The Guardian goes on to report that the campaign will run for six weeks, using games like Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 to gauge players’ skills in quick-thinking, problem solving and team work.

In which case, they really don’t want me. When I’m not leaving my teammates to die in Left 4 Dead 2, I’m busy getting lost in aeroplane fuselages in Modern Warfare 2 until somebody’s good enough to come knife me. And I haven’t even bought Assassin’s Creed II yet. Oh, and I’m American.

Here’s what the British government has to say of its campaign:

“As well as tackling ‘traditional threats’ GCHQ’s work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems,” said a GCHQ spokeswoman.

“This means we can offer excellent training and careers for people with specialist technical skills. However, the fact remains that many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox LIVE helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner,” she added.

Government intelligence organisation targets recruits with Xbox Live ads [The Guardian]

Thanks for the tip, Josh!

Neil Thompson, the UK chief, told GamesIndustry.biz that “We’re still very much in the baking on Natal and there’s a lot of things to get decided on it.” That goes for word that the unit would be either £50 (about $90) or even as low as £30 (about $54), with as many as 14 titles available at launch and five million units shipped. In the face of such specifics, which were said to come from Microsoft visits with developers, Thompson basically offered a general, “nuh-uh.”

“No. They weren’t accurate, they were rumours,” Thompson said of MCV’s report. “I’ve got nothing more to say about it. We’re still very much in the baking on Natal and there’s a lot of things to get decided on it.”

GamesIndustry.biz says it will later have further in-depth interviews with both Thompson and Microsoft Europe boss Chris Lewis, but it doesn’t sound like either are going much further on this subject.

Microsoft Dismisses Natal Launch Rumours [GamesIndustry.biz via GamersReports]

Starting at 12.01am on Wednesday, November 18, Wii owners in the UK will be able to download the new BBC iPlayer Wii Channel, giving them instant access to recent television and radio programs on demand without having to navigate to the service via the Wii Internet Channel. The upgraded service now features a full-screen interface for a higher-quality experience overall. Nintendo UL general manager David Yarnton talks up the new channel.

“Our partnership with the BBC is another way in which Nintendo is looking to broaden the market for its products by offering compelling and relevant content to families. BBC iPlayer offers Wii owners another reason to turn their console on everyday and adds to the already established non gaming content on Wii that includes Wii Channels for news, weather forecasts and an internet browser.”

Yes, another reason to turn your Wii on every day, along with all of those other perfectly valid reasons, which I am sure will strike me any moment now.

Seeing as almost any other game on the planet would take 1.2 million as a great worldwide figure, for a month, for Modern Warfare 2 to have managed it in a single country over a 24 hour period speaks volumes as to how much cash is flowing into Activision HQ right now.

Traditional family values during the holidays? So like relatives getting in fights and drinking too much? Kidding!

“As a father-of-four, I’m well aware of the role that computer games play in youngsters’ lives and they undoubtedly have a place,” says the hotel’s managing director Stephen Leckie. “However with Christmas holidays being the ideal opportunity to spend quality time with our families, we’re asking our younger guests to set their consoles and games aside for just a few days of the year and, instead, sample some new activities which they may never have tried before.”

Sounds like Mr. Leckie is assuming that video games aren’t something children and adults can play together. I, of course, am assuming that he is assuming. The hotel does over loads of kid-friendly activities for children to enjoy, such as an indoor play land.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Hotel bans Christmas video games [BBC via Yahoo! Games]

“One thing I wanted to add before I go for you Brits: communicate. Don’t be scared of a microphone,” said Faliszek. “You guys are notorious non-talkers on both 360 and PC. Americans are just chattering away, working together as a team. If you want to work together as a team you’ve got to talk!”

And talk a lot — just like Chet is doing. Talk, talk, talk.

“You can go into a random 360 game on US servers and it’s crazy talk. It’s fun. I think a lot of people knock that community but again and again I’m surprised by how fun that is.”

Crazy talk! Fun! Click the link below to read more chatter from Chet. Read it aloud, even. That’s talking, no?

News: Valve: British gamers are “notorious non-talkers” [CVG]

According to game site GameSetWatch, UK gaming even GameCity and the Nottingham City Council have announced that Takahashi will design a children’s playground for Nottingham City at Woodthorpe Grange Park.

Takahashi is currently spending a month in the area and talking to children and locals as well as the City Council landscape architect. Back in 2006, Takahashi expressed interest in a playground “that’s soft, and with lots of big blocky shapes, and a place [kids] can’t really get hurt – very colourful – where kids can roll around and be free. But it’s probably okay if they occasionally get hurt too.”

Councillor David Trimbl says, “We’re delighted to have Takahashi-san on board and very much looking forward to working with him on this unique collaboration.”

Takahashi Designing Children’s Playground In Nottingham [GameSetWatch]

Those without Sky subscriptions can subscribe for £15 ($27) and for £19 ($34) for sports channels. Twenty-four channels are currently on the Sky service.

According to Sky’s David Mercer, terrestrial channels are not yet available and programs won’t be shown in HD because of poor British broadband speeds.

“For BSkyB it offers further evidence that its future subscriber growth is not dependent on its traditional satellite set-top box strategy,” said Mercer.

“For Microsoft it is further confirmation that the Xbox is on its way to becoming not just a games console, but rather a complete home entertainment system.”

When asked when Sky is coming to the PS3, Sky’s Stephen Nuttall told TechRadar, “So we – Microsoft and Sky – are very focused on making this an enormous success this autumn and working together to deliver a great project.

“…To be honest we’re kind of neutral about how people access our content and don’t feel we should proscribe how people should be watching Sky. Our job is just to give people options.”

For more impressions and pics of Sky Player on Xbox 360, check out Electripig.co.uk.

News: Sky dodges PS3 player question [CVG]
News: Sky on Xbox Live OUT with 24 channels [CVG]

Crecente got a look at Facebook on Xbox Live at Tokyo Game Show. A firmware update preparing the Xbox Live dashboard for the three services went out at the end of September.

Get Together [Xbox.com via VG247, thanks Kay]

EA’s new FLIPS series takes books from some of today’s best children’s writers to deliver what are essentially extended director’s cuts of their works to the Nintendo DS. Children will be able to read books from Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer and Enid Blyton, with quizzes and reference links built right in to help encourage getting to the end of each chapter.

“I’m over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on the Nintendo DS with EA’s new FLIPS range,” said Eoin Colfer, author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. “Everyone knows that reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might finally get them reading my books!”

Here’s what they’ve got lined up so far:

Enid Blyton (Egmont) – The Enchanted Wood®, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World – Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World – Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World – Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)– Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) – Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) – Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

That’s an impressive list of reading materials right there. The first four FLIPS titles are being released in the UK on the 4th of December, with each release featuring six to eight books for the low price of £24.99 ($44). Will the Nintendo DS succeed where libraries and book stores have failed? We’ll find out then.