Just how much is a billion dollars? If you had a billion one dollar bills and counted each one, at the rate of a dollar per second, it would take you 30 years to complete the task! That's the kind of counting PC game makers face for selling, well, almost a billion dollars worth of games in 2006. According to the NPD Group, the exact figure is US$ 970 million - which may not be a billion but it's pretty darn close.

Leading the pack of  the hottest PC game last year is Blizzard's World of Warcraft which sold 969,000 units. In second place is The Sims 2 from EA which moved 598,000 units. However, the The Sims franchise dominated the list with five titles in the top 10.

Since we're in the realm of the big numbers, we might as well give you NPD's total PC video game hardware, software and accessories sales digits in 2006: US $13.5 billion.

And here's the rest of the top ten best-selling games of 2006 according to NPD:

1. World of Warcraft (VU Games)
2. The Sims 2 (EA)
3. The Sims 2: Open for Business (EA)
4. Star Wars: Empire at War (LucasArts)
5. The Sims 2: Pets (EA)
6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Take 2)
7. Age of Empires III (Microsoft)
8. The Sims 2 Family Fun (EA)
9. Civilisation IV (Take 2)
10. The Sims 2 Nightlife (EA)

 

ELSPA unveiled their anti-piracy plans for 2007 and they're taking off the kid gloves and taking on online and digital thieves. According to ELSPA Director">Paul Jackson, ELSPA director general, the organization is not only ready to tackle both political and public opinion battles but is "perfectly prepared to deal with the new forms of theft that are coming forward."

This year ELSPA aims to forge a closer tie with the UK Government in five major areas:

• Promoting education for new industry entrants
• Highlighting the economic importance of the UK games industry
  
• Taking a stronger stance on piracy.
• Promoting the public's understanding of the educational and social benefits of gaming
• Demonstrating the importance of games as a part of digital and creative culture

But it is the organization's anti-piracy unit that gets the most "weapons upgrade" this year. ELSPA is funneling more resources for combating online and digital theft and plans to lobby for stronger laws. In addition, ELSPA is seeking additional powers for Trading Standards, the police and Customs on the issue.

"Our aim is to a lot more in-depth investigative anti-piracy work, as opposed to the anti-piracy work... in the past. And that needs a different type of anti-piracy unit, which is what we've been constructing," said Jackson.

According to Transgaming Technologies, more than US$ 3 billion are lost worldwide to video game piracy every year.

From NPD's report "Kids & Digital Content" comes these very interesting information: even two-year old toddlers are now into videogames. The study looks closely at how kids between two and fourteen years of age acquire and use digital content for their computers, portable digital music and/or video players, cell phones, and video game systems.

NPD reported downloading and playing games is the most popular activity followed by watching downloaded movies, television, music videos or online streaming video content. The study says kids play games at an average of 44 minutes in one sitting.

By the time kids are 7 years old, more than one in 10 are downloading content in some form. In the 10-year-old age bracket, 22% of all kids included in the online survey are downloading. Half of all 14 year-olds included in the study were into downloading digital content.

How many kids with access to the Internet are actually surfing the net? The figure is a big 75%. Almost half of them are online and surfing the Internet without any assistance. Only 25% are surfing the Internet with their parents or someone else. The top sites visited by kids include Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network. MySpace and Yahoo! are also fave surfstops.

"Without a doubt, kids are digital content natives, seamlessly navigating between traditional and digital sources of media without missing a step," said The NPD Group. "To kids, there is nothing new or novel about digital sources of entertainment. The real challenge for marketers is to be one step ahead of their competition, providing the content and technology kids crave."

Maniac from KlmSoftware has developed a homebrew app for the PC to make life easier for PSP homebrew app lovers. It's called the PSP Homebrew Installer and he just released its latest version. The title kinda explains what this thing does so we'll get straight to the app's changelog.

  PSP Homebrew Installer v0.2.6:

• Fixed some bugs that affects slower computers
• Removed appname.bin
• Added XML configuration (instead of appname.bin)
• Added the author’s website and name (see instructions)
• Improved code structure
• Faster loading speed
• More checks to ensure no file is corrupted

To install, download the app to your PC and hit the install button.

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Update: We had made the necessary changes in the article and we are sorry for any inconvenience this snafu has brought you.

Download: [PSP Homebrew Installer v0.2.6]

PSP homebrew dev Cpasjuste, who also gave us 2.71 SE-B VSH Overclocking module, has released a port of PSP-FTPD originally created by PSPKrazy, picked up by Zx-81 which he modded to work as module under the 3.03 VSH. It's called VSH FTPD Module 1 for DA 3.03 FW. It's an FTP server that will run under the VSH when launched with the updater icon from the PSP menu.

How to install and use:

• Copy the content of the MS_ROOT folder at the root of the memory stick
• Launch Vsh_Ftpd_Flasher under the game menu of the PSP
• Press Circle to replace the current update_plugin.prx module with the FTPD one
• Select the Updater icon under the PSP menu (VSH) to launch the ftpd server
• Connect to your PSP with your favorite FTP client as anonymous on port 21 (For now there are no info printed on the screen, so you have to either set a static IP or know/find your dynamic IP yourself)
• If you send homebrews via FTP, you should enter in the game saves menu, for example, then comeback under the game menu to update the list
  

Cpajuste says it's got a few bugs such as when the module is launched, it is impossible to enter the video menu from the VSH. The module is flashed to flash0:/vsh/nodule/update_plugin.prx, replacing the current one. By selecting the update icon under the PSP menu, the FTPD server will be launched in anonymous mode. Browsing PSP menu and launching homebrew while the FTPD is running should not cause problems. He also says the source code will be released soon.

Please refer to the readme file before you use this application. Or in the words of Cpajuste: THE MODULE WILL BE FLASHED TO YOUR PSP. WHILE THIS HAS BEEN TESTED AND SHOULD BE SAFE, THIS IS CAN BRICK YOUR PSP. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Download: [VSH FTPD Module 1 for DA 3.03 FW]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

SuperCard DS-ONE OS v1229 is now available for download. SuperCard is the first extra flash memory game cartridge with simple but practical functions. SuperCard DS-ONE OS v1229 has the following main features:

• Added Built-in SuperKey function which works as a SuperKey to boot slot 2 SuperCard
• Added "AUTO set SD speed" function which can set optimization speed automatically
  

The SuperCard software and firmware is compatible only with the original SuperCard. The company says using the software with other brands may cause some problems. They will not respond to issues related to such misuse so don't even think about it! So now, enjoy the download.

Download: [SuperCard DS-ONE OS v1229]

A chair is still a chair even when there's no-one sitting there. But the GP-100 race chair, seen at CES 2007, is no ordinary place for sitting. "The all new GP-100 motion gaming chair is not an evolution, it's a complete revolution that will change the future of gaming," says the official website.

Manufactured by D-BOX, a company known for its high-end motion sensing home theater seats, the GP-100 racing is a PC game accessory. The GP-100 provides the "first true" racing simulator with motion designed for home use. It uses D-BOX actuators for a full three-axis motion, turning right and left, braking and accelerating through the gears. It even mimics movements caused by bumps and craters of the road. You can see how its shakes and rattles in the Popular Mechanics video above.

The company will also release updates that will allow other game genres to be experienced through chair such as first person game modules for shooting, combat, fantasy, sports, flight sims, and more. D-BOX also have plans to make the chair compatible with video game consoles sometime in the future.

In case you're thinking this rockin' chair may be a bit on the pricey side, well, you're absolutely right. It costs about US$ 15,000. Games not included.

We may have mentioned Nyko's Charge Base PS3 in passing, but now we got the features and the pic of the 4-port charging dock for SIXAXIS Controllers from the peripheral expert.

The Charge Base PS3 rapidly juices up four SIXAXIS controllers at once. The sleek, compact Charge Base PS3 plugs into any standard wall outlet, and won't stick out like a gamer's sore thumb in any home entertainment setup. When plugged in, the Charge Base charges SIXAXIS controllers simultaneously through the Mini USB ports. It also makes a handy storage place for the controllers and takes away any excuse for just throwing them wherever after a vigorous game.

Charge Base PS3 features:

• Rapidly charges 3 SIXAXIS controllers simultaneously
• Store and charges all controllers in one place
• Conveniently place in any home entertainment center
• Powered by a standard wall plug, no USB port required
• Compact design
• Keeps controllers fully charged and ready for use

Blizzard announced it is delaying its 2.0.5 client-side patch until an alternate means of distributing it is available. Earlier patch v2.0.5 had a bug responsible for the sudden disconnection of players from the game and preventing  them from logging in. This was fixed shortly after its release.

The updates have been concluded and players with 2.0.4 and 2.0.5 game versions should be able to log in. Players who have updated to v2.0.5 need not take any further action. Blizzard plans to get everyone else updated to 2.0.5 by January 15.

Finally, the WoW developer wants to thank all players for their patience and apologizes for any inconvenience this incident may have caused.

The Hollywood's worst nightmare is back! For quite some time, the movie industry thought the arrival of HD-DVD, Microsoft's bet in the next-gen video format wars, meant the end of the plague of piracy.

Then muslix64 came along claiming victory over the system's supposedly unbreakable security. Was it real or just a hoax meant to increase the incidence of stroke among movie studio execs?

Now the reports are coming in from people who took the app for a test drive. muslix64 has indeed succeeded in tearing down HD-DVD's security walls! In addition to the confirmation and gratitude for his efforts, muslix64b also received advice to protect his identity against possible legal actions the movie and content industries may take.

For details of the decryption codes' confirmation, please click the "Read" link below.