I don’t agree with the message. It makes it look like videogames are to blame for fatter kids and we all know that’s not true.

The idea that your strenght and fitness is transferred into the game itself is one I really hope to see in the future. It’ll pack up a lot of gyms.Or massively drop the sales of FPS games.

First pictures just got in! As far as my eyes can tell from over here in Los Angeles, everyone is having a great time exploring ‘our world’ at the Beeld en Geluid GameXperience. VGVisionary representative Sebastiaan will be going back to also cover the next two days, so be sure to say hi to him if you get the chance! Click here to view the pictures on the VGVisionary Flickr

Just got back from seeing Iron Man and it was AWESOME.

It took them a while to figure it out, but the guys over at Marvel sure got it right this time! Having their own production studio must have made a huge difference. This movie is clearly tailored for the hard core, but manages to compell any person that is not familiar with the Marvel Universe (I’m looking at you, Europe). The comic book culture here in the US is compelling, fanatic and dedicated. The audience at Iron Man was the same.

They loved it and so did I. Now if only they could get it right with the videogame as well…

Oh, and as far this picture goes, just check out the movie and you’ll understand. Haha!

I never thought I’d see the day that the VGVisionary logo would be placed right next to names as Xbox 360, EA, Atari and many other companies and institutes I once admired as a kid. Dream come true, right there! It is therefore my pleasure to announce that VGVisionary is an official partner and supporter of the Beeld en Geluid GameXperience, which is going to be held in Hilversum, The Nederlands, on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of May 2008.

So why is this so special? Simple. The Beeld en Geluid GameXperience is officially the first publicly open event in the Netherlands that is aimed to inform the public on the background and current state of the game industry. In other words: Dutch game history in the making!

VGVisionary representative Sebastiaan Mennen will be attending the Beeld en Geluid GameXperience to provide photo and video coverage of the event.

Update: Our official press release can be found here.

It’s imminent, dear reader. You, Richard Bartle and I know it. In a recent article for the Guardian, Bartle pulled a ‘Leonidas’ on the improper way politics and journalism deal with videogames:

“I’m talking to you, you self-righteous politicians and newspaper columnists, you relics who beat on computer games: you’ve already lost. Enjoy your carping while you can, because tomorrow you’re gone. […] So we’ve won: accept it. Huff and puff if you must, but your audience grows smaller by the day. Your views are mortally wounded, and soon they will be dead.

Games are mainstream. Drown, or learn to swim.”

Spoken like a true videogame visionary.

Richard Bartle, we salute you!

Source: The Guardian (via Kotaku.com)

Ironic isn’t it? Having a game conference in the hart of Hollywood? Makes you want to take out your Mario costume and run a muck at Universal Studios, laughing and pointing while holding the latest Nielsen Games financial reports. Together with my trusted colleague and fellow game evangelist Scott Steinberg, author of ‘The definitive guide to Videogame Marketing & PR‘, I will be attending the LA Games & Mobile Forum on the 21st and 22nd of May. He’s a speaker, I’ll be doing some coverage/interviews on site.

Two days later, it’s the TV people’s turn to enter the Hollywood Roosevelt: “The Future of Television: What’s Next?”

I believe I know the answer, do you?

Picture courtesy of LAgamesconference.com

I leave Holland behind for just a few months and look what happens! Game festivals and events start popping out of nowhere! With the fall in activity within the general Dutch LAN party scene back in 2007, mainly caused by the demise and/or delay or several big players such as Netgamez, Drome and Regroup, I remember having a deep discussion with my good friend and colleague Viktor Wijnen (Dutch Game Garden) of what the consequences would be. Just within the first half of 2008, the Netherlands has already marked itself for a change of attitude towards gaming, big time. Here’s what we can expect in the next couple of months:

Beeld & Geluid GameXperience (yours truly put some effort into this one!)

NLGD Festival of Games (from merely an industry event to something the entire city of Utrecht is going to sink its teeth into)

Rotterdam’s Free Gaming 2008 (Wait, what?)

Went to the premiere screening with my good friend Chris Gordon, who worked on the film’s props and locations. Laughed my ass off, rekindled my love for indie films and met some of the actors. Highly recommend it!

Indie movies are so awesome!

To quote Peter Moore during the conference, “they’re the backbone of the industry.” This year’s edition of the MI6 conference brought a great collection of speakers and insights together. Each and every person that I met had something new and interesting to tell me. The atmosphere was filled with creativity and optimism for the future of the industry, which just made it a great event to attend. Now if only I had a collection of spacemonkeys to transcribe the hours and hours of interview dialogue…

A select collection of photo’s can be found on the VGV Flickr.

… is one of the most brilliant sentences from the Fallout 3 press demonstration that crossed my eyes at the Monaco Hotel in San Francisco last Tuesday. I met there with Pete Hines -vice president of public relations at Bethesda Softworks- to talk about his work and get a glimpse at the very promising demo. Bethesda’s work has always found a warm place in my heart and from what I’ve seen, most of those die hard fans that bash Bethesda for their unique approach on the Fallout universe seem to be overlooking the intricacies of releasing a next gen title in our contemporary market. Pete will be heading over to Europe next week to start warming people up for the game over there.

Writing about a game isn’t my specialty, but these guys do it all the time.

Image courtesy of Peter Hines’ Bethesda Blog

San Francisco is one of those cities you just want to go back to multiple times! The city just has all the social ingredients that make it a perfect spot for meetings and conferences!

I’m heading over there next week for the MI6 Game Marketing Conference in the Grand Hyatt on Union Square for some interviews and general coverage.

The extreme workload, stress and finals week frustrations put a lot of pressure on college students here at UCLA. So what better way to celebrate the end of every quarter than by running around in your underwear? Plain brilliance I tell you!

Evidently, I felt obliged to join in the fun. UCLA Undie Run, Woohoo!

Though it has nothing to do with videogames in ANY kind of way, some pictures have landed on the VGV Flickr.

Picture courtesy of the LAist.com

I came to LA to take some time off, kick back and rediscover myself.

I did and  just realized that I really love what I do and want to do it more. That and visit more conventions. So here’s our next stop:

Yes, the wonderful world of the comic book industry has captured my heart and seems to be offering quite some interesting material for a story. Apart from looking for a Storm Trooper suit and taking pictures with Sci-Fi celebs, I’ll be heading over there to talk to several artists and publishers about their ties and relationship with the game industry.

After all, we’re serving the same kind of popular culture hungry audience!

Update: Didn’t take a lot of pictures, but you can find a couple over at the VGV Flickr.

The free segment is already a whopping 64 pages big, which also includes the fruits of the GDC coverage done by yours truly shaped into an article and an interview. My other three GDC related articles can be found in the premium part of the magazine. Enjoy!

*Click*