Gaming News Round-Up: March 30th, 2005

- Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Cambridge Studios is working on a game based on the Fox TV show "24," the fourth season of which is currently broadcasting in the U.S. The game will recreate the look and feel of the show, featuring music by Sean Callery, the show's composer, and gameplay that mimics both the show's action and driving sequences as well as its data retrieval and analysis segments, and will be set in between the second and third seasons of the show, tying up a few loose ends in the storyline. 24: The Game is scheduled for release in fall 2005 for PlayStation 2. - A case of online theft in an MMO led to dire consequences for two players of Legend of Mir 3 in China, when one player was fatally stabbed by the other in a dispute over the profits. Zhu Caoyuan borrowed a rare sword within the game from Qiu Chengwei, and proceeded to sell it for the real-world sum of 7,200 yuan ($870). Angered over the loss of his property, which the police were unable to assist in recovering due to its virtual nature, Chengwei killed Caoyuan in revenge, and has admitted to this in court, although a verdict in the trial is yet to be announced. - 10Tacle Studios has secured the unusual license to make video games based on Oktoberfest, the annual German public festival centering on food and especially drink. By obtaining the exclusive worldwide rights to both the festival and Wies'n Wastl, its dachshund mascot, 10Tacle Studios hopes to bring the festival to a wider audience. "Be it people from Australia, Japan or America – everybody wants to experience the 'Bavarian spectacle' first hand," said Frank Holz, 10Tacle's marketing director. "By launching games focusing on the Oktoberfest, we hope to capture the fascination of this unique phenomenon and make it accessible to the general public." - Also updated on Gamasutra today (free reg. req.): Kieron Gillen's in-depth interview feature talking to Jeff Strain of Guild Wars creators ArenaNet about his company's concept of the 'casual MMO', as well as newly advertised jobs from Big Huge Games, Factor 5, Page 44 Studios, SkillJam Technologies, Super Happy Fun Fun, and Vancouver Film School.