A dispute over pay and working conditions resulted in about 300 workers climbing to the roof of one of the buildings at Foxconn Technology Park in China early last week. The incident began when employees asked their bosses for a raise but were denied. Employees were told either to quit with compensation or to keep their jobs with no additional payment. Many employees took the former, but the company decided to terminate the agreement anyway and not pay the promised compensation. The workers protested the action by threatening to jump to their deaths.

The standoff eventually came to an end when the mayor of Wuhan showed up and literally talked the former employees off the ledge.

These particular employees were responsible for manufacturing parts for Xbox 360 consoles and production had actually come to a halt for several hours during the protest.

Microsoft had this to say:

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue," a spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK.

"We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge.

"Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Foxconn factories in China were already under examination because of several suicides by employees in the past five years—actually forcing the company to install anti-suicide nets at some of their facilities. In addition to Xbox 360 components, Foxconn also manufactures products for Apple, Sony, Nintendo and many other Fortune 500 companies.

11/11/11, it will only happen once in our lifetime. So, what better way to immortalize that date than by playing video games with friends? WeTheGamerz and KontrolFreek (along with some other really awesome people and companies) will be hosting an Xbox Live Community Playdate online from 8-11 PM EST this Friday, November 11.

The game we will be playing is Modern Warfare 3 (duh?!?) and is open to anybody who wants to join. All you’ll need to do to participate is send an invite to the following Gamertags and start playing:

• TG Fireflex
• Sogo01
• MollyPopGirl
• Rondeau04
• Kelky 111
• Uo1drama
• MRPINK310
• KF Trevor

There will be prizes awarded for completely random happenings. All prizes are Call of Duty themed and include our FPS Freek Prestige and FPS Freek ELITE controller attachments. You have to play with us to be eligible to win.

WeTheGamerz is a fantastic community to play with and we are really excited about killing everyone involved. Seriously, you’re all going to die. See you there!

Atlanta, GA – October 11, 2011 - KontrolFreek, the leader in creating performance gaming gear for the active gamer lifestyle, today announced it has been awarded a new patent, US Patent # 7993203, by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its gaming control stick adaptors. In addition, KontrolFreek anticipates the future approval of additional patents related to its performance gaming gear.

KontrolFreek’s ergonomically designed controller add-ons were created to provide improved comfort, grip and maneuverability to gamers playing on Xbox and Playstation consoles. In 2007 KontrolFreek introduced its first product, the Speed Freek® controller add-on for racing games, followed soon after with FPS Freek®, designed to serve the needs of the large and rapidly growing First Person Shooter audience. KontrolFreek now produces and sells more than 10 controller add-ons individually designed for shooter, sports and arcade game franchises.

“This patent highlights important key differences in our products and validates the unique contributions KontrolFreek is bringing to the console gaming market,” said Ashish Mistry, President & CEO KontrolFreek. “KontrolFreek’s commitment to innovation is demonstrated through our continued efforts at improving the gaming experience for hundreds-of-thousands of enthusiast, competitive and professional gamers worldwide.”

In addition to the patent award, KontrolFreek has continued to achieve top-line business growth, surpassing 400 percent year-over-year sales growth, and expanded distribution into key retailers via partnership with Microsoft Stores. 

In addition to new products that will be announced before the end of the year, KontrolFreek’s continually expanding portfolio of gaming controller accessories currently includes:

First-Person Shooter

• FPS Freek – KontrolFreek’s flagship controller accessory was created with the sole purpose of better precision and accuracy in first-person shooters via greater leverage, better control and less force.

• FPS Freek EPIC - Created as a tribute to the Gears of War franchise, with a crimson emblem and concave thumb surface designed for optimum comfort and grip.

• FPS Freek LEGENDARY - Extended controller thumbsticks let Halo players make smaller adjustments to track and hit targets faster and more accurately.

• FPS Freek PRESTIGE - Aim is dramatically improved and thumb-fatigue alleviated while playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Sports

• Football Freek™ – The convex, Euro-style football design is intended for maximum grip and superior ball control in football games including FIFA 12 and Pro Evolution Soccer.

• Speed Freek - This “U” shaped attachment allows for tighter turns and faster lap times in racing games.

• Speed Freek APEX - The racing controller has been updated with improved design features and ergonomic comfort to ensure maximum control across tracks or terrains and at high velocity. 

• Tee Freek™ – Golf ball-like thumb grip and added analog stick height increases range of motion for straighter drives and more accurate short games.

• TD Freek™ - The convex, laced thumbstick grip virtually eliminates thumb slippage. A must-have for fans of Madden and NCAA Football.

• Hoops Freek™ - Basketball-textured thumb pad increases accuracy through a 40% increased range of motion.

Arcade

• Rcade Freek™ – Retro-inspired analog stick enhancements are perfect for side-scroller, platformer, shoot 'em up or classic 2D arcade games.

We often get questions about third-party controllers and their compatibility with our products. With a ton of these controllers on the market today, things can get confusing. Don't worry—we've got you covered. Our products were designed for OEM Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers but do fit many third-party versions. Here is a list of known controllers and their compatibility:

PS3 DualShock 3 OEM – YES

Xbox 360 OEM – YES

Xbox 360 (New D-Pad) -- YES

Razer Onza -- YES

Razer Onza TE -- YES

Power A Pro EX/Elite – YES

Evil Controllers Evil Sticks – YES

PDP AfterGlow PS3 – NO

PDP AfterGlow Xbox 360 – YES

Wii Nunchuk -- NO

PS2 DualShock OEM -- YES

Xbox Controller S – YES

MadCatz Call of Duty: Black Ops PrecisionAIM Controller – YES

Datel Turbo Fire 2 Xbox 360 – NO

OnLive Controller – YES

This list is by no means a comprehensive listing of controllers and their compatibility. We try to test all controllers that we get questions about but due to various things we can't test out everything that comes to market. If you know the compatibility of a controller and would like to share your knowledge with us and the community, please add it here.

Just in case you haven't stopped by KontrolFreek.com lately, I wanted to tell you about four brand new bundles that we've created just for the holidays and supply you with a few tips for getting them to your house (or wherever you're planning on shipping them) before Christmas.

The first two bundles are the GamerPack TD and GamerPack Hoops.  These two are for people whose disk tray isn't taken up by Call of Duty: Black Ops 24/7, and instead craves more sports centered games, like Madden NFL or NBA 2K.  Each of the two bundles comes with either the Hoops or TD Freek correspondingly, and includes a pair of the critically praised Speed Freek.

The next two holiday bundles were designed for the serious first-person shooter fan.  The UltimatePack Prestige and UltimatePack Legendary are our most exciting bundles ever!  Each one features a GamerPack (FPS Freek and Speed Freek) and either the brand new FPS Freek Legendary--for all you Halo fans out there--or the even brand new-y-er FPS Freek Prestige--for fans of Black Ops.  Any gamer worth his or her weight in headshots should own one of these bundles.

If you are planning on ordering any of these new  holiday bundles or any other gear in our store and wish to have them by Christmas, you will need to have your order in by Friday, December 17th.  After that, your best option becomes placing your order through Amazon.com.  International orders or orders containing any FreekWear should be in by December 14th.

Surprise!  It’s BIG!  Call of Duty: Black Ops has shattered every other previous first-day video game sales record—including the one set by that other Activision game, Modern Warfare 2 last year.  In North America and the UK alone, Black Ops has sold over 5.6 million copies.  That roughly translates to a sh*t-ton of money—or about $360 million.  And by the time you read this, many more thousands of copies will have been sold.  Activision’s top dog, Bobby “diamond jizz” Kotick, says that they’re also on track to beat the previous five-day record of $550 million set by MW2.

This stat is, of course, impressive, but doesn’t really come as a shock to those of us with common sense.  The hype-machine that is Call of Duty: Black Ops has been cranking for months now; all as more and more people around the globe purchased new consoles and hopped online for the first time with little to do.  This truly is the game the world’s been waiting for—and the numbers are proving that.  At this rate, Activision will own Microsoft by next Monday.  Can you imagine playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on a console built by Activision just for that purpose?  It’s not that farfetched.

If you’re one of the many, many people out there patiently waiting for November 9^th and Call of Duty: Black Ops, you may want to take a look at this video featuring every single Kill Streak to be found in the full game.

P.S. Treyarch probably doesn’t want you to see this, hence the title, “10 different ways to cook pasta.”

Did that hold you over?  Me neither.  But some of the options looked pretty awesome, huh?  What looks the most deadly to you?