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It takes national tragedies for the government of Finland to A) notice a game where you kill a bunch of kindergarten students and B) take action against it. That means that for a long while no one knew of this game or found it offensive enough to take action. I don't know what is worst.

Update: The Internet did get it right about the camera, but were a bit off about everything else. It may not all be as earthshattering as some were hoping, but according to GameDaily.com, there are some worthwhile additions.

Nintendo of Japan debuts the Nintendo DSi:

The Wii is getting some new software including a PunchOut! sequel:

When it comes to the Internet, change is the only constant. It happens in an instant and permeates our lives so quickly that we don't even realize how much it impacts how we communicate and interact with people. With the advent of Web 2.0 exploding in 2008, we at GameCritics.com felt it was a good time to take a look at ourselves in relation to the reality of content today to see how would could evolve and contribute to the new socially-driven Internet.

With that in mind, I'd personally like to introduce our new mission statement and tagline.

Our Mission: To elevate the quality, culture and perception of video games as contemporary arts and entertainment through game criticism and community development.

We will accomplish our mission by presenting a diverse range of perspectives from authors and gamers of different backgrounds in order to provide readers with insightful, useful, and entertaining content on video games and their growing presence in society.

Our old mission statement didn't properly convey our values and our passion for video games, and the concept that criticism can be beneficial to a community. Not only does the new mission make our goals more clear, but it also recognizes that this isn't something that a small group of individuals can accomplish in isolation. As the saying goes, it takes a village and this new mission serves as an invitation to those in the gaming community who share our passion to join us.

Our Tagline: Games. Culture. Criticism.

After expanding the scope of our mission, it became clear that "Smart Reviews" from our old tagline felt too limited in its ability to describe our editorial drive. "Serious Gamers" had started sounding too elitist, exclusionary and dull. By exploring the "Culture" of video games, we hope that our content will continue to be intelligent and insightful, but will also acknowledge a more personal and emotional side of the video game experience and how it touches our lives.

So now that we've made this announcement, it's time to go to work. Be on the look out for more changes, new features and hopefully more content on GameCritics.com in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to hearing your feedback and we hope you'll join us on the journey.

The only thing that could dull the blow of disappointing announcements at Nintendo's October 2nd press conference is speculation on the Wii's successor. WhatTheyPlay.com's John Davison has sifted through the usual generalizations and points out that Nintendo will be embracing HD visuals and digital distribution. For any other company this wouldn't really be news, but remember it was only in the last few years that Nintendo even bothered to recognize the existence of the Internet.

That's right, a pedometer . No Nintendo DS Advance for you!

A few years ago, this headline would have read: Electronic Arts making three games based on the 300 IP. Now EA is giving the creators from other entertainment mediums a go at games. And can Joss Whedon or J.J. Abrams be next? One can only hope.

There will be another Star Wars trilogy from someone other than George Lucas before there is another Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima at the controls.

Baby Steps. The ladies won't be knocking you out of the way to get at the newest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Gears of Wars sequels, but more and more refuse to relegate themselves to watching you play over your shoulder.