video games

Tech Watch: Obama Launches Video Game Campaign; Microsoft on Windows 7; and Adobe Ships CS4

Chris Dannen — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:15:05 -0400

Obama Ad Campaign Targets Video Games

Following in the footsteps of leading-edge advertisers like Red Bull, the Obama campaign has diversified their ad blitz to include not only print and television spots, but also ads in social networking sites and video games.

Xbox 360 for $199 -- Cheap!

Kevin Ohannessian — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:10:12 -0400

Yes, Microsoft has lowered the price of the Xbox 360 console. You can get the standard system for $299 and the arcade version (no hard drive or backwards compatibility) for $199. Ignoring the worldwide dominance of the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft has remained ahead of Sony here in America (though Sony is catching up). This price cut should insure a sales hike for Microsoft--both versions of the Xbox 360 are now cheaper than the PlayStation 3 ($399).

XBox Gets Price Break

Chris Dannen — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:46:17 -0400

While rumors of an XBox discount have been aswirl for some weeks, today Microsoft [NASDAQ:MSFT] came out and made them official. The standard XBox will get a $50 price drop, as will the Elite model XBox. The Arcade model will drop $80. The price scheme now looks like this: the Arcade at $200, the standard at $300, and the Elite model at $400. Interestingly, the price dip in the low-end Arcade model has changed the industry matrix a little bit; XBox is now officially cheaper than the Nintendo [OTC:NTDOY]Wii.

Heavy Rain as Video Game Art

Kevin Ohannessian — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:53:32 -0400

Since the creation of video games, every year game developers have pushed the boundaries of graphics, ever-seeking greater realism. New images were recently released of Heavy Rain, from French developers Quantic Dream. Browsing through the gallery (click on the images to enlarge them) one can see that they have hit new heights in realism -- uncanny valley be damned!

The Rise of Corporate Games

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:00:05 -0400

Last month, the SimCity box set went on sale. It included five different versions of the popular city-building simulation game, which was first published for PCs in 1989. The Sims games were not only one of the best-selling franchises of the past two decades -- they pioneered an entire category of simulation games that require quicker problem-solving skills than trigger fingers.

10 Hot Video Games for Summer

Kevin Ohannessian — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:45:12 -0400

GTA4 kicked off the summer game season when it was released April 30. You play as an Eastern European immigrant newly arrived to Liberty City, an analogue of New York, where you're given an open world to explore. This blockbuster is known for its gritty realness and cinematic presentation.

Comic Con and Other Geek Holidays

Kevin Ohannessian — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:15:14 -0400

E3 Postmortem: Some cool things seen at E3…

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:03:23 -0400

E3 is over after a short three days but there was a lot of things revealed and announced for the upcoming holiday season and the early 2009 season. It’s all about the games that are coming out and currently in development. Here’s a list of some of my favorite demos and presentations I got to see.

Prince of Persia (Ubisoft)

Live from E3: Games with the longest lines...

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:26:08 -0400

In my last post, I mentioned how scaled back the show was and how much smaller the crowd was making it easier to play the games on display. But as always, it's hard to get a chance to play the most anticipated games. Here's a small list of games that I've tried to wait in line to play, but there's just too many people in front of me. I have other things going on around the event and I can't wait araound all day.

Little Big Planet (Sony)

Live from E3: The games I’ve played…

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:30:46 -0400

Compared to E3 events over the years, this year’s event is scaled back immensely and is a lot more intimate. The media, developers and publishers get a lot of cozy one-on-one time to talk about the games. It also makes the lines shorter to the games you want to play on the showcase floor. Here’s just a few of the games I played today:

Dark Void (Capcom)

Live from E3: Capcom announces movie deal

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:07:47 -0400

Capcom, the video game company behind franchises like Resident Evil and Street Fighter, have just announced a another movie deal last night. They held a press conference announcing that their game, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, is being adapted for the silver screen.

Famed producer, Avi Arad (the man behind the Marvel movies), was on hand to share why he thought the story of Lost Planet would make a good film and that he would be partnering with Warner Bros. to release it sometime in 2011.

Live from E3: Sony announces movie availability through PS3, new games

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:58:15 -0400

After free lunch and drinks outside the Shrine Auditorium, Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America welcomed the media to the Sony briefing. Tretton began by taking a look back at Sony’s 13 year legacy in gaming touching on the accomplishments of the original Playstation, Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Playstation 3 and the Playstation Network.

E3 2008: Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony Press Conferences

Kevin Ohannessian — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:25:49 -0400

Every summer at the E3 videogame event the big 3 platform holders have press conferences to try to capture the attention of gaming journalism, mainstream media, and the public. How did they fare this year? All three conferences held few surprises, but there were a few stand-out moments.

Live from E3: Nintendo announces WiiMusic, WiiSports Resorts, Grand Theft Auto and more

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:20:18 -0400

Today is the first official day of E3 2008 and Nintendo kicked it off with their media briefing at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. After a montage of people “smiling”, Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of Nintendo, U.S., took the stage to introduce Shaun White Snowboarding from Ubisoft. The Olympic gold medalist, White, was on hand to introduce his game, which is exclusive to the Nintendo Wii and uses the balance board. Looks like a another winner.

A Titan is Born: Activision Set to Merge With Vivendi Games

Sherri L. Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:26:29 -0400

Gaming just got a little more serious with the upcoming merger between video game publishers Activision Inc. and Vivendi Games. The merger will bring landmark titles “Guitar Hero”, “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” under one lucrative roof, creating Activision Blizzard. While this deal is a very good move for shareholders, what about the consumer – the mercurial gamer? Will game quality be affected, and if so how?

Live from E3: Microsoft announce deals with NBC/Universal, Netflix plus new games

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:40:30 -0400

Microsoft held its annual Xbox 360 press conference this morning at the Los Angeles Convention Center to kick off E3. I arrived about 30 minutes after the conference already started because of a late flight but apprently I didn't miss too much.

Already announced games like Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3, and Resident Evil 5 were all quickly showcased.So I really didn't miss too much stuff since most of the info has been out there for quite some time.

Live from E3 all this week...

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:21:46 -0400

Hey folks,

I'm heading to Los Angeles this week for E3 2008, yes the annual gigantic video game expo where publishers and developers announce and share their latest games.

Huge games like Gear of War 2, Rock Band 2, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Resident Evil 5 and a host of others will all be on display for previews. Yours truly will be there all week playing the new games, getting the info on the latest technologies, and learning the market strategy for this billion dollar industry.

Stay tuned to this blog....

FC Gamer

Quibian Salazar-Moreno — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:09:28 -0400

Get the latest on the video game industry from FastCompany.com's roving gaming reporter, Quibian Salazar-Moreno

Around The Horn: WordPress Marketing Bloggers Network (WMBN)

DJ Francis — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:26:47 -0400

You will notice a new list in the right column of my homepage entitled “WordPress Marketing Bloggers Network.” Founded by Rick from eyecube a few weeks ago, the WMBN provides a round-up of the best…well, I think you can figure it out.

New Colors for Nintendo DS; Accessories for XBox Rock Band

Chris Dannen — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:23:14 -0400

While those of us in the States were stocking up on chips, charcoal and frozen meat last week, Nintendo (TYO: 7974) quietly confirmed that it will begin shipping its Nintendo DS handhelds in three colors in its European market: red, turquoise and green. According to Nintendo's German-language site, the colored DS units will begin shipping on June 13th. The site makes no mention of when the updated styles will hit US shores.

Will the Wii Fit allow Nintendo to expand its reach beyond video gamers — and also solve America’s obesity problem?

Fast Company staff — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:26:22 -0400

Will the Wii Fit allow Nintendo to expand its reach beyond video gamers — and also solve America’s obesity problem?

What the Success of Grand Theft Auto 4 Means

Kevin Ohannessian — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:32:49 -0400

Grand Theft Auto 4 earned $500 million sales the first week it was released according to publisher Take Two. Six million copies of the gritty crime game have been sold for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Those numbers eclipsed the record-breaking sales of Halo 3 last year. Defeating this record is huge, but is not what fascinates me.

Bio and Interests: Jason Manley

Jason Manley — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:06:32 -0400

Jason Manley is President of Massive Black Inc and the Founding Director of ConceptArt.Org. In 2002 he set out to build Massive Black Inc. from the ground up with one goal in mind. Massive Black was to be the top quality Art and content provider to the global video games industry. Over the next five years, Jason signed 115 famous clients, including Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Bethesda, EA, Disney, Blizzard, id software, Bungie, THQ, Bethesda, Ensemble Studios, Nvidia, MTV, Sega, and a total of 16 of the top 20 video game publishers. Jason has been

An Open Console Future

Kevin Ohannessian — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:49:58 -0500

Those who follow the game industry track several on-going debates. One of the most vital points of contention is whether or not an industry future that replaces competing platforms (such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft's) with an open console platform created by a consortium (not unlike DVD was) would be the most beneficial. Last week's 1up Yours podcast (right-click to save) featured a lengthy discussion on this topic.

Liquid Brand Summit Session Preview: Co-Creation

David Lidsky — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:55:49 -0500

Rod Swanson, senior director of the EA brand, overcame an odd, persistent buzzing sound in his hotel room to chat with me about the Liquid Brand session he'll moderate, "Co-Creation: What do customers know and why should brands listen?" Here are some highlights of our conversation and a preview of his session:

Liquid Brand Summit '08