By Nadia Oxford on Mar 23, 2011 in Business, Retail
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The NPD video games sales numbers are in for February. They’re chilling, shocking, depressing…
Oh, just kidding. They’re fine. The industry rebounded 3% after suffering a 5% slump in January. Really though, what branch of retail doesn’t suffer a slump in that magic month when the world opens its Christmas credit card bills and screams in one collective voice?
The strongest sellers in February were Call of Duty: Black Ops and Marvel Vs....
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By Nadia Oxford on Mar 22, 2011 in Cloud Computing, Digital Distribution, Marketing
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If you’re a betting person, now’s a good time to lay down coin on the future of the games industry. Where is games distribution headed? Which option will dominate a decade down the road? Will retail still be clinging with a bulldog grip? Will we be downloading everything to a hard drive? Will we be streaming games? Or will we be turning to a method of distribution that is a hybrid of all those options?
Zynga’s new Vice President Lou Castle thinks...
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By Nadia Oxford on Mar 21, 2011 in Apple, Digital Distribution, iPhone and iPad
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Apple’s iPad 2 adds another contender to the increasingly crowded handheld gaming market. A niche that was once exclusively Nintendo’s domain is suddenly filled to the brim with palm-sized systems jostling one another and aching for the buyer’s attention.
The iPad 2, however, isn’t quite as portable as some of the available systems, nor is it as portable as some of the systems that are waiting in the wings. That doesn’t matter,...
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By Nadia Oxford on Mar 21, 2011 in Culture, Kinect, Motion Controls
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When PCs and video game controllers and consoles first came home, several engineers wondered “Hey, let’s try throwing extra bits of plastic at these things and discovering if any of it enhances the gameplay experience!”
Thousands of years later, we still see extra PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii controllers, accessories and peripherals that stick to game consoles like parasites on a shark’s belly. Some serve as little more than dumpsters in which to...
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By Nadia Oxford on Mar 18, 2011 in Business, Casual Games, Digital Distribution
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Peter Vesterbacka, the owner of Rovio and by extension the big daddy behind Angry Birds, claims that console games are “dying.”
Automatic response: No, they’re not.
A more careful response crafted after observation of recent console sales: No, they’re not.
Vesterbacka made his declaration on a panel at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. Innovation, Vesterbacka said, belongs to the mobile platforms, where developers can...
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