-
EA Cutting 1500 Jobs To Reduce Costs
Lending credence to the rumors of massive layoffs, EA details a “cost reduction plan” in its 2nd quarter financial results press release that will result in the termination of 1,500 employees. The “Cost Reduction Plan” detailed in the EA release involves the closure of several facilities and a huge reduction in workforce in order to…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
Surrender To Army Of Two: The 40th Day’s Co-Op Tactics
Mock surrender is just one of Army of Two: the 40th Day‘s list of cooperative multiplayer moves. We were going to show you a video filled with them, but we gave up. See what I did there? I learned a lesson from watching this video, and you could too. And a little something about friendship…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
EA: Confusion About Mature Content In Games Starts With “Over-40 Crowd”
How old do you have to be to not get that games aren’t just for kids? 40, according to EA. Though not everyone over 40 is guilty of that. Sound right? In a story about the increased acceptance of sex and sexuality in video games, the Calgary Herald got EA spokesperson Colin MacRae to draw…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2009 -
NBA Unrivaled Dunks On XBLA This Week
Looks like we spoke too soon. Right after we posted this week’s Xbox Live Arcade offering, Tecmo slips out a press release announcing a Wednesday release for arcade baller NBA Unrivaled. Announced back in June of this year, NBA Unrivaled is Tecmo’s entry into the basketball video game market since 1992’s Tecmo NBA Basketball, the…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
Head In The Clouds: Flying In Video Games
There’s something fantastical about flying in a video game. We can easily run, jump and swim in real life. Flight is more exotic. But we do fantasize about it. Where do you think the term “flights of fancy” comes from? Nowhere is the realization of flight grander or more satisfying than in video games. When…
By AJ Glasser Published November 9, 2009 -
Rumor: EA Guts Workforce After Big Playfish Buyout
Electronic Arts has taken the ax to hundreds of employees at locations in Burnaby, Orlando and San Francisco today, according to chatter from former EA employees, issuing layoffs the same day it confirms a buyout of social gaming publisher Playfish. Said to be affected are EA’s Tiburon and Black Box studios, located in Orlando, Florida…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 9, 2009 -
This Week In XBLA: O-D Beat Drop
Puzzle and rhythm collide in O-D Beat Drop, the puzzle game that lets you use the beat of your own music to set the pace of the game. Developed by Cyclone Zero and published by Arc System Works, O-D Beat Drop is your standard block-dropping puzzle game with a rhythmic twist. Players drop their pieces…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
The Dangerous Video Game You Weren’t Supposed To Play
Zach Gage says his riff on Space Invaders isn’t maliciously designed software made to destroy your computer files — though it might do that. It’s a more thoughtful project than that. Lose/Lose is about values and value. It’s about what happens if a “Game Over” screen destroys your copy of the game, as happens with…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2009 -
Star Trek Online Sets Phasers On February Release
February is a month for love, and there is no greater love than a fan’s love of Star Trek, so it’s appropriate that Atari and Cryptic announce a February release date for Star Trek Online. Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game based in the near future, or at least the near…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
Kaiser Permanente Has Wii Sports On Its Mind
What better way for insurance company Kaiser Permanente to promote a healthy lifestyle than strapping television monitors playing Wii Sports to the heads of its marketing team? Members of the Kaiser Permanente “Pixmen” marketing team took to the halls of Honolulu’s Ala Moana Center mall yesterday to demonstrate how Wii Sports can help people stay…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Range Unboxed
Mad Catz is releasing a slew of goodies and peripherals for tomorrow’s launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and a box of most of them just showed up on our doorstep. I’m in the middle of going through them all now for a review, but while you wait take a look at how…
By Brian Crecente Published November 9, 2009 -
What To Play While Boycotting Modern Warfare 2
Yes, we understand that you’ll be boycotting Modern Warfare 2 because you want dedicated servers or are offended by its viral advertising. What will you be playing instead? Here are several suggestions. With a goodly portion of the gaming community tied up playing Modern Warfare 2 over the next few months, those of you sticking…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
1 VS 100 Season 2 Premieres Next Week
1 vs 100, the Xbox 360‘s massively multiplayer online game show, makes its triumphant return next week, with new questions, more prizes, and all the Chris Cashman you can stand. More than a half a million unique contestants competed in the 15 week beta season of 1 vs 100, and Microsoft wants even more to…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
iPhone Chart Toppers: Jelly Car 2 Rocks the List
It’s that time again. Time to look at the top grossing games on iTunes for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Jelly Car 2 came out of nowhere to claim the top spot this week, with Rock Band clinging to number two and Command & Conquer premiering at number five. Which do you think should be…
By Brian Crecente Published November 9, 2009 -
The Nintendo Download: It’s Old Home Week
Familiar names and face populate this week’s downloadable Nintendo games, with appearances by Frogger, Excitebike, Bomberman, and more Electroplankton than you can shake a stylus at. Perhaps the most exciting game to come out as part of this week’s Nintendo Download is Excitebike: World Rally for WiiWare (1,000 Wii points). It’s not just because it…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
EA Acquires Pet Society Creator Playfish
And you thought you spent a lot of money on Pet Society. EA just spent $300 million on leading social network game creator Playfish, the team behind Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story. With more than 60 million active player across all of its Facebook, MySpace, Google, and iPhone games every month, social network…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2009 -
A Very Important Man Question
As we move closer to winter, I have an important question: To beard or not to beard? What you missed last night Here’s What Final Fantasy XIII Chocobos Look Like First Pictures From Resident Evil: Afterlife Set Uncharted: Drake’s Pinball Adventures Minesweeper Becoming An Adventure Game
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 9, 2009 -
Gran Turismo 5 Being Held Up For “Marketing Reasons”
Gran Turismo 5, the first game in the series proper since 2004’s GT4, will be released in Japan in March 2010. Everywhere else, though is up in the air. Why so? Blame marketing. That’s according to series creator and Polyphony Digital head man Kazunori Yamauchi who, speaking with Autoweek, said “We will release [GT5] in…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 9, 2009