Tech Culture

Video game sales in free fall

In a stark reversal of the trend on display just a few short months ago--when general retail sales were plummeting even as the video games industry was still showing growth--cautious optimism in retail is now being offset by many losing months in video games.

In July, according to industry analyst the NPD Group, video game sales fell for the fifth straight month, and the year-over-year numbers are striking: In July, the video games business posted sales of $848.9 million, down 29 percent from $1.1 billion a year earlier. Year-to-date sales, reported NPD, were at $8.16 billion, down … Read more

Shooting the boss (and getting paid for it)

To thank him for letting them spend the last two hours of their workweek playing video games on the company dime, Kevin Grinnell's employees often single him out and shoot him in the head.

To be fair, the employees at Grinnell Computers aren't firing real weapons at their boss but are instead releasing the stresses of their week in a multiplayer online game known as Combat Arms.

Most Fridays for the last couple of months, the six employees of the Beaumont, Texas-based company have been encouraged to spend from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. blasting away … Read more

Kids' search terms: Sex, games, rock 'n' roll

Kids search for the darndest things online.

In recent months, they've been looking for everything from Facebook and YouTube to Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, and someone named Fred. Oh, yes, they're also looking for pictures their parents probably don't want them to see.

That's the upshot of a new report from Symantec, based on use of its OnlineFamily.Norton service, which lets parents monitor and manage their kids' online activities, including Web searches. The service can track and report on a child's Internet whereabouts in real time, allowing parents to quickly learn of any content … Read more

Guitar Hero 5 gets ready to rock

SAN FRANCISCO--The first couple of weeks of September are going to be a banner time for music video games. On September 9 (09/09/09), the much-anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band will hit store shelves, just eight days after Guitar Hero 5 gets its chance to rock living rooms everywhere.

With the Beatles game, it's easy to imagine long lines and huge sales figures. After all, this will be the first time that any of the recent slew of music-oriented video games will feature any Beatles songs, let alone dozens of them.

But with Guitar Hero 5 (see video … Read more

Exclusive: Getting up close and personal with Natal

REDMOND, Wash.--One of the reasons that Microsoft got such buzz for Project Natal is because it is so easy to see how the technology could change the face of gaming.

But it's even easier to appreciate once you get a chance to try the gesture recognition technology yourself. When I was in Redmond, Wash., last week, I got a chance to do just that.

Playing Ricochet, a 3D breakout-like game, I found myself wanting to do whatever I could to stop the balls from passing me. It felt less like a traditional video game and more like I … Read more

Brutal Legend suit settled out of court

In the legal dispute over heavy metal action game Brutal Legend, Activision and Double Fine Productions have reportedly buried the hatchet. Or more appropriately, the ax.

A scheduled Los Angeles Superior Court hearing in which Activision was to argue for a judge to block the release of Brutal Legend was canceled Thursday, the Associated Press is reporting. The publisher's attorneys said a settlement was reached, negating the need for the hearing, a representative of the court told the AP.

No notice of settlement has been filed in the case, and there are no details as to the terms of … Read more

EA posts sizable loss, but touts big Sims 3 sales

There may be an economic recovery in the works, but video game giant Electronic Arts has a way to go before it joins the party.

That seemed to be the message Tuesday, when EA reported its first-quarter results, the highlights of which were mixed: On the one hand, it reported a quarterly net loss of $234 million, or 72 cents a share, compared with a loss of $95 million, or 30 cents a share, for the same quarter a year earlier. But on the other hand, its big summer release, The Sims 3, appears to have gotten off to a … Read more

Rumor: Sony to debut PS3 Slim on August 18 in Germany

No sooner had we written about reports that Sony would be dropping its 80GB PS3 in Japan on August 9, that two more PS3-related news items surfaced.

A Belgian blog, RTLinfo, is reporting that Sony will soon be lowering the price on the European version of the PS3 from 399 euros to 299 euros (that bodes well for a $299 version of the U.S. PS3). At the same time, the site claims that Sony will introduce the PS3 Slim before the opening of Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, at a pre-event press conference on August 18. In more concrete … Read more

Sony dropping 80GB PS3 in Japan?

The rumors of the impending arrival of a new PlayStation 3 are growing more fierce as new hints seem to turn up almost daily in the blogsphere. The latest discovery to pop up is what appears to be an internal document from 7-Eleven--which sells games in Japan--that suggests Sony may be about to discontinue the 80GB PS3 in its home country.

According to a report by a Japanese blog that Kotaku turned into English, 7-Eleven will no longer be taking "pre-orders" for black, white and silver 80GB PS3 after Sunday, August 9. (The document this information is based … Read more