Video game news in brief: German gamers, Madden in Mississippi, Louisiana game ban is banned

— DEUTSCHE TREATS: The Leipzig Game Convention is to Europe what the Electronic Entertainment Expo has been to North America: a chance for video-game professionals across the continent to get an advance peek at new hardware and software months before it hits the market. The German trade show typically isn't as newsworthy as E3 or September's Tokyo Game Show. Sony's presence at Leipzig was minimal, and Nintendo's big announcements were two new Wii games, "Mario Strikers Charged" and "Battalion Wars II." Microsoft worked hardest to impress the European audience, declaring, "Xbox 360 owns football." That's soccer, of course, to us Yanks, and all it means is that two major franchises, EA Sports' "FIFA" and Konami's "Pro Evolution Soccer" won't be appearing on the PlayStation 3 or the Wii this year. Microsoft also announced prices and release dates for a bunch of wireless 360 accessories, including a camera, a steering wheel and a headset. The most refreshing surprise, however, was Microsoft announcement that it will bring three German board games — "Settlers of Catan," "Carcassonne" and "Alhambra" — to Xbox Live. If you've never played these modern classics, you're in for a treat.

— PENNIES FROM HEAVEN: Halfway around the planet, 17,000 hardcore gamers gathered in Belleville, Wash., for the third annual Penny Arcade Expo. The event is hosted by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, aka Gabe and Tycho, creators and stars of the Web comic "Penny Arcade." It's a more fan-friendly gathering than E3, a place where fans (as opposed to industry weasels) can see new games, compete in tournaments and groove to "nerdcore" bands like the Minibosses and Optimus Rhyme. Fans of the comic strip were delighted to hear that it's about to become a computer game, "Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness." It's being developed by Hothead Games, a new indie studio, and will be released as an episodic series for Windows, Mac and Linux. "Now that we have pooled our strengths, our dark work may truly begin," Holkins said.

— ONE, MISSISSIPPI: For just one day, tiny Madden, Miss., was the epicenter of the video-game universe. On "Maddenoliday" — the name EA Sports has chosen to celebrate the annual release of its Madden NFL game — gamers and jocks descended on the community. National Football League legends Jerry Rice, Warren Moon and Marshall Faulk came to play (although John Madden was absent) and every one of Madden's 74 households got an Xbox 360 and a copy of the game's 2007 edition. As 3,500 people joined in the festivities, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said: "I'm not sure if we've ever had this many people in the community before."