France

It’s not often that those of us outside North America get to play a game first - but that’s exactly the situation with the new Turok demo. OK, so it’s not a full game - but let us have our fun for once. The demo arrived on Xbox Live for Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom. Sorry to those of you in the US and Canada, we have no information regarding when you will be getting your hands on this one.

via Major Nelson

Even with the high prices they have to pay those Brits are going console crazy, with Microsoft now reporting they are having trouble keeping up with demand. Microsoft says that units have to be sent out to stores as soon as the warehouse receives them and that they are even having trouble finding enough vans for the job.

On the Wii side of things, hoards of Brits are crossing the English Channel to raid the French’s plentiful stockpile. Many French stores are employing a “one Wii per customer” policy to keep the madness at bay.

GamespotUK via The Mirror

The European Commission has awarded the same tax breaks the film industry receives to game developers. The move came after the French governments lobbied for the changes. Developers whose games meet the criteria of “quality, originality and contribution to cultural diversity” are eligible to receive a 20% tax break. Current estimates of this year’s games predict that about half of them would be eligible to receive the break.

It goes without saying that this move represents another gradual step towards games being recognized as an artistic medium.

via gamesindustry.biz