Dante's Inferno is a piece of literature ripe with graphic visual imagery and a perfect setting for the new 3D action game from EA. As seen in these screenshots, the Dante's Inferno Video Game is dark and seductive. Perhaps Kratos is finally going to face some real competition, unlike the puny gods he's already dispatched.

One of the more interesting days in my Video Game Theory and Design class is when we chat about censorship. Not only are many students shocked to find there is no legal banning of games in the U.S., but that countries they assumed were more liberal, namely Germany, the U.K, Italy, and Australia (list of banned games).

So while it's no shock that Australia banned Aliens Vs. Predator (and can we get a subtitle on this game to avoid confusion with the other AVP games and films?), the fact that the decision was publicly defended is quite interesting.

Michael Atkinson, Australia's Attorney General, defended the ruling to not classify Sega's AVP game (thereby banning it) by saying, "You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people." Of course one does not need to surf, drink beer, or swim with sting rays, yet these are all things Australian adults, and their visitors are allowed to do.

He added, "This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society. And I think harm society. It's the public interest versus the small vested interest. I accept that 98 per cent, 99 per cent of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1 per cent to 2 per cent could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence."

Of course the same argument could be applied to any media, any intoxicating ingestible substance, many foods, and some pets.

The differences in legal theory here could not be more pronounced. Do you ban books or simply make publishers responsible for harm they do?

Personally, I find Australia's stance both saddening and hypocritical. The burden to prove that games cause harm is completely ignored and paranoia is allowed to rule this situation.

It's not that AVP looks to be a must have game, only that it is absurd that governments dictate what their citizens read, watch, and play.

[Source: GI]

File under really solid rumor:

It looks like the much anticipate water pack will be released at the same time as the new Pirates of the Caribbean pack for LittleBigPlanet, and that time should be "just before Christmas."

While Sony continues to refuse to comment on rumors, it looks like LBP fans will finally be able to use real water in their designs thanks to the "Water" content pack. Of course the timing is perfect as Jack Sparrow and company will probably appreciate the moisture being present in their Pirates of the Caribbean LittleBigPlanet pack.

[Source: CVG]

One of the motivating factors behind the development of the PS3 Slim was to cut the cost of production. Which is a noble goal, as at launch Sony was losing between $250 and $305 dollars every PlayStation 3, depending on which market analysis firm you chose to believe.

So how successful is the PS3 Slim? It looks like the number has been reduced to $37 lost on every PS3 sold.

Now, it's important to note that loss leaders, products that loose money intentionally, are nothing new. Sometimes grocery stores will put a deli item on sale in order to get you into the store, knowing you are more than likely going to buy more. So it goes with video game systems.

Platform holders (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) make a royalty on every game sold on their system, so they are willing to take a small loss on their systems in order to make it up on game sales.

With the loss on the PS3 only being $37, it's very likely that the system may become profitable in the near future as the cost of production continues to decline. Follow the jump for a breakdown on why the PS3 costs what it does.

[Source: CNET]