Spotless Tiger writes "XBox enthusiasts (or at least, those smart enough to read Slashdot) know now that IBM's PowerPC is at the heart of the next generation XBox 360. IBM has released a paper (PDF) on Solid Logic Technology, SLT, a processor technology that will debut on the 360. Essentially, this is another attempt to produce chips that are high performance with low power consumption. There's speculation that, with Microsoft's technology choices and rumours of a removable hard drive, the XBox 360 is designed to be much, much, smaller and more portable than its predecessor." Update: 04/15 04:27 GMT by Z : Removed the link to the paper from the stone age. Sorry about that. As much as I like reading research papers...

Alien54 wrote to mention a story detailing an FBI crackdown on pirated...NES games. From the article: "More than 60,000 pirated copies of Nintendo game consoles were seized Wednesday during raids in New York and New Jersey, prosecutors announced. Four people were arrested in the crackdown on the theft of popular games such as "Donkey Kong," "Mario Brothers," "Duck Hunt," "Baseball" and others, according to a release by federal authorities and papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Nintendo told the FBI that individuals and companies copy the video games and sell the pirated versions throughout the world, costing the company millions of dollars in lost revenue annually, according to the complaint."

John Callaham writes "The film industry trade publication Variety announced today that Showtime plans to make a bio-pic movie based on Masters of Doom, the 2003 released non-fiction book on the formation of Doom developer id Software." More coverage available on Gamasutra. Now there is a Doom movie that I'd like to watch.

Anonymous Coward writes "PerlNomic is a game consisting of CGI scripts which allow you to submit proposals to alter ... the scripts themselves. All proposals must be approved by a voting process--at least for now. The game is styled after Peter Suber's Nomic. Deep knowledge of perl is helpful, but not required." Nomic is a really excellent game if you like mental puzzles, but somewhat difficult to get off the ground.

Voodoo Extreme has the news that the winners of a recent design contest held by Valve will now see their Deathmatch maps added to the Steam repetoire. From the article: "Three Half-Life 2: Deathmatch maps are now available via Steam. These maps were created by the three players who won our recent HL2:DM mapping contest. If you have HL2:DM installed in your Steam games list, you will receive the new maps automatically."

The fact that Microsoft Game Studios picked and chose from the past in order to make Age of Empires fun is understandable. While recognizing that, the Wonderland Blog brings up the (dubiously laudable but) important role Age of Empires has in educating young people. Alice asks if such a game, helpful to the teaching of the young, should futz with the past the way it does. The Guardian Blog follows up on her commentary by discussing the game and the issue in the context of Serious Games. From the article: "With the snowballing of interest in Serious Games and governmental support for the development of games in the classroom, should this be an issue that is seriously debated in development houses?"

Via the ffwd linklog, a story on the Hollywood Reporter site discussing the public image of the ESRB, from "pain in the butt" on the developer's side to lax child perverter on the lawmaker's side. From the article: "The issue Greenberg describes is one involving dollars and cents: Almost every single retail chain chooses not to sell 'AO' rated games, period. In just the same way that many movie theaters will not show films branded with an 'NC-17' rating, the 'AO' severely limits a game's distribution, to put it mildly."

bobbis.u writes "The UN World Food Programme has launched a game (for Windows and Mac) to educate people about their work. Although aimed for children, I'm sure some Slashdotters will enjoy it. It includes six different missions and is a hefty download."

I know you're all waiting with breathless anticipation for the Doom film, but GamesIndustry.biz has word that you'll have to wait until October for the U.S. release. From the article: "The film was formerly expected to appear in late June in North America, but Universal's website confirms a report on horror movie website Bloody-Disgusting.com that it has swapped places with George Romero's next zombie movie, Land of the Dead."

Ant writes "Shacknews reports that ECTS has undergone a decline and was even considered surpassed by a new event last year, the European Games Network. Earlier last week, ECTS finally bit the dust, along with the European Game Developers Conference, as media firm CMP revealed they were leaving the market. Days before this news, the show Game Zone Live was announced as canceled, due to a lack of support from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo."

Just as a reminder, the Playstation 3 is going to take it's bow before E3 proper as well. The Guardian has the story that the PS3 will debut four days after the Xbox360's introduction on MTV, at Sony Pictures Studio in LA. From the article: "Sony spokesfolks have hinted in the past that PS3 - or whatever it will be called - will be launched ahead of E3. Past product roadmaps have pointed to an early to mid-2005 launch. The company gave the PowerPC-derived 'Cell' processor on which the new console will be based its first public outing in February." Penny Arcade, as always, has the best grasp of the situation.

Andrew writes "If you're a fan of the NES and `80s video games like me then this is too cool for words: A video of University of Wisconsin a capella ensemble Redefined performing Nintendo a capella. The file is a little large (about 47 megs) but definately worth the download."

63N1U5 writes "GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that British sources have confirmed that the next generation Xbox will be named Xbox360. Also included are details of the design features of the console, including a concave shape and platinum white finish."

Via Penny Arcade, a review of the next patch for World of Warcraft on Blizzplanet. The author takes a look at some of the new art being added to the game and examines details of the new honor system. From the article: "The horde slowly started to show up in the area to attempt to protect their territory. I joined a raid group to counterattack, and noticed that each kill where my Priest character helped with fear, word: pain, or healing counted toward my Honorable Kills, even if I didn't directly caused damage or killed. Healing and Fear count toward your kill points."

Joystiq (once again answering my hailing frequencies) has up a preview of some of the new titles that will be seeing the light of day at this year's e3. A smattering of some of the games: "The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, D&D Online, UFO: Aftershock, Battlefield 2, Black and White 2, The Sims 2: Nightlife, Guild Wars, Metroid Prime Hunters, Shadow the Hedgehog, Destroy All Humans" This year we're going to have an E3 topic for your browsing convenience.

GamesIndustry.biz has word that Ubisoft is planning the construction of a second studio in the Canadian province of Quebec. The money for the construction is likely partially the result of the previously announced alliance between the Quebecois government and the French software developer. From the article: "Ubisoft will invest $75 million Canadian (more than $60 million US) in the project over the next five years. The new studio will employ some 200 designers, animators and programmers."

Forbes has a look at the upcoming release of the Xbox 2 console, from Goldman-Sachs. Speculation is put forth on the unit's cost as well as how it might do in sales. From the article: "The research firm, which rates Microsoft at 'outperform,' expects Xbox 2 to be available for retail sale in October or November at a retail price of about $249 to $299."

John Callaham writes "Computer Games Magazine takes a quick look at the upcoming first person shooter games that are expected to be show at this May's Electronic Entertainment Expo." From the article: "Today we start to look at all the games that have been announced and are out in the open and are likely to be show at E3 this May. First up: first person shooters. 2004 was truly a banner year for this genre; how many years can we have that contain UT2004, Doom 3, Painkiller, and Half-Life 2? Will this year be any different?"

1up.com has a feature up delving into the History of Video Game Cartoons, from the quirky Q-Bert to the much maligned Captain N. From the article: "Memories, however, can be problematic. Even when they're good, they can still suck pretty bad. Take, for example, your first ride on a two-wheeler bike. You experienced a short thrill of speed and independence, and then took a nasty spill, tore the seat of your pants to reveal your underwear to your childhood crush, and then likely started crying like a little girl." So true, so true.

Yet another license falls into the hands of the EA sports game crafters. The Business Wire is reporting that EA Games has signed a six year agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company. This allows EA the exclusive use of teams, stadiums, etc, etc. From the article: "Our NCAA football franchise is a key element in our EA SPORTS brand lineup and we are pleased to have secured the NCAA license...There is an unrivaled loyalty our fans have for the game, and this agreement with CLC allows EA to continue to deliver to fans the best, most innovative college football experience now and for years to come."