ZDnet News Blog

Two Warcraft III players will march the prestigious Olympic torch on its way to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

There’s no word on where or where Jae Ho “Moon” Jang and Li “Sky” will join the procession, GGL Wire reports (cheers Kotaku for the tip off). Apparently, professional StarCraft player Junchun “Pj” Sha will be also be along for the ride, along with fellow RTS-er Lei “Leilei” Shen. Pro gamers of the world unite!

The Olympic torch’s progress to Beijing has been marked with protests all across Europe and in the US. Here’s hoping the gamers don’t have anything heavy thrown at them…

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THQ President Brian Farrell has cited Nintendo’s successful first-party software as the reason their kids’ portfolio did not meet expectations last quarter.

In a Q4 earnings call, Farrell said that Nintendo had made the kids’ videogames market “extremely competitive” and that was why THQ’s “traditionally strong kids’ business did not meet expectations,” according to casualgaming.biz.

“The kids’ market was extremely competitive during fiscal ‘08. In fact, it was the most crowded market for videogames for kids in recent memory,” he said.

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A newspaper is offering cash for your stories on how videogames made you “turn to a life of crime.”

A listing on recruitment site StarNow, a hub for actors and musicians looking for jobs, has appeared reading, “a national newspaper wants your story and will pay hundreds of pounds to the right person.”

The listing comes in the wake of last week’s Byron report, which made newspapers all across the UK, some with questionable headlines such as ‘computer games get health warnings.’

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A new study from the NPD Group has found that 72 percent of Americans play videogames, but the research firm says online gaming is still not fully addressed.

The number of gamers in the US rose from 64 percent of the population in 2006 to an all-time high of 72 percent in 2007, according to NPD’s latest study, Online Gaming 2008.

Of the total amount of gamers in the US, over half play games online, according to the study.

The PC continues to be the top platform for online gaming, as 90 percent of online gamers say they use computers to play online games. Nineteen percent say they use a console and 3 percent use a cell phone for online gaming.

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Capcom will add a Miles Edgeworth game to its Ace Attorney series, marking the first time in the history of the property that players will be playing a prosecutor.

According to a translation of the latest issue of Famitsu, Perfect Prosecutor (working title) puts players in charge of the one-time nemesis of Phoenix Wright, one of the best prosecution lawyers in the world of Ace Attorney.

Alongside familiar favourite Dick Gumshoe, Edgeworth will be searching for clues to prove that defendants actually did commit a crime.

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Vivendi has formally revealed its new Crash Bandicoot adventure, Mind over Mutant, which will be out on Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP and DS at the end of the year. Check out 360 screens here.

In a blatant parody of the iPhone craze, the story has a rejuvenated Neo Cortex taking over the world with a, “text-messaging, do-anything device which controls both mutant and bandicoot minds.”

The new game apparently takes a more free-roaming stance than before, and features an interesting monster capture system which lets you use the abilities of enemies and train them up in your pocket. It’s all gone a bit Pokemon…

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Activision has unveiled the track list for the DS game Guitar Hero: On Tour in magazine Nintendo Power, and it looks like it will please teeny boppers who have never heard of Jimi Hendrix.

The selection boasts such Guitar-based ‘classics’ as This Love by Maroon 5 and All Star by Smash Mouth.

Not to take anything away from Blink 182 or No Doubt, but we wonder if the developer has forgotten that these games are enjoyable because you can ROCK.

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Oxygen Interactive has unfurled the sails on two naval combat games, one which is heading to DS and one to WiiWare.

Yarr… *cough* Pirates: Duels on the High Seas is the name of the DS game and it includes single-player and multiplayer modes and features naval combat on the high seas in seven different locations around the globe.

In addition to broad siding enemy ships and fantastical beasts - like a Kraken - you’ll be plundering treasure troves, trading flotsam and jetsam for gold and rescuing castaways that you can employ to improve the performance of your vessel.

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Publisher Midway held a gigantabulous press event at a convention center hotel outside Las Vegas this week, laying out a big chunk of its upcoming software lineup for the coming months and revealing a few games for the very first time.

We’ve got hands-on info on the big stuff: This is Vegas, TNA Impact Wrestling, Wheelman, and the 360 version of Unreal Tournament III. And if you haven’t yet seen our UK boys’ exclusive MKDC trailer, stop doing everything and click here.

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A sequel to the Xbox Live Arcade shooter Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has been listed by Australian ratings group OFLC, providing extremely strong evidence that a follow-up is on the way.

Retro Evolved 2, which was submitted by Geometry Wars dev Bizarre Creations’s new owner Activision, was issued a ‘G’ rating by the Australian group today.

Activision UK was unavailable for comment when we picked up the phone.

Liverpool-based developer Bizarre previously hinted at a proper sequel, telling CVG: “there’s a lot going on [with Geometry Wars on Wii and mobile], but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about the Xbox 360…”

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