Normally I don't just link Flash games, but Flash Element TD is really addictive. So much so that I started playing it again when I should be typing this.

Industry and multi-console news:

• A woman has died of water intoxication after competing in a "Hold Your Wee For A Wii" radio station contest where players had to drink large quantities of water without going to the bathroom.
• There is some evidence that producer Timbaland stole music from the demoscene for a Nelly Furtado song.
• Debate is raging over whether these Ghostbuters gameplay videos are from a real game in development or some sort of mod. Or maybe just a proof of concept.
• Managing director and cofounder Terry Donovan has left Rockstar Games. He went on a leave of absence in September, and decided not to return.
• Slashdot has links to a few relevant articles talking about the iPhone's gaming prospects.
• There's a new exhibition open now at the Australian Center for the Moving Image called Hits of the 80s: Aussie Games That Rocked The World.
• New legislation proposed in New York State would prohibt the sale of games to minors that included, among other things, suicide, violent racism, or religious violence. The problem with these laws is the quagmire you get into trying to define them. Would a game about the Crusades be considered "religious violence"?
• Utah's Attorney General has expressed concern about the new video game bill proposed in his state.
• A unique new feature on Gamasutra pores over the pages of Call of Duty's development contract, breaking down what it all means. The document is at the center of a breach of contract dispute between Activision and developer Spark.
• Racketboy is back with the best undiscovered games on the PSX. I've got at least 20 old PSX games piled up that I need to get to.
• The creator of the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armor" says he drew upon Star Wars and Halo for inspiration.
• Gamasutra asks various people in the games industry what they want to see done differently in 2007.
• Blade Interactive, developer of hit titles like World Snooker Championship, has revealed the name of their new secret project: Hydrophobia. Only concept art is available at this point, and no real gameplay details are known. But it's not snooker.
• Someone testing with an analog sound meter finds that the Wii is the noisiest next-gen system when playing a game. I don't have a Wii, so I suppose I can't comment on how accurate this is, but it's hard for me to imagine anything being louder than my 360.

PC news:

• Some people are starting to question what the crackdown on Internet gambling means for Second Life. Technically it's not real money, but it can be exchanged for real money. Which isn't any different than a poker chip, I suppose.
• A Blizzard survey suggests they're toying with the idea of a World of Warcraft security dongle -- a seperate device that generates a new password for you every time you login.
• Stray Bullet Games, the company formed after the closure of Wolfpack Studios, has announced an original MMO as its first project.
• CG Online has an interview with the developers of Quake Wars: Enemy Territory.
• Server usage graphs show that Battlefield 2142 got a big boost from Christmas.

Nintendo news:

• The Virtual Console games for this Monday are Xevious, R-Type III, and Moto Roader.
• Next Generation looks at the year to come for DS games.
• The NES Mini is an entire NES hacked to fit inside of an NES controller.
• The manager of Ignition believes the Wii remote is capable of much more than has been seen in the current crop of games.
• It looks like Mad Catz is preparing to release a third party Wii remote.
• Someone has created Ocarina of Time's Hyrule in Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. Some of the images are down due to the Digg Effect.

Sony news:

• Final Fantasy XII's Australian release date has been set for February 23, same as Europe.
• While not confirmed officially, a March 23 launch for the PS3 in Europe is beginning to look likely.
• A Wedbush Morgan analyst who predicted that Bully would not see a sequel based on slow sales now thinks a sequel is likely based on stronger than expected December sales.
• Evolution says that Motorstorm will most likely not have splitscreen play, but it could be a downloadable add-on later if there's demand.
• Valve head Gabe Newell says "the PS3 is a total disaster." He suggests: "Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it.'"

Microsoft news:

• Microsoft is planning to launch the 360 in China in the next few months.
• The Official Xbox Magazine is trying to fight obsolescence by putting Oblivion add-ons and Japanese-only demos onto the magazine's pack-in disc.
• Michael Devlin, recently arrested for the kidnapping of two boys in Missouri (one of which had been missing for four years), had an Xbox Live gamer tag. Not only that, he used a photo of one of the kidnapped boys as his profile picture on GamerTagPics.com.
• Roto Rooter is running a contest to win the ultimate toilet, which includes an Xbox 360. If you're on the can long enough to use the 360, you should probably see a doctor.
• Wal-Mart.com has details on the Halo 3 Legendary Edition package.