Reuters recently reported on a British Board of Film Classification survey conducted to study the effects violent games have on players. The BBFC concluded that “Gamers seem not to lose awareness that they are playing a game and do not mistake the game for real life.” Unfortunately that statement doesn’t support the American political machine’s fight against the games we love. Enter CNN to “fix” the problem.

Aware that most readers are interested in headlines, and don’t always have time to read the article, CNN pulled some choice lines out of context to reinforce their point of view. That’s some great non-biased reporting there CNN.

Now, I know it’s at least unusual for someone on a gaming site to praise Rush Limbaugh, but I have to. In the wake of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech University, every gamer knew that someone would play the ‘video game card.’ Sure enough, Jack Thompson was calling every news outlet to spout his lunacy that video games were behind it all. But games were defended by none other than Rush Limbaugh. In fact, he even said what a lot of us think, when he said, “Not every video gamer goes out and murders 33 people on the college campus though. There’s more to this than that… it may desensitize people, but it doesn’t turn everybody into mass murderers.” It’s high time that everyone got this message, especially lawmakers. You can check out more of the transcript here. It’s worth a read.

All this talk about video game addiction is just hogwash. Gamers are regular people and can quit whenever they want. Example: A pair of 1UP users have penciled some free time into their gaming schedule to get married. Sure they may have had custom Miis created in their own likeness to top the cake but that’s cool. I myself will be having a Star Wars themed wedding, just as soon as I find a woman that will wear the dress.

NVIDIA has released new Win32 drivers for their GeForce 8800 cards. Those of you that take your gaming seriously, and have the money to prove it, would do well to download the latest update. Full patch notes of fixes and the like here. I would give you a more hands on story, and check the fixes for you, but unfortunately the 8800 NVIDIA meant to send me must have gotten lost in the mail. NVIDIA…hint….please?

Not getting the frame rates you had hoped for from that pricey GeForce 8800? It’s not Vista, and it’s not your game…it’s your card. TechArp has uncovered the truth that a bug in the manufacturing process is really to blame. What does this mean to all the gamers that shelled out the big bucks on what was supposed to be an awesome card? Click the link and find out.

Game addiction got you down? Just DOn’t knoW wheN to say when? ReLax, it’s Ok, AnD help may be on the way. Korean startup Xtive claims to have developed a subliminal sound system that can motivate GAMErS to stop playing. Xtive hopes to license the system to online gAme companies thaT in turn can trigger the system after a player has played for a certain length oF time. Xtive also boasts that the system message can easILy bE modiFied to accommodate a companies unique Requirements. Yea, no ONe would think abuse a subliminal messaging sysTem.

The political song and dance over the past few months has played out like a broken record. Legislators continually try to inhibit retailer’s abilities to sell certain types of games, and their bills are overturned every time. The new bill from NY Rep. Brian Kolb comes with a twist. His version of the soon to fail legislation would give the state the right to confiscate any unrated games. Additionally, it mandates that retailers make copies of games available to parents free of charge for review purposes before they are purchased. All I gotta say is someone lend me a kid, cause I’m about to get my free rental on!

Australian Veterinary Association President Kersti Seksel has gone on record blaming video games for the decline in Australian pet ownership. Seksel claims that people are spending too much time wrapped up in games, and not developing the “people skills” that comes from owning a pet. I have to admit there have been times that I felt I was neglecting my cat by spending too much time online. A 10 minute play session and a few bloody fingers later and I usually stop worrying about it.

Scientists are using virtual reality video games to study links between depression and brain function. Researchers are noting that there is a relation between depression and the area of the brain associated with spatial memory. Depressed people typically performed poorly at the game. So really I’m not a noob. I’m just sad…oh so very…very sad…*sigh* =(

My opinions are no secret and I can’t say I’m above biting the hand that feeds me. You always need to be aware of a little thing called demographics however, i.e. the people you don’t abuse. Marvel Comics writer Mark Miller seemed to forget all about that when he told a recent interviewer that “[video] games are for pedos.” Mark just an FYI, the fantasy that makes comics so awesome, is the same kind of thing that makes games so awesome. You probably just called the majority of your readers pedophiles. No direct email, but Marvel would love to know what you think of Marks comments via their web feedback.