Video Game News

(Newser) - In Mass Effect, developed by BioWare for XBox 360, you play as a human with the singular ability to save the universe—and the game has critics raving. Paul Curthoy of the Official Xbox Magazine claims that "personally, it's the best game I've ever played, but even if you're not a hard-core sci-fi nerd like me, Mass Effect is a transcendent experience." More »

(Newser) - The immensely popular Guitar Hero "rhythm game" franchise has a new competitor: MTV Games/Harmonix's Rock Band. The game ups the ante on the Guitar Hero concept by moving beyond guitars: a microphone and drumset controllers, along with guitar, are included in the game's $170 pricetag so that in multiplayer, users can put every part of a song together, Ars Technica reports. More »

(Newser) - In its latest effort to revive lagging sales, Sony has halved the price of a software development kit for its PlayStation 3 video game console. Last month, the company slashed the price of the console itself to consumers, in response to fierce competition from the better-selling Nintendo Wii, reports the AP. Sales of Microsoft's Xbox have also outstripped the PS3. More »

(Newser) - The PC gaming industry is on the defensive, with sales of PC games down substantially over the past five years, as less expensive gaming consoles have become more powerful. The Wii, Xbox, and PS3 have lured away casual gamers, leaving the PCs to hardcore gamers playing, first-person shooters and complex role-playing and strategy games, CNET reports. More »

(Newser) - Gamers in Singapore may now buy Microsoft's Mass Effect despite a female-female love scene. The country has decided to allow the sale of the video game under an M18 rating, reports Singapore's Straits Times , after previously banning it due to a scene showing a human woman and an alien woman kissing. More »

(Newser) - Singaporeans anticipating Microsoft’s much-ballyhooed Mass Effect video game should stop anticipating. Thanks to a scene in which a human woman kisses and caresses an alien woman, Singapore has banned the action-RPG, Reuters reports. Microsoft said it would respect the ban, but outraged gamers decried the decision as too strict. Sex between men is against the law in Singapore. More »

(Newser) - “Gamerscore” could be Microsoft’s secret weapon in its bitter rivalry with Apple’s iPod, the Washington Post observes. The popular feature from the tech giant’s Xbox allows players to rack up points in the console’s social-networking world and flaunt their “achievements” for friends. The gamerscore may only bestow “vague, and nerdy, street cred,” the Post’s Mike Musgrove admits, but it’s effective. More »

(Newser) - "Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat," released this week, takes players on the missions of elite modern fighters like the US Marines or British SAS, a departure for a video game series that previously focused exclusively on WWII. The game is set to be this holiday season's biggest seller, reports Reuters . More »

(Newser) - For those video game fans who don't find their flight simulators or alien invasions sufficiently immersive, CNET suggests a solution: shell out for a new Renegade chair. The $300 captain's seat weighs 50 pounds and includes 12 vibrating motors that sync with any game on any platform, buffeting you with jolts as you play. More »

(Newser) - Activision turned a $24.3 million loss into a slender quarterly profit of $698,000 in just one year—thanks to its blockbuster musical simulation Guitar Hero. The video game is expected to produce revenue in the billions, the Wall Street Journal reports. Guitar Hero III was launched October 28—, and its first week sales were more than $100 million. More »

(Newser) - The New York Times profiles Richard Garriott, the grand old man (at 46) of massively multiplayer online games. After several early successes, Garriott built a game world in which thousands of individuals could operate via a newfangled machine called a modem. The result, 1997's Ultima Online, changed the video game industry. But Garriott hasn't had a hit since, and hopes are high for his newest effort, tellingly entitled Tabula Rasa. More »

(Newser) - The latest game in the Guitar Hero franchise is out and reviewers are shredding to it already. Ars Technica says Guitar Hero III hasn’t suffered from Neversoft’s loss of Harmonix, the original developers. In this release, wireless guitars are standard, more rock songs are included, and the career mode of the game includes a ‘battle” sessions with guitar bosses. More »

(Newser) - Despite big losses in Playstation 3 sales, Sony reported a slight quarterly profit jump, a signal that cost-cutting and downsizing have been effective economic spurs for the Japanese technology giant. Electronics profits increased 12-fold to $939 million, with sales, especially of digital cameras, up more than 20%, the New York Times reports, suggesting that the company is back on track. More »

(Newser) - Nolan Bushnell, often called the father of electronic games, is still masterminding new ways  to mix technology and entertainment, Electronic Design reports. Fusing his experiences as the inventor of Pong and founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, Bushnell has created uWink, a family restaurant where the tables have inset touch-screen monitors featuring social, family-based multiplayer games. More »

(Newser) - Sony has slashed the price of PlayStation 3 by $100 in advance of holiday shopping; the cheapest console will now be a 40-gigabyte model for $399—down from $499 for a 60-gigger. PlayStation is the priciest of its rivals, and sales have