It doesn’t exactly qualify for the Humanitarian Award of the Year, but Electronic Arts has recently announced its donation of the original Sim City game to the “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) initiative. OLPC is a not-for-profit humanitarian effort to design, manufacture and distribute inexpensive laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to modern education. This is the first time a major video game publisher has gifted a game to the world.
“SimCity is entertainment that’s unintentionally educational. Players learn to use limited resources to build and customize their cities. There are choices and consequences, but in the end, it’s a creativity tool that’s only limited by the player’s imagination,” said Steve Seabolt, vice president of global brand development, The Sims Label. Read more…
November 8, 2007 at 2:36 pm | Business & Law | No Comments
Activision is on its way to the best selling single product launch in the company’s history. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has exceeded $115 million in sales since its debut on October 28, 2007 in North America.
The Guitar Hero franchise has remained the #1 best-selling franchise in the U.S. through September, according to the NPD Group. The franchise has sold more than six million units worldwide to date, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and Gfk.
“Guitar Hero III is the game that everyone is talking about. It is the only video game to make the Toys “R” Us Hot Toy list for 2007 and Toy Wishes’ Hot Dozen 2007, which forecast the most popular holiday gifts of the season. Read more…
November 7, 2007 at 2:03 pm | Business & Law, Simulation | No Comments
If you are looking for the best deal on the new 40GB PlayStation 3, you might want to check the offer from Dell. They currently have a great bundle, and it is only $399.99. That is the same price as the console alone!
The Dell PlayStation 3 40GB bundle includes Ratchet and Clank: TOD, the Spiderman 3 movie to take advantage of the BluRay player, and a 6 foot HDMI cable.
Complete Bundle Details: Read more…
November 5, 2007 at 11:14 pm | Business & Law, Hardware, Playstation | No Comments
Despite BioShock’s DRM/Rootkit debacle, and widescreen issues, the actual game is one of the best of this year. The British Academy of Television Arts has awarded BioShock the Best Game of The Year Award at the 2007 British Academy Video Games Awards.
“This is a huge accomplishment for us and a fantastic achievement for video games,” said Neil Ralley, General Manager of 2K International, who attended the ceremony at London’s Battersea Evolution to receive the award. Read more…
November 5, 2007 at 11:47 am | Business & Law, Shooters | No Comments
According to the ESRB, Rockstar Games is not to blame for the adult only hack for Manhunt 2 that has surfaced on the internet. A russian hacker was able to hack the code for the PlayStation Portable version to unlock the adult only content. The hack removes lighting-effects and color filters intended to hide the brutal kills in Manhunt 2.
Ars Technica was able to get a response from ESRB president Patricia Vance during a conference call.
“Once numerous changes to the game’s code have been made and other unauthorized software programs have been downloaded to the hardware device which circumvent security controls that prevent unauthorized games from being played on that hardware, a player can view unobscured versions of certain violent acts in the game,” Vance said. Read more…
November 3, 2007 at 2:39 pm | Business & Law, Shooters | No Comments
In an effort to combat piracy, Nintendo sought help from the Hong Kong High Court to seize 10,000 game copying devices and mod chips during a 3-day period starting October 8, 2007. The raids occurred at Supreme Factory Limited Facilities revealing volumes of documents reflecting the scope of the operation, including ties to a French company, Divineo SARL, and its principal, Max Louarn, who are also named in the legal action initiated by Nintendo.
The mod chips and devices are used to illegally copy games over the internet and play them on the Nintendo DS and Wii console. During 2006, Nintendo and independent companies lost an estimated $762 million in sales due to piracy.
Read more…
October 22, 2007 at 7:50 pm | Business & Law, Hardware | No Comments
So you thought Potatoes were the big thing in Poland, well think again. Sony announced today expansion plans to form Sony Computer Entertainment Polska in Poland. The new Polish subsidiary marks the commencement of a new focus by SCEE on the dynamic markets of the region from Czech Republic to Russia. The formation of SCE Polska is a result of the rapidly growing PlayStation Polish market. The Polish PlayStation business will be effective April 1, 2008.
“Many of the leading pan-European retailers with a strong gaming focus are already well established in Poland”, said Hal Bame, SCEE’s Sales and Marketing Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, Read more…
October 17, 2007 at 8:50 pm | Business & Law, Playstation | No Comments
Just when you thought Sony and Microsoft had some momentum for the 2007 holiday season after announcing their upcoming game lineups, Nintendo brings on their own list of titles readying to launch. As Nintendo’s list of upcoming games demonstrates, Nintendo has a game or experience for everyone, and from almost every Publisher imaginable.
“Because of Wii and Nintendo DS momentum, third-party publishers are supporting our systems like never before,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Their lineup of diverse games is testament to how we make the population of gamers a little bigger every day.”
By the end of the 2007 season, the Wii library will contain 140 titles, not including nearly 200 downloadable Virtual Console titles. The DS library will grow to nearly 450 titles.
The following is a partial list of the upcoming games for Wii and Nintendo DS. Read more…
October 12, 2007 at 10:47 am | Business & Law, Wii | No Comments
Electronic Arts today announced the future acquisition of VG Holding Corp., the owner of BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios. Both studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry.
BioWare Corp. is currently developing the highly anticipated Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is redefining open-world games with its upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames(TM) and Saboteur(TM), in addition to several unannounced projects.
Read more…
October 11, 2007 at 6:02 pm | Business & Law | No Comments
Electronic Arts has its eyes on the upcoming holiday season with plans on releasing 27 new game titles. EA has no plans to discriminate with games releasing on all major platforms; PLAYSTATION 3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC and mobile.
Jeff Karp, Senior Vice President of North American Publishing commented, “EA will surprise and delight gamers with titles that are refreshingly fun and deliver on the depth of gameplay that the next-generation promises. Our stand-out pre-order programs such as the exclusive Need for Speed ProStreet unlockable Subaru Impreza WRX STi, the Army of Two insider’s dossier and graphic novel or The Orange Box’s $5 off with pre-order program plus access to the Team Fortress 2 PC beta, will entice gamers and enrich their entertainment experience this holiday.”
The full lineup of the 2007 holiday season includes: Read more…
October 8, 2007 at 7:33 pm | Business & Law | No Comments
