Lord of the Rings Online gets Chinese Government approval

CDC Games has received final government approvals to operate The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO) in China. This enables the company to begin open beta testing of Turbine’s MMO later this week with commercial launch to follow one week later. The Chinese government has a strict approval process that requires prior approval of all games before proceeding into an open beta and commercial launch enviornment.

During the final phase of the closed beta test, CDC Games reported a registration number of 2.2 million users and a high activation rate during the last week of testing. Playing time steadily increased throughout the test resulting in about four hours per session.

CDC Games holds the exclusive distribution rights in China for The Lord of the Rings Online.

ECA urges gamers to go green

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) today announced an initiative motivate gamers to contact their government representatives to support a pair of bills that would make gaming greener. The two bills are “S.1397″ (Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act), which would research ways to deal with the proper disposal of electronic devices; and “S.1696,” (the Green Gaming Act of 2009), which would require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study of videogame consoles’ energy efficiency.

To read the full letter and to learn more about this initiative, go to the ECA’s action center at action.theeca.com.

Fox News vs. Modern Warfare 2

According to our friends at Game Politics and the Entertainment Software Association, Fox News will be taking on the contrived controversies of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 this morning on the Fox & Friends morning show.

The ECA, which owns and operates the Game Politics blog, received an email from FOX News at around 11 a.m. EST on Tuesday asking to speak to an “expert gamer” about the controversies surrounding the game. Here’s a quote from that email:

“I write to inquire about a possible interview tomorrow on Fox & Friends. We’re the morning show of the Fox News Channel, and are planning on doing a segment on the new Xbox game, Modern Warfare 2. We’re hoping to have a debate on the game, and would love to speak to an expert gamer on the controversies surrounding the game. The debate is for 6:50am tomorrow morning, on camera.”

The email was sent to the ECA’s Jason Andersen, director of PR. The ECA declined to take part in the discussion, because according to GP, Fox News would not offer any details on the discussion planned for the segment. We all know how their last major segment on Mass Effect with psychologist Cooper Lawrence, so sending someone in there blind seemed like a bad idea, no doubt.

The segment will run on the morning show at 6:50 a.m. EDT, according to GP.

2010 Game Business Law Summit registration opens

Registration for 2010 Game::Business::Law Summit is now via game-business-law.com for those interested in this legally focused game business conference hosted by SMU Dedman School of Law, The Guildhall at SMU, and The Center for American and International Law. Taking place January 27-28, 2010, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX., 2010 Game::Business::Law Summit promises to bring top game industry leaders, developers, publishers, lawyers and members of the venture capital and financial industry from around the world to discuss current business trends and legal issues in the games industry.

The 2009 Game::Business::Law Summit, organizers also announced its initial slate of notable speakers:

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ECA launches Gamers for Digital Rights

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has formed a new work group called Gamers for Digital Rights. This new group’s online presence is already now live and offering information for consumers who want to learn more about their legal rights and understand more about digital content distribution, license agreements, virtual property, and piracy. Gamers for Digital Rights is free to join and provided the tools and resources that the ECA says will help protect the rights of video game consumers today.

The ECA also announced that it recently hired Robert L. Hunter, IV as its Digital Rights Consultant. In his new role, Mr. Hunter will head up the ECA’s efforts on related outreach and educational programs for the Government Affairs team. Mr. Hunter also currently serves as the President of Global Intellectual Property Securities, a consulting firm dedicated to helping multinational clients develop IP education and enforcement programs. Previously, he was the Director of Strategic Operations and Development for IPSA International, as well as Manager for IP Enforcement with the Entertainment Software Association.

To learn more about digital rights and how to join the Gamers for Digital Rights group, visit www.theeca.com.

Al Qaeda Wars pushes the envelope

A new social game gets a bit too gung-ho for my taste in an attempt to make Al Qaeda, America and some of America’s most recognized celebrities look like a bunch of douche bags. The game in question is called Al Qaeda Wars, and it lets you play as the terrorists or American counter-terrorists in the war on terrorism. A social game, Al Qaeda Wars uses Facebook and Google maps to zero in on targets throughout the world.

Playing as the terrorists, the game lets players target celebrities not-so-cleverly hidden under fake names like “Ronal Frump,” “Pest Hilton,” and “Simon Scowl.” The game is a lot like Mafia Wars; you use your Facebook friends to help attack your targets, buying different kinds of weapons, launching “Google Map attacks,” and more. These attacks are games of skill based on actual player locations set on Google maps. Success results in a flash animated destruction of the target.

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University of Queensland lecture: are shooters to blame?

Video game enthusiasts - particularly in the general vicinity of St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia - may want to take note of an interesting public lecture from the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies on first-person shooter games. The lecture will ask, and one would assume, attempt to answer the question: do these kinds of games by their very nature desensitize young adult males and teens to violence, conflict and war and ignore conflict resolution?

On Oct. 5. Academic Peter Mantello will head deliver the lecture (Are violent computer games to blame?), which aims to discern if FPS games teach youngsters that military warfare is the most effective foreign policy tool. By the way this public lecture is being framed at QU, one would think that Mantello (a self professed gamer) thinks it is a foregone conclusion, but it is an interesting topic that deserves more attention and thoughtful discussion.

It’s an interesting question but the answer will probably get lost on gamers who will find the way the question has been framed as slightly offensive. Does a person that plays a first-person shooter like Call of Duty or Counter-Strike truly believe that military action in tense global and political situations is always the first option, or better still, for the youth of the world - do they even care - are they even paying attention to the things going on in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Dufar, etc.?

First-Person Shooters are by their very nature about conflict, obviously - if they were not they’d be called Flower; but it is probably fair to say that they seldom offer any option but to kill, blow up and destroy. But to say they teach a certain behavior is a bit of an insult to the intelligence of most players who can separate game from reality.

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