Monthly Archives: October 2011

Arcades making a comeback

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Long before home consoles were a staple in every living room, game geeks looking for a fix would head down to the local mall to feed quarters into coin-op acade machines, happily wiling away the hours. Unfortunately, the glory days of the arcades — the 70s and 80s — are a distant memory.

You can thank the evolution of the video game industry for that. The rise of the home console fundamentally changed the way we played, just as mobile and social games are now clawing into time spent staring at the TV on the couch. But in the past few years, an unlikely resurgence has started taking shape. Arcades are once again becoming en vogue.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Game Review: Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion

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The Super Smash Bros. series is a cornerstone of Nintendo’s gaming lineup, so cloning it with the popular stars of several Caroon Network shows seems like a can’t miss idea. Unfortunately, Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion not only misses, it misses by a wide margin. The levels come across as generic. The controls aren’t as responsive as they should be. And the multiplayer is underwhelming, to put it kindly. The use of 3D is similarly bland. Avid fans of the Cartoon Network may enjoy the chance to interact with their favorite characters, but others should steer clear.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Nintendo Wii U: 5 Major Challenges to Overcome

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There’s a hard and fast rule in the gaming world: Never bet against Nintendo. That’s still true, despite the Wii’s ugly tumble from the top and the underwhelming rollout of the 3DS – but if you’re a gambler, this might be the time to hedge those bets.

The Wii U, Nintendo’s own next big wager, is likely still more than a year away from hitting stores, but the number of hurdles it’s going to have to clear in order for it to be a success are growing at an alarming rate.

Read more at Industry Gamers

Steve Jobs: Gaming icon

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When the deluge of tributes to beloved tech giant Steve Jobs are over and the world has moved on as it always does, the founder of Apple and Pixar will be remembered as a man who radically altered the computer, music and animation industries.

But those impressive achievements will overshadow the enormous impact he had on the video game industry.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

The Steve Jobs commercial you never saw

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With so many achievements to his credit, Steve Jobs impact on the advertising industry is often forgotten.

The fact is that with Jobs influence, the modern Super Bowl commercial might never have happened. The “1984” spot that is so well known was conceived by Chiat/Day and directed by Ridley Scott, but it was the Macintosh that was the inspiration.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

App Review: Race illegal: High Speed 3D

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Race illegal isn’t a bad racing game, per se, but there’s nothing notable enough about it that it will excite fans of the genre. It is, in many ways, a paint-by-numbers title, with a forgettable story, lots of lens flare, winding tracks, “edgy” collision models, and slow motion head-on impacts. The graphics aren’t overly impressive, though, and the game often feels slow compared to other entries in the category. Whether you’re a core racing fan or someone who just dabbles in the games, you can probably find something better.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Entertainment, tech luminaries react to Steve Jobs’ death

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The death of Apple co-founder and tech visionary Steve Jobs was something we all suspected was coming, but still were shocked to hear had occurred. His impact on the entertainment and tech industries is something that will be measured for years to come.

As news of his passing spread Wednesday night, impressions and condolences came flowing from all corners of the entertainment and technology worlds. Here is a collection of some of those tributes:

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Microsoft considers bid for Yahoo

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Microsoft, which tried unsuccessfully to acquire Yahoo in 2008, is thinking about making another run at the company. This time, though, a merger of the two companies could impact the entertainment landscape.

To be clear: There’s no offer at this point and there’s apparently a lot of internal debate about whether to make one at Microsoft headquarters these days. And, technically, Yahoo hasn’t announced it’s for sale – though it has been talking quietly with potential bidders.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Are Rising Corporate Cyber Attacks a Conspiracy?

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The hacker world has been a busy one lately.

The blend of high-profile cyber intrusions and denial of service attacks, mixed with vague anonymous threats delivered by mechanized voices and curiously timed offline periods for major corporations, have prompted some conspiracy theorists to wonder — Is there a hacker movement underway to undermine big business and/or the economy?

Read more at CNBC.com

TV networks, cable providers line up to appear on your Xbox

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Microsoft’s plans to add television content to the Xbox 360 just took a major step forward.

The company unveiled an extensive partner list Wednesday, announcing that nearly 40 global content providers will stream programming through the game console starting this year. Included in the list are heavy cable hitters Comcast, HBO and Verizon FiOS.

Read more at Yahoo! Games