News

So, it looks like 24 fans might get something a little earlier than the anticipated Winter 2009 season, after all. Producers are working on a 2-hour movie that will bridge the last season and the next, possibly as a stop-gap so that people will be able to remember what Jack Bauer is all about.

The film is scheduled to air in the Fall, and the next season of the show is slated for January. What do you think? Is two years too long to wait for new 24? Will the show even be relevant anymore by the time it's back on the air? Is it worth it?

Hollywood Reporter.com: '24' prequel set

A Korean gentleman known merely as Jeong left LG back in 2005 with over a thousand top secret files on plasma display technology on a personal drive. A few months later he was handed a cush job at Chinese competitor Changhong in China. Well, for some stupid reason, he went back to Korea (maybe he forgot his favorite pair of socks) and was promptly arrested by Korean officials.

Changhong is now on track to release their new line of plasmas using the "borrowed" LG technology. Whoa. This is big time international corporate espionage type stuff. In my neighborhood you get killed over some strap like this. Could get really interesting.

engadget.com: Former LG employee leaks $1b in top secret plasma info to Chinese manufacturer

There's a recession on...or it's coming...depending on who you believe. Either way, lots of people are threatened by what will happen to their jobs and lifestyle as the sluggish economy continues its downturn. Well, apparently, among the people that need not worry are those in the videogaming industry, which many economic analysts consider to be a recession-proof industry.

Any why, might we ask, is that? It's because, even in times of financial crisis, people need a diversion, and games are a good way to get a lot from a comparatively minimum investment. It's like going to the movies...a cheap way to take your mind off of the lack of money in your pocket.

MSNBC.com: Is the video-game industry recession-proof?

Magazine and internet publishing powerhouse Ziff Davis, the people behind Electronic Gaming Monthly, 1up.com, PC Magazine, filefront.com and ZD TV (which later became Tech TV, which later merged with G4), have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a debt restructuring plan.

The restructuring agreement was made with an group of senior secured note holders who agreed to pay up to $24.5 million to fund the Ziff Davis’ operations during and after the Chapter 11 case.

If the restructuring is approved, the company’s $225 million senior-note debt would be reduced. The debt would then be exchanged for a new $50 million senior secured note and at least 88.8 percent of the common stock in the reorganized company. The company plans to reorganize as well.

CEO Jason Young said in a statement. "Today’s restructuring agreement goes a long way toward resolving the burdens of a debt load and capital structure established seven years ago, during a leveraged buyout of the company.”

We talked to X-Play host Adam Sessler about the impact on gaming, and Sess said, "EGM clearly hasn't been doing that well lately; the magazine has been positively emaciated lately.

I liked working there, but even 9 1/2 years ago when I was at Ziff Davis, it was clear that the company had strayed way outside of its comfort zone. I'm surprised it's been around this long. There's nothing wrong with the magazines, but they just couldn't make the move to new media."

Folio: BREAKING: Ziff Davis Files for Chapter 11

According to Famitsu, the long-anticipated Disgaea: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon is coming. That is literally all the information there is about the game, but it has finally been confirmed, and that's certainly something. We can only anticipate that there will be some more news in the near future, so Disagea fans, hang on tight.

Exophase: Disgaea: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon Confirmed

Remember how, the other day, we speculated that there might be a Doctor Who game coming soon? Well, it's been confirmed by Eidos, who says the game will be available on the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS, as well as the PC.

There's no word on any of the details of the game yet, but we can bet there will be Daleks. Because there are always, always, always Daleks on Doctor Who.

And, no, we don't know which Doctor will be represented in the game, although if Eidos is smart about it, there is a good chance that you'll be able to play as all of them, but that's purely speculative. In the meantime, seriously, just think Daleks.

Videogaming 24/7: Eidos Doctor Who game “not too far away” for PC, PS2 and DS

Steven Spielberg is creating a social networking site called Ghost Town, which will launch in the next couple of months. The site will feature people who are united by tales of paranormal activity in their lives, and was apparently once a Yahoo! project, but was killed off in mid-stream.

We can think of nothing that seems more like a penalty than having to spend a significant amount of time with lonely internet dwellers talking about ghosts and goblins while looking for a way to get their rocks off. You will have more of a chance of actually touching a ghost than you will of seeing a real, live woman on this site.

TechCrunch: Steven Spielberg’s Ghost Town

Paramount Studios is interested in getting into the videogame business, or so it would seem from comments that they've made recently. According to Paramount Digital's general manager of worldwide distribution, Alex Carloss, "Paramount is very, very excited about the growth in the interactive entertainment market. I’m sure you’re going to see an awful lot more from Paramount in this space."

Now, we're not sure what this could mean. Will Paramount rise up and get into the gaming game, the way that Warner Bros. has, or are they just giving some lip service? Only time will tell, but they could certainly be a major player in the space, considering the kind of money they are likely to bring to the table.

MCVUK.com: Paramount: We're excited about games

Scrabulous, which many users of Facebook have come to know as "what I do when I'm at work," has an uncertain fate as its developers battle with the makers of the board game Scrabble over copyright issues.

Both parties are contending that a peaceful resolution will be worked out and of course, it's all about the benjamins as to what will happen. TheFeed Official Legal Prediction™ is that Scrabulous will be bought by Hasbro, the name changed to Scrabble Online and everything will be just dandy. The question is, how many benjamins? The bros. Agarwalla who created the game are reportedly asking for somewhere over $10 million, but industry experts are saying it ain't worth that much.

Scrabulous has more than 700,000 daily players and nearly 3 million registered users.

nytimes.com: What Price Scrabulous?

The father of Dungeons and Dragons, and thus every RPG game ever made, Gary Gygax has died.

Details of the cause of death haven't been revealed as yet, but reportedly, Gygax has been in ill health for several years. Gygax is survived by his wife and six children.

We're putting on our wizard hats and robes and casting magic missile in his honor. RIP, Dungeon Master of the world.

Source

Gygax appeared on one of the most popular episodes of G4's Code Monkeys. You can watch the video below.

G4tv.com is proud to announce Open Source, where we get you in for a virtual sit-down with the man in charge himself, Neal Tiles, President of G4.

Neal is here to answer all of your questions, and to prove to you that he puts his pants on exactly the same way that you do, except that his are better pants, and that he could conceivably hire someone to put them on for him. Ok, bad example. Let's move on.
 
There are, however, rules for Open Source, so listen up. First and foremost, no flaming. If you're disgruntled, put it nicely, and you'll have a much better shot of having your question answered. So, get that laundry list of questions ready, and let the answering begin.

G4tv.com's Open Source

Following Radiohead's success/failure (depending on your statistical source) with In Rainbows, Trent Reznor has chosen to distribute the latest Nine Inch Nails album online, in varying forms for varying prices. The album appeared on the site for the first time on Sunday and has brought so much attention that excessive traffic crashed the site yesterday.

The album, Ghosts I-IV, features 36 instrumental tracks. For fans of NIN, there are five download options that await you:

• Free - Without paying a single cent, you can download the first 9 tracks of the album, DRM free.
• $5 - For one Abraham Lincoln piece of paper you get all 36 DRM-free tracks, as well as a 40-page PDF.
• $10 - For a ten-spot, you get everything in the $5 set, two audio CDs, and a booklet.
• $75 - For a more intense fan, the $75 package gets you everything from the $10 edition, on top of a data and Blu-Ray DVD, containing multi-track .wav versions of all the songs to allow for easy remixing on your computer.
• $300 - For the hardcore NIN fans out there is the $300 "Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package", containing everything in the other packages, as well as two numbered prints signed by Reznor and even a copy of the album on vinyl.

The release of Ghosts I-IV is clearly trying to build structure onto the foundation laid by Harvey Danger (with the release of Little by Little in 2005) and then, more publicly by Radiohead with In Rainbows last year. What do you think? What version of the album would you go for?

NIN.com: Ghosts I-IV

Today, Adam brings you the latest in gaming news, including a God of War III announcement, Paramount possibly getting into game publishing, and Metal Gear Solid 4.

Remember when Wikileaks was shut down for posting information about some shady bank practices in the Cayman Islands?

Well, they're back online and ready to serve up information, but some questions are being raised about freedom of speech on the web and what this all could mean moving forward.

The bank argued that the information that was posted contained information about account holders and private information that isn't "newsworthy", but Wikileaks contended, "that’s how you identify who’s been salting away money in accounts."

The judge eventually overruled the previous finding and even implied that once something is on the internet the courts are powerless to stop it.

Where do you stand on free speech on the internet? What if it was your bank account information (though you probably aren't doing anything illegal)?

New York Times: Wikileaks Ruling Leaves Big Questions Unanswered

Harmonix did new parents MTV proud with Rock Band, and, therefore, will be paid accordingly. The success of the rhythm monster has activated a bonus for the company of over $208 million dollars, and they're not done yet. Seems MTV will pay another bonus for the game's performance this same time next year.

What does that mean to you and I? Well, aside from the kudos you might be wanting to give your old friends at Harmonix, it means that they're going to remain supremely motivated to provide decent content for at least another year, because the more money they make, the more money they make, ya heard? So, get ready for more Rock Band awesomeness in '08!

Games Industry.biz: Rock Band earns Harmonix a $208.7 million bonus