Founded in 1994 due to nationwide furor over violence in videogames (no GTA at the time kiddies, the big guns were Mortal Kombat and Night Trap), the Interactive Digital Software Association is set to enforce regulation of the gaming industry via a mandatory ratings system. Moreover, the IDSA served as a unified voice to represent their collective interests to the American public and government.

IDSA quickly gave birth to two things known to all gamers: the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The company, which we've known as the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) since 2003,  has spent the last 13 years fending government regulation, fighting piracy, and serving as the industry's face.

However, the ESA does a little more than that - and they spend for more than just what has been mentioned. A Gamespot feature sheds light on just how much the ESA has to to spend in lobbying just to get the government to listen (or see it their way, lobbying is after all a legalized form of pseudo-bribery).

The total tally? In 2005 they spend US$ 2 million in federal lobbying efforts, and from the looks of things, they're set to exceed that in 2006. They're spending more than the Motion Picture Association of America. What's good about this is (despite the spending for online gambling and other debatable endeavors), a lot of the money goes to efforts that we all could safely call, gamer-centric.

If you want a better breakdown on how much they're spending, you can check out our "Read" link below. We warn you though, it's a bit closer to Wikipedia entry than a feature, but overall it's very informative. Makes you appreciate the ESA more for spending so much just so that GTA isn't deemed illegal to play.

Gamespot was able to score an interview just recently with Turbine CEO and president, Jeff Anderson, to talk about their upcoming MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The interview tackles the much-anticipated monster play and how they'll combine the PvP and PvE elements in the game -- something that they say will set apart LOTR from all the other RPGs in the market.

According to Anderson, the concept of Monster Play can be understood basically as an "opportunity for you as a player to build your own army as part of the dark army of the Lord Sauron." With that in mind, the dev team decided that they will launch the game with having four playable main monster races; spider, the warg, the orc, and the Uruk-hai. Why is this such a big deal to a huge portion of MMORPG-ers?

See, it's rare that you get to take off the halo in a game and cross over to the other side to watch the events unfold in a totally different perspective. So by giving players the refreshing option of being the monstrous creatures in the game, they'll be able to explore another side of gaming that they rarely get to do with most other MMORPGs. Anderson was quick to note though that at the game's launch, Monster play will be restricted to the Entmoors area.

The interview tackles a whole lot more, including the requirements you're gonna have to fulfill for you to be able to play as a monster, as well as a detailed description and explanation of just how this system will work. If you wanna find out more, just hit the read link below and that should lead you to Gamespot's two-page interview with Anderson. We'll keep you posted for more.

Ubisoft apparently has plans to expand the Might and Magic franchise into the world of MMORPGs, that is, if you think that the words "Worlds of" implies that.

Gamespot reports that a quick trip to the US Patent and Trademark Office Web Site reveals that Ubisoft has an application for a trademark on the phrase "Worlds of Might and Magic" and that the patent is in relation to online gaming services. The application was filed last November.

When contacted, a representative from Ubisoft says that he hadn't heard of it before (plans for MMO), and adds that the phrase has actually been trademarked since way back in 1999, when defunct publisher 3DO filed for it for use in an online game.Ubisoft is the last listed owner on that trademark, which, according to the USPTO site, is still live.

Wideload Games also has around three applications for trademarks. The development studio behind Stubbs the Zombie have trademarks filed for Founding Fighters, Hail to the Chimp, and Cyclone.

We all have to keep in mind though that these trademarks were filed just for the names of the games and is not an indication that the games are actively under development.

Let's get acquainted with Warhammer Online's two of the first professions from the human Empire faction: the knights of the blazing sun, and the witch hunter. Taking care of the information debut on these two professions are EA Mythic's content design lead Doug Woolsey, designer Brian Wheeler, and senior designer Steve Marvin in an interview with GameSpot.

Now, getting down to business, the Knights of the blazing sun are the "classic" knights, so to speak. They are tasked with the defense and protection of the Empire for its greater glory. In battle, they show their loyalty to the ranks by protecting his comrades as well, and basically, just keep a close watch on each others' backs.

As for their capabilities, it is interesting to note that these guys sure can absorb massive amounts of damage "while dealing out lumps of their own." What drives them are glory and honor. Yeah, call them square if you must. But one thing's for sure. These guys mean business. And they sure are bent on getting what they came for.

Let's then take a look at the other profession, the Witch Hunters. Before you start imagining of some old character, armed with a pitchfork and a blazing torch, screaming "Kill the Witch! Kill the Witch!", allow us to snap you out of your misplaced reverie. These guys are pretty cool, actually. Steve Marvin describes them as "somewhere between Van Helsing and a grand inquisitor."

Replacing the pitchforks would be weaponry that fits modern, like pistols, along with swords and flaming brands. Okay, so maybe they do like to keep the torches. Anyhow, they are "all-out attackers who disdain defense." As to what that exactly means, we can only guess. But it most certainly doesn't sound pretty.

Anyways, to get to know these guys more, just click on the Read link below for the full interview. You can also find there some additional info as to gameplay (ie. PVP system) and whatnot.

Enjoy!

Sitting with Flagship CEO Bill Roper, GameSpot manages to squeeze out some answers from Hellgate: London's big guy, particularly regarding its hunter class.

The new hunter faction is primarily geared to attract the FPS player. Supposedly, what sets it apart from the templars and cabalists is that it allows for a total immersion in the world, as well as using high-tech weaponry and gadgets to wipe out demons. The templars are more n melee combat and holy rituals, while the cabalists utilize the powers of the demons against them by magical rites.

Without skipping a beat, but without revealing too much, Bill Roper describes the hunter design as "a cross between [Splinter Cell's] Sam Fisher, the marines from Aliens, and the anime Jin-Roh." Not reliant on spells, the hunters will, instead, prefer "Area 51-esque" technology to their advantage.

However, lest there be confusion, he stresses the point that while this new class may have various FPS gameplay components, the game is still very much an RPG. "The fundamental aspects of the game do not change in so much as you are still gaining experience...The mechanics of this, however, are very much driven from an FPS perspective when you play a hunter."

As to the question of whether or not the hunter will be the third and final class in the game, Bill replies that the templar, cabalist, and hunter are actually factions, wherein there are different classes within. "A way of thinking of this is if a writer was a faction and novelist, poet, and journalist were its classes. All of them have similar background and basic set of learning and skills, but their specialties are vastly different. The same will go for the classes within our factions."

Stay tuned for more updates as he did promise that they'll be revealing the individual classes in the upcoming months. And of course, there'll be more gameplay features, enemies, and whatnots to watch out for.

Lets start with the bad news. Things don't look so good for game publisher Activision as their stock might get delisted from the NASDAQ exchange after the company failed to file its quarterly earnings statement.

Activision alerted shareholders to the news and has pledged to make the earnings report as soon as erm, uh, "practicable." Activision says that the reason for the delay is because of their need to complete a review of the their stock-option grant practices.

The company intends to request a hearing before the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel in order to appeal for a continuance of their listing.

Okay, so with that done, let's move to the bit that's all nice and rosy.

WoW publisher, Vivendi Games, boasts a spike in earnings reaching up to 110 Million Dollars compared to 38 Million Dollars. That's a increase of around 186.7 percent. Aside from the obvious Warcraft money cow, Vivendi also credits start-up investments for the Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile divisions, and the strong sales of Scarface: The World is Yours, as reasons for the profit increase.

When asked about the revenues for World of Warcraft, rumoured to have reached $1 billion for this year, Gamespot reports that  Vivendi opted for general terms. The describe the financial results of its games division as "very healthy and dynamic," and the overall economic performance as "great."

In a lengthy interview over at Gamespot, Eidos' product acquisition director, Ian Livingstone gave several details on Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the future of Lara Croft, and his opinion regarding the next-generation console wars.

What? Who's Ian Livingstone and why should you guys care? Well, if in case you're too lazy to wiki him up, his game cred starts with Games Workshop and Steve Jackson, moves on to D&D, gets big during the 90s with Eidos, and reaches a high point when he got awarded an Order of the British Empire last year for "Services to the Computer Games Industry." So snotty fellow, can you top that?

Here be the pertinent details from the interview:

So how's Lara?
Livingstone says that the brand and franchise will continue. According to him she's now much like James Bond now. Hence, there are no plans to kill of the character any time soon. She's recognized everywhere and according to Livingstone there was a Time Magazine survey a few years back that ranks her as more recognizable than the pope.

In Livingstone's words:

There are other great characters, but they're all aimed at a younger audience--Zelda, Sonic, Mario--there have been none that have been aimed at the more mature consumer. If you think of other successful games, you don't always remember the characters.

Women don't object to Lara because she's strong, independent, intelligent, athletic, sexy, and essentially she doesn't need men. And of course, men wouldn't object to [her] for the same reasons... And, as she's virtual, she can be anything to anyone.

He adds that he isn't really allowed to say much about Tomb Raider: Anniversary, but he does hint that we should all be thinking about that first time Lara met the T. Rex.

Get the rest of the article after the Jump!

Ever feel like you've never been cool enough to enter a club, or that you're too sober to get into Alcoholics Anonymous? We can tell you right now that the emotional blow is like being hit by lead pipe in the back: excrutiatingly painful but it straightens you out some.

The E3 Media and Business Summit, once proudly seen by fans everywhere as The E3 Gamer's Gankfest and Freeplay Galore, seems to be firmly in the hands of game makers at large. Doug Lowenstein, President of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), told folks at GameSpot that the ESA will be more hands-off in the invitation process for next year's event. Instead, the list of people who will get an invitation will be based upon recommendations made by ESA members rather than by the the ESA itself.

What does this mean? In business terms, Lowenstein is quoted by GameSpot as saying, "[T]he point is for attendees to be the people participants want to see in one-on-one meetings...[but] that is not for me to say or influence." In practical terms, it means that because the members of the ESA is comprised of big-name game and console makers from Activision to Ubisoft (is there a company starting with a "Z" somewhere?), the people who will be visiting the event will either be big names in media, important members of the gaming press, or possibly PR people for the different companies.

Darn.

Guess we'll just have to visit the other E3 then.

This post is for those of you out there who are having difficulties with their significant other. Don't laugh. It really is. No really, we're not kidding... VIA Technologies, Inc., a developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, announced a unique "Couples, Computers & Gaming" event to be held in San Francisco on Saturday, November 11. The event is set to provide a comprehensive look at the interaction of couples and gaming as the industry adapts to create, develop and promote games.

Team members of the all-female professional PC gaming team, girls 0f destruction will give on couples from the audience hands-on training in the skills needed for pro gaming, and probably skills needed getting along with a pro-gamer (male or female). The guests for the event include John Broady of CNET Gamespot, analyst Rob Enderle, and Mary Shuyler, producer of the Desperate Housewives PC game. They will discuss the relationships between women and gaming, advertising, and the future of the industry.

More details on the event after the Jump!

Today we're going to take a close look at some of the playable character classes in Sigil Games' upcoming MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. These are the classes that you will choose from when you begin your adventures in Vanguard, so we suggest you pay close attention.

The first class that we're going to take a look at is the Bard class. The Bard is a kind of travelling warrior minstrel with the ability to sing songs of power that can affect both friends and enemies alike.

The Bard character class also appears in quite a few other fantasy games, but Vanguard takes it one step further, allowing players to actually "compose" their very own song by stitching together different song components that can be unlocked throughout the game.

Here are the various component types, lifted from GameSpot:

Melody: The melody is a song's backbone. In Vanguard, Bards get to choose one overall melody for their song. Other components are added to the melody in order to increase the song's potency and add more effects.

Embellishments: These can add resistance buffs, debuffs and minor buffs. You can add up to five embellishments to your Bard song. An example of this is Illestine's Harmony of Warmth, which protects allies from cold damage.

Click "Full Article" to see more Vanguard skills!