"An 11-year-old Johnson Creek boy died from a gunshot wound Thursday at his home. Foul play is not suspected and the sheriff's department said this morning it appears the shooting was accidental.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, dispatchers received a report of the shooting in the town of Farmington at approximately 2:15 p.m. Thursday. The deceased person was Joshua J. Nimm, 11, of W5098 River Road, Johnson Creek.

Deputies, along with personnel from the Johnson Cre..."

"



"

""There will be no insertion of Campaign objects, enemies or friendlies via the Forge as folks have speculated. There will be no "bots" added to the game. The "set" on Rat's Nest was designed to appear like a backlot of a film set, a holding area, not some depiction of a brand-new feature that implements Campaign objects into multiplayer. Do consider this issue a closed one. Calm yourselves down, pump the brakes, and take a breath.""

""The announcement that was pulled from E3 at the last minute (much to Bungie’s annoyance after having a count down on their website that ended with no announcement being made) but it seems that you can not contain the truth -it will come out if you like it or not. An expansion is coming to Halo 3.""

"GameVee: Grab is a free utility that will take videos from your Halo 3 fileshare, and host them on your GameVee account for all to see.

When the popular GameVee Grab public beta ended late last year, users were left with no details on when the ever-so-popular utility would be returned public use. Recently, the long awaited final version was released.

By creating a free account and providing some basic information about the film you wish to "grab" (gamertag, film name, etc.) GameVee will..."

"Very sad news from Redmond, Wash. Melissa Batten, 36, a software development engineer in Microsoft's Xbox division, was murdered by her estranged husband, who then shot himself to death, earlier this week.

Batten, a Harvard-educated lawyer, was a Software Development Engineer in Test for Microsoft, supporting Rare on its 360 titles work. She had worked for Microsoft since 2002, earning credits in Halo 3 and Gears of War as an SDET. Earlier, as a lawyer, she had been a public defender for t..."

"BRIGHTON--Damian Isla of Bungie Studios addressed the 2008 Developer Conference and Expo yesterday. The AI expert talked about the challenges he'd faced leading the artificial-intelligence development on Halo 3, how the AI has changed since the original Halo, and the problems being faced by the development team on their next project.

It is friendly AI, rather than opposition AI, that is currently his team's focus, according to Isla. Making friendly NPCs react in a manner that is both usefu..."

"What.... the.... hell?

Orlando's Channel Six news is reporting that pedophiles are offering "game points" in exchange for nude images of children sent through video games.

Well reporting is a bit of an overstatement, they declare that in their headline and the first sentence of their "story" but never really explain what the hell they're going on about. In fact the entire story is a mess of quotes, misstatements and supposition that never gets around to actually explaining what the stor..."

"Today, details are coming in about what Bungie intended to reveal at Microsoft’s E3 press conference. While specific information about its upcoming Halo project remain a secret, the developer reportedly planned to show a sixty second “knock’em down” teaser trailer, only to have it pulled at the last minute."

"Here’s something to add to all the E3 drama this week about Bungie Studios‘ canceled/postponed/hyped debut of a new game…

In an interview shot for MTV News on Tuesday, Microsoft’s head of Xbox business Don Mattrick, confirmed to me that Bungie is indeed working on a new “Halo” game of some sort for Microsoft.

I had been asking Mattrick about the lack of “Halo” news at E3. He said that Microsoft’s Monday press conference was already loaded with content and so any announcements for that s..."

"Oh man… no full retail releases for you this week, readers. Indeed, the schedule is empty until next month here in the UK. On the plus side that means you’ve now got the chance to pick up some summer bargains, revisit some old favourites or just bump up that gamerscore, but any of you looking for anything new and exciting will have a wait on your hands. It rather scuppers anyone who writes a weekly 360 article for a popular new gaming website. Bugger."

"Tip #1- Know Thy Surroundings

If you're not careful, it's pretty easy to get lost in Cold Storage during your first games. Use distinct landmarks such as: teleporters, weapon spawns, and places around the map that catch your attention.

Tip #2 - The Spawns

For instance, if you remember Chill Out fairly well, then you'll be happy to hear that the Overshield, Active Camo, Rocket, Frag Grenade, Plasma Grenade, Shotgun, Plasma Rifle, and Assualt Rifle kept their spawning locations. New t..."

"Bungie has confirmed that a new multiplayer map for Halo 3 will be available to download via Xbox live on Monday.Better still, it will be completely free!

Bungie say that the new map, entitled Cold Storage, will be implemented into playlists that require the Legendary maps. It has also decided to drop the price of the Legendary map pack from 800 to 600 points. Ah, I see. It's free, but it's not if you didn't buy the pack."

"Now our source is really sticking her/his/its neck out.

As we told you earlier, our inside woman/man/thing got hold of some pretty exciting news.

News that Bungie was already hard at work developing what will be Halo 4.

Now we’re told that this will be announced officially at E3.

The prior news was probably like a weatherman predicting a hurricane “sometime somewhere.” This starts the ticking clock for what would end up being a pretty big deal."

"Sure, this is just a marketing survey. More an indication of what Microsoft are thinking than what they're actively doing with the series. But even the thought of them thinking about a Halo racing game or a "more family friendly Halo game" (Scene It? hosted by Cortana?) should be enough to give you an indication of just how many Halo games you can expect to start hearing about over the next few years."

"Across the pond, consumers prefer racing and soccer games to blockbuster action, adventure and first-person shooter games that are the staple of the U.S. diet. Indeed, Europeans view such games as "evil," says Cevat Yerli, chief executive of Crytek, a German game developer that specializes in first-person shooters."

XboxFocus goes through the Ten Commandments governing over the sacred ways of the Xbox Live Achievements. The things that everyone is gunning for, no matter how ridiculous the means to achieve them are.

"Like any good video game research, which generally uses dated games for its findings, the journal of Cyberpsychology & Behavior studied the outcome of 1,347 online matches, using Unreal Tournament 2004.

The results proved less neutral than gamers might expect, with red players winning 55 percent of the time over blue. According to neuroscientist Mihai Moldovan of the University of Copenhagen, this is because red is a distracting color for men, thus blue teams struggle more for kills.

A ..."

"The resolution itself is unsurprising since the game was ported from the Xbox 360, but the side by side comparisons carried out by numerous websites tell a more complex story. For example, in IGN’s head to head, the PS3’s Anti-Aliasing is cited as being the better of the two versions, even though the Xbox 360 has 2xAA. This could be due to the upscaling and post-processing effects smoothing the edges on the PS3."

"Following Bungie's split from Microsoft, it looked like it was over for both the Halo developer and their corpse-humping shooter for a while, but according to the latest round of magazine rumours a new Halo is already well underway (we can hear the hype machine being prepped already).

According to US mag Electronic Gaming Monthly, Bungie's already prepping a Halo spin-off for release in late 2009.

Supposedly, it's a third-person "action/adventure shooter hybrid," that takes place before..."

"UPDATE: Microsoft just contacted MTV Multiplayer with an official statement, confirming the prospective hires will work on Peter Jackson’s “Halo” project.

“A Peter Jackson-helmed Halo project was announced at X06 in Barcelona,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “Since then, Microsoft Game Studios has been hard at work collaborating with Peter Jackson and Bungie on the development of that project. At this time, it’s necessary to grow the internal team to keep pace with development. Bungie will..."

"Both these deals are selling at a huge discount to the recommended retail prices of their constituent parts – Microsoft is basically giving away Halo 3 for free.

This is further proof that Microsoft is taking the release of GTA IV very, very, seriously, and views its launch as a make-or-break moment for the Xbox 360."

"Call of Duty 4 vs. Halo 3. According to our sister site, Next-Gen, these games aren't just this generation's most popular shooters. They're the two best-selling games of any genre and of any platform. How could we not pit them against each other?"

"Microsoft knew Halo 3 could be big, bigger than gaming itself. As West says, it "wasn't about video games, wasn't about video games press," but the franchise had to become part of pop culture. "You have to be very articulate about the tactics."

West talks about showcase cover stories that were beyond the games press. "We needed a Wired cover, we needed a Time cover." The team also set popular culture goals, or benchmarks to see "if we were moving into the pop culture.""

"The Halo 3 multiplayer train will be getting some more gas in its engine next week when Microsoft and Bungie release the Legendary Map Pack, a trio of new maps that are all but guaranteed to find themselves in heavy play rotation. The new content adds one original map, Ghost Town, and two reimagined fan favorites, new takes on the classic Sidewinder and Lockout maps, into the mix. On top of that, the new maps come with some very cool new content to play with in Forge mode. We took a trip to B..."

"Internet phenomenon Rooster Teeth, creators of the hit series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, have announced a new series titled Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction. The only information available on the new series is the release of a teaser trailer that appears to change the focus of the RT group from comedy to suspense. However, when the nature of the Halo 3-set series was questioned in the teaser's comments Rooster Teeth front-man Burnie Burns told fans, "Don't let appearances fool you.""

"According to the Latino Review, screenwriter Stuart Beattie (who penned the script for the upcoming G.I. Joe movie) took it upon himself to write a screenplay for the Halo movie, without Microsoft's knowledge and in his spare time because he's a huge fan of the franchise. The screenplay is said to be called Halo: The Fall of Reach and is based on Eric Nylund's novel of the same name. And unlike the official movie script that Microsoft had written with Master Chief playing a supporting role, B..."

Halo 3's "Heroic Map Pack" will no longer carry its 800 Microsoft Points price tag as of this Tuesday. The three multiplayer maps - "Standoff", "Foundry" and "Rat's Nest" - will be made free in anticipation of the "Legendary Map Pack", scheduled to release April 15. The content was originally released last December via the Xbox Live Marketplace.

A fantastically creative trailer has been released by Bungie to mark the occasion.



Be sure to check out the hi-definition version of t...

"What do warthogs, pelicans, energy swords and Spartan lasers have in common? And how do they relate to John 1:17?

They’re all part of a video game called Halo 3, the top-selling video game of 2007 that pre-sold more than 1 million copies two months before it even hit stores. In the first two weeks after its release, Halo 3—the third installment of Microsoft’s first-person shooter game—made more than $300 million in sales.

...

“If the Old Testament were a video game, it would make Hal..."

"According to the latest issue of EGM, Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie are working on a LEGO Halo game for the Xbox 360. According to the article in EGM, LEGO Halo will have you play through all three games in the Halo trilogy."

"Microsoft has unveiled plans for the Official European Halo 3 Tournament, which will run from 18th to 30th March.

Prizes on offer include exclusive Halo 3 artwork and an Xbox 360 Elite. Plus, as the tournament is sponsored by Samsung, you could win one of their Crystal Design 40" Series 6 FHD tellies.

Registration for the competition opens today. Just open up the Xbox Live Dashboard and click on the relevant advert - you'll also get a free gamerpic to download.

During the tourname..."

"Yes, just when you thought you were the ultimate Halo geek, just when you thought there was nothing else that Bungie could whore its first-person behemoth onto, up prances Germany’s favourite three-striped sporting brand with a truly, truly hideous addition to the growing catalogue of Halo merchandise disasters.

A picture is worth a thousand words and, in this case, if we were pushed to submit a thousand-word news article then the vast majority of them would begin with ‘f’ and end with ‘uc..."

"In their latest podcast, Bungie team members revealed that the new game the Halo developer is currently keeping themselves busy with is something very different from what gamers have come to expect from the company.

As usual with games very early in the development cycle, the devs are keeping their lips sealed for the time being, saying it’s still “far far too early” to talk about any specifics. And, as opposed to bashing their own game, one of them said: “some of the stuff that I’ve seen ..."

"The impressive all-metal ‘reaper of death’ is presently to be found through online auction Web site eBay, where seller Lionheartsrealm is hoping to reap nothing more than a ton of cash in return for the deadly looking blade.

Made from solid stainless steel, which will probably make it rather difficult to wield, the loving creation is 36-inches long, 14-inches wide, and comes with a custom handle that apparently makes it "fit for any elite.""

"Are the cracks beginning to appear in Bungie’s well-worn battle armour? Well, according to Xbox Live aficionado Major Nelson, Halo 3 has this week been deposed by Activision’s impressive Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Based on weekly unique user figures, Call of Duty 4 has pushed Halo 3 into second on the Top Live Titles chart, with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Gears of War, and Rock Band rounding out the top five."

"While you’d be best advised to only gaze upon its rancid colour in a darkened room (gaming is always best that way anyhow), the new Halo 3-themed XFunctional videogame chair sure looks like something you’d expect to find Commander Miranda Keyes perched on while barking orders from the bridge of UNSC Frigate ‘Forward Unto Dawn’ – apologies for the geeky outburst."

"Not one to pass up the opportunity to give itself a corporate reach-around, Microsoft dispatched an extremely self-congratulatory internal memo just prior to Bill Gates taking to the CES stage this past Sunday, which actually reveals a little more bite than the hugely anticipated keynote."

"Although Halo 3 has thus far missed out on any notable ‘Game of the Year’ awards, Microsoft now reveals that Bungie’s phenomenally popular FPS finale has sold in excess of 8.1 million copies worldwide since the game was released on Sept. 25 of 2007."

"For most, the prospect of escaping to the online world of Xbox Live is something anticipated with excitement over the course of yet another mundane day’s existence. However, for two young sisters in the state of Washington, Microsoft’s hugely popular multiplayer haven recently became the platform for a friendship that quickly turned into a frightening obsession."

"While some readers may deride the respectability of certain review sources listed on Metacritics pages, there’s little arguing with contributing numbers provided by IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, Game Informer, Edge, 1UP, Play, and Games Radar.

Bearing that in mind, Metacritic has unveiled various "Best" and "Dud" games spread across a host of categories, which are as follows..."

"The worst thing is that Microsoft isn’t helping the poor guy - 18004MYXBOX has hung up on him and Windows Live Support has turned a blind eye to the issue. So he and his buddies are working on getting the message heard by as many as possible with the obvious goal of forcing Microsoft and Bungie to deal with the issue."

""I think we’ve got magic in the disc," enthused lead designer Graeme Devine. "We've worked on the controls, gameplay, and story for this game being very much aware of what has gone before us. I was down in playtest yesterday and actually did not get to sit down and play because folks were spending their lunches playing the game. I know we're doing well when that happens.""

"As we all know, obesity is a serious issue especially in the US, and fat kids are becoming the majority (let’s see you pick on them now), but who carries the blame for turning the youth into useless balls of fat? Well, I know what you’re thinking, lots of fat food and soda right? Maybe the food has something to do with it, but definitely not the sweet soda. At least that’s what the American Beverage Association (ABA) is saying."

"Some of these surprises may be the new game mode titled 'Grifball'. Yes, thats right, 'Grifball' as in Sarge's comment from season 4 of Red vs Blue mentioning 'Grifball'. Well no longer do you have to wonder what this amazing sport is as you will be playing it not before long."

"Microsoft big cheese and Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for the Xbox 360 Jeff Bell has revealed that Halo 3 has reached a quite a staggering 5 million sales. We all felt the hype, and saw the frenzied enthusiasm for the games release, but 5 million sales is still quite astonishing.

Speaking to Gamedaily, Jeff Bell enthused that "We've... seen a strong response to both Halo 3 sales with more than 5 million, and Mass Effect which has sold more than a million copies in less than..."

"Packaged as the ‘Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack,’ the three new environments are all-but guaranteed to add yet more appeal and interest to the massively popular world of Halo 3 multiplayer, which has already drawn the attention of five million online players since the ‘finish the fight’ sequel launched at the end of September."

"Now, far be it from me to disagree with Time...I have to call shenanigans on a few things here. First: Halo 3, while a great game, is not as good as BioShock. Halo 3 is still plagued by problems seen in previous games where both level design and gameplay are concerned. BioShock, on the other hand, was a superb gaming experience and should have easily been the top of the bunch on the list."

"While Sony fans will be left seething that the PlayStation 3 is not represented beyond cross platform titles, it’s more probable that general gaming fans will be taking issue with TIME’s ordering rather than the included selection."

"Though the initial rumors left many an industry watcher frothy with derision, Bungie Studios confirmed in October that it would be amicably splitting from Microsoft upon completion of the final installment its best-selling Halo trilogy. Though Microsoft would retain a minority stake in the lauded studio as well as maintain a publishing agreement, Bungie would return to its bachelorhood days as an independent, privately held developer.

With Bungie no longer tied to Microsoft, many speculat..."

"Microsoft is facing yet another class action lawsuit, this one filed by a disgruntled customer who claims that despite the package in which Halo 3 is sold claiming the game is compatible with the Xbox 360, it does not actually run on the Xbox 360.

Randy Nunez of California launched the suit, which also names Halo 3 developer Bungie as a defendant, after purchasing the game in mid-October from a Gamestop location in San Diego. "Relying on defendants' skill and judgment to furnish goods suit..."

"Halo and Guitar Hero fans are in for a treat today, with the release of the Halo theme Mjolnir Mix as a free download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Once downloaded Guitar Hero III players will be able to rock out to the iconic theme tune by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori, with guitars performed by Steve Vai.

This is already the second free download for Guitar Hero III, the first giving players the ability to play the game's three boss battles as standard songs apart from within the ca..."

"Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each map presents a totally different play style.

The symmetrical valley of Standoff, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types.
The vast, labyrinthine passages of the Rat's Nest bring something completely new to the multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise. Strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, this map is ideal for big team battles.
Foundr..."

"On November 3, 2007 Moviesign made a Forge map in Halo® 3, and set up what his girlfriend of over two years (furtive penguin) thought was going to be a two-on-two match with his friends. They started the game and Moviesign led furtive penguin to a spot where he claimed he'd put an energy sword.

Instead there was a nice top-down view where he had spelled out a proposal in weapons. He then asked her to be his teammate for life.

Furtive penguin and Moviesign recently moved from Indianapo..."

"The classmate also said the boy previously said he ''sits on his roof and shoots pigeons with an assault rifle'' and that he and some friends had made a movie ''dealing with snuffing people out.''

Based on that, Principal Joseph DeLuca searched the boy's locker and discovered the notebook.

The teen's mother said many of the writings and drawings relate to the video game ''Halo,'' which features a superhuman soldier who battles aliens."

"A 'juvenile' lover of Halo 3 has been accused of punching his mother (after she forced him to end his game) and fighting with sheriff's deputies as they tried to restrain him. Further reports that he attacked his mother and police with a 360 controller melee-style attack have yet to be confirmed. And won't be. We made that bit up."

There is no comparison to the hype between the Orange Box and Halo 3. Everyone knew that Halo 3 was upon us. We all saw the Halo 3 commercials on TV, all the news reports, blog posts. But on the back burner with not as much advertising was Valve's Orange Box.

Next Gen have come up with some sales positions for sales in the US. You might have expected Halo 3 to be at the top at that list but with Valve giving a 20% price cut to the Orange Box sales have sprung it ahead to take the #1 spot f...

"We have listed 10 issues which Bungie needs to address or have completely screwed up with the production of Halo 3. In no way are we anti-halo or anti-Bungie, we gave Halo 3 with a 9.7/10 in our review and are just pointing out the obvious flaws in the Halo 3 game."

"... In Halo 3.

Like that Bungie shooter everybody's always yapping about? Like annoyingly tuneful pop-rock outfit Fall Out Boy? Then golly, does Microsoft have an offer you can’t turn down."

"Halo 3? Oh puh-lease, Bungie’s game is small fry. Or at least, it could look that way by the time Grand Theft Auto IV rolls around next year. That's the view of Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, who reckons that the Xbox 360 shooter shouldn't get too comfy on its laurels."

A Halo 3 player simply gets owned while playing Halo 3 and then snaps. This results in the Xbox 360 ending up in his garden. This video also includes screens of the aftermath.

"As a new weekly feature, I’ll give you five places where some of the big and highly anticipated games suck. Yes, suck. But don’t take it too seriously, as we’d feel horrible if you start crying because we just bashed your favorite game. No really, don’t take it too seriously."

"You didn’t think Bungie’s long-time relationship with the Redmond behemoth was all roses and kisses, did you?"

"It's the Xbox 360 title that has become the fastest-selling game ever in the US and already made developer Bungie a cool $300 million. It's everywhere, and it even has its own drink. It's Halo 3, of course, and even the Japanese, it seems, can't resist.

The game was released on September 27 in the region and burst straight into the Japanese charts at number one, according to figures released by Media Create for the week of September 24 to 30. Halo 3 sold 58,672 units in its first week on ..."

"Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 3 made $170 million on its first day on sale in the US alone, and also broke Australian sales records according to figures released down under. Now Bungie has one more reason to celebrate, as week-one sales have clocked in at a rather reasonable $300 million worldwide.

Halo 3, which is the fastest-selling game ever, is being billed by Microsoft as "one of the most successful entertainment properties in history." The company released a statement saying that initial ..."

"Some time ago, I blogged about playing a cancelled version of Halo DS. The game was the real deal, created by a real development studio and with a very big publisher. But for reasons we won't discuss, Halo DS was never released. Clearly. Obviously. Still, it would've been cool, huh?

My Halo DS blog has haunted me since I posted it because many people were skeptical of my claims. I wouldn't make something like that up, of course, but that hardly silenced any of my critics. When my brother ..."

""Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to "handle" everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They'll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also ..."

"Speaking with Bungie at an exclusive Microsoft event this month we were informed that there was no rest for the wicked for the team as they were already beavering away at the next Halo game in the franchise. When questioned whether the game would be a prequel, Bungie remained tight lipped as always but we have a hunch that the game might actually be Halo - The Movie Game (insert movie title prefix here). Either way, it's early days considering many are still tackling the single player of Halo..."

"In fact, if you do a comparison shot between the native 1152x640 image and the scaled 1280x720, it's practically impossible to discern the difference. We would ignore it entirely were it not for the internet's propensity for drama where none exists. In fact the reason we haven't mentioned this before in weekly updates, is the simple fact that it would have distracted conversation away from more important aspects of the game, and given tinfoil hats some new gristle to chew on as they catalogue..."

Right after being disappointed due to scratched discs Halo 3 fans are now crying upset because a feature that was promised to be in the game, by not one but many Bungie employees is no where to be seen.

What feature is this? an in-game browser which makes finding particular types of games easier to join. Yet another thing that should of been standard on Halo 2. So far 35 pages worth of "signed" messages of users supporting this.

Not to mention more complaints does Halo 3 really deserve...

"The morning was spent digging into the campaign, which I've now finished, but I don't want to say anything about that right now, because I don't want to spoil anything yet. You guys need to hurry and finish the fight, though, because I don't know how long I can hold back."

"I tested approximately sixty X360 games (and lot of PS3 games too ), all are 720p except two 1080p (VT3 and NBA street), two 600p (PGR3 and Tomb Raider) and Two 640p (Perfect Dark and Halo3)."

"One million gamers connected to the Xbox LIVE online gaming service in the first day, making it the most active day in Xbox LIVE history. Halo 2 logged 690,000 multiplayer games on day one – Halo 3 logged 2.4 million games on day one. There were 2.5 million campaign levels played around the world in the first 24 hours."

"According to Microsoft, the game set new pre-order records for games in Australia, followed by another reported record broken for fastest first day sales, which totaled 50,000 copies and AU$6 million in revenue."

"I wish Forge had a "clear everything" option. It's sort of a pain to delete every object. It's especially hard on levels with a lot of foliage where you have to hunt down the weapons and grenades and delete them. I also wish forge had its own matchmaking playlist or something that would allow more people to find good forge games where they do nothing but mess around. Could there be an update that would include such a playlist?

In the meantime I have created blank variants of every map and ..."

"The organization of far-out political figure Lyndon LaRouche, which blamed the Virginia Tech massacre on video games, has now targeted Halo 3.

An article on the LaRouche website (see: Halo 3: The Third Wave of Destroying the U.S.) rhetorically asks:"

"In the wake of yesterday’s server-crashing, mind-numbing revelation by GamePolitics that the anti-game attorney sent gay porn pics to a federal judge we could use a couple of Jack-less days.

Alas, it’s not to be. The activist, who sometimes refers to himself as the “Energizer Bunny” of the game violence debate, is at it again.

In a press release issued late yesterday, Thompson claims that his 15-year-old son has once again purchased an M-rated (17 and older) game at a South Florida reta..."

"Microsoft is gearing up to further promote Halo 3's release in Australia and help support two local charities, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Mission Australia. The program will incorporate several high-profile celebrities and signed console auctions to help raise money and awareness."

"Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates carded the first guy in a retail line to buy Halo 3.

Himself. Personally.

As reported by Reuters, Gates was on hand at a midnight launch event at a Best Buy near Microsoft HQ in Redmond, Washington:

...

Gates personally sold and autographed the first copy to Ritesh David, a 17-year-old who was stunned to find himself being served by the richest man in America."

"It appears that America’s Army isn’t the only link to the gamer generation being pursued by military recruiters.

The New Hampshire Union-Leader reports on a Halo 3 launch event in Manchester in which under-17’s were turned away from a local GameStop’s Halo 2 tournament, only to be ushered into a similar event set up by nearby Air Force recruiters:"

"Pre-order and launch sales for Halo 3 on Tues. have driven Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 past competitors at retailer Amazon.com. On Tues., the Xbox 360 Premium SKU ranked at No. 5 at Amazon's Computer & Video Games division, an increase from a rank of No. 7 the week prior.

By comparison, Nintendo Co.'s Wii ranked at No. 7 and the 60GB PS3 ranked at No. 9 on Tues. morning."

"Some US customers queuing up to splash out hard-earned dollarbucks on Halo 3 have returned home to find their discs unreadable.

The main offender seems to be the Limited Edition of the game, which comes in a metallic casing without a knobbly protrusion to hold the DVD in place. Because of this, disgruntled fans are reporting heavy scratching on their copies."

According to the LA Times, Halo 3 is going to rack in a good $500 million for Microsoft. With about 10 million copies to be sold worldwide at about $70 a piece, that's $700 million. Microsoft will take about 80% of that, which is $560. Taking off all the payments Microsoft has to pay to Bungie and it's associates, Microsoft is left with a hefty $500 million to roll in like a stack of hay.

"There was a similar problem with the Prey Collectors Edition, but this problem appears to be more fatal. We'll try to get in contact with Microsoft to see if they've had any reports on this yet, if we find out anything then we'll be sure to let you know."

"Bungie's head of production Jonty Barnes has confirmed that Halo 3 will be receiving downloadable content, infact this is inevitable. Barnes noted that Bungie has continued to support Halo 2 and released new DLC for the title which is now two and a half years old so ultimately Halo 3 will be receiving some royal treatment too. Barnes remarked he is particularly excited by Halo 3's map editing feature too."

"With the video game event of the year - the Halo 3 launch - just days away, game-hatin’ attorney Jack Thompson is apparently seeking to re-create one of his greatest non-triumphs.

Although he failed miserably with a similar bid against Rockstar’s Bully in 2006, Thompson hopes to have a Florida court declare Halo 3 a public nuisance. He promised as much late last year (see: Jack Thompson Vows More Public Nuisance Suits Against Games in 2007).

No surprise, really, that Halo 3 is in the me..."

"More than 42,000 pre-orders have been lodged for the M-rated game in Australia, which will retail at $99.95 for the standard edition."

"