Round-Up: Bully Threatened, Three Rings Returns, GC 2006 Concert

Today's round-up includes news on Rockstar's latest alleged threat to humanity, a new game from Puzzle Pirates developer Three Rings, and information on the orchestral concert attached to the GC 2005 show in Germany, as well as the latest product news, Letter to the Editor, and job postings. - Controversial developer Rockstar is attracting unwanted attention again, this time before the release of its next title, Bully. For once, the outcry against the upcoming game comes mainly from non-American sources, as the UK-founded Bullying Online has led the charge against the game. Founder Liz Carnell said that the game "should be banned. I'm extremely worried that kids will play it and then act out what they've seen in the classroom." U.S. Attorney Jack Thompson has also begun his standard crusade, which will commence with a demonstration outside of Take-Two's Manhattan offices. - Three Rings, developers of Puzzle Pirates has announced a follow-up online multiplayer title called Bang! Howdy. The Wild West-themed strategy game has several modes of play, all of which use past winnings as fodder to enhance the player's strategic arsenal. The game itself will be free for download, and Three Rings will use a microcurrency system to allow players to put real money into their characters and games. "The 'free to play, pay for items' business model has proven very successful in the Korean market with games like Kart Rider," said Three Rings CEO Daniel James. More Bang! Howdy information can be acquired from its official site. - The 2006 Games Convention symphony concert, the third such event connected to the annual Games Convention, will be produced with the support of Music4Games.net. The concert will be held just before the 2006 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany on August 17. The program for the concert includes symphonic performances of a wide range of games, including World of Warcraft, Dragon Quest, The Elders Scrolls III: Morrowind, Chrono Cross, Battlefield 2, Silent Hill 2, and Brothers in Arms. - Also updated today: further SIGGRAPH product news including information on the latest version of Firelight's FMOD audio engine, the unveiling of Alias' MotionBuilder 7, plus news on Avid's new Face Robot software, as well as a rebuttal by John Sutherland in a Letter to the Editor, and the latest industry job postings from companies including Activision / Luxoflux, BlockDot, and EA Tiburon.