The 2008 ScreenBurn Festival
March 7 - 11, 2008
Austin, Texas

Congratulations, women age 18 and over! You have now surpassed (at 33%) boys age 17 and younger (18%) as active gamers. The 2008 sales, demographic and usage data numbers from ESA’s (Entertainment Software Association) “Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry” came in earlier this month stating that women now make up 40% of all gamers in the US, up slightly from 38% in 2007. The average age of the gamer has also gone up to 35 from last year’s 33, with an increase in the percentage of gamers over the age of 50 from 24% to 26%. There are significantly more households with game consoles - 38% in 2008 as opposed to 33% in 2007, with 63% of parents (up from 55% in 2007)believing video games to be a positive influence in their children’s lives. What do all these numbers actually mean? According to ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher, “This new data underscores the fundamental principle that computer and video games are a mainstream entertainment form, which captures the imagination of every segment of our society. No longer is there a stereotypical gamer.” The only market left to be conquered by the ravenous video game industry may just be the family pet. Fido, look out!

With the Wii named the current champion as the best selling console, Sony seems to be expanding its repertoire of games. However, instead of expanding its games to reach a broader audience, Sony took the route to dip old console gamers into newer waters. At last week’s E3, Sony announced its plans for releasing large-scale MMOs on the PlayStation 3, creating quite a stir in the gaming community. Taking advantage of PS3’s ability to connect online, the massive multiplayer online games will allow normal console players to experience what PC gamers enjoy most: engaging in battle with hundreds of gamers over the world. One of their star efforts, MAG (pictured above) will involve 256 players duking it out in teams of eight. Sony also are putting their efforts into persistent gaming, where the game world continues moving, with or without you. Although these new explorations are currently being refined, it’s gotten dedicated gamers riled up about something new, just for them. At least they won’t have to share this game with their mother, unlike the popular Wii Fit.

World-renown developer of connected games and applications, Hands-On-Mobile, Inc., announced today that Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass will be available for mobile phones. Through a web-based companion site player you can compete against other players, message opponents, manage your music career, compete in contests, download new instruments, and download new music. In the breaking IGN.com news, President of Hands-On Mobile, Niccolo de Masi, announces that “Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass offers Guitar Hero fanatics and casual gamers a way to play the gigs they love, but now there is an added element of working to get the gigs and seeing what it’s really like for an artist to work their way to the top. The Guitar Hero franchise has been key to our success and Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass will continue this while raising the bar for mobile phone gaming with unparalleled community and connectivity.” You thought you needed a television to rock on? Now you can use your mobile device to jam out on the town!

San Francisco based Emotiv Systems has developed nifty new gadget due to hit shelves just in time for the holiday season this year. The Emotiv EPOC is a space aged looking neuroheadset designed specifically for gamers. “We’ve created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a videogame can accept [in order to] control the game dynamically,” said Emotiv co-founder Tan Le “It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively.” This compact devise, featuring 16 sensors that use electroencephalography to measure electrical activity in the brain, measures the users’ facial expressions and moods and correlates that data into a “thought” that in turn translates to the character on screen.

Retailing in the US for $299, the EPOC will ship with a martial arts fantasy video game in which a “master” teaches players to do things like lift mountains and spin rocks using their minds. Emotiv also offers a software development kit that will allow third party developers to insert this technology into their projects.

While similar devises do exist for other applications, this is the first time this technology have been specifically developed for the video game market.

Studies done by the Information Solutions Group indicate children with ADHD disorder can experience a therapeutic effect from playing casual games. As covered on GameDaily, the study reveals “of the approximately 220 respondents, 83 percent cited Improved concentration skills/Increased attention span and 64 percent cited Stress relief/Relaxation.” Dr. Carl Arinoldo, who headed the study, claims “children with AD/HD often lack that sense of control that comes much more easily to their non-AD/HD peers. Playing casual games such as Peggle and Bejeweled, among others, is one area in their lives in which these children can experience some sense of control with the added benefit of achieving success in something. Both of these aspects, taken together, can serve to enhance the child’s self-concept and self-esteem.” At the 2008 SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn festival, Jane McGonigal’s keynote advocated a very similar response to games: “In games we can be good at things that we’re not good at in real life…Games are the happiness engines.” Games aren’t just for recreation; you can improve your ability to achieve in gaming and life!

Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification has refused to issue an age rating for Bethesda Softworks’ much-anticipated upcoming release Fallout 3 (the third such refusal this year), effectively banning it’s sale and promotion in the country. The OFLC report points to the games’ overt drug use, not the violent content, as the sole reason for the decision. “The game contains the option to take a variety of “chems” using a device which is connected to the character’s arm,” the report states. “Corresponding with the list of various “chems” are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board’s view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the “science-fiction” drugs in line with “real-world” drugs.”

Critics of the decision place blame with Australia’s lack of an adult rating for games. Currently the highest possible age rating for games is MA 15+, which precludes any material the board may find unsuitable for anyone aged 15 or younger. There are also grumblings in the gaming community about inconsistencies in the board’s application of the rating guidelines set by the Attorney General, siting other games, along with the two previous versions of Fallout, that feature similar drug use elements yet enjoy a MA 15+ classification.

Fallout 3, which is currently awaiting classification in the US, is the third game this year to be refused a rating in Australia, following on the heels of ShellShock 2: Blood Trails and Dark Sector. A recently resubmitted edited version of Dark Sector has subsequently received an MA 15+ rating.

Who says that gaming isn’t educational? Apparently not the American Library Association, who has just developed a project to experiment and expand on electronic gaming programs for libraries. Using a grant of one million dollars from Verizon Communications, the ALA sought out a few select libraries with well-matured gaming programs to gauge on how the programs help promote literacy and other academic areas. After collecting data, a kit will be pulled together to help start up gaming programs in libraries across America. “There’s growing evidence that games in general, from the traditional board versions to electronic and online ones, support literacy and 21st-century learning skills,” says Elizabeth Danforth, a representative librarian who also works as a freelance gaming artist. So far, there has been an enthusiasm that the games are promoting problem-solving and teamwork– skills which book reading lack. With the ALA picking up the effort to use games to attract the teen demographic to their doors, kids like Luis Aguilar (pictured above) will have a safe place to gather, learn, and have some good ol’ new fashion fun.

Do you have an idea you’ve been preparing for next year’s SXSW ScreenBurn game conference? Now’s the time to submit your topics for 2009 SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn, as the 2009 panel submission deadline is tomorrow, Friday, July 11! Programming ideas submitted via this interface will be posted on the SXSW Panel Picker, thereby allowing our community to vote on which ideas they feel are most appropriate for 2009. Click here for more information on how to submit your gaming-related panel idea for 2009 before the end of day deadline tomorrow.

Dust off those running shoes - or rather, stretch out those thumbs - and get ready to be a part of the Olympic action this summer. Saga has announced the release Beijing 2008 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a Windows based PC version set to follow later this month. Developed for Saga by Eurocom Entertainment Software and rated “E” for everyone, Beijing 2008 features over 35 events for the upcoming Olympic games including such track and field stand-bys as the 100m, Hurdles for men and women, the Shot Put, Pole Vault and the Javelin Throw. Online functionality will also allow gamers to compete with each other across the globe. The game carries a retail price of $49.95 in North America ($29.95 for the PC Version) and will offer an early look at many of the official venues.

With 3D movie popularity on the rise, it’s almost not a surprise that the gaming industry are trying to go beyond their 3D graphics into a true three dimensions. Turns out, this week Microsoft revealed that they have been dabbling in the area. GamesIndustry.biz nabbed an exclusive interview with XNA’s general manager, Chris Satchell, who spoke their progress. “This is a very interesting area of graphics technology,” he says. “We have done experiments with this at Microsoft and the results are extremely interesting.”. Unfortunately, one of their biggest concerns is that the games require 3D headgear, which probably won’t go smoothly for gamers and may lose the market. However, Microsoft won’t back down yet. “There is some very interesting technology being developed that can overcome this obstacle and it will be interesting to see where this leads,” says Satchell. “I love that some developers are experimenting along this path. It is a great way to move industry technology forward.”