chienr writes "Like Pong, but instead of paddles, you use your brainwaves to control the ball over to the opponent's goal, that's Mindball! This apparatus was previously an experiment under the name Brainball, and is now commercially available - here's another link with video."

The Llama King writes "The Houston Chronicle's Computing column has got the Doom 3 minimum system requirements. Biggest eye-opener: 384 MB of memory. Lots of mainstream PCs have been sold with 256 MB of RAM, so upgrades will be in order. RAM chip manufacturers should be salivating about now. You'll also need a 1.5-GHz processor and a GeForce 3 or Radeon 8500 graphics card or better."

Thanks to Insomniac Mania for its brief question and answer session with German movie director Uwe Boll, the previously discussed director of the House Of The Dead and Alone In The Dark game-based movies, and producer of a host of other videogame movies. He discusses the soon-filming Bloodrayne movie ("August 16th... shooting starts in Transylvania"), his unique method of picking stars for the movie ("Cast comes up soon. We always [wait] till the last weeks to get actors cheaper"), and apparent confirmation of a videogame sequel to Alone In The Dark, possibly themed around the upcoming movie: ("Atari is producing Alone [In The Dark] 5 right now.") There's an earlier in-depth interview with Boll on the same site.

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for its article discussing the ever-larger sphere of music licensing for videogames. The in-depth licensing efforts for both Sega's ESPN NFL 2K5 and Sega's Madden NFL 2005 is discussed, and EA's Steve Schnur "says that he and his team of two listen to 4,000-plus songs before deciding, for example, the 21 that will be included in "Madden NFL 2005," which. features such artists as Hoobastank, Green Day, Alter Bridge, the Hives, and New Found Glory." Analyst Edward Williams adds: "When the technology allows it, gamers will be able to play, say, a Madden game and, when they hear a song they like, they'll be able to press a button, download that song, and their account will be charged. That is almost exactly what the game publishers want to get into, but they won't comment on it now, I'm sure, because it really depends on Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony and what their next-generation console hardware will allow."

Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing a possible date for the relaunch of the Tomb Raider videogame franchise. According to the story: "Top Cow Productions announced they are temporarily halting production of the Tomb Raider comic book. According to the post, the comic 'will relaunch in conjunction with the release of the seventh Tomb Raider video game in the summer of 2005.'" We've previously covered news that "Crystal Dynamics is currently developing the new game with, according to some reports, the input of Ion Storm founder Warren Spector" - what changes would you like to see in a new Tomb Raider title?

Thanks to GameDaily for it article discussing a perceived struggling in the PC videogame business. According to the article: "The overall PC game category, from January through May of 2003, was $471.0 million in the U.S. according to NPD estimates. 2004 is well off of that figure already, according to The NPD Group's industry analyst Richard Ow, who put a dollar figure of $360.0 million for the January to May 2004 period." However, Ow also notes: "There's still lots of sales ahead and major releases are pending, so there's still a wait and see factor", and comments on the recently-gold Doom 3: "It is the most well-known among the core gaming group, which is a smaller market, but a group that can still drive sales."

Thanks to GameSpy for its article discussing the choice of TV sets that are best for playing videogames. The piece points out: "It is also important to keep in mind that bigger isn't always better, and that some types of displays aren't so game friendly", before analyzing the options, including Direct View CRT screens ("Affordable; good resolution... [but] Very large sets; limited progressive scan options"), DLP ("Immune to burn-in; reasonably affordable... [but] Doesn't work as well as CRT in bright conditions"), Plasma screens ("Wall-mountable; bright picture... [but] Phosphor burn-in; expensive") and Front Projection ("Big display; portability... [but] No speakers; depends a dark environment.")

Andrew writes "GamerDad has an article up about how religion is handled in computer gaming, titled 'Game With God'. The article features quotes from Sid Meier, Jane Jensen, Will Wright, Peter Molyneaux, Phil Steinmeyer, and Richard Garriott. Here's a snippet: 'While religion and spirituality add a lot to a game world, they often aren't used effectively. 'I don't think there are any games that treat religion at anything more than a superficial level,'; says Firaxis founder and Civilization creator Sid Meier. PopTop Software's Phil Steinmeyer agrees, noting that 'Religion is ignored in gaming, or if it is portrayed, it's wildly caricatured.'"

Thanks to IOL.ie for its article discussing actress Kirsten Dunst's issues in approving her videogame likeness for Activision's Spider-Man 2 game. According to the lengthy news story, "The actress was asked to give her approval for the sequel's new merchandise and had to chastise the game's saucy creators." Although the Treyarch-developed Xbox/PS2/GameCube game has been well-received, certain dimensional inaccuracies were less appreciated by Ms.Dunst, as she explains, regarding her character Mary Jane Watson: "I got to approve the video game, the way she looks. They made her boobs gigantic. I was like, 'Tone down the boobs, please!' It was a little ridiculous."

Thanks to PlanetWolfenstein for its forum post revealing id Software's CEO Todd Hollenshead has indicated a sequel to Return To Castle Wolfenstein is being created, as his interview on G4TechTV show Pulse included his indication that the sequel is "currently in development by an 'outside studio'." According to the forum post: "There was no mention of the engine it would be on, but i'm guessing the Doom 3 one will be most likely", and rumormongers are pointing to the Splash Damage website, where the UK developer behind Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and contributions to Doom 3's multi-player mode is hiring, since it's "started production of a new full game based on the cutting-edge Doom 3 engine... in a continuation of our successful collaboration with id Software and Activision."

bippy writes "RedAssedBaboon has what I think is the first review of a computer to feature the much lauded DISCover technology. DISCover basically turns a computer into a gaming console, allowing you to drop a PC game into a system and play it immediately on your television. The site reviews a new DHS (Digital Home System) by Alienware which will feature the technology and is due out next month. The article ends with this interesting comment: 'It's high time that the computer stop lurking in the shadows of dusty computer desks in forgotten rarely-used bedrooms. If PC gaming is going to survive it's going to have to do so in the well-lit family rooms and dens of America right along side the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox -- and this looks like a great way to start.'" We previously discussed the DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC gaming system over on Slashdot Games.

Thanks to 1UP for its feature discussing the still-declining state of the Japanese videogame industry, despite recent figures showing a small increase in sales for the first half of 2004. Nevertheless, it seems that "Japanese hardware and software revenues [were] down 11% in 2003 and nearly 40% since the peak of the PlayStation generation in 1997". The piece muses on reasons for the decline: "Complex, lengthy, story-driven [Japanese] games demand an awful lot of care and feeding these days, and often offer paradoxically little replay value... [whereas Western developer] DMA Design hit on a formula with Grand Theft Auto III that... offers activities suited to both long stretches of gameplay and short sittings of cruising or random action." In a similar vein, a OPM-reprinted column from Andrew Vestal suggests a solution: "One possible catalyst [for design change] is the upcoming Final Fantasy XII. In an interview, character designer Akihiko Yoshida readily admits that 'many team members are huge fans of non-Japanese games,' and... the game disposes of large parts of console-RPG design expectations." He concludes: "It's possible the game will act as a Trojan horse, introducing Western design philosophies to a wide swath of Japanese gamers and designers."

thrash242 writes "After much re-re-re-rechecking, the official Doom 3 site finally has some real content, instead of just 'Coming soon' - it also confirms the August 3rd ship date. Woohoo!"

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the official 'The Ship' website, featuring "a free downloadable [multiplayer] Half Life 1 mod" described by a forum poster as "a twisted version of Agatha Christie meets Clue." The welcome page details: "You've just won a free ticket to a dream cruise onboard a spectacular, replica 1920's cruise ship!", and the official play guide explains some of the intriguing game mechanics, which involves each player needing to "find out the name [of each fellow 'passenger' on the Ship], eliminate unknown passengers, and find out which one is your quarry", then "kill them without being caught by security or too many witnesses." There are also additional wrinkles in the recently released mod, since: "To curb excessive killing, players are traumatised by committing murders", and "Each player has basic needs [including going to the bathroom] which must be taken care of."

Thanks to FiringSquad for its article revisiting the state of PC MMO World War II Online, as the writer asks: "Three years ago I uninstalled World War II Online and lamented a good idea gone bad. Now I can barely force myself to write this article for fear of losing Maastricht to a British counter-offensive." With FiringSquad's original review stating "the vast majority of you will simply feel cheated", things seem to have changed, from the same reviewer's perspective: "Somewhere along the way, World War II Online got good. The game isn't so much better than it used to be because the graphics got some sprucing up or because of new weapons. It happened in the community." Can a keen, well-organized community and post-launch patching rehabilitate an MMO, or will a sub-optimal launch doom it?

theodp writes "The close of the International Mathematical Olympiad prompts Slate to question if math is a sport, wondering if mathletes might someday compete in the Olympics alongside track stars and basketball players."

Thanks to 1UP/OPM for its article discussing what they describe as the 'thugging' of the videogame industry, referencing games such as Def Jam Fight for NY and Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition. The piece suggests: "Whether it was established franchises morphing into more streetwise versions of their former selves or new franchises emerging wearing their hip-hop influences on their sleeves, it was clear that the urban lifestyle is being embraced by developers and publishers alike." Marc Ecko argues "I think the problem is that the games industry is generationally nostalgic", and Steve Allison of Midway charges: "The guys bitching about this new trend are inching up on 35 years old, and they grew up on old-school gameplay. They're a very vocal bunch, but they're just not the market anymore."

mhaisley writes "Ok, case mods are cool, monitor mods are nifty... but an Electric Etch-a-Sketch beats either. Students at Cornell University built an electronically controlled etch-a-sketch, controllable by a PC mouse. This was part of a group of class final projects featured by their instructor."

Thanks to GamerDad for its 'Long Shot' editorial discussing whether randomly generated gameplay and maps make for more interesting videogames. The author argues: "As time has advanced and games have become less like the arcade games of old, plotting and story have removed the randomness from many of our games... That's to say nothing of the gameworlds themselves... The places you'll visit are always going to be the same with each play through." However, he points out: "Ensemble Studios has done an absolutely superb job of making online play in Age of Mythology exciting through the use of random maps. These maps are generated using excellent seed criteria that give the player the feeling of playing a pre-designed map but with completely unique designs every time", concluding: "I'd like to see the same kind of thing applied to first person action and more."

WMCoolmon writes "Derek Smart (of Battlecruiser 3000 AD PC space-sim fame) has started a thread on the Adrenaline Vault forums stating that he is looking into buying the Freespace rights from Interplay and building his own Freespace 3. (For those of you who have not heard of Freespace, it is a space shooter developed by Volition Inc. and Interplay in 1998, which has received almost univeral acclaim.) Discussion has turned particularly ugly following Derek Smart's post on the main Freespace 2 fan site. In addition, he has threatened to shut down the Ferrium Project (an open-source project meant to replace the aging engine of Freespace 2) if he gets the license. To quote Derek: 'I have FULL intentions of getting this license. If I DO get it, you and your teenny leetle friends on your Ferrous Oxide project, are effectively, shutdown because I don't piss around when it comes to IP properties'."