In a bit of investigative journalism, I have recently taken it upon myself to answer the question of, “where have all the 20 gig Playstation 3 models gone?” In a rather silent disappearance, it seems that the 20 gig version of Sony’s new console has gone missing as of late. So where could they be?

To start off, I contacted local stores in my area as to inquire about the availability of the 60 gig’s little sister. Naturally, the response I received was universally negative. There was not a 20 gig model to be found. However, upon dialing up one store in my area, I stumbled upon a piece of information that was quite shocking. It seems that one of the nation’s larger consumer electronics stores were listing the smaller console as “Discontinued” in their inventory system. That’s right; discontinued.

View: Full Story @ gamedrift.com

Playing video games can satisfy deep psychological needs and, at least in the short term, improve people’s well-being, new research shows.

The more a game fulfilled a player’s sense of independence, achievement and connectedness to others, the more likely he or she was to keep playing, Dr. Scott Rigby of Immersyve, a Florida-based virtual environment think tank, and colleagues from the University of Rochester in New York found. And the more fully a player’s needs were satisfied, the better he felt after playing.

“We think this is really one of the first validated models of what is going on psychologically when people are playing video games,” Rigby told Reuters Health in an interview. To date, he noted, research on video games has focused on their potentially harmful effects, such as promoting social isolation, addiction, and violence.

View: Full Story @ Scientific American

More than half of a group of surveyed stores had Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 in stock, while Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s new Wii was sold out, an analyst said on Tuesday in a report signaling demand for the market leader’s new console may be soft.

“Our channel checks yesterday of 52 retail stores, from boutiques to big-box retailers, showed that 28 of the 52 stores had PS3 consoles in stock, while none had Wii consoles in stock,” American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said in the research note.

He added that those stores with PS3s in stock typically had units numbering in the low single digits, with only one major retailer having 60-plus machines in stock.

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Preliminary autopsy findings concluded a Rancho Cordova woman who competed in a radio station water-drinking contest before she was found dead Friday showed signs consistant with water intoxication, Sacramento County Coroner’s Office authorities said Saturday.

The results of a preliminary investigation released Saturday showed evidence “consistent with a water intoxication death” in the death of 28-year-old Jennifer Strange, Sacramento County assistant coroner Ed Smith said.

Smith said the autopsy found no traces of “life threatening medical conditions” that would have otherwise explained Strange’s sudden death.

View: Full Story Via: news10.net

Currently, the population of Earth is estimated to be 6.7 billion people. As of this week, roughly 0.1 percent of the sum of modern humanity plays World of Warcraft.

On Thursday, Blizzard Entertainment announced that more than 8 million people subscribe to the massive massively multiplayer online role-playing game, setting a new milestone for the title more than two years after its fall 2004 release.

As it is with the real-world population, Chinese subscribers are the largest demographic in Azeroth, totaling 3.5 million players, Blizzard said. Next up is North America, with 2 million players, followed by Europe, with 1.5 million–the remainder of subscribers are in other territories. Subscription rates vary by region, but U.S. players pay $14.95 each month to play WoW after doling out the suggested retail price for the game, which has been lowered to $19.99.

View: Full Story Via: c|net

A self-replicating worm Linden Labs dubbed “grey goo” overtook online game Second Life Sunday, forcing the game’s owners to block all logins but their own for about half an hour. According to comments on the company’s blog, the worm planted spinning gold rings in the world. Perhaps a Pavlovian response by fans of Sega’s old Sonic the Hedgehog game, or an indication of the general curious nature of people playing Second Life, players willingly interacted with the objects, spreading the worm even further. As the worm spread, players reported serious lag in the game.

News source: Security Blog

Microsoft Corp. will unlock the digital-distribution capabilities of its next-generation console, Xbox 360, to Hollywood studios beginning November 22.

Xbox 360 gamers in the U.S., totaling at least 3 million, will be able to purchase TV shows and download them to their gaming hard drive as well as rent and watch movies on their consoles.

The first wave of content will include dozens of high-definition and standard-definition offerings from such partners as Warner Bros. (“Batman Forever,” “V for Vendetta,” “The Nine”), Paramount Pictures (“Nacho Libre,” “Jackass: The Movie”), MTV Networks (“South Park,” “SpongeBob SquarePants”), CBS (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Survivor”) and Turner Broadcasting (“Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Robot Chicken”).

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News source: Washington Post

Electronic Arts Inc. is taking the wraps off of a major overhaul to its download service for computer games, signaling the largest video game publisher’s commitment to the growing trend of online distribution.

The Redwood City-based company said it plans to officially announce the new portal, EA Link, on Friday, though the retooled service was running Wednesday.

It replaces an earlier service called EA Downloader, the company’s admittedly clunky year-old effort at offering downloadable content for its PC games.

With EA Link users can download materials faster, search for products in a more organized fashion, launch purchased games directly, and have their payment information, including a new online payment option through PayPal, linked to their accounts.

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News source: NewsVine.com

Electronic Arts today announced that Battlefield 2142 has shipped to retailers in North America and Europe for the PC. After ripping open the box, but before putting the disc into their systems, gamers may notice a slip of paper with a disclaimer written on it. CGW Podcast read the disclaimer on air, which we have transcribed below:

“The software may incorporate technology developed by IGA Worldwide, the advertising technology. The purpose of the advertising technology is to deliver in-game ads when you use the software while connected to the Internet. When you use the software while connected to the Internet, the advertising technology may record your IP address and other anonymous information. That advertising data is temporarily used by IGA to enable the presentation and measurement of in-game ads and other in-game object which are uploaded temporarily to the your PC or game console, and change during online gameplay. The advertising technology does not collect personal or identifiable information about you.”

Essentially, the in-game advertisement system in Battlefield 2142 utilizes methods that most spyware use. By analyzing your computing and browsing habits, EA/IGA uses that data to provide targeted ads. It is unknown if spyware scanners detect and classify Battlefield 2142 as malicious.

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News source: DailyTech