When is a game not a game? Because it's software designed to run on the Nintendo DS, Electroplankton and Animal Crossing: Wild World are packaged and sold as traditional games. Despite that, they don't have many of the elements we normally associate with games; Electroplankton has no measure of progress, and Animal Crossing is more Sims than SimCity. Neither of them have a win condition. While they may not be your normal Friday night rental, both of them are potent tools for having fun. Read on for my impressions of these distinctly different titles.

Eurogamer has an interview with opportunistic license-killer Uwe Boll. In the interview, which is dominated by Boll's anger with game fans, he states that he's unlikely to see new game licenses for movies after he butchers Far Cry. From the interview: "In fact, it's not just confusing Boll - it's putting him off the whole thing all together. 'I won't say that I won't acquire another videogame licence in the future. But I'm not so eager to do it any more, to be honest. After Far Cry, maybe I'll go away from videogame-based movies. And everybody can be really happy about it.'"

Next Generation (which has generally been fairly reliable regarding information of this nature) has a report indicating that the PlayStation 3 may be launching in September of this year. They also have information about the Sony online console service that has been rumoured for the last few weeks. Apparently called HUB, they theorize details about that aspect of the console will be made available in the next few weeks. From the article: "PlayStation HUB is being described to developers as a 'subscriber service' suggesting a monthly charge. We understand the service is being created by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, although this is unconfirmed. Sony boss Howard Stringer is pushing for all media content to be available for distribution over PlayStation HUB, such as music and movies, thus opening up a powerful iTunes-like distribution network for Sony."

dxprog writes "Opera has announced that they and Nintendo are going in together to create a web browser for the DS. The browser, based on Opera's core engine, will take advantage of the system's two screens and the touchscreen to provide on-the-go portable internet access. From the article: 'Within just five seconds of turning on the system, the Nintendo DS is already fully operational. This makes it the ideal device to enable people to swiftly obtain the latest information from the internet, wherever they are.'" Update: 02/15 15:50 GMT by Z : More information about the browser and game announcements available from Gamasutra, and Iwata's aim that they'll hit 10 Million DS units sold is reported on the Next Generation site.

GameSetWatch has a humorous lampoon of an ABC-6 Action News report on the dangers your child can face in the seedy world of Mario Kart. From the article: "We've been struggling in trying to figure out how kids can be 'lured into dangerous chat rooms' while using the Nintendo DS, considering that the DS's chat program, PictoChat, can not be used over the internet, and also keeping in mind that the only way to interact with a living being over the internet through your Nintendo DS is to do so through a game that supports Nintendo WiFi Connection, all of which require both parties to input 'friend codes' before they can play with each other."

Xbox Evolution writes "Lik Sang has done a hands on review of a lightgun that is compatible with Plasma, LCD, TFT & DLP. The review of the LCD TopGun which works with the PS2, Xbox and PC gives a good overview of the features and functionality."

The Washington Post has a piece looking at the U.S. military's increased reliance on gaming for training the next generation of soldiers. From the article: "'The technology in games has facilitated a revolution in the art of warfare,' says David Bartlett, the former chief of operations at the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office, a high-level office within the Defense Department and the focal point for computer-generated training at the Pentagon. 'When the time came for [a solider in training] to fire his weapon, he was ready to do that. And capable of doing that. His experience leading up to that time, through on-the-ground training and playing 'Halo' and whatever else, enabled him to execute. His situation awareness was up. He knew what he had to do. He had done it before -- or something like it up to that point.'"

Retro Gaming with racketboy has a look at games that pushed the limits of gaming systems. At the end of every console's life, the last few games released for the system are (generally) the shiniest examples the hardware has to offer. The article's author starts with the Atari. From the piece: "I'm by no means a 2600 expert, but Solaris is definitely one game that comes up quite frequently in terms of innovative 2600 games. Considering the 2600 wasn't originally intended to do much more than play Pong variants, Solaris is a technical masterpiece with its sophisticated gameplay and relatively high resolution graphics. Although the game played much like a first-person space shooter, you can always see your ship at the bottom of the screen. The graphics for Solaris were first-rate as the multi-colored aliens are flicker-free and glide along smoothly, even when attacking in groups."

Gamasutra has a great piece with the highlights of a Q&A held with the creators of Shadows of the Colossus. The piece offers insight into the games's creation and design from Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido. From the article: "Speaking about the industry in general, Ueda lamented, 'If you look right now the industry, it's full of sequels. Which is fine, I play a lot of sequels, because they're fun, but I don't think we can leave it like that. If that's all there is, I'm afraid the market will start to diminish. We need new games that we can challenge ourselves to.' As far as recent examples of game designs Ueda has enjoyed, he had a few kind words for Valve's Half-Life 2. 'It's a such a natural setting, and the puzzles are incorporated in that natural setting, and the players don't get lost. And that's something we put a lot of effort into for Ico, so I understand what went into that.'"

Distressing news from the games industry job market continues to surface, as Activision lays off about 7% of its workforce, or 150 people. From the Gamasutra report: "The cuts are said to be across the board, with no specific developer or publishing unit announced as being affected more than another, with spokesman Ashley Dyer commenting that the layoffs were part of an effort to 'realign' the company's operations for the next two years."

Via a Joystiq post, the British Gaming Blog has videos of Tetris on the DS. The short movies include the standard mode, and the 'push mode' that will be playable over Nintendo's wifi service. From the Joystiq post: "As for the ingenious Donkey Kong-themed Push mode, it seems ideally suited for Wi-Fi multiplayer battles. Each player is relegated to one of the DS screens, with the opponent being mirrored in the bottom screen (i.e. his blocks move upwards). Each player slots Tetrominoes into a cluster of blocks that's initially right in the middle of the two playing fields. Performing well and racking up combos pushes the block cluster away and into your opponent's screen, lessening his maneuvering space and chances of survival. "

It's that time of year again, when a person's fancy turns to new games. It's still nice to think of old flames, though, and eToyChest wonders about games you've loved. From the article: "In 1992 I was spending time getting my gaming legs on a then-aging 486 PC. It was loud, ugly, and far from state-of-the-art. But it could still run games off the shelf, and when a friend of mine brought over what he was calling the "best role-playing game he had played since Ultima V", I knew I had to check it out. What began that afternoon stands out as one of the most important events in my life as a game, for as I installed each of the two high density diskettes comprising Sir-Tech's Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, I somehow knew that I was in for a treat. What followed were two years of swords, sorcery, and the slaying of many humanoid rats." So what game do you still remember fondly, even if you haven't played for quite a while?

Gamasutra has a bevy of information about the XBox 360. Sales seem to be slowing, just as supply issues seem to be resolving. Microsoft has a target for its annoyance regarding those issues. An analyst is blaming German chip manufacturer Infineon Technologies for the slow arrival of 360 units to market. Regardless of past problems, the company is going full speed ahead with more launches. Latin America saw launch on February 2nd, and "The system will launch in Korea on February 24, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore on March 16, Australia and New Zealand on March 23, with a global presence in 30 countries by the end of March."

The Escapist has piece, on this Valentine's Day, highlighting a relationship begun in a Virtual World that lead to the real life marriage of the players. From the article: "We think of these places most often as games, but there is much more going on in them than simply play. What we often forget is that any place in which two or more people can interact, whatever else it is, is a communications medium of a certain sort. Connecting via an online world - whether it's Second Life, World of Warcraft, EverQuest or any other - is not different from connecting via a chat room, via Friendster, via telephone or even in the time-honored way people sometimes connect at a party." Have you had any successful online experiences of the online variety (that you're willing to share)?

Gamasutra continues to expand their coverage of student game design programs, with a postmortem on the student project Insignia. A group of six students spent most of a year working on an RPG/RTS hybrid using the d20 license from Wizards of the Coast. From the entertaining writeup: "The process of pitching our idea was highly informative and gave us an industry perspective, insight and positive feedback from the judges. The pressure of competition also helped really focus the team's efforts rather than the more nebulous approach of most student projects."

kukyfrope writes "After Sony stole the show last year with their dazzling game trailers, will actual hands-on impressions of the PS3 stand up to all the hype, or will Microsoft's second wave of Xbox 360 games (HALO 3 anybody?) show Sony why 360 is not Xbox 1.5." From the article: "While the Xbox 360 is off to a great start, Sony is not stupid. The company knows that the PlayStation brand name is extremely powerful, and that a lot of hardcore and casual gamers are waiting on the PlayStation 3 before deciding on a next generation console. In addition, if you want a cheap Blu-Ray player, the PlayStation 3 will be the only way to go. Stand alone units are looking to run $1500 or more, but it's unlikely the PS3 will release at anything higher than $500."

Chris Reimer writes "C|Net News is reporting that a new industry group will establish ethics and work standards for video game workers. From the article: 'With an aging work force of video game creators, the game industry is going through growing pains similar to what Hollywood once experienced. Today there are more programmers, artists and producers in their 30s, 40s and 50s, many with families, who are looking for better pay, fewer work hours and improved benefits. PEER will focus on representing these experienced programmers.'" This is more information on an organization that we've previously talked about (related, below).

Rimbo writes "One popular view of the cellphone gaming industry is that it's the place where they exile people who couldn't cut it in the console and PC game industry. The other popular point of view is that with the huge volume of handsets everywhere, it's a market primed to explode. Today's Hit from the Wireless Pipe takes a look at some little-noticed details of the buyout that suggest that this is not the sign of the market maturing that many want it to be." Relatedly, that buyout was finally approved by the Jamdat Shareholders this past weekend.

Reggie Fils-Aime, frequent spokesperson for Nintendo, has a piece extolling the way in which Nintendo will disrupt the videogaming market with the release of the Revolution. His editorial uses the movie industry as a comparison, and likens the systems of Sony and Microsoft to 'flops'. From the article: "Nintendo's counterpunch is disruption. We've determined that the videogame market is ripe for revival--and we're looking to make it happen by reaching out to the millions of players still on the sidelines, including those over the age of 35. Early moves have been promising. Nintendogs, a game that allows people to train virtual puppies, has doubled the typical percentage of female purchasers, selling 1.5 million copies in about four months. Not bad, given that Nintendo DS hardware is in 4 million hands." Yeah, it's just more advertising claptrap, but the levels of hyperbole they're reaching is sort of breathtaking to behold.

conq writes "BusinessWeek has a piece on the ways in which games are gaining acceptance in the classroom. From the article: 'Teachers across the country are bringing certain games into their schools as a way to pique students' interest in everything from history and politics to physical fitness and music theory. Among the most popular are Firaxis Games Inc.'s Civilization games, Take2's Railroad Tycoon, and Dance Dance Revolution.'"