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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: online gaming

online gaming stories: 17 news summaries

 Game Plays Out 
 2011 Obama Coup 

Ron Paul fans behind scenario, which also finds Glenn Beck dead

Oct 24, 09 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - For the burgeoning ranks of political paranoids, a scenario in which President Obama dissolves the Constitution, bans guns and drags the US into a union with Mexico and Canada seems not all that far-fetched. Now, thanks to some Ron Paul supporters, you can prepare for 2011 (yep, that soon!)... More »

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Mexico • Democratic Congress • Canada • Fox News • Ron Paul • Michelle Malkin • Glenn Beck • US Constitution • libertarians • online gaming • gun ban • coup d'etat • President Obama • United States of Earth • imam

ONLINE GAMING

 Facebook Sees Big 
 Bucks in Virtual Goods 

Social networking site wants a cut of gaming transactions

Oct 23, 09 12:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gaming is blowing up on Facebook, and the social networking site hopes to take a cut of the very real revenue generated by virtual interactions. Analysts think credits and other services bought to enhance the likes of “Farmville” and “Mafia Wars” will be trading at a clip of... More »

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social networking • Internet • Web 2.0 • Facebook • PayPal • online gaming • virtual goods • microtransaction • Mafia Wars • Farmville

(Newser) - Minnesota wants Internet providers who serve customers in the state to block access to Internet gambling sites, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Officials say the practice is illegal in the state, but how prevalent it is is unclear. “It's hard to know that," a gambling regulator said.... More »

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casino • Minnesota • illegal activity • Internet service providers • online gaming • Internet gambling • state governments

(Newser) - A bed designed for avatar sex? That's intellectual property. An agreement between virtual real estate developers? It's an oral contract. Or so say some lawyers, who are opening offices to handle disputes in the virtual, online world of Second Life, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "It's an emerging area... More »

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intellectual property • lawyer • Second Life • online gaming

 World of Warcraft: 
 the 'Cocaine of Gaming' 

Fantasy game involved in nearly every case of game addiction, foundation says

Feb 27, 09 4:45 PM CST
(Newser) - World of Warcraft is the most addictive video game on the market, the Local of Sweden reports. WoW is the most popular of the online multiplayer fantasy games—by far the most addicting game genre, according to a study by the Swedish Youth Care Foundation. The Blizzard title is "... More »

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cocaine • World of Warcraft • MMORPG • multiplayer games • crack cocaine • online gaming • video games

German Gamer Admits to
Brutal Murder

Knifes UK man to death, was in love with victim's girlfriend

Sep 27, 08 6:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - A German man has confessed to stabbing to death a Brit he met through an online war game, the Guardian reports. The 20-year-old victim ran a forum for fans of the game. Detectives had initially believed that the slaying stemmed from an online feud but it later emerged that the... More »

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Internet • war games • United Kingdom • murder • Nintendo • online gaming • video games

Put Your Virtual Tiger Up Against the Real Thing

Gamers get chance to face in-the-flesh stars in Xbox confrontation

Aug 29, 08 6:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Shaving giant Gillette has announced a partnership with Electronic Arts to sponsor an online gaming tournament where the prize will be competing against real-life sports stars, the Boston Globe reports. Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Derek Jeter are the celebrity champions, who will be challenged by players on the Xbox... More »

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Tiger Woods • marketing • Roger Federer • Derek Jeter • Electronic Arts • online gaming • video games • Gillette • Procter & Gamble

Study: Video Game Addicts Aren't Nerds

'Problem gamers' may be unhealthy, but they're not lonely geeks

Jun 13, 08 8:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - The stereotype of the hard-core gamer as a friendless geek may be as outdated as Pac-Man, Reuters reports. An Australian study looked at "problem gamers" who spent more than 50 hours a week playing and discovered that less than 1% had poor social skills. The findings contradict statements from... More »

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addiction • gaming • World of Warcraft • MMORPG • American Medical Association • online gaming • Internet addiction • video games

Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming

Games developer seeks to reach new markets with innovative scenarios

May 22, 08 10:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sony is seeking to boost online gaming to the next level with a pair of new adventures in the pipeline. The company's 1999 EverQuest was the first massive online game to rocket to popularity, but rivals like World of Warcraft have since taken the lead. With spy shooter game The ... More »

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Sony • gaming • World of Warcraft • MMORPG • multiplayer games • online gaming • video games

 Virtual Disney Closing its Doors 

Company pulls plug tomorrow, and fans aren't happy

May 20, 08 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Diehard fans are outraged at plans to shut down a virtual version of Disneyland tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reports. Players of Virtual Magic Kingdom, a free online game Disney started to celebrate the theme park’s 50th anniversary in 2005, are protesting throughout the blogosphere; some 20,000 have... More »

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Disney • virtual worlds • Disneyland • online gaming • Virtual Magic Kingdom

 Mickey Ds Lurks
 Behind Spooky
 'Lost Ring'
 Game 

Golden Arches launches weirdest marketing campaign yet

Apr 1, 08 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Players had spent days searching for clues to The Lost Ring, an Olympic-themed online mystery game, before uncovering the stunning identity of the game’s shadowy creator: McDonald’s. Golden arches and burgers are nowhere to be seen in the dark contest—instead it’s promoting the Olympics, while “... More »

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McDonald's • marketing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • alternative reality games • online gaming • The Lost Ring

War Game
Takes Colleges
by Storm

CoCrossCampus blends online play with real life interaction

Mar 21, 08 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Somewhere, Harvard is plotting an assault on Yale, while Cornell forges an alliance with Princeton. Such mass maneuvers are routine in GoCrossCampus, a Risk-like online war game in which teams of hundreds of players move armies across virtual versions of real campus locations. But it’s the real-world interaction, as... More »

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social networking • Internet • free online games • online gaming • Yale

Exploding World of Warcraft Population Hits 10M

Online fantasy game has most subscribers in genre

Jan 24, 08 1:39 PM CST
(Newser) - Online role-playing game World of Warcraft has topped 10 million subscribers, making it by far the most popular game of its kind, GamePro.com reports. The fantasy kingdom of Azeroth now has a higher population than many of the real world's countries. More than half of the game's addicts are... More »

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World of Warcraft • virtual worlds • roleplaying games • online gaming • warcraft • Blizzard Entertainment • Azeroth

China Cracks Down on Online Games

Calls them 'spiritual opium'

Jan 17, 08 12:03 PM CST
(Newser) - China is cracking down on its booming, billion-dollar online game industry, which is seen as “spiritual opium” that threatens to hook the Chinese people, Reuters reports. The government today said it plans to regulate “undesirable” elements out of the game, which 41 million Chinese played this year. “... More »

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China • censorship • online gaming • Internet cafes • Internet addiction

Build Your Personal 'Second Life'

Metaplace wants to let users create and host their own virtual worlds

Jan 11, 08 3:59 PM CST
(Newser) - Ever dream of creating your own virtual world, a la Second Life or World of Warcraft? Soon you’ll be able to, thanks to Metaplace, a company that lets users host virtual worlds online, building them the same way they’d create other Internet content, reports Technology Review. Using... More »

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virtual worlds • multiplayer games • online gaming • Metaplace

Disgruntled Xbox Players Will Get Free Game

Microsoft apologizes for swamped system over holidays

Jan 4, 08 3:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Microsoft apologized to Xbox players who weren’t able to access its online gaming system over Christmas and promised them a free game to make up for it. The software company said the system got swamped by too many users trying to play at once. Members of the service will... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • Xbox • Xbox Live • online gaming • video games

Vivendi to Buy Activision

Get ready for World of Tony Hawk's Pro Guitar Warcraft

Dec 2, 07 2:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Vivendi, producer of mega-hit World of Warcraft, today announced plans to merge operations with Activision, forming an independent video game behemoth to rival EA. Vivendi will buy 52% of Activision for $1.7 billion and $27.50 per share, the Times reports, a premium on Friday’s $22.15... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Tony Hawk • Vivendi • World of Warcraft • Guitar Hero • Activision • Activision Blizzard • online gaming • video games

17 Stories


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