By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca. If the size of Microsoft's annual holiday video game preview was any indication of the general health of the industry, then gamers might have cause for concern. This year's event, X'09, was certainly much smaller in terms of the number of game developers and titles present, which is not surprising given the abysmal summer the industry had.
Continue reading "Staggered video game releases a good idea" »
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca. Sony says it has seen a big bump from its PlayStation 3 video game system since dropping the price and size three weeks ago, with more than one million consoles sold worldwide in that time.
Continue reading "PS3 picks up momentum, but will it last?" »
By John Bowman, CBCNews.ca. Sony is offering PlayStation 3 users quick access to Papa John's online pizza ordering website, but the effort pales in comparison to previous pizza-ordering apps in Everquest II and on TiVo.
By Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
The Develop 100, an annual list of the "most bankable" video games studios, is an interesting curiosity in the video gaming industry. Based for years strictly on UK sales, the list pr
ovided a snapshot of which studios, rather than which publishers, were driving the most popular video games.
But the results always skewed a bit Brit, which is one of the reasons why, because of the popularity of FIFA 07, EA Canada topped the list in 2007 and was No. 2 on last year's list.
This year the list has undergone something of a transformation, however, as the list now bases its ranking on UK, US and Japanese sales and has thrown in some subjective measures to reward critical acclaim and forward-thinking companies trying new ideas.
The good news for Canada's video gaming industry is that it has 10 studios in the top 100 studios in the world. The bad news is that nearly every studio moved down in the ranking.
Continue reading "Was 2008 a bad year for gaming studios?" »
By Emily Chung, CBCNews.ca
A pioneer video game company that produced the classics Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein and Commander Keen series is no more.
Late Wednesday night, Joe Siegler, webmaster for 3D Realms, a subsidiary of Apogee Software, confirmed the rumours that had been circulating the internet.
By Pras Rajagopalan, CBCNews.ca. A researcher at a French university says Nintendo's brain teaser games like "Dr. Kawashima's Brain Age" are no better at improving cognitive ability than doing puzzles with pencil and a piece of paper.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca.
Christmas is traditionally a slow news time, and here at the CBC we feel it too as we try to report on the stories we think Canadians want to know about in the tech and science fields. Having said all that, consider this story from the Associated Press filed today, entitled 'Big video game fans prove crucial to the industry.'
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
In one of the more bizarre rulings in recent memory, Belgians will soon not be able to rent video games, according to a report on Kotaku. It's true - the Belgian Entertainment Association managed to convince legislators in the European country this summer that game rentals were hurting game sales.
By Peter Nowak, CBCnews.ca
A number of news stories have popped up over recent weeks telling of how bands are making good money off selling songs through the Rock Band and Guitar Hero video games. To the uninitiated, here's how those games work: players use plastic instruments to play along with songs on screen. To keep the games fresh and players interested, their makers have been offering up new songs for paid download on a continuing basis.
Have you played the new Grand Theft Auto IV video game? Some are saying GTA IV will be a record-breaker in terms of sales - CBCnews.ca's Your Voice section wants to hear your thoughts about the game itself. Click here to post your personal review.
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
There's going to be a whole lot of madness going on Monday night, with Canada's two biggest electronics chains - Best Buy and Future Shop - throwing competing evening launch events in partnership with competing video game console makers for Grand Theft Auto IV, the most highly anticipated release so far this year.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
On Monday RealNetworks launched an online version of Scrabble on Facebook, putting it in direct competition with the wildly popular Scrabulous, the developer-created game that has landed in legal hot water for its striking similarities to Scrabble.
Continue reading "Online Scrabble comes to Facebook, but not to Canada" »
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
If recent video game sales data from the NPD Group is any indication, Sony's Playstation 3 is starting to come on strong. The console had four games - Rock Band, Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero 3 and Burnout Paradise - in the top 20 for January sales in Canada, the first time the PS3 has accomplished that feat. Rock Band and Call of Duty were also sixth and seventh, respectively, matching the console's double entry in the top 10 of November, where the PS3 versions of Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4 sold well.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
Nintendo's Wii Fit, the exercise software featuring the weight-and-motion-sensing Wii Balance Board, will be launching on May 19 in North America, just in time for casual gamers to start working their way back into last-year's swimsuits.
The announcement was made during the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and while coverage focused on the U.S. launch, Lorena Cordoba, a public relations representative for Cohn & Wolfe, which represents Nintendo Canada, told CBCNews.ca that the launch date was a North American launch date, though no other information is available right now.
Gamers in the UK and Europe will get it a wee bit earlier on April 25, the Guardian reports.
Wii Fit has been touted as the next big thing for Nintendo's best-selling console, with the company claiming sales of over 1.4 million units in Japan since its launch there on Dec. 1. The Balance Board can be used for a new range of interactive gaming activities – such as skiing – but also could be used for yoga, step classes and other exercise routines.
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
Activision today announced the newest addition to the Guitar Hero franchise and this time the game focuses entirely on the songs of one band: Aerosmith. So far, the reaction from gamers is quite negative.
Many of the comments showing up on blogs are of the "Aerosmith sucks!" variety. Whether or not Aerosmith does indeed suck is open to debate, but whether it's a good idea to devote an entire Guitar Hero release to one band does seem questionable at best and perhaps ill-advised at worst.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
Electronic Arts released a report yesterday including its predictions for 2008, and - surprise, surprise - the company seems to think Sony's Playstation 3 console will outsell the Xbox 360 in North America and Europe.
The report - link courtesy of Digital Journal - estimates Sony will ship between 9.5 and 11.5 million PS3s in 2008, compared to six to eight million XBox 360s during the same time frame.
Now, the same report expects the Wii to be top dog in 2008, selling between 12 and 14 million units, but to me the PS3 prediction is the odd one. Isn't this the same PS3 that - according to EA's data - sold fewer units in 2007 than its predecessor the PS2?
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
There's a very interesting brouhaha developing around Edmonton-based BioWare's recently released Xbox 360 game, Mass Effect. Even before its launch, the sci-fi role-playing game created a minor stir when word leaked out that a sex scene between two characters was included in its storyline. What made it even more sensationalistic was that if the player chose to go through the game as a female character, the sex scene would end up involving two women. This was too much for the moralists at Fox News, who went to town on the game in a segment dubbed "SexBox" that aired on Monday. The best quote had to come from a guest panelist who referred to the game as "Luke Skywalker meets Debbie Does Dallas."
Continue reading "Fox ignites Mass Effect "SexBox" fiasco" »
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
Video game giant Electronic Arts is taking a step way from the retail sales model for PC games and moving into ad-supported online gaming, with plans to introduce a free downloadable version of its Battlefield series.
Continue reading "EA to launch free, downloadable Battlefield game" »
by Paul Jay, CBC News.ca
NPD Canada released its top 20 selling video games in Canada for both December and all of 2007, and once again Nintendo's Wii and DS drove sales.
Super Mario Galaxy was the top selling game in December, which isn't a surprise since the game wasn't released until November, making it a hot item for Christmas shopping. What was surprising is that the game was a hot enough seller to rank as the third-biggest seller all year, behind the Wii's Play w/ remote and the XBox 360's Halo 3.
Continue reading "Handy remote helps Play top gaming sales" »
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
In the old days of console gaming, releasing a game-specific controller was always something of a risk: if the game flopped, then the driving wheels and laser-pointer guns would collect dust in a corner while the multi-tasking joystick would likely wear out from excessive button mashing.
These days, however, peripheral controllers are all the rage, thanks in large part to the Nintendo Wii but also the Guitar Hero video game franchise.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
For some couples, video games can be a divisive issue, particularly if one of the spouses is spending more time than the other fighting hordes of orcs and dark elves. In the lexicon of trend watching , the spouses on the outside looking in are called "gamer widows."
If this is you, tech humour site BBSpot has posted a funny flow chart to organize your priorities.
by Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
In its second kick at the can, Take Two Interactive has won a "Mature" rating for its Manhunt 2 video game. The game previously received an "Adults Only" tag from the U.S. Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which is essentially a kiss of death given that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo don't allow such titles on their respective consoles. Take Two went back to the drawing board and toned the game down enough to get the Mature rating, which means it will officially see the light of day on Halloween, when it is launched.
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca
Nintendo consoles continue to lead the pack as video game sales in Canada grew by 61 per cent from last year, according to results posted this week.
by Jennifer Wilson, CBCNews.ca
Nintendo's handheld gaming system can respond to noise and touch, so why not movement? Online sources are reporting that the DS will be getting a camera to accompany Face Training.
by Steve Morales, CBCNews.ca
Nintendo's Wii video game console outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 six to one in June in Japan, Japanese publishing company Enterbrain, Inc. said Monday.
Click below to read more of this post.
by Paul Jay, CBC News
Vancouver-based Rockstar Games is no stranger to controversy (see links here and here), so it should come as no surprise that its latest offering, Manhunt 2, has sparked outrage.
Well, perhaps "outrage" is overstating things. But British censors have banned it, the first time to country has outlawed a video game since its temporary injunction against 1997's Carmageddon, a game in which players racked up points for driving over pedestrians.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
As usual when he speaks at an event like the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, the video of Steve Jobs' keynote address, has been posted on the company's website.
The emphasis on video games is intriguing. Shoot through the link below for more.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
The internet's current state, future, and impact on all spheres of our lives, Mesh ("Canada's web conference"), Palm's new Foleo smartphone companion and video games were among the things holding our attention this week. Here's the list:
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
Shadowrun, Microsoft's marriage of PC and console video games – an industry first – hits store shelves today and the developers are marking the occasion by matching their magical and military skills against the public.
Teleport through the link below for more.
Continue reading "Challenge Shadowrun developers at their own game" »
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
Microsoft Corp. is delaying shipping science fiction action game Halo 2 for WindowsVista PCs after nudity was found in part of the software.
Shoot through the link below to reveal all.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
This week, the future of science, technology and Islam; journalism and the Apple vs. PC debate, NASA and Trekkies' flights of fancy, identity and privacy, and the most anticipated game of the year — Halo 3 — all had us pondering this week. Here's the list:
Dubai: Hub of Islamic scientific renaissance?
PC World runs article at centre of resignation controversy
Trekkies steer NASA mission toward Vulcan hunt
Reporters cover Pasadena...from India
PC World editor back in charge
I, Google
Halo 3 first impressions
by Saleem Khan
As most video game fans – and even a fair number of non-gamers – know, Microsoft Corp.'s science fiction action/adventure game Halo 3 is to launch in the fall exclusively on the company's Xbox 360 video game console. It's been difficult to avoid the cinematic trailer Microsoft vice-president Peter Moore debuted at the E3 interactive entertainment software conference in Los Angeles a year ago, especially after they began playing in movie theatres.
Earlier tonight I got a hands-on look at what may well be the most anticipated game of the year – the multiplayer component, anyway.
Blast the link below for more, Master Chief.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
The internet, video games and snot – that's right, snot – grabbed our attention over the last week. Here's the list:
Artificial 'snot' helps electronic nose
Picture this: Security flaw found in Photoshop
God of War II rules Canada
Disney tries social networking
Google still tops internet traffic
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
The latest Canadian video game industry data from NPD Group is out and it looks like the big winners are Sony (sort of) and Nintendo.
Sony took the top spot in software sales in March, and its last-generation PlayStation 2 console took the No. 1 spot for units sold in the first quarter of 2007.
Nintendo's Wii console took the No. 2 slot for the most hardware units sold in Q1, and topped the rankings for the most revenue generated. The bad news for Sony: its new PlayStation 3 was dead last in unit sales, coming in at No. 7, but managed to take third place in terms of revenue.
Click through the link below for the details.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
Video entertainment, surveillance and games along with a lot of follow-up stories and humour held our attention this week. Here's the proof:
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
Someone pointed out to me that some readers might have missed news of Nintendo Canada's contest to win a customized Wii since it was buried way down at the bottom of last Friday's post, so here it is in a post of its own.
Aim your pointer at the link below and click for a shot at one.
by Saleem Khan, CBC News Online
Xbox Canada wraps up its second annual Badges of Honour campaign for the Children’s Miracle Network on Sun., April 1, and Nintendo is giving Canadians a chance to win a tricked out Wii.
Blast the link below for tips on the swag.
Continue reading "Geek out on Xbox, help kids, win wild Wii" »