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Detroit-based
WXYZ-TV recently donated an expensive PlayStation 2 videogame system
to the Detroit Police Department's 7th Precinct with instructions to
deliver it to a deserving poor child. Unfortunately, the
child—Robert Edwards, 11—came to the precinct Tuesday with word
that there was no PlayStation 2 in the box, and instead it
contained a tracking device, along with a note telling him to call a
telephone number to receive the actual game system.
"I was mad," Robert said Wednesday evening. "I had to
take it back to the police." But by late Wednesday, police said,
Channel 7 had given him his PlayStation 2.
When questioned about the mix-up, Channel 7 officials told police they
had received a tip that gifts donated for distribution by precincts
are taken home by officers. The device in the box was part of the
station's investigation.
Assistant Chief Marvin Winkler was less than thrilled with the
investigation. "I know it's their job to report the news, but
it's not their duty to try to entrap us," he said. "Are they
that desperate for ratings?"
The
Video Software Dealers Association has announced its VidTrac
results for the week that ended December 31, 2000. The top five
videogames rented were:
1. Driver 2—PlayStation
2. The World is Not Enough—Nintendo
64
3. WWF No Mercy—Nintendo 64
4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2—PlayStation
5. WWF Smackdown! 2—Know Your
Role—PlayStation
Sony
Online Entertainment claims
that it reached a record count of simultaneous EverQuest
players when it had 81,858 subscribers playing at one time on New
Year’s Day.
Blizzard
Entertainment has revealed that
Diablo II players may have experienced character and experience
losses during the last weeks of 2000 as a result of a problem that has
since been fixed. To rectify the losses, starting January 8 it will
restore characters that died between December 19 and January 1.
Infogrames
is currently looking for beta testers for its upcoming PC title Independence
War 2: Edge of Chaos. The beta testing is only open to gamers in
the United States and Canada. Infogrames expects to release a playable
demo at the end of January. Click
here to register for beta testing.
Research
firm PC Data, Inc.
has announced that sales of desktop computers via retail and
direct-mail outlets dropped 24% in December, which it claims is “the
fifth consecutive month of negative comparisons and the second
consecutive month of double-digit unit declines.” December saw just
over one million desktop PCs sold.
PC Data also noted that desktop computer sales through the year were
down 0.8% from 1999 with 10.1 million units being sold. It stated that
the drop in 2000 was the first such decline in its history of
reporting PC sales.
The
Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper has reported that Japanese sales
of PlayStation 2 are expected to exceed four million in 2000, and that
worldwide sales could hit 11 million by the close of its fiscal year,
which is at the end of March. A Sony
Computer Entertainment America spokesperson recently stated that
the company is still on track for global sales of ten million by the
end of March.
In
a follow-up from last week, Sega
Corp. still will not confirm whether it is talking with Nintendo
Co. regarding supply of its software to Nintendo, according to a
Sega spokesman. However, Sega is maintaining its plan announced in
November to develop software for its own Dreamcast game machines as
well as next generation consoles of other makers.
"The plan is not new. We just can't specify which deal (under the
plan) will occur first," the spokesman said.
Microsoft
Corp. is offering gamers to
apply for the chance to get an early peek at PC and Xbox titles: “Be
one of the first people to see future Microsoft games and hardware by
participating in our Playtest program. Help us build the next
generation of games for our new console!” The catch in the testing
program is that applicants must be in the Seattle/Puget Sound area and
be over 13. An application form and directions to the testing site are
on the
Playtest page.
Digital
Game-Based Learning, a book by Marc Prensky that’s billed as “a
strategic and tactical guide to the newest trend in e-learning,” is
being released by McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. It offers more than 50 case studies into how
gameplaying actually plays a role in today’s workforce, with looks at
such topics as the military’s use of games in its training and the
potential for adult education through games in law, medicine, finance and
other fields.
In addition to writing the book, Prensky is a game designer and the
founder, CEO and chief creative officer of games2train.com,
a corporate-training company that focuses on teaching through gameplay.
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