According to Yahoo News

Apple Inc. is negotiating with Japan’s top mobile phone carrier to launch the iPhone in Japan, though the cut of subscriber revenue that Apple wants has been a sticking point, according to a report published Tuesday.

NTT DoCoMo spokesman Shuichiro Ichikoshi said company President Masao Nakamura met recently with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Shuichiro declined to comment further.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reported Tuesday that Jobs and Nakamura discussed launching the iPhone in Japan.

Apple has said it plans to launch the device in Asia in 2008 but has not provided details.

NTT DoCoMo had nearly 53 million subscribers and commanded more than half of Japan’s mobile phone market at the end of September, but has struggled to add new users in recent months amid fierce competition from KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp., which have slashed rates and launched aggressive sales promotions.

Apple and NTT DoCoMo are still negotiating the terms of a deal, with one stumbling block being Apple’s demands to receive the same percentage of subscriber revenue from NTT DoCoMo that it receives from other carriers, according to the Journal.

If a deal with NTT DoCoMo falls through, Apple is also talking with Softbank, according to the report.

Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock declined to comment.

The introduction of the combination iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing device to the world’s second-largest economy would be a tremendous boon for Cupertino-based Apple, which hopes to sell about 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.

Apple has sold more than 1.4 million iPhones since they went on sale June 29 in the United States. Subsequent launches in Europe have boosted sales and sparked a legal fight over Apple’s exclusive use of T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom AG, as its wireless provider in Germany.

Apple’s strategy thus far has been to pick an exclusive mobile operator for each region: AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom’s Orange wireless arm in France.

Last month, the chairman of China Mobile, China’s biggest mobile services operator with nearly 350 million subscribers at the end of September, revealed the company was in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone to China.

The legend of Conan the barbarian, the many-muscled pulp novel creation of Robert E. Howard, has been delivered in full gory glory with “Conan” the video game, a fantastic release thick with violence and gorgeous graphics.

The Conan character is perhaps remembered best from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, where the protagonist broke loose and took vengeance on anyone who dared stand in his way. You’ll get that same bloody retribution feel here, but with better dialogue and a fuller story line.

This “Conan” ($59.99;€41 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) battles several big boss enslavers and their monstrous minions. His efforts are done to aid A’Kanna, a female warrior trying to avenge the destruction of her homeland by the evil wizard Graven.

The character’s movements are fairly free-ranging, yet the angles are easy enough on the eyes as to not make you dizzy. There’s no dual-thumb twiddling necessary like first-person shooter games where you must manage your X and Y axis constantly while trying to navigate the game map and avoid harm. In “Conan,” the screen swivels around nicely and you get a third-person perspective as you storm through various combat scenes.

Once engaged, Conan delivers crushing fist, foot and weapon blows. He can block and parry attacks, and snatch up better weapons from his vanquished victims for future killing combo moves.

Sprinkled throughout the journey are various hidden treasures, some tucked away in large jars and chests, that rejuvenate Conan’s strength and give him enough experience to buy and master new death blows.
[Source]

Lots of college students play video games. But now the prestigious Parsons design school is getting serious about gaming.

The New York college has launched a lab to create new games that can be a force for social change. PETLab director Colleen Macklin says she hopes their research will “create intersections” between game design, social issues and learning. The lab is already working with Microsoft, teaching students how to create Xbox games that are more about solving problems than shooting alien invaders.

That is very great idea…lovely
[Source]