It was roughly a few weeks ago that Emotiv was able to introduce their EPOC neuroheadset to the whole world.

Now we got wind that the company is looking for candidates to be the beta evaluators for upcoming brain-controlled gadget. Find out the details after the jump!

Sony is sending out word that they will be holding a presence at the upcoming Esurance Icer Air 2007 event this November 2 to 3. The Icer Air event itself will offer visitors with plenty of extreme sports events ranging from a big air ski and snowboard competition, freestyle motocross, skate and bmx vert, and park courses.

Aside from Sony, there are also expected to be 60 different exhibitors on-site, with a live performance by Mos Def and Talib Kweli scheduled for Saturday (November 3), following the day's Big Air invitational bout featuring Travis Rice and TJ Schiller. There will also be a Beer Garden, and the Village, where visitors can opt to buy related souvenirs.

The PlayStation tents will be in the ballpark by the vert ramp and within the Village, and will feature merchandise such as Sony's new PSP Slim. This year's Esurance Icer Air event will be taking place at the AT&T Park, at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, SF California 94107. Full details for the event are available via the read link.

As expected, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has filed a notice of appeal to the recent decision of courts that declared California's video game violence law unconstitutional. According to the said bill signed back in 2005, the sale of video games is restricted to anyone below 18 years of age. The Governor explained:

Many studies show the link between plagying ultra-violent video games and violent behavior. We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions. We protect our children from buying inappropriate movies and ought to be able to protect them from buying inappropriate video games as well.

In a counter move, the Entertainment Software Association or ESA has filed a motion to Judge Ronald M. Whyte of the Northern District of California for the reimbursement of attorney fees and other expenses during the trial from Schwarzenegger. The amount bring asked by the association totals US$ 324,480. ESA President Michael Gallagher had this to say:

California citizens should be outraged at their elected leaders. Hard-earned tax dollars were spent on defending this law that California's state leaders knew was unconstitutional... From early on, the industry warned Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Yee that this bill was unconstitutional and would be thrown out by the courts and that California taxpayers would pay the cost.

Both the ESA and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) believe that the governor's appeal is going to be a disappointment as other rulings on prior similar cases are consistent with the decision of the California courts. EMA President Bo Andersen gave this piece of advice to Governor Schwarzenegger:

The court's ruling is consistent with rulings that have barred eight similar laws around the nation, and we fully expect it to be upheld on appeal. Rather than wasting more public funds in trying to defend a patently unconstitutional law, we believe the state should invest in helping parents make informed decisions about the video games brought into their homes.

Common Sense Media, an organization that reviews games for the benefit of parents and guardians, has joined the protests against the ESRB decision to give Manhunt 2 (PSP, Wii) an M rating. Their protests echoes those of Leland Yee, senator of California who recently demanded that ESRB reveal their reasons for giving the game its new rating.

 

Common Sense Media CEO and founder James Steyer gave a statement summarizing the already popular issues surrounding the violence of Manhunt 2, then directly threatens to undermine the ESRB if they don't provide the reasons for overturning the rating. Steyer's demands are the same as Yee's:

It is clear that by lowering the rating, the ESRB has all but ensured that the game will be marketed and sold through channels popular with kids and teens – and, despite industry claims to the contrary, kids under 17 can and do purchase M-rated games. Before Manhunt 2 is released for sale, parents deserve an explanation – they need to know the facts about this grossly violent game before it goes on the market.

By failing to explain their decision and, in turn, provide the transparency that consumers need if they are to trust the ESRB’s ratings, the board threatens to undermine a ratings system that has many positive aspects and that could serve as an important tool for parents.

The statement seems to be directly in contrast to the ESRB's previous statement stating their position on the matter, suggesting that it may indeed be a direct challenge:

Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released...

It is a parent's rightful place to make choices for their own children. The ESRB and console manufacturers provide families with the tools and information to help them do so.

Common Sense Media launched a video game education campaign back in May with Best Buy. The campaign's goal is to inform parents about the games they buy for their kids on Best Buy's website. Will the protests present more problems for Manhunt 2 before its release on October 31? Updates as we get them.

After ESRB president Patricia Vance released her statement standing by ESRB's decision to re-rate the controversial Manhunt 2 to Mature, California senator Leland Yee had this to ask: "What is ESRB trying to hide?"

Yee recently questioned ESRB's move to grant Rockstar's Manhunt 2 (for Wii, PSP and PS2) its much-desired M rating, suspicious about what he apparently deems as a shady dealing between ESRB and Rockstar.

To be more specific, what upset Yee was that the ratings board refused to disclose the details why they changed their minds and took off Manhunt 2's previous Adults Only rating, letting it slip by with M for Mature.

It should be noted at this point that Vance already explained the reason behind ESRB's secrecy: game content is confidential, especially if the game in question is not yet released. Simply put, ESRB does not have the right to disclose such details.

It looks like the Manhunt 2 controversy just won't die down, at least not yet. With the way things are going, Manhunt 2 may just be the tip of the iceberg, and the attention may soon shift to yet another game. What do gamers think? What do you think? Do hit the comments button below to share your thoughts.



Buy: [Manhunt 2 (PSP)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii)]

Looks like the controversy isn't over yet. In fact, the manhunt has just started. Leland Yee, California senator who made the 2005 Video Game Law, is demanding an explanation for ESRB's decision to give Take-Two Interactive's Manhunt 2 (for the Wii and PSP) an M rating, joining the protests raised by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Yee is suspicious of the correspondence between ESRB and Rockstar, claiming that their rating system can't be trustworthy for as long as the decision to make it so was held behind closed doors.

Not only is Yee demanding the ESRB to reveal what had led them to change the rating, but also to reveal all the correspondence that was held between them and Rockstar. He stated in a press release that:

Parents can’t trust a rating system that doesn’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating. The ESRB and Rockstar should end this game of secrecy by immediately unveiling what content has been changed to grant the new rating and what correspondence occurred between the ESRB and Rockstar to come to this conclusion. Unfortunately, history shows that we must be quite skeptical of these two entities. [...] Clearly the ESRB has a conflict of interest in rating these games. It is time to bring transparency to this rating system and for the industry to be held accountable.

 

In response to the looming legal threat over the video game industry, Entertainment Software Association's Video Game Voters Network (VGVN) has set up a website specifically for the purpose of dissuading the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, from appealing his debunked bill. The bill in question aims to restrict violent video game sales to children and post a hefty fine of US$ 1,000 upon violation but it was ruled out as unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Roland Whyte.

The website, which can be found in www.videogamevoters.org, will let California residents fill out a pre-written form letter that will be addressed to the California governor, asking him to withdraw his appeal, which has not been filed as of the moment. Concerned California residents only need to provide their e-mail, name and address to join the cause. To make the process as easy as pie, VGVN's website includes some pointers on what to write to Schwarzenegger.

This might be quite persuasive, yes? Only time will tell if it will indeed make the Governator change his mind.

A handheld console device became the reason for an evacuation at one of the terminals in Long Beach Airport in California last Thursday.

What happened was while one passenger was passing through the X-ray machine at around 9:30 a.m., the Transportation Security Administration screeners spotted a "suspicious item".

After the hullabaloo has been cleared, it turned out that the said item looked suspicious under the X-ray because it was in raw form, meaning its wiring and inner circuits are showing.

The police and the bomb squad, alongside firefighters were called to the airport. Furthermore, this caused a big delay among the passengers that day. Aside from the several hundred people that were evacuated from the terminal for about one and a half hour, five arriving aircraft were held as well on the tarmac until the all-clear was given.

The agency's spokesperson said that the handheld device belongs to someone who work for "some sort of game or toy company". If you really want to know, the owner wasn't named and the handheld device in question wasn't specified.

Video game developer and publisher Namco Bandai has revealed a list of the games that it will be showcasing during this year's E3. The company currently has five titles in store for the Xbox 360, two for the PS3 and three each for the Wii, PSP, DS and PS2. Here's a list of the games:

• Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
• Beautiful Katamari
• Culdcept SAGA
• Digimon World: Dawn
• Digimon World: Dusk
• Dynasty Warriors Gundam
• Eternal Sonata
• .hack//G.U. Vol. 3
• Namco Museum DS
• Namco Museum Remix
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes
• Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2
• Smash Court Tennis 3
• Soul Calibur Legends
• Space Station Tycoon
• Tale of the World: Radiant Mythology
• Time Crisis 4

Of the titles listed above, only Culdcept SAGA is scheduled for release in Q1 2008. All of the other games are slated for fiscal 2007 releases. This year's E3 will be taking place in Santa Monica, California next week.

The Mountain View, California studio of Vicarious Visions acquired by Activision in 2005 has been closed down June 6, 2007 right after the development of the game-tie in of the movie "Spider-Man 3."

The facility houses some 30 employees, some of whom will be repositioned within Vicarious Visions itself, while most will be laid off.

This was confirmed by Maryanne Lataif, vice president of corporate communications at Activision.

Activision said that the operations of the other Vicarious Visions studio in Albany, New York is unaffected and will continue functioning as one of the publisher's major development wings. Vicarious Visions was founded in 1991 by Guha and Karthik Bala, who lived in New York state.

Among the notable projects that the developer has worked in was the Xbox version of Doom 3, members of the Tony Hawk franchise for the DS and GBA, Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the Wii and PSP and of course, their critically acclaimed break-out independent project Terminus from 1999.