Game Politics

Following the example of France, which last year commemorated video games with a stamp series featuring the likes of Mario, The Sims, Pac-man, and other well-known game characters, the Japanese postal service will issue a series of stamps honoring the 10-year anniversary of BioHazard, better known in the West as the Resident Evil series.

Gibbons Stamp Monthly reports that the series will feature 10 different stamps, each worth 80 yen (approx 0.69 USD). Various characters and imagery from the game series are featured, although the Umbrella Corporation's logo is conspicuously absent.

Resident Evil, developed by Capcom, first hit store shelves in 1996, and it's popularity has spawned more than a dozen sequels as well as 3 movies (one is still in production and is due out in 2007).

Stamp collectors or video game enthusiasts can check with these dealers to order the stamps.

-Reporting from Canada, GP Correspondent Colin "Jabrwock" McInnes

Watchdog group Common Sense Media held its third annual awards program last night at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Among those honored was Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) for what Common Sense Media termed "outstanding public leadership on issues relating to kids and media."

Lieberman, of course, is a long-time critic of video game violence as well as co-sponsor of video-game oriented legislation including the Children and Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA) and Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA). The video game industry's rating system was largely created in response to political pressure applied by Lieberman in the mid-1990's. In fact, Lieberman has joked that ESA president Doug Lowenstein owes his job to the Senator.
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