Activision Value has entered into a distribution agreement with Big Fish Games under which Activision will be the exclusive distributor of three titles for the PC.

Just when you thought you heard it all, a Canton, Ohio news outlet ran an article on a surprising trend of high pregnancies amongst teenage girls at a local high school, and partly put the blame on video games. "Whose fault is it that more than 13 percent of Timken’s girls are with child? Some would say fault-finding isn’t a fruitful exercise, but in this case, it’s critical. Suspects range from movies, TV and video games to lazy parents and lax discipline."

Vivendi Games' revenues of EUR 296 million were 24.4% higher than the prior year, primarily driven by the continued worldwide success of Blizzard's MMORPG World of Warcraft. Other solid performers in the first half of 2006 included the release of Ice Age 2, the game based on Fox movie, and continuing strong sales from backlist products including 50 Cent: Bulletproof and Crash Tag Team Racing.

THQ today announced the formation of its new California based development team, Incinerator Games, comprised of veterans of the Twisted Metal, NFL GameDay and MLB 2006: The Show projects from Sony's 989 studios, as well as the Midnight Club franchise from Rockstar.

The Interactive Software Federation of Europe held a panel discussion involving consumers, publishers and developers of video games throughout the European Union. Participants including parents’ representatives heard a panel of independent experts, including psychologists and media specialists, express their views about the impact of videogames on players, especially the younger ones.

Reuters reported that a federal judge has agreed to an appeal made by video game industry groups, thereby prohibiting Louisiana from implementing its new law, which prevents sales of violent games to children under the age of 18. The legislation, which fined violators up to $2,000 and/or one year in prison, was signed into law last week by Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Gen Con today announced that it will feature the ultimate in video game entertainment, Video Games Live, where fans experience an immersive concert featuring music from the biggest video games of all time performed by some of the nation’s most respected orchestras and choirs, in this case the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco has signed bill HB1381, drafted with help from anti-video game activist Jack Thompson, into law, prohibiting the sale or rental of games with violent content to minor by retailers. Not skipping a beat the ESA filed suit in the Federal District Court of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to overturn the state's new video game law.

Vivendi Games today announced its product lineup for E3 2006. Among the company's anticipated titles to be shown during E3 is Blizzard's MMORPG WoW: The Burning Crusade. Other featured titles include Scarface: The World is Yours, Eragon, F.E.A.R. 360, and more.

Democratic Texas senator Juan Hinojosa will propose a bill at a Senate Finance Committee meeting to impose a 5% tax on video games, according to The Brownsville Herald. The senator does not single out just violent video games, instead asking for it across the board to raise funds for education. "You have all these kids buying video games, and sometimes they are good, some are bad and that's not my call," Hinojosa is quoted as saying in the Herald article. "But I think that we can generate (money) to put toward the schools they go to."

Earlier today we attended Vivendi's pre-E3 event and one of the title on display was ... Saber Interactive's FPS TimeShift. Details about the sudden publisher change were not disclosed but it may very well have something to do with Atari's poor financial situation and the confirmation that closing studios and selling off assets were a possibility. Originally scheduled for release in May a VUGames representative did not want to speculate on its release date apart from "when we feel its ready." The Xbox edition was not mentioned at all so it may very well be cancelled.

Consumer Electronics Association is reporting that roughly one-third of adult gamers spend 10 hours or more per week playing console or PC games compared to just 11 percent of teens, according to results from its online study surveying adults, and teens between the ages of 12-14.

THQ today announced that it has acquired Austin, Texas based developer Vigil Games, which will be led by for former NCSoft project creator/director David Adams, and Marvel Comic's Uncanny X-Men artist Joe Madureira. Vigil is currently working on new content for next-gen scheduled for release in 2008.

According to CNET, Democrats Joseph Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, and Dick Durbin persuaded a Senate committee to approve a sweeping study of the "impact of electronic media use" to be organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The bill, called CAMRA, would provide funding to investigate the cognitive, physical and socio-behavioral impact of electronic media on child and adolescent development.

Giant Bite is founded by game industry veterans Hamilton Chu, Michael Evans, Andy Glaister, and Steve Theodore. The principals have helped to create some of the best-known games in the world, including Halo, Halo 2, Half-Life and Counterstrike, as well as making key contributions to Microsoft's DirectX technologies.

Bigfoot Networks will bring to market the world’s first Gaming Network Accelerator card, which will allow online gamers to play their favorite games with less lag. Lag is the number one problem in online video games today, and Bigfoot Networks is the only company in the world whose sole mission is to fight lag.

Capcom today announced that it is bringing animated series based on its Street Fighter and Darkstalkers videogames to UMD. Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie, 29 episodes of the Street Fighter II V animated series, Night Warriors Darkstalkers Revenge Alpha and Night Warriors Darkstalkers Revenge Omega.

Games Media Properties announced the first-ever World Series of Video Games, set to kick off in June 2006 in Louisville, Kentucky with four subsequent circuit events taking place throughout the year and culminating in a final event in December 2006. Grand prize is $1 Million in cash prizing, and the event will combine PC and Xbox games under standardized rules and procedures across a circuit of multiple tournaments.

Blitz Games today announced the signing of its first title for Nintendo's next generation Revolution console. Details of the game itself will be announced shortly by a major publisher.

A Canadian research team performed a study of 100 university undergraduates in Toronto and concluded that video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing peers in a series of tricky mental tests. If they also happened to be bilingual, they were unbeatable. The researchers are also finding evidence that the high-speed, multitasking of the young and wireless can help protect their brains from aging.

Indiana Democratic State Senator Vi Simpson and Republican State Senator Dennis Kruse introduced SB 135, a bill that would fine retailers who rent or sell violent and/or sexually explicit games to minors. It also would have required a sticker with an 18 age requirement to be put on violent games. Unfortunately for the senators they couldnt muster enough of their colleagues to even give it an initial vote within the deadline, which ended today, and is now consdiered dead (thanks Gamepolitics).

After last year’s formation of development studios in Singapore and Belgium, 10Tacle Studios starts off the year 2006 with a majority shareholding in Blimey! Games in London. The team of 45 people led by CEO Ian Bell is specialised in the development of ultra-realistic racing games, such as GTR, and GTR Legends.

Eventhough holidays sales disappoint, VU Games' revenues of EUR 641 million were up 34.9% compared to 2004, driven by its subscription-based MMORPG World of Warcraft as well as the fourth quarter release 50 Cent: Bulletproof, the gritty urban action game starring hip-hop artist 50 Cent. Other top sellers during 2005 included Robots, Hulk II, F.E.A.R., Crash Tag Team Racing and strong sales in North America from the distribution of Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and FlatOut.

A survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates reveals 35% of American parents play computer and video games, out of which 80% claim that they play video games with their children, and two-thirds (66%) feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is proud to present Video Games Live, an immersive concert featuring music from the biggest video games of all time, as its closing night performance.