Thanks to 1UP for its interview with La Pucelle: Tactics publisher Bill Swartz regarding alleged censorship to the PlayStation 2 SRPG from the developers of Disgaea, after an eToychest interview with the game's Japanese producer revealed: "We did take out a very few things we felt would cause problems in North America." Following sustained noises of discontent on the GameFAQs messageboards, it's explained: "Alloute wore cross earrings a few times and we took them out. We also removed a few other cross accessories and changed a handful of devices that looked like crosses (unless you looked carefully) to devices that looked a little less like crosses." Swartz laments: "There are well organized forces that work hard to punish software makers and sellers for what they consider religious transgressions", and clarifies the changes were "...not things that either carried meaning to the game's original audience or were in any way part of the substance of the game."

cordsie writes "In a move that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one at this point, the once venerable LucasArts has laid off thirty of its staff. The brief article implies that the layoffs were due to the recent cancellation of the sequel to Sam and Max and the Full Throttle follow-up." S!: Ferrago has a story noting this reduces the LucasArts staff count "to about 389", still a significant number, and an earlier International House of Mojo story regarding the layoffs has a commenter alleging: "Among the people let go were... [the] Director of The Dig, Escape from Monkey Island and most recently Full Throttle 2... as well as both the Lead Engineer and Producer of the late Sam and Max 2 game."

Thanks to Costik.com for pointing to entrepreneur Gordon Gould's comments on possible new videogame funding avenues, as he notes "the coming console shift to Xbox 2 and the Playstation 3 is going to once again raise the bar on development costs", meaning "a shrinking number of titles per publisher slate w/increased pressure on those titles to be out of the ballpark blockbusters." He suggests that "developers' ability to gain more control over their destiny is handicapped by the relative scarcity of funding sources", but this may be changing, as investors from outside the industry start to fund development (as seen recently at MMO creator Turbine.) However, Greg Costikyan weighs in with a response, arguing that "...even looking at something as goofy and hit-driven as the game industry, an investor is already taking a big risk, and his or her instinct is going to be the same as the publishers': be conservative in what you fund."

loladeutsch writes "What makes for a great story in a video game? Sometimes, with all the innovative development and cool graphics the actual story a game has to tell can get lost in the shuffle, or at least can seem to be an afterthought. When a game arrives on the shelves that presents one of the more engrossing stories we've seen in awhile, it's worth noting. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne has been recognized by many people with their heads screwed on straight as a benchmark in video-game storytelling. "

EvilDonut writes "According to Gamesindustry.biz, long-time publisher Interplay is facing possible bankruptcy. Apparently, the company is three months behind in rent, owes almost $280,000 in a mix of outstanding payroll taxes and non-payment penalties for those taxes, and failed to meet its payroll obligations in the middle of this month. Heavy stuff." The piece also notes that, following "the asset-stripping antics of parent company Titus", the company has "lost the rights to publish Baldur's Gate 3 and other future D&D properties, and it may lose the right to continue publishing its Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance titles if it cannot settle a lawsuit from Atari which accuses it of failing to pay royalties on the D&D license." We've previously covered Black Isle's de facto demise, another key part of Interplay's woes.

securitas writes "The New York Times Technology's Michel Marriott reports (free reg. req.) on the growing trend of developers making Xbox-exclusive games, bypassing the Sony PS2 and Nintendo GameCube. Microsoft is 'playing catch-up on the console' with some notable examples of Xbox-exclusive (or Xbox-first) console games that include Doom 3, Unreal Championship 2, Advent Rising and Full Spectrum Warrior. Marriott interviews Todd Hollenshead (id), Mark Rein (Epic), J. Allard (Microsoft), and Donald Mustard (Majesco) among others that include Sony and THQ. The question is, will gamers follow the developers' preferences? Sony's dominance in the next game console wars could be toppled if they do. 'If Microsoft can woo more developers to Xbox, the balance of power in the next round could change.'"

Thanks to Nintendo Power for its transcript of "Zelda guru" Eiji Aonuma's speech at last month's GDC conference. Aonuma, who's "been doing work related to a game known as Zelda... for roughly eight years", from the N64 through the current GameCube iterations, discusses his pre-Zelda influences ("What kinds of games did suit me? Those would be Text-Based Adventures"), the "three-day system" in N64 title Majora's Mask ("[done] to make the game data more compact while still providing deep gameplay"), and the essence of the series ("Zelda is a game that values REALITY over realism.")

MikeDawg writes "No, it's not a case of 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us'. MSNBC is running an article about the relative popularity of some game hardware and software in the West vs. the East. This article covers the phenomenon of games vs. culture and why video games that do well in the U.S. generally don't do well in Japan, and vice-versa." The piece notes of the Japanese market: "American-made consoles such as 3DO (released in Japan in 1994) and most recently the Microsoft Xbox (released in two years ago) never seem to attract consumers in large numbers. Games such as 'Enter the Matrix' from Atari, and 'The Lord of the Rings' by Electronic Arts, both released [in Japan] last year, often vanish... without leaving a trace."

Buster Chan writes "NTSC-uk has begun their two-week long tribute to the almighty Sega Dreamcast, including an editorial recounting favorite memories of Sega's final (so far) hardware, as writers 'give their views of one of the most prolific consoles of recent times', the first 128-bit console. They also run new reviews revisiting Cosmic Smash, checking out Get Bass, and analyzing the very Japanese Tokyo Bus Guide." Although it was so long ago we can barely remember, what were your favorite Dreamcast titles?

marcot writes "The Canadian National Post has a story on the life of a videogame guidebook writer. I can't work out if it's a dream job or torture." Michael Lummis, the writer in question, "has done about a dozen books for [BradyGames] in the last 18 months", but says that contact with the game's developers "...is finite. They're working 18-hour [days] just like we are." We've previously discussed the pluses and minuses of paper-based 'official' game guides.

Lee writes "According to Peek N' Poke, there's an official Commodore 64 30-in-1 'TV game' in development, according to current C64 rights-holders Tulip Computers, who has a Dutch-language news story about it on their site." The Tulip story mentions titles including "Classic Games series from Epyx, inclusief Summer Games, Winter Games, World Games en the seminal California Games", and it's notable that Tulip's partner and exclusive C64 licensor is Ironstone Partners, who also list as a "sister company" DC Studios, software developers of the Atari 10-in-1 TV game.

thesman writes "As we can see in The Register's article: 'A Spanish judge has ruled that modifications to games consoles to allow them to play DVDs and games from other countries 'are not illegal' in Spain'." According to the article, "the ruling comes after the Guardia Civil charged Barcelona video games shop Innovagames", and it's explained: "The judge noted that such modifications 'might constitute a crime against the intellectual property of the equipment manufacturers', but he concluded that there is a legal loophole in the 'Ley de Propiedad Intelectual' (Intellectual Property Law) which means that they are, by default, legal."

DaFlusha writes "Chris Hecker has posted the freely downloadable games from Indie Game Jam 2 (actually the third year, as programmers start counting from 0). When the games (from the 'yearly game design and programming event designed to encourage experimentation and innovation in the game industry') were showcased during the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC 2004, I was highly impressed and couldn't wait to play the 2D-physics-based games myself. Now everyone can try them, provided you can run a Windows executable." Oh, and any game description which starts with the phrase: "The physics engine treats the hamsters kinda like a fluid" (as 'Stunt Hamsters' does) is a friend of mine.

Thanks to 1UP for its article discussing the announcement of Electronic Arts' Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age, "a new console RPG based on Peter Jackson's movie trilogy [and J.R.R. Tolkien's books]", and due out later in 2004. A GameSpot interview with producer Steve Gray has more information, as he notes that "the combat is turn-based... if you have played Final Fantasy it will feel familiar to you", and says of the game structure: "You travel on a sort of 'S' curve that weaves in and out of the path of the Fellowship through the story of the trilogy. At times you'll be behind or 'next to' them; at other times you'll be in the same time and place as members of the Fellowship." He also teases the game's bad side: "The main focus of the game is the quest on the side of good, but you can also unlock evil encounters, and we think players will really enjoy playing on the side of Sauron in addition to playing as good guys."

Roosevelt Franklin writes "GamerDad.com put up a great interview with videogaming pioneer Ralph Baer today. He talks about the birth of the game industry, the Brown Box (Magnavox Odyssey), the Atari/Pong lawsuit, his patents, and a parent's responsibility. Baer is the original Game God and GamerDad calls him the Original GamerDad too!" Baer says of Pong and patent infringement: "After ten years of litigation in courts from Chicago to San Francisco we collected many tens of millions of dollars."

Thanks to GamersWithJobs for its interview with Dylan Fitterer of BestGameEver.com, a site which offers a new 3D-engine, freely downloadable Windows PC game every week, one which "either incorporates a new idea or is a refinement of a previous release based on feedback by the players." The FAQ on the official site explains: "The first mission of this site is to prototype all kinds of different games as quickly as possible. So - there will be a new game prototype up for you to try, love, hate, whatever - each Friday", and Dylan says of this: "The constant pressure keeps my productivity up and the regular releases keep me... releasing" - highlights of the many downloadable titles include Riders On The Board, a hoverboard game where the player "flies around the terrain by firing your harpoon into hillsides and giant lava lamps", as well as parking-attendant related "RTS hybrid" Free Parking.

Philip Kollar writes "AllRPG has just posted Games As Art, Part 2. In this article, I attempt to create a viable list of things that come together to make a videogame art, rather than just entertainment. I also explore how these three concepts (writing, design, and interactivity) have been used in other forms of media and how they're being further explored in the world of gaming."

sdw3u writes "Falling sales of PlayStations contribute to a 23% drop in profits at the Japanese tech giant, while rival firms see profits surge." Perhaps it may be time for Sony to lower prices again, which has helped fuel another console's sales. They've also reported a 40% drop in game sales to accompany the drop in console sales. According to the article, they don't see things changing for the better anytime soon, though, and are now focusing on development of their PSP handheld system. Update: 04/27 16:08 GMT by S : A GameGossip news story has more info from Sony's conference call, noting "Sony cited expected lowered production shipments for both PlayStation 2 (from 20 million to 14 million) and PSOne (from 3 million to 1 million)... total software shipments this year (including PS2 and PSOne together) were at 254 million, ahead of its 250 million estimates."

Thanks to GameSpot for its editorial discussing the fine art of 'cheesing', and the annoyance of those who complain about it. The write explains of 'cheesers': "These gamers (either intentionally or unintentionally) use the same moves or tactics over and over again [in games such as Soul Calibur II or Top Spin] to defeat opponents and, as a result, are often treated as the redheaded stepchildren in gaming circles." However, he argues: "Repetitive moves and tactics can become annoying, but what irritates me more are the people that whine about them", and concludes by suggesting: "The challenge then, for those who prefer to take the high road, is to find ways to beat them... Don't get mad. Get better." But is whining actually a good, natural part of videogaming?

filtur writes "The Olsen twins (that got your attention) are suing video game maker Acclaim for royalties regarding their Olsen twins branded video games. Acclaim has apparently run the brand into the ground." Once dubbed "the most powerful young women in Hollywood," the money involved seems almost trivial by comparison to even their individual net worths, but it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.