Weekly News & Notes (9/15)
A great update today, including the FTC Report, straight from the horse's mouth; plus other great stuff. (only 41 days until PS2)
Published: September 15, 2000
An amazing update for this week. An exclusive for PSX2.com, the Official FTC Report, so no more delays.
+ TOP STORY - Chairman Robert Pitofsky presented Federal Trade Commission testimony today before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the Commission's report titled "Marketing Violent Entertainment To Children: A Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording & Electronic Game Industries." The report, which was issued Monday by the FTC, was conducted in response to a request from President Clinton on June 1, 1999, as well as similar requests from members of Congress.
According to the testimony, although all three industries studied have self-regulatory systems that purport to rate or label their products to help parents make choices about their children's entertainment, the Commission found that members of all three industries routinely target advertising and marketing for violent entertainment products directly to children. The Commission believes that these advertising and marketing efforts undermine each industry's parental advisories and frustrate parents' attempts to protect their children from inappropriate material.
In response to the findings, the Commission believes that all three industries should take additional action to enhance their self-regulatory efforts. In addition, the Commission believes that continuous public oversight is also required and that Congress should continue to monitor the progress of self-regulation in this area.
The Commission approved the testimony by a vote of 5-0.
+ HEADLINES - Dealys, delays, and more delays. Sony has announced that its upcoming PS2 racer, F1 2001 has been pushed back in Europe. Originally, the game was to release upon the launch of the console in November. Now, it will pop onto store shelves in March of next year. The reason for the delay is to incorporate all of the most up-to-date statistics and to coincide with the beginning of the new F1 season. We always like consistency.
+ OTHER NEWS - Recently, a developer who's making an online game for PS2 told IGNPS2 that Sony's full-fledged online plans, which were tentatively listed as spring 2001, may happen sooner than that. Us of the big ears are 99% certain that Sony plans to deliver its online plans in late February or early March 2001. Sony's online plans also coincide with the hard disc drive (HDD) that is probably going to be sold as a bundle deal with an online subscription to Sony's upcoming online network. More on this as it comes in.
+ FINANCIAL NEWS -
Rank Title Publisher Release Date Platform Retail
Price
1 MADDEN NFL 2001 ELECTRONIC ARTS AUG'00 PS $41
2 CHRONO CROSS SQUARE EA AUG'00 PS $42
3 GRAN TURISMO 2 SONY COMPUTER ENT. DEC'99 PS $27
4 SPIDER-MAN ACTIVISION AUG'00 PS $42
5 TONY HAWKS PRO SKATER ACTIVISION SEP'99 PS $36
6 SPEC OPS TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE APR'00 PS $10
7 NFL GAMEDAY 2001 989 STUDIOS AUG'00 PS $41
8 DRIVER GT INTERACTIVE JUN'99 PS $23
9 WWF SMACKDOWN! THQ MAR'00 PS $40
10 CRASH TEAM RACING SONY COMPUTER ENT. OCT'99 PS $24
Have a great weekend and see ya next Friday!
+ TOP STORY - Chairman Robert Pitofsky presented Federal Trade Commission testimony today before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the Commission's report titled "Marketing Violent Entertainment To Children: A Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording & Electronic Game Industries." The report, which was issued Monday by the FTC, was conducted in response to a request from President Clinton on June 1, 1999, as well as similar requests from members of Congress.
According to the testimony, although all three industries studied have self-regulatory systems that purport to rate or label their products to help parents make choices about their children's entertainment, the Commission found that members of all three industries routinely target advertising and marketing for violent entertainment products directly to children. The Commission believes that these advertising and marketing efforts undermine each industry's parental advisories and frustrate parents' attempts to protect their children from inappropriate material.
In response to the findings, the Commission believes that all three industries should take additional action to enhance their self-regulatory efforts. In addition, the Commission believes that continuous public oversight is also required and that Congress should continue to monitor the progress of self-regulation in this area.
The Commission approved the testimony by a vote of 5-0.
+ HEADLINES - Dealys, delays, and more delays. Sony has announced that its upcoming PS2 racer, F1 2001 has been pushed back in Europe. Originally, the game was to release upon the launch of the console in November. Now, it will pop onto store shelves in March of next year. The reason for the delay is to incorporate all of the most up-to-date statistics and to coincide with the beginning of the new F1 season. We always like consistency.
+ OTHER NEWS - Recently, a developer who's making an online game for PS2 told IGNPS2 that Sony's full-fledged online plans, which were tentatively listed as spring 2001, may happen sooner than that. Us of the big ears are 99% certain that Sony plans to deliver its online plans in late February or early March 2001. Sony's online plans also coincide with the hard disc drive (HDD) that is probably going to be sold as a bundle deal with an online subscription to Sony's upcoming online network. More on this as it comes in.
+ FINANCIAL NEWS -
Rank Title Publisher Release Date Platform Retail
Price
1 MADDEN NFL 2001 ELECTRONIC ARTS AUG'00 PS $41
2 CHRONO CROSS SQUARE EA AUG'00 PS $42
3 GRAN TURISMO 2 SONY COMPUTER ENT. DEC'99 PS $27
4 SPIDER-MAN ACTIVISION AUG'00 PS $42
5 TONY HAWKS PRO SKATER ACTIVISION SEP'99 PS $36
6 SPEC OPS TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE APR'00 PS $10
7 NFL GAMEDAY 2001 989 STUDIOS AUG'00 PS $41
8 DRIVER GT INTERACTIVE JUN'99 PS $23
9 WWF SMACKDOWN! THQ MAR'00 PS $40
10 CRASH TEAM RACING SONY COMPUTER ENT. OCT'99 PS $24
Have a great weekend and see ya next Friday!