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Congratulations to the latest winner of Screen Play's Your Turn blogging competition, which awards one writer with a PlayStation 3 console courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment.
This month's winner is "RE12", a 29-year-old public servant from the nation's capital, who was forced to hide behind a pseudonym for his piece "Serving two mistresses" so as not to jeopardise his new relationship.
Hopefully his shiny new PS3 won't cause any strain at home, but if it does, at least his blog prompted plenty of helpful advice in the comments section about how to encourage your significant other to indulge in gaming (as well as suggestions on finding a new partner more appreciative of your joypad skills...)
Another PS3 console will be up for grabs next month, so make sure you find some time between enjoying the festive season's gaming bounty to pen your own Your Turn contribution.
Sydney readers looking for something novel to do this weekend should check out the free LittleBigPlanet interactive exhibition at the MTV Gallery.
Open today until Sunday, the exhibition features the work of eight creative minds including DJ Kid Kenobi (pictured), actress Pia Miranda, filmmaker Guy Verge Wallace and television personality Mike Hammond. Each celebrity has designed their own LittleBigPlanet level.
Giancarlo Mori, senior vice president of Animal Logic, one of the world's most highly respected digital production companies, has also contributed a level and believes LittleBigPlanet is significant as an emerging form of interactive art.
"Gaming promises to make the player an accomplice and a protagonist in the experience. Once fully evolved as a form, it will tell us about ourselves, and our choices as human beings as few other forms of expression can. It's a higher ground waiting to be reached, its promise as an art form is concrete and uniquely arousing."
Rock Band creator Harmonix is working on a new game based on the music of the most popular band of all time, The Beatles.
The partnership between developer Harmonix, games publisher MTV Games and music publisher Apple Corps Ltd will result in The Beatles music appearing in an interactive format for the first time.
The game is not a new version of Rock Band but rather a new property, and has been described as "an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles" that will feature songs from the band's entire catalogue.
The game has the blessing of Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, as well as enjoying input from Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles excellent LOVE remix album with his father George, will serve as music producer for the game.
Fresh from writing a Livewire cover story for The Age yesterday, Screen Play regular Daniel Chlebowczyk returns today with an interesting blog on the troubling divide between "casual" and "hardcore" gamers.
As a pro gamer who must devote countless hours to training, I'm sure there is no debate about which camp Daniel is in.
But as he interestingly points out in his latest Your Turn piece below, the burgeoning casual gaming market has changed the definition of what it means to be a casual player.
Click below for the piece, and I will be keen to hear what you think...
The introduction of an R18+ rating for computer games has been delayed indefinitely after South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson withdrew his support for a discussion paper and public consultation process.
Censorship ministers in March agreed "in principle" to canvas public opinion on the proposed introduction of a R18+ classification for games and release a discussion paper on the issue, but Mr Atkinson has refused to agree to make the report public, effectively shelving it.
The draft discussion paper, simply titled "R18+ for computer games" was sent to ministers last month and details the "pros and cons" of introducing an adults-only rating for games.
The paper would have been available to the public on the internet and provided to interested parties such as games industry groups and family associations to seek their views.
Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls, who has long supported the push for an R18+ games rating and took the lead in drafting the discussion paper, appears resigned that no changes to the classification system for games will be made anytime soon.
In a special feature in The Age's Livewire section today, Screen Play regular Daniel Chlebowczyk provides a unique insight into what it's like to be a professional gamer.
It's a must-read for anyone curious about pro gaming, and I will be interested to read everyone's thoughts on what needs to happen for Daniel's dreams of growth in local e-sports to become reality.
Daniel believes more regular e-sports competitions in Australia will help improve the standard of local competition and sharpen the skills of current competitors, who currently struggle to get access to quality opponents to practice against.
I will also be interested to hear whether you think competitive gaming will take off as a popular spectator sport.
The comprehensive Interactive Australia 2009 report would not be complete without asking gamers why they choose to play computer and video games in their precious spare time.
Unsurprisingly, simply "having fun" and "relaxing" were the most frequently selected responses, with one quarter of Australian adult gamers choosing these explanations. "Passing time" and "being challenged" were also popular reasons.
Most attitudes towards games are overwhelmingly positive. Nearly all adult gamers and non-gamers surveyed for the study say games relieve boredom and offer excitement. Over 80 per cent also say games are mentally stimulating, reduce stress, are educational and contribute to culture, with over 75 per cent of respondents believing that
interactivity makes games more educational than other media.
Today Aditya Gollakota, a 15-year gaming veteran who currently works as an integration consultant for a major retailer, takes his Your Turn debut to explore why he plays, and is keen to hear your reasons for picking up a joypad.
The average age of Australian video game players continues to rise as more households than ever before bring a device for playing games into their homes.
Nearly 70 per cent of Australians now play video games, with the average age of players now 30 years. The average is up from 28 years in 2007 and 24 years in 2005.
"Just three years ago, the gap between gamers and non-gamers was over 20 years, an entire generation," according to the Interactive Australia 2009 report released this week.
"Today, the difference between the two has narrowed to within a generation." By just 2014, the average age of gamers will be the same as the average age of non-gamers.
The youngest gamers identified in the study were just three years of age, while the oldest were in their eighties, including one gamer who is 88.
More girls and women are also playing games. Females now make up 46 per cent of the gaming population, up from 41 per cent in 2007 and 38 per cent in 2005. Within just two years, the proportion of female gamers in Australia will be equal to males.
Nintendo looks likely to have another astonishingly successful Christmas, with both DS and Wii currently selling around 20,000 units each week in Australia.
The DS is about to pass 1.5 million sales in Australia, while the Wii has notched up sales of 700,000. Software sales for both platforms are also strong.
However the rosy GfK figures cannot hide the fact that many long-time admirers of the Japanese creative giant are underwhelmed by Nintendo's festive season catalogue, with Wii Music and Animal Crossing the highlights.
Long-time lurker, first-time poster "McBlogger with fries" is one of many Nintendo fans currently wondering why he's not playing with his Nintendo consoles as much as he used to. Click below for his first contribution to Screen Play's series of Your Turn reader generated blogs...
Over 90 per cent of Australians believe an R18+ rating for video games should be introduced in this country according to a major new study.
Australia is the only developed nation without a classification for games suitable for adults, meaning that titles exceeding the boundaries of the highest MA15+ rating are banned or edited.
The Interactive Australia 2009 report produced by Bond University for the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia found 91 per cent of Australian adults (including both game players and non-players) think that Australia should have an R18+ for games.
But the study also found many Australians were ignorant of our classification system, with two thirds of respondents unaware that Australia had no R18+ games rating.
Video gaming's most popular character needed a moustache because technology limitations in 1981 prevented Shigeru Miyamoto from adding a mouth to his famous creation.
Over 200 games later, his mo is now more iconic than anything Burt Reynolds or Ron Jeremy dared to grow over their lips. But are you prepared to join the likes of Mario, Solid Snake and The King of All Cosmos and grow your own soup strainer?
Singo the Dingo today lays down the Movember challenge. He has joined a Screen Play Movember team to raise funds and awareness for men's health.
A large gaming contingent will also join the Screen Play team to demonstrate the goodwill and social conscience of gamers, with Movember sponsor THQ Asia Pacific on a mission to get over 1000 members of the Australian video games industry to sign up. Everyone in the THQ office is growing a mo, and over 400 EB Games staff have also signed up...
Xbox 360 blockbuster Gears of War 2 promises to be one of the games of the year when its released on November 7.
Screen Play's preview earlier in the month described it as "such an entertaining, bombastic, testosterone-fuelled ride that it is a guaranteed hit, with the accompanying danger of overshadowing everything else and undermining Microsoft's efforts this Christmas to shake off the Xbox 360 console's ingrained 'boy's toy' image."
Design director Cliff Bleszinski is certainly confident his team has created an even more entertaining package than its hugely popular predecessor.
Click below for part two of Screen Play's exclusive interview with Bleszinski in which he covers subjects like the genesis of the Gears of War series, its cliches and innovation, the importance of narrative in action games, the features he is most pleased with, and why shooters appeal to so many people.
Timothy Gerard Richards
15.8.1972 - 21.10.2008
The Australian gaming community has lost one of its most passionate and active contributors.
Tim Richards, a lawyer, writer, founder of Melbourne's Dissecta gaming events, and a keen supporter of the Australian game development community for over a decade, passed away on Tuesday at the Alfred Hospital after a long battle with heart disease and a recent transplant. He was just 36.
As the touching death notice from his family in The Age read, Tim's passing was "far too soon for someone so loved and talented".
Aussie anthems like Cold Chisel's Khe Sahn and John Farnham's You're the Voice will feature in the local version of Microsoft's SingStar competitor for Xbox 360.
Microsoft unveiled the 40-strong track list for the Australian version of Lips today, which also includes local hits like Scar by Missy Higgins, Shannon Noll's Shine, Silverchair's Straight Lines and Men at Work's Be Good Johnny.
The game will be released in late November and include two wireless microphones for $99.
The full track listing can be found below.
Cliff Bleszinski is the public face of Epic Games, creators of Unreal and Gears of War, and one of the world's most prominent game designers.
Whether you like him or loathe him for his frat boy demeanour, you cannot deny Bleszinski's passion for games, and his gaming credits suggest he is a very talented designer.
Bleszinski made his first game when he was just 17, which attracted the attention of the North Carolina-based Epic Games, the studio he has been with ever since.
Click below for part one of Screen Play's exclusive interview with Bleszinski, in which we cover topics like his recent change of moniker, his feelings on being in the limelight, the challenges for the gaming industry, how every director in Hollywood wants to be like him, and how he'd one day like to make a kids game...
Screen Play regular "Gimmo" is a 23-year-old IT student based in Melbourne who is currently working for a major bank.
His first gaming machine was a mighty Commodore 64, which has provided fond memories of games like The Last Ninja, California Games, The Great Giana Sisters and Rick Dangerous.
Today Gimmo fills his spare time with gadgets, gaming and playing guitar, but sometimes his fun is ruined by lazy games developers who fail to learn from the past...
Click below for Gimmo's Your Turn debut, which like all our reader-generated blogs is in the running to win a PlayStation 3 console.
As speculation mounts on the future of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, organisers of Australia's eGames Expo in Melbourne are busily gearing up for their third annual show next month.
While the scale of the past two shows at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre has been small, the eGames events have been enthusiastically embraced by the local gaming community and featured a terrific atmosphere.
This year's show has also attracted strong publisher support, including Activision, AFA Interactive, Atari, Electronic Arts, Funtastic, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nokia, Sony Computer Entertainment and Ubisoft.
The event will be held from November 14 to 16 and is joined by the Digital Lifestyle Show, so you will also be able to shop for a new LCD or plasma as well as items like mobile phones, music devices and PCs.
Illustrator, writer and student Jacob Martin not only likes to give his gadgets names, he also likes to dream up new ideas for games.
His latest idea is a casual gaming title which will help shy and retiring types learn the skills necessary to woo a potential partner.
The game would be kind of like a virtual Hitch or Love Guru, and would build confidence in the player rather than shatter their fragile self-esteem.
Above all, it would have to be easy to play - certainly much easier than popular Japanese dating games. The last time this reviewer sampled a Japanese dating game (for purely research purposes) I didn't even get to first base...
Click below for Jacob's latest blog.
Transmission Games, the Melbourne-based studio formerly known as IR Gurus and developers of AFL 07, Heroes of the Pacific and the forthcoming Heroes Over Europe, is working on a major cricket title and needs focus testers.
Designer Heath Smith says Transmission is "hoping to involve the games community in the development of the project right from beginning" and promises Screen Play readers that the process should be a fun and interesting experience.
The focus testing session will be held on November 1 at the Transmission offices in West Melbourne.
If you're a cricket fan or just love video games and would like to help Transmission make a quality cricket simulation, you can e-mail Heath Smith at firstname.lastname@example.org for more details.
In all the excitement about LittleBigPlanet's delayed release yesterday, I neglected to mention that Sony has announced that Australians will receive a free copy of the fabulous game with every PlayStation 3 console sold.
The bundle offer was supposed to begin this Thursday, but with the delay to LittleBigPlanet's release will now be effective from the game's Australian release date, which Sony currently expect will be November 7.
Local PlayStation boss Michael Ephraim believes LittleBigPlanet "will definitely give PS3 a real kick into Christmas".
Meanwhile, the new model of the PSP, which features a significantly brighter screen and built-in microphone, still goes on sale this Thursday for $299. You can also buy it in bundle form with a copy of Lego Batman for $339.
In other news, Microsoft is giving away 100,000 Microsoft points and a Gears of War 2 poster signed by designer Cliff Bleszinski every day from now until the launch of Gears 2 on November 7.
Xbox 360 owners will be able to enjoy exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3 and Tomb Raider: Underworld in the future, while PS3 owners are getting treated to new content for BioShock.
The spiraling cost of next-generation game development means the days of exclusive blockbusters from third-party publishers are all-but over, but it seems that exclusive downloadable content might increasingly be used as a way of differentiating between platforms.
It's been rumoured that Microsoft might have paid up to a million dollars to secure the two additional downloadable scenarios for GTA IV from Take 2, but today Screen Play is interested to hear how likely it is for this type of content to affect your console buying decisions.
For those that are lucky enough to already own both consoles, what are the biggest factors in determining which version of a multi-format game that you buy?
And if you only have one machine, are you annoyed that you cannot access additional content that is exclusive to another format?
From the perspective of someone who has had the soul-crushing job of writing thorough game walkthroughs for magazines in the past, it is always astonishing how many people are prepared to devote countless hours to writing game guides for sites like Gamefaqs.
There is no financial incentive to write walkthroughs for most online sites, just some kudos from your peers and the satisfaction that you might have helped a fellow gamer or three squeeze out more enjoyment from their latest purchase.
But as new Screen Play contributor Kelly Holland writes today, not only does writing a walkthrough threaten to sap any enjoyment for the author, but there is also a real risk for the reader that they are doing more harm than good when consulting a guide.
Kelly, who posts on Screen Play using the handle "Cha", is a 27-year old research
assistant based in Melbourne whose favourite games are Silent Hill 2 and Monster Hunter
Freedom 2. Her Your Turn debut can be found below.
One of the biggest releases of the year has been delayed because music lyrics in a background song could have caused offense to Muslim players.
Sony is now hastily recalling all copies of LittleBigPlanet that had been sent to retailers and manufacturing new discs of the PlayStation 3 blockbuster with the offending music track removed.
"During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an," says a Sony statement.
"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused."
LittleBigPlanet was set for release in Australia on Thursday. A Sony Computer Entertainment Australia spokesman said the company does not yet have a new release date for the game but is confident the delay will be reasonably short.
Good Weekend recently ran a feature on "Game widows" - "women who have lost their partners to the lure of multiplayer online video games".
The piece said the addition "becomes so all-consuming that their offline life shrivels and all intimacy is lost. Relationships fracture as baffled widows try vainly to understand their gamers' fatal attraction to a set of polygons".
Although many gamers feel instantly defensive about any criticism of their favourite past-time, we all know that there are many people out there who simply play too much.
But what I thought was more interesting about the piece was that it attempted to explain why men are more compulsive players than women.
In an argument that echoes Braid creator Jonathon Blow's accusations of "unethical" game design, the story suggested games like World of Warcraft and Everquest deliberately use intermittent rewards "to prey on a peculiar bit of the human psyche, and men are especially vulnerable."
Many thanks to Insomniac President and CEO Ted Price, who informed and entertained 40 lucky Screen Play readers at a fantastic event in Sydney on Friday night.
Ted showed why Resistance 2 looks to be a significant advance on its predecessor before joining Screen Play and other Australian games journalists in a lively panel session exploring many topics and including plenty of crowd participation. Those interested in listing to the panel can download a 60Mb MP3 file here.
At one stage the discussion explored why Insomniac has picked up so many awards for being a great workplace, and an amusing recruitment music video the studio recently put together was screened. I've attached it below.
Many thanks also to Sony for organising the event, which will hopefully be the first of many.
When Screen Play wrote about voice recognition in games a couple of years ago, readers either yawned or voiced scepticism that the technology could ever be reliable enough.
It was the same last year when Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy's EndWar would be playable using voice commands.
The company is certainly going to have a difficult time convincing sceptical gamers of the value of voice recognition, and their cause wasn't helped at a game launch earlier in the week when a troublesome microphone on stage caused the kind of unreliability that most people associate with those horrendous telephone directory assistance robots.
Undeterred by the cynicism, Vinh-Dieu Lam, a senior artificial intelligence engineer on Tom Clancy's EndWar, spoke to Screen Play earlier this week about the system's benefits for the upcoming real-time strategy game, due next month on PS3 and 360.
Click below for the full interview with Vinh-Dieu, an expatriate Australian who has worked at Ubisoft's Shanghai studio in China for the past four years.
Microsoft recently announced it would shut down Ensemble Studios, creators of the hugely successful Age of Empires series, a move that many have suggested signals the death of the real-time strategy genre.
Of course, with the likes of StarCraft II, Halo Wars, EndWar, Stormrise and Dawn of War II all currently in development, Mark Twain's famous quote that "rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated" is certainly appropriate.
But there is little doubt that the once-popular genre is changing, with developers and publishers now infusing games with more action and bringing strategy titles to consoles as well as their native PC homeland, with some even abandoning the home computer market altogether.
John Capozzi, senior designer at Relic working on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, chatted to Screen Play earlier in the week and admitted that both the PC games market and the real-time strategy genre were facing significant hurdles.
Screen Play regular Slipoch works in a game store, but describes himself as "a 12th century practitioner of the subtle art of donkey substitution".
He also spends his time tinkering with computers, animation, writing and constructing a campaign for popular role playing game Neverwinter Nights 2.
At the coalface of the games industry, Slipoch gets to hear first-hand from gamers about their frustrations with issues like copy protection, which prompted today's Your Turn entry....
My youngest son had a very traumatic birth, and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
All kids are miracles, but my wife and I feel particularly blessed as a lot of physiotherapy and other early intervention, coupled with prayers and my son's very determined personality, has ensured the early "doom and gloom" prognosis never eventuated.
Of course, I often think about how different life would be now if there was no miracle, and try to always remember how fortunate we are.
I was reminded again last week reading this interesting piece in Wired by Andrew Monkelban about life as a disabled gamer.
Andrew has cerebral palsy and is unable to talk or walk, but has loved the challenge of video games ever since he first played Super Mario Bros at aged eight.
After spending the last couple of weeks playing the wonderfully unique, hilarious and hugely ambitious plaything that is LittleBigPlanet, I am prepared to declare that it's going to be very difficult for anything else to dislodge it from the lofty position of "my favourite game of 2008".
The charming LittleBigPlanet might not help shift as many PS3 consoles as Sony hopes, but it is the "killer app" the PS3 so desperately needs. Players of all ages will be entranced and thoroughly entertained.
With up to three friends alongside you joining in the fun, there are over 20 incredibly clever and imaginative platform-leaping obstacle courses to explore, plus dozens of bonus challenges.
The "hand-made" levels are filled with collectibles, puzzles, vehicles, mechanical foes, traps, rollercoaster rides, bosses and hazards like fire and electricity. Each is set in lush areas like colourful gardens, temples, jungles and canyons, with stunning Japanese, Indian and South American-inspired stages the highlight.
The Age's Jim Schembri described last year's ABC series Not Quite Art as "the freshest, most illuminating, thoughtful and funny locally-made arts program in years".
Presenter and writer Marcus Westbury certainly has great skill in being able to question cultural norms in a thought-provoking and amusing manner.
Don't miss series two of Not Quite Art, which starts tonight on ABC at 10pm.
It's another insightful journey through an increasingly fragmented cultural landscape, with Marcus noting that the Internet has given all of us a set of cultural choices and influences unimaginable even a decade ago.
If you're very quick (and have extremely good eyesight) you might even be able to spot my brief cameo appearance in the segment on Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw tonight.
No one would ever admit to being influenced by an advertisement, let alone a pithy slogan.
But that doesn't mean they don't often become embedded in our skulls forever.
Today Screen Play tests your gaming knowledge (and helps justify those ridiculous salaries that marketing executives earn) by presenting a quiz on console catch phrases from the past 30 years.
Click below for the quiz. Never fear if you are baffled - answers can be found here.
Feel free to also nominate your favourite advertising slogans, or come up with your own clever catch phrases for today's generation of machines or yesteryear's classics.
Have you ever been browsing the shelves at your favourite store and noticed someone holding a game that you know is a stinker?
Would you be game to advise them to quickly put it back instead of wasting their hard-earned at the cash register?
Or do you just quietly shake your head when you check out GfK's sales charts when you realise how many copies of dismal games are sold every year, despite many classics often failing to get the attention they deserve?
Maybe the best idea is to just smile pleasantly and hope everyone enjoys their purchases, as James "DexX" Dominguez reveals today that even "rubbish" games can be a lot of fun...
Microsoft has unveiled a new Halo game from acclaimed developers Bungie and announced its redesigned interface for the Xbox 360 will be released on November 19.
Halo 3: Recon is a standalone expansion that lets fans experience events leading up Halo 3 and see the fate of the Earth through the eyes of a new hero - a special forces Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.
Like its predecessor, Recon will feature a story-based campaign as well as multiplayer modes, and is due in Spring 2009 - a 12 month wait.
A description for the game says: "while the feel of this new chapter greatly resembles that of previous Halo experiences, Halo 3: Recon will require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before." A brief trailer can be found on the Bungie web site.
Those fortunate enough to be playing LittleBigPlanet at the moment courtesy of Screen Play's recent giveaway will know that some beta testers have already invested countless hours in building their own amazing creations.
Publisher Sony and developer Media Molecule originally planned to turf all this hard work straight in the virtual bin, but seem to have had a change of heart.
You can now vote for whether you would like to have all the user-created levels from the beta test available when the game launches on October 23, or whether you would like everyone to start afresh.
So far the voting is heavily in favour of saving the novel creations, but you can have your say here.
I know it's not cool to out yourself as a SingStar tragic, but I'm not afraid to unleash my inner diva. My rendition of Blondie's Heart of Glass is enough to get everyone off the couch and fighting over the microphone - if only to shut me up...
Anyway, if you haven't experienced the fun that SingStar can offer, October is a great time to give it a try as any SingStar purchase from Big W, Kmart or Target will benefit the Cancer Council.
Sony is also contributing to the marketing campaign for the Cancer Council's Girls Night In fund-raiser, in which women around Australia are encouraged to host a party and the guests donate the money they would have spent in a typical night on the town.
The scheme has raised over $7 million for cancer research, support and prevention programs since 2005.
With the ever-increasing scale and complexity of modern games, development teams are getting bigger and bigger, and individual roles more specialised.
Some developers even specialise in seemingly mundane areas like game interfaces.
But even the most seemingly dull component of a game can have a dramatic affect on a player's experience and enjoyment, as David Mel discovers in his Your Turn debut today.
David, a 21-year old multimedia student at Melbourne's Monash University, is a "long-time Screen Play lurker and very occasional poster". Click below for his blog.
Screen Play and Sony are giving you the chance to meet Ted Price, founder of one of the most creative and successful development studios in the world.
The President and CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted is coming to Australia next week and will provide 40 lucky Screen Play readers with a special behind-the-scenes look into the making of PS3 blockbuster Resistance 2, plus hands-on time with the upcoming shooter.
The always-passionate and articulate developer will discuss topics including level and weapon design, building multiplayer communities, and how Insomniac has gone about creating hit franchises like Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance.
As chairman of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and an important figure in the development of the ratings system for video games in the United States, Ted will also present his thoughts on a wide range of gaming issues, and will be quizzed on stage by Screen Play and a panel of other gaming commentators.
One of the first rules of any web-based forum is: "Do not feed the trolls".
Even in an intelligent and good-natured community like the Screen Play readership, there are those who simply like to post controversial messages to provoke or antagonise others.
Of course, non-gamers might consider it decidedly odd that anyone could get upset on a gaming forum, but many dedicated players are very passionate about their hobby and want to defend their favourite games or their hardware of choice.
Today regular Screen Play contributor Steve Smoothy, a 31-year-old business/system analyst based in Melbourne, risks his personal safety to enter a troll's lair...
Contrary to recent reports, Sega has confirmed it will try to release the controversial Madworld in Australia next year, a Wii game with "over-the-top violence" and "murderous moves".
In Madworld, players control a character called Jack caught up in a murderous game created by terrorists. To survive, players must master the use of weapons and items, perform brutal finishing moves delivered by the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller, and compete in "ultra violent" mini-games "designed to push you over the edge".
Sega say they hope the game will become an "instant classic" on the Wii thanks to its highly stylised black and white graphics and "irreverent humour and over-the-top violence" which "delivers a visceral gaming experience".
A Sega spokesperson said today that "in response to recent reports regarding the Australian release of Madworld, Sega Australia would like to clarify that we are currently planning on releasing Madworld to the Australian market.
"We believe Madworld will be an asset to the industry and will do what we can to support its release in our territory."
Much has already been written about LittleBigPlanet's wonderful tools for letting players create their own fun, but another game released on October 23 comes with an in-game editor which is just as easy to use.
Far Cry 2, one of the most promising shooters of recent years, lets PS3, Xbox 360 and PC users create their own multiplayer maps to share with others.
Of course, many PC veterans will scoff at any talk of a user-generated revolution, arguing that they have been creating mods of their favourite games for years, with Doom first popularising the mod scene way back in 1994.
But the key difference now is that these tools are so simple that anyone can use them, and you can get good results extremely quickly.
"This is not something for a hardcore level designer, this is a simple way for any player who wants to make a multiplayer map very, very quickly, in the space of just a few minutes," enthuses Ubisoft's Patrick Reading.
Last week Nintendo announced it would be re-releasing some classic GameCube titles for the Wii.
It's easy to be cynical about this development, as Wii is already backward compatible with its predecessor, so you can pick up great Cube games for mere pennies in bargain bins or online auctions and happily enjoy them on the newer console.
But there are games that could benefit from new controls featuring the Wii Remote, including titles Nintendo has already announced for re-issue - the Pikmin games, Mario Tennis, Chibi Robo (which was sadly never originally released in Australia) and Metroid Prime 1 and 2.
Of course, some games might also actually suffer from Wii controls, such as Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, which will no doubt lose its novelty and charm without the Cube's delightful (and under-utilised) bongo controllers.
Click below for some suggestions of other GameCube titles that Nintendo or third party publishers should re-release on Wii, and feel free to nominate your own classics that could benefit from some waggle action.
Screen Play reader "RE12" (not his real name) is a 29-year-old public servant from the nation's capital who says he spends too much time reading Screen Play blogs at work.
RE12 has been using gaming as "an after- work release from day-to-day pressures" for many years, but had his gaming life pleasantly turned upside-down recently after his girlfriend moved in with him.
You can read about RE12's experiences with two demanding mistresses under the one roof by clicking below.
You might also like to visit here for a Screen Play blog from a couple of years ago in which readers suggested some of the best games to introduce your partner to the joys of interactive entertainment.
When they have time for screen play, millions of teenagers around the world don't fire up a console or turn to a PC game, they enter Habbo.
Whether you want to dub Habbo an online world, a social networking website, or just a digital play space, there is no doubting its popularity.
Habbo was created in Finland and is operated by the Sulake Corporation. It will next year celebrate its 10th anniversary, but is still growing and currently enjoys over 100 million registered users.
Screen Play recently caught up with Jeff Brookes, Sulake's regional director for Asia-Pacific, to chat about topics like the genesis of Habbo, the importance of online worlds, what games developers can learn from the likes of Habbo and Facebook, and the future of online communities.
Nintendo has unveiled a new DS handheld console featuring twin digital cameras, music playback, bigger screens and a built-in web browser.
The screens on the Nintendo DSi are 3.25-inches - 17 per cent bigger than the current DS Lite - and the new unit is also slightly thinner than its predecessor.
Nintendo has added a SD memory card slot so users can store photos (taken at 640 x 480 resolution) and download games, with a new DSiWare service to offer both free game demos and games to purchase like the Wii console's online Wii Shop.
The DSi features software for listening to digital music and manipulating your photos, and your images can be transferred to Wii for viewing on television.
Last seen in Screen Play bemoaning the generation gap, Dateman is a 42-year-old gaming veteran from Geelong who swears he is "not a bogan".
Dateman earned his gaming stripes playing the original Castle Wolfenstein on a green screen Apple IIc "sometime during the last century" and can now be found lurking on the PlayStation Network under the moniker "date666".
When he's not trying to teach his kids the original source of pop culture references in The Simpsons, Dateman can often be found cursing new-fangled control schemes.
Click below for his thoughts on what developers should keep in mind when they are designing their next magnum opus...
The games industry's annual Christmas silly season has officially begun, and my desk is now flooded with countless discs, press releases and the odd DS cartridge.
Christmas is the time when publishers typically deliver their tastiest treats, and this year's line-up includes lip-smacking delights like LittleBigPlanet, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Prince of Persia, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider Underworld, Left 4 Dead and Far Cry 2.
Few players will have time to play them all, not to mention the significant finances required.
It's time for publishers to recognise that the interactive entertainment industry is not like the toy business any more and start to more smartly stagger their releases during the year. Big releases will sell at any time of the year (as Grand Theft Auto IV in April proved) while smaller titles will have much more of a chance of finding an audience when they are not competing for attention and pocket money with a dozen shiny new giants.
What is the game at the top of your Christmas shopping list this year? And how many other games do you expect to buy?
Early in the year, companies like Intel, Microsoft and Dell joined together to form the PC Gaming Alliance.
Concerned that the humble beige box was being increasingly marginalised as consoles become more popular with both consumers and publishers, the alliance aims to highlight and promote the PC's gaming strengths to the public as well as analysts and the press.
It will also try to tackle some of the PC's biggest challenges, including piracy, cheating, security and the "consumer experience".
Today prolific Screen Play contributor James "DexX" Dominguez does his bit for the noble cause...
At the recent Games Convention in Leipzig, Xbox 360's Christmas cracker Gears of War 2 was a surprising no-show.
In what seemed like a snub to the PAL territory's biggest event of the year, Microsoft simultaneously held a press event for Epic's bloodthirsty blockbuster in the United States.
The decision seemed at odds with Microsoft's acknowledgment that Xbox 360 is currently underperforming in Europe and that the diverse territory is the key battleground which will ultimately determine the console's fortunes.
But the alternate view, supported by the dominance of casual titles at Microsoft's Games Convention stand, is that Microsoft knows that hardcore gamers will snap up Gears of War 2 without a moment's hesitation, and that the company's focus this Christmas must be on promoting the console's other attributes to a wider audience.


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Uber will soon offer taxi rides in San Francisco
Uber customers in San Francisco may soon find a traditional taxi waiting for them when they use the app to request a ride. According to San Francisco Chronicle, the ride-sharing giant has signed a deal with Yellow Cab SF and Flywheel, the company that operates an Uber-like app used by taxi drivers across businesses across the city. The deal will allow 1,075 taxi drivers in the region to access Uber customers in the coming months. Uber recently struck a similar deal in New York, allowing residents of the city to call any of its 14,000 taxi drivers through the app.
The companies were able to finalize the deal as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors just voted to allow taxis to accept fixed upfront fares for rides hailed through a third-party app. . Customers can expect to pay UberX fares, which are calculated based on travel time and distance in addition to a base fare, for taxi rides. The one-year pilot project for the agreement will begin on August 5.
Uber fares are generally lower than metered fares, although they may be higher during peak periods. Kate Toran, SFMTA’s Director of Taxis, told the board meeting that Uber and Lyft fares were about 80-85% of metered fares. Although drivers may earn less than usual for Uber rides, participation is completely optional. They can accept Uber rides whenever they want, and there are no consequences for refusing them.
Flywheel and Yellow believe the deal would benefit drivers, who could accept Uber rides to fill gaps during off-hours. “[H]having income versus no income is a much better situation at the end of the day, even if it is lower than the taxi fare,” said Yellow Cab CEO Chris Sweis. Still, not all SF taxi drivers are thrilled with the development. San Francisco Taxi Alliance board member Mark Gruberg expressed concern that regular taxi customers are being ignored during Uber’s peak times. ABC7News that making less money from Uber rides would mean he would have a harder time paying off the debts he incurred to pay for his medallion, which cost $250,000.
If Uber succeeds, however, there won’t be any taxis left that aren’t part of its network. Uber executive Andrew Macdonald recently said in an investor presentation (PDF) that the company aims to have all taxis on Uber by 2025. This would not only increase its supply of drivers, but could also unlock new markets where people don’t have their own cars to use for service.

domain: news


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By Eric L. Wesson Sr.
CALL Staff Writer
Tens of thousands of companies across the country as well as renters have let it be known that on April 1, they would be
holding back their rent due to the economic crisis that COVID 19 has created.
The Cheesecake factory for example have furloughed over 41,000 employees and closed 27 of its restaurants, including
two of its namesake restaurants. The company has also drawn down $90 million of its line of revolving credit to cover some
of its expenses.
Matthew Clark, chief financial officer of the Cheesecake Factory said, “We have to take into consideration in terms of understanding
the nature of our rent obligations and the respect to managing our financial position and our priorities.”
Clark later announced that the company won’t be paying their April 1 rent. He added, “We have a very strong, longstanding
relationship with our landlords. We are certain that with their partnership we will be able to work together to weather this storm in the appropriate manner.”
It is great the companies like the Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden and others can draw down off of the tens of millions of dollars they have available on their line of credit to pay their rent and other obligations, but what about the countless others who don’t have that type of line of credit and their rent was due on April 1. Who helps them?
A roof over ones head is simply the most basic of needs in life.


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Revealed: where hotel occupancy rates are highest in the Gulf
Latest Colliers International research shows how Dubai is leading the way on occupancy rates in the Gulf region
- Oct 25, 2019
Courtesy/News Source: arabianbusiness.com
Hotels in Dubai are forecast to see the highest occupancy rates in the Middle East and North Africa region this year, according to new analysis by Colliers International.
The company's full-year forecast showed that hotels in Dubai Marina and JBR are set to see occupancy of 84 percent, followed by Dubai Creek and Festival City (81 percent).
However, revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the same hotels are seen falling by 11 and 7 percent to $186 and $131 respectively, Colliers said.
Hotels on Palm Jumeirah are forecast to register occupancy rates of 78 percent while RevPAR is set to decline by 9 percent while hoteliers on Sheikh Zayed Road and in Dubai International Financial Centre will see RevPAR fall by 10 percent this year compared to 2018.
In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, occupancy rates are set to be lower but RevPAR rates are poised to increase compared to last year.
The Colliers report said hotels in Abu Dhabi City will witness occupancy rates of 71 percent while RevPAR will increase by 2 percent to $73.
Beach hotels in the UAE capital are forecast to report 66 percent occupancy and a 1 percent rise in RevPAR to $144.
Ras Al Khaimah hotels are set to see 68 percent occupancy rates this year with a 10 percent drop in RevPAR while Sharjah occupancy rates are forecast to hit 65 percent with a 14 percent slump in RevPAR.
In Saudi Arabia, hotels are set to see mixed results in 2019. RevPAR is forecast to decline in Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah by 5 percent, 8 percent and 2 percent respectively but are set to increase in Makkah by 2 percent.
In Bahrain, hotels in the capital Manama are forecast to see occupancy rates of 56 percent with RevPAR increasing by 6 percent compared to 2018 while in Oman, hotels in Muscat will see occupancy rates of 57 percent with a 3 percent drop in RevPAR.
About The Author -


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By Lore Croghan
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Wax on, wax off.
A national chain that promises “virtually painless” body waxing with all-natural beeswax is the newest addition to the roster of retailers on Montague Street, where space is tight ahead of the re-opening of the Bossert as a luxury hotel that will bring shoppers and diners with fat wallets.
A local franchisee of European Wax Center rented a 1,600-square-foot “parlor level” storefront at 130 Montague St., a brownstone with two commercial spaces on a landmarked block.
“Montague Street is the epicenter of Brooklyn Heights,” said James Dario Jr., a leasing broker at Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates, who showed the franchisee locations on neighborhood cross streets before taking him to Thor Equities' property.
“When they saw this location, they said, 'This is it.' The architecture, the look of the building – they were impressed enough with the location that they don't mind the half-dozen stairs up from street level,” he told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
The going rate for Montague's storefronts (other than corner locations) is $100 per square foot at sidewalk level, often with discounts of 20% to 25% if the space is several steps above or below ground, according to neighborhood brokers.
European Wax Center's rent is $100 per square foot and the lease term “north of 10 years,” said Dario, who served as the broker for tenant and landlord in the deal.
The anticipated re-opening of the nearby Bossert “will be an extra bonus to any tenant that comes onto the street,” he said. But it is not factored into the rent European Wax Center is paying, he added.
For now, European Wax Center expects to build a customer base from neighborhood residents, college students and workers in nearby office buildings and courts.
The storefront has a floor-to-ceiling glass facade that's highly visible from the street. What kind of buildout will the newcomer do to shield customers getting $28 bikini line waxes or $52 back waxes from the view of passersby?
Judging from other locations he's seen, it will be “very, very tastefully done,” Dario said.
In the lower-level retail space at 130 Montague, high-end nail salon Dashing Diva also offers a full array of waxing services. But Dario thinks the two spas will complement each other rather than compete: “It's like having a coffee shop and a tea salon,” he said.
A worker at Dashing Diva was surprised to hear a hair removal spa is moving in right upstairs. The salon's manager wasn't in Wednesday and could not be reached.
“I am not trying to take away business from them,” said European Wax Center franchisee Doug Bauer, who said he has a “good relationship” with the nail salon chain.
“I think more people will go to Dashing Diva for her core services [i.e., manicures and pedicures] because we are located so close,” he said.
Bauer called the 130 Montague St. site a “natural fit” for his business because it's two storefronts away from the corner of Montague and Henry Streets, which is “ground zero” for Heights retailing.
“There are approximately 10,000 women that walk through there on a daily basis,” he added.
European Wax Center is a credit-worthy tenant that's expanding in New York City, Dario said. The South Florida-based chain has 474 U.S. locations and is in the process of opening a second Brooklyn spa, on Avenue U in Marine Park.
“Brooklyn Heights is quickly attracting the top-tier names in beauty and grooming that were once only found in Manhattan,” Thor Equities' CEO Joseph Sitt said in a statement. “New Yorkers looking for the charm of Brooklyn now can experience the luxury amenities of Manhattan, and European Wax Center at 130 Montague reinforces this growing trend.”
Thor's PR reps didn't get answers to the Eagle's questions about why the previous tenant in the space, clothing retailer Ruby and Jenna, lasted there less than a year.
Eight metro-area Ruby and Jenna shops remain open, said a worker at one of them. Store owners Ruby Azrak and Jenna Lubel did not respond to email queries.
Thor's reps also didn't answer questions about the bare-earth back yard of 130 Montague, which was formerly part of a memorial garden for Brooklyn Heights mom Sylvia Blinchik's late son, Mark Allen Blinchik.
Sylvia, who died two decades ago, left behind an easement that gave her “perpetual use and occupancy” of the rear yards of 128, 130 and 132 Montague St. for the memorial garden – which disappeared in intervening years, leaving behind a neighborhood eyesore.
Her daughter Ann, who inherited the easement, recently told the Eagle she's going to reach out to the buildings' landlords and discuss her options for reviving the memorial garden.
Elsewhere on Montague Street, the building where Starbucks moved out 14 months ago remains vacant. “For Rent” signs from the Massey Knakal brokers who previously had the leasing assignment for 112 Montague St. were recently removed from the picture windows of the two-story retail building.
Instead, prospective tenants can reach out directly to Manhattan landlord Nathan Royce Silverstein – if they twist their necks a bit. A “For Rent” sign with his phone number on it was recently hung in the building's upstairs window – upside down.
Silverstein is holding out for a “national tenant or one with a very good credit rating” for 112 Montague – and restaurants and nail salons need not apply, the Eagle previously reported.


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Globally, the gaming sector clocked $100 billion in revenues out of which mobile gaming generated $37 billion in 2016 and India had a mere 1.6% market share with estimated revenues of $523 million. This shows that there is tremendous headroom for growth. This growth will be enabled by increased penetration of affordable smartphones, reliable and fast connectivity infrastructure, as well as greater enablement and improvement of the micro-payments infrastructure.
In Q2 2016, India was 5th in the world in game downloads, and it is soon expected to surpass Russia and Brazil. In this backdrop, we believe that the time is ripe to host a discussion on the disruption in gaming, and where this industry is headed.
With over 250 startups leading the way, there is a real opportunity for every Gaming entrepreneur to make a mark in this sunrise sector. Whether you are a gaming entrepreneur or a professional in the gaming space, this is one event to look forward to!
Let the Games begin!


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888 upgrades online poker platform3rd November 2020 9:56 am GMT
London-listed operator 888 Holdings has upgraded its 888poker platform after two years of development.
The new poker platform is already available on mobile devices and will be rolled out for desktop in the coming weeks.
The new platform is a result of months of testing and feedback from players and is designed with an emphasis on exciting game play and ease of use, while being tailored to 888’s growing global community of recreational players.
The new 888poker platform allows players to seamlessly swipe between tables and play up to four games simultaneously, and also provides a selection of 888’s market-leading online casino games. Additional features include gift drops, which give players the chance to win big prizes at unexpected moments, as well as exclusive games and formats such as SNAP poker and BLAST Jackpot Sit & Go.
“Product development and innovation is a key differentiator to 888 and is at the core of everything we do,” said 888 senior vice president and head of product technologies Gili Brandshtein. “Our new poker platform was carefully developed to combine our product innovation with our customer-centric focus to respond directly to what our customers require.
“Through this new and intuitive poker product, we created an enhanced and unique user experience that will establish ourselves as one of the leaders in the global poker market.”
888poker’s popularity has soared during lockdowns and Covid-related mobility restrictions, with a 103 per cent increase in new poker players during the first six months of the year, of which more than 60 per cent were smart phone users.
“888 prides itself on developing the best, most enjoyable online gaming products for its global community of customers to enjoy in a safe environment,” said 888 SVP and head of B2C Guy Cohen. “With our new poker platform, we have listened to our customers and been able to bring the real-life table experience online and into our players’ hands on their mobiles.
“The product is a step change in entertainment, and our brand’s new slogan, Made to Play, emphasises that our player’s enjoyment is our number one priority. Poker is a pastime, a passion and a community for our players; we have built a platform that puts them at the heart.”
Shares in 888 Holdings plc. (LSE:888) were trading 0.92 per cent higher at 262.39 pence per share in London Tuesday morning.


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Preprinted forming-web graphics that can replace an applied label permit eye-catching branding, a QR code, or other artwork on the side of thermoform packages.
System easily handles different pallet patterns to create a highly secure unitized load.
The Sazerac Company’s CT scanning inspection that assesses glass bottles and other packaging components in minutes versus weeks is available to other companies.
As the reshoring trend continues — and even accelerates due to COVID-19 supply chain challenges — product manufacturers actively seek packaging machinery solutions.
A new 3D printing solution lets you print packaging machine parts as easily as you stream music on Spotify. No skills are needed to click, print, and install the part you need.
Syntegon Technology celebrates the North American launch of its new Kliklok ACE topload carton former.
A new manufacturing line will be installed at the firm’s Florida facility to boost production of Gatorade.
The BC3 (3-tn) Safe-Grip conveyor belt clamp was created for maximum grip.
IMA Dairy & Food USA introduces a portfolio of high-speed, continuous motion rotary machines.
Many essential businesses needed to ramp up production quickly while keeping workers safe.


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PlayStation Now gift cards are being discontinued now, which prompts further speculation that Sony's Xbox Game Pass-like service is coming sooner rather than later.
IGN reports that PlayStation has actually asked retailers in the UK to stop selling PS Now retail cards, in an apparent attempt to "streamline its gift card offerings." The cards are to be removed by January 21st.
An official statement from Sony says that the decision allows them to focus on their basic PlayStation gift cards, which are cash denomination and can be redeemed on PS Now. However, the streaming service's future still hangs in the balance, especially with the massive success Game Pass is having.
While PS Now actually got a head start against Game Pass when it comes to game streaming, its services remained behind traditional native gaming. In other words, PlayStation owners are still largely opting to play their games directly on their consoles instead of streaming it in.
Back in December, rumors of a Game Pass-like competitor from Sony, which is allegedly codenamed "Spartacus," started floating around the web back in December.
According to a report by The Verge, Spartacus looks to offer a lot more than what PS Now is currently offering. Right now, the service allows access to select PS2, PS3, and PS4 games. But Spartacus will likely add PSP and PS1 games into the mix as well.
Furthermore, the rumored service also wants to merge PlayStation Plus with PS Now. PS Plus unlocks online multiplayer in a lot of PS4 and PS5 games. Combining it with the games offered by PS Now would basically give Spartacus something almost identical to what Game Pass brings.
Sony has declined to comment on these rumors so far. So it would be wise to take this information with a grain of salt.
'Three Tiers Of Service'
GameInformer shared more rumored details about Spartacus in a report. According to their sources, the alleged Xbox Game Pass competitor will be offering three service tiers to both PS5 and PS4 owners.
The lowest and cheapest tier is similar to what PS Plus has at the moment (aka monthly free games, online multiplayer, etc). Next tier up, subscribers will get access to a larger PS4 game library, which will eventually give way to PS5 games in the foreseeable future.
For the top tier, that's where the PS Plus and PS Now merger is: access to online multiplayer, free monthly games, retro games from the PSP, PS1, PS2, and PS3, as well as "extended game demos."
Will Existing PlayStation Now Gift Cards Still Work?
Sony didn't confirm whether existing gift cards before the January 21st phaseout will still work. As such, assume that whatever gift cards you purchased before the phaseout date will still be redeemable. But then again, there's no official confirmation, so you'll have to see for yourself in the coming days and months.
All that is known for certain is that you will no longer be able to buy PS Now gift cards in the UK past the announced date, with no mention yet of other markets such as the United States.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce


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Dates Announced for SoE Live 2013
Sony Online Entertainment has announced that SoE Live will take place in Las Vegas from August 1 until August 4 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The 13th Annual celebration provides players of all SoE’s titles a place to mingle and find out new information on their favorite games.
In addition to meet and greets with the various development teams, various tournaments are being held. In addition to new games being added to the company’s portfolio, like Dragon’s Prophet, players can also eagerly anticipate the next chapter in the Everquest saga, which is going to be revealed at the event this year.
Sony Online Entertainment is responsible for many popular titles. such as DC Universe Online, Everquest and Everquest II, Free Realms, Planetside 2, and Vanguard Saga of Heroes.
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BALTIMORE — If you are looking to get into the holiday spirit, check out Candy Lane this weekend at Center Plaza in downtown Baltimore. The free, larger than life candy themed experience opens Saturday, November 20 and will transform the city into what will look like the popular board game, Candyland.
Candy Lane will be full of creative installations and thousands of holiday lights. It will feature live seasonal, entertainment, dance parties, food vendors and fun for all ages. While the event is free to attend, there are some ticketed events available through December 23.
Candy Lane will open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays from 4 to 9P.M. Additional event details can be found here.


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Global Cannabis Holdings (GCH) is a Luxembourg-based operation that is investing in Cannabis companies around the world. While the Cannabis business has been around for good while, GCH is taking a different approach by issuing tokens to fund the investments in its portfolio firms and selling these digital securities to investors based anywhere the offering is compliant.
According to a recent Tweet, GCH claims to be the “first tokenized Cannabis ecosystem in the world.” GCH aims to back Cannabis companies across every vertical of the sector, from startups to more established firms.
GCH allows investors to gain access to a diversified portfolio of equity positions in many Cannabis companies. This past July, GCH announced that it was “proud to announce that we have tokenized 100% of the company’s shares.”
The security tokens are enabled by digital asset firm Tokeny, a top European security token platform based in Luxembourg. Tokeny provides the infrastructure that allows companies and financial firms to issue, transfer, and manage assets on blockchain in a compliant manner. Tokeny has been backed by Euronext, a pan-European exchange group operating regulated markets in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. Luxembourg has long been viewed as a blockchain-friendly jurisdiction that aims to maintain its position as a top European financial center. Regulators have sought to embrace the new technology, not avoid it or drag their feet like some other countries.
Recently, GCH completed a token offering that sold 2000 digital assets to 125 retail investors at a per token price of $250, according to a report in Bloomberg. GCH has created 100,000 tokens and is queuing up for another issuance next spring. While portfolio firms number around 33 today, GCH predicts it will hold securities in 75 Cannabis firms at some point next year.
For investors, you simply buy tokens utilizing a stablecoin, like Tether or USDC, or alternatively pay in a traditional way using dollars. As an investor, you can hold or trade the digital assets or perhaps benefit from individual public offerings or other exits. GCH is accepting applications from Cannabis startups alongside accepting emails for its next token sale event. The company states that 100% of the investment is dedicated to investments in new portfolio companies.
So what is the benefit of digital securities or security tokens? Tech enhanced shares with streamlined settlement and management and at some point in the future, greater liquidity. For private firms, it can streamline the capital raising process – less friction and rapid transactions in a transparent process.
As for GCH, it claims it may hit break even as soon as this year.
Have a crowdfunding offering you'd like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!


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BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- China's service trade reported robust growth in 2018 and maintained upbeat momentum in the first quarter this year amid external uncertainties.
The 2019 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), which opened Tuesday in Beijing, will inject new energy into the world economy and global service trade development.
The following are the main facts and figures released by the Ministry of Commerce on the solid performance of China's service trade.
-- China's service trade rose 2.6 percent to 1.29 trillion yuan (about 191 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2019.
-- In Q1, the export of services totaled 463.49 billion yuan, up 10.3 percent, while import edged down 1.3 percent to 828.49 billion yuan, causing a deficit of 365 billion yuan, down 14.3 percent year on year.
-- In 2018, China's service trade saw robust growth of 11.5 percent to 5.24 trillion yuan, a historic high and ranking the second in the world for five consecutive years.
-- Last year, service export went up 14.6 percent, the fastest growth since 2011, while import grew 10 percent.
-- In Q1 of 2019, the share of service trade in the country's total foreign trade stood at 15.6 percent, 1 percentage point higher than the share for the whole of 2018, indicating a trend of steady expansion.
-- Of the total service trade, trade in emerging services saw an increase of 12.6 percent on a year-on-year basis, 10 percentage points higher than the overall service trade growth.
-- Export of knowledge-intensive service sectors has become a major force driving the growth of overall service trade. In Q1, the export of China's intellectual property royalties surged 52.4 percent than a year ago.
-- In 2018, China's service export in transport, insurance, intellectual property royalties and other business service sectors have all posted double-digit growth, with the export of computer and information soaring 69.5 percent year on year.
-- While recording robust expansion, the year of 2018 saw a service trade deficit of 1.7 trillion yuan, or 32.6 percent of total service trade, narrowing 2 percentage points from a year ago.
-- As China shifts away from old-growth drivers, the service industry is now a key growth engine that firmly steers the economy forward.
-- The tertiary sector reported the strongest growth in added value by expanding 7 percent to reach 12.232 trillion yuan, which accounted for 57.3 percent of the gross domestic product for Q1, picking up by 0.6 percentage points compared with Q1 2018.
-- In Q1, China's average per capita disposable income stood at 8,493 yuan, up 6.8 percent year on year in real terms, indicating a higher purchasing power.
-- As China has taken a slew of measures to boost domestic demand, open up the service sector and push forward upgrading of consumption, its service trade with trading partners is projected to grow steadily.


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Walking Dead Yourself app, Feb 2014 update
Walking Dead season 4 has begun and everyone is gripped, S4, Ep10 called ‘Inmates’ shows on Feb 16, 2014 and then on the 23 Feb Ep11 will show called ‘Claimed’. We are not leaving all those that own a smart device out because the Walking Dead Yourself app has had an update this month.
The Walking Dead Your Self app for iOS users was updated on Feb 08, 2014, which is now on version 2.1.9. This update included minor updates so it was ready for season 4, as well as a few bug fixes.
For Android an update went live on February 3, 2014 and features a massive update for season 4 of Walking Dead, over on Google Play the app update includes over 100 brand new props, multiple camera types, it now includes ‘Bite a Friend’ and this now means you can go onto Facebook and turn one of your friends photos into a Walking Dead.
If you have not had time to download the Walking Dead Yourself app because you have been busy please do stop what you are doing and get it now, it will provide you with so much fun.
The app does not include a Walking Dead stream or anything to do with Walking dead sync features, the reason we state this is because we get asked so many times about streaming and syncing etc.
Go get the Dead Yourself app right now and become one of the Walking Dead — Have you got the app, if you have please let us know what you think of it?


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Export-oriented products on display at Ulaanbaatar Partnership 2020Economy
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ “Ulaanbaatar Partnership-2020” autumn fair, which is being co-organized by the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) and the Governor’s Office of the Capital City, was opened on September 24 at Misheel expo center.
In his opening remarks, CEO of the MNCCI T.Duuren highlighted that export has pivotal role to grow Mongolia’s economy. Therefore, the MNCCI is holding the expo with a view to promote export-oriented products to public within its 60th anniversary. The best products will be selected from the products on display at the expo and will be provided with support to export, receiving non-interest loan.
TRAM project team who aim to support Mongolia’s trade and export of new goods to European market is participating in the fair for the first time and four clusters of beauty products, seabuckthorn, yak and camel wool and yak fiber have been set up, said expert of the project Mr. Karl Krug. The clusters are cooperative that unified all participants including raw material suppliers, processors, producers and trader, Government representative, scientific institutes and laboratories. And they are working closely to develop new products, improve quality of products, educate their members, get international certificate and export their products.
Manager of “Khaan Jims” JSC J.Uyanga said, “Our company is making seabucktorn products for the last 4 years. Companies that make products from seabucktorn united and established a cluster. Since it is impossible for one company to manufacture products alone for export to largest markets, we are striving to manufacture and export products under one standard, one package and one brand name. And we are discussing what kind of eco products made from seabucktorn would attract consumers’ interest in European market and working to develop the products.”
National producers of food products, wool and cashmere, leather products, beauty products and shoe manufacturers are taking part in the expo, which is being held for the 45th year in connection with the Government’s decision to announce 2020 as Year of Export Promotion.
The expo will run until September 27.


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| Jul 25, 2012
| 3:04 PM
Police in Lancaster County are looking for the driver of a silver colored SUV in connection with an attempted abduction in Mount Joy Borough.
The driver followed the victim, a 21 year old woman who looks younger than her age, for several blocks along...
| Aug 20, 2012
| 5:52 PM
Giant Food's newest Baltimore-area store offers a glimpse of the future for the region's dominant grocer, when shoppers increasingly rely on technology, demand more organic foods and expect a wide selection of prepared meals.
Giant, which has been...
| Aug 16, 2012
| 10:10 PM
Olympic Gold Medalist Jamie Gray Stops by
Jamie Gray won her gold medal in the 50-meter three-position rifle shooting contest and set
an Olympic record in the process. Now she stops by our studio. http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/Gr/Jamie-Gray
| Jun 6, 2013
| 4:30 AM
Giant Food has launched a prescription card that’s good for discounts on prescriptions and other health-related products.
The grocer’s Prescription Savings Card is not an insurance plan. But customers who pay a $10 enrollment fee to sign...
| Mar 4, 2013
| 7:07 PM
A delivery truck stocked with Berger cookies rolled out of the Cherry Hill bakery Monday morning for the first time in more than a month. The well-known sweets are finally back in stores after Berger’s closure by the Baltimore City Health Department...
| Feb 17, 2013
| 11:40 PM
The season may be over and they may be former Ravens, but excitement for all things purple and black still drew a crowd on Saturday to the Giant Food store in Perry Hall for an event with former Baltimore Ravens Matt Stover and Kyle Richardson.
| Jan 11, 2013
| 5:54 PM
Federal health officials declared this season's flu outbreak an epidemic Friday as Maryland hospitals and clinics continued to treat unusually high numbers of patients for the virus and manufacturers reported low supplies of the vaccine to treat the...
| Nov 28, 2012
| 4:00 AM
Toy drives will be held this holiday season at Baltimore-area Giant Food stores and at Toys R Us in Glen Burnie.
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has joined forces with Giant Food of Landover for the second year. Toys will be collected at all 170...
| Nov 16, 2012
| 4:58 PM
Soon after hearing that Hostess Brands Inc. was shutting down for good, Lisa Renee Clark wasted no time dashing out to the Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop in Glen Burnie.
But by midday Friday, she was almost too late. The Twinkies had sold out. Supplies...
| Oct 1, 2012
| 4:46 PM
A recall of peanut butter that began at Trader Joe's grocery stores last week has expanded to other nut products and to more food stores, including several that operate in Maryland.
In addition to Trader Joe's, the recall includes some nut butters and...
| Oct 12, 2012
| 2:28 PM
Anthony Hucker became president of Giant Food just over a year ago, taking the reins of the Baltimore area's biggest supermarket chain.
Since then he has overseen construction of several new stores; negotiated on behalf of the company to reach...


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Azerbaijan’s Atena company increases milk production
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18
By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:
Atena LLC, an Azerbaijani dairy producer, has increased production of raw milk by over 20 percent from January through September 2019, Orkhan Aliyev, the company manager, told Trend.
The manager noted that the growth of this indicator amounted to 24 percent over the same period.
“Every day, the company produces 50 tons of milk,” Aliyev said. “We plan to increase these volumes to 55-60 tons of products before the end of 2019, or in the first months of next year.”
The manager added that by the end of 2019, it is expected to open at least two production lines, through which the company will increase the manufacture of dairy products.
Production premises of Atena are located in Agjabadi district of Azerbaijan. The company has its own farm and land plot.
Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova


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7. Jeff Bezos, Chairman, CEO and President, Amazon - Most Powerful People in Wireless
What makes him powerful: Perhaps no company has made the transition from the desktop environment to the mobile platform more seamlessly than Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Jeff Bezos' 18-year-old digital commerce juggernaut leads all other retailers on mobile consumer satisfaction, with more than 12.1 million unique mobile users accessing its iOS and Android shopping apps each month. With sales of physical media continuing to decline, Amazon has successfully shifted its focus to digital content sales, offering more than 20 million e-books, MP3s, movies, TV shows, audiobooks and magazines. And as that digital media has expanded to smartphones and tablets like its own Kindle Fire, Amazon has responded with cloud-based streaming services giving consumers access to their content wherever they roam, regardless of which device they carry.
Amazon's emphasis on media sales and distribution is ultimately what separates the company from the mobile powerhouses to which it is most often compared. While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) relies on content from its iTunes storefront and App Store for iOS to boost sales of hardware like the iPhone and iPad, and while Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) looks to its Android mobile operating system to fuel revenues derived from its core advertising and search services, Amazon depends on affordable hardware like Kindle tablets and e-readers to drive digital content revenues. Its legacy of merchandizing and marketing prowess has paid huge dividends in mobile: The Amazon Appstore for Android, which this year expanded to the European and Japanese markets, consistently generates substantially greater revenues per user than Google Play, according to data published earlier this year by app store analytics firm Flurry. For every $1 yielded by Apple's App Store, Amazon Appstore drives an average of $0.89 per user, and Google Play earns developers just $0.23 per user, Flurry reports.
"We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices," Bezos said in September. "If somebody buys one of our devices and puts it in a desk drawer and never uses it, we don't deserve to make any money."--Jason
- 77. Jeff Bezos, Chairman, CEO and President, Amazon - Most Powerful People in Wireless


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Why you’ve probably never heard of Computer Space, which launched the video game industry 50 years ago
Is there actually anything deserving of the term AI?
MIT researchers design glue that mimics the sticky substance barnacles use to cling to rocks.
The design could help restore motor function after stroke, enhance virtual gaming experiences.
Sometimes, new combinations of preexisting things revolutionize life.
The questions about which massive structures to build, and where, are actually very hard to answer. Infrastructure is always about the future: It takes years to construct, and lasts for years beyond that.
Prosthetic arms can cost amputees $80,000. A startup called Unlimited Tomorrow is aiming to change that by making customized 3D-printed bionic arms for just $8,000.
Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality, an online role-playing game, and the internet.
Three cutting-edge techniques – the gene-editing tool CRISPR, fluorescent proteins and optogenetics – were all inspired by nature.
The Seychelles magpie-robin is up for sale – yes, for sale – as a digital nature collectible.
Virtual reality continues to blur the line between the physical and the digital, and it will change our lives forever.
How were mRNA vaccines developed? Pfizer's Dr Bill Gruber explains the science behind this record-breaking achievement and how it was developed without compromising safety.
Buildings don't have to be permanent — modular construction can make them modifiable and relocatable.
Researchers were even able store and read a 767-kilobit full-color short movie file in the fabric.
As droughts threaten water supplies across the planet, some municipalities aim to utilize an untapped resource: sewage water.
It uses radio waves to pinpoint items, even when they're hidden from view.
A machine learning system lets visitors at a Kandinsky exhibition hear the artwork.
A new method could make holograms for virtual reality, 3D printing, and more. You can even run it can run on a smartphone.


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Texas Bankruptcy Court Approves Auction of Vitro America Assets
May 9, 2011
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Texas ruled on Friday that it will permit Vitro America LLC and three other indirect Vitro subsidiaries to sell substantially all their assets, including Binswanger Glass, through an auction, according to reports from Bloomberg. The decision was made during a 9 a.m. hearing in front of Judge Barbara Houser. The auction is expected to take place in early June.
Vitro America announced in early April that it had entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of Vitro America, including Binswanger Glass, to an affiliate of Grey Mountain Partners LLC, a private equity firm based in Boulder, Colo., However, American Glass Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, has placed a bid valued at $2.5 million more than that of Grey Mountain Partners, according to court documents, and has requested that it be named the stalking horse bidder in the case.
The sale process has drawn a number of objections thus far, including two last week from the International Painters and Allied Trades Industry Pension Fund and the unsecured creditors committee, which alleged a relationship between Vitro America parent company Vitro S.A.B. and Grey Mountain Partners, according to court documents.
At press time representatives from Vitro America declined to comment. Stay tuned to glassBYTEs.com™ for more updates as they are made available.
Need more info and analysis about the issues?
Subscribe to AGRR Magazine.


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Inside a white-brick storefront in an industrial area of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, dotted with auto garages and trendy, futuristic coffee spots, Leigh Docherty stood next to a $90,000 gold-and-black motorcycle, hand-painted with an image of Johnny Cash. Mr. Docherty, a pharmaceutical manufacturing technician, was visiting from Port Glasgow, Scotland. He wore a hulking ring carved into a menacing skull. His eyes softened adoringly as he examined the bike’s workmanship.
“Nothing is hidden on it, even the struts, nothing is covered up,” Mr. Docherty said. “It’s stunning.” The bike, displayed in the window, took five months to build.
The place — Indian Larry Motorcycles, home of the New York City “chopper” motorcycle — smelled like motor oil and grease. Up front, some of the famous custom-made motorcycles built by Larry Desmedt (Indian Larry), who died in 2004, and the shop’s current master of design and mechanics, John Asarisi, were on display, along with T-shirts, hats, gear and, on the walls, photographs of Mr. Desmedt.
In back, several bikes were up on planks for repair under the soaring ceilings of the wide-open machine shop, including a flashy green number with a sticker proclaiming “Hipster Killer.” The shop, which because of rising rent moved to North 15th Street from a nearby location in 2015, showcased a few large pieces of machinery, some dating to the 1930s.
“I don’t have the money to buy an Indian Larry bike,” Mr. Docherty said. “But I had to get here. Some of the guys from the bike club back home want me to pack up some stuff, T-shirts and badges.”
Indian Larry bikes are made from scratch. From the handlebars to the kicker pedals, they are soldered, sculpted and painted in the Brooklyn shop, including the iconic Indian Larry down tube, for which two muscular humans strain to twist steel heated to 900 degrees. Even the nuts and bolts are made on the premises.
Mr. Docherty discovered Mr. Desmedt, a reformed bank robber and addict turned charismatic philosopher, master welder and mechanic, on the Discovery Channel television show “The Great Biker Build-Off.” In 2004, when Mr. Desmedt was filming the series in North Carolina, he died from a fall while doing a basic trick: standing on his bike, arms outstretched. (He had just sped through a wall of fire.) He was 55 and left behind his wife, Bambi Desmedt, a burlesque performer known as Bambi the Mermaid of Coney Island.
While Mr. Docherty examined the bikes, Ed Newbert, an oncology nurse from Boston, walked in. “I figured I’d make the pilgrimage,” he said. He walked two hours from Union Square to get to the shop so that he could sight-see along the way.
Mr. Newbert, who rides a Triumph, said he wanted to see Mr. Desmedt’s so-called Chain Bike, a gravity-defying motorcycle held together with welded pieces of chain link, but it was not on display. “You wouldn’t think it would be strong enough, not only to hold the engine and the weight of a person, but to ride at 70 or 80 miles per hour,” Mr. Newbert said.
With a starting price of $65,000 for a bike, the shop sells just eight or so a year. About 20 percent of its customers are celebrities, including the actors Ewan McGregor and Brad Pitt, said Bobby Seeger, who owns the business with his wife, Elisa Seeger. She was Mr. Desmedt’s business manager.


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Mild winter temperatures and price war to slash cost of electricity and gas bills by 10%
Gas and electricity bills are expected to fall by as much as 10 per cent for millions of families because of Britain's mild winter.
Prices have already been reduced by some small suppliers and now the UK's big six companies are under pressure to follow their lead.
Consumer watchdogs say British Gas, which supplies 16 million homes, has a duty to pass on the savings after putting up prices in the summer.
Falling prices: Gas bills are being reduced because of the mild winter
Wholesale costs have plummeted this winter by as much as 25 per cent due to unseasonal warm temperatures, with energy companies overstocked with gas.
Industry experts believe British Gas could afford to cut retail prices by up to 10 per cent.
Demand: Consumer groups want bills slashed
They predict the big six will have to drop their charges to compete with the smaller companies.
On Friday, Ovo Energy became the second small energy provider to drop tariffs for its 70,000 customers on the back of a fall in wholesale prices.
They will see a saving of £133 a year with a cut of of 5 per cent for dual-fuel fixed tariffs,
British Gas executives are understood to be considering announcing a price reduction before its parent company Centrica announces its annual results on February 23, according to the Daily Express.
A spokesman said: 'Clearly we need to remain competitive and we have to heed the market place.'
A reduction in British Gas’s dual-fuel electricity and gas tariff of 10 per cent would save households £128 a year. Last July it was the second of the big suppliers to raise bills by almost 20 per cent.
The company blamed the Arab Spring and the Fukushima nuclear disaster for a 30 per cent rise in the price of gas in the wholesale market.
Wholesale energy analyst Tom Marzec-Manser said: 'It is a simple case of supply and demand. There is a lot of cheap gas out there due to the mild winter.'
Energy watchdog Ofgem said: “The big suppliers have a responsibility to pass on savings.”
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Tiffany and 3 Popular Stocks Bombing to 52-Week Lows
MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ:MMYT): Despite positive news for U.S.-based online airline companies like Expedia, India-based MakeMyTrip is struggling to keep its shares up. The company provided FY213 revenue less service costs growth guidance in the range of 30%-32%, and with the current Q1 average exchange rate of INR 53 to $1, a revenue less service cost guidance of about $103M-$106M is in store. MakeMyTrip shares dipped 7.93% on the day to $15.55, and they have traded in a 52-week range of $16.06 to $33.90.
NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) has suffered much in the past year, as it provided significantly weaker than expected guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and has decided not to provide full-year guidance for 2013 due to the uncertain macro environment. Brean Murray downgraded NetApp’s shares to Hold, citing concerns about revenue visibility and operating expenses, and Needham remains bullish, commending the company’s Asia-Pac and U.S. commercial businesses but recognizing its weak defense and financial services. NetApp shares closed at $28.82, down 12.29% on the day and have traded in a 52-week range of $31.94 to $56.49.
Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM): With the rise of Apple’s iPhones and various Google Android devices, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices are becoming less popular, as are RIM stocks. The popularity of BlackBerry Messenger–one of BlackBerry devices’ hallmarks–is also going down, though the company has reported it does not plan on licensing out the feature. RIM shares fell 3.43% to $10.71 and have traded in a 52-week range of $10.80 to $48.95.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF): Under a still suffering economy, a new MasterCard study confirmed the trend of slowing luxury spending, something that has been reflected in earning reports from jewelry sellers Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers. Both companies saw only a 1.8% increase in April after a 6.7% Q1 gain, and analysts say the non-cyclical wealth effect is not working against economic headwinds. Tiffany shares dropped 6.81% on the day to close at $57.59, and they have traded in a 52-week range of $56.21 to $84.49.
Want news like this in real-time so you can get an edge? Click here for Wall St. Cheat Sheet Pro.


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China is moving fast on setting up legislation on the development of autonomous driving cars in China, in tandem with the fast technological and commercial developments, writes China-lawyer Mark Schaub in the China Law Insight. These detailed regulations will have a significant and positive impact on the industry, he adds.
The major economies in the G-7 need more investments in R&D and collaboration in science and technology to compete with China, says former US assistant trade representative Harry Broadman at CNBC. “We’ve done really well among democratic countries collaborating on investment and trade, but we’ve done an extraordinarily poor job in R&D,” he said.
The new US president Biden is following closely his predecessor’s approach on China. Wrongly, says long-term China correspondent Ian Johnson in an opinion piece at the New York Times. “Washington’s plan appears to be to wait for the results of the comprehensive review of America’s national security policy toward China that Mr. Biden announced in February. This caution is a mistake,” says Johnson.
Women are among the most active in the workforce, but political participation is lagging like nowhere else in the world. Social commentator Zhang Lijiia dives into the patriarchal culture of China and how political participation in government can be improved, for the South China Morning Post.
Decision-makers in China’s consumption are increasingly singles, with women becoming another major force to take into account, says marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok at the state-owned broadcaster CGTN. Mostly women decide on the purchase of a house, at the end of 2021 likely to be 82% of the deciding purchasers.
Cosmetics sold in China require up to May 1, 2021, animal tests to prove they are safe for consumers. Since their users required cruel-free cosmetics, foreign manufacturers had a hard time selling cosmetics to Chinese consumers. But times are changing, although only a little, says China-lawyer Mark Schaub in the China Law Insight in a review of upcoming legal change.


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Chris’ launches after-dinner dips
Chris’ Dips is now selling a new range of dips designed to be eaten after dinner.
The dips are sweet in flavour and include the following varieties:
- Goat’s cheese, orange and poppy seed with honey
- Goat’s cheese, fig & pistachio, with honey to bake
- Mascarpone mocha salted caramel
- Mascarpone amaretto flavour espresso crème
Chris’ Chief Marketing Officer, Amanda Habben, came up for the idea for the range after finding a gap in the dessert market and recognising customers were eating in a particular way out, but not replicating this at home.
“We looked at everyday behavior and what we typically do outside of home,” Habben said.
“We were inspired by the coffee style cocktails and coffee and liqueur based desserts such as Affogato that are enjoyed after a meal at a restaurant. We wanted to find a way to bring that same entertaining experience into households, and make our customers look great as a host.”
Similar to another premium dips range launched by Chris’ in 2014, the after dinner range will be sold in terracotta pots. The dips are available now from Woolworths supermarkets with a recommended retail price of AUD $6.99 per dip.
This is the second recent new launch from Chris’ Dips which launched a travel-inspired range in July 2017.
About Chris’ Dips
Chris’ Dips was founded in 1982 by Chris Tassios. He started the business by selling dips in a store in Prahran, Melbourne. Today, Chris’ Dips are available at Woolworths and IGA supermarkets.
- Chris’ Dips launches travel inspired range
- Chris’ Dips launch new range of premium dips in terracotta pots
- Chris’ Dips launches new ‘wholefoods’ dips range
- Chris’ dips introduces new children’s snack line
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China Trade Group USCBC Releases Statement Responding to Foreign Policy Debate
US-China Business Council (USCBC) President John Frisbie today issued the following statement regarding tonight’s presidential debate on foreign policy:
“America’s economic relationship with China is one of the most important – and challenging – issues this country faces. China is now the United States’ third-largest export market, representing a major opportunity for US businesses. Since 2000, US exports to China have grown by 542 percent, while US exports to the rest of the world grew by only 80 percent.
“Surveys consistently show that more than 90 percent of U.S. companies invest in China primarily to serve the China market, not to outsource production and export back to the United States.
Add it all up and China is now a $250 billion market for American companies. It should be more.
“Both presidential candidates have said they will “get tough” on China, but evidence has shown that the best way to make progress is through comprehensive engagement and legal actions—not political rhetoric. For example, engagement has led to China’s exchange rate strengthening by more than 30 percent since 2005.
“Whoever wins on November 6 will have to prioritize the real challenges the US-China commercial relationship faces: addressing market-access restrictions and unfair trade practices that affect American companies. These challenges require steady engagement, coordination with like-minded allies, and, when necessary, the use rules-based trade tools, such as World Trade Organization cases to level the playing field for American companies and workers.
“We should not lose perspective, our economic future depends more on actions we take here at home. Rather than argue over who is going to be tougher on China, dealing with our fiscal challenges and strengthening our competitive profile is a better approach. If we get our house in order, we will be well-equipped to compete with — and benefit from — a developing China.”
The US-China Business Council (USCBC) is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of roughly 240 American companies that do business with China. For nearly four decades, USCBC has provided unmatched information, advisory, advocacy, and program services to its membership. Through its offices in Washington, DC; Beijing; and Shanghai, USCBC is uniquely positioned to serve its members' interests in the United States and China.


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After 32 years with Interpublic Group's Hill Holliday in the U.S., financial services company Manulife, which operates as John Hancock domestically, has hired Deloitte Digital's Heat as its global creative agency. Hill Holliday did not participate in the review.
All eyes have been on the big consultancies as they continue to encroach on traditional ad agencies' territory, particularly in media, but this could be a sign that the creative space is no safer.
"Heat's creative was by far the strongest," said Manulife Global CMO Gretchen Garrigues. "They got customer feedback on the creative they were developing [in the pitch] and it was very thoughtful and innovative. They probably benefit from the relationship they have with Deloitte because it helps them add structure to the creative side of the world in terms of research."
Mike Barrett, president of Heat, said the agency wasn't initially in the pitch, but heard about it and asked to compete. He said Heat's creative in the pitch was "kickass" but that something else helped it stand out.
"The thing that being part of Deloitte allows us to do is tap a set of resources that right now are not match able by any ad agency," he said. "There is no ad agency that knows the financial services industry better institutionally than Deloitte as a firm."
Data-driven creative is great, but Barrett said anyone can go out and buy or generate data. What Deloitte has, he said are professionals with decades of experience working on a category in a market, which allows it to bring high levels of insights to drive creative.
When asked about consultancies dipping more and more into traditional advertising, Barrett said, "We want to shake the industry at the highest level and that means big accounts and it also means figuring out how to generate true creative."
"We're not beating our chests and saying, 'We're going to destroy holding companies,'" he said. "We just have something different that we think merits consideration."
Manulife is separately considering a potential spinoff or IPO of the John Hancock unit, The Wall Street Journal reported midday Thursday.
In addition to bringing on Heat for global creative strategy and execution, the company tapped WPP's m/SIX and Wunderman for global media planning, buying and analytics. "We custom-built a team, which I led, based on Manulife/John Hancock's ask and all collaborated to win this pitch," said Seth Solomons, CEO for North America at Wunderman.
Dentsu previously worked on creative for Manulife in international markets like Asia and Canada and Mindshare for global media.
The first creative work from the new team is slated to break in the first quarter of 2018. Garrigues said the company is "very keen on upping our game from a digital standpoint," and it's in the process of figuring out other channels where the new creative will live.
John Hancock spent about $15.8 million in the U.S. on measured media in 2016, according to Kantar Media. Global spend was not immediately available.
Garrigues declined to disclose the company's marketing budget but called it significant. Manulife wants to make sure it "optimizes" its spending, particularly on the media side, she added.
While part of the new agency structure is about helping Manulife and John Hancock transform to a more "customer centric" company worldwide, Garrigues said driving business results through marketing efforts is very important.
She said the company also wants to better align Manulife and John Hancock globally. "We have an opportunity to leverage the synergies of those brands globally and make one plus one equal five instead of two," said Garrigues.