California lawmakers have approved a bill that would ban the sale of violent games to minors, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not said if he will approve the bill.

Lawmakers across the country have continued to target video games for violence and adult content, but there are better uses of their time. Even if any of these bans on games pass, major law enforcement organizations across the country have said that they are unlikely to enforce any such ban.

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While the average age of a gamer is now 29, most parents still do not play games or do not play the same games as their children, but that does not excuse them from understanding what their children are playing. Any parent that reads the box of a Grand Theft Auto title (or any game) has a fairly good idea of games content – not to mention the ESRB rating on the majority of games. Parents also have access to websites with reviews and in-store personnel.

If parents/guardians are the predominate purchasers of Mature and Adult Only games played by minors and parents do not take the time to understand the content, these proposed bans will have no real effect in market. Law enforcement, gamers, major retail chains and the video game industry all understand this. Politicians may understand this too, but the topic keeps them on the news.

It is time for a major political figure to take a real unbiased look at video games and stand up to these scare tactics by a select few of “media hounds”. Politicians continually claim they are looking for topic to connect with youth and bring them out to vote. They may have found it.

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Other interesting stories on gaming:

• Understanding and Innovation Needed for Location Based Games
• Games Creating the World Versus New “Advancements”?
• Is mobile 3D finally on the move for gaming?
• Blister Entertainment and Boost Mobile Offer the First Location Based Games in the U.S.
• Eat Your Fruits And Vegetables - And Play Video Games

News Corp, owned by media giant Rupert Murdoch, acquired IGN Entertainment for approximately $650 million in cash. This will bring the three of the larger gaming sites and IGN’s 320 employees under the News Corp umbrella. Three of the larger game related sites included in the acquisition include:

• IGN.com: PC games, console games, mobile console games and wireless games, with subsites focused focused on film, music and sports
• Gamespy: PC content and provider of matchmaking and networking middleware for games
• FilePlanet: Game demos, mods and pathches

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The acquisition by News Corp offers new possibilities to revamping IGN. News Corp bring deep pockets to the table along with large a media empire which includes DirectTv, Fox television, significant film companies and a large number of other online entities. Let’s not forget about News Corp’s recent $580 million purchase of Intermix Media (MySpace.com) and an earlier purchase of Scout Media. These outlets offer tremendous cross promotional opportunities, access to new audiences and an ability to consolidate overhead.

It is also quite possible that G4TV will see a new competitor on the airwaves within the next 6 to 24 months.

Gray Research, based in Huntsville, Alabama, has signed a contract worth approximately $72 million for work with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal.

Under this contract, Gray Research will support the operation and management of the Missile Defense Data Center (MDDC) in Huntsville for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to develop and field an integrated Ballistic Missile Defense System.