Supongo que era cuestión de tiempo

Cobrar impuestos en juegos para las transacciones reales, para ventas y compras de vienes Virtuales en juegos Online como WoW o Second Life... aquí más.

"Users of online worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft transact millions of dollars worth of virtual goods and services every day... People who cash out of virtual economies by converting their assets into real-world currencies are required to report their incomes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the tax authority where they live in the real world... 'Right now we're at the preliminary stages of looking at the issue and what kind of public policy questions virtual economies raise — taxes, barter exchanges, property and wealth,' said Dan Miller, senior economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress."

Linux sobre PS3

Si lo veo no lo creo, dos noticas positivas para PS3 y seguidas :D...
Linux sobre PS3, se llamará Yellow Dog, aqui teneis más datos.
Para mi, este puede ser uno de los puntos a favor más grandes que tenga la PS3, aparte de gráficos, Cell, BlueRay y todo lo demás... el que la PS3 se comporte como un ordenador puede ser un gran punto a su favor.

GTA IV, contenido en exclusiva para PS3

Al fin noticias positivas para la PS3, en este artículo, leo que parte del contenido de GTA IV será exclusivo de la consola de Sony.

We're told to expect much the same deal on PS3, except unique to the platform. Interestingly, the downloadable content, our source maintains, will take the form of brand new areas which will link into the main GTAIV game world.

"Think of the world as a large island - the new downloadable areas will be like smaller islands linking into it," the source explained. (Which is a structural analogy, rather than a suggestion that the game is set on an island, we hasten to add.)

How many additional areas or episodes Rockstar is planning is anyone's guess at this juncture, but it seems the game is at least being structured to accommodate a number of expansive new content releases in the weeks and months after release, while also satisfying platform holder - and console owner - demand for exclusive material.

Steven Kent piensa que XBOX 360 ganará estas navidades

Para los que no lo conozcan, Steven Kent es un periodista especializado y bastante celebre, semi-retirado que está preparando un libro sobre videojuegos. Digamos que sus palabras suelen resonar bastante en el mundillo de los juegos.
Pues bien, Steven comparte sus opiniones con nosotros desde su BLOG en donde nos comenta lo siguiente:

"Why is this a no-brainer? Look, Sony and Nintendo are going to come to market with a few hundred thousand consoles to sell. Microsoft will have millions of consoles in inventory. Microsoft has worked out the manufacturing glitches. This is not a question of quality, it is a fact of quantity. Microsoft is simply going to have more boxes on store shelves"

Estoy bastante de acuerdo con él, yo mismo he posteado cosas similares en el blog TheNeedForGaming, y creo que XBOX 360 se va a llevar el gato al agua estas navidades, por el tiempo que lleva en el mercado y por lo descuidado que está siendo Sony en lo que a Marketing se refiere.

PD: El mismo Steven se corrige en su blog diciendo que Wii no saldrán con unos cientos de miles, sino con millones y pide disculpas por el "desliz".

Tiene Battlefield 2142 SpyWare integrado?

Creo que esta es una de las noticias más absurdas que he leido últimamente. No entiendo como se puede incluir "SpyWare" en un juego. EA debe haber perdido la cabeza o simplemente no quiere que nadie compre el juego. Os pego un estracto que podeis escuchar vosotros mismos a partir del minuto 50 del último podcast de CGW. En Shacknews hay un thread sobre el mismo tema.

When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order to report this information back to ad companies and ad servers, which generates in-game ads.

De confirmarse sería motivo más que suficiente para no comprar el juego, espero además que, si es cierto, tengan ventas tan bajas, que al resto de estudios no se les vuelva a ocurrir esa bonita idea.


Update: Me he encontrado lo siguiente, que viene en el mismo juego Battlefield 2142 (via Shacknews).

The Software may incorporate technology developed by IGA Worldwide Inc. ("IGA") (the "Advertising Technology"). The purpose of the Advertising TEchnology is to deliver in-game advertisements to you when you use the Software while connected to the Internet. When you use the Software while connected ot the Internet, the Advertising Technlogy may record your IP address and other anonymouse information ("Advertising Data"). The Advertising Data is temporarily used by IGA to enable the presentation and measurement of in-game advertisements and other in-game objects which are uploaded temporarily to your personal computer or game console and changed during online game play. The Advertising Technology does not collect any personally identifiable information about you, and EA will ont provide IGA with any of your personally identifiable information. The servers used by the Advertising Technology may, from time to time, be located outside your country of residence. If you are located within the European Union, the servers may be located outside the EU.

By installing and using the Software, you agree to: (i) the transfer of the Advertising Data to servers located outside your country of residence and, if applicable, outside the European Union; (ii)the collection and use of the Advertising Data as described in this Section; and (iii) the delivery of advertising and marketing content by the Advertising Technology. IF YOU DO NOT WANT IGA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, OR TRANSMIT THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, DO NOT INSTALL OR PLAY THE SOFTWARE ON ANY PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET.