Scraps: Impalement! (9/24/08)

The other week, in Scraps, I posted a link to a charity drive called Extra Life. Hosted by Sarcastic Gamer, it’s an attempt to raise money for pediatric cancer by getting gamers to solicit pledges and participate in a 24-hour gaming marathon next month. It seems they also have a far more sinister purpose.

Now on to all the news the other editors didn’t see fit to print.

• The marketing director for DICE, developer of Mirror’s Edge, is predicting that the freerunning title will sell 3 million copies. After playing the demo at PAX, they can count me as one. [Edge] 
• The current economic problems plaguing the US are going to be felt everywhere, including the games industry. The question is where will it hurt the most. [Gamingnexus]
• Three bills have surfaced in the US House of Representatives that seek to strip the anonymity away from online sellers on the off-chance that they happen to be organized retail thieves. Big Wal-Mart is Watching You. [Ars Technica]
• Microsoft wants third-party publishers to expand into the Middle East by opening new offices. Considering some of what Activision is doing lately, do you think there’s any chance they might be considered a haven for terrorism if they did? [GoNintendo]