Gaming news roundup: Animal magic for the PS3

The furry fellow pictured above is Sony’s EyePet, a virtual creature for PlayStation3 owners to love, clothe and generally prod. Designed to appeal to the ‘Nintendogs’/ Tamagotchi-loving streak in all of us, this little monkey will be swinging his way on to shelves in October (and will cost £19.99). His big USP is that he uses ‘augmented reality’ (a mixture of the real world and the digital one) through Sony’s PlayStationEye camera. Aha. So EyePet isn’t only here to add some muchneeded cuteness to our lives - he’s also here to flog peripherals.

A special place for web heads

China may have got there first but America is quickly catching up in the internet addiction arena. The first US based internet/gaming addiction centre has opened near Seattle to treat folk who just can’t beat their web demons. Called reSTART, the centre is located not far from Microsoft’s HQ and offers a 45-day programme that costs $14,500. Worried you should attend? If you’re spending more time online, craving your computer, have gained or lost weight, are getting headaches, backaches and suffering carpal tunnel syndrome (the main symptoms of addiction, according to the centre), you’d better get saving.

First Lady of gaming?

This week’s contender for unlikeliest gaming fan has got to be barrister and former Mrs Prime Minister Cherie Blair. That’s not to say that she regularly spends theweekend playing major ‘World of Warcraft’ sessions - rather, Cherie has, along with her son Nicky, joined the board of an outfit called Magnitude Gaming, which runs teams of pro-gamers. Noword yet on whether she’ll be doing battle herself.