Video Game News

(Newser) - Microsoft says it's going to bring democracy to video game creation and distribution, MSNBC reports. Microsoft's game-making kit has been a popular download, and the company is now introducing a way for gamers to share the games they make with millions of fellow enthusiasts. They plan to launch a YouTube-style XBox Live Community  this fall where gamers will share, play, and rate their creations. More »

(Newser) - Aerosmith can add another big honor to its already-lengthy list: first solo act on a Guitar Hero release. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, due out in June, will include realistic animations of the band's 30-year history, from high school band to Super Bowl halftime act, reports USA Today . The Hall of Famers have a new album coming up and hope to benefit from the promotion. More »

(Newser) - EA said that its “Spore” videogame, long in development, would be released September 7, Marketwatch reports. The company is expecting the game, designed by “Sims” and “SimCity” creator Will Wright, to generate big revenues, given the near-mythical status its long gestation time and solid-gold pedigree have endowed it with. More »

(Newser) - The upset Nintendo has secured against Microsoft and Sony as its simple-but-innovative Wii continues to dominate their processor-heavy rival consoles portends much for the future of gaming, writes Michael Noer for Forbes . Expect much more casual gaming and gamers, Noer writes, as low-time-commitment experiences and Wii-like intuitive controls snag demographics beyond the young male diehard. More »

(Newser) - Big Brother is looking to land hard on the video game industry in the UK, the Guardian reports, as the government plans to rate games for violence and make it illegal to sell them to children. Government ministers are also considering measures to block kids' Internet access to unsuitable games, emails or sites, the paper reports. More »

(Newser) - Gamers who love Activision for Call of Duty and Guitar Hero have some company on Wall Street today after the company reported a 90% earnings surge and an 80% bump in sales for the quarter ending Dec. 31, reports MarketWatch. The company reported net income of $272.2 million, up from $142.8 million a year ago, and revised its forecast for the current quarter upward. More »

(Newser) - Video game sales are at an all-time high but the world's largest independent publisher of them has reported a third-quarter loss, reports the AP. Electronic Arts says the loss is down to restructuring and accounting changes. Revenue was up 17%, but the company saw its share of the market slip in Europe and North America and could face a difficult 2008. More »

(Newser) - More video games were sold in 2007 than ever before, with a total of $17.94 billion marking a 43% increase over 2006, reports the AP. Much of the growth came from sales of Nintendo's chronically undersupplied Wii and Microsoft's Halo 3, market researcher NPD Group said. Nintendo dominated gaming system sales, moving 6.3 million Wii units and 8.5 million of the most popular system, the portable DS. More »

(Newser) - The video game industry has grown up and is going to start putting some quarters into Washington, the New York Times reports. Game makers have formed their first political action committee and will soon start making campaign donations to candidates, in hopes of steering more of them to the industry's side and head off attempts to further regulate their products. More »

(Newser) - Microsoft could be changing roles in the HD wars, as the corporation may consider switching from Toshiba's HD-DVD players to rival Sony's Blu-ray technology in the Xbox 360 if the warning signs of HD-DVD's demise prove true, reports Reuters . The announcement comes in the wake of Warner Bros. last week announcing plans to drop HD-DVD in favor of Blu-ray.  More »