Wii now interrupt this game
By Jeremy Olshan
In the event of an emergency, the state of New York may seize control of your Xbox.
Video games will pause and warnings about imminent danger, severe weather or Amber alerts will appear on the screen, under a new notification system for Xbox, Wii and PlayStation set to go live next year.
"Not all people receive information just through radio and TV, so the idea is to reach them through other avenues," said Dennis Michalski, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management.
State residents can already subscribe to the NY-Alert system and receive everything from warnings about life-threatening emergencies to traffic reports via text messaging and e-mail.
The video-game alerts will also be voluntary, Michalski said.
But officials are working with technology companies to devise a non-voluntary version of the alerts, which could push messages to every cellphone and video-game system in the event of a life-threatening situation, Michalski said.
The system is similar to the "Notify NYC" program, which went live this year throughout the five boroughs.
To sign up for the text messaging version of the program, visit nyalert.gov.
jeremy.olshan@nypost.com
And where to play at a bar