Author Archives: Chris Morris

Holiday gadget gift guide

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Spending on consumer electronics will account for one-third of all holiday gift-shopping this year, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn. — but finding the right gift for the gadget-hound on your list won’t be easy, or cheap. While overall electronics prices are falling in some categories, like TVs, items on the cutting edge tend to carry a premium pricetag. They’re also often hard to get since they may not be carried by big-box stores and thus not be on the radar of most shoppers.

To help out, Variety has put together its annual list of items that are bound to please even the most discriminating techie.

Read more at Daily Variety

Buyer beware: Game extras to avoid

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If your family hasn’t made the jump to the current console generation yet, there are plenty of incentives to do so this holiday season. Prices on all of the major gaming systems are low and you don’t have to look too far to find them.

Showing up late to the game might save you cash, but it comes with a number of disadvantages, too. The peripheral market is so crowded these days that it’s hard to figure out what’s essential and what’s the retail equivalent of setting your wallet on fire. Here are a few add-ons and extras you can safely bypass.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Opinion: ESRB Mobile App Initiative Underscores Industry Power Shift

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris picks apart the ESRB’s recent push into the mobile app space, and wonders how these ratings will fare without Apple and Android’s support.

While you have to admire the Entertainment Software Ratings Board’s push into the mobile app space, it’s hard not to be disappointed with Tuesday’s joint announcement with CTIA.

Getting AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless on board is a step, yes, but it’s akin to announcing a new Grand Theft Auto that’s being made by first year game development students. It sounds great, until you think about it for a couple seconds.

Read more at Gamasutra

GamePro magazine calls it quits

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One of the oldest video game magazines around is closing up shop.

GamePro, which has been covering the video game industry for 22 years, has announced its November issue will be its last, due to declining ad revenues. The magazine’s website will also be shutting down, redirecting visitors to PCWorld.com starting December 5.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

THQ joins forces with South Park creators

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South Park has been around the video game block a few times, but its latest trip could be remarkably different.

South Park Digital Studios and Obsidian Entertainment, makers of “Fallout: New Vegas,” are teaming to create a South Park role-playing game. THQ will publish the title.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Black Friday: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris has two Black Friday lessons: 1.) Never risk going to Walmart for Black Friday deals and 2.) People are definitely responding to video game sales this year.

Forget televisions and laptops. Judging by the fervor and numbers, Black Friday 2011 was all about video games. Unfortunately, thanks to a few boneheaded bargain hunters, it was a shopping day that would do nothing to help the industry’s image among mainstream shoppers.

Video game violence was all over the news this weekend, but it had nothing to do with Modern Warfare 3 or GTA. This time, it was the people buying games that were going postal.

Read more at Gamasutra

Weinstein follows Disney’s ‘second screen’ lead

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Disney was the first studio to fully integrate iOS systems with their films, but they’re no longer the only filmmaker doing so.

The Weinstein Company and Technicolor have teamed up to utilize the tech company’s MediaEcho application to supplement last year’s Best Picture “The King’s Speech” with historical footage, additional commentary and behind the scenes information.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

App Review: A Charlie Brown Christmas

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While the nostalgia wave and smart release timing are likely to give A Charlie Brown Christmas a boost, don’t let that distract you from the truly wonderful nature of this app adaptation of the familiar television special. Narrated by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, and featuring innumerable voice clips from the show, it’s a faithful retelling of the story and certain to charm both children and parents who remember it from their own childhood.

Beyond the story itself, there are plenty of extras, like the chance to decorate your own Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Word and note highlighting serve as educational prompts to children as they peruse the text and play with Schroeder’s piano. And touching illustrations on screen make them spring to life. It might start a bit slow, but by the time you get to the familiar Peanuts theme, you’ll find yourself smiling.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Frustrated wife puts gamer husband up for sale on Craigslist

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Guys, be careful how involved you get with this season’s awesome crop of video games. Your wife may try to sell you off.

Kyle Baddley learned this the hard way earlier this month, when his wife Alyse got frustrated by his constant Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 playing and offered him up to the highest bidder on Craigslist.

Read more at Yahoo! Games