Recently announced during Gamescon 2009 in Cologne, Germany, and confirmed on the Sony PlayStation blogs, Sony Home will have a major overhaul with the release of version 1.3 in September 2009 with tons of updates and much welcomed additions to make the experience more fun.

Sony PlayStation Home v1.3

Launching Simplified

According to the recent blog post, players will find they will be able to launch into any PS3 games that support launching like Street Fighter IV and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift without having to leave Home to start the game. An icon will appear above the player’s avatar to allow friends to join the game as long as it supports multi-player functions. This will be made easy to set up just by loading the disc into the system while logged into Home and following the directions to get started.

Photo Opportunities

Another new feature, everyone in the community has been begging for in the forums, is the new camera function. When the update takes place in September players will be able to take photos of their favorite areas or pose with friends for a picture they can hang in the personal spaces. The photos can be taken in first person or third person view to make the photos more personal with a few new poses or action emotes to choose from to make the photo interesting. All images will automatically be saved onto your PS3’s XMB.

Improved Experiences on Home

To improve the Home experience there will be a few new portable items much like the irritating bubble machines we find everywhere. But this time, players will now have the option to block another player’s portable items from their screen to avoid the annoyance. Speaking of irritating players you may run into, this same function will also allow players to remove the offending player from their sight by simply blocking the player. So that you can not only mute what they are typing, you don’t even have to look at them, they will be gone completely from your area. Can we say Hallelujah?

A Shop-aholic’s Dream Come True

For those of you who like to shop as much as I do, a new function will be added to the shopping mall that will allow players to try the clothing items on their avatar before making a purchase to avoid downloading an item that will sit in the inventory never to be worn again ... ever. Or even preview how the furniture will look in personal spaces before the final purchase. Because once the item is downloaded all sales are final. But luckily players can always suggest adding that function in the PlayStation blogs where Sony they encourage players to post ideas and suggestions so they can improve the gaming experience everyone wants.

New Spaces Coming Soon

SingStar and Audi Space

Once the new version has been released a new space will open for all SingStar fans. This club-style space will feature a dance floor, video jukebox and a SingStar Music Quiz mini-game.

No further information about the Audi space is available as it was just announced, but you can check out the video below for a glimpse of the SingStar space and a glimpse of all the additional features mentioned and more coming to the Sony Home in September:

Sony Home Update

For now until the updates take place here’s what is new on Home today:

At the Theater

For those who visited the theater for a chance to win more Criss Mindfreak items and be entered for a drawing, this is the last week to claim the coffee table and be entered for the drawing. For the military buffs roaming the Home community stop by Auditorium 2 to watch clips from Army Ranger to unlock an Army Strong t-shirt for your avatar.

At the Shopping Mall

Threads 2 (located on the second floor)

Males Only:
• Skullcap Helmet cost 49 cents
• Steam Punk Goggles cost 49 cents
• Grim Bandana cost 49 cents

Costume Shop (located on second floor)

Males Only:
• Motorcross Helmet cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Gloves cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Boots cost 49 cents
• Motorcross Jacket cost 99 cents
• Motorcross Pants cost 99 cents
Females Only:
• Burning Girl Bead Bracelet cost 49 cents
• Burning Girl Work Boots cost 49 cents
• Burning Girl Camo Top cost 99 cents
• Burning Girl Quilted Skirt cost 99 cents

Site [PlayStation Blog] Site [PlayStation]

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On March 25, 2009, the president and CEO of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, took the time out his busy schedule to travel all the way from Japan to grace the attendees of the 2009 Game Developer’s Conference (held in San Francisco, California) with a highly anticipated keynote.

Held in the Moscone South Esplanade Ballroom, interested attendees entered an impressive sized room capable of holding 1000s of people. Three huge screens graced the front stage amidst a blue and indigo light scheme. Contemporary music tracks played in the background to entertain the audience until the main attraction begun.

The momentous keynote was titled “Discovering New Development Opportunities” and included several interesting topics:

• The brilliance of Shigeru Miyamoto’s creativity
• Praise for the ingenuity of Nintendo’s development team
• Wiiware 4.0 and the new capabilities for SD cards
• Promotion of the new DSi and two of its unique titles
• Announcement of a brand new Zelda game for the Nintendo DS

Synopsis taken from the 2009 Game Developer’s Conference site:

The development of both Nintendo DS and Wii was based on the idea that the video game consumer base could be broadened if the definition of a video game…and ways to access games…were viewed differently.  The fact that these platforms have been accepted so enthusiastically around the world shows that there is opportunity for developers to stretch the boundaries of what was previously viewed as possible in terms of realizing a creative vision.

In his keynote address, Nintendo global president Satoru Iwata will talk about Nintendo’s role in creating better tools and bringing opportunities for developers to introduce their innovative ideas to a marketplace that is increasingly willing and eager to embrace new game design possibilities.

Site [Game Developers Conference 2009] Listen [Satoru Iwata’s GDC 2009 Keynote]

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For those of you who don’t know who Ken Levine is, he is the founder and creative director of 2K Boston, and the keynote speaker for the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo. His impressive resume consists of System Shock 2, the Freedom Force series, Tribes: Vengeance and, of course, Bioshock. 

I was not certain what to expect when Ken Levine took the stage, but the last thing I was expecting was his autobiography. Not only that, he talked about his adolescence and how he “wanted to have sex with the Scarlet Witch”. (This is not an actual quote, as I am censoring how he actually phrased it.)

Levine went on to explain how his love for comic books, video games, and other science fiction made him feel like a nerd to the other kids. However, he eventually found his “Tribe” in a group who played Dungeons and Dragons. Unfortunately, as his friends grew up, they became more interested in women than dice, and his group broke apart. 

Levine then talked about his experience in Hollywood, and how he was commissioned to write a romantic comedy which, in his own words, “sucked.” He then began to work odd jobs, but by night, he loved video games. 

Levine talked about how he had a sudden realization one day: “If I’m paying money to buy video games, there must be people who are being paid to make video games”. After getting a job at Looking Glass studios, he found his “Tribe” once more. 

Like keynote Wil Wheaton at PAX last year, Levine reaffirmed that all PAX attendees are from diverse background, but they are all gamers. Unlike Wheaton, he added that we are all a “great bunch of f___ing nerds”. 

Read [The Escapist] Also Read [Gamertell] Site [PAX 2008]

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Comic-Con 2008 started off (July 24, 2008) with a bang as Will Wright took to the podium to deliver his keynote. Wright is the mastermind behind The Sims games and the soon to be released Spore.

During his speech, Wright talked a lot about what personally interests him. Given the nature of Spore there’s no surprise he’s into such things as aliens and the novel/film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Apparently he felt right at home with his fellow otaku offering detailed insights on why videogames should be considered art. Wright sees newer kinds of media to be the scorn of older media forms. They all take on a process that eventually ends up as being a way for one to artistically express oneself. In a way, that is what he was gunning for with Spore.

Here are the highlights from Will Wright’s keynote speech.

• The MashOn Spore Comic Book Creator was announced. Players can take screenshots and video straight from Spore and upload them directly to the MashOn site. You can then add words to those pictures and create a unique story all your own. The comic can also be printed off and shared. You can even distribute it on your own web site using embedded flash code. This tool will be available on September 7, 2008, the same day Spore launches
.
• Will says confidence in creativity is present in younger children, but gets lost later in life. The traditional education system gives students the impression they are not creative enough to do anything that stands out. Spore helps to alleviate that problem on older players.
• The documentary film Powers of Ten is a driving force behind Spore’s evolutionary process. It encapsulates how one would go from being a virtually defenseless single cell organism to a fully evolved being capable to exploring the universe thousands of years later.
• The original goal for the Spore Creature Creator was 100,000 creations in a few months time. In reality players created over 1 million creatures in less than 24 hours. Another interesting fact is there is now more species available in Spore than on the Earth itself. The approximate number has grown to over 2 million.
• Will showed off a creature time line in Spore that outlines each creatures evolution since their cell phase. Everything that you do and eat will be recorded and viewable from the game. Spore also has a built in music generator. You can create a tune that can technically be your creatures national anthem.
• Vehicle creation will be as simple or as complex as you’d like it to be. You can tailor the paint to fit your creatures look. There are more intricate modifications you can make to the overall design of your vehicles. The game will feature some pre-made vehicle designs by default. Ground vehicles as well as airships will make an appearance. Once you reach Space Phase you’ll be able to design an intergalactic space ship.
• Space Phase allows you to touch down on a planet and populate it. Similar to real life, you cannot abuse the resources of the planet because the atmosphere won’t be able to take it. Will showed an example of how he turned his planet into a volcanic ball of magma and rock before wrapping up his presentation.

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [1UP] Also Read [Screen Burn]

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Although of the official keynotes and press conferences for E3 2008, that doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy the informational goodness they provided.

Here’s a quick-link list of our coverage of all the the press conferences and two keynote addresses from E3 2008. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

• Nintendo press conference: [Live Blog] [Recap]
• Sony press conference: [Live Blog] [Recap]
• Ubisoft press conference: [Recap]
• Capcom press conference: [Recap]

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

• E3 Keynote by Gov. Perry: [Recap]
• Take-Two press conference: [Recap]
• “State of the Industry” keynote by ESA CEO Mike Gallagher: [Recap]
• Konami press conference: [Recap]

Don’t miss any of our E3 2008 coverage at E3.Gamertell.com.

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The second official day of E3 2008 was highlighted with a keynote speech by the Entertainment Software Associations (ESA) CEO, Mike Gallagher (1:00 p.m. PT, July 16, 2008).

A stand-at-a-podium affair, Gallagher was obviously gung-ho about the industry he represents although the low attendance indicated that not many people were not very gung-ho to listen to him speak (although, according to Gamepot, a few more were in attendance for Gallagher’s speech than Gov. Rick Perry’s) . His keynote was more a call to the industry to unite and work together than industry stats, though there were a few of those, too.

Here’s a recap of his keynote as gathered from Live Blogs linked below:

• Gallagher thinks that in several years, this will be the era “we declare as video gaming’s great comeuppance.” “We’re in a new era of acceptance for video and computer games. When we look back, we’ll see now is the time that our industry became an accepted part of our cultural landscape,” (according to Joystiq)
• Here are the stats: $19 billion in 2007, “an astonishing nine games were sold every second of every day last year,” and, as Gamespot reports, the"industry employs more than 80,000 people in 31 states with a total compensation of $2.2 billion, and that figure is expected to rise to 250,000 workers by 2009.”
• He notes that the elderly dig gaming, in some case more so than traditional tabletop card games: “Who would have imagined a couple of years ago that nursing home residents would be more excited about video games than Bingo or Bridge.”
• ESA declares that “videogame” is actually spelled “video game” (two words) and not one. Sorry guys who wrote the APish Videogame Style Guide.
• He gave a few nods to the Texas Gov.‘s keynote, indicating that now the game industry actually works with politicians whereas ESA predecessor Doug Lowenstein often had to work against them.
• He had a call to cooperation for the game industry to create ads against opposers (which he addresses again later).
• Also gave a few nods to proactive games including Re-Mission, Virtual Iraq, Food Force and Folding@Home
• He challenged the industry do the usual things that big companies and industries need to remember: welcome new gamers, help parents (understand games), broaden the use of games, remember the core audience (aka base) and unite behind public policy. Essentially a recap to his entire keynote.
• He ended with, “I challenge you to name another industry that has a more passionate consumer base than ours.”

Read [Kombo] Also Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamespot]

NOTE: Image borrowed from Joystiq.

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Yeah, it’s a bit of a weird choice for a videogame keynote address, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry took the stage and talked today (9:15 a.m. PT, July 16, 2008) at E3 2008.

In his defense, Perry was pretty gushing about the videogame industry in a recent interview with the San Antonio Express-News, giving kind words to the money making power of the industry and expanding demographics of games.

According to the GamePolitics’ Live Blog (via Twitter so don’t blame me for the clicking), there were approximately 50 people who attended Perry’s keynote. That’s a pretty small crowd for a politician’s speech but likely because he’s not a name in the game industry and there are so many games to play at the Expo.

Even so, here’s bullet point style recap of Perry’s rather upbeat keynote:

• ESA’s Mike Gallagher introduced Perry.
• Perry spoke without the aid of a teleprompter.
• A video promoting videogame development in Texas was shown. He compared them to early oil companies (nice) and is looking into more tax incentives for Texas development companies.
• Texas has 22 game development companies, the third most of all the states in the US.
• He wants to put game in schools (nice), especially for fitness (lame but acceptable).
• He wants to block frivolous lawsuits against game companies in Texas.
• Also thinks the “answer to some of answers to nation’s economy can be found in game [business]”
• Recounted stories of wounded soldiers are playing Guitar Hero and (from GamePolitics) “suggested future games to train soldiers for peace keeping missions or help an abusive parent control his/her behavior.”
• His reason for being there: “I came to E3 to encourage game business… And challenge the business to ‘make better worlds, make a difference.’”

Read [San Antonio Express-News] Via [GamePolitics]

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During the Game Developers Conference, Microsoft announced a new video game sharing feature for Xbox Live that will allow gamers to play and rate community developed games. They can also share theses games with any of their Xbox Live friends.

Microsoft believes that the new “open distribution” service will be a boon for community game development, allowing any level developers to almost instantly reach 10 million Xbox Live users. With the announcement of this new service, seven games created using XNA Game Studio 2.0 have already been announced: JellyCar, Little Gamers, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, TriLinea, RocketBall, ProximityHD and Culture . These games are currently available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Microsoft anticipates availability of more than 1000 community created games by the end of the year. Community game developers can develop games for the service using the XNA Game Studio 2.0 and XNA Creators Club membership. Once they finish with the games, they will have to submit the games for review. On successfully enduring the reviewing process, the game will become available to the Xbox Live community of gamers for downloading. Community game developers will be allowed to participate in the beta test of the service Spring 2008 and they can start distributing games by the end of 2008.

John Schappert, corporate VP of Live, during his GDC keynote, talked about Microsoft’s plans to engender a social and creative revolution like the one brought by digital music and video sharing. Microsoft has been one of the earliest adopters of digital distribution which might just usher in a new era for mid and small sized game developers (including indie and community game developers).

Read [TG Daily] Also Read [ShackNews]

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Nokia’s new N-Gage service has been marred by several delays and, in December 2007, the company formally pushed the launch of the service to the first half of 2008. Now with a pre-launch version, N-Gage First Access, being made available to N81 users through the official N-Gage website, the full version can’t be far off. And just before the launch of the service, the ongoing Game Developers Conference proved to be a great platform for the cellphone maker to shed more light on N-Gage’s new avatar as a standard gaming service for Nokia cellphone which will allow users to download and play quality games on their cellphones.

Nokia’s EVP for marketing Anssi Vanjoki gave a keynote address titled “Play With Anybody Everywhere” at GDC on Tuesday (February 19, 2008). He shared Nokia’s vision of mobile gaming with a gathering of several hundred game developers. Vanjoki quickly pointed out that around 1 billion people around the world own Nokia handsets, and said that 200 million out of them are “technology leaders” – a clear reference to high-end cellphone owners - who want more than just the ability to make phone calls. He added that Nokia is working hard to appease them with newer innovations.

He hinted that the N-Gage platform might use GPS, TV out and camera phone capabilities besides other technologies to enhance the gaming experience. Vanjoki was also exultant over the feedback N-Gage First Access has received.

Read [N-Gage Blog]

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Nintendo’s biggest announcements at GDC 2008 have included dates for the company’s next big things, including WiiWare. The Big N named May 12, 2008 as the roll out date for WiiWare, a downloadable content service for the Wii that will allow gamers to purchase fresh new content (and gives indie developers a chance to tap into the huge Wii market). Exactly a week later (May 19, 2008) Wii Fit and it’s infamous peripheral, the Wii Balance Board, will launch. And the company made mention of hotly anticipated Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is still on target for a March 9, 2008 release.

The most exciting aspect of the news was the unveiling of the WiiWare details. In the company’s press release, the company expressed hopes to

“offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. The combination of low development barriers and unique game experiences found only on Wii should enable developers to try new ideas with lower risk in a quicker, more creative and affordable way.”

High hopes, no doubt. They also dropped hints regarding the bigger name titles, namely Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Frontier’s LostWinds, and an “episodic game series” from TellTale (makers of the Sam and Max titles).

Read [GameLife]

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According to the PlayStation Blog, “father of the PlayStation” Ken Kutaragi has just been honored with the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ (AIAS) 2008 lifetime achievement award. The ceremony occurred earlier this week at the D.I.C.E. summit in Las Vegas.

Kutaragi is famous for his engineering skill, and is credited with much of the success of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles. He got the ball rolling with the original PlayStation in 1994 and continued with the launch of the PS2 and PS3, the former being one of the most successful game systems of all time, the latter of which had a bumpy start, but will likely sail under bluer skies in the future. The PlayStation brand has undeniably revolutionized the industry (the original PlayStation was the first successful system to make use of CD-based technology) and Mr. Kutaragi was the man behind the machine.

This is an honor well-deserved for a man with such a massive impact on the industry.

Read [PlayStation blog] Via [GayGamer]

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So Bill Gates gave his final CES keynote address yesterday at CES (January 6, 2008). I still contend he’ll be back in some form, likely in 5-10 years with another keynote and charging a hefty speaker fee (a la President Ronald Regan’s $1+ million per appearance).

Gaming wasn’t tops on his list of stuff to chat about, but he did spend several minutes with the Xbox 360 (and in terms of Billy-G’s income, that’s about $1600 per minute).

From the Gadgetell Live Blog of the keynote:

10:25 PM: “In the US, the Xbox business is in a ‘very, very good place.’ I’m excited to announce tonight that we have passed the 10 million user mark on Xbox Live. We’re brining ABC shows to Xbox Live, and expanding the video content available. In addition, MGM Studios is putting content on Xbox Live as well.”

He did make mention if IPTV which is the biggest Xbox 360 news from CES so far.

The IPTV will IPTV be available through the console Christmas 2008. According to Engadget, the IPTV service will include live streaming broadcasts and record a show while you play a game. During his keynote, he flipped between gaming and TV. No word on the cost or whether or not you’ll be able to record your game.

Gates also mentioned an HD-DVD player add-on for Xbox 360, though that’s not really that new unless, of course, it turns out to be an internal device.

Read [Gadgetell]  Also Read [Engadget and Engadget]

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Gadgetell is live at what may be Bill Gates’ final CES keynote address.

Will he talk about the Xbox game systems or the future of videogames? Check out the live coverage going on right now!

Oh, and keep smacking that REFRESH button at the Gadgetell Live Blogto get up-to-the-minute updates during the keynote address. Oh yeah, it’s that live.

Read [Gadgetell Live Blog] Read [Gadgetell]

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GameDaily recently gleaned a piece of Brier Dudley’s larger Seattle Times column where he speculates things Bill Gates will talk about in his upcoming, and likely final, CES (Consumer Electonrics Expo) pre-CES keynote address (until he retires and needs speaker fee pocket change to buy an island).

The only gaming element of Dudley’s predictions is that Gates may announce that the Xbox 360 will get revamped to include DVR capabilities as well as an internal HD DVD drive.

His other, far less exciting and non-gaming CES predictions concerning Gate’s keynote include:

• Reminding everyone that Microsoft has been working on touchscreen tech. Basically, to remind everyone that Apple ain’t the only cool touchscreen kids in town.
• Mention Microsoft’s mobile software.
• Note media enter will be updated.
• Some nondescript mention of streaming.
• No mention of Zune. (!?!)
• Bragging about deals with automakers.

Dudley has drafted a fairly safe prediction list that draws on stuff that Microsoft has already done. The Xbox element may be the biggest leap, but even that has been floating around the web for at least a year (as Dudley mentions).

To be fair, the column is for a publication that caters to a readership that goes well beyond the hardcore gamer demographic, albeit in a pretty dense area of the country for game development. Besides, no one likes to be wrong and one medium leap prediction is enough for most to accept.

For more on Bill Gates’ CES 2008 keynote, and live coverage of CES 2008, check out Gadgetell’s dedicated CES 2008 page. Gates’ pre-CES keynote will take place 6:30 p.m., Sunday, January 6, 2008, a the The Venetian’s Palazzo Ballroom in Las Vegas, NV.

Read [Seattle Times] Via [GameDaily] Site [Gadgetell at CES 2008]

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Second Life, the virtual world which almost implies a parallel plane of existence for thousands around the globe, came to the aid of a very busy Congressman wanting to be at two different places at one time. Rep. Edward Markey was supposed to attend the recent UN summit on global climate change in Bali, Indonesia but couldn’t make the trip due to his highly engrossing job as a Congressman. However, he found a way of making his presence felt at the summit even without making it to Bali and also without addressing the summit via satellite. Instead he sent his Second Life avatar.

He addressed the meeting on global climate change through his Second Life avatar, who was attired just like a Congressman in a dark blue suit, green tie and white shirt. Markey made the peculiarly historic address from a staffer’s home in Washington DC. He had to remain in Washington to pass a clean energy bill but still wanted to show the commitment of Americans towards the cause of global climatic change to the attendees at the summit. He addressed the attendees using Second Life from a staffer’s home at Capitol Hill. Markey admitted that this was his first foray into the popular virtual world but promised that this wouldn’t be his last.

Read [The Boston Channel]

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Women in Games International announced the details of their next conference “She Got Game.” The conference, taking place September 8, 2007, at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX, will focus on industry trends to diversify the talent pool of gaming and how it will impact the future of gaming.

One of the main keynote speakers for this conference is Dona C. Bailey, the creator of popular 80’s videogame Centipede and one of the few female game programmers of that time in the game industry. Bailey, currently a professor at the University of Arkansas, will be discussing how women can cultivate and express ideas to help broaden the market.

“I’m hoping to be helpful to someone now who may be in a situation similar to the one I was in at Atari,” said Bailey, “I often wish there had been a group of WIGI colleagues back then from whom I could have gotten advice.”

According to Bailey in an interview with Gamasutra, it wasn’t easy being the only female programmer while working at Atari.

“When I started at Atari, there were probably around 30 game designers who were professionals of one sort or another, either software engineers, or hardware engineers, or technicians,” Bailey said. “I was hired as the only software engineer who was a female. It was a ratio of 30 to 1! And by the time I left, it was about 120 to 1…there was a lot of additional pressure just by being the only female.”

During the conference she along with other professional women in the industry will discuss the changes of how women have changed gaming over the past 20 years and the growing market for women in MMOs and attracting female players into the virtual worlds.

Those interested in attending this event can register online. Tickets are $30 for students, $40 for WIGI members and $55 for everyone else.

Site [Women in Games International] Read [Game Daily] Also Read [Gamasutra]

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While you might have been saying “Oh, shutup Wesley,” the last time you watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, good ol’ Wil Wheaton did a nice job throwing down some gamer/geek cred today ((August 24, 2007) at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo 07 (PAX07).

According to Joystiq’s account, Wil started with:

“My name is Wil Wheaton and Jack Thompson can suck my balls.” The audience cheers.

“I should note that today’s keynote has been rated MA by the ESRB and if you have a problem with that, you can go #### yourselves.”

He then threw down a few more pop culture references as well as a recount of a bit of his gaming history. Being only acouple years older than Wil, he and I share a lot of the same gaming history with fond memories of home consoles, quarter arcade machines and crappy graphics that, at the time, like, totally ruled. Fer sure.

Although his history with Star Trek has been a bit shaky, fans still head to his web blog for periodic updates on his career. After his keynote, Wil posted this:

Well, I did it. With a lot of help from my editor and friend Andrew, I made my keynote go from Good Enough to Awesome. I am now excited to deliver it, and I think it’s going to entertain whoever decides to show up.

I am officially done panicking, and have returned to DefCon 5.

If you don’t quite get the reference, it’s from the 1983 film, WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick. Rent it, it’s a gaming classic. (It’s good to see Wil is keepin’ it fresh.)

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Wil Wheaton’s Blog]

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Penny Arcade recently announced the full lineup of activities for this year’s iteration of PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo), set for August 24-26, 2007 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. This year is going to be big for the game-culture convention, with 22,000 pre-registered guests already signed up for the festivities.

PAX started in 2004 and has more than quintupled its attendance rate since, featuring upcoming games, speakers, panels, concerts and other game culture goodness every year. 2007 will be no different, with events as diverse as a speed run showcase, a girls in games panel, and a (real life) Jenga tournament.

Highlights include a discussion panel that examines the developer-publisher relationship called “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Love Hate Relationship between Devs and Pubs.” The panel is set to feature Seamus Blackley, Lindsay Gupton of Amaze Entertainment (Crash of the Titans) and John Williamson of Zombie Studios (America’s Army).

A Rooster Teeth productions panel is also on the menu, along with a keynote speech from Star Trek: TNG actor turned Just a Geek author Wil Wheaton.

PAX is $45 for all three days if you pre-register, $50 if you buy your badge at the door.

Site [PAX] Read [Gamer’s Hell]

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Tim Shafer, the mastermind behind creative platformer Psychonauts and several classic LucasArts adventure titles, has been announced as a keynote speaker for this year’s GC developer’s conference (GCDC) in Leipzig, Germany. Shafer, the president of Double Fine Productions, will be speaking about creativity in games, a subject he’s arguably the master of.

GCDC is Europe’s premiere developer’s conference and this will mark Shafer’s first time speaking across the pond. The event will span August 20-22, 2007, and encompasses developers from across the globe sharing the tricks of the trade.

Shafer’s pedigree is formidable. It’s hard to imagine someone better qualified to speak about creativity than the guy who worked on games like Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle and Secret of Monkey Island. Along with the more recent adventure/platformer Psychonauts, his games encompass the kind of humor, superior gameplay, and quirky style that many developers today could certainly benefit taking a look at.

Read [BBPS] Also Read [GameDaily]

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