Mario’s 25th Anniversary stirs up conflicting emotions in most twenty- and- thirty-something gamers. On one hand, it makes them feel good to know that a franchise they’ve loved since childhood is still going strong. On the other, it’s been 25 years. Time will not make an exception for them; they are aging. But getting older isn’t just about mysterious skin tags and the slow rebellion of one’s joints. It’s also about having kids,...
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The home console market may be lumbering along like a grazing pack of apatosauruses, but the handheld market is red hot right now. The iPhone is blazing, anticipation for the Nintendo 3DS is sky-high, and now we have rumors galore about Sony’s PlayStation Portable 2–or the PSP 2, if you like. The original PSP fared decently against the Nintendo DS, but still came in a distant second. It looks like Sony is gearing up again to take another shot at...
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Video games are currently in court, defending against Schwarzenegger vs EMA. California is looking to ban the sale of violent video games to children and teens under the age of 18. Thankfully, so far, the Supreme Court isn’t very impressed with the State’s arguments. What’s more, a scan of message boards and news post discussion threads reveal that gamers are overwhelmingly pleased that the Law is seemingly on the industry’s side. There is,...
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Near the dawn of November, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello made a statement about the development potential that would be unleashed if Internet-enabled TV (IPTV) joined forces with game developers. “If I had to pick between IPTV and 3D and which one would be more important for gaming – not necessarily for installed base for homes, because I’m sure that people are definitely going to want to watch Shrek in 3D at home – but for us, I...
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Smartphones, smartphones everywhere. Cell phones and gaming were once separated by a vast chasm, at least in North America. Phones were for business, games for pleasure. Now we’re constantly plugged into the Internet and slowly losing our ability to just tune out and wind down. It’s no wonder Sony and Microsoft are poised to make a grab for Apple’s territory with the PlayStation Phone and Windows Phone 7: We’re obsessed with flipping between...
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Super Meat Boy is a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade title about a bleeding hunk of meat. This hunk of meat must brave several dozen hazardous puzzles in order to rescue his lady-meat friend. The game has since become a huge hit on XBLA, and people have called for a release on the Wii as a WiiWare title. The dev team, Team Meat, says a Wii release for Super Meat Boy is not forthcoming because of memory limitations. When fans suggested an episodic release, Team Meat...
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With Microsoft and Sony chattering like squirrels over the miracles of Kinect and PlayStation Move, it’s a wonder Nintendo hasn’t spoken up and said, “Uh, we did 1:1 movement first. It’s called Wii MotionPlus.” But that might be because Nintendo has little to show for Wii MotionPlus, barring the good times to be had with Wii Sports Resort and Ubisoft’s Red Steel 2. Earlier in the year, Nintendo of America President Reggie...
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Sega has quite the track record: Outrun, Streets of Rage 2, Sonic 2, Daytona, and a myriad of other titles rank as some of the best video game-related product ever to appear in the history of gaming. The company, at its peak, fostered creativity and pure gaming fun that few of its rivals matched. Unfortunately, Sega is equally known for making some of the most boneheaded business decisions in the history of video games. I need not repeat those grave missteps...
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If you could perform some time-travel wizardry and put together a Tweetcloud for popular ’90s buzzwords, the boldest, largest word in the group would be “multimedia.” Society was obsessed with the idea of all-in-one wonder consoles that could play movies, music, games, and teach kids how to tie their shoes. The lure of compact entertainment stations even predated the widespread release of CD-based game systems: Sega’s Game Gear, for...
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If the arcade scene isn’t completely dead in North America, it’s certainly clutching at its throat and flopping on the cold ground. In another fistful of years, our children will roll their eyes and turn away when we try to hand down stories about smoky caverns lined with blinking lights and beer-stained neon plastic. It’s easier to believe in Wonderland or Narnia. Thankfully, though the ambiance of arcades is fading from our memories, the...
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Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.