Welcome back for another week here at News Pop! We're pushing along here through the holiday season. Everyone is a little tired these days, as days get shorter and grayer, but there's nothing like a little video game news to brighten everyone's day. So join us, grab a hot chocolate and have a good read, because the first edition of this week's News Pop! starts now.

VoiceIn to be featured in Xbox 360 game

Fonix Speech Inc. announced today that its VoiceIn Game Edition software will be featured in an Xbox 360 game. “The release of the first 360 game featuring Fonix speech technology marks a big step for Fonix’s gaming division,” said Tim K. Hong, VP of Fonix Games. “We’re delighted to see developers continue to utilize our voice recognition on these next-generation consoles. As consoles become more sophisticated, we believe developers will continue to add voice interfaces to games in order to maximize usability and convenience. Speech interfaces are also a lot of fun and increase the realism and excitement of game play.” The game which will be featuring VoiceIn, however, was not mentioned.

Take-Two wants you to check the ratings

Take-Two put out a press release today, reminding parents or anyone else planning on buying video games this holiday season to check the ESRB ratings before they buy. “The holidays are a reminder for all of us to be aware of the ESRB rating when purchasing video games as gifts,” said Paul Eibeler, Take-Two President and Chief Executive Officer. “Just as some movies are rated R, some games are rated M because they are intended for ages 17 and older – gift givers need to keep this in mind.” The company also included a full overview of the ratings and the age groups to which they correspond. The overview is available below.

About the ESRB rating system

The ESRB ratings are designed to provide information about video and computer game content, so you can make informed purchase decisions. ESRB ratings have two equal parts: rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, and over 30 content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern. To take full advantage of the ESRB rating system, it's important to check both the rating symbol (on the front of the game box) and the content descriptors (on the back of the game box).

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Titles rated EC (Early Childhood) have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Titles in this category contain no material that parents would find inappropriate.

EVERYONE

Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.

EVERYONE 10+

Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.

TEEN

Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

MATURE

Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

ADULTS ONLY

Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.

For a complete list of and definitions for ESRB rating categories and content descriptors, please visit www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp .

For more information about the rating system, please visit the ESRB web site at www.ESRB.org .

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