This year will also see the return of the GC Art exhibition, showcasing various computer and console art again. The exhibitions this year are titled public_play, Telespiele 1972-2007, Machinima and Digital Beauty - 3D Character Design. They will be on view in Hall 5 August 23-26, providing visitors a look into different aspects of digital games; there will also be workshops for interested visitors, giving them the opportunity to create some minor artwork themselves.

Detailed information on these exhibitions right after the jump.
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In the first of many announcements, the organizers of GC 2006 (Games Convention) have sent word that the German gaming convention will be host to art exhibitions this year. The exhibitions “pong.mythos”, “Machinima” and “Digital Beauties/Character Design”, together with the presentation from the Burg Giebichenstein Art and Design College, will be available to show goers this year.

Further information can be found after the jump. Games Convention 2006 will be held at Leipzig, Germany from 24-27 August.
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Sony has had a checkered past in advertising its PlayStation consoles: they ran an ad in Italy showing a man wearing a crown of thorns with PlayStation symbols on it; and then they ran ads throughout London with “naughty” connotations. What did they do this time? See for yourself:

The above ad was run in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and advertises the upcoming launch of the white PSP in the country. It has caused uproars throughout the Internet, with people taking both sides of the debate: racist, or not. Surprisingly, those who are debating about the so-called “racist” image are from North America where the ad was not run. It is yet to be reported whether any Dutch people were offended by the ads.

Those who were upset by the image in question have not seen the other photographs in the series which clearly shows the contrast between black and white, with the final one showing the black woman in a dominating manner.

Sony took the time to respond to these allegations, stating that “all of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose.”

I’m not even going to bother taking a side in this, but I’d like to point out something interesting. Art connoisseurs may have noticed the odd pose of the white woman in the first photograph (look at her left hand). I have no idea whether this was intended or not, but it is an analogous comparison to one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous (and notorious) works: Madonna of the Rocks. See if you can spot the reference.

On a related note, I found the flag of Amsterdam to be quite interesting.