“”Ubisoft Shanghai creative director Michael de Plater has told VG247 that a PC version of EndWar would most likely be shipping alongside the console SKUs if it wasn’t for rampant PC piracy, and that copyright theft is essentially destroying the PC games market.
“To be honest, if PC wasn’t pirated to hell and back, there’d probably be a PC version coming out the same day as the other two,” he said, talking of the voice-controlled RTS.
“But at the moment, if you release the PC version, essentially what you’re doing is letting people have a free version that they rip off instead of a purchased version. Piracy’s basically killing PC.”
We asked if piracy was the main reason to keep EndWar off PC.
“Yeah, at the time of release,” he said. “You know, the level of piracy that you get with the PC just cannibalizes the others, because people just steal that version.”
De Plater also told us that a PC version is likely to be released further down the line, as reported yesterday.
Tom Clancy’s EndWar does appear to be very good, from what we played of it. Looks as though you’re not going to be leeching a PC version for a while yet, though. You know who you are.””

- VIDEOGAMING247
October 8th

With Windows 7 due to deploy next year, one wonders why Vista has had such a short shelf life. When you look at it, though, it is readily apparent.
On Friday, Microsoft gave computer makers a six-month extension for offering Windows XP on newly-shipped PCs. While this doesn’t impact enterprise IT — because volume licensing agreements will allow IT to keep installing Windows XP for many years to come — the move is another symbolic nail in Vista’s coffin. The public reputation of Windows Vista is in shambles, as Microsoft itself tacitly acknowledged in its Mojave ad campaign. IT departments are largely ignoring Vista. In June (18 months after Vista’s launch), Forrester Research reported that just 8.8% of enterprise PCs worldwide were running Vista. Meanwhile, Microsoft appears to have put Windows 7 on an accelerated schedule that could see it released in 2010. That will provide IT departments with all the justification they need to simply skip Vista and wait to eventually standardize on Windows 7 as the next OS for business.
So how did Vista get left holding the bag? Here then are the five most important reasons why Vista failed:

1. It broke too much stuff.
Microsoft either forgot or disregarded that fact when it released Windows Vista, because, despite a long beta period, a lot of existing software and hardware were not compatible with Vista when it was released in January 2007. Since many important programs and peripherals were unusable in Vista, that made it impossible for a lot of IT departments to adopt it. Many of the incompatibilities were the result of tighter security.
After Windows was targeted by a nasty string of viruses, worms, and malware in the early 2000s, Microsoft embarked on the Trustworthy Computing initiative to make its products more secure. One of the results was Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which won over IT and paved the way for XP to become the world’s mostly widely deployed OS.

2. There wasn’t supposed to be a Vista.
It’s easy to forget that when Microsoft launched Windows XP it was actually trying to change its OS business model to move away from shrink-wrapped software and convert customers to software subscribers. That’s why it abandoned the naming convention of Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000, and instead chose Windows XP. Microsoft released Windows XP and Office XP simultaneously in 2001 and both included product activation and the plan to eventually migrate to subscription products. However, by the end of 2001 Microsoft had already abandoned the subscription concept with Office, and quickly returned to the shrink-wrapped business model and the old product development model with both products.

3. Vista is too slow.
For years Microsoft has been criticized by developers and IT professionals for “software bloat” — adding so many changes and features to its programs that the code gets huge and unwieldy. However, this never seemed to have enough of an effect to impact software sales. With Windows Vista, software bloat appears to have finally caught up with Microsoft.

4. Windows XP is too entrenched.
In 2001, when Windows XP was released, there were about 600 million computers in use worldwide. Over 80% of them were running Windows but it was split between two code bases: Windows 95/98 (65%) and Windows NT/2000 (26%), according to IDC. One of the big goals of Windows XP was to unite the Windows 9x and Windows NT code bases, and it eventually accomplished that.

5. Apple successfully demonized VistaApple’s clever.
"I’m a Mac" ads have successfully driven home the perception that Windows Vista is buggy, boring, and difficult to use. After taking two years of merciless pummeling from Apple, Microsoft recently responded with it’s I’m a PC campaign in order to defend the honor of Windows. This will likely restore some mojo to the PC and Windows brands overall, but it’s too late to save Vista’s perception as a dud.

In summary, with Vista, there are simply no major incentives for IT to use it over XP. Security isn’t even that big of an issue because XP SP2 (and above) are solid and most IT departments have it locked down quite There are some who argue that Vista is actually more widely adopted than XP was at this stage after its release, and that it’s highly likely that Vista will eventually replace XP in the enterprise. I don’t agree. With XP, there were clear motivations to migrate: bring Windows 9x machines to a more stable and secure OS and bring Windows NT/2000 machines to an OS with much better hardware and software compatibility. And, you also had the advantage of consolidating all of those machines on a single OS in order to simplify support. Microsoft needs to abandon the strategy of releasing a new OS every 3-5 years and simply stick with a single version of Windows and release updates, patches, and new features on a regular basis. Most IT departments are essentially already on a subscription model with Microsoft so the business strategy is already in place there.

In what will come as a big disappointment to PAL gamers, Nintendo has said that software for its upcoming DSi handheld will be region locked.
That means that the DSi games you import from Japan and North America won't work on your Australian handheld. It's the first portable Nintendo console to suffer this fate.

"[The] DSi embeds net communication functionality within itself and we are intending to provide net services specifically tailored for each region," Nintendo told Eurogamer. "Also because we are including parental control functionality for Nintendo DSi and each region has its unique age limit made by different independent bodies."

Oddly, despite the above reasoning, all future standard DS games won't be affected and will still be region free worldwide. The DSi was announced last week, where game journalists were told that Nintendo would be adding a digital camera, music player and a SD card slot to the DS Lite's existing repertoire. One way to beat the importing of games...one that Sony suffered for terribly with the PS One.

Following in the footsteps of Valve's successful "Team Fortress 2" and "Day of Defeat: Source" Free weekends, Electronic Arts have announced that gamers will be able to play "Crysis Wars" - the newly-minted multi-player component of the sci-fi shooter series that has just been released alongside "Crysis Warhead" - for free on the weekend of October 10-12.
Players will be able to register their interest from Monday, October 6 at the official "Crysis" website where they will be given a unique registration key to test the game out for free. Although online play will only be available from October 10-12, players will be able to grab a few friends together and experience "Crysis Wars" via LAN play from October 6.
If you don't already own a copy of "Crysis Warhead", head on over to the official Crysis website this Monday to try the online fun of "Crysis Wars" for yourself. Not happy with the original MP? This one is more of a typical Team Deathmatch approach, which is far more popular.

“Australian men are happiest when they are having sex or surfing the net, but women prefer to get their endorphins racing by having meals with friends and petting their pooches, according to the 2008 Australian Happiness Index. Rest, relaxation and entertainment topped the list for both men and women in the index, with quality time with your partner also making the top four for each sex.

"But that's where the similarities end. Sex ranks as a top five activity to make men happy and surfing the internet tops even that at number three. Sex and the internet were also top 10 choices for women to make them happy, but enjoying a family meal and playing with pets or children ranked much higher.

“Eating comfort food scored in the top 10 for both sexes, but the more discerning men questioned said they preferred great food and wine or drinking with friends to reaching for the chocolate.Despite urban myths to the contrary, shopping does not make all women happy - only 30 per cent were happiest when shopping for new clothes, shoes or accessories. The index was compiled by marketing consultants The Leading Edge who spoke to more than 8,500 Australians aged between 18 and 64.”

-AAP - October 2, 2008, 12:02 am

So Sex and PC's make us Bronze Aussies happiest. What more could you need...honestly (apart from a job, friends, family, a partner, children, a social life, sports...)?

Kotaku obtained an internal memo sent to staff at EA Los Angeles by EA LA boss Mike Verdu that announced the end of all work on "C&C: Tiberium". Furthermore, several people on the project are being let go, although EA will try to place them on other projects or elsewhere within the company. The reason? Apparently, the game had "fundamental design challenges" and EA was concerned about the game meeting standards of quality. Mariam Sughayer, EA spokesperson, added:
"The game was not on track to meet the high quality standards set by the team and by the EA Games Label. A lower quality game is not in the best interest of the consumers and would not succeed in this market."
So bottom-line: the game is shelved...indefinitely (read cancelled). One day the truth may just emerge from disgruntled ex-employees.

The OFLC, made infamous for it's refusal to classify "Fallout 3" until it had been modified, has hit the gaming headlines again. This time it is "Silent Hill: Homecoming". The upcoming title for XB360, PS3 & PC has been Refused Classification, as had "Fallout 3, but this time the game will be banned. The OFLC has done so, citing extreme violence as the reason.

"Horror game Silent Hill: Homecoming has become the fourth game this year to be refused classification by Australia's censors.
The game, which was due for release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in November, is the sixth installment in the popular Silent Hill survival horror series published by Konami and features a soldier who returns from war to search for his missing brother. It is distributed in Australia by Atari, who last had classification difficulties with the controversial Marc Ecko's Getting Up.
Homecoming was refused classification by The Classification Board last week for excessive violence, and follows similar verdicts for Fallout 3, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Dark Sector.
Fallout 3's rating has since been changed to MA15+ after developers Bethesda made edits to the drug content in the game.
Censorship ministers in March agreed to canvas public opinion on the proposed introduction of a long overdue R18+ classification for games, but are still working on the mechanisms to let Australians have their say.
-Posted by Jason Hill
"The Age" September 26, 2008 8:31 AM

"GTA IV" has also seen the wrath of th OFLC at its' door:

"Update as of 23 September 2008: A Film and Literature Board of Review decision replaces the Office of Film and Literature Classification's decision on "Grand Theft Auto IV" – Unedited Version discussed in this article.
The Film and Literature Board of Review has classified Grand Theft Auto IV (Unedited Version) 'R18 contains violence, offensive language and sex scenes'. To read the Board of Review's decision click here (PDF v.7.0, 659kb). Please note that the content of this decision may not be suitable for younger readers." -OFLC

This is getting out of control, and is similar to where the Canadian Censorship Board was, 20 years ago! Troubling times for Australian gamers.

Starcraft II has a tentative release date for Australia of 2nd December 2008, with Diablo III to shortly follow (the box art is already on display for both in many stores). I'll believe it when I see it, but fingers crossed.
Until that date there's always RA3 to look forward to, though with EA at the helm, as usual its' not all good news...

"EA has spoken about how DRM (Digital Rights Management) will work with its upcoming real-time strategy affair, Red Alert 3, with confirmation that the game will have more lenient protection than the recently released Spore. Punters screamed bloody murder when it was revealed that Spore could only be installed three times before it would no longer work - not even uninstalling the game gives back an install credit. Unsurprisingly, all this effort didn't prevent the game from being pirated and uploaded onto various torrent websites before the game's release. After listening to fan feedback, a forum post by a Red Alert 3 developer has explained that DRM on the game won't be quite as painful. Players get five installs, each of which requires the player to be connected to the internet in order to authenticate the game. Unlike Spore though, uninstalling the game will give back an install credit. Should the player run out of installs, EA customer service can be contacted to sort it out, apparently. Also worth noting is that the game will run without a CD or DVD needing to be in the drive.
Red Alert 3 is scheduled for release in October." -PALGN

DRM is coming to the end of its' lifespan, according to many Publishing Houses. Tolerance for it is near zero amongst gaming enthusiasts (and I don't include SPORE players in that category...sorry Sporists). The way of Activision Blizzard and Stardock is the way of the future. Unlike companies like EA that use DRM and SecureROM, these Publishers do not punish gamers for buying their games. Interestingly, those who pirate their games have recorded many bugs and glitches with cracked versions of their games...boo hoo. The problem really starts to "blow out" when published magazines in newsagents headline with "How To Pirate Software" as their selling point.

Minimum Specs are as follows:

-Processor: AMD 64 3200+/Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz or better
-Memory: 512MB RAM (XP)and 1GB RAM (Vista)
-HDD: 8 GB free hard-drive space
-Graphics: 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6600GT 256MB/ATI Radeon 1600XT or better
-Shader 3.0 or better

PC will have online co-op features as well (4 players per squad), and has been optimized for mouse & keyboard control, and High Res graphics (in excess of the console versions).

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday in the US that developers attending a Microsoft conference next month will get an early version of Windows 7 to take home. In a blog posting, Microsoft said that those at the Professional Developers Conference, scheduled for October 27-30 in Los Angeles, would get a pre-beta version of Windows 7.
"With Windows 7 at PDC2008 you will see advances across the full range of Windows, including the kernel, networking, hardware and devices, and user-interface," Microsoft said.
One thing that won't be part of Windows 7 are the e-mail, photo-editing and movie-making applications that were part of Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to make those available as downloadable Windows Live applications. Late 2009 is the tentative target date for a general release of Windows 7. Screenshots of recent internal builds of Windows 7 have been making the rounds on various enthusiast sites.