Taking a look at the games from both the east and the west, there's no denying both have their own charm in wooing their respective crowds. However, some gamers enjoy crossing the lines and end up playing games, despite the fact they don't understand a word of what the characters say.

Read more about import gamers in the full article!

Well, it looks like there's no turning back now.

As it turns out, Valve is starting to test out the use of in-game ads for their titles, and the first guinea pig for this experiment is none other than Counterstrike 1.6 (screenies above, both courtesy of SK Gaming). Despite the flurry of protests that the mere mention of in-game advertising tends to generate, many game companies may soon be following Valve's lead.

While some fans argue that the sight of a real-world item being advertised inside a game tends to be detrimental to the whole experience, devs have noted that this form of advertising is actually beneficial for everyone in the long run.

After all, it generates revenue for game-makers.

Revenue equals more (and better) games.

More games equals happy gamers.

On top of that, there have been promises that the ads will remain discreet and out of the player's way.

At the moment, Valve is displaying advertisements for Portal and the upcoming Orange and Black boxes, all of which are their own products.

There have been earlier reports that Google ads may also end up invading the gaming world, and this has caused many to fear the possibility of having to encounter an in-game advertisement for Starbucks in a war-torn, World War II setting. After all, can you imagine running into an ad for McDonald's as you're crawling the trenches in games like Call of Duty or Brothers In Arms? Or perhaps one for Pedigree puppy food during an Unreal Tournament deathmatch?

On the other hand, there are also those who are willing to reach a compromise between revenue generation for the game companies and immersive gaming experience for the gamers. One point of this compromise involve the conditions which specify that ads that appear in games must be carefully chosen to match the theme and setting of the game itself.

Read the rest of the article after the Jump!

The launch of the World of Warcraft Expansion, The Burning Crusade was deemed successful. The San Francisco launch was all fired up and UK launch was surprisingly a hit. Now that almost one week had passed since it was first unleashed in store shelves, you may think that the clamor for TBC has already simmered. Well, apparently that's not the case.

In fact, a local Wal-Mart in the city of Lompoc, California mentioned that the game was sold out the day it came in. Wal-Mart employee, Eddie Polton said that "the box set was $69.96. It was gone in three hours."

The usual, garden-variety TBC which has a US$ 39.99 price tag, on the other hand, was also wiped out later that afternoon. For now, they are still awaiting for the arrival of the next ordered shipment.

Yup, people are loving their TBC, regardless if they are members of the Alliance or the Horde. WoW players' feeling toward it was best explained by a TBC buyer, he says:

You really have to get "The Burning Crusade." If you're not going to keep up with the upgrades, then there's no sense in playing in the first place.

For a game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces is creating an unusual amount of ruckus across the gaming industry. But when you really think about, this is actually somewhat expected because it was based from the >heavily criticized book series Left Behind. The first to react was The Christian Alliance for Progress then it was followed by Campaign to Defend the Constitution. This time, it's the Muslims turn.

Accordingly, The Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR has been receiving complaints from its constituents regarding the game's violent tendencies. Left Behind, in case you aren't aware, rewards players for either converting or killing people of other faiths. While the game was developed by Left Behind Games Inc., the weird thing here is that Wal-Mart has been caught in between.

Furthermore, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad deemed it necessary to write a formal letter to H. Lee Scott Jr., chief executive officer of the said retail store. Part of the letter reads:

We also believe that as a company that prides itself in hiring and offering services to a diverse group of people, it is Wal-Mart's corporate social responsibility to take into account the potential social impact of its decision to sell this harmful game. We, therefore, respectfully request the removal of the video game 'Left Behind: Eternal Forces' from your shelves.

In the same letter, Awad also mentioned that they have spoken with the president of Left Behind Games, Jeffrey Grichner, regarding the game's Muslim-sounding enemy names. As if the question uttered is the weirdest in the world, Grichner responded that "Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ and therefore cannot be on the side of Jesus in the game."

Personally, we're reporting this to you because we want you guys to remain informed. Just for the record, we believe that Jesus Christ owns a special place in Islam. Muslims, as you might know, have always regarded Christ as one of God's prophets. Please, let us not make this into a religious war. The answer to this problem, my friends, are respect and tolerance.

The big wigs are invading your Second Life. And one cannot help but ask: "When will Donald Trump get a (second) life?" As we speak, the said virtual world (population: 1 million and rising) is already home to Sony BMG, Adidas, Sun Microsystems, and other real-world industry giants. Real world companies are eyeing this parallel universe to earn some money. Because as much as 400 Linden dollars convert to one U.S. dollar, companies are now seeing the value of virtual money: it is real.

Here in Second Life, these companies are already launching marketing promotions and advertising campaigns for their products. Nissan just bought an island to introduce its Sentra in-game car. Reuters just put up their virtual headquarters. MTV just launched their Virtual Laguna Beach. The line of the virtual world is thinning and starting to get tangible. Heck, a congressional committee is even looking into taxing people.

Gamers are starting to get concerned. Their virtual life is being invaded just "like a Wal-Mart coming to town or a Starbucks opening in the neighborhood." But others are saying that it's not much of a concern because these intrusions are just there for marketing hype.

Just as easily as you could avoid visiting the Nissan website over the internet, you can likewise give wide berth to the Nissan Island in the game. Mr. Rosedale even says that "there are no advantages from economies of scale for big corporations in Second Life." Companies that get into their second life have a number of issues to contend with. That includes not being able to know who exactly they're dealing with, especially with avatars whose names could be Darkstar Rover or Eiffel Tower. Copyright infringement is also going rampant: online botiques' are being hounded by cheaper spin-offs.

Regardless, this is something worth thinking about. Are you worried about more companies "invading" your second life? Or do you actually think it's interesting? Aren't they sort of spicing it up? I spy with my little eye a "Comment" link below. You know what to do!

NCSoft brings its digital superheroes and supervillains together in one explosive bundle: City of Heroes Good Versus Evil Edition. We've had our fair share of heroic deeds in City of Heroes, and truth be told, nothing beats saving Paragon City from the dangerous villains - legions of them!

The City of Heroes Good Versus Evil Edition will be released on September 29 as a Wal-Mart exclusive. It includes both the City of Heroes andCity of Villains, as well as all content updates up to Issue 7: Destiny Manifest. What's more, the bundle will include exclusive in-game items, so you can dress up your heroes with unique costumes and give them extra powers. The goodies list doesn't end there as a bonus DVD, a two-sided poster, and a month's worth of free play are up for grabs. After the free trial ends, a $15 subscription fee will allow you access to both City of Heroes and City of Villains.

Buy: [City of Heroes]

Just this summer, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) launched a new initiative that would definitely strengthen its video game ratings system: the "seal of approval" and its mystery shopping program were initiated.

Not only will these new programs strengthen the ratings system, it's also supposed to boost public awareness regarding games and their ratings - or at least that's what they're hoping to happen.

Included in these new programs by the ESRB is dubbed "Commitment to Parents." This will require retail stores who have signed up for the program to agree to train their sales staff about the board's rating system, promote the said game rating system and set up a system for complaints made by consumers regarding sales violations.

ESRB's programs may have been implemented during this crucial time that the gaming industry is under scrutiny by a lot of politicians and parent groups. Some people though are considering this move by the board a mere show as their rules regarding the sales of games are voluntarily being heeded by most retail stores.

Rocky Mountain News conducted its own mystery shopping experiment where they used a 15-year old kid to try and buy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from five major stores - Wal-Mart, Best Buy, GameStop, Circuit City and Target. He wasn't able to purchase the game, meaning these major retail stores are enforcing these ratings.

According to ESRB's president, Patricia Vance, since most stores already respect the rating system for games, it's up to the parents to respect (or voluntarily follow) the ratings. Vance said that most of the time, the parents are the reason how underage kids get their hands on games with a 17 and above rating - thus, the "Commitment to Parents" program.

Let's just see if these new programs help in getting politicians' and concerned groups' eyes off the gaming industry soon.