Warning! The following news blip will either fill you with pride or frustration, depending on your age.
News Blips:
The Federal Trade Commission reports more underage customers are turned away attempting to buy mature video games than age-restricted content in other mediums. Using underage mystery shoppers, the FTC found 80 percent of people attempting to buy M-rated games were rejected. In comparison, movie theaters turned away underage movie-goers from R-rated films 70 percent of the time, while stores prevented teenagers from buying R-rated DVDs or explicit CDs 40 and 30 percent of the time, respectively. I wonder how California legislators will try skewing these facts in the upcoming Supreme Court hearing. [Ars Technica]
Downloadable content for EA's FIFA 10 has earned more money than sales of the game itself. EA Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said FIFA 10 DLC has generated over $30 million. He also said the company believes the used-game market accounts for 20 percent of overall business and that consumers are accepting of the $10 Online Pass, which requires purchasers of used games to pay $10 for access to online game modes. It looks like hype from the World Cup has convinced people to pay for standard features they used to get for free. [GamesIndustry.biz]
Pokémon fansite Serebii has uncovered sprites for all the new monsters in Pokémon Black and White. There are 156 of the critters, and Serebii has provided the types, abilities, and base stats for the majority despite the game not releasing in Japan until tomorrow. The list indicates there are no new evolutions for monsters from previous generations. I think the designs are a mixed bag, as some are pretty trashy. In fact, one is literally a bag of trash.
Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios has a development unit of the PlayStation Portable's successor. While discussing potential platforms for the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick told Industry Gamers the team has a development unit of the PSP2. He said the team likes what the PSP2 can support and that it's a "pretty powerful machine." Hopefully, PSP pitch-kid Marcus will have outgrown his sassy youngster appeal by the time Sony is ready to promote its next handheld.
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