One of these days, I was talking to a friend of mine about this so-called "crisis," and you know what he told me? "I got so much to work, I didn't notice any crisis!" Unlike him, I notice some businesses closing their gates almost daily, as I walk out the building and go somewhere else, but I don't call this a "crisis," since it's more about "customers justice," and I think the only ones really in pain these days are those who want to start a business, not those that only need to redraw their business plans.

The fact that another one bites the dust here and there is a direct consequence of the customer satisfaction provided and - of course - the specific demands of the market a certain business is operating in, and so we arrive at our topic, Free Radical Design...
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
According to GamesIndustry.biz, indie UK studio Free Radical Design is shutting down, "with multiple sources claiming that staff, including senior executives, have already left the company." The worst part of it is that, according to another inside source quoted by GamesIndustry, "staff turned up to work today to find doors locked, and instructions to meet at a nearby hotel for a final company meeting." Being laid off is not such a tragedy, but being laid off just before Christmas, without any warning, now that's nasty!

To make things even worse, about a month ago, studio's director Steve Ellis was saying everything is fine, and nobody will be laid off "any time in 2008." Too bad he was not right, and another one bites the dust... but that's life!

Oh, my, I just remembered why I choose as political orientation "anarchist" each time I have to select it when entering data in some online form! I'll get to it right away, but let me say that I like order, but since anarchy in a society with decent people is better than most forms of organized government where (in)decent people make the decision...

...here you have it - as you probably know, residents of the state of New York are already paying an extremely high tax on cigarettes, but - at least from my point of view - that's a good idea, although unpopular. Less smokers means less people who will end up using their medical insurance, and so less health-related spending. <-125x125 Button - right->Obviously, the budget will get more money, overall, although a bunch of people will curse the ones behind the decision, but...what about the download tax?

Yeah, you heard that right - here's the excerpt from the official document, via Kotaku: "Close Digital Property Taxation Loophole. Imposes state and local sales tax on purchases of prewritten software, digital audio, audio-visual and text files, digital photographs, games, and other electronically delivered entertainment services to achieve tax parity. For example, with the passage of this bill, a book, song, album, or movie would be subject to sales tax no matter if it was bought at a brick and mortar store or downloaded online."

Since I always try to take hits with a smile, and this time - even if this gruesome proposition becomes a law - it won't affect me, all I can say is: ROTFLMAO! Anyway, if you're closer to the "hot zone," telling us what's your opinion about it would be a great idea, so don't be shy!

Metal Gear Solid for iPod Touch and iPhone, now that's what I call good news for the year to come! Obviously, the previous sentence says it all, but I think we should get in just a little deeper, since even more interesting titles have been confirmed(more or less) to be headed toward's Apple's handheld gaming platforms...

According to GameSpot, Konami announced that Metal Gear Solid will be another title on the very tasty looking list of games to arrive on iPod Touch and iPhone in early 2009, next to Frogger, <-125x125 Button - right->Silent Hill, or Dance Dance Revolution.

The best part of the story is that I was expecting to see the first or the second game in the Metal Gear Solid series to go mobile, but this is better than one could ever dream - Solid Snake will drop in a completely new adventure that features a wide range of characters and locales introduced in Konami's recent PlayStation 3 blockbuster Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Now, we just need to wait and see how is going to look and feel MGS on Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone, but I think we may have a very pleasant surprise around the corner...