Newsdump

Bully 1, bully 0

As much as we hate to legitimize raving lunatic Jack Thompson by talking up his bizarre adventures in jurisprudence, we have to smile when things like this happen. His battle to stop Florida stores from being able to sell Rockstar's Bully... didn't end so well, for him.

AsDestructoid reportedbefore the trial even ended - he failed. The presiding judge was led on a two-hour tour of the game by Rockstar and deemed it fit for sale. AsGame|Life's Chris Kohler observed, though, even though gamers won, this sucks. The judge should have thrown the case out on constitutional free speech grounds.

So what does this tell us? We have a ways to go. Particularly when - thanks to Kotaku - you take a look at the text ofThompson's letterto the judge which is simply insulting. The bullshit just rolls on. We're in for years more of this nonsense.

PS3 + Wii + Japan

We love Tim Rogers'This Week in Japancolumn over at Next Generation. This week's is a little sparse, though - mainly old news. The most interesting bit, though, is due to the fact that Nintendo has just begun its teaser TV marketing for the Wii in Japan, which is set to release on December 2 over there. You can read about the fallout on the Amazon.co.jp user reviews and more when you click over to thestory... as well as Tim's report on trying to preorder a PS3 in Tokyo (short version: nothin' doin'.)

Phantasy Star you-niverse

Don't forget - this weekend, Sega will be testing out Phantasy Star Universe's online play on Xbox Live. Well, actually, you will. What we mean is: the open beta has begun. 360 gamers are now able to download the game for free and play it. Sega will collect data about how it all works and use it to shore up the tech for the game's final release later this month.

Look, we won't mince words: this game looks like it's going to rock. It also looks a little rough around the edges. But its blend of deep RPG gameplay and sword-slashing action is just what the 360 needs. And here's your chance to find out - for free - what you think. It would be a mistake to pass this one up.

For more details on the beta process, checkhere. Fence-sitters,our extensive preview coverageshould give you what you need - or just something to read while you wait for the 900 meg download to finish.

Double screen destruction

NeoGAF is useful for a great many things - not least of which is posting upNPD's video game sales numbers, which are supposed to cost tens of thousands of dollars to see. Wouldn't you just know it? Following in the footsteps of Japan, the DS is kicking the crap out of... everything. Over 400,000 DSes were sold in September, making it the most popular system. The PSP sold a little more than 150,000. Things are getting interesting. With two hardware launches next month, the world is about to be dumped on its head.

New screens

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PSP)
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (PC)
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (PSP)
FIFA Soccer 07 (360)
Ford Bold Moves Street Racing (PC,PS2)

New video

Tony Hawk's Project 8 (360)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent (360)
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (PSP)
Family Guy (PS2,PSP,Xbox)

October 13, 2006