Sunday, May 30, 2010
OSLO, Norway — Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with the catchy pop song "Satellite," edging out Turkey and Romania as the continent put aside its financial woes for a night of musical exuberance.
It was Germany's second win in the songfest's 55-year history, and the victory means it will host next year's contest.
Meyer-Landrut had been the second favorite among leading bookmakers, but first in a Google predictor program. Her victory marks the second year in a row that the Google program has correctly projected the winner of Eurovision, after predicting Norwegian fiddler Alexander Rybak's win in Moscow last year.
Meyer-Landrut, who turned 19 during the competition in Norway, won 246 points in the voting Saturday by a panel of judges and telephone votes from fans in the 39 participating countries.
Onstage after winning, Meyer-Landrut demanded a kiss on the cheek from Rybak.
"I'm so happy and so thankful and so grateful, and I never thought we could do this," she said, covering her face with a German flag and, looking bewildered, asked: "Do I have to sing now?"
Alone on stage with backup singers in shadow and dressed in a black cocktail dress, Meyer-Landrut sang "Satellite" again to cheers and applause.
Germany beat the Turkish entry by 76 points. Romania came in third.
Oil-rich Norway spent 200 million kroner ($31 million) to host the elaborate songfest, which led off with a performance by Rybak.
This year several countries pulled out of the extravaganza citing financial strains, including the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Andorra and Hungary.
Observers also feared that the voting for the winner — a political consideration even in the best of times — would be affected by the continent's simmering financial tensions. The Greek government debt crisis and a subsequent European Union-led bailout has strained relations within the 27-nation bloc, especially between Greeks and Germans.
Not everyone welcomed Germany's supremacy. On Russian state television, an announcer said "clearly everyone knows where to turn when they need money."
The contest is known for over-the-top costumes, lighting and set designs. One notable semifinal outfit — tight silver sparkly shorts — was worn by the male singers in Lithuania's InCulto group, and contestants from Romania had plumes of fire in the background of their set.
Earlier this week, 34 contestants were whittled down to 20. Those 20 competed in the final along with last year's winner, Norway, and the contest's four perennials: Britain, Germany, France and Spain.
Politically motivated voting, as well as bloc voting, has been fairly common in Eurovision, and this year was no exception, with former Soviet bloc countries supporting each other. That trend has helped the region win five of the last 10 Eurovision contests.
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Classic arcade game Pac-Man will be collaborating with Jay-Z's clothing company, Rocawear, to celebrate Pac-Man's 30th anniversary.
The arcade game will be featured on Rocawear's Roc Pop-Up truck, making stops at various concerts and events in June. Visitors to the truck will be able to play the game, and limited edition Pac-Man/Rocawear t-shirts will also be made available for fans to purchase.
The tour will be making seemingly random stops in Hartford, Ct., Mansfield, Mass., Secaucus, N.J. and Manchester, Tenn.
In addition to the Pop-Up truck, Pac-Man will have its own channel on the Roc4Life website, and will be featured on Roc4Life's social networking profiles.
For more information, click Roc4life.com.
Submitted by vmartir on Mon, 05/24/2010 - 14:27.
For some time the image of the maladjusted teen was that of a zoned out kid sitting in front of a computer, but the advent of social networking sites has changed that says a growing body of research.
Today’s digital kids may not be such a disaster after all. Contrary to some who claim teen social skills are hampered or harmed by technology, studies are increasingly finding that electronics are just a different, modern way that young people are developing emotional bonds and their own identities, and learning to communicate and work with others.
Computer and cell phone use has skyrocketed over the past decade. In January, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that young Americans ages 8 to 18 spend more than 7 ½ hours a day tethered to computers, plugged into MP3 players, watching TV or playing video, computer or handheld games – and for much of that time, doing several at once. And that figure doesn’t include texting, which Pew Research Center said 72% of teens do regularly, and 30% do more than 100 times a day!
Studies have also found that:
* adolescents are using sites like Facebook and MySpace to keep in touch with friends they already know, not to converse with strangers
* kids who struggle with depression and/or aggressive behavior are more likely to harass, bully and take online risks such as “sexting” and befriending strangers
Friday, May 28, 2010
by Joe Dodson
For the last five years, there's only been one player on the NFL video game field: EA's Madden. But with sales on a downward trend, the series is showing rare signs of weakness. Enter Backbreaker - a hungry, new breed of game intent on changing the way we play football. But how is it different from Madden?
The first thing you'll notice about Backbreaker football is that it uses an up close and personal camera perspective to put you right in the middle of a given play. Instead of following the action from a bird's eye view a la Madden, you'll look right over your player's shoulder. Rob Donald, the game's Associate Producer, put it in perspective for us: "If you are running down the sidelines and into the endzone, then for the first time you SEE the crowd cheering you on."
This up-close perspective will add a lot of oomph to the game's hits. And so will developer NaturalMotion's proprietary Euphoria Engine. Instead of relying on motion capture, the Euphoria engine uses physics to figure out how every collision would actually happen. As Donald puts it, "We’ve managed to do away with tackle animations entirely." Instead of canned sequences, Backbreaker will just open cans of you-know-what.
Despite the name Backbreaker, these impressive collisions will never lead to actual injuries. Unlike Madden and other football games that use a statistical model to randomly create concussions, sprains and breaks, Backbreaker will do away with injuries entirely. While this certainly creates a bit of cognitive dissonance (what could Backbreaker possibly refer to?), Donald says the team "decided to wait until we could properly represent injuries," noting that "it's not a big step from where we are right now."
While it will be impossible to break a player's back, it should be easy to deliver a big hit, thanks to the game's commitment to simpler analog stick controls. Instead of relying on lots of face buttons (the Xs, Triangles, and Os of modern controllers), Backbreaker puts most of its moves on the right analog stick, and then uses the L and R triggers to modify the commands. For instance, if you're a running back then you'll be able to juke by tapping the R stick left and right. However, if you hold the R trigger down, you become aggressive, run faster, and deliver stiff arms with the same left and right movements of the R-stick.
Of course, another thing that separates Backbreaker from Madden is the lack of an official license. But Donald and company see this as an advantage. Says the producer, "Without a license you get to do what you want. You can be creative and are free to bring in your own ideas without being tied to the same thing year in year out." In the case of Backbreaker, this means building your own team from the ground up and then competing with it. Just because the Dallas Cowboys aren't in the game from the start, doesn't mean they can't be.
From there, you can use your custom team in Road to Backbreaker mode. This mode is unlike anything seen in a modern football video game, because it follows a format totally unlike the NFL's. Notes Donald, "We wouldn’t have been able to do it with a license on board." In Road to Backbreaker, you start in an easy league, then play your way into ever more advanced ones. It has more in common with progression in Mario Kart than Madden.
Of course, the big question is whether or not Backbreaker is better than Madden, for all its interesting angles. Will its unorthodox approach and innovative engine score points with football fans? And are they hungry enough for the gridiron that they can overlook the lack of a real NFL license? We'll find out on June 1, when Backbreaker takes the field for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
NEW YORK – You're at the front lines shooting Nazis before they shoot you. Or you're a futuristic gladiator in a death match with robots.
Either way, you're playing a video game — and you may be improving your vision and other brain functions, according to research presented Thursday at a New York University conference on games as a learning tool.
"People that play these fast-paced games have better vision, better attention and better cognition," said Daphne Bavelier, an assistant professor in the department of brain and cognitive science at the University of Rochester.
Bavelier was a presenter at Games for Learning, a daylong symposium on the educational uses of video games and computer games.
The event, the first of its kind, was an indication that electronic games are gaining legitimacy in the classroom.
President Barack Obama recently identified the creation of good educational software as one of the "grand challenges for American innovation," and the federal Department of Education's assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement, Jim Shelton, attended Thursday's conference.
Panelists discussed how people learn and how games can be engineered to be even more educational.
"People do learn from games," said J. Dexter Fletcher of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
Sigmund Tobias of the State University of New York at Albany said an Israeli air force study found that students who played the game "Space Fortress" had better rankings in their pilot training than students who did not.
He added that students who played "pro-social" games that promote cooperation were more likely than others to help out in real-life situations like intervening when someone is being harassed.
Bavelier's research has focused on so-called first-person shooter games like "Unreal Tournament" and "Medal of Honor," in which the player is an Allied solder during World War II.
"You have to jump into vehicles, you have to crouch and hide," said Tammy Schachter, a spokeswoman for game developer Electronic Arts Inc.
Bavelier said playing the kill-or-be-killed games can improve peripheral vision and the ability to see objects at dusk, and the games can even be used to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye, a disorder characterized by indistinct vision in one eye.
She said she believes the games can improve math performance and other brain tasks.
"We are testing this hypothesis that when you play an action video game, what you do is you learn to better allocate your resources," she said. "In a sense you learn to learn. ... You become very good at adapting to whatever is asked of you."
Bavelier believes the games will eventually become part of school curriculums, but "it's going to take a generation."
Schachter said the purpose of "Medal of Honor" and other games is to have fun, and any educational benefits are a bonus.
"Through entertainment these games test your memory skills, your eye-hand coordination, your ability to detect small activities on the screen and interact with them," she said.
Not everyone is a fan.
Gavin McKiernan, the national grassroots director for the Parents Television Council, an advocacy group concerned about sex and violence in the media, said that when it comes to violent video games, any positive effects are outweighed by the negative.
"You are not just passively watching Scarface blow away people," McKiernan said. "You are actually participating. Doing these things over and over again is going to have an effect."
Bavelier said games could be developed that would harness the positive effects of the first-person shooter games without the violence.
"As you know, most of us females just hate those action video games," she said. "You don't have to use shooting. You can use, for example, a princess which has a magic wand and whenever she touches something, it turns into a butterfly and sparkles."
by Mike Smith
Think you're a big gamer? According to a new study from market research firm NPD Group, to be considered among the real hardcore you'll need to play an average of 48.5 hours a week -- nearly seven hours a day.
Even dedicated gaming blog Kotaku finds that "pretty extreme."
So-called "Extreme Gamers" average 29 years old, and -- perhaps surprisingly -- one-third of them are female. They're more likely to play on consoles than on the PC, and on average they've purchased 24 titles in the past three months -- a bill that could easily run over a thousand dollars. But dedicated though they may be, the Extreme Gamers are just a small minority: a mere 4% of the U.S.'s 174-million-strong gaming public.
And though seven hours a day seems like a lot, it's only a little more time than the average American spends watching TV.
The figures come from a study which polled some 20,000 members of an NPD Group consumer panel. It broke the gaming population of the US into six other segments, including avid PC gamers (who tend to be older, and buy more games online) and young heavy gamers, the largest segment, who prefer portable systems like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.
Overall, time spent playing games rose from an average of 12.3 hours per week last year to 13 this year, the survey found. Both console and PC games posted increases, with the PC growing significantly faster than the consoles -- but portable gaming hours, on the other hand, dove 16%. The most popular platform overall, in terms of time spent, was the good ol' PC -- and if that surprises you, you probably haven't looked at Facebook lately
May 27, 2010 11:18 AM PDT
by Dave Rosenberg
New survey data from research firm Magid and Associates and in-game commerce provider PlaySpan shows that virtual goods sales continue to grow, with games leading the way to monetization.
Virtual goods remain a promising alternative to advertising, and even to subscription revenue for many games and social networks. As mobile games continue to play an important role in gaming revenue, I would expect to see the sales of virtual goods continue to skew toward mobile devices as users seek instant gratification and bite-sized chunks of high-quality gameplay.
The follow-up to last year's survey reveals that buying habits aren't changing, rather that more individuals in a broader range of age groups are partaking in virtual good purchases. Not surprisingly, the users who visit virtual worlds regularly, along with those who play games across a variety of platforms, make purchases more consistently.
Highlights from the report:
* 13 percent of consumers with Internet access have bought digital or virtual goods online in the past 12 months; 21 percent of these virtual goods buyers will buy more in the next 12 months.
* On average, virtual goods buyers spent $92 on virtual goods last year.
* iPhone owners, virtual world regular visitors, and frequent gamers are the heaviest virtual goods buyers.
* More than 50 percent of buyers bought virtual goods in a game.
* A net of 48 percent of buyers bought digital goods through a social network site; more than one-third bought goods in a free Web-based game.
Despite all of the interest and revenue growth in virtual goods, there remains a question as to whether or not users will become fatigued from constantly being asked to buy additional in-game things, as well as a question regarding the impact of the different monetary forms, such as Facebook credits, that are just starting to make progress against both PayPal and standard credit cards.
Monday, May 24, 2010
NEW YORK – Nokia will run maps and navigation services for Yahoo on both phones and computers.
The two companies announced a worldwide partnership Monday. Yahoo Inc. will provide e-mail and chat services on Nokia Corp. phones. The services will be co-branded.
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz says location is becoming increasingly important and serves as "an anchor for all services."
Bartz says that by tapping into Nokia's strength in maps and navigation, Yahoo can focus on other areas it considers core to its business.
That includes messaging. Nokia says the deal brings Yahoo's services to more people around the world, including those whose first Internet experience is through mobile.
By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang, Ap Entertainment Writer – 1 hr 15 mins ago
LOS ANGELES – Master Chief isn't lacking for friends.
More than 2.7 million people logged onto the video game "Halo: Reach," the upcoming prequel to the first-person shooter trilogy starring supersoldier Master Chief, developer Bungie Studios announced Monday.
Players collectively logged more than 16 million hours and more than 1.1 billion virtual kills during the 18-day public beta test of the game's multiplayer mode, Bungie said in a statement, adding the game will be launched worldwide on Sept. 14 — except in Japan, where it will debut a day later.
"It's exceeded our expectations," said Bungie Studios community director Brian Jarrard. "Our only real perspective going into this was the 'Halo 3' beta test, which had about 800,000 people. We knew there were a couple million copies of 'ODST' out there, but we really didn't have any specific information that let us know what the population might be like."
Xbox 360 users who bought last year's "Halo" spin-off, "Halo 3: ODST," were provided access to the beta test, which ran from May 3 to May 20. The gamemakers will use information recorded during the online test to fix glitches, tweak settings and balance the overall fairness of the game's multiplayer mode, which pits blaster-wielding soldiers against each other.
"There really is tons of analytical data that we need to derive from the beta test with regard to the network and back-end systems," said "Halo: Reach" creative director Marcus Lehto. "We needed our fans to provide feedback. We needed a very large audience to hammer on this game, which allows us to use the data that really helps shape the final product."
Unlike previous "Halo" games, "Reach" bestows players with rechargeable powers, such as superspeed, flight and invisibility. The designers also added several new types of online gameplay, including an objective-based edition called "Invasion" that tasks teams of players with advancing through an environment besides just shooting each other in the head.
"We always want to give our fanbase something new and fresh," said Lehto. "We definitely wanted to give them something new to sink their teeth into with 'Reach,' and maybe even grow our audience bigger than we're typically used to seeing. I think we did that with 'Invasion.' Sure, there's a few more rules to learn, but at its core, it's still a 'Halo' game."
When it's released this fall, the latest "Halo" title will be gunning for the top first-week sales spot once owned by "Halo 3" in 2007 with more than $300 million in sales. "Halo 3" was later shot down by "Grand Theft Auto IV" in 2008 with more than $500 million in sales than "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" in 2009 with more than $550 million in sales.
"This is the most pressure we've ever been under," said Lehto. "This is the biggest 'Halo' title we've ever made, and we're worried there's 'Halo' fatigue out there. That's why we set out to add new twists, and we're happy to see people enjoy it, but it was a huge risk for us to release what's essentially a work in progress to almost 3 million people."
"Halo: Reach" is slated to be the last "Halo" game developed by Bungie Studios, which recently signed an exclusive 10-year deal with Activision Blizzard Inc. to publish and distribute a series of games for various platforms based on a new action game universe. The deal marks Bungie Studios' first such partnership since breaking off from Microsoft in 2007.
"It's absolutely bittersweet," said Lehto. "We created this. I was there on day one in 1997 back when it was just three of us working on what ultimately became 'Halo.' Now, we have the largest team we've ever had on a 'Halo' game. We're having fun, but closing this series out as the leader of this project, I will definitely be sad when it's all over."
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Virtual worlds aren’t fashionable in the age of social networks. But Finnish virtual world operator Sulake reported strong growth in the first quarter as its Habbo Hotel expanded quickly despite the lingering recession.
Helsinki-based Sulake said its revenue grew 25 percent to $20 million in the March quarter compared to a year ago. Thanks to cost savings achieved in part through layoffs in the fourth quarter, the company reported earnings before income taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) of $3 million, compared to $1.3 million a year ago.
Habbo Hotel is a virtual world for kids and teens. Its more than 15 million monthly unique visitors (11.8 million a year ago) spend a total of 45 million hours playing each month versus 36 million a year ago. The simple Flash-based world is available in 32 countries and 11 languages.
Timo Soininen, chief executive of Sulake, said the company has been growing because it has rolled out new features, marketing campaigns, and improvements in monetization to the Habbo virtual goods economy, where users can play for free but pay real money to buy virtual goods.
“Additionally, our activities and presence on social networking sites like Facebook, and other new acquisition partnerships have contributed to our growth,” Soininen said. “Also, the global online advertising market recovery resulted in solid growth in our ad sales business.”
The company expects overall revenue growth this year to continue at the current rate, and it expects to remain profitable. In 2009, Sulake reported $60 million in revenue. Sulake also operates IRC-Galleria, Finland’s top social networking service, and Bobba Bar, a mobile virtual bar to meet friends.The company was founded in 2000 and its investors include Taivas Group, Elisa Group, 3i Group, Balderton Capital and Movida Group. It has 270 employees.
Linden Lab’s Second Life virtual world is growing as well, but a number of virtual worlds have gone out of business, such as Metaplace and Vivaty.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
by Mike Smith
May 21 4:36 P.M.
Planning to pick up the newest Super Mario game this Sunday? According to critics, you're in for one heck of a ride. The verdict's in: Super Mario Galaxy 2 is one of the Italian plumber's best-ever outings -- and considering the solid-gold quality of many of his past games, that's a tremendous achievement.
IGN was one of the first to weigh in, giving the game a perfect 10 -- their first since 2008's Metal Gear Solid 4 -- and calling it "absolutely amazing."
Particularly impressed by the way the game's structure will make Mario noobs feel at home, "It might be designed to be accessible to anyone of any skill level, but it's the hardcore completionists who really get the reward" IGN said, concluding "this is the absolute pinnacle of Mario gameplay: everything that makes a Mario game so incredibly fun is represented here."
But IGN's take on the game's accessibility isn't shared by everyone, notably CVG, which points out that, in its later sections, "Galaxy 2 is a significantly more challenging game than the first, and you're barely standing on a surface that's not moving, dissolving or swinging you in the direction of a black hole."
"We can't see many of the majority of Wii's audience making it to the end of the game," CVG said, "let alone the super-tough secret stages beyond that...good news for the hardcore then, but not necessarily for the spouses and relatives who enjoyed the original Galaxy."
Giant Bomb's Ryan Davis doesn't necessarily agree, saying "I don't think Galaxy 2 is actually that much more difficult than the first, it's just that a lot of the harder stuff ends up being part of the critical path," and also hauls out the site's highest accolade: a 5-star perfect score. Mario's latest is "as consistently exciting and inventive as ever," he says, concluding that "when [Nintendo] brings its A-game, it's still able to deliver a fun, accessible game experience that's second to none."
1UP also fell in love with Galaxy 2, awarding it an A, and saying "'more of the same' doesn't have to be a bad thing." Far from it: "this fan-service laden sequel feels just as new as the first Mario Galaxy," 1UP said, singling out the "sweeping" orchestral score and the "ingenious" level design for particular praise, saying they "[speak] to a level of craftsmanship that only comes from years of refinement and reinvention."
Looking for a dissenting voice? Beyond a few minor points of contention, you won't find one: at the time of writing, no outlet has scored the game below a 9/10, and fully half of them (including several outlets usually known for their stinginess with scores) have given it a perfect score. It's currently at an aggregate score of 97% on Metacritic.com, marginally behind its predecessor, Super Mario Galaxy, which currently remains the best reviewed Wii game ever. But scores are still coming in, and while its ranking may change over the next week or so, it's clearly among the very top tier of Nintendo's output. You won't be disappointed.
Gus Johnson is renowned -- nay, revered -- in most circles for his ability to induce rapid-fire heart attacks on television viewers during sporting events; Johnson is best known for his highly charged, uber-enthusiastic calls, which he'll now be bringing to EA Sports Madden NFL 11 in just a few months.
The Madden team tapped Johnson as the new play-by-play voice for the world's most popular sports game, and with good reason. Look no further than Johnson's call of the Week 1 game between the Bengals and the Broncos for proof as to why he'll re-energize gameplay for online football fanatics.
Johnson's inclusion was part of the Madden team's decision to really focus on the audio inside the game (particularly with "open field progression audio," like a game-winning, breakaway touchdown run) with this rendition, a very welcome decision indeed.
And thanks to the fine folks at EA, FanHouse had a chance to catch up with Gus and ask him about being associated with the franchise, how they worked in his style, whether he realizes how many myocardial infarctions he's been responsible for, what kind of lines he created for the new game, and if he every saw the Gus Johnson Soundboard.
Will Brinson: Alright, Gus, thanks for talking to FanHouse today, man.
Gus Johnson: No problem, bro. No problem.
WB: Let's dive right in then, because the internet's already blowing up with the news -- you're the new play-by-play voice for Madden '11. I'm a huge fan myself, so, first of all, are you a player yourself? And how excited are you to be teamed up with this franchise?
GJ: Well, I've been playing Madden since like '93, but I've always been a video game player, dating back to when I was a kid, starting with Atari and head-to-head football and stuff like that. And I do play Madden -- I had been playing for a lot of years but stopped playing as much when I had my son, because, you know, I just didn't have enough time. But it's incredible to be part of this franchise; EA Sports is obviously the leader in video games in the world and to pick me to be the voice of the No. 1 sports video game of all-time and one of the top video games of all-time, to trust that to me as their voice, I can't even say it's a dream come true, because I never even dreamt that big. I never thought that anything like that could ever happen, especially when you consider the guys who came before me, guys like Pat Summerall and Tom Hammond.
WB: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the story I heard was that the Madden team at EA Sports actually heard your call from Week 1 of the Denver-Cincinnati game -- and I actually went back and watched this clip to just get ready for this interview -- that ended with the Brandon Stokely touchdown and they saw that and knew they wanted you. Is that how this relationship formed?
GJ: Actually, it's a deeper story. You know, last year I did NCAA Basketball 2010, which was with Coach Raftery. And it was a duel package because they were offering [gamers] a CBS broadcast version and a regular ESPN broadcast version with Brad Nessler and Coach Vitale. So I was out in Vancouver a lot last summer and I was working and doing the voiceover for NCAA 2010 and they slipped the word to me that the Madden guys were possibly looking for a new voice.
So they had me, while I was there, read some lines for the football game kind of as an audition tape. And they had other guys on the list, I think, but we kept talking through the summer and then the football season starts and Week 1 happens and that Brandon Stokely play took place and that Monday they all went into the office and looked around the room at each other and made a decision on who they wanted and then we worked out a deal.
WB: Okay, so when you've got something like the Kansas State-Xavier game this year or the Cincy-Denver game ... how hard is it to bring the enthusiasm from a live game over to something like a video game where you're not actually watching it?
GJ: Well, you know Will, I had to use my memory. And I had to become an actor to be honest with you. And hopefully, when the game comes out, that's been transferred over to the game. Because basically, you're in the booth by yourself with a whole bunch of scripts; we recorded something like 60,000 to 70,000 lines (Ed. Note: Gus himself actually recorded about 30,000 for the game out from that total).
So what you have to do is imagine if you're calling a big touchdown ... "And he catches it at the thirty, he's gone! A 95-yard touchdown!" You know, you've got to get there, in your mind and you gotta open yourself up and not be embarrassed that you're yelling and screaming or getting worked up in a booth by yourself looking crazy.
So I had to stand up most of the time and let the energy get out of my body so I wouldn't feel like I was incarcerating my spirit and to try and deliver these lines in an authentic way, similar to the what you hear on Sunday or during a basketball game I'm doing. So it took some time to get in the pocket, but once I got there, it started to feel more natural.
WB: So you're "working with" Cris Collinsworth on this -- were you guys synched up in the booth or did they have his quotes in the can or did they redo the whole nature of the in-game experience?
GJ: Well, it was a combination. But, mostly, since -- you know, he's such a professional. He sounds so good. And he's a perfect match for me, but Cris is the voice of reason, you know?
WB: Right, right, and you just induce heart attacks!
[Laughter all around] GJ: Right, right! There's a great balance there, though, of fire and ice.
WB: Did you develop any new lines for the game itself?
GJ: Oh yeah. We got some new lines, that's for sure.
WB: So can we get a sneak preview?
GJ: Well, I'd love to, man, but then I'd have to kill you ...
WB: [Laughing] If I wanted that, I'd just go back and watch Xavier-K-State again!
GJ: Haha, well, I want it to be a surprise. Because the great thing about the game, Will, is that with these lines is that they're going to fire off. And when they fire off, for people that know, it's gonna really hit 'em hard. It's gonna be surprising -- we tried to bring emotion to the game, we tried to bring some humor to the game, we tried to bring some pop culture to the game.
So, it's going to be very different -- we targeted our young demographic that loves sports, obviously, loves Madden, loves video games, loves hip-hop, loves, you know, the "culture." That's what we tried to focus on and we tried to make it entertaining.
WB: Color me stoked, then. I gotta know, too, did you ever see the Gus Johnson Song Buckets site?
GJ: Ha, well there was so much. I saw this thing with a little dog, which I thought was hysterical.
WB: It's the Gus Johnson Soundboard ...
GJ: Yeah, yeah! I did see that -- that was really cool, man. It seemed like it was a very positive thing.
WB: Oh, definitely. I wasted at least an hour on a Friday playing with that thing. Which kind of leads me into my last question: you're definitely one of the top announcers in the game, and the younger audience -- sports writers and fans my age really love your calls -- do you think that joining up with Madden is a step to really vault you into a bigger scope of public recognition?
GJ: Yeah, yeah, I think so, because I'm going to be really connected with a younger audience. And that 18-35 demographic is a really powerful audience. Millions of people buy this game, millions of people play it ... 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, somewhere around the world. So I'm sure lots of moms and dads are gonna be tired of my voice [Hysterical Brinson overlaughing] and yelling and screaming and acting crazy with their kids.
But I think after some time after hearing that voice and becoming more and more familiar and yeah, I think it'll help grow my profile.
WB: I definitely hope so, Gus. Well, thanks again for talking to FanHouse again and I'm looking forward to checking you out on the new edition of Madden.
GJ: Great talking with you too, Will -- I'm looking forward to it too, and just hope we hit our mark.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
What's your earliest video games memory?
If you're anything like us, it's pumping quarters into the Pac-Man machine in the corner of your local diner -- then nagging Mom or Dad for more when you ran out. And if that's the case, get ready for a shock: the classic arcade game celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.
Makes you feel old, huh? This might be little consolation, but you're not the only one. Pac-Man -- created, as legend would have it, when Namco's Toru Iwatani caught sight of a pizza with a slice missing -- is the most recognizable character in the whole of video game history, with as many as 94% of US consumers able to recognize the ever-hungry yellow blob.
A Namco rep put the game's success down to what at the time was an innovative artificial intelligence system that could provide players with a stiffer challenge than other 80s coin-ops.
"Many games at the time when Pac-Man was originally released had very simple behavior for the enemy characters in the games," he told us. "Pac-Man’s enemy AI for the ghosts was revolutionary in that each was specifically programmed to have a different behavior or personality so they each reacted to Pac-Man differently. One ghost would be programmed to chase Pac-Man while another was programmed to be ahead of him to cut him off. These characteristics and traits made the game more challenging and more fun to play and is probably what made so many people spend hour after hour trying to win at Pac-Man."
But it wasn't just the game -- and its 30-odd sequels and spin-offs -- that captured the public imagination. Hundreds of licensed consumer products flooded the market, including everything from air fresheners and breakfast cereal to a board game, where plastic, articulated Pac-Men snap up marbles instead of pills. There was even a novelty song, which reached the dizzy heights of number nine on the Billboard pop chart in 1982.
Does anybody still play it? You better believe it. In fact, it took until 1999 for a player to reach the game's maximum possible score, 3,333,360 points, when the game's display becomes corrupted and no further play is possible. That was the work of veteran arcade master Billy Mitchell, who would go on to appear in the King of Kong movie documentary -- and it's a feat that's been equaled, though never surpassed, by numerous people over the last decade.
If that's enough to have you jonesing for a few hours munching down power pills, fear not: you can still play Pac-Man on modern hardware. Lots of versions of the game are out there, but you'll find our favorite, Pac-Man: Championship Edition, on the Xbox Live Marketplace -- or in Apple's App Store -- for just a few bucks. Dig out your Aviators, grab your acidwashed jeans, and get ready for a trip back in time.
Not enough Pac-Man nostalgia for you? Check out this collection of Pac-Man commercials that'll take you right back to the 80s...for better or worse.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
By BRAD STONE
Published: May 20, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — Google wants to bring the Internet to a part of the home that for the most part it has not yet reached: the television set.
At Google’s annual I/O conference here on Thursday, the search giant announced that it is leading a group of companies, including Sony and Intel, in an effort called Google TV.
Google’s Android software, originally developed for smartphones, will power the new service, set to run on a range of high-definition TVs and devices that connect to TVs, which will go on sale later this year.
Google said its Google TV service would combine traditional television programming with Internet video, and would allow people to easily search for programs without scrolling through unwieldy onscreen TV directories.
The effort is likely to face formidable challenges. Google must convince TV manufacturers other than Sony to use its software. And consumers have demonstrated little interest, so far, in connecting to the Web via their TVs.
What they have shown, though, is price sensitivity, and the high-powered Intel chips running these new TV services are likely to add perhaps as much as $100 to televisions optimized for the Internet, according to analysts, although the companies did not discuss prices.
Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony, the ailing Japanese electronics giant and the third-largest maker of flat panel televisions in the United States market, appeared on Google’s stage to say Sony would build Google’s software into a line of its high-definition televisions that connect to the Internet, as well as one of its Blu-ray players. He was joined by the chief executives of Best Buy, Adobe, Intel, Dish Networks and Logitech in supporting the new software.
Intel will provide its Atom processors for the devices. It has spent billions developing those chips over the last few years in a high-stakes push to crack the market for consumer electronics.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, noted that people had been talking about bringing the Web to the TV for two decades. “It’s much harder to marry a 50-year-old technology and a brand-new technology than those of us from the brand-new technology thought,” he said.
Devices running Google TV will also be able to run applications written for Android phones, and will feature Google’s Chrome Web browser, which would allow consumers to surf the Web from their television sets.
Logitech, a maker of peripheral devices for computers like keyboards, mice and webcams, will manufacture a set-top box running Google TV that will allow people to get it without having to buy a new television. It will also work on new kinds of remote controls and peripherals to allow people to surf the Web from their couches.
Many companies, of course, have already tried to bridge the gap between the television and the Web. TiVo, Boxee, Roku and Vudu, now a division of Wal-Mart, all make devices that offer a variety of Internet video on the TV. All have struggled to get mainstream consumers on board.
Roku has sold more than 500,000 set-top boxes, but its sales took off only when the price of those devices sank below $100, said Anthony Wood, the company’s chief executive. Noting the premium prices that devices running Google TV would probably charge, Mr. Wood said, “I don’t think it’s a threat as it is today, but certainly over time Google is going to get market share.”
TV manufacturers already sell so-called connected televisions with limited Internet content. Such televisions are likely to make up a quarter of all TVs sold this year, according to analysts. But many consumers do not even know they are buying that feature, and they usually make their shopping decisions based on the size and appearance of the set.
One advantage Google believes it has in courting TV manufacturers is the success of its Android platform for mobile phones — and the fact that TV makers like LG and Samsung already sell phones running Android. On Thursday, Google said that 100,000 new Android phones are activated every day, up from 60,000 in April — second in the industry only to phones from Research In Motion.
Google executives trumpeted the notion that Google seems to have already surpassed its rival Apple in this respect, although Apple still has a far larger base of devices running the iPhone operating system. It recently reported that it had shipped 85 million iPhones and iPod Touches, and more than a million iPad tablets.
Apple could double down on the TV business soon as well. It currently sells an Apple TV set-top box, which it deems an experiment, and most analysts view as a lackluster product. But analysts have long said that it now makes sense for Apple to begin selling its own flat-panel televisions that link to its iTunes content offerings.
“Google TV is more than anything finally going to create some energy over at Apple to make a television, or at least a version of the iPad that docks with a TV,” said James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research.
In an interview, Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google, used the momentum of Android, a free open-source platform with few rules governing its use, to draw a sharp distinction with the control exerted by Apple over the iPhone.
“If you believe that the only way to get a good smartphone is to bet on one man, one device, one carrier, and one choice, that is a different model than we believe in,” Mr. Gundotra said. “We believe innovation doesn’t come from one man, it comes from all of us.”
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 18 9:30 A.M.
Between top-selling blockbusters like Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Splinter Cell: Conviction, it's already been a banner year for gamers.
But it's just getting started. A gaggle of high-profile sequels have been announced in the past few weeks, turning an already huge 2010 into a year for the ages.
Final Fantasy publisher Square-Enix threw their hat into the ring on Monday by revealing that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the latest in the Disney-themed Kingdom Hearts series, would be hitting North America on September 7. Though it's exclusive to the PSP, the new game is easily among the most wanted games for Sony's portable -- and considering the franchise has sold over 14 million units worldwide, it's bound to be a top seller.
Call of Duty: Black Ops, the next game in the mind-numbingly huge war shooter franchise, is also due out this holiday. It's still a bit of an enigma, but with the Cold War pegged as the likely scenario, it's bound to touch a few nerves on its way to store shelves.
It won't be lonely once it arrives there. Ubisoft recently revealed that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the follow-up to last year's Game of the Year contender Assassin's Creed II, will arrive in 2010 as well. Picking up where the last game left off, it tosses players back into the sneaky boots of master assassin Ezio, who now takes his acrobatic act to Rome in a new multiplayer-friendly affair.
Multiplayer is the hallmark of yet another enormous sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2. Sony's next effort in their popular platform series goes bigger by letting players build and share actual games rather than just new levels, and it too will hit shelves by the holidays.
While these newly announced sequels are sure to wow, there's plenty more planned for 2010. An octet of big hits -- including Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- are coming in the next two weeks alone, and the likes of strategy mammoth StarCraft II, first-person behemoth Halo: Reach, anticipated action adventure Metroid: Other M and the world-changing expansion to World of Warcraft, Cataclysm, are all scheduled to arrive before year's end.
The rash of announcements comes just weeks before the E3 2010 video game convention in Los Angeles, the traditional launchpad for major franchises.
Game Release Dates
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - May 23, 2010
StarCraft II - July 27, 2010
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - September 7, 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops - November 9, 2010
Halo:Reach - Fall 2010
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Q4, 2010
LittleBigPlanet 2 - Q4, 2010
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
by Mike Smith
You'd think the lawless atmosphere of the Old West would be the perfect venue for compelling video game action, but oddly, cowboy-themed games are a rare sight.
But not this week.
Red Dead Redemption, a gritty cowboy thriller from the creators of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, should be in your local game store by now, and it's promising to shoot up the charts with all the enthusiasm its outlaw heroes might normally display for shooting up a saloon.
And judging by the rave reviews it's getting, its purchasers are in for a real treat. So far, Red Dead Redemption, which combines Grand Theft Auto's familiar open-world structure with the atmosphere, script, and cast of a big-budget Clint Eastwood flick, is earning immense praise.
It's "one of 2010's best games so far" (G4TV). It's "a truly epic resuscitation of the Western theme in games" (Official Xbox Magazine). It's "one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around" (IGN). Even the New York Times hopped on the bandwagon, calling it "such a convincing, cohesive and enthralling reimagination of the real world that it sets a new standard for sophistication and ambition in electronic gaming."
In short, if you're serious about Westerns, this might just be the best game you've ever played.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 11 10:15 A.M.
If you buy your sports games used and enjoy playing them online for free, EA would like to have a word with you.
And that word would be "no."
The mega-publisher announced Monday that beginning with the June 8th release of Tiger Woods 11, all future EA Sports games for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 will include a one-time, game-specific "Online Pass" code, which grants access to "online services, features and bonus content."
Sounds fine and dandy, but for one catch: while the code comes free with new copies of any EA Sports game, it can only be used once. Buy the game used -- or even just rent it through a service like GameFly -- and you'll be unable to play it online beyond a free seven-day trial period...unless you cough up $10 for an additional Online Pass.
"This is an important inflection point in our business because it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhance premium online services to the entire robust EA SPORTS online community," said EA Sports president Peter Moore.
According to the official Online Pass site, online services that will be affected by the feature include "multiplayer online play, group features like online dynasty and leagues, user created content, and bonus downloadable content for your game including, for example, a new driver in Tiger."
The move is part of EA's so-called "Project Ten Dollar" initiative and is considered another attack on the used game market, which many publishers see as a financial black hole. EA has made prior attempts to dissuade the practice, although it remains an affordable solution to gamers looking for a bit of a bargain at the cost of owning new.
Interestingly, leading game retailer GameStop, who enjoy substantial revenue from selling used games, is seemingly supportive of the new program.
"This relationship allows us to capitalize on our investments to market and sell downloadable content online, as well as through our network of stores worldwide," said GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo.
So is this a smart move by EA, or merely another case of a publisher gouging its customers? Let us know in the comments.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 7 11:20 A.M.
Grab your spurs and ten-gallon hat, because gaming is going West. And it's about time! After conquering every frontier from deep space to Hell itself, game makers have finally turned their attention to the original wild frontier.
Just in case you aren't familiar with these here parts, we've gone ahead and mapped out the game industry's expanding Western landscape. From the sweet-tempered to the downright ornery, there's something for everyone in gaming's new Wild West, and hopefully something here just for you. So get along, little doggie.
Red Dead Redemption: Quick Reload
All the essential information, all in one spot.
By Charles Onyett
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Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption is a big game. If you've been following along with our coverage, you'll notice the initial preview and parts one and two of our interview with Dan Houser have been anything but brief. Maybe you didn't want to wade through that sea of text to get at the meat of what Redemption is, why it's interesting, and why you should keep an eye on it as its expected release date of sometime this fall approaches.
In this article, we'll deliver a more digestible outline of what the game is and how it works.
What is Red Dead Redemption?
It's Rockstar's next attempt at making an open world game, this time with a Western setting. If you've played the 2004 title Red Dead Revolver, you should know Redemption has very little to do with it. It's a different period of time, a different main character, and set in a gigantic game world. In it, you're free to roam around, take on missions in towns, explore the landscape, hunt wildlife, play mini-games, shoot at whoever you want, and progress through the story.
Who Am I?
You're John Marston, a former bandit who hung up his hat and started a family. The past doesn't stay buried for long, however, as characters from his nefarious background jump out of the shadows and force Marston back into the fray. Rockstar is staying pretty quiet as far as story specifics go, which is just fine. Marston is more of a loner, so don't expect a cast of several main characters like in Revolver. From time to time Marston may join up with others for a mission, but he's generally on his own.
How Do I Kill Things?
With revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and even a Gatling gun mounted on a train. Helping you out will be a Deadeye mode, which returns from the original game. Triggering it temporarily drops the onscreen action into slow-motion, helping you to line up a shot. Later on you get a better version of this as it relates to your revolver, which lets you specify locations where you want all your bullets to go before snapping back to real-time. There'll also be a cover system.
How Do I Get Around?
Horses, trains, and stagecoaches are all around the game world for you to hop into. You can buy horses in town or use your lasso to break ones in the wild, and while riding you can still shoot at anyone who gets in your way. On trains and stagecoaches you can either stay on in real time or, if you just want to get somewhere quickly, can just take a nap. When you wake up, you'll be at your destination.
What Else is There to Do?
Well, you get the normal stuff like taking on missions or free roaming exploration and combat along with a number of side activities. The game features quite a few mini-games like five finger filet (a timing game where you slam a knife into a table without nicking your fingers) and cards along with many others Rockstar isn't talking about. You'll also be able to hunt and skin wildlife for profit, as well as take part in a number of side-quests that pop up around the game world. For instance, if you find a broken wagon on the side of the road and a lady next to it calling for help, you can choose to help out or steer clear.
What's to Stop Me From Killing Everything?
There is a system in Redemption that prevents you from going on uncontested shooting sprees, so don't think you'll be able to just wipe out the entire game world. Even if you do manage to kill everyone in a large population center, people return after a few days, so you can't permanently wipe out the whole map. Officers of the law will also give chase, along with other characters, though the specifics of this notoriety system aren't yet finalized so we can't say exactly how it's all going to work.
Why is This Game Worth My Attention?
It's a Rockstar game. It looks pretty. It's a giant, interactive world that seems to offer a lot of interesting activities for players to dig into. It'll have a multiplayer component. From the trailer it seems like it'll have some high quality voice acting and in-game music. Most Western-themed games just aren't very good, and it seems like this could really deliver an impressively comprehensive experience.
When's it Coming Out?
This fall on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Ok, Sounds Cool. I Want to Read More.
Red Dead Redemption First Look
Interview with Dan Houser, Part 1
Interview with Dan Houser, Part 2
©2009-05-12, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3:00 am EDT May 12, 2009
Friday, May 7, 2010
04/30/2010
There's no denying it - despite a worldwide consumer recession and spiking unemployment, virtual worlds are still growing with impressive speed.
A report by the Virtual Goods Summit shows that purchases of virtual clothing, weapons, and accessories will top $1 billion for the first time, and will nearly double to $1.6 billion by 2010.
There's only one thing missing: competition..
The Virtual Market is Booming
While it was expected that virtual worlds would draw in hundreds of billions this year, it appears increasingly likely that virtual worlds will top $1 billion with months to spare.
If this is the case, one company is doing the heavy lifting: Second Life alone boasts nearly $500 million in virtual sales.
What is so interesting about the Virtual Goods Summit report? For starters, it shows that consumption patterns are changing. More virtual world users are purchasing items with real money than in previous years, meaning this all-important revenue stream is moving away from the hands of a few "power users."
In other words, virtual worlds are expanding their membership not only to curious new players, but new players willing to spend money. As Facebook browser-game creator Zynga's rapidly-expanding pay-to-play figures show, more paying customers lowers the risk of a flight of virtual capital.
Unfortunately, the virtual economy will be especially susceptible to shocks and sudden declines so long as one world controls nearly 50% of all revenue. However, with Blue Mars set to tap major developers as a revenue stream, Second Life may find its position as the Metaverse commercial center challenged by an upstart.
Despite initial suspicions, this challenge will be good for the Metaverse. Concentration of capital, as we've seen in the United States, leads to economic boom-and-bust cycles. If a suitable challenger to Second Life develops over the next year, it will be a net gain for the Metaverse.
A world where Second Life only controls 30% of U.S. virtual world revenues may mean a reduced position for Linden Lab, but it also means a more stable virtual environment. A dose of competition might spur Linden Lab to fix the myriad bugs, broken features, and user-unfriendly elements of its otherwise solid virtual world.
The Metaverse has plenty of money. What it needs is a good dose of competition.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 5 11:20 A.M.
Having occurred only 16 times since the modern baseball era began in 1900, pitching a perfect game is among the rarest feats in sports. It's the Holy Grail for pitchers, earning them a one-way ticket to sports immortality and a permanent spot in the history books.
But for 24-year-old Wade McGilberry, there was a more, uh, practical motivation: $1 million, which is exactly how much the Alabama man just won for throwing a perfect game in MLB 2K10 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
"It was actually my wife who convinced me to go for it," he said in a statement. "I never thought I'd actually win a million dollars playing a video game, it's all still sinking in for me."
The prize is the culmination of 2K Sports' Perfect Game competition, which ran from March 2 to May 1. Gamers were required to play the game's MLB Today mode and select the "MLB 2K10 contest," which automatically defaults to the correct gameplay settings to ensure an even playing field. While McGilberry might not have been the only player to throw a perfect game, he was the first, earning the unprecedented million-dollar prize by tossing perfection on the very first day of competition.
McGilberry was presented with an oversized check at his home.
"The game itself was fantastic -- I'm glad I bought it either way -- but I have to say, this is a nice return on my investment," he said.
Considering the game retails for $49.99, that's a return of about $999,950.01. Nice indeed.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
by Joseph Brannigan Lynch April 30, 2010
Disney's popular website Pixie Hollow just welcomed a new fairy to its mystical ranks -- and surprise! It's a boy.
Pixie Hollow is an online world where kids can create their own Tinker Bell-styled fairy personas, interact with each other, and play enchanted "talent games." Up until now, kids could only don a pair of virtual wings and flit around Pixie Hollow as female fairies -- but all that's all changed now that Disney has introduced its first fairy-dude to the formerly all-girl world: A boy by the name of Slate.
Slate is a variation on Disney's famous pixie-girl character, Tinker Bell, who was first introduced in J.M. Barrie's famous novel, "Peter and Wendy" (the inspiration for the animation powerhouse's 1953 movie "Peter Pan"). Tinker Bell, of course, has since spun off into countless dolls, TV features, and even her own section of Disneyland (also named "Pixie Hollow"). She also got a starring headliner role in 2008's direct-to-video feature, "Tinker Bell."
Disney isn't exactly ready to call Slate a "fairy boy," though. "Sparrow Man" is the preferred term, but one look at Slate and it's clear that he's less Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast" and more Peter Pan: Slim, big-eyed, and androgynous. Though svelte, next to the absurdly slim waists on the girl pixies, Slate's normal build is comparatively Schwarzenegger-esque.
While news that children now have the "male or female" option when creating a new fairy avatar might fill some adults with a sense of unease, according to Salon.com (which refers to the new character as "Tinker Bill"), it's nothing new to the kids. Mary Elizabeth Williams writes: "The open secret around the Hollow has long been that if you make your fairy tall with short hair and give her an ambiguous name like Jamie, she can pretty quickly establish a reputation as a he."
The addition of Slate to the fairy-world will allow girls who have been bending the gender rules a chance to play as guy fairies. It also gives boys who have been quietly flying about Pixie Hollow for the last few years an opportunity to acknowledge that males play this game, too.
A quick scan of comments on the site reveal there are plenty of people in the Pixie Hollow who have been waiting for this to happen. After Slate was introduced through a post on the Never News Blog, user response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. "I think it is great for Pixie Holow [sic] to add Sparrow Men," wrote gamer Alina Moonshine. "Now my grandson can fly a boy fairy instead of a girl. It will make him feel special."
Another (clearly younger) commenter asked "If the girl close [sic] can be for boys too," to which Slate himself -- or, more likely, a Disney employee acting on Slate's behalf -- responded with sprite-like speed. "A lot of Fairy designers follow the same trends," Slate explained. "That means that even if the clothes are in different shops and tailored to fit different Fairies, they can sometimes be alike!"
April 22, 2010
Evidence surfaced this week that makes it seem very likely that Zynga will soon expand its hit FarmVille game to the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms, while also adding support for SMS gameplay. Zynga has purchased the domains FarmVilleAndroid.com, FarmVilleiPad.com, FarmVilleiPhone.com, and FarmVilleSMS.com according to information found by Internet sleuthing site Superannuation.
While Zynga is not named explicitly in the domain registrar info listed on Superannuation, the site did confirm that whoever purchased the new domains also purchased Farmville.com, FarmVille's official Web site. While it's easy to guess at the role SMS will play in FarmVille thanks to Mafia Wars, it's less clear what the other versions of FarmVille might be like. What seems most likely is something similar to the Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker apps for iPhone, which serve as a mobile interfaces for the game.
FarmVille on iPad and Android would mark Zynga's debut on both platforms. Zynga has previously published numerous titles for iPhone in addition to the ones listed above, including Vampires: Bloodlust and Word Scramble. Last summer Zynga CEO Mark Pincus criticized the iPhone's ability to monetize social games as "below expectations," but this was before the addition of in-app transactions to the platform as part of OS 3.0.
This post by Alicia Ashby originally appeared on Virtual Goods News.
by Ben Silverman
May 1 8:20 A.M.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty beckons once more.
Activision has officially pulled the tarp off the next installment in their blockbuster Call of Duty franchise, although it's still shrouded in a fair bit of mystery.
The new game is called Call of Duty: Black Ops and will take place "behind enemy lines." It's being developed by Treyarch, who created the 2008 Call of Duty hit, Call of Duty: World at War, and is due out November 9 of this year.
"We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch, in a release.
While many have speculated that the next game in the series would take place in Vietnam, the game's debut trailer doesn't specifically disclose the whens and wheres. It does, however, disclose all kinds of awesome explosions:
Upon closer inspection, we can hazard a couple guesses. Several shots show jungle environments filled with modest huts, older vehicles, and even a rickety rope bridge, while soldiers seem to be favoring old-school gear and headbands. Vietnam -- or perhaps the broader Cold War -- doesn’t sound so far-fetched, although that creepy doctor bit sure looked modern to us. Flashbacks, maybe?
The trailer caps off a rollercoaster week for publisher Activision, which includes both a major lawsuit and a major acquisition.
By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima, Ap Business Writer – Fri Apr 30, 6:35 pm ET
LOS ANGELES – Apple Inc. is shutting down its newly bought Lala online music service amid speculation it is creating a way for iTunes customers to listen to songs stored on distant computers.
The move comes just weeks before an annual conference for developers in San Francisco on June 7 at which the secretive company tends to announce big news. Last year, it used the conference to unveil the latest version of its popular iPhone, the 3GS.
With Apple continuing to build a $1 billion data center in Maiden, N.C., that rivals the largest such facilities in the world, some executives in the online music industry believe that Apple is poised to announce an Internet-powered version of iTunes that would do away with the need to download songs.
Such a move would pit Apple, the largest online music retailer, against smaller companies that offer ways to deliver music to mobile devices using "cloud computing," a remote-storage system that potentially challenges iTunes and its reliance on downloads and personal storage space.
"Whatever they bought Lala for, it is likely to be integrated into iTunes," said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at technology consulting firm Altimeter Group. "It's no surprise they're shutting this down."
But one factor against a big announcement soon is that Apple has not approached music executives about its plans since a few months ago, and new licenses that would be required have not been set up, according to two people at different major recording companies with knowledge of the discussions. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are meant to be confidential.
Customers of iTunes currently pay up to $1.29 per song. Because it takes several minutes to download songs to a phone over cell networks, most users download songs to their computers before transferring them to their phones with a physical cord.
A cloud system would let users access the songs right away.
And because storage space wouldn't be an issue, a user could listen to a wider variety of music on the go.
Several months before Apple bought Lala in December, Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen demonstrated for The Associated Press a working, but unapproved iPhone application that streamed songs instantly to the phone after a user spent 10 cents per song to house them in a digital locker on a distant server. The 10 cents are credited back to buyers who went on to buy a higher-quality, permanent download.
Nguyen called the technology "the end of the MP3," the dominant format for song downloads. After Apple bought Lala, that iPhone application was never launched.
Since then, several companies have launched similar streaming music functions that do away with downloads and need only be connected to the Internet via the cell phone network.
On Monday, Rhapsody unveiled an update to its iPhone application to allow users to play such music even when they lack cell phone coverage. For a $10 monthly fee, users could save any song from a catalog of 9.5 million to their device.
Although users can only play the songs for as long as they keep paying, the system still challenges the iTunes model by making it easier to get songs to the phone, without the need for cords and synching with a regular computer.
The ability to quickly save songs on a phone for offline playback was "a huge milestone," Rhapsody International Inc. President Jon Irwin said Friday. "So in a way, the battle's already begun."
Apple declined to comment Friday on its plans.
Visitors to Lala's home page have been told since late Thursday that the service isn't accepting new users and will shut down at the end of May. Songs that were bought from Lala for download are still playable, and people who bought 10-cent songs that can only be played online will get 10 cents credited to their iTunes accounts or a check in the mail, the site said. Other credits and gift cards are also transferable for a limited time.
Apple has been hiring staff for its North Carolina data center, and in early April advertised on its website for a chief operating engineer.
Only about a dozen data centers in the world are larger than the 500,000-square-foot facility Apple has under construction, said Rich Miller, editor of Data Center Knowledge, a website that tracks such centers.
Other companies that have built structures of the same size are "major cloud computing players" such as Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc., he said. Apple currently has one data center in Newark, Calif. That facility covers about 150,000 square feet and is believed to power its MobileMe service of pushing e-mail and calendar events to devices.
"It certainly looks like their ambition is to house a lot of data," Miller said. That would then let Apple deliver greater amounts of content over the Internet than the company's current offerings.
___
AP Technology Writer Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this report.
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