When a man who's the co-founder of tabletop game manufacturer Games Workshop and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire talks, people listen. Or at least that's the hope when longtime Eidos executive Ian Livingstone, who was promoted to the title of "life president" after Eidos was absorbed like a sponge by Square Enix, berated broadband providers for impeding growth of the gaming industry at the Broadband World Forum on Wednesday.



In a 20-minute presentation titled "Super Fast Broadband for Super Fast Games Market," Livingstone told the telecom operators in the audience that "what we need is super-speed broadband" to keep up with the growing demands of the games marketplace.

"The games industry is big...it's the largest entertainment industry in the world," proclaimed Livingstone, who noted that the market is worth $50 billion now and will be worth $90 billion by 2015. "Games are now moving from a product to a service," he said, and gamers are increasingly playing games online and require reliable networks with low latency to enjoy an optimal experience. "We're still having to fight bandwidth to avoid latency" in an online environment where 40 milliseconds is the minimum to be unnoticeable.

"Big games need big broadband," Livingstone continued, referencing that every successive iteration of Call of Duty takes longer to download than the last because the files are getting bigger and bigger. "It's kind of crazy that we're fighting broadband the whole time in our industry. You're kind of holding us back in many respects. We want to do more."

"Gamers are the most demanding of Internet users. Game developers will all be pushing the limit of what technology has to offer. So, you must plan for what you can't predict as well as what you can," he concluded. "Super-fast games will drive demand for super-fast broadband, so, ISPs, please do not rest on your laurels."

CBS have acquired the screen rights to Deus Ex: Human Revolution and will be working closely with the developers, Eidos Montreal, to make a film. Welcome to the terrible mental no man's land that lies somewhere between "hmm, interesting" and "ohnononono." Let's take a look at what the folk involved have to say about the thing and then recklessly judge the endeavour.

"As is clear from the wild success of the game, Square Enix and Eidos-Montreal know how to exceed their audience's expectations by engineering incredible worlds." That's the cracking, distorted voice of CBS co-president of CBS, Terry Press, appearing as a faceless talking head on a glass screen in front of the silhouette of a pacing conspirator. "No one knows 'Human Revolution' like the team that created it, and we look forward to working with them from day one to make a film adaptation worthy of the 'Deus Ex' name."

The conspirator stops and turns as faceless shadow NUMBER TWO begins to speak. "As the millions of fans who have played the 'Deus Ex' games for more than a decade will tell you, these games catapult you into a universe that is stimulating, engaging and relevant," Augmented sonic receptors (ears) tell tell us that it's Phil Rogers, president and CEO of Square Enix Europe. "We're firm believers in building strong partnerships, and so we're thrilled to be working with CBS Films on bringing the unique 'Deus Ex' experience to the bigscreen," he says.

The shadowy conspirator picks up a datapad to find a conveniently relevant Variety article on the front page. It suggests that the plot of the film will be similar to that of the game. Instead of a security guard, Jensen's character will be a SWAT operative, but he'll still have augmentations, which he'll have to use to bring down a corrupt and sinister conspiracy. The conspirator nods. Is he pleased? It's too damn dark to tell.

With a few taps at a console dossiers appear on the flat screen. One man's name swims out of the flickering golden UI. Adrian Askarieh, producer of the Deus Ex project, previous projects: Hitman.

The room grows cold.

Another name: Roy Lee. Previous credits: The Ring (US remake), The Grudge (US remake).

The conspirator moves an arm up slowly, and then hits his forehead with an audible slap. A facepalm, or the momentary glitch of a poorly calibrated arm augmentation? The man taps more buttons and three switches light up. Switch A: Press to watch this film. Switch B: Press to pretend this film doesn't exist. Switch C: Initiate drone attack order on business competitors. Which would YOU choose?

There are two Deus Ex games. The original classic, and the brilliant recent sequel, Human Revolution. Sure back in 2004 there was an ill advised follow up called Deus Ex: Invisible War, but shortly after its release we all agreed that it never happened, and we would never speak of it again.

Warren Spector apparently didn't get that memo. Speaking to IGN during a preview of Epic Mickey he said he regretted listening to the feedback of focus testers when making the game.

“We focus tested concepts." he said "and I was told, ‘Set the game further in the future and put the guy or the girl in a purple jumpsuit; people like purple jumpsuits. Why did I listen?”

Who on earth answers a focus test with 'put the guy in a purple jumpsuit?' What kind of questionnaire even asks that? Who could possibly think that was helpful or relevant advice? The mind boggles.

Thankfully Deus Ex did eventually get the sequel it deserved, years later and without Spector's involvement. You can find out why it works in our Deus Ex: Human Revolution review.

"Cheap as chips" is a throwaway UK saying for something that has plunged straight through the realm of "inexpensive," surpassed the grotty lands of "surprisingly good value" and come to rest in the sugary sands of "tat." Few things in this world are cheaper than the pots of oily polystyrene packs of potato shifted from small shops on street corners up and down this country, but thanks to Steam, one of our favourite games ever, Deus Ex, is cheaper than a small pile of fried potato. How has this happened? It's best not to ask. Instead, just head to Steam and grab yourself a copy if you don't own one already.

Eidos Montreal's excellent 2011 follow-up, Human Revolution, is also a steal at £5 / $7.49. If you already own that, Human Revolution's DLC pack, The Missing Link is also available for £2.24 / $3.74. Alternatively, you can buy all things Deus Ex (including Invisible War) for a bundle price of £9.99 / $14.99. The deal's set to last all weekend.