The site of a tragic hunting incident on Sunday, Seattle's Qwest Field will house the World Cyber Games Grand Final from October 4-7. Today, event organizers announced a few more particulars of this year's Grand Final.

The event, which brings together the top 700 combatants from a pool of more than 1.5 million entrants, will determine the "world's best" in 12 different games, including Starcraft: Brood War, Counter-Strike, FIFA 07, and Gears of War. At stake for this year's event will be a portion of the more than $500,000 in cash and prizes.

The WCG has added several new sponsors for the event, including Samsung Mobile, Thermaltake, Kingston, and AMD. As with many industry trade shows, the WCG will feature several panels as well as speakers from companies such as Microsoft, Gas Powered Games, Valve, Wizards of the Coast.

The WCG 2007 Web site has more details on the event as well as a complete schedule.

Earlier this month, Emergent Game Technologies announced that its Gamebryo Engine had been optimized to work with Nintendo's pint-sized Wii. The news interested many, considering that these development tools had heretofore been used on such games as Bethesda Softworks' award-winning The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and EA Mythic's anticipated Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Of course, tools are only as good as the artist that wields them. Sidhe Interactive has signed on as one of the first studios to put the tools to use on the Wii. The New Zealand-based shop announced today that its middleware platform of choice would be the Gamebryo Engine for development on the Wii and future multiplatform projects.

Sidhe announced last month that it would be ramping up its game-development output, with its most-recently revealed game being Speed Racer on the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. Although Sidhe did not call out any specific games slated to use the tech, it did note that one project using Gamebryo was currently in development and that several others are set to begin soon.

TOKYO--The Tokyo Game Show is just about ready to finish up, with only another hour left for gaming fans to get their fixes, cosplayers to show off their costumes, and industry executives to finalise deals. So what did the man on the street think of the show? We asked a selection of the less scary looking people what their verdict was.

First up, we spoke to Mike Adams,who works for DreamCatcher Games in Canada. He came over to Tokyo on a business trip specifically to visit the show.

GSUK: What do you think of this year's TGS?

MA: I absolutely love it. Now that E3 is over, it's great to be able to go to a show that's still on that level size-wise and buzz-wise.

GSUK: Which is your favourite booth?

MA: The PlayStation 3 one. It looks like the biggest here, and I think they did a really good job with that space. Oh, and the Canada booth was excellent, of course!

GSUK: Anything that could be better?

MA: I wish Nintendo had done something. They have, what, like 58 percent of the market in Japan but no booth at the Tokyo Game Show?

GSUK: What's your game of the show?

MA: Ace Combat 6, although the line was too long--I didn't get to play it, but the trailer was enough. I also like the look of Project Gotham 4.

Next we spoke to Todd Resnick, who works for a music licensing company in the US. This is his first time at TGS.

GSUK: So, first time, huh? What do you think?

TR: It's ok. It's not brilliant, and not terrible. I'm here for business, so in terms of a B2B (business to business) show it's not what I expected at all. It's more B2C (business to consumer), TGS seems to be all about revealing new products to consumers, that kind of thing.

GSUK: What's the best game you've seen here?

TR: Without a doubt, Ace Combat 6. The trailer for that game is absolutely amazing--really theatrical. I can't wait to play it.

GSUK: Do you think anything could be improved for next year?

TR: No, it doesn't need to change. It's perfect at what it does, as a consumer show. With the demise of E3, we really need a good B2B show, though.

Mike Jorgenson is originally from the US, and has lived in Japan for over four years.

GSUK: How many times have you been to TGS?

MJ: This is my sixth time. The show used to be twice a year, which is how that works.

GSUK: What do you think of this year's extravaganza compared to previous years?

MJ: One thing I've noticed over the last two years is that the percentage of space for mobile games has been growing and growing. I think it's going to keep getting bigger and bigger, as well, as here everyone has keiteis (cell phones) and everyone commutes. So, the mobile phone companies' booths are bigger once again.

Britton Rees is from the US, but is currently living in Japan. He came along to TGS with his girlfriend, who said she's not into games but joked that she wanted to keep an eye on him with all the hot booth babes on the loose.

GSUK: The event's been supersized this year. Does it seem like there are more people to you?

BR: Actually, no. If anything, I think it's less busy. Which seems strange, but that's just how it seems--it definitely seemed like there were more people last year. It seems like there are less games this year too.

GSUK: Tell me about some of the interesting games you've seen so far?

BR: I've seen a lot, but most of them I don't know their names because my Japanese isn't so great. There was one the looked like the movie The Grudge, that looked really interesting, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I also saw the infamous broomstick game--which was, uh, interesting.

GSUK: Anything get your goat?

BR: The lines are a pain, but that's the way it goes on the public days.

Craig Mercer is from Ohio, where he's part of an anime group.

GSUK: What brings you to TGS?

CM: I'm part of an anime group in the US that puts on a convention, so I've come over to TGS to see how they do it in Japan and to improve our own event with some new ideas.

GSUK: What has impressed you most so far?

CM: The Gundam Bandai stuff--since I'm old school, I enjoyed that.

GSUK: Seen anything weird or crazy yet?

CM: Not yet. I'm sure I will have by the end of the show, though. It's TGS, after all.

Ole Rosand is originally from Norway, but he's currently living in Japan and studying Japanese.

GSUK: Is this your first game show?

OR: No, but it's my first one for a while. The last show I went to was Nintendo Space World back in 2000. It's expensive to travel just for the shows, and we don't really have any big ones in Norway.

GSUK: What do you think of the crowds?

OR: It's busy but it's not as busy as I expected it to be, actually. I had to queue for 20 minutes to get in, but I was expecting it to take at least an hour.

GSUK: What game here are you most interested in?

OR: I just bought Eternal Sonata for the Xbox 360, and I'm playing that at the moment and really enjoying it. I'm interested in Square Enix's Infinite Undiscovery, as it looks like a similar kind of game for the 360--but they haven't given much away.

Helge Stenstrom is also from Norway, and is currently based in Tokyo studying Japanese with his friend.

GSUK: So, what do you think?

HS: I think it's awesome. As a huge gamer, it's kind of heaven to see lots and lots of games collected together in an enormous booth. I own every console, so I'm interested in everything.

GSUK: Seen anything strange?

HS: Yes, actually. We stood in line for this promo event for a new PSP game. It was a fun experience, kind of like a talk show with singing--I'm not really sure what it had to do with games but it was really funny. We couldn't work out what they were actually singing, either, even though we both speak Japanese, since they were singing so loud.

GSUK: What is your game of the show?

HS: Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots. I haven't been over to the Square Enix booth yet, but if Final Fantasy XIII is there, then that too.

The good news: Electronic Arts and Crytek are still releasing a demo of their forthcoming PC shooter Crysis. The bad news: The demo has been delayed to October 26, three weeks before the game goes on sale. "We are taking some extra time to make sure you that you have an amazing experience but also we did not want to risk the [November 16] release date of Crysis at this stage," Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli explained in a statement.

Yerli partially assuaged impatient gamers' ire by announcing the Crysis demo, which will be available via GameSpot Downloads, will ship with the CryEngine 2's Sandbox 2 game editor. This will give "the community the opportunity to get familiar with the vast amount of tools they will have at their disposal" when the highly anticipated game arrives on store shelves, said Yerli. For more information on Crysis, peruse GameSpot's extensive previous coverage.

The musically diverse setlists of RedOctane's Guitar Hero series have always resembled the hodgepodge of hits one might find on a blockbuster film soundtrack. As a result, it's not entirely surprising that a soundtrack CD based on the latest installment of the game is in the works.

According to a Billboard.com report, record label Interscope is preparing a Guitar Hero III soundtrack CD featuring music from the game. Naturally, the disc will feature Interscope artists like Sonic Youth, AFI, Queens of the Stone Age, and Flyleaf.

Xbox 360 gamers who purchase the soundtrack will also find a code they can use to download three bonus songs from Xbox Live. The songs include AFI's as-yet unreleased "Carcinogen Crush," Flyleaf's "Tina," and a Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) remix of Marilyn Manson's "Putting Holes in Happiness."

Set for release alongside the game in late October, the Guitar Hero III soundtrack is currently listed on Amazon.com for $14.99. A full tracklisting for the CD was not listed as of press time.

When it comes to video format wars, traditionally there has been a winner and a loser. But, if a new report issued by UK-based analyst firm Screen Digest is to be believed, the conflict raging between Toshiba's HD-DVD and Sony's Blu-ray high-definition video players may end in a stalemate.

Despite Blu-ray players currently outselling HD-DVD devices at a rate of two-to-one, Screen Digest's research indicates that film studios will potentially miss out on $280 million in revenue for 2008. "Blu-ray-exclusive studios Sony, Fox and Disney could miss out on $175m in consumer spending by not publishing their films on HD DVD, although Blu-ray's stronger sales mean that HD-DVD-only supporters are at risk of making the largest individual losses."

Rather than viewing Paramount's recent HD-DVD alignment as an obvious flaw in its argument, Screen Digest thinks the move will have the opposite effect on other studios. "The decision has effectively secured HD-DVD's immediate future, and cleared the way for the other studios that currently support one platform only to move to an agnostic position without being the studio solely responsible for prolonging a format war, or for killing off one of the formats."

Screen Digest concludes that many format-exclusive studios will rethink their strategies in 2008 and come to the conclusion that cashing in on lost sales trumps fueling the platform war. "We believe that eventually most will decide to offer their titles on both HD-DVD and BD in order to maximize their returns," the report concludes.

In a manner similar to the close proximity of their annual NHL icecapades earlier this month, 2K Sports and EA Sports will take the court simultaneously for their yearly NBA basketball installments on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2. Players looking to scout out the matchup before the games' October 2 release date have already been offered a free trial of EA's NBA Live 08 on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. Now, 2K Games is joining in the preseason warm-ups with a demo for NBA 2K8 on Xbox Live.

Clocking in at 325MB, the NBA 2K8 sampler lets players take the court for a four-minute exhibition game. The full version of 2K's annual baller will include a number of new features, including the slam-dunk contest mode, off-ball controls, revamped player models, and more "signature style" player animations. NBA 2K8 will retail for $59.99 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the PlayStation 2 version landing at a budget price of $29.99.

While it would be borderline abhorrent to decide the next victim of the infamous Madden Curse, EA's newest way to pass the pigskin doesn't yet have that reputation. Therefore, the publishing giant is asking football fans to choose who will represent NFL Tour for its opening season.

By visiting the NFL Tour Web site, fans can cast their vote for one of three current NFL defensive players. The cover boy candidates are Miami Dolphins defensive end and 2006 NFL defensive player of the year Jason Taylor, Indianapolis Colts defensive end and three-time Pro Bowler Dwight Freeney, and San Diego Chargers linebacker, two-time Pro-Bowler, and 2005 defensive rookie of the year Shawne Merriman. The voting polls are currently open.

Billed as a traveling football show, NFL Tour puts players in the cleats of an NFL hopeful competing with and against real gridiron superstars for a shot at a playing contract. Developed by EA Tiburon--the same studio behind Madden football--NFL Tour will arrive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in January 2008. It has not yet been rated or priced.

Nowhere is the cultural divide between Europe and the US more visible than in entertainment. Traditionally, the US frowns upon frank descriptions of sexuality while remaining indifferent to violence. Across the Atlantic, it's just the opposite, with governments dropping the banhammer on gore while letting sensuality flow unfettered.

The lastest example of this schism can be seen in two ratings of BioWare's forthcoming Xbox 360 role-playing game Mass Effect. In the US, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board slapped the game with a M for Mature rating for "Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, [and] Violence"--meaning that no one under 17 should buy or rent the game without parent approval.

Although the ESRB didn't elaborate, the British Board of Film Classification--which recently banned Manhunt 2 outright--explained that the American board's lascivious labels stem from a single sequence depicting a risqué encounter.

"[Mass Effect's] single sex scene is brief and undetailed, although there is breast nudity in one version of the scene," read the board's summary. "The sex scene is triggered by the player making a series of choices about becoming more than friends with a colleague. If playing as a male character the scene can take place between him and a human woman or a humanoid female alien. If playing as a female character the scene can take place between her and a male human or a female humanoid alien." (Emphasis added.)

On its surface, the mention of extraterrestrial bisexuals raises the specter of an interstellar version of the "Hot Coffee" scandal sparked by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas two years ago. However, any controversy will likely be allayed by the fact that the BBFC gave Mass Effect a "12" rating--meaning that it deems the content in question to be perfectly suitable for unsupervised preteens.

It's also worth noting that Mass Effect isn't the first BioWare title to involve bisexual romance. The PC and Xbox martial arts fantasy Jade Empire features several nongraphic, crossgender love subplots, including one storyline that leads to an implied three-way liaison between a male hero and two non-player characters, Silk Fox and Dawn Star. The choice of having a female or male character could also lead to some same-sex crushes in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games.