"This led many to believe that Call of Duty 4 would break Microsoft's mandate that all 360 titles be playable without a hard drive"

This was broken over a year ago with the release of Football Manager 2006... check out the logo in the bottom left of the cover:

http://www.gamersreports.com/grimages/650/1139331423/2/1/gr.image.jpg

"The PS3 version was delayed a week ago for unspecified reasons across Europe until July 20 - so Germany will need to wait an extra week. This did not affect the UK launch or content of The Darkness which occured today."

Actually, only the 360 version was released this weekend in the UK... the PS3 version has been delayed here till July 20th, just like the rest of Europe.

@Christopher7xii:

The UK is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I believe they're talking about the Republic of Ireland, which is outside of the UK and thus the BBFC's jurisdiction.

I for one am disheartened at all this banning going around. In the UK it is illegal to sell a rated title to a person under that age. If the game was given the highest rating of 18, then only 18 year olds can buy it. If it gets into the hands of children, then the blame can only be placed on the parents, since they are the ones who would buy it.

Refusing to classify the title because it glorifies and simulates murder? I read plenty of books with deaths and killings in them. I've seen loads of films with random killings, torture and all manner of gruesome things. Just because you interact with it a bit more than a movie or a book doesn't mean it deserves a complete ban.

I do agree with Joystiq that it shows the BBFC not only don't trust their own ratings system, but that it also shows they don't want any media backlash when no doubt some other idiot parent would blame the game for their mentally disturbed 12 year old that they bought the game for going on a murderous rampage. If that had of happened the media would have immediately turned to the BBFC and demanded to know why they classified such a title, despite it quite simply being the fault of the parent.

Unfortunately, "teaching" parents which games are violent etc. won't work - I believe it should simply be made compulsory that when purchasing the game the customer should display ID showing their age and signing an agreement stating that they fully understand the content of the game and any possible (if mainly unproven) risks that are involved.

The BBFC's inability to rate this game due to their fear of being sued is quite laughable, but unfortunately in this day and age they simply can't take the risk. A sad day for gaming and the UK indeed.

Following our briefing we got this morning about the takeover, I can confirm that GAME and GameStation are being kept as separate brands. There will be no rebranding/training etc - it will all be as is. If there is a GAME and a GameStation in town, they will stay there, with their own pricing, tradein schemes, layouts, design, everything.

The reasoning? GAME see GameStation as appealing more to the "hardcore" gamer, since most people believe (usually quite wrongly) that GAME is for casual shoppers and is full of uneducated dunces, so by keeping the GameStation chain as it stands they appeal to both audiences.

"4. dooes anyone know if i rent crackdown from gamefly can i use it for the HALO 3 BETA.

if some know the answer to this let me know"

Yes and no. Yes if the game is one of the proper launch ones with the Halo 3 symbol on the front. No because you can only access the Halo 3 beta from Crackdown's main menu, so once your rental ends and you take it back you won't be able to play it anymore.

That's strange... at a meeting between all the store managers (this is GAME) in our region our senior regional manager said it would be the end of May for us (UK)... hmm, I might have to ask him next time he visits the store...

"I remember when this game was called Fantavision. It sucked then, too."

Read up on the game before you start dissing it: Fantavision required you to go for fireworks of the same colour with a cursor, switching between colours with the multicoloured firework. With Boom Boom Rocket each firework as a directional arrow inside that you have to press when the firework reaches the its apex. Saying "It's Fantavision" is the like saying Columns is the same as Tetris.

"Yeah, Chu Chu Rocket would be sweet for XBL (as would a proper Bomberman)."

Agreed on both counts. Chu Chu Rocket would be awesome and if they could do Bomberman (like the Saturn version i.e. 10 player) that would be excellent!

"Don't care; won't buy it till it comes with a *wireless* guitar. I don't plug anything into my 360; that's a rule."

So... no power or video/audio output then... how do you play it?

"I'm just wishing I lived in the US right now, England gets its games on a Friday...like wtf? I think all games should be shipped worldwide on a monday to provide people with something to get them through the crappiest day of the week."

They won't do this for the UK as all music CDs and movie DVDs are released on a Monday. Putting games on the same day would result in Monday being a ridiculously busy shopping day and the rest of the week being rubbish (for the entertainment industry anyway).

"LordAlu, thats exactly my point. Especially with xbox games the seal is broken. So its impossible to return it as unopened which is the only was you can return a new game to gamestop."

Which is why I asked if Gamestop seal them. At GAME here in the UK, we place a purple seal over the box, after placing the "guts" inside, which you have to remove so you can open it. That way, even though it isn't factory sealed, it has been re-sealed by the retailer, and can be returned for a full refund so long as the seal is intact.

We also have display copies of games (where the publisher sends us sleeves for their games which we place in empty DVD boxes, but that is only for very new stuff and they never send enough. Hence why games must be gutted and put out on display. Otherwise all the stores would just be one large counter with everything behind it to prevent theft.