Category Archives: Yahoo! Games

Virtual reality makes a comeback with Oculus Rift

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Virtual reality got a bad reputation in the early 1990s. Proponents overpromised and underdelivered, with crappy graphics and headache-inducing headgear — not to mention prices that were so stratospheric, there was no way anyone could afford to buy a system.

It was a technology that became an afterthought — until game design guru John Carmack took an interest, at least. During the E3 conference in June, Carmack showed off the Oculus Rift headset, a virtual reality device he helped to create using (no joke) Oakley ski goggles, duct tape, and spare miniaturized rocket parts he had lying around his shop.

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World of Warcraft subscriptions take a tumble

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Azeroth is a lot emptier these days.

World of Warcraft saw more than 1 million people cancel their subscriptions over the past three months, the game’s publisher revealed in its quarterly earnings statement. That’s one of the most dramatic drops in the game’s long history.

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Rare Legend of Zelda cartridge is now the world’s most expensive video game

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Tom Curtin didn’t get what he was asking for one of the rarest video games ever found, but you won’t hear him complaining too much about that.

Earlier this week, Curtin launched an eBay auction for an exceptionally hard-to-find The Legend of Zelda prototype cartridge. The price? A whopping $150,000. That proved too steep, but a buyer quickly stepped forward and offered $55,000 — and just like that, there was a new record for the most expensive video game in the world.

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Poor sales for gaming division plague Sony

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The length of this console life cycle continues to haunt Sony. The company saw a wider loss in its fiscal first quarter with poor PlayStation sales dragging the numbers down.

The games unit saw a notable decline in sales last quarter (from April 1 to June 30), selling 800,000 fewer hardware units and coming in at an operating loss of $45 million. Software sales were down as well. It was a discouraging performance for the division Sony is hoping will help guide the company out of its financial woes.

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Legend of Zelda prototype cartridge is all yours for $150,000

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One of the most beloved games of all time is now one of the most insane auctions of all time.

An exceedingly rare prototype cartridge of the NES classic The Legend of Zelda has popped up on eBay, along with a sealed copy of the original game. The asking price for this pair? $150,000. That’s in U.S. dollars, not rupees.

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E3 to remain in Los Angeles through 2015

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After weeks of uncertainty, the video game industry finally knows where the next E3 will be held.

The Entertainment Software Association (which owns E3) and the City of Los Angeles have settled their differences and signed a deal that calls for the video game’s premiere trade show to be held in the city for the next three years.

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What’s ailing the video game industry?

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Things aren’t rosy for those hoping to make big bucks in video games.

Five years ago, the idea of a 29 percent year-over-year decline would have sent shock waves throughout the industry. But when NPD reported that shortfall a few weeks ago, publishers, gamers and investors shrugged briefly, then promptly forgot about it.

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Upcoming films based on video games

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The history of films based on video games is a spotty one — and that’s being generous. Even big-budget flicks like Angelina Jolie’s “Tomb Raider” or Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Prince of Persia” still left fans disappointed.

But after something of a break, Hollywood is gearing up to once again try its luck with video game source material. From huge new franchises to some odd throwbacks, a handful of video game film adaptations are coming along in the next couple of years. Which sound promising, and which should see a preemptive ‘game over’ screen?

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Indie game Fez squares off against Microsoft

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The developers of indie game darling Fez have a problem: there’s a major bug in their game. But they’re not going to fix it — and they say that’s Microsoft’s fault.

Released in April on Xbox Live, Fez garnered terrific reviews from critics. But as players explored the game, they found a number of issues. Save files were being corrupted and the game was crashing regularly. A fix was issued last month, but it was quickly yanked because it reportedly caused even more problems.

Read more at Yahoo! Games