Gaming kills TV

Gaming in all three categories (mobile, online and console gaming) saw a dramatic increase in numbers in 2007, coming especially from smaller towns and at lower price points, says Business Standard.

Online gaming was able to make a mark with about three million gamers, says an internal study done by online and mobile gaming provider Indiagames.

The peak hour for gamers to be active is between 7pm and midnight, which means gaming is eating into prime-time television shows.

Microsoft has teamed up with BT to make television shows available via the Xbox 360, according to UK Press.

All BT broadband customers will be able to get the BT Vision service using the games console later this year.

They will have access to a library of TV shows, sporting events and films on-demand.

Police in Bilbao, Spain have arrested an 18-year-old boy for allegedly attempting to strangle his father with a game console's controller cable, Gizmodo reports.

According to the police, the teenager was playing intensely with a game at the time of the event. The father, who warned him several times to stop playing, went into the room and turned off the video console.

At that point, the son furiously jumped off the sofa and, angered by the fact that he lost all his game progress, tried to strangle his father with the cable of the gamepad. The son is now under custody and is going to be judged for a domestic violence crime.