January 31, 2006 Sony is reportedly building a Xbox Live-killer for the Playstation 3. ... This page deals with current events in computer and video games. ... 2006 2006 in games 2005 in video gaming 2007 in video gaming Notable events of 2006 in video gaming. ... 2005 2005 in games 2004 in video gaming 2006 in video gaming Notable events of 2005 in computer and video games. ... 2004 2004 in games 2003 in video gaming 2005 in video gaming Notable events of 2004 in computer and video games. ... 2003 2003 in games 2002 in video gaming 2004 in video gaming Notable events of 2003 in computer and video games. ... 2002 2002 in games 2001 in video gaming 2003 in video gaming Notable events of 2002 in computer and video games. ...

January 31, 2006

• Sony is reportedly building a Xbox Live-killer for the PlayStation 3. (Joystiq)
• StarForce, a DRM maker for computer games, threatens to sue popular weblog Boing Boing for criticising its products. (Gamasutra), (Boing Boing)
• CNET reports that Cisco Systems might be interested in buying Nintendo. (CNET), (GameDaily.biz)
• Blizzard Entertainment responds to the GLBT debate happening in World of Warcraft. The company stated: "To promote a positive game environment for everyone and help prevent such harassment from taking place as best we can, we prohibit mention of topics related to sensitive real-world subjects in open chat within the game, and we do our best to take action whenever we see such topics being broadcast."(Edge)
• Sony announces that ten servers will be merged with ten others on Everquest 2. Players are cautiously optimistic. (Sony), (Darniaq)

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758 , NYSE: SNE) is a global Japanese consumer electronics, financial services and entertainment corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... Xbox Live is a subscription-based online gaming service for Microsofts Xbox and Xbox 360 video game consoles. ... The PlayStation 3 (PS3) (Japanese: プレイステーション3) is Sonys seventh generation era video game console in the market-leading PlayStation series. ... For the video game, see Star Force. ... Digital rights management (DRM) is the umbrella term referring to any of several technologies used to enforce pre-defined policies controlling access to software, music, movies, or other digital data. ... Boing Boing (originally bOING bOING) is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine and later becoming a website. ... CNET Networks Inc. ... Cisco Systems, Inc. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... Blizzard Entertainment is a PC game developer and publisher. ... LGBT (or GLBT) is an acronym used as a collective term to refer to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758 , NYSE: SNE) is a global Japanese consumer electronics, financial services and entertainment corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... EverQuest II, the sequel to EverQuest, is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and shipped on November 8, 2004. ...

January 30, 2006

• Shares of Take-Two Interactive, the controversial creater of the Grand Theft Auto series, rose Monday after news that the company was in takeover talks with an unnamed buyer. (Yahoo), (Marketwatch), (TTWO Stock Chart)
• A mandatory update for Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 was released. Microsoft claimed the update was for bugfixes and improvements. Members of the modding community claim that "the true purpose of this update was to halt the progress of the modding community". (Gamasutra)
• Nintendo released a statement regarding the Red Tulip phenomenon on Animal Crossing: Wild World, stating "We have isolated the problem and determined that there was a temporary error with the upload tool when this letter was posted". Earlier, there had been speculation that the tulips were a result of black hat hackers. (Gamasutra)

January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ... Computer and video games have been the subject of frequent controversy and censorship, due to the depiction of graphic violence, sexual themes, racism, advertising, eavesdropping, consumption of illegal drugs, consumption of alcohol or tobacco, propaganda or profanity in some games. ... Post-GTA2 design of the Grand Theft Auto logo Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a computer and video game series created and developed by Scottish developer Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), published by Rockstar Games and debuted in 1998. ... Xbox Live is a subscription-based online gaming service for Microsofts Xbox and Xbox 360 video game consoles. ... Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts original Xbox. ... Modding is a slang expression for the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software to perform a function not intended by someone with legal rights concerning that modification. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hacker (computer security). ...

January 27, 2006

• Players of the Horde clan from World of Warcraft start the "Gamers Against No Kash" charity, to pay the subscription fees for valuable players strapped for cash. (Gameshout)
• The Nintendo DS returns to the top of the weekly Japanese charts, with 64,515 units sold compared to 38,271 for the PlayStation Portable. The PlayStation 2 is third with 26,135 units sold, while the Xbox 360 continues to sell poorly (just 3,616, less than the GameCube). The five best-selling games were Brain Training for Adults 2, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Super Mario Strikers, Brain Training for Adults and Mario Kart DS, all published by Nintendo. (Media Create)
• Microsoft lowers its estimate of Xbox 360 sales in its first 90 days from 2.75–3.0 million units to 2.5 million due to supply shortage. The yearly estimate (4.5 to 5.5 million) is unchanged since Microsoft plans to increase its console production with the help of a new manufacturer, Celestica. (TeamXbox) Meanwhile, Microsoft postpones the Australian 360 launch from March 2 to March 23, 2006 due to a "short term manufacturing challenge" . (Gamasutra)
• Microsoft of Japan made a statement to Japanese game magazine Famitsu regarding the Xbox 360 launch. "It was a lot more difficult than we had imagined. We couldn't prepare the launch titles that we had promised, and it made an impact," said Microsoft of Japan Xbox chief of operations Yoshihiro Maruyama. At the launch of the first Xbox in Japan, more units were sold in three days than have been sold of the Xbox 360 in one month. (Gamasutra)
• The PlayStation Portable 2.01–2.50 firmware versions, previously considered unhackable, are hacked by Fanjita. (PSP Updates)
• The Los Angeles attorney’s office sues Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive over the Hot Coffee mod. (Gamasutra)

January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... From left to right, female and male examples of Orcs, Undead Forsaken, Trolls, and Tauren: the four races that currently make up the Horde in World of Warcraft. ... In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is a group of players who regularly play together in a particular multiplayer game. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ... The Nintendo DS, (sometimes abbreviated NDS or DS), is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially PSP), a handheld game console, is a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts original Xbox. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the Sixth generation era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ... Super Mario Strikers (Mario Smash Football in Europe and Australia) is a soccer video game released exclusively for Nintendos GameCube console. ... Brain Training for Adults )) is an educational title released in Japan for the Nintendo DS. Marketed for adults, the game is based on a popular book written by Professor Ryuuta Kawashima. ... Mario Kart DS is a video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKEx: 4338) is the worlds largest software corporation, with 2005 global annual sales of close to $40 billion USD and about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts original Xbox. ... Celestica Inc. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Famitsu (commonly abbreviated in Japanese kana to Fami, ファミ通) is a Japanese video game magazine published by Enterbrain, Inc. ... The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America and Puerto Rico, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and on March 14, 2002 in Europe. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially PSP), a handheld game console, is a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. ... In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Rockstar Games is the umbrella name for video game development studios acquired by the game publisher Take Two Interactive. ... Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Video games secret sex scenes spark outrage The Hot Coffee mod is a mod created for the personal computer port of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA, 2004/2005, Rockstar North). ...

January 26, 2006

• Sony reports that strong sales of the PlayStation Portable helped the company make a profit of ¥70 billion, the first time in 11 years that the company has managed to avoid an annual loss. (Herald Tribune) (Financial Times)
• Microsoft announces $293 million losses in its Home and Entertainment division, record revenues overall. (Gamasutra)
• Nintendo reports declining GameCube and Game Boy Advance sales but increased profits: ¥92.2 billion. (Gamespot)
• Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model will be lighter, smaller, have configurable brightness and feature an improved user interface. (Nintendo) (Gamespot)
• Konami Corp. announces the list of titles it expects to ship in 2006, ranging from Beatmania to Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, and covering multiple platforms. (TeamXbox)
• Public schools in West Virginia will add Dance Dance Revolution by Konami to their curriculum, in an effort to combat obesity. (Reuters) (Gamespot)

January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758 , NYSE: SNE) is a global Japanese consumer electronics, financial services and entertainment corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially PSP), a handheld game console, is a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. ... Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKEx: 4338) is the worlds largest software corporation, with 2005 global annual sales of close to $40 billion USD and about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the 128-bit era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ... The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. ... Nintendo (Japanese: 任天堂, ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 ) is an international company originally founded in Japan on November 6, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... The Nintendo DS Lite is a redesign of the Nintendo DS. It was announced on January 26, 2006 and went on sale in Japan on March 2, 2006 for a price of 16,800 yen ($140 USD). ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... Konami Corporation (コナミ) TYO: 9766 (NYSE: KNM) (SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ... The correct title of this article is beatmania (North America). ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 41st 62,809 km² 210 km 385 km 0. ... The main gameplay screen of Dance Dance Revolution. ... Konami Corporation (コナミ) TYO: 9766 (NYSE: KNM) (SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ...

January 9, 2006

• Take-Two Interactive acquires Irrational Games. (Shacknews)

January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ... Irrational Games is a video game developer that originated as an off-shoot by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. ...

January 5, 2006

• Vivendi Universal Games acquires High Moon Studios (formerly Sammy Studios, Inc), which gained independence from Sammy in 2005. (Prnewswire)