The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which assigns the official age and content ratings for computer and video games, announced a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign starring San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong at AT&T Park. The PSAs, which feature the players explaining the ESRB rating system and encouraging parents to use it when buying games for their families, will soon begin running on television and radio stations throughout northern California as well as at Giants home games this season.  

Throughout the history of video games, the oldest stereotype surrounding the industry has always been do violent video games affect player behavior and personality. It is a known fact that people who play games are exposed to more violence than the average consumer. From nuking entire civilization to obliterating players online, it’s has become more and more common now that games are more focus on squarely providing violent action. For this reason alone, parents have long held an underlining negative attitude towards the industry and those who stand by it, but is this criticism injustice or have developers gone to far? Should government step in?

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 2012 Game Developers Conference (GDC 2012), the world’s largest and longest running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games begins today and will run through Friday, March 9 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. The premiere conference for game development professionals worldwide, GDC offers attendees a consummate forum to network, share information and uncover new insights and learning opportunities as they look towards the future of interactive entertainment.   

While Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in Hollywood making millions of dollars on new movies, he’s left a debt to the people of California. The state of California agreed to reimburse the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) $950,000 for legal fees incurred from the trade association’s recent U.S. Supreme Court victory, ESA announced today. The U.S. Supreme Court case was the latest result of then-Governor Schwarzenegger and State Senator Leland Yee’s (D-San Francisco) ill-fated attempt to impose clearly unconstitutional regulations on video games. ESA announced it would donate a portion of the proceeds to develop after-school educational programs for underserved communities in Oakland and Sacramento.

LOS ANGELES -- With the NBA season back on, there will be even more 3D sports to watch at the brand new South by Vizio 3D sports bar in Santa Monica, CA. The new bar has 33 Vizio 3D TVs featuring passive technology. Sports fans will be able to watch ESPN 3D and other 3D sports broadcasts in the bar, while eating and drinking. Vizio walks us through this really cool bar concept in the exclusive 3D video below (you can watch it in old-fashioned 2D by adjusting the slider).

In celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th Anniversary and his upcoming videogame, Sonic Generations, Sega has teamed up with action sports event producer ASA Entertainment for Sonic Generations of Skate. The event will feature three generations of professional skaters competing throughout the Sonic-themed day. On Saturday, October 22, Sonic and skateboarding fans will descend on Venice Beach, California (on the basketball courts near Muscle Beach), the iconic location where performance skateboarding planted its roots. Viewers at home will also be able to catch all the action on Fox Sports Network on Friday, November 25th.

NVIDIA CEO and president Jen-Hsun Huang joined up with game industry visionary and Battlefield 3 visual architect Johan Andersson to kick off the season’s hottest gaming event, GeForce LAN 6. The event took place October 14-16, 2011 on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, in Alameda, California. The event featured 48 hours of non-stop PC gaming, fun contests, amazing prizes, and special stage presentations. 

For the first time ever, players of Blizzard Entertainment's popular real-time strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will come from around the world to join an all star Halo: Reach line-up at the next Red Bull LAN in Santa Monica, California from September 30 – October 2. Twelve of the world’s best StarCraft II players (four from each of the game’s races – Terran, Protoss, and Zerg) will join three of the league’s most dominant Halo: Reach teams in one of competitive gaming’s most sought-after training programs. For 10 hours each day over three days, some of the sharpest minds and fastest fingers in the world will gather at an innovative training facility developed by Red Bull to broaden their skills and prepare for their upcoming professional gaming competitions.

Los Angeles – Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg kicked the global Call of Duty fan community into overdrive when he presided over the debut of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’sepic multiplayer mode, the opening act of Call of Duty XP, the greatest Call of Duty gamer celebration ever conceived. Over 6,000 people attended the first day of the two-day event, including approximately 350 journalists from around the world.

In his first public performance since the release of his fifth #1 album, the global smash “Watch the Throne,” Kanye West is set to close Call of Duty XP, the only full-immersion fan experience for Call of Duty gamers. West will take the stage at 8PM on Saturday, September 3rd, capping an impressive roster of firsts for casual and hardcore Call of Duty fans alike, including the world premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, the first public hands-on with the title, the finals of the Call of Duty $1 Million tournament sponsored by Xbox 360, Call of Duty-inspired live action-experiences and much more. Call of Duty XP takes place September 2nd and 3rd, 2011, in Los Angeles, California.

Unicomm and The Bob Dowling Group have announced speakers and sessions for the second annual 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond presented in association with Variety. Scheduled for Thursday, September 22, 2011 at the Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA, the new summit will take place the same week as the 3D Entertainment Summit and LA Mobile Entertainment Summit. The gaming summit is expanding beyond 3D this year to look at some of the hottest sectors of games, including cloud gaming, mobile game and augmented reality.  Producers have also confirmed Mick Hocking, Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, as a featured speaker. Hocking oversees all 3D game development for Sony.

THQ is making one of the big games of 2011 even bigger. The company's pre-order program for WWE '12 focuses on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Often touted as “the most electrifying man in all of entertainment,” legendary WWE Superstar The Rock will be available as a playable character for consumers who pre-order the game at any participating retailer within the United States or Canada for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft or PlayStation3 computer entertainment system (while supplies last).  The Rock’s in-game character will resemble his current-day appearance, including a shaved head and new tattoos.