Gaming Revolution

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December 2007
- Video Games May Replace DVDs In Stores
  
  Ars Technica | Dec 10, 07 1:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - DVD sales are slipping while video games and their tie-ins are seeing record consumption, reports Ars Technica, leading Ben Kuchera to suggest that video games will replace DVDs on many retail shelves. With even grandmothers now going Wii wild, video games are no longer just the realm of teens and young single males, he writes, despite much higher retail prices than competing DVDs. More »
- By Any Means Necessary: Buying a Wii
  
  Washington Post | Dec 8, 07 12:26 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The holiday-season shortage of Nintendo’s Wii console is fostering some creative shopping strategies, shared on a number of websites devoted to tracking down the device, the Washington Post reports. One advises Wii hopefuls not to ask store employees when the next shipment will arrive—instead, ask when the last one came in: "This is a question they can actually answer and gets the conversation going." More »
- Nintendo's Wii Shortage Is Good Business Strategy
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 7, 07 7:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Nintendo’s Wii is proving hard to find in the holiday rush, a phenomenon the Wall Street Journal says is indicative of the Japanese company’s cautious culture—but also good business sense. Nintendo is cautious for a reason: it saw its fortunes rise with the original NES and SNES consoles, only to fall when Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s xBox cornered the market. More »
- TV Nets Hope Games Will Hook Viewers
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 7, 07 2:51 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - TV networks are using scavenger hunt-style games to attract viewers to their shows. Hundreds of players searched for clues online and offline, including on billboards in San Francisco and Minnesota, to crack a game linked to the CBS show "Numb3rs" last month. The network plans to promote more shows with games and hopes to sign up sponsoring advertisers. More »
- Physical Therapy, Wii Style
  
  Reuters | Dec 6, 07 5:38 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Some physical therapists have been prescribing the Wii for patients recovering from strokes or injuries. Doctors and patients say it's more rewarding to play the game system than go through tedious exercises. "This is more fun. It makes it more exciting. It gets me to work harder," a 51-year-old stroke victim tells Reuters. More »
- Shakespeare Game Much Ado About Nothing
  
  MIT Technology Review | Dec 5, 07 2:03 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Edward Castronova’s Arden: The World of Shakespeare was supposed to be a revolutionary academic experiment, a massive multiplayer online world where players learned about Shakespeare while Castronova tested economic theories on them. There’s just one problem, Technology Review reports: “It’s no fun,” says Castronova. Focused on research, developers produced a dull game. More »
- Good Wii Hunting!
  
  Wired | Dec 5, 07 4:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Know where to go. Know the right people to talk to. Most importantly, get up early! Demand for the Nintendo Wii is going to far outstrip supply for the second Christmas in a row and Wired has some tips for people determined to track one down. Nintendo has stoked up production of the console, but executives admit there's bound to be a shortfall. More »
- Vivendi to Buy Activision
  
  New York Times | 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 closing price. Then Activision, re-dubbed Activision Blizzard, will take in all Vivendi’s game operations. More »
November 2007
- Writer Fired for Negative Review?
  
  DailyTech | Nov 30, 07 2:40 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The editorial director of a video game review site was fired after giving a negative review to a game from a major advertiser. The writer called Kane & Lynch: Dead Men "probably not worth the purchase" before GameSpot terminated him, reports DailyTech . This when the review site's homepage was dedicated to advertising for the game. More »
- 'Guitar Hero' Amps Metal Sales
  
  Boston Herald | Nov 28, 07 12:07 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Red-hot video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is helping lift heavy metal sales, the Boston Herald reports. Massachusetts metallers Killswitch Engage have seen CD sales top half a million since being featured in the game—pretty good going in the age of illegal downloads. The guitar simulator game has been a big bonus for struggling metal bands. More »
- Computer Game Lets Players Try Virtual Peace
  
  Associated Press | Nov 25, 07 4:12 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A computer game that promotes peace in the Middle East will be distributed to Palestinians and Israelis this week while their leaders meet in the US to negotiate, the Associated Press reports. “PeaceMaker” players choose roles as Israeli or Palestinian leaders and respond to attacks from the opposing side. Leaders who launch counter-attacks don’t thrive in the game. More »
- A Historical Video Game Shocks Spain
  
  New York Times | Nov 23, 07 12:24 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The New York Times reports on a new video game on sale in Spain that bills itself as the first based on the 1936-39 civil war. Players of Shadows of War can take command the Republican army and reverse the course of history, preventing Franco's 40-year dictatorship—or they can command the Nationalists and hasten it. The game has provoked an outcry across the political spectrum. More »
- Mass Effect Is Massively Good
  
  Metacritic | Nov 23, 07 7:02 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- Beowulf Blurs Line Between Video Games and Movies
  
  Wired | Nov 20, 07 5:54 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Most of the reviews of Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf have noted the video-game feel of the CGI flick, and they're right: there is no technological difference between the film and animations used in high-end video games. Wired gaming blogger Chris Kohler argues this is a watershed for film; when scenes of video-game quality can succeed in the box office market for live-action films. More »
- Video Game Troopers Talk Abu Ghraib
  
  Wired | Nov 19, 07 7:33 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Blacksite boasts the usual nasties, but this first-person shooter has them US-trained and -armed—making it “one of the few genuinely subversive games,” says Wired’s Clive Thompson. Most shoot-'em-ups make you "a warrior for the American dream," but Blacksite’s “corrupt authority” is clearly on Pennsylvania Avenue. “If you disagree with the game's political point of view, you'll probably hate it,” Thompson concedes. More »
- Be Your Own 'Rock Band'
  
  Ars Technica | Nov 19, 07 4:20 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Sony Halves Developer Fees for Struggling PlayStation 3
  
  Associated Press | Nov 19, 07 2:27 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- PC Gaming World Contracts
  
  CNET | Nov 18, 07 3:41 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Singapore Lifts Ban on Game With Lesbian Love
  
  Straits Times | Nov 16, 07 2:54 PM CST
  
  (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 »
- Price Cut Lifts PlayStation Sales
  
  Associated Press | Nov 15, 07 9:02 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Long lagging behind the Nintendo Wii and without a 'Halo 3' to rescue it, Sony's PlayStation 3 is finally seeing sales pick up in the weeks after a $100 price cut and introduction of a lower-end model. Sony said it sold 100,000 consoles last week, compared to sales of 30,000-40,000 a week before the Oct. 18 price cut. More »