he was going to be an architect or an engineer. He was the sort of kid who "spent a lot of time building models, lots and lots of models, planes, tanks, ships, whatever." When he got his first computer, he realized that he could build more interesting models.

Building models is still his favorite pastime and the latest game he built still deals with creating and modeling; in particular, a game where players pilot the development of life from a single cell into a galactic empire. The creative aspect of the Wright games has always appealed to women. Will this game be more "masculine" than its predecessors, The Sims, which appealed more strongly to the female contingent?

The full article, along with the answer to the question above, awaits after the jump!