I want to discuss something today that isn’t necessarily games related as such, but I think is a factor that as purchasers of games we should be aware of. Over here in the UK there’s a guy on TV called Derren Brown. You may know him in the States and across the world, I don’t know. He’s one of these modern day magicians; the sort that call themselves ‘illusionists’ because pulling rabbits out of hats is no longer cool.

This is an article for you younger gamers out there, but even you oldies can take note. I remember what it was like when I was a wee nipper (as we call it here in Britain). I’d read the odd magazine and drooled over what seemed amazing new releases for the Megadrive/Genesis and SNES. I would have loved to own them all but seeing as my only income was the pocket money given to me by my parents, purchases were few and far between and had to be very carefully selected.

With another E3 now behind us I find it difficult not to spend much of my time thinking about the future of the games industry. Does the future look any different now than it did pre E3? Not really, but if nothing else the Los Angeles event has certainly solidified a few truths. In the coming year the battle for gaming supremacy seems as if it’s going to be fought on a new front – the realm of innovation.

It’s unbelievable to think that only 10 years ago the internet was nothing more than a curiosity. I remember my first experience of the net in my first year of university in 1997. We were all handed printed A4 guides to introduce us to this new technological marvel by the IT department. I loaded up Netscape and found my way onto Yahoo. The first thing I searched for? Spiderman. Why, I couldn’t say? A few hours later I’d browsed a couple of Transformers fan sites and checked out some porn with my neighbour. It was a fun afternoon, for sure, but it was a few years before I realised just how useful, no actually – vital, that internet thingy was to become.

Games outsourcing specialist Babel has been appointed by Nintendo Europe as the main content provider for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE website.