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Should Rockstar Be Prosecuted For Thai Murder?

The murder of a Thai cab driver at the hands of an idiot teenager in Thailand has stirred up a controversy that is to GTA4 what Hot Coffee was to San Andreas. With global response to the incident, Rockstar seems to have riled up a bunch of video game violence critics.

In the latest chapter of this story, we have Somchai Jaroen-amnuaysuk, deputy director of Thailand’s Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups Office going against poor old Rockstar, developers of GTA4.

He says that when a player “copycats a crime he or she sees in the game”, the makers of the game should be prosecuted. Prosecutions will force the game makers to act more responsibly, the director says. This is a pretty much WTF kind of idea, because till now, I’ve only heard these critics go against publishers, distributors and the like.

The fact that Rockstar is in good ol’ America is consoling, seeing as if it were a Thai company, it would probably have been “prosecuted” already. And speaking of Thailand’s legal system, let me remind you that the 19-year-old kid who killed the cab driver may be sentenced to execution by lethal injection. Not good news for the game makers.

Siggraph 2008: The Year of Softimage?

It may be difficult to comprehend now, but it was only two years ago that many in the video game world had given Nintendo up for dead. Despite the early success of the DS handheld, the company’s Gamecube had finished in distant third vs. its same generation competitors. And with the next generation of consoles dawning, the XBox 360 was lighting up the charts and the Playstation 3 was about to become reality. Then at E3 2006, Nintendo unveiled the Wii and the rest is history.

While nothing unveiled at this week’s Siggraph conference in Los Angeles will have that level of mainstream consumer impact, the event may feature a similar underdog story that will have far-reaching consequences for the business of video game development.

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Court Denies Preliminary Injunction Relating to Activision – Vivendi Games Combination

Activision, Inc. today announced that the Delaware Court of Chancery has denied the Wayne County Employees’ Retirement System’s request for a preliminary injunction relating to Activision’s proposed combination with Vivendi Games, Inc., the interactive entertainment business of Vivendi S.A.

A special meeting of stockholders of Activision, Inc. will be held on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, to consider and vote on proposals to approve the transaction and related matters. If Activision’s stockholders approve the transaction and the other matters to be considered at the special meeting, Activision anticipates closing the business combination on or about July 9, 2008.

The meeting will be at 11:00 a.m., local time, at The Peninsula Hotel located at 9882 South Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $2.9 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

id leaves ESA too!

After Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts, we now have confirmation that id has quit the Entertainment Software Association. This comes up as news with id getting ready to rear its epic head once again when it comes out with Rage and Doom 4 in the coming years, along with their id Tech 5 Engine. Hit the jump now!
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Michael Bay, Eli Roth respond to Uwe Boll; can get ugly

Uwe Boll’s hateful video that faced heavy YouTube competition from teenage rants has apparently not gone very unnoticed. Michael Bay responded on his official forum, saying:

I find people who rant like that – calling shit about both me, and George Clooney – comes from someone screaming because he is not being heard. He is obviously a sad being.

When you ask “do I care”? Not in the slightest.

M

Eli Roth, also insulted by Boll has supposedly responded saying that it was the “greatest compliment ever”. No news available about George Clooney, also insulted in a German accent.

When will this war of words between Hollywood’s most annoying directors end?!

Source: BingeGamer

Uwe Boll talks pro-Boll petition, insults Hollywood in funny accent

Uwe Boll once again proves that he can accomplish the impossible, by insulting Hollywood people like Michael Bay and George Clooney, counter the anti-Boll petition, appear confused and speak in a beautiful German accent all at the same time.

Hit the jump to view the video (and the transcript) that will make your day.

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