The 2009 Today’s Gamers Internation Survey tells us something that a lot of us could of guessed: most Americans love playing videogames more than anything else. Read more…

In a recent speech at the NAACP 100th anniversary event, President Obama encouraged parents to “put away the Xbox.” Microsoft took the President’s slight condemnation and spun it into a positive. Read more…

A new bill recently passed by the senate means that playing videogames while driving in the Big Apple can net you you a $150 fine. The bill also covers texting and surfing the web while driving. It’s a secondary offense, which means you’ll only get cited if you get pulled over for something else first. That also means that the $150 fine will be tacked on top of whatever you got pulled over for in the first place.

The law still needs to be approved by Governor Patterson, and if does approve it, it will go into effect this November.

That Video Game Blog

Rhianna Pratchett, the writer behind Overlord and its sequels, has expressed how much help the video game industry in the writing department. Read more…

Resident Evil 5 and the U.S. Army? Where do I sign up??!??!!

The only thing comparable to the way I feel when I see U.S. Army recruiters mixed into events packed with teenage kids would be witnessing Michael Jackson driving a bus load of Catholic priests to Chuck E. Cheese for a quick bite to eat.

I know I may take some heat for this, but I couldn’t help but notice the “GO ARMY” recruitment tent mixed into the Best Buy Resident Evil 5 launch party video (which you can also see after the jump). I don’t mind the idea of recruiters but what I do mind is the methods by which they often recruit.

This isn’t the first time the U.S. Army has been accused of blurring the lines between gaming and recruiting. Promoting an official U.S. Army videogame and lacing their official army game website to contain soldier bios designed to look like videogame stat cards is youth marketing at its finest. Look at all the stats you can wrack up kids – assuming you don’t die first.

Hit the jump for the RE5 launch party video as promised. Read more…

Guinness draft illustrates connection between hot wings and violence.

Ok, maybe not in those “exact words”, but not since the Guinness beer commercials have two supremely educated individuals come to a conclusion more “brilliant”.

Professors John Kilburn and Christopher Ferguson of Texas A&M International University reached out to GamePolitics a few days ago (sorry, I’m still recovering from my WoW addiction) to point them in the direction of a “meta-analytic review” they published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

In short, their conclusion states the following:

“Results from the current analysis do not support the conclusion that media violence leads to aggressive behavior. It cannot be concluded at this time that media violence presents a significant public health risk.”

A bulleted list outlining their findings is available for you after the jump. Read more…

… and then you woke up. Yes, it’s true. Someone out there is about to get paid $250,000 over the course of three years to look “rad” and play videogames while pimping Dr Pepper … but that someone is not you.

The individual is 21-year-old Halo 3 gamer Tom Taylor (aka: Tsquared) and his mug will start appearing on roughly 175 million bottles of the tasty beverage between January and April.

Source: New York Times

Another decent week in releases with Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood for the DS, Silent Hill Homecoming for the 360 and PS3 and Mega Man 9 finally hits Xbox Live on Wednesday. Y’all might want to check out Bomberman Blast on the WiiWare today as well. Read more…

Picture this (unless you’re female, in which case, just go with it): You’re in a club, socializing with all the fine ladies. You’re staking out which of the beautiful women you want to approach. You decide to pull a Nathan Drake and half-tuck your shirt to accentuate your washboard abs. The club lights hit your belt buckle with a miraculous glint that only a total sex magnet could produce. Instantly, all eyes are on you. Read more…

After ten years in the making and jumps from the PS One and Gamecube to the Xbox 360, Too Human is finally coming out this week and we’ll get to see if the game was truly worth the wait.

Other highlights of the week include Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty for the PS3, Two Worlds: Epic Edition for PC and I’m pretty hyped up for the original Mega Man for the Wii, via the Virtual Console. Read more…

If you are new to the web series titles “Legend of Neil”, it is based off of exactly what you think it is based off of — The Legend of Zelda. This version however, is something that would never get the Nintendo family seal of approval.

Neil’s journey to the videogame world of Hyrule begins when he decides to get himself off while playing a drunk game of Zelda. He wraps the controller cord around his neck (for added stimulation of course) and blacks out in the process. When Neil wakes he finds that he is no longer at home on his couch.

The series is well produced and very entertaining. Have at episode four as well as links to the three previous episodes after the jump. Read more…

A psychology professor from Pittsburgh is leading a symposium this weekend about the “Sexualization of Children”. Among her concerns are the dangers posed to girls by, of all things, videogames. Read more…

This is probably going to go down as our easiest giveaway yet. In honor of our newly launched forum, simply sign up and introduce yourself in the area titled — “introduce yourself“. Everyone will immediately confirm your greatness, welcome you to our community with open arms, and your name will be entered into a drawing to win two — no, make that three videogames of your choice for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, or PC!

Contest ends midnight on March 31, 2008. If you have already introduced yourself in the forum (and you are not a member of the ripten staff) then you are already entered! So start thinking of the three games you want, because you are so damn lucky you are bound to win. Happy trolling!

Update: I decided to make things more interesting — why the hell not. If you refer your friends to our lovely forum and they mention your name in their introduction — not only will they be entered to win, but your name will be entered into the drawing again!! How many friends can you refer? As many as you want, so get your ass moving!

Join our forum and introduce yourself right now

Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to crack down on knife violence, even if it’s just in a videogame. Stabbings are apparently on the rise in the UK, and Mr. Brown wants game developers to tread carefully when mixing blades with fun. Read more…

Exhibits A and B: Idiots

The recent story we reported about the kids supposedly using Mortal Kombat moves to kill a seven year old girl has got me thinking: How do people go about linking videogames to real-world violence? Read more…

Football legend Sir Geoff Hurst offers a positive opinion on gaming, delivering logical and praise worthy comments regarding the “videogames are ruining football” debate that hit last week. Read more…