Block, a psychiatrist in Portland, Ore., recently wrote an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry arguing that Internet Addiction should become a new diagnostic term.

It's interesting to read his thoughts and them to compare it to the things being said by the psychiatrists I interviewed back in 1999 when I wrote a story about how researchers think that Internet and Sex addiction are very similar. Back then a David Greenfield, director for the Center of Internet Studies, told me that the Internet was addictive and that that particular form of addiction was nearing a national epidemic... yet somehow we survived.

Unlike the Globe's story, my 1999 story has at least one well-known psychology researcher arguing that obsessive use of the internet isn't really about addiction, but curiosity of a new technology.

Block, who has some genuinely interesting ideas, also talks about the tie between school shooters and compulsive computer use, making sure not to say that computers cause violence.

BLOCK: With these shooters, their last act was to turn against their own computers. As a psychiatrist, I think that's relevant.

'Craft Addicts: Do online games trigger a new psychiatric disorder? [Boston Globe]

The game was set up with the wheel, and while I refuse to rescind my right to mock the Wii Wheel for being a silly peripheral and getting way too much face time at last E3, the thing actually works quite well.

The game is a solid racer with everything you'd want and expect out of a Mario Kart racer, including plenty of tributes to past tracks. Tristan loved the game, and the wheel, and the two friends he brought with him said they were going to start saving immediately to buy a copy.

Now if only they could fix the whole Friend's Code thing...

[Special Thanks to Patrick Lewis for the photos and faux Mario Kart Wii Pwnage]

On a personal note I just want to say thanks again for the awesome comments on the Kaketakumentary. I read everyone one of them and hope to bring you guys more good stuff.

If high school didn't represent some of the most stressful and awkward years of my life, I'd go back in a flash to play this SAT game on my DS! Think of it as Brain Age with a real tangible result. Would you be more likely to prep for the SATs on your DS than through a book or browser?

SAT Prep Game Coming to DS [GamelLife]

The Mario Kart Wii Driving School has been slowly, quietly making its way across the country, allowing gamers to check out the game in the confines of a glass display truck.

The truck hits Denver (across from Skyline Park on the corner of 16th and Arapahoe streets) this Friday at 11 a.m. and is open for business till 8 p.m. It will also be around Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The gamers who swing by to check out the courses and vehicles walk away with an official Mario Kart driver's license that includes their photo, nickname and vehicle of choice.

I think Tristan and I are going to try and make that, sounds like fun.

• It's "the only musical adventure game allowing fans to immerse themselves in the world of "High School Musical 2." And thank God for that.

• You can play as one of six characters and "go on various adventures at the resort, compete in time-based challenges and play different rhythm games, all while listening to the hit songs from "High School Musical 2." Something tells me the last part of that is what Disney considers most important.

Here's the rest of your roster of new releases. Tell us in the comments if you're picking any of these up.

Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis (PC)
Major League Baseball 2K8 Fantasy All Stars (DS)
AMF Bowling Pinbusters! (DS)
Rondo of Swords (DS)
Okami (Wii)
Jack Keane (PC)
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC)
Turok (PC)
Europa Universalis: Rome (PC)
High School Musical 2: Work This Out! (DS)
Cory in the House (DS)
The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (PC)
Summer Sports: Paradise Island (Wii)
Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! (DS)
Emergency Mayhem (Wii)
Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection 2008 (PC)

New Releases, Week of April 13 [Gamestop]

Game courses in engineering schools tend to be focused on solving technical challenges, whereas design programs focus on the innovation of gameplay. To produce the best possible student game, these two forces need to collaborate.

For interdepartmental game classes to work, I feel the focus should always be on what is best for the project. Collaborative game development should be approached as more than a system of technical features. In the case of Winterbottom, learning to work on a team was more important to the student engineers than getting the recording features to work. Although learning to solve technical challenges is extremely important for students, in a class where the object is to make a good game, the focus should be on just that.

All of this makes me pretty glad I'm part of a 'lonely discipline,' where we're more or less turned loose to do our own thing. An interesting read and worth a look if you're interested in what goes on in the hallowed Ivory Tower.

Student Postmortem: USC's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom [GameCareerGuide]

Desert Bus tasked you with driving a bus from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in eight hours of real time. The game could not be paused, and the bus occasionally would veer to the right. So, like the Arizona senator you set out on a grueling long journey (to your party's nomination) and occasionally veer off to the right (frightening potential independent voters). Uncanny.

Presidential candidates and their video game alter-egos [Game With A Brain via Game Politics]

Kid Arrested for Church Fire After Posting About it Online [YouTube - WGEM Report]

Reader William was there to capture the tragedy, for this we thank him.

If only the little sewn man were wearing a bird on his shirt, Crecente could have some sort of a case during litigation. As for now he'll have to settle for something like unlimited anime patches that look like him, which while not a bad prize (hell, sounds great to me), won't put little Tristen through four years at Harvard.

SCHOOL RUMBLE HARIMA PATCH [gee] Thanks Mooseferatu!

So wait, these kids get to play Nintendo Wii in school? All I got for finishing my work quickly was first dibs on Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail. Actually, never mind. I didn't have it so bad after all.

Brit's School Mantra [via opposablethumbs]

After the student's arrest, around 40 police officers patrolled the campus. When police searched the student's room, they found no weapons. Court documents have since shown that the student claimed "he was joking and had no intention of following through with the threats."

Misdemeanor charges filed against FSU gamer [via theinquirer]

I'll tell you what's grossly irresponsible—the game's graphics! Monstrous!

The Canada.com report writes that the while Australian Family Association deems the game "toxic" and Christine Daviault of Montreal's Concordia University calls it "corrosive", the folks at Champagne for the Ladies say it's all in good fun. Although the game is marketed as adhering to a distasteful representation of the high school social hierarchy, letting players "lie, bitch, [and] flirt" to get ahead, the creators say it's "tongue-in-cheek" fun.

Sounds pretty dull to me, but folks will get worked up over anything! I'll start paying attention when I can curb-stomp the head cheerleader. Until then... next!

Videogame teaches teen girls to slither up social ladder [Canada.com via GamePolitics]

8/30: Weapons Master Mission, five weapon limit September: Speed Master Mission, quick fights on a time budget October: Rachel Master Mission, different character with five survival tests

None of these expansion missions are rocking my world, but each will offer a tangible measurement for a global ranking system sure to cut your ego down pretty quickly. And besides, your subsequent dependence on booze is a priceless commodity.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Downloadable Content Announced [IGN]

The course is open to only 25 students annually, each of whom will have achieved a minimum of a 2.1 in Computer Science or a related degree. Students meeting these requirements will be required to sit an interview as part of the selection process. The course features modules delivered by world class researchers taken from TCD research groups including the graphics vision and visualisation group. The second half of the year-long course will focus on individual research on a chosen dissertation topic and contribution to a significant group project developing a complete application (e.g. a game). Students will be encouraged to build a portfolio of work and enter international competitions such as Microsoft's Imagine Cup.

Applications for Fall '07 enrollment close at the end of July, and the program will begin in October.

Trinity College partners with industry to launch new video game masters degree

Course director Dr. Steven Collins detailed the program's lofty goals.

"If we can continue to grow the skills and knowledge available in Ireland in key areas, building on our research strengths, we have the ability to make Ireland a specialized hub for this business."

Just really wish they had programs like this back in my day. Then again, I failed bowling.

Masters in gaming at university [BBC via Gamasutra]

The microphone (pictured above) is for the Wii and PS2 version which will be more a karaoke style game called "High School Musical: Sing It!". The screens (if you couldn't tell by its dual screeness) is for the DS which is more of a musical rhythm game called, "High School Musical: Makin' the Cut". I guess going back to high school just this once won't be so bad. It would be nice to see friends again before marriage and kids. You know, back when they were fun to be around. Kim Phu

High School Musical - Screenshots & Wii Microphone Shown [DS-X2]

The father of the Playstation officially stepped down today, ending an era that saw the launch of three consoles and Sony's entry into the gaming market.

Kutaragi announced his plans to leave the company as all but an "honorary chairman" back in April. Kazuo Hirai will be stepping into his large shows to take over day-to-day responsibilities as the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

It's doubtful we will see any substantial change in the company's operations in the weeks leading up to E3, but I'm sure this move will trigger some shifts in the way Sony does business down the line.

Father of Sony PlayStation steps down [CNN]

High School Musical titles coming to DS, Wii real soon [Wii QJ]

Wumpus 2000 is a text-based adventure that the creator describes as "a souped-up version of the original 'Hunt The Wumpus' game. Explore caves, kill monsters, and find your way out...as simple as that!"

Well, maybe not, since you're all but required to get out your pen and paper and draw a map yourself (the horror!). GameSetWatch says Wumpus 2000 "is the kind of experimental text adventure which can influence wider game design concepts from its odd niche." Cartography not being my thing, I can only envision hours of frustrating game play. Maggie Greene

Into The Future With Wumpus 2000 [GameSetWatch]

Terra Nova has a post trying to generate a list of potential doctoral programs for people wanting to study video games and synthetic worlds, but not necessarily make them. Having done the grad school search/application grind myself and nearly having had a mental breakdown doing it, I envy no one going through the process - especially not when trying to find programs that will fit an academic interest that doesn't really have a 'home' yet.

The post and comments make some good points about what to look for in a program, some programs in the US that might be a good bet for people wishing to study video games from a social scientific or humanistic perspective, and thoughts on positioning yourself for the ultimate goal: getting a job. Maggie Greene

State of the Field 2007: Graduate School Edition [Terra Nova]

Oh goodness, so torn on this one. On one hand, arresting the guy and holding him on $10,000 bail seems a bit harsh. On the other hand, I get the distinct feeling that the whole FPS project angle is a defense and not an actuality. One thing I know for sure, however, is that the mainstream media is so adorable when they try to report on video games. Note that you might get an ad as the video begins, and if you try to watch it again without refreshing you'll learn far more about Spokane than you need to know.

edit - Moved video to after the jump at the insistence of common sense.

So the father is claiming this is politics and that his son's first amendment rights are being impugned, and also looks like discount Fonzie with a giant cold sore on his lip. We should arrest every game developer? Sure, if every game developer sat around discussing how to kill high school students perhaps. Maybe Jaffe, but he's harmless.

Okay, mostly harmless.

I can't help but think that maybe this time around the caution might have been justified. There is a difference between designing a Counter-Strike map with your school's layout and sitting there like a dumbass discussing the best way to massacre your classmates weeks after the biggest school shooting in history. At the very least the kid should get a couple days in stupid prison.

Snooping about on the web I found Lance's page on bebo, where he goes by the name UbnKilled - you bein killed. *sigh*. Some memorable quotes:

ummm... I love to play first person veiw shooters.. games such as Fear, Half-Life 2, Doom3... and I like to play basketball and write...

I collect mid-evil weapons and have.. *counts* 10 weapons in my room.. and that's not including the guns..... so actually... to however wants to try to kidnap me..... do it.. i dare ya

If i really wanted to I could steal some of his programs and hack virtually most accounts, but I wont so no worries...

So yeah, the guy's a tool and between the comments and the suggestion that he's stockpiling weapons and guns I would have totally had him removed from the school as soon as humanly possible were I on the school board. Though you and I can see the moronic bragging and posturing for what it is, school officials like Northport Superintendent Patsy Guglielmino probably can't.

"I have to look at every threat as though it is real irregardless what I know about the student," she said.

Court to decide if Northport threat was horrible prank or free speech [kxly.com via GamePolitics]

Photo courtesy of KXLY.com

Today's news that Ken Kutaragi is retiring from the SCEI, can only be seen as further proof that the company does indeed use Brian's School of Volcano Management.

I first noticed back in December when Kutaragi was "promoted" to replace Sir Howard Stringer who had just been popped out of the crusty lip of the Sony Volcano.

In my theory, heat from bad decisions and poor management builds until a key person involved in the decision-making process is pushed up and up and up and finally ejected entirely from the company.

Next up, if my theory holds, Kaz Harai who just jetted past several branch pipes and parasitic cones to the summit when he was named President and Group CEO of the Playstation business worldwide.

Of course that's not how SCEI puts it, this is their take:

Kutaragi has said that he has been considering this decision for some time. He stated that, in the six months since the appointment of Kazuo Hirai as President in December, the new generation of management, led by Mr. Hirai, has continued to develop. With the March introduction of PS3 in Europe completing the successful launch of PS3 worldwide, Mr. Kutaragi has identified SCE's Annual Shareholders' meeting in June as the ideal timing to pass on the torch to the new generation of management. Mr. Kutaragi will now apply his extensive technological knowledge and leadership skills to take on new challenges beyond the world of PlayStation. Sony and SCE will continue to seek Mr. Kutaragi's input and ideas from a broad perspective, while continuing to support him as much as possible in the realization of his dreams."

Who, I wonder will be replacing Kaz Hirai? I think Jack Trenton has been doing a good enough job to remain bobbing up and down in the magma chamber with Phil Harrison. Brian Crecente

Battling school girl manga/anime Ikki Tousen is getting the inevitable PS2 incarnation called Ikki Tousen Shinning Dragon. Looks cheap, tawdry and jammed packed with pantsu. Just check out the fan service before-and-after battle damage above. Too bad the screenies over at Famitsu don't look so hot — Otherwise, we'd have to secretly pick this one up instead of feigning disapproval. Brian Ashcraft

Battle Vixens Game [Famitsu via Costume GET]

Continuing video games' slow takeover of the world, the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts is going to be offering a seminar on machinima. The class is being created in an effort to bring film and game students together to work on a common project.

CTIN 464, Game Studies Seminar. In this 2 unit class we will develop machinima. This is a perfect cross-division class for film and game students to work together. We will play games, watch films, and discuss the possibilities of machinima as an art form. Documentary machinima will be encouraged, and all topics are fair game, including projects about games. The history of machinima is short, and its full potential is yet to be realized- by aspiring media students.

Machinima being studied and created in a college setting... I never thought I'd see the day. At this rate it shouldn't be too long before we see Harvard offering classes likeHow To Quickly Level Up Your Warcraft Character and Goldfarming 101. Flynn De Marco

[Thanks, Sean]

Earlier, we posted about student-made DS games that have hit Japan. Reader Ryan, the trooper that he is, sent some pics and a hands-on description. He writes:

Thanks to Kotaku I learned about those Japanese student DS games that Nintendo is making available on it's download kiosks. I know that those who can't try these games might be interested, so I decided to throw together a little sampling.

I downloaded the game where you draw pictures corresponding to music in order to communicate with extraterrestrials. ...The premise of the game seems to be that clues to a riddle are given through the lyrics of a song, meanwhile you are given cues to draw certain shapes in specific regions of the screen. For example, in the center of the screen; draw a pocket, on the top of the screen; draw a wrench, and slowly a Beetle drawing emerges. At the end it asks you what the song and drawing is eluding to, and this will answer the riddle. It's rather charming, and I was surprised by the production quality. If I wasn't told ahead of time, I might not have realized this was created by students.

Wow! I wasn't expecting these student games to look like, well, actual games. That you could play. Nintendo can sure scout 'em, huh? Brian Ashcraft

A lot of the high school video game music themed videos we've seen have ranged from pretty well done to rather embarrassing, but this one definitely falls into the "So Nerdy It's Cool" category. Andrew (He's the one in the Mario costume) from Everglades High School Winter Percussion group sends in this video of he and his compatriots performing NES music entirely on percussion instruments. Their program of hits includes Zelda: Intro, Labyrinth, Double Dragon : Riot (Industrial Area), Super Mario Bros. : Underworld, Overworld, Invincibility, Game Over. The fact that they are all in different character costumes just makes it all the more nerdy cool.

The best part though, is that Andy and friends took the first place prize in what I can only assume was some sort of percussion band competition. Perhaps Andy will comment in and enlighten us on what the competition was since in his excitement he forgot to mention it in his email. Congratulations Andy and all your fellow percussion-ers on an excellent performance! EHS Winter Percussion FTW! Flynn De Marco

Not exploiting in a bad way, but a good way. Nintendo Co., Ltd. is making games developed by students at its Nintendo Seminar 2006 available for download via the DS Station. Starting late last week and appearing every two weeks after that, the games are totally free. Games include one that has players swing a steel ball to destroy obstacles and help mice captured by cats or another one that has players shout things at inappropriate times. These games, like so many good things, are Japan only. Brian Ashcraft

The Dark Side [Eurogamer]

We must thank these fine people for a live action version of PaRappa the Rapper. Now if they could just explain what the hell is going on. Actually, we can. This is Andreas Wieslander's Bachelor's Thesis, who enlightens:

It's a project about marketing games through live performances, in order to focus on the games feel, rather than its graphics and sfx. This idea has been applied to the game PaRappa the Rapper to PlayStation.

Hit the jump for the original version. Brian Ashcraft

Zabi goes to Needam Broughton HS, which has to be the coolest high school ever!

Recently the unnamed school held their "Queen of Hearts" dance, aka the Valentine's Day Dance, and the theme was Super Mario Bros.

The dance included a skit featuring a big-ass castle, Mario, Luigi and some hardcore COS play all to rescue the queen.

I heart said school. HEART IT DAMMIT!! Brian Crecente

Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst, doesn't really see Ken Kutaragi's promotion as a way to remove him from the game, but rather as a way to prepare him for heading up the entire company.

Speaking to GameDaily BIZ about the management shuffle, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said, "I think it's prudent succession planning. Kutaragi is the visionary, and his work on PS3 was done at launch. They need to groom him to replace Stringer. The rest of the guys are competent, experienced, and loyal. I think each of the other moves made sense. In time, I think you will see Kutaragi given responsibility for other functions, like Blu-ray."

As Sony President Ryoji Chubachi explained it to the Nikkei, "Mr. Kutaragi's strength is his knowledge of technology. His position is, of course, chief executive, but this means he will especially be looking closely at the area of technological development."

I've come to realize that Sony uses the volcano school of management, heat from bad decisions and poor management builds until a key person involved in the decision-making process is pushed up and up and up and finally ejected entirely from the company.

I'm going to patent that shit, Brian's School of Volcano Management.

Kutaragi Being Groomed to Replace Stringer - Pachter [Game Daily]

Hate school? Loathe English? Live in Korea? You're in luck! Game companies there don't look at things like foreign language ability or GPAs for prospective game developers. Instead, whether or not the individual can function on little or no sleep or long hours and little pay matter. Says NCsoft's Lee Hwa-soo:

English and grades are not important. We rarely look at the name of the university they graduated from or the grades they earned. English is also not a must in many job positions.

So they check the applicant's pulse? Brian Ashcraft

Get That Nose To That Grindstone [The Korea Times]

Once again an incident of school violence causes lawmakers to call for strict legislation against/banning of violent video games, only this time it's in Germany, where an 18 year old former student known as Bastian B. stormed a secondary school armed with explosives and firearms, wounding upwards of 32 people before ending his own life.

"The only thing I really learned at school was that I'm a loser," the youth wrote in a letter posted on his Web site that was later removed by police. "I hate people ... I'm gone."

German kid injures 32 and kills himself [United Press International - Thanks Ugly Joe]

First, it was American kids sweating it out on a DDR. Now, it's Japanese junior and senior high schoolers studying English via the Nintendo DS. Starting this September, students in Kyoto Prefecture's Yawata City spend the first ten minutes of class, studying vocab on their portables. Says a Yawata City teacher:

The students are getting accustomed to using the DS and are studying enthusiastically. Progress can be expected.

Thanks to traditionally poor language instruction in the classroom, English is notoriously difficult for many Japanese. The software includes 1900 words for high school students and 1800 words for junior high student. They practice writing the words on the touch screen, and the DS emits the correct pronunciation for new vocab. There's talk of expanding this program elsewhere and plans to introduce Kanji software as well. These classroom applications for the DS are a no brainer, really. Brian Ashcraft

Study Hard Kids! [Yomiuri]

"Our data support the recommendation that parents limit weekday television and video game time to less than one hour and restrict access to adult media by limiting exposure to cable movie channels and R-rated movies and videos," wrote the study's author, Dr. Iman Sharif of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

The number of students who had poor performance rose as weekday television screen time surpassed three hours and time spent playing video games rose past one hour on weekdays, found the study.

Wow. So, more time dedicated to beating hookers to death with a 9-iron might lead to poor school performance? Consider us stunned! Michael McWhertor

Too much time with TV, video games cuts school performance: study

Is the console war exactly like getting your face pushed into the toilet? Apparently! Aeropause takes a look, but number 4 on Aeropause's 10 Reasons Why The Console Wars Is Like High School really connects:

As much fun as high school was, we all wanted the hell out of there as soon as possible. Beyond those doors was a world we all wanted to experience and grab hold of and it stands true with the current console war. I personally can't wait until all the consoles are out in the open and we can all make up our own minds about which one to buy. We can all sit down and play games without worrying who is going to win some inane console war. Ehhh, who am I kidding, this bickering will go on for years. The damn clock is going to be stuck at 3:09 for the next 5 years!

3:09? Man, I never stuck around past roll call. Florian Eckhardt

10 Ways That The Console Wars Remind Me of High School [Aeropause]