Is Hitman's Next Target Assassin's Creed? 
Why Kotaku Australia Should Never Work With Children... Or Robots 
Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better Buried in the excitement around Sony’s PS3 Slim unveiling on Wednesday was a little announcement around new video on demand content coming to the console.
You may have noticed that you can now watch the first five seasons of Lost on your Xbox 360 through Netflix.
“Videogames, as a medium, have also reached a stage in their development where they are mature enough to tackle concepts far more meaningful than just shooting space aliens.” So says the brains behind the Serious Games initiative just launched by the ABC and Screen Australia. They’re calling for serious game design ideas, with the eventual competition winners receiving funding to development their idea into a playable game.
Remember when we all watched with gaping maws at the ignorance of politicians and pundits on ABC1′s Q&A program? Remember when Daniel Silk wrote a substantial letter of complaint to the ABC about how poorly the discussion was handled? Well Daniel has had something of a result from his letter, which led to an assessment of the program and an apology and admission that some of the remarks made by Tony Jones could be “confusing and misleading”. A footnote has been added to the Q&A webpage for the particular program. It doesn’t fix what went wrong on the night, but a GG to Daniel for raising the alarm in an official capacity — and the Q&A team will probably be more careful to get things straight should gaming come up again in future.
The full reply letter to Daniel from the ABC after the jump. [Thanks to Daniel for sharing!]
I know many of you have tried to forget it ever happened, but try to recall that horrible Q&A panel on the ABC. Not wanting to leave the issue without some expert comment from the other side, GDAA prez and Tantalus CEO Tom Crago has offered his opinion on the ABC News website. In it, he criticises not only the panel, but the classification system and Michael Atkinson.
While Crago covers ground we’ve talked about before, he still makes a compelling argument, and provides something most of us cannot – the point of view of a developer. From the piece:
As game developers, we are trying to make games that provide entertainment to players of all ages. Video games are not going to turn your children into criminals. They are, in fact, the modern face of the entertainment industry, and something that we in Australia are very good at producing.
The focus of this debate should be upon how the Australian classification system can best give adults the information they need to chose video game content for themselves and their children, without burdening our country with unjustified and draconian censorship to the amusement and pity of the rest of the world.
I think the world alternates between pitying and mocking, but any attention is good attention, right?
Unlike a specialist blog such as Kotaku AU, the ABC site attracts a range of personalities. Even so, most of the comments to the piece are positive, though I couldn’t help but notice this rather, well, insane post:
The above snippet is taken from a relatively new ABC show called Q&A, which gives everyday people the chance to pose questions to politicians, journalists and the like. The latest episode saw the panel field a question about the lack of an R18+ rating for video games. The result… well, all I can say is wow. At this rate, we don’t stand a chance.
Thanks to Daniel Silk, who pointed me in the direction of the clip. Daniel also went to the trouble of putting together a letter to complain about the panel, which I’ve included after the jump.
If you’d like to read more information about games classification, I urge you to check these out: Michael Atkinson, No R18+ For Games In Australia: Why It Hurts Children R18 Classification & Video Games: What You Can Do Why Michael Atkinson’s Opposal Of An R18+ Rating For Games Does Bugger All To Protect Kids, Promotes Crime
Q&A episode 10 [ABC TV]
Okay. It’s not that sexy.
True, I sometimes force my voice to drop a few octaves for the ladies, but I usually end up coughing in their faces or spilling my apple martini on their shirts. Which is definitely not sexy.
But we won’t be talking about any of that. The main topic of conversation will be the review of an R18+ rating for video games and its opposers – though I’m sure we’ll cover other bits and pieces.
If you’d like to hear the irresistible timbre of vocals, tune in to 774 ABC Melbourne around 3:30PM AEDT. For those unable to pick up the station on their electronic frequency catcher, you can stream it from the ABC Radio Melbourne website.
On March 25, the Australia Interactive Media Industry Association will be hosting a panel at the Privilege Club in Sydney to discuss the evolution of online gaming and its implications on advertising and marketing. The panel will consist of various industry experts, including EA’s Mark Fordham and Janet Carr, producer of the ABC’s Good Game.
The AIMIA is after the opinions of gamers as well as insiders, so if you’re of the verbal persuasion, your presence will be appreciated.
From the looks of the release, the panel will also be discussing online gaming in general, including trends, technology and demographics, so if you’re not exactly thrilled by the thought of sales talk, there are other chunks of meaty information to sink your fangs into.
If you’re seriously thinking of paying the event a visit, hit up this link to give the AIMIA an idea of numbers.
Press release after the jump.
Xbox is running an interesting contest through their website. Anyone who downloads the free Oceanic Airlines theme on XBLM between now and Feb. 10 will automatically be entered in a contest to win an Xbox 360. The prize package will also include 12 month Xbox LIVE Gold membership, 1600 MS points and an extra special something from ABC and Oceanic Airlines. Six people will win the grand prize with an additional three people winning that extra special something from ABC. Be sure that your Xbox LIVE info is updated with your current info or you will be disqualified. And in case you’re wondering what the hell Oceanic Airlines is, it is the disastrous faux airline used in ABC’s show LOST. (Contest for US only)
Taking You Places You Never Imagined Sweepstakes [Xbox.com] [via Major Nelson]
Here we have a second trailer for UbiSoft’s upcoming game based on the hit ABC TV show LOST entitled Lost: Via Domus. You play one of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 and interact with all of the show’s well known characters to help cure your apparent amnesia. Knowing the way the LOST machine works, I wouldn’t put it past them to include some exclusive easter eggs in the game that will be clues to the show’s plot. But just like the show, the trailer leaves the viewer with more questions than it does answers.
