Is the 3DS the device to lead Nintendo into another decade of growth and profitability? Probably not. With the gaming industry focusing more and more on tablets, smartphones and touchscreens, the company will almost certainly have to rethink its slightly antiquated business model to remain relevant. Read more »
Microsoft just released its Q2 results, and it’s clear the 360 has gone from being a drag on financials to contributing in a positive way. But one surefire way to expand the market further is by making the 360 available at the $99 price point. Read more »
Despite its commercial appeal, the Xbox gaming console has historically been notoriously unprofitable for Microsoft. But according to the company’s latest earnings report, Microsoft’s gaming division has finally started to earn its keep. Has the tide finally turned for the gaming console market? Read more »
W3i has come up with a new alternative app discovery product that it hopes will aid game developers to push downloads. It shows how app marketing is getting more creative to meet the growing demand of developers looking to get their apps noticed and downloaded. Read more »
Free-to-play games, which monetize through in-app purchases, now account for 65 percent of revenue among the top 100 games in the App Store, overtaking paid downloads, which were the most successful revenue model six months ago. It’s another sign that freemium rules for many developers. Read more »
It looks like Zynga is polishing up the proverbial silver in the run-up to its planned IPO. The social gaming company has launched “PrivacyVille,” a new game-like tutorial that rewards users with zPoints, Zynga’s virtual currency, for learning more about the company’s privacy practices. Read more »
Pictures and details of the next generation of Roku set-top boxes have been revealed, thanks to a filing with the FCC. So should you get ready to buy one? It probably depends on if you already own a Roku — and how much you like Angry Birds. Read more »
Forget live music: One of the hottest trends in live streaming is competitive gaming, also known as e-sports. Gaming competitions attract hundreds of thousands of simultaneous viewers, and the events are streamed online by a number of sites that specifically cater to gamers and their fans. Read more »
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform is set to improve later this year, and part of the software improvements focuses on something rivals don’t have: a thriving Xbox Live game community boasting 35 million members who average 60 hours per month on the service. Read more »
The “uncanny valley”– the quality of an animation or robot looking close to, but not exactly like, real life — may be set to get even smaller. MIT researchers have developed new computing techniques for reproducing the slight natural blur of moving objects in animation. Read more »
Since the second-generation Apple TV was released, people have been wondering if and when apps would arrive on the device. But Apple hasn’t opened up the Apple TV to third-party developers; or it hadn’t before it unveiled iOS 5 this past Monday. Read more »
Nintendo is making a home console that incorporates a tablet, and the Sony PlayStation Vita borrows liberally from this generation of smartphones. But thanks to OnLive, gamers may not have to go looking for devices similar to their iPads and iPhone for a top-tier gaming experience. Read more »
Gaming service WildTangent is opening a rental service later this year that will allow Android users to rent games and apply their fees toward purchases. It could be another tool for developers to unlock dollars from games on the Android platform. Read more »
Nintendo unveiled its next-generation console today, with the Wii U, which features a tablet-like controller. We couldn’t help but think that Nintendo, far from innovating in this instance, borrowed liberally from the iPad and the way people use it for gaming and watching TV. Read more »
OnLive is a few steps closer to bringing its streaming video game service to new TVs and Blu-ray players, thanks to a partnership with Intel to add its service to chip sets and the release of a universal controller designed to work with various connected devices. Read more »
Zynga continues to expand way beyond the farms that made it famous. The San Francisco-based social gaming company on Tuesday announced the launch of its first strategy combat game, Empires & Allies, the first title to debut out of its Los Angeles development studio. Read more »
All Macs released in recent years support true surround sound via optical out, but you need a home theater system to take advantage. Luckily, the Turtle Beach PX5 gaming headset provides an alternative that’s quieter, better for small spaces, and probably cheaper for Mac HTPC setups. Read more »
In-app purchases, though somewhat of a controversy at the moment, are definitely a hit with mobile gamers and developers alike. But if you think feeding a game money for a shot at reaching the next level is new, consider the glory days of the arcade. Read more »
There are half as many venture firms in existence today as there were in 2000 and venture capital fundraising has taken a nose dive from its pre-recession levels. But venture capital veteran William Quigely says it;s all good news for VCs and startups alike. Read more »
Mobile gaming on smartphones is tied for the fifth-most used activity on a handheld. Some thing the handheld gaming market is different from that of smartphones, but that’s old school. Cheaper software that can leverage connectivity for social or multi-player gaming is earning high scores. Read more »
Wednesday I posted a video of Firemint’s Real Racing 2 HD doing double-duty on my iPad 2 and 40-inch LCD TV (included below). After playing the game, I pinged Firemint for some thoughts regarding the future of iOS gaming, and the results are exciting. Read more »
When the iPad first arrived, a lot of iPhone games got HD treatments. A little over a year later, and the opposite seems to be happening. Sword & Sworcery EP and Chicken Balls are both now on the iPhone after debuting on the iPad. Read more »
A new update for iPad game Real Racing 2 HD update provides a true two-screen experience across menus and in-game, and really shows what the iPad 2 is capable of in terms of becoming a force in living room gaming. Read more »
Game maker Valve kicked off a promotion today that allows fans to force the early release of Portal 2 if they buy a bundle of 13 independent games through its online store. It’s an innovative idea, though the execution makes the effort feel a little crass. Read more »
Apple is said to be in the process of bringing on Rob Saunders and Nick Grange, two top gaming industry PR execs, according to reports. If true, this could signal a move by Apple to play to its strengths in the ongoing mobile wars. Read more »
In the networked, geographically dispersed workplace of the future, the mental traits of World of Warcraft (WoW) enthusiasts — being bottom-line oriented, tolerant of diversity, comfortable with constant change, happy to learn, and intensely interested in innovation — may be hugely beneficial. Read more »
PopCap Games, the company that brought us mainstream successes like Bejeweled, wants to explore another side of gaming. To that end, on Tuesday, it announced the launch of 4th & Battery, a gaming sub-label with an indie feel and its first title set for release on iOS this month. Read more »
I recently interviewed Daniel Debow, the co-CEO of enterprise social software company Rypple. During our conversation, we discussed the game-like constructs built into the Rypple software, like the concept of rewarding people with “badges” for giving recognition and building reputation within a company. Read more »
While the Nintendo 3DS didn’t generate the kind of hype Apple product launches normally see did when it debuted in the U.S. on Sunday, by all accounts it’s still doing very well. But can it compete with iOS devices? No, nor should it try. Read more »
An EA executive hinted to reporters that Nintendo is working on the next generation of its Wii game console, which will offer HD video. However, Xbox 360 and PS3 already offer a wide variety of HD content sources. So what can Nintendo do to compete? Read more »
Blame cord cutting, at least in part, for the drop in cable subscriber numbers in 2010. Looking towards 2011, we expect this trend could gather further steam thanks to bundled subscription offerings from players like Microsoft and Apple. We also expect a new iteration of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Samsung’s Bada is only a few months old, but already the operating system is accruing substantial market share. If the Korean manufacturer can overcome several key challenges, Bada could become a major worldwide mobile platform to compete with iOS and the increasingly fragmented Android ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Network operators are once again pushing the idea of a “mobile wallet” in an effort to grab a slice of purchases for both virtual and physical goods. But they’d be wise to view themselves as an extension of existing payment systems — not as a ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Many have speculated that Apple could make a move into the console gaming market. I’ve always been skeptical of such an idea, but what if Apple has already made its living room play, and we just have to wait for all the pieces to come together? Read more »
A new patent filed by Apple called “Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices” describes new possibilities for iPhone gaming in the real world. Essentially, the tech described would use players’ iPhones to recreate what amounts to a game of laser tag. Read more »
Freedom-loving developers have long used open-source licenses as a tactic to maintain the open availability of their source code. With the rise of closed hardware/software platforms like Apple’s iPhone, however, that tactic is being challenged. And that may not be a bad thing. Read more »
It’s sort of an Apple to oranges type of situation, but a report by analytics firm Flurry nonetheless shows the market potential represented by at least one type of iOS gaming. Social gaming is now arguably as popular as professional football is on any given Sunday. Read more »
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of something that I haven’t done since I first got an iPhone: gaming. Sure, I’ll occasionally pick up Angry Birds when a new major update drops with new levels, but others left me cold. That’s changing, and for the better. Read more »
Earlier this week, Facebook introduced changes intended to foster the growth of games on its platform that are less spammy and more engaging. Game developers are worried their games will be less viral, but the good thing is Facebook is finally incentivized to help games grow. Read more »
I was thrilled when I saw a tweet about the release of Parallels 6. Earlier I wrote a lengthy evaluation of gaming on virtual machines. I thought I’d run the same games through Parallels 6 to see how its claims work out in the real world. Read more »
