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Thank you, Analbreeze.  You made me laugh today.

Not a real surprise for any of us gamers who have been active in the gaming scene for the last 10 years, but still, it is great news.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is predicting that video game sales will continue to grow, with global games spending set to exceed music spending this year. In the U.S., the size of the games market will top the music sector next year, it projects.

PwC’s global managing partner, entertainment and media practice, Marcel Fenez, said, “Videovideo gaming is one of the most exciting stories in terms of pure growth numbers.” According to the preliminary data, worldwide game spending jumped 14.3% to $31.6 billion in 2006 and should rise 18.5% to $37.5 billion this year. Key growth engines will include online and wireless games, new-generation consoles, as well as the burgeoning in-game advertising business.

Stats and stuff | Ongoing Discussion

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) – Christopher Vaughn, accused of killing his wife and three children, is now in a single-person cell in Missouri while he fights extradition to Illinois. He was moved their after Defense attorney David Waltrip got word that Vaughn may have been threatened by other inmates at the jail in St. Charles County, Missouri.

Ongoing discussion

Amber Hess

PHOENIXPhoenix reviews – Two 16-year-old boys, identified as Todd Hoke and Nicholas Castillo, have been arrested in the killing of Amber Hess. Amber was reported missing by her parents when the returned from a trip to find the girl and her car gone, and blood in the house. Her body was later found in the desert and revealed that she had been beaten, stabbed, strangled and the burned. Both boys were students at Coolidge High School, where Amber Hess recently graduated, authorities said. They lived within blocks of her home and the mother of Amber described Todd Hoke as a “brother” to Amber.

Investigators were alerted to the two boys after several anonymous tips were received. One tipster told of the teens coming to borrow cleaning supplies. Although the two boys were acquaintances of the girl, they are not sure if she let them in the house or if they forced their way in. In any event the attack was brutal and the girl fought for her life. Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez stated that:

“From what I’m told this girl fought for her life in that home, and she didn’t die easy — it was very brutal…They went to her home and through a combination of beating, stabbing and choking, killed her…She just didn’t die quick enough for them. So they just kept doing different things to her”

Hoke and Castillo will be booked on first-degree murder charges, they will likely be charged as adults. The teens have a court appearance set for Wednesday afternoon in juvenile court in Pinal County.

Manhuntmanhunt reviews 2 blamed in 3..2..

Ongoing Discussion

This is the first part of a two-part series on the decline of the record industry. Today we’re including Brian Hiatt and Evan Serpick’s report on where the music business went wrong, from the current issue of Rolling Stone, as well as an interactive graphic illustrating the industry’s slide. Tomorrow, check back with RollingStone.com for interviews with industry leaders on the future of the music business.

Rollingstone.com has a pretty good article reporting on the decline of record sales and how it all went wrong. If you guessed the record companies are the ones responsible for the position they are in, you get a cookie. But in all seriousness, just about anyone could have told you that. The article is pretty good, follow the link for the first part of a two part story.

 RollingStone.com | Ongoing Discussion

Manhuntmanhunt reviews 2 Hands On Previews

Even if you are not a gamer, you have probably heard the news that Manhunt 2, the sequel to Take-Two’s Manhunt, has been banned in the UK and rated Adults only here in the US. The Adult Only rating ensures that it will not be on store shelves. The violence is supposedly too much for anyone to possibly handle. But hands-on previews have been posted on the web as of late, and while none of the previewers are saying that the game is not extremely violent, they all state that it is tame compared to the levels of violence in the latest R rated horror films currently showing on the big screen.

“The game’s violence and gore, which have become the mother of all lightning rods for the title, are in full effect. But, while they’ve been ramped up from the original game, they’re not exactly going to wreck Western civilization any more than, say, the Saw and HostelHostel reviews movies–or just about any other of the slasher flicks that come in and out of vogue. What we saw was graphic for sure, and given a slightly unsettling twist by the interactivity offered by the WiiWii reviews game, but ultimately it’s nothing we haven’t seen before in other games, movies, or even some television.”
- Gamespot.com

“Manhunt 2 is Rockstar’s darkest, most disturbing game yet. It’s a menacing vision of paranoia and terror mixed with blood-spattered ultra-violence, and for that reason it’s a game that will certainly catch the eye of bandwagon-jumping politicians looking for a scapegoat for the latest real-world killing. But that’s not why Manhunt 2 should steal the headlines – the fact it’s Rockstar’s most intelligent, incisive work to date is, in our opinion, a much bigger story.”
- IGN.com

And one of the better articles was from the NY Times:

“I did not find Manhunt 2 particularly frightening or sickening, more like a violent interactive cartoon. Banning the original version of Manhunt 2 may be a good way to demonstrate that the industry can police itself. Side by side, though, movies seem to be way ahead of games in delivering top-notch gore.”
Seth Schiesel – NY Times

So what does this mean for the gaming business? Hell if I know. But it is an interesting topic. Why should games be held to a different standard than movies in regards to the ratings the receive and how to ensure 10-year-old Johnny doesn’t get his hands on games that were specifically geared towards adults.

Ongoing discussion

UPDATE 11/11/08 – Candace Clark, now 24, pleaded no contest to being a party to second-degree reckless homicide on Monday.  She also pled guilty to multiple charges including child abuse related to the murder of Tammie Garlin and the torture of Garlin’s eleven year old son. Clark will serve about 47 years in prison and then will face up to 45 years of continued supervision.

Pictured – Michael Sisk, Candace Clark, Michaela Clerc, Felicia Garlin
HouseHouse reviews of Horrors

(June 27, 2007) - No one in the Portage, Wisconsin neighborhood could have possibly imagined the horrible events that had transpired in one of the rental properties right next door to them. The family living inside were a group of identity thieves who traveled across the US. The group consisted of Candace Clark, 23, Tammie Garlin, 36, Tammie’s 11-year-old son, her daughter Felicia Garlin, 15, and Michaela Clerc, 20. The group was allegedly led by Michael Sisk, 25. [Read more...]

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Christopher Vaughn, 32, said nothing during the hearing as a judge revoked a $1 million bail that had been set earlier. No plea was entered.  No motives in the killing of his family have been revealed yet, if ever, but I am sure whatever the reason, it will involve money or another woman or both.

Discussion in progress 

Myisha Ferrell Arrested in connection with Jessie Davis MurderWell, like the saying goes “A good friend helps you move but a real good friend will help you move a body“, Myisha Ferrell must be a real good friend of Bobby Cutts Jr as she is being charged with helping BobbyBobby reviews move Jessie Davis body to the location it was later found. From the evidence police gathered from her apartment, she may also be the person who had possession of, or was supposed to dispose of, the missing linens from Jessie’s home. My guess she will make a deal to ensure that Bobby gets sentence. She had stated that they dated before, and they have known each other since high school, but this girl just doesn’t seem Bobby’s type.

Comparison of Bobby’s known girlfriends:

Anyone have a pic of his estranged wife?

Direct link to ongoing forum discussion

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I hope this guy buys Singstar for his PS3 so he can get a little more on-key.  I wonder if Morbid is on his 3rd 360 already but is too embarrassed by his fanboyism to admit it.

Here is the first pic of Harrison Ford as Indiana JonesIndiana Jones reviews in almost 20 years. I think he is looking pretty damn good.

Louisville, Kentucky — A 16-year-old girl had her feet severed after a ride she was on malfunctioned. The Superman Tower of Power, a ride in which passengers are lifted to 177 feet, suspended momentarily and then dropped 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping just 20 feet above the pavement. WitnessesWitnesses reviews describe hearing a cable snap and then strike passengers.

“The cable went under the car — and I seen it pull up and hit a lot of people — and I seen them bring their legs up,”

An anonymous witness stated “The people on the ride just came and hit the ground. When I got up there, the lady she was just sitting there, and she didn’t have no legs. … And she was just there, calm, probably in shock from everything.”

The incident took place shortly before 5 p.m. ET, according to Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg. The park remained open, but the ride was shut down until a full investigation is complete, Goldberg said.

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Casper Van Dien is reprising his role as Johnny Rico in the third installment of the Starship Trooper franchise. The direct-to-video release is currently titled Starship Troopers: Marauder. Screenwriter Ed Neumeier ( RobocopRobocop reviews, Starship TroopersStarship Troopers reviews) will make his directorial debut.

Dark Horizons is reporting that South African model Tanya van Graan has recently joined the cast as well. Personally, I love the series to varying degrees, but I am looking forward to this.

Could I possibly get any more links in those few sentences?

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