Gaming Revolution

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February 2008
- Microsoft Opens Game Creation to Users
  
  MSNBC | Feb 21, 08 4:01 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- Aerosmith Rocks Guitar Hero
  
  USA Today | Feb 15, 08 12:30 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- 'Spore' to Finally Debut in Fall
  
  MarketWatch | Feb 12, 08 6:12 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Wii Points to Gaming's Future
  
  Forbes | Feb 11, 08 3:56 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Growing Pains Yield Virtual Reality Check
  
  Der Spiegel | Feb 1, 08 3:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The paparazzi have left, but the party isn't over for Second Life, the virtual world's founder says in a combative interview with Der Spiegel . Philip Rosedale acknowledges that the media hype has all but dried up but says he hopes new voice and education tools will turn the spotlight back on. Making the system crash less, however, is his "number one mission." More »
- Profits Burnout at Electronic Arts
  
  Associated Press | Feb 1, 08 1:08 AM CST
  
  (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 »
January 2008
- Exploding World of Warcraft Population Hits 10M
  
  GamePro.com | 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 in Asia, with 2.5 million in North America and 2 million in Europe. More »
- Green Groups Push TV Tax to Get Kids Off the Couch
  
  Huffington Post | Jan 22, 08 5:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A New Mexico environmental coalition is calling for a 1% sales tax on TVs and video games to fund outdoor programs for kids, and the idea is gaining steam, writes Carl Pope for the Huffington Post. Proponents of the "Leave No Child Inside” plan say the tax would raise $4 million a year and help kids get off their duffs and play outside. More »
- Video Game Sales Shatter Annual Record
  
  Associated Press | Jan 18, 08 10:23 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- China Cracks Down on Online Games
  
  Reuters | 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. “The whole industry is marginalized by mainstream society,” one senior official said. More »
- Second Life Offers Aid for Asperger's
  
  ABC News | Jan 16, 08 2:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Sufferers from Asperger’s syndrome, characterized by an inability to pick up social cues, are getting an unlikely assist from the virtual world Second Life, ABC News reports. Researchers have found that the site, in which users communicate through online avatars, is more effective than other therapies for guiding patients through social exercises such as asking another avatar out on a date or asking a “boss” avatar for a raise. More »
- Video Game Industry Reaches Boss Level
  
  New York Times | Jan 14, 08 10:14 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Build Your Personal 'Second Life'
  
  MIT Technology Review | 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 a Flash client, creators can embed their worlds anywhere from a social networking profile to a blog. More »
- Is the Xbox 360 Going Blu?
  
  Reuters | Jan 9, 08 7:29 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- Disgruntled Xbox Players Will Get Free Game
  
  BBC | 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 get a free Xbox Live Arcade game, reports the BBC . More »
- Slash Can't Outplay His Virtual Self in 'Guitar Hero'
  
  Seattle Times | Jan 3, 08 10:49 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - In order to beat the video game "Guitar Hero III," you have to outplay a virtual version of legendary guitarist Slash. If you can't quite cut it, don't feel so bad—the real Slash can't, either. "I just actually played it for the first time last night," the former Guns 'N' Roses guitarist tells the Seattle Times . "I'm terrible." More »
December 2007
- Selling the Video Game Pitch
  
  GameSpot | Dec 22, 07 7:50 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Picture the video game pitch: You sit down in front of a group software publisher execs with nothing more than a Powerpoint presentation and somehow try to communicate what your hypothetical digital world will be like and why it will be successful. Gamespot explores the evolution of pitching, from its unassuming beginnings to today’s pressure cookers. More »
- Bruckheimer Inks Vid Game Deal With MTV
  
  New York Times | Dec 19, 07 9:07 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - When MTV heard that Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to make video games, the company jumped to sign him. Sure, Bruckheimer’s never made a video game before, but he doesn’t think it’ll be too different from making Pirates of the Caribbean or "CSI." “Get creative talent together and do something interesting,” he says. “It’s no different than what we did with movies.” More »
- Guitar Hero: $9K; Lesson to Pothead Son: Priceless
  
  AFP | Dec 17, 07 4:23 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Christmas came early for a father who sold a rare $90 Guitar Hero III video game for $9,100 on eBay. He searched for "the Holy Grail of Christmas presents" for 2 weeks, he said in his auction description, and "couldn't wait to spread the jubilance to my son," AFP reports. But then he came home early and found the 15-year-old smoking marijuana with friends. More »
- Guaranteed Wii ... Come January
  
  Los Angeles Times | Dec 14, 07 6:25 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Kids hoping to score a Nintendo Wii this Christmas might have to settle for a skimpy rain check instead, the Los Angeles Times reports. Nintendo has completely sold out of its popular video-game console and won't be shipping any new units until January. Instead, buyers can reserve systems with full-price "Wii Certificates" available Dec. 20-21 at GameStop. More »