gaming

You've got to applaud mobile carriers for knowing how to make a buck. Additional text-messaging and data-transfer services are one way to pad the bill for basic calling, and capitalizing on your boredom and curiosity is another. It's common for cell phone carriers such as Sprint and Verizon to lease games in addition to or instead of selling them. But fees add up, and you still won't own them.

1) Instead, go for game packs such as Hot Games Pack for Palm and Mastersoft Games Pack for Windows Mobile, which generally cut you a bulk deal. Rather than paying $5 to $15 for one game, a pack might net you 10 games for $40.… Read more

Apple's online store is now taking orders for the four games from Electronic Arts that were promised for July, and they'll soon be available in retail as well.

The four titles--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Need for Speed Carbon, Battlefield 2142 and Command and Conquer 3--are the first EA games that the company has published for Mac OS X, EA said in a press release. In the past, EA has only released Windows versions of its popular games that other companies had to port over to the Mac.

But Bing Gordon, chief creative officer for … Read more

Owners of PCs with Intel's 965 chipsets can finally download drivers that will immediately improve the performance of games running on those systems.

The 965 chipsets were supposed to be a dramatic step forward for integrated graphics performance. Most PCs come with graphics technology built right onto the chipset that connects the processor to memory and the rest of a PC. Serious gamers opt for discrete graphics made by Nvidia or AMD's ATI division, but most people save a little money and get the basic graphics.

Intel wanted to make an integrated graphics chipset with more powerful graphics … Read more

With the sleeker and slimmer PSP set for a U.K. release on September 10, Sony hopes to prove there's plenty of life left in its speedy little handheld. It might not have lived up to its initial promise--there's no arguing the PSP has been eclipsed by Nintendo's DS in the software stakes--but there's still plenty going on.

Here we pick out the PlayStation Portable's current top games, in no particular order, and offer some tips on what to look out for in the future. Click on the titles for more info from our sister … Read more

Finally, a legitimate reason to use coasters in a bachelor pad.

The Offside Football Coffee Table is the ultimate beverage-resting solution for foosball aficionados.

The tables, designed and handmade by English designer Howard Bushell, are a scaled-down version of the popular pub game. Covered in glass, the solid oak tables feature a mirrored playing surface, magnetic scoring pegs, and stainless steel "players."

These look like beautiful pieces of work. Alas, at $7,600 for the table, hardcore foosball addicts may want to invest in a full-on foosball table for a fraction of the asking price.

[Via Uncrate.]

Poll … Read more

Editors' note: This blog initially misstated Bing Gordon's title. He is chief creative officer of Electronic Arts.

A new football season is around the corner, and gamers have a new version of Electronic Arts' running hit Madden NFL 08 to prepare for their fantasy drafts. That is, PC and console gamers.

EA Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon said at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June that the company would simultaneously release Madden NFL 08 for both Windows PCs and Macs when the title went on sale last night. However, as noted by VNUnet, the Mac version is nowhere … Read more

Fans of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) media device must continue to wait for a download store, a feature that experts have said is a must if the player is ever to launch a significant challenge to the iPod.

Sony representatives, which have been holding press gatherings in major cities in preparation for the September launch of the upgraded PSP, refused on Tuesday to set a launch date for the download store.

They did reveal that the store will launch with "short-form" games. Whether music and movies will be available at rollout is "still unclear," said John … Read more

This one we're not so sure about. Granted, some of the more elaborate game chairs and simulators featured in this space aren't for everyone, but we have a hard time justifying nearly $500 for what appears to be just a seat.

Tech Digest says the "Playseat Evolution" is a sponsor of the Dutch A1 racing team, made of steel oval-pipe framing and compatible with all the major game consoles and accessories. It's been released on the U.K. market and can reportedly withstand "even the most vigorous of gamers."

All that may be … Read more

Although I prefer my shiny credit card to virtual money, my shopping bill at the end of the month always reminds that I should find a new hobby.

Shop.com's game Cart Me Away is nodding its head furiously in agreement. The theory behind the online game--which originally launched in May, but because of its popularity, Shop.com says, will soon add a few new twists--is that people can have fun shopping online without spending any money.

A total gimmick to get people to spend more time on Shop.com and thus lay down real bucks? Yes. But is … Read more