IPFS News Link • B.O.R.G.
N.Y. Tests Video-Game Emergency Alert System
• radio worldALBANY, N.Y. State emergency administrators here are testing code written to interact with video gaming systems. They’re exploring the state’s ability to send alerts via online gaming networks.
New York authorities envision a time when important weather alerts and other information can penetrate the awareness of even the most diehard gamers, who otherwise might be ignorant of what’s happening in the world outside their family rooms or basements.
Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and others operate online networks that allow players to compete with others around the world. State emergency planners, in concert with gaming console vendors, began conducting the tests late last year, officials said.
This effort,
believed to be the first of its kind, also will go a long way toward
determining if Xbox and PlayStation gamers will sign on for emergency
warnings that could disrupt their games, warning experts say.