See, according to a report in Britain’s The Times, Will (guess he was spilling anonymously) not only bought the game and stayed up late, he called in the next morning and said he was “sick”, when really he was up to his eyeballs in knife-fights and dead Russians.

Harmless day off, you say? Would be, were “Will” not a judge. A judge of 15 years, at a county court in Britain.

Some will be upset at this, and think a judge is too important a man to blow off a day’s work for some video games. But you know what? Judges have to play games too, man. Judges have to play games too.

Meet the secret gamers [The Times, via VG247]

Abington are looking to get a class action lawsuit together, believing Microsoft’s actions to be both heavy-handed and suspiciously convenient given the proximity of the bannings to the release of Modern Warfare 2.

“Microsoft has chosen to use one of the most indiscriminate ‘weapons’ in its arsenal in an effort to combat piracy — as a result, use of this ‘weapon’ has resulted in a great deal of collateral damage — many people were affected who had nothing to do with piracy,” reads a statement on the firm’s website.

As for the conspiracy theory side of the story, Abington reckon that the mass bannings were just an excuse for Microsoft, with the release of the year’s biggest online title on the horizon, to rack up a few extra Xbox Live subscriptions from those eager to get back onto the service.

Sounds like complete rubbish to me, but then, this is a law firm we’re talking about.

Law Firm Sniffing Around Xbox Live Class Action Suit [GamePolitics]

Posting on her—what else—Twitter account, Love wrote:

For the record this Guitar Hero shit is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction.

And then followed that up with:

WE are going to sue the shit out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.

Whichever way this swings, it’s going to be entertaining.

Courtney Love [Twitter, via Perez Hilton]
[Image credit]

Virtual Jihadi is actually a PC mod of a mod of a low-budget first-person shooter that came out in 2003. In the original game, Quest for Saddam, players hunt down and kill Saddam Hussein. The first mod, created by Al Qaeda, re-skins the game so that players are out to get President George W. Bush. Virtual Jihadi is Iraq-born artist Wafaa Bilal’s follow-up mod to the game which puts Bilal in the role of an Iraqi citizen who joins Al Qaeda to avenge his dead brother by killing Bush.

Bilal says that his work is designed to raise awareness about the vulnerability of Iraqi citizens’ recruitment by Al Qaeda “because of the U.S.’s failed strategy in securing Iraq.” Also, he says the game addresses the racist stereotypes presented in the original game, Quest for Saddam.

GamePolitics reports that the exhibition has gone through a lot of red tape since its debut:

Bilal, a U.S. citizen and a faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago, was invited to display his work at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy but was abruptly ordered off campus after the school’s College Republican Club raised objections to the game. Bilal was then offered space to display Virtual Jihadi at a nearby gallery, the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

The gallery, however, was suddenly shut down for building code violations by Troy’s Public Works Commissioner, Robert Mirch.

This latest lawsuit alleges that the city’s shutdown action taken in March 2008 was a suppression of free speech. The suit seeks to stop the city from blocking the exhibit further and requests lawyers’ fees and damages of an unspecified dollar amount to be paid by the city.

You can find the text of the NYCLU complaint here and the original press release here.

City Sued Over Shutdown of Controversial Video Game Exhibit [GamePolitics]

According to the New Times of Broward-Palm Beach, the sheriff sent deputies to every game store in the county in October, telling them to get thumbprints from all used-game sellers. A GameStop manager breaks it down pretty succinctly when asked why he complied: “They have guns. I don’t argue with people with guns.” That’s exactly what law enforcement wants to hear, son.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman said the requirement is part of a state law passed in 2007. That law also requires sellers to put a 15-day hold on the items before they can resell them, but as you can guess, probably no one is complying with that. The GameStop manager said that most customers don’t care about the requirement, although some have left the store without selling games.

Of course it’s meant to cut down on people selling stolen merch, and games and game systems are top items in that category. It’s also another way to make law abiding private citizens feel like they’re criminals.

Sell Your Used Games, Get Thumbprinted [Sports Legends, thanks Madgame]

The court’s decision not to grant Thompson a writ of Certiorari was pretty much a given, considering such a grant is reserved for only the most important cases that could change the face of law as we know it. Jack’s case appeared in a long list of cases denied such measures in a list of orders released Monday.

Thompson, however, has not yet begun to fight.

In response to [GamePolitics'] speculation that “the… decision almost certainly ends Thompson’s fight to have his permanent disbarment overturned,” – Not at all. I have four more options, all better than this one. This was the longest of shots. All four of the others are much, much shorter shots. Stay tuned. As Winston Churchill implored: “Never give in. Never, never, never, never, never.”

Powerful words indeed, though I believe that if Sir Winston Churchill were alive today and knew all the facts of this case he’d make an exception.

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Jack Thompson’s Appeal [GamePolitics]

Online game developer Nitrogen has just announced L.A.W., a post-apocalyptic multiplayer online game for adults designed by the lead artist for Diablo II and a “well-known movie director from the Star Wars”.

Oklahoma’s no friend to M-rated games. But, still smarting from the defeat of an unconstitutional anti-games law back in 2006, some legislators still want the state’s contempt for mature games known. Through tax breaks.

GamePolitics reports that a proposal before the Oklahoma legislature would offer tax breaks to developers of video games, but only if the work is rated T for Teen or more wholesome. Filmmakers would also qualify for a tax break, but they’re only restricted from making child porn or anything “obscene.” Seriously, that’s the standard. So, M-rated Bionic Commando: Rearmed? Nope! But Showgirls II: Revenge of Gina Gershon? Why, you can still shoot on location in Tulsa!

The bill’s sponsor explained that when he went around trying to drum up support, the first thing out of everyone’s mouth was whether or not it’d include age restrictions. He said he didn’t want them, but he felt compelled to compromise on the point just to see this through to a vote. This thing’s probably gonna die anyway, because Oklahoma, like every other state, has a budget crisis and that always shuts up the cut-taxes demagogues real quick.

Anyway, good luck with that Oklahoma. I’m sure Ubisoft was thinking about developing “Imagine: The Waltonz” but oh only if there were a friendly government where it could set up shop.

Proposed Oklahoma Tax Break Excludes M-Rated Games [GamePolitics]

Datel – makers of the Wii’s Freeloader, amongst other things – were working on a third-party PSP battery that would have made it easier to hack the PSP-3000. That is, until Sony sued.

A notice to customers pre-ordering the device – called the Lite Blue Tool – apologises for the fact the product will now no longer be shipping as intended:

Due to legal action by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe we are currently not able to fulfil orders for the Lite Blue Tool Battery. Any orders received for this product have not been processed and no charges have been made. We will inform customers about availability of this product when this situation has been resolved.

Working around the Wii’s region control, that’s a noble pursuit. But this? This is just cheeky.

Datel Faces Legal Trouble Over Lite Blue Tool [Portable Video Gamer, via PSPF]

Do violent video games need health warning labels? California congressman Joe Baca thinks so, and he’s introduced legislation that would make them mandatory.

Citing research studies that show a link between violent video games and child aggression, Baca believes that the Consumer Product Safety Commission needs to institute a rule that all games rated T or higher be labelled with the following: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”

“We must hold the video game industry accountable and do everything in our power to ensure parents are aware of the detrimental effects that violent games can have before making decisions on which games are appropriate for their children to play,” concluded Rep. Baca. “I am proud to introduce the Video Game Health Labelling Act of 2009, and am hopeful my legislation can work to stop the growing influence of violent media on America’s children and youth.”

Hey, I’m all for it, if Baca can come up with solid, irrefutable scientific proof that this is indeed the case. We’ve seen countless research reports arguing both sides of the subject; let’s nail down something definitive before we start uglying up our game store shelves. I’ve a feeling this won’t go anywhere and Joe Baca will go back to Kashyyyk.

Rep. Baca Introduces Legislation to Make Violent Video Games Sold With Health Warning Label [Press Release via The Escapist]