Toulouse was part of the team that, among other things, was responsible for the banhammer.

Stephen Toulouse, commonly known as Stepto and the Microsoft’s Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement, is leaving Microsoft.

Toulouse made the announcement on his blog this morning.

“Over the past year I’ve been doing quite of bit of thinking,” he said. “Nothing specific, nothing groundbreaking. Just plain old thinking. I turn 40 this year. Despite the wonderful ability in Microsoft to change careers pretty dramatically inside the company, I’ve been there nearly 18 years and it’s the only world I’ve really ever known. I feel too strangely comfortable, and too strangely tied.”

One of Xbox 360’s most public faces will remain with the company until February 15, before spending a vacation on a cruise boat wondering about what to do next.

Toulouse intends to write another book (his first one recounted his nearly 20 years at Microsoft), but there are no permanent plans.

“I have no idea what the future holds, for the first time in my life,” said Toulouse.

As someone who’s spoken with Toulouse several times, I’ve always enjoyed our conversations about Microsoft policy. I didn’t always get the answers I wanted from Toulouse, but few people at any company were as willing to engage in the debate as often as Toulouse would. It’s unclear who will take his spot, but he’ll be difficult to replace.

My last chat with Toulouse was regarding the state of Xbox Live security. You can read it here.

Read More… Video Game News at Giant Bomb

Ridgewood, NJ, February 1, 2012 -Do you have what it takes to assemble an A-team, invade an island and oust an evil dictator? If you think you’ve got what it takes, it’s time for you to launch your career as the leader of a Private Military Corporation in the newly released single-player demo for Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, the upcoming tactical combat game for Windows PC from Kalypso Media and bitComposer Games.

The demo, available at the mirror links below, offers you the opportunity to take a squad behind enemy lines as they clear all the opposition in the area. Jagged Alliance is all about testing your combat planning skills, and the Orta Laboratory level featured in the demo will challenge you to use the “Plan & Go” system for optimizing your battle plans before you drop those pesky villains with a well-aimed shot from one of the many real-world weapons featured in the game. “Plan & Go” is a new addition to the Jagged Alliance series, introducing a battle planning mode that moves above and beyond turn-based play, and will prove both exciting and challenging to hardcore veterans and tactical newcomers alike.

The demo includes –

• One tutorial mission
• One sample level from the final game – “Orta Laboratory”, which takes place about 2/3 of the way through the game and will challenge players to demonstrate their advanced tactical planning skills through the “Plan & Go” system
• A pre-assembled team of veteran mercenaries, armed to the teeth and ready for action

Read More… ENG-GA-shogun

Source destructoid.com

Indie Gala’s back, this time with more options

Back in December The Indie Gala threw their proverbial hat in the indie bundle ring. They’re back again, but things are a bit different; rather than limit the bundle to a period of time, there’s a limited supply of 50,000 copies. There’s even more change in the form of tiered pricing rather than the traditional pay-what-you-want model. For a donation in the $ 1-$ 5.51 range you’ll get 3 games ( Critical, Mass Fortix 2 , and Bunch of Heroes ) as well three albums. A $ 5.52-$ 9.64 purchase gets you that plus Roboblitz , Greed Corp , and three more albums. Finally, for $ 9.65+ you’ll be the proud owner of all of that as well as the entirety of the first Indie Gala. With just over 40,000 copies still available for purchase, there’s still plenty of time to jump in on this. You guys have room in your Steam backlog for yet another collection of indie games?

6 hours, 6 minutes ago by
andariels 0

Source gamesradar.com

Rumor: THQ lays off 170+, including VP of tech Mark DeLoura [Updated]

Though THQ denied reports of trouble within its walls a few weeks ago, rumors are rumbling again that the company has seen drastic layoffs, including VP of tech Mark DeLoura…

6 hours, 6 minutes ago by
andariels 0

Source gamesradar.com

GR’s weekend giveaway: Final Fantasy XIII-2

Want a free copy of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and some fantasy friendly reading material? Enter now for a chance to win…

6 hours, 6 minutes ago by
andariels 0

Source gamesradar.com

The Preemptive 2012 Game Awards

Why wait until the end of the year? Let’s start handing out awards now, before we actually play these games and have to form real opinions…

6 hours, 6 minutes ago by
andariels 0

Source gamesradar.com

High Horse: When did $ 10 become a “cheap” XBLA/PSN download?

Remember when you were

6 hours, 6 minutes ago by

Read More… myxbox360centersummary

[Gamasutra rounds up the week's biggest reports on South Korea's booming online games market from This Is Game, the leading English-language site about the country's game industry.]

In our latest round-up of news from South Korea’s online games space, we look at a new game ratings group set up by the government, plans to review online gaming regulations, and WeMade Entertainment purchasing online action game Lost Saga.

470,000 minors presumably addicted to games

The South Korean government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced that it will begin investigating recently passed and proposed online game regulations this August, reviewing measures designed to prevent and treat online game addiction.

MCST said that it presumes some 470,000 minors — or 6.5 percent of South Korea’s 7.24 million elementary, middle, and high school students — are currently addicted to games, though it’s unclear how the department determined that estimate.

The organization intends to examine the effectiveness of regulations like the Shutdown Law, which restricts children from playing online games during a late-night six-hour period; and the Selective Shutdown Law, which requires games to block kids if they or their parents request it.

MCST vice minister YoungJin Kwak acknowledged concerns about online game addiction, but said that regulations will not solve the problem, and that prevention and treatment are key. He also pointed out the game industry’s contributions to Korea’s economy and workforce.

Another game ratings committee created

The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology has established the Healthy Game Review Committee, a new group of non-game industry officials (e.g. teachers, parents) tasked with reviewing games to classify them according to their violence and nudity content.

It’s unclear yet if the organization’s ratings would affect whether games are released in the country, or whether it will act as a second rating in addition to reviews from the existing Game Rating Board. MCST will provide more information on the committee on February 6.

HGRC’s creation could possibly conflict with efforts by local trade body Korea Association of Game Industry and partner firms to set up a private group that will take over game ratings from the government’s GRB department starting in July.

WeMade buys SesiSoft’s Lost Saga

MMO developer SesiSoft (Chaos Online, Carpe Diem) has sold its free-to-play online action game Lost Saga (pictured) to WeMade Entertainment, the developer and publisher best known for releasing popular MMORPG series The Legend of Mir.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the agreement, but WeMade will take over the game’s local and international operations. Lost Saga initially launched in 2009 (published by OGPlanet in North America), and will soon launch in China.

[This story was written with permission using material from ThisIsGame Global, the leading English-language site about the South Korean game industry.]

Read More… ENG-GA-gmstr

This week saw a deluge of information for 2012′s gaming crop: Game Informer revealed its The Last of Us cover story, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford discussed Aliens: Colonial Marines and what he knows about Prometheus, Drinkbox Studios showed off Mutant Blobs Attack for PS Vita, the team behind MLB 12 The Show served up two new videos devoted to the improved batting and pitching gameplay, a new video revealed MotorStorm RC’s online features and PS3-to-PS Vita competition, Starbreeze Studios gave us a tour of its well-received Syndicate co-op demo, The Tester 3 revealed a sneak peek of its first episode, NIS America showcased Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention for PS Vita, and Team 17 revealed its PSN release plans for Worms Ultimate Mayhem.

• I’m playing: Mortal Kombat for PS Vita, Twisted Metal Multiplayer Demo, Soulcalibur V
• I’m watching: Homeland
• I’m reading: The End of Business as Usual by Brian Solis
• I’m listening to: Official PlayStation Blogcast 010: The Curious Case of Final Fantasy XIII-2

Most-Watched Video of the Week: Mortal Kombat on PS Vita

The 10 Most-Viewed Posts of the Week

Read More… PlayStation Blog