2006 in video gaming/July

**2006**
January • February • March • April • May • June • July
August • September • October • November • December

See 2006 for other events during the year.

## July 30 2006 (Sunday)

* ***Electronic Entertainment Expo Ending (E4)***

Next Generation is reporting an end to E3 for the foreseeable future. The reason for ending the event is due to larger publishers believing the money spent on the event does not justify the returns and smaller publishers following suit. Official confirmation by ESA president Doug Lowenstein is expected to occur on monday.
Next-gen.biz, Gamespot
UPDATE: Rather than not having E3 at all, it appears that 2007 will see a more scaled back version of the show. The expo will now resemble what it was originally intended to be by becoming a more "closed doors" event open only to industry insiders.
arstechnica
## July 21 2006 (Friday)

* ***Hot Coffee cools off***

Today marks the end, atleast in so far as the Federal Trade Commission is concerned, to the Hot Coffee scandal that rocked the world, or atleast a few politicians who have never picked up a controller and think that the internet is somehow related to a truck and a series of interconnected tubes. No fines or penalties have been issued to Take-Two Interactive for this scandilicious affair. There are, however, still some ongoing civil suits and investigations into the mod.
Gamasutra
## July 20 2006 (Thursday)

* ***Activision and Take-Two not playing nicely***

Activision sued over its stock option grant practices. Thats pretty much it actually, oh and Take-Two Interactive is currently under investigation for possible manipulation of stock option grants. -- Cash rules everything around me. CREAM. Get the money. Doller Doller bill y'all.
GameDailyBIZ
## July 18 2006 (Tuesday)

 File:Cars XBOX Box art.jpg
* ***THQ revs up new development team to work on Cars***

A newly announced development team from THQ, Incinerator Games, has been formed to work primarily on video games for the next-gen consoles. Currently Incinerater Games are working on the next-gen version of Disney/Pixar's Cars as well as unspecified future projects for next generation consoles.
*Based in Carlsbad, CA., Incinerator is comprised of veterans of the Twisted Metal, NFL GameDay and MLB 2006: The Show projects from Sony's 989 studios, as well as the Midnight Club franchise from Rockstar.* - Next Generation
Next Generation
## July 12 2006 (Tuesday)

* ***Japan gets black DS Lites, many Americans weep***

New Jet Black DS Lites will soon be available in DS Lite obsessed Japan. Retailing at ¥16,800 ($145), the new color will be released on September 2, 2006. With the release of the Black DS Lite Japan will have a total of five color choices. A Final Fantasy III branded DS Lite will also soon be available to spoiled Japanese gamers on August 24, 2006.
gamasutra
* ***Another console enters the ring***

Scheduled for release October 26, 2006 (in North America) Evo: Phase One, a new convergence device from Envizions Computer Entertainment, will combine a PC, media center and game console. Games, movies, and television shows will be available for purchase through Envizions online game store. Evo: Phase One will carry the hefty price of $679.99.
eToychest, Envizionsinc.com
## July 11 2006 (Monday)

* ***Under Pressure: White PSP ad update***

Though the ads were never meant for areas outside of Amsterdam, pressure largely generated from USA has lead to Sony pulling their controversial white PSP ads.
GameDaily BIZ
## July 5 2006 (Wednesday)

* ***Sony's got this pissing-off-customers-thing down to a science.***

Done with ebonics spewing squirrels, graffitti of tripped out kids licking PSP's, and mexican dustballs, Sony's newest advertising campaign for their PlayStation Portable retains their affinity for lame attempts at being edgy. On billboards located in Amsterdam, ads for the new white PSP feature two women, one white and one black, in various aggressive poses. Many people have called the ads offensive saying they were made with the intent to gain mindshare by shocking consumers with racially charged images. Sony has responded to these critics saying the ads were not made with any racist intentions.
Kotaku, Gameindustry.biz (Sony's response)