A 6-year-old boy from Virginia somehow managed to get the keys to his family’s car and take a drive to his school on Monday (and put his experience of driving in video games to the test).
The boy, whose name has yet to be released, missed his bus but was still intent on arriving to school somehow. With knowledge of driving from Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam in mind, the boy drove a 2005 Ford Taurus about six miles towards his school and completed a few 90-degree turns before crashing.
Miraculously, the boy suffered just minor injuries. The poor kid, who seemed almost hellbent on completing his mission, began walking to school after he exited the car. County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins said, “When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE.” After crashing, the boy told police that his “driving experience” came from playtime of Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam video games. Isn’t it a bit strange that the boy’s parents allowed their 6-year-old to play an M-rated game?
Although he missed breakfast and perhaps PE as well, the boy was able to return to school after he was checked at a local hospital for injuries.
The story isn’t so bright for the boy’s parents. His mother and father were charged with child endangerment. The mother was asleep when the boy grabbed the keys and drove off on his adventure. As of now, the boy and his 4-year-old brother have been placed in protective custody.
01. [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCE) – 207,000 / NEW
02. [PSP] Dissidia Final Fantasy (Square Enix) – 176,000 / 665,000
03. [WII] Animal Crossing: City Folk (Nintendo) – 144,000 / 876,000
04. [NDS] Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo) – 141,000 / 920,000
05. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode (Nintendo) – 105,000 / 547,000
06. [NDS] Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo) – 84,500 / 1,445,000
07. [NDS] Phantasy Star Zero (Sega) – 84,000 / NEW
08. [NDS] Pokemon Platinum (Pokemon) – 79,000 / 2,231,000
09. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) – 71,000 / 3,051,000
10. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 70,000 / 2,066,000
DSi – 188,697
Wii – 134,958
PSP – 118,765
DS – 56,453
PlayStation 3 – 45,989
Xbox 360 – 13,011
PlayStation 2 – 10,404
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan 06, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Fans of casual, family-friendly games are about to see their circle of fun widen with a slate of new Hasbro-branded digital play experiences on a variety of platforms from Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS) in 2009. Leading the charge is SCRABBLE, which rocketed to the No. 1 position on Pogo.com(TM) with more than 2.5 million players laying down virtual tiles since its June 2008 launch. The best-selling crossword puzzle board game is on deck to land on handheld platforms including the Nintendo DS(TM) and Sony PlayStation(R)Portable system (PSP(R)) in March 2009 in the US and Canada. EA is also gearing up to inject nostalgic fun into the Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade by bringing perennial board game favorites to the popular platform. Under a Hasbro Family Game Night banner, games such as SCRABBLE (US and Canada only), BOGGLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and SORRY!Sliders will begin to roll out in Spring 2009. EA will showcase the highly anticipated lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 8-11, 2009 in Las Vegas.
“We believe our Hasbro Family Game Night channel on Xbox LIVE Arcade will be one of the most dynamic and fun collections available on the platform,” said Chip Lange, General Manager of EA Hasbro. “We’ve been given the unique opportunity to create an exclusive EA Hasbro branded destination within the Xbox LIVE Arcade so players can easily find and play our lineup of family-friendly digital board games. Just as families have game closets in their home, they will also be able to stock a digital game closet serving up hours of interactive play for kids and adults alike.”
Two men were arrested on Thursday on $50,000 cash bail after being connected to a case in which a man was beaten with baseball bats, threatened with swords, and stolen of video game property.
17-year-old Thomas Joy has been charged with three counts of felony stemming from the robbery. Michael Bullis, 18, faces a felony for burglary. More charges are expected to be on the way.
Joy allegedly hit the victim with a baseball bat that resulted in noticeable cuts to his mouth. He additionally kicked the man in both the face and torso numerous times “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Though that’s certainly a disgusting act in itself, the victim’s children were also involved. The man had grabbed his 8-year-old son and begged Joy and Bullis to spare him in front of his children and allow him to live.
It is now being reported that Joy and Bullis used a samurai sword and a Gurkha sword in the crime. Originally, police believed that knives were the real weapons involved.
Joy did not resist arrest but his partner in crime, Bullis, was chased by police for ten minutes before the police arrested him. Joy blamed the whole incident on being drunk. “I do crazy things when I’m drunk,” he said.
He really must have been drunk, and perhaps his buddy too. The pair only made off with a drum kit for a video game. It’s a bit surprising they didn’t attempt to take a few more video game products while they were at it.
Players Will Be Hooked On First Global Fishing Game For WiiTM
REDWOOD CITY, CA – January 6, 2009 – Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for HUDSON SOFT, announced today FISHING MASTER WORLD TOUR is now available at retail for an SRP of $29.99. A sequel to the popular FISHING MASTER, FISHING MASTER WORLD TOUR is published by Hudson Entertainment for North and South America.
Staying true to the first version’s realistic controls, aspiring Fishing Masters use the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ as they battle to hook the fish on their line, just like in real life. Players must move the Wii Remote left and right as the fish fights from the end of the line and adjust their drag so their line doesn’t break. Once gamers have the basics down, they can try their newfound skills by competing with friends via new enhancements made just for the sequel – four-person multiplayer modes! In Wi-Fi mode, players compete online against other Fishing Masters over who will catch the biggest fish in various worldwide locations. Gamers will also enjoy local multiplayer battle which enables them to play against their friends and family members in a variety of different battle modes.
One notable aspect about the Wii is the system’s unquestionable popularity in nursing homes. Every other week there seems to be news about old people playing their hearts out to Wii Sports Bowling. However, it’s not every day that women steal a Wii from a nursing home (or at least try to).
This past Sunday, two women from Ottawa Ohio attempted to steal a Wii from the Putnam Acres Care Center. Both women had expressed apparent interest in working at the nursing home. The two also desired taking job applications.
Before the women left, they also managed to nick Putname Acres Care Center of their Wii. Somehow, the system was hid in the purse of one of the women involved. The Wii was received upon a donation and had been a staple of the nursing home for more than a year.
Fortunately, witnesses identified the two women. No criminal charges have been filed – yet. Investigators have been meeting with prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed.
– 4 members work for Semnat Studios
– Semnat Studios located in Colorado
– Eduardo the Samurai Toaster a run-and-gun game
– 1-4 players cooperating/shooting enemies
– Scoring system left out because developers felt it was unnecessary
– All players are toasters
– Game originally was to be a platformer
– No use of Wii’s unique controls – Devs didn’t want to include unnecessary motion controls (D-pad, three buttons for shooting, jumping, throwing/grabbing)
– Supports the Classic Controller
– Never planned for retail release
– Most of art drawn and scanned in
– Game almost finished – Hope to get the game out in the first quarter of 2009
– No price point yet, but want “to get it pretty low” – Nintendo can adjust price as they see fit
– Next move for Semnat Studios based on sales of Eduardo
“Nintendo is intending to start the free-of-charge service in Japan in Spring 2009. We are considering expanding the service outside of Japan however we have no confirmed plans at present.” – Nintendo of Europe representative
Nintendo has expressed interest in bringing the channel overseas at some point and seems interested in fully promoting the content that will become available. There’s no reason to panic just yet for those living in Europe – Nintendo probably won’t let this channel slip by.
