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China Unveils the iSec, Its First Game Console
China is closed off to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s consoles, meaning the first console available for sale in that country – aside from the knockoffs, of course – will be home grown. Today the iSec, renamed from the “eBox” announced last year, was unveiled. Made by a Beijing company that’s funded by Lenovo – China’s…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sony’s Latest Update on PlayStation Network Status Doesn’t Sound Good
If you we’re expecting to go online with your PlayStation 3 or PSP this weekend, you might want to make other plans. In the latest update from Sony Computer Entertainment on the status of its currently offline PlayStation Network, it sounds like we’re in for a longer wait than we (or Sony) expected. Sony said…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Family That Plays (Online) Together, Stays Together
Research suggests that family communication improves if the group are playing online video games together, but if a single member is gaming, it suffers greatly as the gaming becomes a substitute for healthy communication. That sounds like a call any counselor could make, but it’s an important finding in the changing nature of family relationships…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
PAX 2011 Sold Out of Three-Day Passes
Getting into Penny Arcade Expo’s flagship show in Seattle, on Labor Day weekend, is notoriously difficult if you trek up there without a pass. The three-day variety for PAX 2011 is now officially sold out, according to the expo’s official Twitter feed. They’ve been processing some refunds, freeing up stock incrementally, so there’s an off…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
With PSP Sales Like These in Japan, Who Needs the NGP?
Yes, yes, it was a Nintendo DS game that managed to outsell everything else in Japan this week—Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional—but it was the continued strength of PSP hardware in Japan that seemed most impressive. Square Enix’s latest Dragon Quest spin-off managed to reclaim the top spot this week against new competition like…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedCan You Spot This Guy’s Tell Playing Online Poker with Kinect?
If you can’t spot the sucker in the first 30 seconds of this video, then you are the sucker. In seriousness, Poker Listings’ “Positively Nerd Street” has cooked up online poker controls for Rock Band peripherals, so it was a matter of time before they did something like this. This is not proof of concept.…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedStephen Colbert Slams Madden‘s New Concussion Rules and the Dangers of Realism in Video Games
The Colbert Report tackled the latest innovation in Madden NFL 12 last night, with pseudo-conservative host Stephen Colbert—no stranger to video games—blasting EA Sports’ “horrifying new feature” that sidelines Madden players suffering from concussions. EA calls the new feature “another opportunity to create awareness” about the impact of head injuries on players, but Colbert has…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
How Large is L.A. Noire‘s Map?
One of Mafia II‘s drawbacks was the extremely long driving times often required by a map that spread mission points very far apart. L.A. Noire will be twice the size – eight square miles to Empire Bay’s four – and will require 30 minutes to traverse by car. So let’s hope they place the mission…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedBe Kind To Children and Buy Them the Correct Thor Video Game
There is a Thor movie out. We hear it’s okay, at best. Oh, maybe better than okay? There are also Thor video games out, and, they’re from Sega, the people who brought you bad Iron Man games. Have they done it again? We got the Xbox 360, Wii and DS Thor games, played through the…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
These Pokémon Starters Look Super Effective, Totally Awesome
Artist Drake Tsui delivers a stunning triptych of Pokémon starters three ways—fire, grass and water. Head to Tsui’s deviantArt account to grab the desktop-worthy full-sized version or catch ’em all individually: Fire Blast, Solar Beam and Hydro Pump While you’re there, check out Tsui’s other video game, comic book and anime-inspired works, including pieces based…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Concussions will be Rare in Madden NFL 12, and No One Gets Suspended
Madden NFL 12 will present concussions realistically – as realistically as removing a player from the game, forbidding his return, and delivering commentary that highlights the seriousness of the injury. The game will not include suspensions for players who dole them out; nor is there any way to intentionally cause one. Madden executive producer Phil…
By Owen Good Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
A Wade Family Photo
MOMMY DEAREST | A Fear 3 family photo in frame sent to me by the folks at Day 1 Studios for Mother’s Day. Photo: Brian Crecente) Kill Osama Bin Laden on Saturday One hundred and six missions later, virtual war ends for Kuma War with the playable, video game reenactment of the killing of Osama…
By Brian Crecente Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Burnout Crash! Finally Adds Lobster Monsters and UFOs to Explosive Pileups
Already outed by Australian’s ratings board, the ESRB details the next game in the Burnout series, a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game that sounds… well, really different. According to the game’s official extended rating, Burnout Crash! is an action game that involves creating spectacular crashes and traffic pileups with “cartoony” vehicles. Players will also…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Culture
This Week In The Business: “Difficult to Excuse.”
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Peaked in some respects.” – M2 Research’s Billy Pidgeon on the status of Xbox 360 in the market and the chances that Microsoft announces new hardware at E3 2012 QUOTE | “The market opportunity is there.” – THQ boss Brian Farrell talks…
By Drew Cohen Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Week in Gaming Apps
Another week in gaming apps has passed, giving us a chance to chomp with Pac-Man, grind some Gears, take our pig for a stroll, and do whatever it is you do with a Destructopus And what do we have there at the end? Is that a Windows Phone 7 game in our list? Why yes,…
By Mike Fahey Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
This weekend, I may revisit an old friend, Counter-Strike: Source, for some mindless, getting-shot-in-the-head fun. It’s just the what the doctor ordered—the one who prescribes video games—after what I’ve recently been playing. See, earlier this week, I finally nabbed that Platinum Trophy in Demon’s Souls. It only took a few hundred hours, five playthroughs, multiple…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Video Games are Artistic Enough for Federal Grant Money
For years the National Endowment for the Arts’ has been doling out millions of dollars to innovative television and radio projects about the arts or that could be considered works of art. Starting next year, video games are eligible for some of that sweet, sweet federal grant money. The National Endowment for the Arts has…
By Mike Fahey Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Report: Next-Gen Xbox Already at EA; EA: That’s a ‘Total Fabrication’
Now that Nintendo has revealed its plans to jump into the next-generation with a successor to the Wii, will Microsoft and Sony follow suit? A report earlier today from Develop says that not only is Microsoft working on the next Xbox console, it’s already in the hands of developer Electronic Arts. The hitch? EA says…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sony Europe Plans to Make Good on PSN Downtime with Free PS3 and PSP Games
Sony will apologize to its PlayStation Network account holders in Europe by handing out free games, the company announced on its official blog today, while it sorts out the logistics of its identity theft protection program. So, what will you get, Europe? “We will be offering PSN users the opportunity to select two PS3 games…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedKill Osama Bin Laden on Saturday
One hundred and six missions later, virtual war ends for Kuma War with the playable, video game reenactment of the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Earlier this week Kotaku broke the news that Kuma Games was returning to their semi-retired Kuma War first-person shooter series to create a final mission for the game that recreates…
By Brian Crecente Published May 6, 2011