Charity is all about giving to those less fortunate than ourselves. Usually that means the essentials like food, clothing and warmth. That’s not always the case though, as a charity in the US has taken to giving consoles and video games to those who can’t afford them.

The charity, Pixel Equity, is dedicated to making sure that people who want video games but aren’t able to buy them, can still enjoy the latest PS3 game.

The Pixel Equity websites states:

We’re a not-for-profit organisation that is working with youth centres that serve children from households that can’t afford video games. We’ve talked with the administrators, who in turn have talked with the children, to determine the games and consoles that these kids want.

Charitable donors are asked to donate the games and consoles that they no longer want so that people less fortunate can enjoy your old games. If you’re wondering how video games can help impoverished children, the website also has the answer to that. It explains how games can help children’s development, experience new cultures and overcome challenges.

Some games even promote teamwork when they’re played in the multiplayer modes. Giving to charity has never been so much fun.

You might have a stereotype of women as loving cutesy games, such as Tetris, Mario and anything that can be played on the Nintendo Wii. While that stereotype may be true of many wives and girlfriends among games players in the country, it certainly doesn’t hold true of the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen star Megan Fox.

Touted as the next Angelina Jolie, Megan’s curves and pout have won her many admirers, but when it comes to video games Megan isn’t interested in cutesy, fluffy games. Megan loves a game that allows you to rip some guy’s head off, Mortal Kombat for example.

Megan was speaking in an interview with ‘What They Play’ and reveals that Mortal Kombat is one of her favourite games.

Anything Mortal Kombat. I have that down and I don’t cheat. That game just works well with my brain. The way my brain fires signals works well with how that game works. And I’m just really good.

Megan also dismissed claims that the Wii Fit was for girls, but admitted she does have a Nintendo Wii, even if the games aren’t violent enough for her tastes.

Megan also revealed that her Transformers 2 on screen flame Shia LaBeouf is also a fan of video games.

Politicians have always been very quick to jump on the bandwagon of blaming video games for all manner of problems in society, from illiteracy to crime to obesity. Now it seems that politicians could be offering their one time enemy, the games industry, an olive branch in the shape of tax breaks for video game developers.

Tory MP John Whittingdale says that the games industry in the UK is growing in stature and needs the support of the government if it is to hold on to its best game developers. UK developers are choosing to leave the UK and head for pastures new that offer tax breaks, such as Canada.

Many smaller development companies are falling by the wayside, or being snapped up by larger companies such as Microsoft, and MP Whittingdale hopes that the Treasury could come to the defence of the UK games industry by offering tax breaks.

There is talk about offering similar relief as that seen in the film industry. It may not be the right time for the Treasury to be offering tax breaks to any industry at the moment but it is something it does need to consider when it comes to gaming.

Microsoft recently announced at an exclusive luncheon for a select group of journalists that the upcoming games-on-demand service for Xbox Live will enable users to download full digital versions of Xbox 360 games like Oblivion, Mass Effect, Lego Star Wars and many others.

Perhaps Microsoft chose to save this announcement, which is quite significant, for a small lunch rather than presenting it to the world at E3 because the service is somewhat experimental. It takes a very long time to download a big game demo or worse yet an HD film, which are several gigs in size. Will consumers have the patience to download full games at 9GB or more? How many consumers have or are willing to purchase the 120GB hard disk drive, which would be needed for all those big game files? Microsoft is likely testing the digital waters on the Xbox 360 to see just what kind of reaction the games-on-demand service will receive.

Digital distribution is clearly picking up steam and Microsoft wants a piece of that action for both Games and Windows and its Xbox 360 console. Microsoft is closely watching server-side/cloud-based game-streaming technologies like OnLive, which made a huge impact back at the Game Developers conference in March.

Konami recently announced at E3 that the latest 3D Castlevania video game is in development. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was previously teased in summer 2008 and is under development in Spain by Mercury Steam with help from Kojima Productions.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will take the Castlevania series into brave, uncharted territories and is an adventure that boasts impressive aesthetics, deep and challenging game play and an excellent voice cast to deliver the game’s dramatic depth. Konami Digital Entertainment is excited to be working with Kojima Productions who have supported the development of the game and their intended goals with their vision and expertise. This is a significant team up between a western development studio and one of Japan’s most innovative creators.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow takes place as the Heavens battle the Lords of Shadow on Earth during Europe’s middle-ages. Mercury Steam believe that they are pushing the envelope of today’s technology and their goal is to create an incredible piece that will demonstrate to all what a next generation Castlevania game should be. Lords of Shadow will not only re-imagine the series mythology but will also be the first to feature a cast of Hollywood actors, including Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and Jason Isaacs (Black Hawk Down).

Harmonix, the developer behind the very popular video game Rock Band, previewed The Beatles: Rock Band at a huge showing at E3. The game features 45 songs from the Beatles catalog and lets you enjoy all the great Rock Band gameplay that one comes to expect from Rock Band and Rock Band 2.

Harmonix has also added three-part vocal harmony and really amazing visuals. Beatles: Rock Band also offers exclusive instruments, including renditions of Paul McCartney’s Hofner bass, John Lennon’s Rickenbacker 325 guitar, George Harrison’s Gretsch Duo Jet guitar, and Ringo Starr’s Ludwig drum set. “I Am the Walrus,” for example, features an existential music video where the in-game Beatles are dressed as walrus men. The game has three different vocal parts that it is tracking at once, which means everyone needs to be on point.

This is a great addition as it allows more non-gamers into the action. The rest of the gameplay follows the Rock Band mechanics closely, with guitars, drums and bass having to hit certain beats to progress through the song. After the game’s release, the entire Abbey Road album will be available for download, and Xbox 360 users will get exclusive access to “All You Need is Love,” with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders.

According to many industry experts, this current console generation will be an extended one, lasting far beyond the typical five years of previous generations. A lot has been made about how Ubisoft is now preparing for the generational leap, whenever it comes.

According to Ubisoft chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot, the next generation is going to be so powerful that playing a game is going to be the equivalent of playing a CGI movie today. However, such processing power comes at a price as most current generation games cost between $20-30 million to produce. It is expected that the number will effectively double to $60 million for next-generation games. Ubisoft hopes to recoup the cost of development by reusing assets from films like it is doing now with James Cameron’s Avatar.

Microsoft recently declared that the launch of Natal will be like that of a new console and those consumers will still want that next step in graphic horsepower. The current machines are very powerful and Ubisoft can do high quality work. They want to stay with this generation as long as possible, but their customers will want the best machine possible. If streaming technology is developed so that the “cloud computer” dream is realised, that could turn the console war on its ear.

The latest piece of information about the legal battle between 3D Realms and Take-Two came out via Shacknews. Courtroom documents give new details about the entire sordid affair that led to the lawsuit.

Originally, 3D Realms contended that Take-Two made a proposal to acquire the developer and the Duke Nukem franchise that was not acceptable and terminated the project, forcing much of the development team to be let go. These new documents show that Take-Two hoped to co-develop an Xbox 360 version of Duke Nukem Forever, where 3D Realms reportedly “demanded that Take-Two full funded Apogee’s reaching certain milestones” for making the PC and Xbox 360 versions at the same time. Take-Two was hesitant to offer full funding given the extended development cycle of Duke Nukem Forever, instead offering half of the co-development cost up through the alpha milestone and the rest coming upon the game’s completion.

3D Realms found the proposal to be unacceptable and rejected it. Take-Two acquired the rights to publish Duke Nukem Forever in 2000 and had the rights to independently develop console versions of the game as well. Take-Two claims that not only has 3D Realms failed to deliver the finished game on time, but they have prevented a port of Duke Nukem Forever to the Xbox 360 as a consequence.

Sega of America, Inc. and Sega Europe Ltd. recently announced a series of management promotions that will further unite the company’s global markets to drive growth. Mr Naoya Tsurumi, the longstanding leader of Sega’s video game business, will assume worldwide responsibility for Sega’s Consumer Business, incorporating Sega of Japan, Sega of America and Sega of Europe.

Mike Hayes has been promoted to the newly created position of President and COO of both Sega of America and Sega of Europe, reporting directly to Mr Tsurumi. This new role further aligns the two Western markets and ensures more aggressive collaboration across these growing territories in operations and product development. This unified organisation will better position Sega for growth across these key markets. Sega has a winning line-up of titles over the next 12 months and beyond.

The recent management changes will ensure that Sega’s Consumer Business is positioned for long-term growth and success. The former President and COO Simon Jeffrey resigned after more than four years to pursue other interests. Jeffrey led Sega’s entrance into new gaming markets like mobile and grew market share in the United States as well as the breadth of Sega offerings as it transitioned from a hardware company.