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NEXT@CNN
Next@CNN Reviews Upcoming Videogame Technology; Hong Kong Scientists Fight Spread Of Avian Flu; Arson Spreads Through Disputed Maryland Subdivision
Aired December 11, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, NEXT@CNN: Hello. I'm Fredericka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. NEXT@CNN begins in a moment.
But first here are the top stories. Hours after withdrawing his name from consideration as the nations Homeland Security chief, Bernard Kerik calls his decision, quote, the right thing to do. Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner was nominated by President Bush just over a week ago. He says he withdrew his name after realizing some tax-filing problems on a former nanny who might have also been an illegal immigrant.
Tere's another troubling development involving Ukraine. Doctors treating opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko say his mysterious illness was caused by dioxin poisoning and they suspect foul play was involved. The 50-year-old fell ill in September. He and Ukraine's prime minister will face off two weeks from tomorrow in a second runoff election.
President Bush passes his annual physical. Doctors at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, say the president is fit for duty. The White House says President Bush, who is 58, was found to be in superior health for a man his age.
Well, what's the weekend weather outlook for your part of the country? Some areas are seeing snow, apparently. CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney joins us with the forecast.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Here's a look at the afternoon forecast. I'll take you on into Sunday as well. When this developing low pressure takes the place of this low pressure, which will move off the eastern seaboard into the Canadian martyr times, not before it drops some pretty good snowfalls in the northeast, especially upstate New York through the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks and continuing on up into Maine. In fact, so far Maine has seen as much as five and a half inches into Eirstis (ph), parts of New Hampshire, only an inch, inch and a half. The forecast is for as much as 14 to 16 inches in some spots.
Going to have to get after it if it wants to do that. This is a slow-moving system. It's going to be windy associated with that as well. Right through the northern plains, a little bit of snow and rain across the west. I do mean a little. Maybe four to six inches of snow in the mountains. Down to the south, today and tomorrow, a gorgeous day with warm conditions. But colder air is moving through places like Denver after a high today in the 60s. Look for highs tomorrow in the 40s across much of the Rockies, still warm in the south and southeast.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Orelon. I'm Fredericka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More news at the bottom of the hour. NEXT @CNN begins right now.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
DAINEL SIEBERG, CNN ANCHOR, NEXT@CNN: Hi I'm Daniel Sieberg. Today on NEXT@CNN, arson destroys expensive homes in an area where environmentalists didn't want them built. Is this a new wave of eco- errorism?
Also scientists in Hong Kong work to keep avian flu from turning into a major threat to human health.
Then we will spend the rest the show on the world of gaming. Meet some fascinating gamers and find out what makes them tick. All that and more on NEXT.
Most of our show this week will look at video and computer gaming. But first, some serious news on our beat. The investigation continues into suspicious fires that destroyed 12 homes and damaged 14 others in a suburb of Washington. Environmental groups didn't want the subdivision built. And that's got officials considering the possibility of eco-errorism. Kelli Arena has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Residents living in this Washington suburb say they've never seen anything like it.
DAWN PHILLIPS, RESIDENT: The sky was really bright. I mean, lit up like the sun. And I thought it was too early for it to be that light.
ARENA: Investigators are finished collecting evidence from the burned houses.
FARON TAYLOR, MD. DEPUTY FIRE MARSHALL: We're strongly considering that this act had to have been at least considering -- had to have been perpetrated by more than one person.
ARENA: Officials went out of their way to squash reports the arson was racially motivated. Some federal investigators are also privately backing away from the theory this was an act of eco- errorism. Saying the crime doesn't fit the usual m.o. Sources tell CNN the fires did not take a lot of sophistication to set, and that the fluid used was a mixture of commonly available substances.
MICHAEL CAMPBELL, ATF: We go where the evidence takes us. We will look at all theories. We will look at all possibilities.
ARENA: Investigators have declared arson the official cause for damage to 19 homes, seven others were damaged by exposure. And they say arson was attempted on 11 other homes, leaving evidence for technicians. While it wasn't discussed publicly, sources have told CNN there were containers filled with ignitable fluid found at the site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't characterize it as promising, but it is certainly in the investigation's favor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: In Buena's Aries, Argentina the United Nations is holding its final climate change conference before a major initiative to reduce greenhouse gases goes into effect. The accord, which is known as the Kyoto protocol, commits 36 industrialized nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses by 2012. The United States refuses to take part, saying the protocol would hurt the U.S. economy. The European Union is leading the way as Andrew Carey reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW CAREY, CNN CORREPSONDENT (voice over): Four devastating hurricanes in one season. An arctic polar ice cap that's shrinking. All of this, scientists argue, is down to global warming. An agreement was forged in Kyoto in 1997 to do something to stop the emission of so-called greenhouse gases. Russia's decision in October to ratify the Kyoto agreement means it will come in effect on February the 16th.
But Europe is leading the way by establishing a financial exchange where carbon dioxide emission quotas can be traded from January the 1st. It will work like this. Individual EU governments set individual emission targets for 12,000 factories that are big co2 polluters such as oil-fired power plants and cement factories. If a company is clean and reduces its pollution, it can sell the rest of its quota on the carbon emissions market.
The buyer will be a company that does not succeed in reducing emissions below its quota and wants to escape financial punishment. For every turn or 1,000 kilos of co2 over its target, the company is liable to a fine of 40 euros or $48 for the first three years. That increases to 100 euros per 1,000 kilos from 2008. But just how tough are these fines for carbon emissions?
MARK NICHOLLS,. ENVIROMENTAL FINANCE: Given the price of emissions allowance in the market is around 8, 9 euros per ton. It would certainly make sense for companies to buy allowances rather than fail to comply.
CAREY: A recent survey by Germany's European Energy Exchange found turnover could range next year from 1 to 2 billion kilos of carbon dioxide emissions in a market that would be worth $7 million in the EU alone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: Well scientists in Asia this week unveiled a text to detect bird flu in people within hours. The previous test took days. The new test could help keep the bird flu from causing a worldwide pandemic. In case the virus mutates into a strain that can be passed from human to human. Hong Kong researchers are on the front lines in preventing this possibility, as Mike Chinoy reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): All the great flu pandemics of the last century originated in this part of southern China, amid fears of a new outbreak of avian flu, Hong Kong is in a very dangerous neighborhood.
DR. JOHN NICHOLS, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY: Hong Kong and southern China is an area where everything really comes together, almost like the perfect storm in terms of virus, animals, population density.
CHINOY: Dr. John Nichols is a pathologist at Hong Kong University, part of a team at the cutting edge of research on avian flu. This laboratory is where much of the work of identifying the avian flu virus was done during the first outbreak in 1997. But as fears of a pandemic grow, scientists here are expressing alarm at how little they actually know about the disease.
NICHOLS: The science point, the thing which I get worried about is the porosity of information, the fact that we are dealing with something which evolves very rapidly, that may not be the time to do the longstanding research.
CHINOY: In 1997, Hong Kong was ground zero, the place where avian flu first jumped the species barrier to infect and kill human beings. In response, the government here took the unprecedented step of slaughtering every chicken, duck dove, and goose in the territory.
Today, Hong Kong's government is demonstrating similar resolve. Especially after last year's SARS epidemic. Providing more training for medical staff, stockpiling protective clothing, setting up dedicated hospital isolation wards. And with scientists like John Nichols still struggling to unravel the secrets of the virus Hong Kong's track record of intensive preparation and drastic action may be the best if not the only, defense against avian flu.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: Well that story is likely to be on our radar screens in the coming weeks.
But now let's move to the fun stuff. When we come back we'll jump into the wild world of gaming and meet a man who's making a six-figure income playing video games.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SEIBERG: Welcome to the world of serious fun and games. Wardaginans (ph) near Atlanta where video games, similarities and other high-tech toys provide the spice for a restaurant and bar. We'll spend the rest of the hour introducing you to some games and gamers and get some answers to the question, what's the big attraction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So wake up. Wake up and smell the ashes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Halo 2.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like to play Grand Theft Auto.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Need for Speed Underground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mario Cart, Zelda, all those.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of the games I like is the Arcade PC because it has all those old games that I started with.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Simpson's is an awesome game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, Rainbow Six Kind of Girl. I like those tactical games, you know. They're really awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We like to play, you know, football games, NCAA, Madden.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think it keeps them out of trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pokemon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like hours or days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost 20 hours -- well, maybe not 20 hours a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my free time, probably.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost ten hours a week, you know, 10, 12.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm better than my sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he really better than you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, in all games?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, not really.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
SIEBERG: Well, it may be all fun and games for most of the players, but gaming is a big business. Out grossing movies in recent years. So how did the industry get so big so fast?
SIEBERG (voice over): Video games may have started out as a distraction for kids, costing just a quarter at the neighborhood arcade. But electronic entertainment has now become the $8 billion gorilla in America's living room.
DOUG LOWERSTEIN, ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE ASSN: Video games have emerged as an equal partner in shaping the culture and the entertainment that people around the world consume.
SIEBERG: 145 million Americans say they play video games. That's just more than 50 percent of the total population.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's grown to be something phenomenal.
SIEBERG: Including both hardware and software sales, the industry made about $11 billion in 2003. Compare that to only $9 billion in box-office receipts for that year. The November release of Halo 2 saw sales of $125 million in its first day.
RON FORREY, ELECTRONIC BOUTIQUE: We sell tens of thousands of games a week.
SIEBERG: Part of the reason -- those kids who started out playing Atari 20 years ago, well, they're still playing, and so are their kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Usually a lot of sports games. Sometimes a couple adventure games. And Halo 2. As many hours as we put behind a game sole, it's a great way to spend father/son time.
SIEBERG: While demand has grown so has the competition. The amount of money invested in a top main video game is on the line of a blockbuster movie.
DAN SHU, ELECTRONIC GAMIONG: You are talking about $10 million, $20 million to make some of these games. You're asking consumers to pay $40, $50 to buy one of these games.
GREG ZESCHMI, RIOWARE: There's a lot at stake and that is why you really have to do things very carefully, plan what you're going to do and execute well.
SIEBERG: Hundreds of titles this year didn't even break even. At these budgets, it only takes one bomb to break a company. But for the top titles, Americans don't hesitate to shell out. But could the popularity of these games just be a passing fad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you asked me this maybe ten years ago, maybe. But now, you know, mom and dads are playing video games. Adults, business owners, you know, the average-aged gamer in the united states is 29. So I think it's definitely here to stay.
SIEBERG: And with the backing of Santa Claus, at least for now, analysts predict the holiday season of 2004 will set a new record when the numbers come in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're so done. I can win, but I can't be beat.
SIEBERG: All right. Since I've been dominating you guys for so long in this game here, I'll give you a break, if you want to come over and talk. Frag Dolls. Where did that name come from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The name represents rag doll physics, which is game development, and Frag means take out your opponent which is something we're best at. We put those two ideas together.
SIEBERG: And how did you guys all meet?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Research software recruited us to play games and represent women in gaming.
SIEBERG: Is there sort of a sex appeal with you guys? I mean, is that part of your image in all of this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think the important thing about our team is that we show up and that we beat everybody. That's our appeal as a team.
SIEBERG: Do some of these guys think, girls, I could beat them? No problem?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm sure at first. Then they play us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little girls and teenaged girls come up and say that they're really inspired and that they like what we're doing.
SIEBERG: Do you guys have boyfriends at all or married?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We play games and don't have much time for anything else.
SIEBERG: None of you guys are attached.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Married to my XBox, yes.
SIEBERG: Married to your Xbox how many hours a day are we talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to tell everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say eight hours is pretty common.
SIEBERG: Cool guys. Thanks so much for joining us. I may get another kill in at some point. Probably not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
SIEBERG: Remember these? Kind of low on the visuals, but easy to pick up and play. The average age of a gamer who played those is now in their late 20s. So what would happen if the next generation got a hold of the vintage games?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They look like petrified snails.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better than the other game.
SIEBERG: The editors at "Electronic Gaming Monthly" bravely decided to find out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like they didn't finish the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they made a game like this now, somebody would definitely get fired.
SIEBERG: Is "Star Wars" cool?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going out, and Matrix is starting to take its place, even though it's not really that good.
SIEBEG: Do you guys feel like you're really flying an "x" wing right here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They look like jelly fish.
SIEBERG: Do you feel bad you just shot the humans there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're, like, more detailed. Maybe I'd feel something.
SIEBERG: It looks like you're shooting a Popsicle?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You died.
SIEBERG: It seems like mainly a thumbs down for the old-school games with some minor victories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So close to getting you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up, meet a guy called fatality, and find out why other gamers are out to get him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: You know, a lot of parents think that playing video games is a waste of time that distracts kids from learning serious skills. Well, they might have a hard time making that case if they meet this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fortunately, my job is to play video games.
SIEBERG: His name is Jonathan Wendell, he is better known as Fatality. We first caught up with the 23-year-old professional gamer in his makeshift training center at a small hotel. Using a specialized glow in the dark keyboard, custom-made computer, he practices about eight hours a day. At midnight, he's practicing for the next day. When we came back at 9:00 the next morning, we found Fatality in pretty much the same place. He says that's what it takes to win more than $100,000 a year in sponsorships and prize money, paid for by the companies that make these games and want to promote their product.
Don't be fooled, though. Jonathan gets a full night's sleep. He exercises daily and says he takes care of himself.
FATALITY, PROFESSIONAL GAMER: I actually already went downstairs and had a nice little breakfast. I'm pretty charged right now, and I'm ready to go to my fatality shootout today and kick some more butt.
SIEBERG: Jonathan tells us he played tennis, pool, and video games in high school and dreamed of becoming a professional in one of those fields. When he told his patients he was going to be a pro gamer, they were skeptical.
FATALITY: So I made a deal with them. I said, if I don't win any more than the first one I go to, I'm done with gaming. Gaming will be a hobby in the background, but I'll not pursue to train eight-plus hours to win these tournaments. So we made the deal, and I won $4,500. And I came back and slapped that check on the table and said, "I won $4,500 playing a video game."
SIEBERG: The rest is history. After practice, Jonathan and I stop downstairs for a milk shake and from there, we followed his team to the day's event. Jonathan is at a gamers' gathering in San Francisco. Where he's holding twice daily shootouts. Fatality is like a 21st century gunslinger. Gamers come from all over to wait in line for a chance for a showdown. If they win or actually even score just one kill, they get $2,000 bucks.
Needless to say, that doesn't happen very often. The shootout tour has taken Jonathan from London to the great wall of China. Though he loves his work and its perks, he hasn't forgotten where he came from.
FATALITY: My goal is to get back into gaming, get back to the gaming community I started from. Basically from the roots, from where I started. And I want to sponsor other gamers, give them the life that I had already, the last five years. I plan on doing this for another five or ten years as well. It's been amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've captured a command boat.
PETER HERSHMANN: Getting paid to make video games for George Lucas is not a bad way to make a living. The "Star Wars" universe has been around for almost 30 years. We're now on our third and fourth generation of people who have come to it. All the things that he puts into his movies, he wanted to put into games as well. We've got to have the iconic things that people associate with "Star Wars," light Sabres, Jedi, crazy aliens, lots of different planets.
We don't want to exploit the license, slap on, hey, it's "Star Wars," you know, "Star Wars" golf or something like that.
CHRIS WILLIAMS, PRODUCER, LUCASMARTS: The "Star Wars" is a public franchise is set BROWN: out 4,000 years before the time of the movies. It's set in the time period that's very different in terms of, you know, what the structure of the universe is and who rules. We're not dealing with the same heroes and villains we are in the movies. We have a product that people can sit down and enjoy for 40 or 50 hours. And that's far different than, you know, a two and a half hour, two- hour movie experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming up in our next half hour, are violent video games harming kids? We'll hear some conflicting opinions.
And we'll tour the world of ever quest with a mystical character as our guide. Those stories and a lot more coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Welcome back to NEXT@CNN. As we continue our look at videogames, does the virtual violence in games lead to the real thing? Is it desensitizing kids to the horrors of killing and mayhem? Well, opinions on the subject are almost as passionate as the gamers themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that's fun so I go in and shoot this woman in the head. And people are screaming and running all over and there's blood everywhere.
SIEBERG (voice-over): A public service announcement released by the national Institute on Media and the Family, time to coincide with the annual videogame report card from the group and Senator Joe Lieberman.
SEN. JOE LEIBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Violent and sexually provocative videogames are not just games, they are a deadly serious matter, with real consequences, not just for the people, the kids who play them, but for the rest of us and our families that live in the same communities with people who play these games.
SIEBERG: Critics of the video game industry say game makers and distributors need to do more so it doesn't fall into the hands of minors. Senator Lieberman says parents are under-informed and that the videogame rating system, which is similar to that of the movies, is vague and you under-enforced. But the industry says they've done their job. In fact, they say 83 percent of the time; parents are the ones making the purchase.
DOUG LOWENSTEIN, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSN.: The problem isn't with industry regulations. The problem isn't with industry ratings system. The problem isn't with retailer enforcement. The problem is that most of the time parents are making a choice to buy these games for their kids.
SIEBERG: The Entertainment Software Association also takes issue with the research on videogames and youth violence. They cite a study done by the Washington State Department of Health that concluded research evidence is not supportive of a major public concern that violent video games lead to real-life violence. A lead researcher in the field, Craig Anderson from Iowa State University, disagrees.
CRAIG ANDERSON, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY: The true research experts have come to a solid conclusion here that these violent games really are not appropriate, even the cartoonish violent ones are not appropriate for children, that there are negative effects.
SIEBERG: There's no forgetting the events of April 20 of 1999 when Eric Harris and Dillen Klebold killed 13 fellow students and teachers at Columbine High School. The shooters were reported to have been fascinated with the video game "Doom." Many studies on video games and violence began shortly thereafter. Dr. Anderson's work was published by the American Psychological Association in April of the following year, concluding that laboratory exposure to a graphically violent video game increased aggressive thoughts and behavior. Industry representatives contend there's a big difference between violence and aggression.
LOWENSTEIN: Look, people watch football games and are more aggressive after they watch a football game. We've just seen an instance in this country where basketball players and fans got into a full-fledged brawl. There weren't any video games involved, but we don't necessarily think going to a basketball game is harmful to your health.
SIEBERG: So why is the rhetoric around videogames and violence so conflicting? Well, Dr. Anderson says it's because the gaming industry is trying to muddy the waters.
ANDERSON: The research literature provides very, very clear answers. But they've kind of gone out of their way to try to keep everyone confused.
SIEBERG: Supporters of the game industry say critics are on a witch-hunt and the studies are irrelevant when you look at while the popularity of games have increased, statistics from the Justice Department suggest that youth violence is down. And ultimately, they say, it's a family affair.
LOWENSTEIN: Parents all over this country are making sound, thoughtful choices about the content that's appropriate for their families. It isn't for me to tell them what's the right choice for their family, it isn't for Senator Lieberman to tell them what's the right choice, it's for parents to take the tools that are available and make choices that they think are appropriate for their family. And most parents, I think, care about that and do a good job of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Coming up, some of the coolest new games to put on your holiday gift list.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIEBERG: Each year, hundreds of games are released for the console market. We're talking about the Xbox, Playstation 2 and Gamecube. So, how do you make sense of them all? Well, joining us to help us out is Marc Saltzman, videogame reviewer, journalist, and author.
Mark, we're going to talk about the top five picks of the year. Now, it seems there's a common thread between all five.
MARC SALTZMAN, GADGET EXPERT: Yeah, there is Daniel. We could this year is the year of the sequel. All five games that we've chosen are sequels, but the good news is unlike Hollywood, videogame sequels are usually better than their predecessors.
SIEBERG: And you can play as many times as you want.
SALTZMAN: Yeah, some of the game play is about 50 or 60 hours, believe it or not.
SIEBERG: All right, let's take No. 5, put yourself into this game and what do you like about it from Konam?
SALTZMAN: Yeah, this is Kanam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater for the Playstation 2. Once again the star is Snake and the lead operative who must infiltrate enemy territory, not by running and gunning, but by using stealth and cunning. He has to use camouflage, he's got to -- you know, navigate through jungles and other outdoor areas, to accomplish his missions. It is a terrific story, great cinematic and just music and tons of fun.
SIEBERG: All right. And it's rated "M" for mature.
SALTZMAN: That's right, for players 17 years and older.
SIEBERG: All right, at No.4 we've Jack 3. What makes that one stand out?
SALTZMAN: Yeah, Jack 3 is the best platformer of the year. These are played from a third-person perspective where you've got to run, jump, climb, fight and even drive through interactive environments. You play as Jack and Daxter, two playable characters, both of which are aliens, who have been banished for a wasteland. They're being blamed for the destruction (UNINTELLIGIBLE) which took place in Jack 2. There's some great environments like volcanoes and mines in and a huge city. Lots of vehicles to drive and the dialogue is funny and great graphics. It's a lot of fun, and it's rated "T" for teen, so player 13 years and older.
SIEBERG: All right, No. 3 on this top five countdown, we're talking about a big sequel here for Nintendo, right?
SALTZMAN: Yes, Nintendo's Metroid Prime 2 Echoes for the Gamecube, is that title. And you, once again, star as Samus Aran, a female space Marine who must take on a menacing alien race. She has access, of course, to all her trademark weapons and gadgets. She can roll into a ball to access hard to reach areas and use her visor to scan items such as computers. Great graphics this time around, a really good story. And lthough it doesn't have internet play for head to head matches over the internet, it does have four player split screen on the same TV. It's fun and rated "T" for teen.
SIEBERG: OK, the main character in Metroid Prime is a female, but the main character in the game at No. 2 is Master Chief.
SALTZMAN: That's right. Halo 2 from Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox. Eagerly anticipated title and I'm happy to say, it more than lives up to the hype. It's got a terrific single-player story with surprising plot twists, and more importantly, great multiplayer play over the internet. Up to 16 people can log on to Xbox Live and compete in a number of head to head or cooperative game modes like Capture the Flag, but it's a beautiful game. It's got great pacing, beautiful graphics, and a killer soundtrack. I mean, that's often overlooked in a game. Amazing music. All around, great title, but it is rated "M" for mature, so you should be 17 and older to play.
SIEBERG: Yeah, a couple games you've already talked about are not for kids, and this next game we're going to talk about, at numero uno, big game, but definitely for adults.
SALTZMAN: Absolutely, and the average age, by the way, of the gameplayer now is 29-years-old, and this is ideal for them. It's the latest Grand Theft Auto game called San Andreas. Huge hype and what a great game, all around, across the board. It gets everything right, if you are, of course, old enough to play the game. In this title, you play as C.J. who returns to the slums of his youth to avenge his mother's murder. There's three huge cities to interact with, there's a fictitious Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and all points in between and can take up to 100 hours to do everything that this game wants you to do, and that is run, gun, and drive to solve various missions in these interactive bustling cities. Again, across the board, it's an amazing game. And it really -- if you're a PS2 owner, you should be buying this one.
SIEBERG: So, for parents, be sure to check out the ratings, and for gamers, I guess it's just a matter of finding time to play all these games.
SALTZMAN: That's right. No shortage of great games this year. Two very swollen thumbs up for these top five.
SIEBERG: All right Marc, thanks for helping us out.
SALTZMAN: Thanks, Dan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Coming up, what does it take to get to the top in the fast-paced world of international gaming competition?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: We're at the Word Cyber Games in San Francisco. This is the first time it's actually been in the U.S. It's usually in South Korea. There's also craziness going on over here. We're going to go check it out. Hey. I'm Daniel Sieberg with CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN?
SIEBERG: Yeah. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm all right.
SIEBERG: We just saw the referee shirt. Mind if we talk to you for just a second?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm told to say, "yes."
SIEBERG: Is trash talking allowed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No trash talking, no talking at all.
SIEBERG (voice-over): The following morning, the competition began. We caught up with the team captain for the United States team. They play a game called Counterstrike.
(on camera): For people who don't know about competitive PC gaming, explain what you do to prepare and what it's like to compete.
DAVE "MOTO" DEFFEN, TEAM USA: We prepare all year, four to five hours a day, sometimes even more, five days a week to come to this event. We try and do our best to win.
SIEBERG (voice-over): That night, Dave and teammates took our camera along to their strategy session.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the second we do this guys, like the fire in the hole, like then I'd start flashing out. Like when we start smoking, just start flashing out long. I think that'll probably be the best timing. Just keep him blind so they don't get the initial shot on us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our little scouting report on other teams that we may possibly have to play. It goes over their defensive setups and their offensive strategies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a big waste if we don't meet any of those groups. Thanks for being positive, Kyle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just saying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He murmurs over his Gameboy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose pretzels are these?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It didn't take long for Ronald to fall back asleep.
SIEBERG: Day two of the competition, and Team 3D faces their fiercest battle yet, the team who won the gold medal the year before, the Russians. It was a hard-fought match, but they won, setting them up for the final round. That night, a victory feast at a tex-mex restaurant paid for by the team's sponsor. Former teammate turned lone wolf, Fatality, stops by to congratulate the team. Though the team was excited, the only drinks that had alcohol were at the other end of the table. The team turned in early to get some rest before facing down the team from Sweden for first place.
The next day, the grand finals. Team 3D for the United States...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes! Nice match.
SIEBERG: Reporter: against the Titans for Sweden, dozens of cameras from around the world watching their every move. In another room, a crowd of hundreds has gathered to watch the play-by-play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes. Moto, nice job, he needs to back out of that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Beautiful shot through the window.
SIEBERG: Back in the competition hall, the teams duke it out. The match goes into overtime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice try.
SIEBERG: Then double and triple overtime. The final moments, it's down to two members of Team 3D against four from the Titans.
(APPLAUSE)
"MOTO": I wish I could put it into words. It's an amazing match. And it was really closely fought towards the end. When you do something right, you hear the whole building erupt and scream, I mean, it's a great feeling.
SIEBERG (on camera): Do you think this is going to become more of a spectator sport?
"MOTO": I think so. Because I think that people are realize that -- you know what, watching video games is actually pretty exciting.
SIEBERG (voice-over): And just like the real Olympics, Dave and the rest of the Team 3D went home with gold.
ANNOUNCER: They are the team from the United States of America!
(APPLAUSE)
SIEBERG (on camera): Are you going to take time off and relax for a bit?
"MOTO": No, we have to go back and we play in some leagues online and we have to do a ton of make up matches.
SIEBERG: No rest at all for you guys?
"MOTO": Right back to work.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Up next, a chance to walk a mile in Hugh Heffner's slippers, virtually, of course.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSHUA MACHI, TIME.COM: The wireless data industry has grown by leaps and bounds with things like ring tones and downloading pictures and sending pictures and games. Cell phone games is something that is just starting to really proliferate. There are a number of new titles out there you can download to your phone.
It's something that all of a sudden became a $250 million industry overnight, and there are games in all categories: Sports, action, puzzles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: The game itself, tell me exactly what it is that players would do.
HUGH HEFFNER, "PLAYBOY": Well, it's a virtual reality opportunity for people to slip into my slippers and live the life, create the magazine, create the empire, build the mansion, decorate it, live in it, date the playmates, throw parties, games -- and the playing of games is part of what my life has been all about and certainly what the magazine is all about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They called me and asked me, do you want to be a part of this game? I said, "of course, I do. Are you kidding me?" This is game room in the mansion and it's one of the favorite spots, where everybody converges after all the parties.
SIEBERG: A lot of parties here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of parties. Lots of stuff...
SIEBERG: A little history and parties, there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Do you want to see it?
SIEBERG: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go see it.
SIEBERG: Wow, it's awfully steamy in here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very steamy in here. Welcome to the grotto. You can add more things to it. You can get pool furniture, you can add pool games. You just have to play it. I mean, it's just too much fun to be able to realize yourself as this huge iconic red- blooded American male who has this interaction with celebrities and playmates and created this whole entire empire. Who would not want to do it?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: I know, I know what you're thinking, "tough job."
Well, not so long ago, if you said somebody was living in another world, it meant they had a few screws loose, they were a little crazy. Now millions of perfectly sane people spend larges chunks of their time in alternative worlds that they enter at the click of a mouse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI BELL, GAMER: My name is Christi Bell. I play the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) den mother, which is a small half-link shamaness. This version of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is a shamaness, which means she's one of the priestly types. She works more with the spiritual nature than the outright clerics and so forth.
SIEBERG (voice-over): Would you play a video game that didn't involve winning or losing? The EverQuest series is more about developing your character, working as a team, and interacting with the online community. And sometimes that interaction goes a little further.
BELL: My character actually officiated at several wedding ceremonies. I and the players involved would sit down and actually write vows and plan out a whole ceremony.
SIEBERG (on camera): Now, somebody who doesn't know anything about EverQuest at all might think that was a little strange. I mean, they might think, characters getting married in the game?
BELL: It's just part of the entertainment. I mean, it's -- it's fun and if you have any sort of creative bent, it's a story. It's an interactive story.
SIEBERG (voice-over): Christi started with dungeons and dragons years ago, a precursor to many video games, then stumbled across a similar world on her computer.
BELL: I like stories. I like fantasy. I like role-playing. Being able to get in and run around in a fantasy world, but that old stereotype is -- has been changed so much by games like EverQuest. There are a wide variety of social backgrounds, ages, you know, males, females, you know. I know some grandmothers that play.
SIEBERG: It's all part of the chance to escape the confines of the real world and become the person or creature you've always wanted to be: A hero, a villain, or just a quiet observer. It's been the appeal of videogames for years, but in games like EverQuest Two, the stories are now more complex and engrossing. The environments are enormous, with thousands of people playing together at one time. And a connectedness of the internet makes it like one giant chatroom.
(on camera): This is where Sony Online Entertainment tries to keep about three-quarters of a million people happy across all its different games. If someone has a problem, they can ask a question, and one of these folks who are kind of like a demigod or a god, they can show up in the game and help them out. It's all part of keeping a virtual world running smoothly.
What's the most number of people you see online at one time who are playing in one of these games?
ADAM JOFFE, SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT: Every night we fill two full football stadiums full of people playing our games, every single night.
SIEBERG: Every single night?
JOFFE: Every single night.
SIEBERG (on camera): EverQuest is based in the mythical world of Norad (PH). While other games, like the Sims, are based in modern reality. Even mundane has a role here, like cleaning you house, going to the bathroom or acquiring furniture. Players can often get very attached to their so-called Sims.
TIM LETOURMEAU, PRODUCER "SIMS 2": And the emotional connection players have with the "Sims" is such a key part of the game play. So in "Sims 2," you have facial expressions. They laugh, they cry, you know, you experience their ups and downs, their joys, their sorrows.
The player also projects more into that because they're projecting experiences from their own life, so it magnifies anything that you're seeing on the screen.
SIEBERG (voice-over): But can it be unhealthy to spend all this time wrapped up in a virtual world? Well, there are reports of one spending so much time in an alternate reality has gone too far. Specifically in the original EverQuest, there have been reports of marriages breaking up and in at least one case, a player was allegedly so distraught about the game they committed suicide. The gamers' designers say like anything, it's all about finding middle ground.
JOHN BLAKELY, PRODUCER, "EVERQUEST 2": It's just a just a matter of you know, managing all you balances in life and making sure that everything comes out even.
JOHN SMEDLEY, EVERQEST CREATOR: It's one of those things where if, you know, you think you're doing it too much, step away from the computer. It's definitely one of those things that it's kind of individual to each person.
SIEBERG: Of course, these types of games may not be for everyone.
BELL: Everybody has a different idea of what is fun. In fact, couple of my family members are a little perplexed about this game thing that I do. A lot of people don't understand and that's fine, you know. I don't understand golf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: Well, there's always virtual golf. Different strokes for different folks. I guess. Anyway, we've barely scratched the surface of the world of gaming and we'll have lots more stories in the future. But that's all the time we have for now. Thanks to our friends here at Jillian's for their hospitality. Here's what's coming up next week.
We'll take you to an island that's the subject of a custody battle between the United States and Canada. The fight is over more than just a few puffins. We'll tell you what's at stake.
That's coming up on NEXT. Until then, let's hear from you. You can send us an e-mail at NEXT@CNN.com. And don't forget to check out our website, that's at cnn.com/next.
Thanks so much for joining us, for all of us, I'm Daniel Sieberg, we'll see you next time.
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