The fact that Ubisoft moved a lot of its operations in Europe is not something new, since notorious games like Silent Hunter 3 or the Blazing Angels series were developed by Ubisoft Romania, for example, but the idea was to use Europe's talents for coming up with great products for the US market at a lower cost that usual. What's that? Well, think again, because I also reconsidered my position - Europe is not Ubisoft's biggest territory!

Who said that? Don't worry, I am not claiming to be a seer, because I am not. This is coming straight from Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot, who spoke with GamesIndustry.biz about their new breakthrough in Europe. How was this possible?

"First, our money - the pound or the euro - is very strong and because of that the turnover from those countries is heavier than they used to be. So for Ubisoft turnover Europe <-250x250 Square - right->is actually more important than the US now, and by more than 5 per cent. It's become a very strong market for us," explained Guillemot at the Games Convention to GamesIndustry.biz.

Sometimes, I wonder how come I don't manage to push my parents into computer gaming, but since we don't meet too often, the last thing I'd wish would be seeing each other to talk about...the latest computer games! Sounds like a mad scenario? I know, but for some people, this could also be the truth, since Ubisoft's CEO also said that "(..)there are lots of customers that want to play - because in Europe we love to play - the only problem we had was that the games were becoming more and more difficult to play. Now that there's more accessibility, some accessories that are helping people to have fun, I think this market has no limit in the growth it can have if we can make sure that the people that are coming in are staying."

You know what's the funnies part? While Guillemot talks about putting game quality above financial schedules, Ubisoft Romania also released Silent Hunter 4, an extremely unpolished and buggy title. So...what does have this to do with game quality? :(

In the last few months, I saw various articles about a game called Bioni Commando, but I simply skipped them for most of the time. Those of you who were gaming already in late 1980s will surely call this "blasphemy," but I think you have to excuse me - living in a Communist country at that time, access to computers was extremely limited, and while I had the chance to work with some early Commodore clones, I surely didn't have the luck to get around a NES. Why a NES?

...well, because the Nintendo Entertainment System was one of the platforms for which Bionic Commando was released over 20 years ago! My first encounter with a NES happened in early 1990s, but I simply missed this classic game. Not that bad, since I can grab the new release from Capcom, a remake that already managed to sell over 130,000 copies!<-125x125 Button - right->

Currently, Bionic Commando Rearmed is available for the Xbox, PlayStation and PC, and most reviews gave it huge scores, usually above 9 out of 10. According to its producer, Ben Judd, the Bionic Commando is changing the gaming world once again.

"Basically, we have set a standard in digital gaming. Consumers voted with their dollars. They have sent the message loud and clear - We are tired of meta-emulated crap; we want the titles of yesteryear to be paid the proper respect; we want them done right, and if the price is right, we'll buy. The bar has been raised," said Judd.

So...what's next? I hope we won't have to wait another two decades for the next breakthrough version, but I also hope we won't get a new Bionic Commando quickly pushed into the market next year, just to destroy all our hopes for a better one...

If you're wondering about the link between gold and games, probably you never played a game involving Gold as a resource, no matter if it's about Age of Empires or some MMORPG. Anyway, here's something to help you - we're talking about the so-called "gold farming," a general term usually used to point player attempts to acquire items in a game by exploiting repetitive elements of its mechanics, like killing various creatures. Why "farming?" Well, this is sometimes done using bots or automatic clickers, but when talking about the financial gains of such gaming procedures, the numbers look pretty impressive, as we're going to see next...

In most cases, if you're going to look for "gold farming" on the Internet, you'll end up facing pages with tips and tricks for World of Warcraft, but it gets much deeper than just that. Anyway, we're not going to talk about a specific game, as I was saying earlier, because this is all about the numbers. If you ever had the crazy idea that games only involve spending money...your world is going to be turned upside down right away, believe me!<-250x250 Square - right->

According to a research conducted by the University of Manchester, quoted by GamesIndustry.biz, gold farming "could be worth as much as USD 500 million," and if this is not impressive, I guess you met King Kong when you were a kid, and instead of running scared, you simply said "Hi, monkey! What's up?" and moved on...

In the report written by Professor Richard Heeks it is mentioned that gold farming employs over 400,000 people, earning an average of $145 per month. If we sum it all up, we can figure out that the "gold farming industry" is worth over $500 million, since I am sure we're talking about more than 500,000 people "farming" on the Web.

Interviewed by the BBC, Heeks said "I initially became aware of gold farming through my own games playing but assumed it was just a cottage industry. In a way that is still true. It's just that instead of a few dozen cottages, there turn out to be tens of thousands." (a teacher who's also a gamer! awesome!!!)

At last, it should be noted that, in most cases, MMO players sell in-game currency for real money, going against the terms of service they agreed with when starting to play the game, and also risking their accounts. Well, it's nothing new how far could go some people for money... but would you spoil your turn your gaming experience into a hunt for cash? I wouldn't!

You know why some chicks playing tennis are worth watching, no matter how bad or boring could turn to be a match? If you don't, look at Anna Kournikova. If you still didn't find out why, then maybe you should start watching chess, because tennis is surely not your thing! Anyway, as a final hint - take a look below, and try to imagine what could be the link between tennis and gaming. Without any help, I couldn't guess that either, but since I know the whole story already, here's what you should know...

...since it happens a lot for various celebrities to step in and help promoting a certain game, why not add some hot tennis chicks into this human equation? How? Well, by offering Top Spin fans a chance to meet Maria Sharapova, of course! Here's an excerpt from the official press release: <-125x125 Button - right->"2K Sports announced today that top-ranked tennis star Maria Sharapova will be autographing copies of Top Spin 3 for Wii home video game system at the Nintendo World Store on August 25. From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., fans can meet Maria Sharapova and have her autograph their copy of the most authentic tennis experience available for Wii."

As you can see above, the whole thing is expected to happen between 12PM and 1PM on the 25th of August, at the Nintendo World Store, in Rockfeller Plaza, New York, NY. Probably you missed it, but that doesn't really matter for now - if it happened now, it will probably happen again, and if someone would ask me, I would really like to meet Maria Sharapova dressed as a Dark Elf. How would you like to meet her? Don't answer "naked," please! :)

Finally, I should also add that Top Spin 3 has been rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, so you're all free to take the tennis ball and give it a spin with Maria!

Ever had a car or motorcycle accident? If you didn't have "the chance" of experiencing such a thing, then you can take my word for it - it's not like in the movies! Sometimes, you know what's going to happen a few seconds earlier, and while everything starts to flow in slow motion, you start building possible end scenarios, try to dodge or move to get away as clean as possible, or pray and wait for salvation from above, depends on the one involved. I had one car crash, and I was hit three times by cars while riding a bicycle, and I am still in one piece, although once I was close to being turned into a poster on a tree, but I wasn't doing any crazy things in any of these situations, thinking about some PS2 game...

...that pushed one PS2 player who also had a fast bike to go on a road rage and finish the crazy trip under a car! Fortunately, the guy survived, his bike was destroyed, but this makes me wonder how far could go this PS2 madness? Looking at the entire industry, there's even worse - I don't know if you remember, but GTA 4 was pulled back from Thailand because some looney killed a taxi driver, "inspired" by the game.

Before I give you all the details I know about today's looney, here's what I think - gamers are not like empty pages of a book, waiting to be filled with the "commandments" of some violent game, so this whole "GTA made me do it!" approach is nothing more but a castle made of sand to me. <-336x280 Large Rectangle - right->I can also go out and kill someone, and then claim Satan told me to do so, but that wouldn't bad this fictional character from appearing in movies, games, and so on!

Anyway, back to the story - according to the KSL-5 TV station, a 27 year old riding a fast bike led the police on a chase at speeds over 100mph, ending up on I-15 under a Ford Expedition. He got lucky and survived with only a bad case of road rash, while his bike caught fire, but here's the most incredible part - he told the police that such behavior always works in video games!

The guy riding the bike, Daniel Savino, claimed he was inspired by the racing games he plays on the PS2, but I am sure all those games have a warning coming with them, regarding the driving style depicted there. What the... am I not open minded enough? Inspired by video games, 27 years old, no helmet, no shirt, and out of it alive, after going with the bike under a Ford Expedition! And I used to call myself "lucky" sometimes...

Ehem...27 years? Welcome to the real world, boy! Thank your guarding angel for getting out of it alive, or simply thank your incredible luck, if you don't believe in such things as angels.

Final lesson: don't blame the games, blame the ones who believe they're Superman's reincarnation!