A sad story to report this morning. Donald Barnes Jr., a video game artist who has worked for EA Sports and Activision, was stabbed to death late last week in Oak Park, California. Barnes tried to intervene in an argument between a man and a woman and was stabbed by the man. He died later that evening.

Friends and family describe Barnes as a good old fashioned man that believed in civility and chivalry. His last courageous act on this earth proves that fact.

Barnes has worked in the video game industry as a character modeler since 1996. In the past, he worked for EA's Tiburon Studios, Activision's Luxoflux and Broodworks, Inc. He joined Broodworks in April.

Police have arrested 23-year-old suspect Bikram Singh Otal for the murder.

A more in-depth accounting of the crime can be found in the Ventura County Star.

Wired reports that Sony's lawsuit against PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz hit a snag today when a federal court judge questioned whether California was the right jurisdiction to hear the case.

Sony sued Hotz on Tuesday, alleging that when Hotz posted the code to crack the PlayStation 3, he breached the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions. Sony asked the court to compel Hotz to remove any code he uploaded last week.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she had concerns about whether or not the lawsuit should be tried in her courtroom. She also wondered if New Jersey, Hotz' home state, would be a better venue to try the case - after all, this was where Hotz' conducted most of his internet activities.

"I’m really worried about the jurisdictional question," the judge said from the bench during a 20-minute hearing - reports Wired.

Jared Loughner is obviously mentally ill, but the media will not let that fact get in the way of a juicy story. In the hours after the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona when he gunned down twenty people at a Safeway supermarket on Saturday, seriously injuring Arizona congressional representative Gabrielle Giffords, and killing several people including a sitting federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, the media jumped to conclusions about Loughner's motivations and inspirations.

Not every teenage boy backs the video game industry when it comes to banning the sale of violent video games to children in California. Take 16-year-old Daniel Willens, a junior at Sonoma Academy -- a preparatory school in Santa Rosa, California, for example.

The teenager penned an editorial in the Press Democrat called "PRO: Minors shouldn't be allowed to buy violent games." Daniel sounds like many of the other supporters of the 2005 law written by California State Senator (D-San Francisco). Daniel opens with the following statement:

Orange County. California sheriffs say that a 36-year-old-woman pretending to be a 23-year-old woman, seduced a 13-year old boy over Xbox Live. The woman subsequently took a trip from California to Maryland, where police allege that she had sex with the teenager. The online relationship began on Xbox Live in September and quickly escalated over the Thanksgiving holiday. The woman apparently met the boy in Maryland and had sex with him while his parents were sleeping.

The boy's parents became suspicious after finding romantic text messages on his phone. The woman also allegedly sent the boy x-rated pictures and movies of herself online.

The woman, Rachel Ann Hicks, is held without bail on charges of rape and child molestation. Hicks may face additional charges related to another young man she had inappropriate contact with, though police did not disclose details on that case. Hicks, the mother of three children, resides in Lake Forest.

Wired releases its list of 2010's most prominent Vaporware. Can you guess which game is right at the top of the list? Yeah, it is Duke Nukem Forever, though I imagine that by the time 2012 rolls around Gearbox Software will finally make that game a reality.

Other games, software, and gadgets on the 2010 list included Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, L.A. Noire, the Kno Tablet, Netflix on Android, Notion Ink Adam, Chrome OS Laptops, the fan-developed Half-Life remake Black Mesa, 64-Bit Flash Player, Half Life 2: Episode 3, and iPhone 4 in White. Honorable mentions included Flick Kick Football (PikPok), Shibuya (Nevercenter), Spirits (Spaces Of Play), Tentacles (Press Play), and Trainyard (Matt Rix).

According to security firm Lookout, a Trojan called "Gemini" has been found in multiple games purchased via "third-party Chinese app stores." Apps such as Monkey Jump 2, Sex Positions, President vs. Aliens, City Defense and Baseball Superstars 2010 are affected, though only if purchased from a "third-party Chinese App Store." The original versions of the games from the Google Android Market are clean, according to the security firm.

"Though the intent of this Trojan isn't entirely clear, the possibilities range from setting up a malicious mobile ad network to creating an Android botnet," the company said.

While infected apps have yet to show up in other regions, Lookout warns that anything is possible:

"..possible infected apps could be posted to app stores targeting US users in the future," Lookout CTO Kevin Mahaffey noted.

A monitoring program on Nationwide Insurance's network landed one of its Columbus, Ohio employees a hefty fine and jail time for selling copies of PC games. Qiang "Michael" Bi had apparently been selling PC games for five years. The software alerted Nationwide officials to a spreadsheet that Bi sent from his personal e-mail account to his Nationwide e-mail account. That spreadsheet contained some damning evidence against him including eBay accounts, credit-card numbers and false identities Bi used to run his illegal business.

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley sentenced Bi to a two and a half year sentence. Bi will not do time because he plead guilty and gave up copious amounts of personal property. Bi turned over $367,669 in cash from his business, and forfeited his house, a 2006 Lexus SUV, and computer and electronic equipment.

A man who robbed a GameStop in Weslaco, Texas at knifepoint is now behind bars after Action 4 News viewers spotted him and turned him in. The men fled the scene after the robbery but security cameras captured his image making it easier for police to eventually track him down - with the help of tips from the public. Police said that Treviño is accused of robbing the GameStop off Expressway 83 at around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Weslaco police arrested 22-year-old Rogelio Treviño III of Mercedes on an aggravated robbery charge on Wednesday morning. GameStop employees told police that Treviño walked into the store, picked out two games, and went to the counter. At this point, he threatened the clerk with a knife and demanded money.

Treviño appeared before a Weslaco municipal judge early Wednesday afternoon where he was held on a $250,000 bond.

Source: valleycentral.com

A crime spree involving San Antonio, Texas GameStops continues, according to police. In less than a week three GameStop stores have been robbed in the city. The latest robbery took place at the GameStop store on Bandera Road and Mainland on the city's northwest side 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Two suspects tied up the store's employees with duct tape and put them in the restroom. Police say the thieves escaped with an undetermined amount of cash.

On Tuesday morning, burglars broke into a GameStop in the 600 block of Northwest Loop 410. Thieves pried open the doors, then broke into several drawers, taking an unknown number of games. On Monday afternoon, police say a man walked into the Game Stop in the 6000 block of Northwest Loop 410 claiming he was armed with a gun and knife. He got away with several games.

Police who are investigating all three cases say that they do not believe the robberies are connected.

Pirate Bay financier Carl Lundstroem has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court asking that an earlier Appeals court ruling be struck down. Lundstroem is trying to avoid a four-month prison sentence and fines to be paid to the music and movie industry.

In November the Svea Court of Appeal reduced Lundstroem's prison sentence to four months but increased the amount of damages he had to pay to 46 million kronor.

"Carl Lundstroem demands the Supreme Court cancel the Appeal Court's ruling," his petition read.

In a recent interview with Swedish public radio Lundstroem's lawyer Per E. Samuelsson said that his defense team does "not accept the Appeal Court's ruling."

More art inspired by Wikileaks has made its way to the streets. Art that merges still images taken from a leaked video and HUD imagery from Halo 3 has been released as street art in Valencia, California. The unique art went up last week. The imagery is a combination of Halo 3 HUD elements and stills taken from a video leaked by Wikileaks in which U.S. soldiers shoot at civilians from a helicopter. The video shows two Reuter's reporters and unarmed civilians being murdered. The overlay, one would guess, is that the soldiers operating the helicopter were shooting at people as if it was a "video game."

This is the second piece of art from artist "Sandwich," whose first piece showed a picture of Wikileaks front man Julian Assange with the message "If you don't know, now you know."

See it full screen here.

An editorial penned by California State Senator and anti-game crusader Leeland Yee says that parents should be able to control what kids watch, but how parents come to that conclusion is the probably a sticky subject for many of our readers.

In the editorial Yee says that California has "been hard at work trying to protect children from the harmful effects of excessively violent video games. In the Legislature, we have attempted to give greater authority to parents in determining which video games are appropriate for their children."

He is of course speaking of the law they passed five years ago that was ultimately struck down by the courts shortly thereafter:

It is one thing to read a transcript of oral arguments in a court case, but to get the full effect, audio or video is the best way to figure out just how convincing each side’s arguments are. C-Span has audio of the oral arguments Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants available on its web site. The audio features the comments of lawyers for both sides, along with all of the chief justices hearing the case.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association on November 2, in which the state of California challenged a lower court ruling that the law was unconstitutional. Lawyers for the EMA argued that the lower courts made the right decision and explained why the law was flawed.

You can listen to the audio here.

In Live Oak, California (near Fresno) a 12-year-old was at home alone playing video games when two men broke into the house, tied him up with extension cords, and robbed the place. The 12 year-old boy was home alone because his parents were out Christmas shopping. It sounds like the film "Home Alone," but this true story was anything but fun or light-hearted. It was terrifying.

According to police and press accounts, the two men gained entry through an unlocked door at the rear of the home and began searching it for things to steal. The victim heard the suspects walking around the kitchen and investigated, surprising them. At this point they grabbed the boy, tied him up and tossed him into "one of the rooms" in the house. Police say that, after the suspects drove away in a red car, the boy managed to break free and go to a nearby neighbor’s house to call police.

The game that never quite materialized for beta testers (sign-ups have been open for 30-some-odd-months according to some accounts) or publisher Codemasters is now the subject of a lawsuit - as is its developer Netdevil. According to a lawsuit filed in the Northern District Court of California, Codemasters alleges that Netdevil and parent company Gazillion did not meet their obligations under a signed agreement to release the MMO Jumpgate Evolution on February 24,2009.

Codemasters further claims that it made advance payments to Netdevil in the amount of $l.l million USD (to date) and $299,629.67 in art assets costs. The company adds that Netdevil and Gazillion breached paragraph 4 (dxi) and (ii) of their agreement:

Citing their “potential harmful effects,” California State Senator, and anti-videogame law architect, Leland Yee is advising parents and anyone else buying gifts for kids this holiday season, to avoid purchasing violent videogames.

Yee urged purchasers to retain awareness of marketing and advertising that targets kids, check a game’s age ratings and content descriptors and to become familiar with the game. He warned that if any violent or sexual images appear on a game’s box, or in its title, “you can assume these themes are also in the game."

It was also suggested that shoppers avoid all first and third-person shooters entirely, as they “usually focus on gunning down hundreds of people,” and to avoid games “that reward the player with more points or new scenes for anti-social and violent behavior.”

Last week, California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) announced the formation of an exploratory committee as part of his bid to run for Mayor of San Francisco in 2011.

California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the chief architect behind the California game law now starring in the Supreme Court production of Schwarzenegger vs. EMA, is considering a run for Mayor of San Francisco.

In an email to supporters, Yee stated that he walked into city hall today and opened an exploratory committee for Mayor. Yee added, “As someone who grew up in San Francisco, attended public schools, raised a family, and has been serving this city for over 20 years, I am excited about starting this new discussion.”

Yee’s website is already adorned with “For Mayor” descriptors.

After saying that everything he is today, he owes to San Francisco, Yee offered an overview of his life so far:

Two new editorials appearing online today back California in that state’s Supreme Court fight over a law that would make it illegal for minors to purchase mature-rated violent games.

Writing for the Iowa-based Quad-City Times, columnist L. Brent Bozell argues that requiring a parent to buy such games for their offspring is “hardly shredding the Constitution.” He also infers that the videogame industry is hiding behind the First Amendment in order to stop politicians from “tampering with their sales to minors.”

For the game industry, Bozell writes, “there must be no hurdle for children to go around their parents and grab what Justice Samuel Alito called ‘the most violent, sadistic, graphic video game that can be developed.’”

Webcomic Virtual Shackles wryly illustrates how California's violent video games law might work when put into practice.

During Tuesday’s oral arguments, Justice Sotomayor pointed out what could easily be viewed as a rather large loophole in the law at the heart of Schwarzenegger v. EMA.

The law seeks to prevent children under 18 from purchasing games in which the player can “virtually inflict serious injury upon images of human beings.”  But what about characters that are almost, but not quite human beings?  Here’s the relevant exchange:

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: Would a video game that portrayed a Vulcan as opposed to a human being, being maimed and tortured, would that be covered by the act?

 

MR. MORAZZINI: No, it wouldn't, Your Honor, because the act is only directed towards the range of options that are able to be inflicted on a human being.

California State Senator Leland Yee is the architect of the law at the center of Schwarzenegger vs. EMA and attended Tuesday’s oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court.

Reacting to the proceedings, Yee’s office issued a statement indicating that the Senator was “pleased” with the discussion in the nation’s highest court, and was particularly taken with the comments of Justice Stephen Breyer, who, Yee said, “… clearly understands the intent and need for our legislation to limit the sale of excessively violent video games to children.”

Yee Continued:

In light of recent events this song seems strikingly appropriate again.

Please forgive our departure from the norm.

The Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles

During the run up to yesterday’s mid-term election, we profiled a few politicians that used web-based games or videogame-related images in order to either slam their opponent, or drum up interest in their own campaign. In some cases the games were even created by third parties not affiliated with either side in a race. Let’s check-in and see how these candidates did in yesterday’s elections.

For a man whose name makes up half the name of a case in front of the Supreme Court, lame duck California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been remarkably silent about Schwarzenegger vs. EMA, a case which saw oral arguments presented in front of SCOTUS yesterday.

A quick look at Arnie’s tweet stream for the last week shows the Governator urging his followers to vote, congratulating the San Francisco Giants for winning the World Series, disclosing how he voted on various state propositions and congratulating his replacement, newly elected former governor Jerry Brown.

Students at the California Western School of Law (CWSL) staged a simulation of the Schwarzenegger vs. EMA case last week and ultimately, issued a ruling in favor of the game industry.

CWSL Professor Glenn Smith, organizer of the event (pictured), discussed with GamePolitics the unique approach he and his students adapted for the simulation—each student assigned to play the role of a Supreme Court Justice conducted “substantial research” into a particular judge’s past case decisions, writings and speeches in order to more effectively immerse themselves into the role.

The Voices Blog on the Washington Post offers two videos that you'll want to see if you are from California or if you are at all interested in net neutrality.

In one video Republican candidate, Carly Fiorina confirms that she is against net neutrality, saying that her "background as an executive at AT&T and Lucent Alcatel before heading Hewlett Packard show that regulation of the telecom industry can be a disaster for business." She also said the FCC should not try to re-assert its authority to regulate broadband.

Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer is for net neutrality being handled by the FCC, or through congressional legislation. She co-signed legislation to create new rules for ISPs that would stop them from blocking web sites and prioritizing traffic unfairly.

The petitioner in the Schwarzenegger vs. EMA Supreme Court Case is the state of California, and as such, it receives the opportunity to furnish the Court with a reply brief, in which it can argue against statements presented in the brief of the respondent.

California has done just this, submitting its reply brief (PDF, thanks PHX Corp!) in which it begins by stating that the respondents are off base in their attacks:

Respondents and their amici paint an alarming picture of government censorship of both classic and contemporary art and literature, ignoring the level of extreme violence depicted in the narrow category of video games that is actually covered by the Act.

The Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) Video Game Voters Network (VGVN) has posted the first batch of user submitted photos showing controllers submitted to California State Senator Leland Yee.

The VGVN, for those who missed it, is urging the gaming populace to show its distaste for the Yee-authored law, which, under the guise of Schwarzenegger vs. EMA, will appear in front of the Supreme Court on November 2, by sending in controllers with the words “I Believe in the First Amendment” written on them.

George Rose, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Public Policy Officer penned a column for the Orange County Register in which he called the California law at the heart of Schwarzenegger vs. EMA “onerous,” and "unnecessary.”

Rose claimed that a SCOTUS approval of the law would “hijack” the First Amendment rights of young people “by unjustifiably creating a special exception to unprotected free speech not only for video games, but any other form of expression.”

He also worried that the law would put “innocent store clerks at serious legal and financial risk,” all for a law that is “already moot.”

Rose explained: