A review of the hot new technology products available today
indicates that tech companies are leading the charge to develop new systems that better protect merchants and their customers from data breaches. “From our stand-point, there’s nothing more sacred for a merchant than protecting its customers’ information,” says Souheil Badran, senior vice president and division manager for First Data eCommerce Solutions.
Read more in the August 2010 issue of Transaction Trends (PDF)
Disney’s $563 million purchase earlier this month of Playdom 
had its skeptics, but a new survey showing the reach of the social game market could silence the deal’s critics.
The NPD Group, which tracks the sales of video games, reports that 20 percent of the U.S. population has played a game on Facebook or some other social network in the past three months. That works out to 56.8 million people tending virtual farms or collecting virtual bugs.
Hollywood’s relationship with the gamer – especially the 
PC gamer – is a tenuous one. Demographically, they’re right in the sweet spot for most big releases, but the tech savvy of those players always brings about piracy fears.
Now Steam, a popular game digital distribution retailer owned by Valve Software, is taking a look at what’s on gamer’s hard drives – well, at least in terms of installed programs.
“FarmVille” has sure grown a lot of gamers. A new study by The NPD Group 
finds that 20 percent of the U.S. population has played a game on a social network at one point or another. That works out to 56.8 million Americans.
Thirty-five percent of those players are new to gaming, having never previously experimented with any form of video game.
Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy is one of the first apps for kids to take the 
needs of deaf users in mind. The ASL interpretation of the book is well done, with plenty of expression on the interpreter’s face relaying the impact of the author’s words. It is, however, much less interactive than other children’s storybook apps, which is a wasted opportunity. And often the entire page’s dialogue isn’t shown at once, so kids choosing to read without narration may inadvertently skip parts of the story by finger swiping between pages instead of using the arrow keys on screen.
“Neverwinter Nights,” one of the most storied
role-playing game franchises, is getting an update. Atari today announced “Neverwinter,” a new title utilizing the Dungeon and Dragons license, will hit shelves late next year.
Last June, Variety was first to break the news that Atari was relaunching the series. Sources, at the time, told us Atari’s Cryptic Studios would revived the game as a massively multiplayer online title, with an eyed 2011 release. Today’s announcement stops short of calling it an MMO, but does refer to the game as a “new online role-playing game”.
So now we know the name of Project Natal. And
now we know the games. Kinect is on a collision course with retailers, and with it, Microsoft is making a big gamble on the future of Xbox.
Personally, I’m a little scared.
From the Cirque du Soleil-infused unveiling of Kinect to a solid game lineup for 2010-2011 to the unexpected announcement of a redesigned Xbox, Microsoft had no shortage of surprises at June’s E3 convention. It was, in fact, something of a challenge to keep up with it all. On a macro level, though, their new Xbox 360 offerings can be broken down into four easy-to-digest categories, each with its own level of appeal and promise.
Will Wright conquered the video game world with titles such 
as “Sim City” and “The Sims”. Now he’s looking to take on television.
Wright, who left Electronic Arts last year to dedicate his attentions to his Stupid Fun Club, has begun shooting a pilot episode for a new program for Current TV. The details haven’t been released, but there’s ample speculation this could be “The Creation Project,” which relies on user-created stories from episode to episode.
Try as it might, the video game industry 
just can’t catch a break this year.
Sales are down 8 percent year-to-date from 2009’s disappointing numbers. Even the most optimistic analysts are now saying that the best investors can hope for is a flat year. And this week has brought new signs that could indicate further weakness—specifically for Electronic Arts and game retailer GameStop.
Chris Morris: Journalist 