Round-Up: EGM 200, INXS Online, Xbox Live Safety

Today's round-up includes news of a historic milestone for Ziff Davis' Electronic Gaming Monthly, an opportunity to battle the new lead singer of INXS on Xbox Live, and an update on privacy and parental controls for the Xbox Live service itself, as well as the latest GameSetWatch posts and today's product news and Gamasutra job postings. - Electronic Gaming Monthly, part of the Ziff Davis Game Group stable alongside Computer Gaming World, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, and Pocket Games, has reached its 200th issue. #200 will go on sale at newsstands on January 10th, and contain a "Top 200 Games of Their Time" feature where editors select the most significant games of their day, with commentary from industry insiders. The 200th issue will also come in four variant covers, which form a montage of famous game characters when fit together; a poster inside will also combine with a poster for the February 2006 issue to show all 200 EGM covers since its inception. - Once and again popular rock band INXS will play its fans at Halo 2 over Xbox Live, after an initial screening through the band's website. Those who fill out the entry form by January 16th can win an opportunity to hop online with the band, including new lead singer J.D. Fortune. Those selected will be notified by email of the match's date and time, along with the gamertag to play. "It’s been a wild ride thus far," said Fortune, "but we can’t wait to take break from our world tour and get on Xbox Live to challenge our fans from all over the world. They better come ready though, because I’m gunning for them!" - Gaming weblog Joystiq is one of several sites which has received a statement from Microsoft on the alleged child molestation incident apparently facilitated through Xbox Live. "We are just learning about this alleged incident and clearly this is something we are very concerned about," read the notice. "Safety and security, and specifically child on line safety, are a top priority for Microsoft, and we insure that Xbox Live is equipped with the tools that allow parents to monitor the activities of their children during online game play, including disabling voice communications. The Xbox Live space is regulated by our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct which prohibit all illegal activities. We work closely with law enforcement around the world on child safety issues on the Internet and will provide any and all help to the authorities investigating this case." - Over at Gamasutra's recently launched sister game weblog GameSetWatch, new posts include fresh information on the 'I Am 8-Bit' art show and book, an interesting critique of Neversoft's Gun, and a chance to take on a star gamer who just happens to be blind, among other posts. - Also updated today: product news including the Khronos Group's release of the Collada 1.4 standard, as well as the latest Gamasutra job postings from companies including 3D Realms, Blue Fang Games, Climax Studios, Datascope Recruitment, Factor 5, Flagship Studios, Jailed Games, Pronto Games, Rainbow Studios, Stormfront Studios, and Ubisoft.