Blog Posts from "Vital Signs"

Gamerbase: the UK's gaming saviour?

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:17:10 -0400

Earlier this week news broke regarding the closure of the Omega Sektor, onceÂ referred to as the "Wembley of Gaming". At the time there was unconfirmed rumors that a leading entertainment retailer in the UK would soon acquire GamerBase and expand upon their current structure.

Today, it was announced that HMV have indeed acquired GamerBase, a company which started in a HMV store at the Trocadero in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was originally opened as place for possible customers to try games and software before they buy them from the store below, however, it was also used as a venue for some of the UK's largest competitive tournaments. In 2008 alone, a year where it had to compete with the failed Omega Sektor, it has played host to competitions worth Â£300,000 ($600,000).

The announcement means that more GamerBase facilities will appear in other HMV stores around the country and provide more arenas for comeptitions to take place. Former CGS franchise manager Sujoy Roy and Dominic Mulroy will have a hand in the operation and have worked within esports for some time now.

Mulroy explains, "We're delighted and excited to bring Gamerbase into the HMV fold. Over the past year we've seen how it's helped to attract in new customers into the Trocadero store while also complementing its wider games offer". He adds: "Gamerbase is passionate about enabling gaming enthusiasts to enjoy a premium-quality experience, while also offering customers the facility to purchase the very games they are playing directly from the store. We believe this development provides an excellent platform for HMV to connect with customers they may not always have reached in the past."

Sources: SK-Gaming / Cadred

Church of England: Games are a force for good

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:50:52 -0400

For quite some time now people have been debating whether games are really bad for the youth of today, and the majority of these discussions tend to come to the same conclusion - yes, games are bad in some way or other.

However, was organized by Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and included representatives from the Church of England as well as experts from the industry. My initial reaction was, "Why are the Church of England involved in something like this?" but lets not worry too much about that.

It turned out that the majority of the people there where aware that games could well be beneficial for the development of children. Mike Royal, national director of the Lighthouse Group, a charity which works with children expelled from school spoke strongly about games showing children the difference between ethical and non-ethical practices.

The "Wembley of Gaming" to shut down; replacement in the pipeline?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:41:11 -0400

Less than two years ago it was announced that millions would be invested into the UK gaming scene with the refurbishment of previous Omega Sektor venues and the construction of a new gaming venue in Birmingham. You may remember that the newÂ venue was labeled as the "Wembley Stadium of Gaming" by some of the press, however, after little more than a year of being open to the public, it has been announced that it will have to be shut down due to huge debts.

According to an article at , the company which was in possesion of the centres in Harrow and Birmingham (Clearmist Consultants Limited) has ran up debts in excess of $500,000 which lead to the company going into administration and shutting its doors for good. Furthermore, due to the company being in business for less than 2 years, all the staff have been made redundent without any form of redundancy payment.

However, amongst all this bad news there is a glimmer of hope for the UK scene. According to Cadred, there are plans for Gamerbase to build a similar centre in Manchester. Gamerbase are owned entirely by HMV, one of the UK's largest dealers in entertainment, be it music, video games, dvds or even books!

Wulf Franke: "Warcraft 3 lacked future on a global scale."

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:19:22 -0400

After giving up on the blogging contest due to this "new gameriot" I decided to hit the blogging tool again and bring you news of an interview held with the Extreme Masters Project Manager, Wulfe Franke.

SK Gaming's Michal "Carmac" Blicharz managed to get hold of him and discuss the recent announcement made by ESL regarding Extreme Masters III. Of course you all know what I am referring too, the decision to use WoW (a bad competition game imo) instead of the traditional Warcraft III.

Franke is quoted as saying, "Warcraft 3 lacked future on a global scale." However, the majority of the global community (besides those who play WoW competitively) appear to disagree with this statement and feel that there is more to this decision that ESL are letting off. There are even suggestions that Blizzard played a part in the decision, wishing to introduce more casual gamers from WoW to esports before the release of Starcraft II, the most anticipated esport to date! Of course this is just speculation.

The full interview is available for viewing, here.

MGS 4: First 9 Minutes of Gameplay VIDEO!

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:43:03 -0400

Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4 is due for street release in three days, June 12th 2008. However, as with almost all games these days, there are those who managed to get their hands on a copy before that date!

Below, is a video of the first nine minutes of gameplay from Konami's latest game! If you do not wish to spoil the introduction if this long awaited game, do not watch this and wait until you get your copy!

SPOILERS ALERT!!

EVE Online's Council of Stellar Management to meet developers in Iceland

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:33:05 -0400

EVE Online is one of many MMORPG's available on the market today, but it is the only one to be boast a democratically elected group who act as the in-game government. The group of nine were elected by fellow EVE Online gamers back in March and will be on the Council of Stellar Management for a guaranteed period of six months.

However, having an in-game government elected by the community is one thing, but for all of them to travel to Iceland to meet the games developer's CCP, is another! That is exactly what they will be doing in the near future, providing their planes aren't blown up and they are podded whilst en route!

Those of you who play the game may be interested to know that a new expansion is planned for release during the summer, FREE OF CHARGE. Now why can't Blizzard do that?

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eve-csm.com via kotaku.com

Dawn of War II: Latest Screenshots!

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:58:25 -0400

Dawn of War was never a massive success as a competition game, nor where any of its expansions and rehashes! However, it worked from a commercial point-of-view, it made money for its developers and thus payed peoples wages.. now it has warranted a sequel!

Dawn of War II is intended to be similar (as you can imagine) to the original game, yet improved graphics and a multitude of new features will draw the crowd! Take a look at these latest screen shots of orcs being bashed by the ever friendly chaos marines!

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GameInfoWire.com via kotaku.com

Guitar Hero 3: Through the Fire and Flames FC'd!

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:04:32 -0400

All Guitar Hero games have extremely difficult songs available at the end of the game. For those of you who can remember back to the days of the World Series of Video Games and the Guitar Hero 2 competitions, you may remember seeing Jordan being performed by only the best.

Many suspected that Jordan wouldn't be FC'd (Full Charted) but it was! Now, the developers of the series, Harmonix/Neversoft, have released Guitar Hero 3 with the addition of Through the Fire and Flames from Dragonforce - arguably the hardest song ever to be seen on Guitar Hero!

Well congratulations must be dished out to iamchris4life for successfully hitting all 3722 notes of the song, whilst recording it on video! World first??

World's highest paid Warcraft III player donates to China's cause

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:37:39 -0400

MeetYourMakers' Jae Ho 'Moon' Jang is slated as the world's highest paid professional Warcraft III gamer in the world, although the exact figure is not known to the public. He has won many titles and is currently ranked #1 in the world by ZoneRank, albeit an organization plagued with rumors lately. He was even elected to carry the Olympic torch during its journey to Beijing!

(He features in this video from 2:00 - 2:15)

Jang, a Korean national. has recently donated $4300 of his winnings to the help provide aid for the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan, China. On top of this, he participated in some exhibition games with fellow professional gamers, the proceedings of which were also donated.

Whilst $4300 is not going to rebuild China's damaged province, it does help! Furthermore, it helps esports as a hole as it shows an industry willing to help and support issues which do not directly effect nor involve them - good publicity is always welcomed in this field!

Whatever happened to FURY?

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:06:24 -0400

There was a time when this site was Fury's best friend and published every piece of information that there was to be had about the game. Hell, there was even a $1,000,000 competition wasn't there?

So what the hell happened to the game? I see it's still alive but do people still play it? Wasn't this supposed to be "THE" pvp game to play?

Pro CS'er, MYM|Kuben in video interview

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:20:51 -0400

One of the world's current best Counter-Strike players, Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski, has been interviewed by SK Gaming's Michal "Carmac" Blicharz. Gurczynski currently plays for Copenhagen-based, MeetYourMakers (MYM).

He discusses his childhood, when he used to be a field hockey champion and as well as his life as a professional gamer. The young Pol has secured a World Cyber Games gold, two Samsung Euro Championship silver medals, the Extreme Masters trophy and the Electronic Sports World Cup.

ASUS Reveal World's First HDMI-Ready Sound Card

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:26:38 -0400

The Computex exhibition has been ongoing since the 3rd July and will continue until the 7th in Taipei, Taiwan. The exhibition is held every year and plays host to some of the industries biggest hardware manufacturers and developers.

Today, ASUS revealed their "

US Arena Tournament causes a draw, playoff to come!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:10:45 -0400

After weeks of competition the first phase of the Blizzard Arena competition came to a close and the winners have been announced. The following eight teams have succeeded in qualifying for the world finals and not one of them utilizes a Paladin.

1. HERCULES (Rogue, Warrior, Druid)
2. True Terror (Warrior, Warlock, Druid)
3. sapped cows cant say moo (Rogue, Mage, Druid)
4. kata bestils anyweree (Warrior, Priest, Druid)

It is also worth noting that the 4th place has not yet been decided in the US due to a draw between two teams. A playoff match will take place to determine which team will secure the final slot.

Street Fighter IV Gameplay Video!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:44:22 -0400

Street Fighter IV is possibly one of the most anticipated fighting games for a while. To be honest, how often are beat 'em ups released?

Anyway, a new video has been released by Capcom which provides us with a first look at newcomers to the game; Abel, Rufus, Crimson Viper and El Fuerte. It also shows some of the favorites like M. Bison, Chun Li and Blanka! (Spelling?)

LINK TO VIDEO (Couldn't embed it!)

Gamers love in-game adverts? WHAT?!?!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:28:01 -0400

The past few years has seen in-game advertising grow and grow, apparently the market is worth a staggering $400,000,000. However, games hate in game adverts.. don't they?

According to a survey released by ad agency, Massive (owned by Microsoft), the fact that gamers don't like in-game adverts is nothing but a common misconception. Apparently the adverts which we see in-game add to the realism of a game, especially those set in a realistic environment. Furthermore, these adverts actually do there job!

Gamers who played 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K7 and saw the in-game Adidas adverts choose Adidas as the brand for them 70 percent more often than those who did not play the game. Surely, games don't make that much of an impact on someones decision?

Either way, in-game adverts look set to stay even though we despise them.. don't we?

Dignitas cheated out of iPower Games?

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:22:22 -0400

Dignitas is arguably one of the world's best Call of Duty 4 squads alongside the likes of MYM and Fnatic. However, when the team attended i33 and competed in the iPower Games UK Qualifier, they were cheated out of their place at the grand finals in Paris.

At the time of the competition the rules stated that to compete at the grand finals the squad must consist of five UK nationals, hence MYM were awarded the spot over Dignitas who only sported three nationals. However, since that qualifier the rules have been changed by the organizers to allow a team with only three nationals to compete at the grand finals.

Does this constitute being cheated out of the competition? I would say yes!

I spoke to all parties involved, except the organizers who failed to reply, and it seems that there is no agreement between the two teams. Each feels that they deserve the spot, whilst the organizers of the UK qualifier feel that everything was done correctly (at the time).

So where does this leave us? MYM have a chance to win some big money, Dignitas are left at home and the organizers of the iPower Games (Game Services) fail to talk about it. But just why where the rules changed after the qualifiers had begun?

Surely, rules which have such an impact on the final outcome of the tournament should be set in stone and not changed after one qualifier? Game Services have, in my eyes, failed this competition by changing the rules during its course.

Dignitas refuse to challenge the organization as they see it as a waste of time, but one of their players suggested to me that both Dignitas and MYM should be allowed to attend the grand finals.

With such things happening, it is no wonder that eSports is never taken seriously. Those who are considered "big names" in the industry are causing it to look immature and unstable.

GG Game Services.

mTw recieve Dreamhack life line

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:51:46 -0400

Denmark's most prominent Counter-Strike team, mortal teamwork (mTw), failed to qualify for the World Gamemaster Tournament which is being held at Dreamhack in Jonkoping, Sweden.

The majority of the community were surprised when newly formed Danish team, Team Mates, brushed aside the might KODE5 Grand Final winners! Non-the-less, people backed the team and applauded their talent.

However, there's always those who flame the opposing team because they defeated everyone's favorite. It is those people who can be quiet now as mTw have been handed a life line by the organizers of the tournament and received a direct invite to the playoff stages of the competition.

Six teams received invites: Fnatic, SK, MYM, MiBR, Alternate aTTaX and mTw.

The six teams were all ranked within the worlds top ten recently, albeit by an organization which is rumored to be failing and short on cash! So, just how much are these rankings worth?