Gadgets and Video Games

Thanks to the video above, we now know more about Funcom ’s upcoming MMO The Secret World than ever before. And yet, that’s still not saying much. The new trailer provides the first in-game footage, specifically showing off the town of Kingsmouth, a game location revealed last month . Of course, no sleepy New England town is complete without a dark secret, and Kingsmouth is no exception

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The Secret World less secret: first in-game footage

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the best-selling game in the UK during 2009, according to data from ELSPA/GFK Chart-Track . That surely comes as a foregone conclusion to any devout follower of the weekly Chart-Track all-formats report , which has seen Modern Warfare 2 at the top of the charts for nine weeks in a row. Last year’s Call of Duty installment, World at War , made the ninth spot in the top 10 for the past year. Running up the field in second was FIFA 10 , with FIFA 09 taking the tenth spot. Assassin’s Creed 2 hung on to sixth place, with the rest of the all formats chart occupied by Wii titles

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ELSPA/Chart-Track reveal top 10 UK sellers of 2009

Wii Fit Plus has taken the top spot in the UK during its second week of release, according to Chart Track . The excellent Dragon Age: Origins premiered in fifth place, behind Wii Fit Plus , Wii Sports Resort and two football games. No surprises there! Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time premiered at the 22nd spot, which is a weaker debut than we had anticipated for the titular duo’s final(ish) outing.

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Wii Fit Plus claims top spot in UK sales chart, Dragon Age debuts in fifth

UK Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey stated today that the Labour party is failing the video game industry and the Conservatives are ready to take up the mantle and show the industry the power of its armed and fully operational support agenda. Vaizey announced that the Conservatives will extend Film Council credits to the industry, recognize that game companies “face specific challenges” in raising capital, support its needs to “succeed and expand in the global economy” and stimulate investment in broadband. Vaizey quotes research that finds the UK video game sector could shrink 16.5 percent over the next five years, resulting in a potential loss of “

Ken Levine plays video games. Shocking, we know! Speaking with IndustryGamers , Levine, who is currently working on a super-secret project , listed his ten favorite games. Occupying the top five spots in descending order are: World of Warcraft, Civilization, Beyond Good & Evil, Ultima Underworld and Company of Heroes . Back in 2007, Levine produced a similar list for MSNBC . His top five have apparently shifted in the last two years, though, as Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past have fallen even beyond the BioShock developer’s top ten.

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Ken Levine lists favorite games again, changes mind on a few

Team Joystiq is on the ground in Tokyo, set up outside the Chiba prefecture’s Makuhari Messe expo center, home to Tokyo Game Show 2009 . At 10:30 a.m. local time, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai will address those in attendance and we’ll be liveblogging it right here. Check the list below for the keynote’s start time in your timezone: London, England: 2:30 a.m

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Joystiq live @ Sony’s Tokyo Game Show keynote

We’re starting to notice that Tiga , the UK’s trade association for the video game industry, is sort of like the tragic figure of Cassandra of Greek mythology (and ABBA’s 1981 song ) — no matter how dire the prophecy, that powers that be won’t listen. The latest warning from Tiga urges the English government to stop its ” incoherent ” funding system, which the organization deems a “post code lottery,” for game companies in the region.

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Tiga calls UK tax support ‘incoherent,’ seeks national solution

As of this writing, it is past midnight in jolly ol’ England, which means that our dear Jem Alexander is no longer a part of the Joystiq staff. He has left us to go work for … um, actually, I’m not allowed to say, but it’s SO not in NY. Jem’s Britishisms and the way he would say amazing (a sampling of which is found below) will be greatly missed — you have no idea — as a moment of levity the next time we’re banging out stories at 2AM during next year’s E3. We’ve asked Joystiq staffers to say the first word they think of when discussing Jem and here are the results: excitement, adventure, glamour, glitter, fashion and fame.

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WRUP: The truly, truly outrageous edition

Filed under: Podcasts Though this is a short version of the show that lacks Chris Grant and Ludwig Kietzmann, we’ve made up for it with Joystiq’s Ben Gilbert and Jem Alexander and super special guest Wombat of Cheap Ass Gamer fame. We’re talking The Conduit , Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and a load of other stuff. Enjoy it and have a happy 4th! Oh, and thanks to TV’s Alan Black for the photoshop. Get the podcast: [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [ RSS ] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [ MP3 ] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Jem Alexander, Ben Gilbert, Wombat of CAG Fame and Justin McElroy Music: ” Gravity (Don’t Let Me Go) ” by Jon Black , “The Problem With America” by The Vitamen For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group See all of this week’s links after the jump.

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Joystiq Podcast 01776 – Sorry, England edition

News that our fellow gaming industry professionals have been stripped of their employment is always a bad thing — even when said professionals work for a studio that we … kind of … forgot about. Hey, it’s not our fault. Do a quick search for “Rockstar New England,” and the only result is a post about the studio’s origins published April 2008.

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Rumor: Rockstar New England’s QA department laid off