Gaming Revolution

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June 2009
- Wii Sports Cause Real Injuries
  
  Washington Times | Jun 17, 09 4:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nintendo Wii players may find themselves saddled with the same sprains and fractures that haunt athletes, often because they don't treat the virtual games like real sports, doctors tell the Washington Times . Sprains are the most common injury because Wii Sports don't provide the same resistance that actual tennis, bowling, baseball, golf, and boxing do, which typically prevents joints from being overextended. More »
- Twitter and Facebook Come to Xbox 360
  
  Ars Technica | Jun 1, 09 4:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a bid to make its Xbox 360 more interactive, Microsoft is bringing Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, a lightning-speed video service, and—brace yourself—a motion-sensing camera that knows who you are just by reading your face to the console, Ars Technica reports. The company even brought in Steven Spielberg to demonstrate the camera today at a conference in Los Angeles. More »
May 2009
- Guitar Hero Spin-Off Lands Jay-Z, Eminem
  
  USA Today | May 29, 09 3:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two of the biggest names in rap are on board with Guitar Hero ’s latest spin-off, USA Today reports. When DJ Hero launches this fall, its celebrity lineup will include Jay-Z and Eminem. Both are working with manufacturer Activision and developer FreeStyleGames to finalize their playlists. “I have a ton of content, I just need the pipeline,” says Jay-Z, whose contributions will include Dirt Off Your Shoulder . More »
- Game, Aykroyd Bring Ghostbusters Back From Dead
  
  New York Times | May 28, 09 12:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Dan Aykroyd has been trying to get the Ghostbusters to cross streams again for 15 years, and now it’s finally happening—in video-game form. Unlike most movie tie-in games, Ghostbusters isn’t an afterthought—Atari’s giving it blockbuster treatment, complete with voices from Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. Aykroyd chatted with the New York Times to talk about his love of the franchise he created. More »
- An Addict Warns: Beware iPhone Game Apps
  
  Slate | May 22, 09 11:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - You don’t have to be a gamer to become an iPhone-game addict, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. The apps follow an established recipe for great games: “They're easy to learn but difficult to master.” As a gaming system, the gadget doesn't have the sophistication of a Nintendo DS, but “you carry it everywhere, and it's always connected to a vast storehouse of cheap, addictive games.” More »
- Microsoft May Unveil Wii-Like Remote in June
  
  BBC | May 19, 09 5:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Just-released patent applications suggest Microsoft has indeed created a so-called “Magic Wand” to rival the Wii remote, the BBC reports. It could come out at next month's industry expo in Los Angeles. The applications say the wand has "biometric sensors" that would detect "fingerprint, hand geometry, hand vein pattern, palm pattern, and grip configuration," and would have a "facial thermogram, a facial feature, a retinal feature, or an iris feature.” More »
- New Punch-Out!! Is Classic Fun
  
  Wired | May 19, 09 3:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! , on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, was a “perfect combination of addictive gameplay and technological impressiveness,” Chris Kohler writes in Wired . In a new version for Wii, happily, the company has figured out "what made the original so compelling” and recreated it “in spades.” Sometimes, Kohler writes, “they do make ’em like they used to.” More »
- Iowa Town Wants Video Game Hall of Fame
  
  MSNBC | May 18, 09 5:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Video game lovers in Ottumwa, Iowa, are ready to see the world's gaming hall of fame on their front doorstep, MSNBC reports. Forget Silicon Valley, home to Atari. And Kyoto, Japan, where Ninentdo was born. No, the town that hosted the first world championship 26 years ago “was the beginning,” Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell said. “It was the birth of organized video game play.” More »
- Prisoners Run Crime Ops Via PlayStation
  
  Times (UK) | May 13, 09 8:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Organized criminals use PlayStation and interactive games to pass on orders while behind bars, says a British agency monitoring 5,000 global crime lords. The masterminds also charge illegally kept cell phones through the gaming console. A prison spokesman refuted the charge, saying that only older versions of such devices—sans wireless technology—are permitted, the Times of London reports. More »
- Drop the Remote: Xbox Plans Motion-Sensing 3-D Camera
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 12, 09 5:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is developing a 3-D camera for its Xbox 360 that would allow users to control games through body movements instead of a remote, the Wall Street Journal reports. Unlike the Wii, gamers would not hold any type of hardware to swing a tennis racket or the like. Insiders think the device could be unveiled at an expo in June, but the unit will likely not be released until next year. More »
April 2009
- Real-World Lawyers Set Up Shop in Second Life
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 27, 09 9:01 PM CDT
  
  (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 of law, which is really a treat for attorneys," says one Silicon Valley lawyer. More »
- Why Game Boy, at 20, Still Rules
  
  Ars Technica | Apr 21, 09 3:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nintendo's Game Boy portable gaming system has been around for 20 years today, and even has a spiritual successor in the DS. Benj Edwards takes a look at why the franchise is a lasting one on Ars Technica. Tetris: "Every new hardware platform needs a 'killer app,'" and that was as true in 1989 as it is now. The addictive game perfectly fit the capabilities of the tiny console that could. Battery life: The Game Boy could run at least 10 hours on 4 AAs, propelling the relatively crude monochrome system past its energy-guzzling color competition. More »
- Dungeons & Dragons Co - Creator Dead at 61
  
  Wired | Apr 10, 09 1:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. His D&D collaborator, Gary Gygax, died in March 2008. Though the two engaged in much legal wrangling over their property, they resolved their dispute in the 1980s. Arneson, who enjoyed a second career as an educator, was 61, Matt Blum of Wired writes in an appreciation of the roleplaying-game pioneer. More »
- Sims Creator Leaving EA for Think Tank
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Apr 9, 09 7:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The creator of The Sims is departing Electronic Arts to focus on "strange products and ideas," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Will Wright plans to work full-time at his Stupid Fun Club think tank, which develops ideas for film, games, and TV. Wright says he has already cooked up some ideas for toys and TV shows and is looking for ways to commercialize them. More »
- Wii Muscles Up With 'Sports Resort'
  
  Reuters | Apr 9, 09 3:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Get ready to pull a muscle as Wii expands its offering of audience participation sports to Frisbee (with a dog), fencing and jetskiing, reports Reuters. Sports Resort is scheduled to be released in June, said Nintendo executives. The company hopes the new activities will boost flagging sales of Wii game consoles. Wii console sales far outstrip XBox and Playstation 3 globally. But Playstation 3 recently pulled ahead of Wii in Japan with the introduction of new games. More »
March 2009
- Wii Becomes Fastest-Selling Console Ever
  
  BBC | Mar 26, 09 1:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Nintendo Wii has passed the 50 million milestone to beat out Playstation 2 as the fastest-selling game console, the BBC reports. The massive sales were beyond expectations, Nintendo boss Saturo Iwata said yesterday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. He credited Wii's success to gaming's solid move into the mainstream. More »
- Coming Soon: On-Demand Video Game Service
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 24, 09 1:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If Steve Perlman—the veteran entrepreneur behind WebTV—has his way, console gaming’s days are numbered. Today, Perlman and his partners unveiled OnLive, an on-demand video game service that offers the tantalizing prospect of playing any game, as soon as it’s released, on any computer or TV. The games would run on a remote server, and stream via broadband, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Hip-Hop Fans Get Own Guitar Hero
  
  Ars Technica | Mar 17, 09 1:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Could DJs be the next Guitar Heroes? The publisher of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ hopes so. "I know that Scratch can reinvigorate DJ culture," turntable icon Mix Master Mike tells Ars Technica of the videogame, due out this summer. It'll push kids "into getting real turntables to not only keep the art alive but to spawn a new generation of DJs and beat makers," he says. More »
February 2009
- World of Warcraft: the 'Cocaine of Gaming'
  
  The Local (Sweden) | 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 "the cocaine of the computer games world," the foundation's report says. In one case, a Swedish boy collapsed after playing for 20 hours nonstop. More »
- Gamers, Beware This Skin Disorder
  
  BBC | Feb 24, 09 5:48 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Dedicated gamers beware—researchers have identified a skin disorder just for you, the BBC reports. “PlayStation palmar hidradenitis” is characterized by painful lumpy sores on the palms. British researchers think it's caused by gripping the controller tightly with sweaty hands for extended periods. Good news, though: Symptoms appear to clear up—if gamers can go cold turkey for a while. More »