The UpStream

A few weeks ago we told you that China was ending its use of electroshock to treat Internet Addiction. It turns out that is not the only thing they use to "treat" this problem. A 16-year-old boy was killed at a camp in Nanning by three supervisors who beat him to death.

The family of the student is obviously outraged, but not just over the fact that their son was murdered by camp officials. The parents said,

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a retired soldier and videogame hater, has suggested once again that violent videogames and television are the reason the country is falling apart. The good news is that he has a solution: a mandatory 10-day "detox" period by students. He encourages schools to impose this policy as part of the general education process.

Part of his presentation involved an "FBI consultant's study of 19 juvenile mass murderers that found violent video games were the only thing the teens had in common." Obviously, this is not correct. You and I can sit here and name things they have in common all day, and we don't even know the people in question. To me, this negates the premise, and therefore the response.

Also, what is with this detox thing? Does anyone really think that after a 10-day media blackout that your life will be changed forever? Or is the idea to show people that being secluded from the world is the right way to live your life? Either way, it's a pretty view of the world.

Anyone want to try this out and tell us how much better your life is afterwards?

This generation of technology's prices have made it so that most people can only own one piece of hardware, whether it be a major gaming console, handheld or media player. If you made the decision to purchase a PS3 as your one and only device, here is another reason why you might have been wrong. Rumor has it that Netflix is extending its Instant Play service to the iPhone, iPod Touch and Nintendo Wii. Multichannel News says:

Gamers have to deal with a lot these days. We have highly hyped games that turn out to be crap, in-game advertising taking over and now the government arresting people for altering their own property.

Matthew Crippen, a 27-year-old student, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for modding his game system so that he could play pirated games. He is currently awaiting trial and, if found guilty, faces a decade in federal prison.

We have talked a lot about in-game advertising here at The UpStream. We have talked about it on the show many times. There was even an article a few weeks back about Microsoft bringing Silverlight to the 360 specifically for dynamic advertising. That being said, here comes some more.

WipEout HD, one of the most popular and impressive games on the PlayStation Network, will be getting in-game advertising provided by Double Fusion. They claim the ads will match the futuristic style of the game, and only appear during load screens, but we will see.

If you're not already concerned or offended, here is a quote from the CEO of Double Fusion:

We know you like playing videogames, and we know you like to gamble. How do we know this? We watch you through your mother's basement window. Since we know so much about you, I feel obliged to tell you that your two passions are coming together via a new site called BringIt. The site bills itself as "online video game tournaments & challenges" but we know what it is about.