Thanks to GameSpot for its interview with Will Harvey, founder of There Inc., after the virtual world creator announced this week that it "is reevaluating its consumer-side game environment, giving itself 90 days to determine if a licensing-only model might offer a more secure upside to the company." Harvey explains that he has "left the company and I'm no longer on the board", and describes his original vision of There: "to support all the kinds of rich interactivity and human experience that top-tier video games are capable of, but in a single, unified world where everything works together." When asked to describe the problems with 'virtual world' products, he suggests: "If you look at the nongenre MMORPGS--There, Second Life, The Sims Online--they are all version 1 products that won't really be complete until version 37. The challenge is making version 1 commercially viable."

VL writes "Keyboards and mice are great for gaming, but sometimes you need something old school... especially when playing those MAME classics - here's ViperLair's review of the X-Arcade dual controller." X-Arcade also makes a single-player version, and a sturdy-looking trackball.

An anonymous reader writes "There's a new release of the open source multiplayer/singleplayer first person shooter Cube available on the official site. According to the site, this update, which has freely downloadable 'Win32/MacOSX/Linux/LinuxPPC clients and Linux/Solaris/FreeBSD servers' includes 'lots of new great SP [single player] and DM [deathmatch] maps, new textures, mapmodels, a completely new soundtrack yet again, and a variety of code improvements such as better animation.' - the history document has more info on the changes."

Thanks to Insert Credit for its interview with SNK USA's Ben Herman, conducted at E3 last week, in which he "addressed the rumor that Sony had forced the company into making [multiple games in one compilation] pack-ins for their 2D [PlayStation 2] titles." Herman noted that, apparently, "pack-ins were indeed his plan all along... but acknowledged that Sony was definitely more receptive to the pack-in idea than the single package. SvC Chaos and Metal Slug 3 stand alone discs were not approved, for instance." Thus, "The Xbox exclusives in the US market (the aforementioned SvC Chaos and Metal Slug 3) only came about because of Sony's rejection", and Xbox exclusivity won't be repeated in the near future. There's also a longer interview with Ben Herman posted at the MMCafe forums in which he confirms that "Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special... [are] approved for the PS2."

Thanks to GameSpot for its 'Spot On' column discussing game industry financial analysts' predictions for the E3 Expo being held in Los Angeles next week. Among the predictions from various analysts are plans for Xbox ("I'm virtually certain that Microsoft will announce that Xbox Next is coming in 2005. Not clear whether they want to do so at E3"), Sony's possible announcements ("Probably a price cut to $149, and reemphasizing the point that PS2 is still going strong"), and discussion of Nintendo's DS ("...it now appears the system is generating a more positive response, particularly among game publishers.") But if you're fed up with 'expert' opinions, then try some completely fake predictions from Jason 'Loonyboi' Bergman, including: "Midway will announce a pre-order campaign for NARC, in which the first 1,000 orders will receive 1/8th of an ounce of hashish... Nintendo's press conference will consist entirely of awkward silence, interrupted only by a single person making farting noises with his armpit."

Thanks to GameSpot for its news story confirming the final line-up for multi-platform retro compilation Midway Arcade Treasures 2. According to the piece: "the compilation will feature 21 ports from the venerable publisher's arcade catalog on a single disc, including A.P.B., Arch Rivals, Championship Sprint, Cyberball 2072, Gauntlet 2, Hard Drivin', Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat III, NARC, Pit Fighter, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, Spy Hunter 2, Steel Talons, STUN Runner, Timber, Total Carnage, Wizard of Wor, Xenophobe, Xybots." The compilation, a follow-up to last year's first Treasures compilation, is "priced at $19.99... [and] is scheduled for a fall 2004 release on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube."

Thanks to GamesIndustry.Biz for its article confirming that Tecmo's Xbox title Ninja Gaiden has been censored for European release, seemingly "to remove certain violent aspects such as decapitations." According to the piece, these changes "have been removed apparently at the request of European censors, and the final PAL code for the game has been granted a 16 rating by pan-European ratings body PEGI, which rates games for a wide range of European countries (including the notoriously censorious German market)." However, it seems "the actual impact of the change to the game is minor... and does little to detract from the well-received game - which was the best selling single-platform title in the USA last month." Update: 04/22 14:42 GMT by S : Simon Vivien explains what commenters also mention: "Germany still uses USK, which is another rating board dedicated to their market. The rest of Europe indeeds use PEGI. A 16+ PEGI rating doesn't especially mean a 16+ USK rating - as was witnessed in our latest shooter, Painkiller, who received a 16+ PEGI rating but was banned in Germany."

An anonymous reader writes "Over at Buzzcut.com they're hosting a number of cartoons and running a news story about UK English professor Barry Atkins, who also happens to be a videogame-related cartoonist. Highlights of the wry single-panel strips include FPS weapon commentary, licensing worries, and shooter strategy issues."

John Miles writes "It's been almost thirty years since young Laura and Sandy Crowther sat down at a Teletype and took their first steps into the mysterious subterranean world their father, Will, created for them. Now, if Nick Montfort's Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction is any indication, Crowther and Woods's pioneering computer game Adventure and its descendants are finally beginning to garner the critical recognition they deserve. At only 286 pages, Twisty Little Passages is a small, accessible book that addresses a deep and complex subject. The author's stated intention is to bring us the first book-length consideration of interactive fiction (IF) as a legitimate literary field, and he has certainly succeeded." Read on for the rest of Miles' review.

Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing UbiSoft's announcement of Myst IV Revelation, revealing the "...fourth single-player installment in the series... in development at its Montreal studio." UbiSoft has "very little to say about the game as yet", but it seems developers of Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time are bringing their expertise to the franchise, most recently faltering a little with series creator Cyan's Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Elsewhere, fansite URU Obsession has discovered hidden linking panels in Uru, possibly not intended for use in the game, but including a picture of the library from the first Myst game (though posters note "some differences from the original Myst library".)

An anonymous reader writes "It's official: Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce that two-headed ogres, each head controlled by a different player, are now a playable race in World of Warcraft, their upcoming PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Giving two separate players simultaneous control of a single body, this new race introduces a unique cooperative gaming experience never before attempted. Current beta testers should expect to see these innovative new game mechanics added in the coming weeks."

daitengu writes "After almost a year and a half of 'It'll be out soon', Valve Software has finally released Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. It is available on Steam for the low-low price of $29.95 or, rumor has it, you'll be able to buy it in stores today or tomorrow. Counter-Strike is the world's most popular online First Person shooter, and Condition Zero brings updated maps, skins, and graphics to the game, as well as a single-player mode. It also brings what some reviews have claimed as one of the best AI they've seen." The submitter continues: "If this game was released 9 months to a year ago like Valve was promising, I may have invested the $30 or $40 to buy it. Now, however, It's just not worth it to me." Does CS:CZ pique your interest at all?

sarcastodon writes "Various sources such as GI.Biz are suggesting that detailed specifications of the upcoming Nintendo DS have been leaked. Surprising capabilities contained in the allegedly leaked Japanese-language document for the dual-screen handheld include 3D hardware acceleration, 802.11 wireless support, and the inclusion of a touch screen." However, GI.Biz notes: "Of course, a single leaked screenshot of a Japanese document doesn't constitute hard proof of any description, and this document should be taken with a pinch of salt - but if it is a forgery, it's a rather good one."

TheNomad writes "Made in Fountainhead Entertainment's Quake III-based tool, Machinimation, 'Anna' is a real-time generated machinima showing the story of a single flower's life, from birth to - well, I won't spoil it for you. There's a showcase of the film over at Machinima.com, and they also have a download page, as well as a FilePlanet mirror." We've recently run an interview with Katherine Anna Kang, Fountainhead boss and ex-id software employee, and also discussed the 2003 Machinima Film Festival Awards, in which 'Anna' won several awards.

Sacrusha writes "The developers of UFO: Alien Invasion finally released a technical demo for both Windows and Linux, using a modified Quake 2 engine to feature turn-based tactical combat against alien forces on three different maps, in both single and multiplayer modes! UFO: AI is going to be a totally free, fan-made game and is heavily inspired by Microprose's X-Com series - the developers are looking for your input on the product."

Thanks to Blue's News for their story noting a single-player PC demo of DreamCatcher's FPS Painkiller is now available, with the 228MB trial version BitTorrent-able via GameTab and at AixGaming. According to the publisher: "The demo contains 3 Single Player levels including the never-before-seen Oriental Castle, the medieval town level and the Thor level where players will get 'hammered' with one of the biggest, meanest and downright scariest bosses of all time, Saphathoraél." There's a recent hands-on look at the title at C+VG which explains its style, suggesting: "Painkiller is usually likened to Doom or Serious Sam, and that's more or less spot-on, although this is Doom and Serious Sam utilising next-generation technology."

Agram asks: "I bought the Sunflowers' 1503AD game practically as soon as it came out, since my wife and I loved to play the old 1602AD together via LAN. 1503AD's expanded multiplayer feature was touted all over the internet, yet when I bought the game, for a costly $52, I was very unpleasantly surprised that it had no multiplayer mode at all. Despite the continuous claims that the company is working on the MP patch, we're now over 7 months away from the initial release, the game now sells for a measly $15, and I have yet to play a single second of it, as I have no interest in the single player experience. My attempts at communication with the company led to nothing but dead-ends and unprovoked mistreatment. Unfortunately, this is not a unique occurrence in today's software entertainment industry, where atrocious lack of support is growing rampant and is increasingly coupled with ridiculous EULA's. I have therefore decided to finally exercise my end-user rights and pursue a class-action lawsuit against the company. I am now asking you, fellow Slashdot reader, for help in seeking answers to the following questions as, well assistance in assembling signatures for the class-action lawsuit."

Datasage writes "Announced today on the UbiSoft community boards. Uru Live, the online part of Cyan's PC title Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, will be closing down. They were not able to get enough subscribers (even within the free Beta) to sustain the world. Instead Cyan has refocused its efforts, and will be putting out expansion packs for Uru, the first of which, due out a couple months, will be freely downloadable." Andrew Plotkin has written an informative FAQ regarding Uru Live, explaining the now defunct collaborative online part of this single-player PC game from the Myst creators.

jvarsoke writes "ChessBrain.net broke the world's record for 'largest number of distributed computers used to play a single game' by holding a chess match between Danish GM Peter Heine Nielsen and the equivalent of SETI@home (which similarly, has some people looking for a Mate). 2070 CPU's from 56 countries aided Black by running the chess program Beowulf, including a couple of University clusters. Their supernode ran Linux, and MySQL. The game was relayed by FICS. Results can be viewed here(1) and here(2)."

Thanks to Zodiac Gamer for reprinting a progress report on the reception to the Tapwave Zodiac handheld gaming system, as the creators of the Palm-compatible device mention accolades such as a CES 'Last Gadget Standing' award from PCMag, and also note they've "received a very small number of units back for joystick-related issues", mainly involving calibration problems. The post also comments on newly released games enhanced specifically for the device, singling out the Atari Retro pack, which ZodiacGamer had earlier previewed, and discussing upcoming titles: "Doom II is going through final single-player testing and sign-off and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 is in our final phases of multiplayer testing."