Ubisoft dips its toes into Hollywood’s waters

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Ubisoft may first and foremost be a video game studio, but as the industry continues to shift, it’s looking to expand its footprint.

The biggest shift these days is the publisher’s growing interest in the world of cinema. After seeing Hollywood fumble one of its valuable franchises with Prince of Persia, Ubisoft has started to take things into its own hands, overseeing production on films tied to the Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell franchises.

And Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says the company doesn’t plan to cede control this time around.

Read more at Gamasutra

The 10 biggest game openings of all time

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Year after year, a Call of Duty game hits store shelves and within about 24 hours, Activision’s PR team is shouting from the rooftops about the series setting a new entertainment industry sales record. The most recent release, Black Ops II, is no exception.

But several other gaming franchises have had blockbuster opening weekends as well, earning more in a one- or five-day period than most games make in their entire lifespan.

Here’s a look at the 10 biggest debuts in gaming history.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Video game store clerk talks robber out of crime

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If you’ve ever been to a video game retailer, you know how persuasive those clerks can be.

One Denver salesperson, though, tops them all. He managed to talk a would-be robber out of committing a crime by pointing out to him that it was “messed up” to attempt to rob a locally-owned company.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Six-year-old schools Hasbro on gender equality

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When Jennifer O’Connell’s six-year old daughter was playing the Hasbro board game “Guess Who?” with her brothers, she noticed something was a little off.

The game, which encourages kids to guess which character their opponents have chosen based on facial characteristics, features 19 boys and 5 girls. That, the toddler thought to herself, didn’t seem fair, so she decided to hip Hasbro to the issue. And in the end, she proved to be a heck of a lot more cognizant than the corporate automatons she reached out to.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

The best Black Friday deals for video games

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While there’s no shortage of cheap TVs, affordable laptops, and bundles of DVDs on Black Friday, it’s also an incredible time to buy new video games.

This year in particular is seeing some amazing prices. As the industry struggles to boost its retail sales and two console systems hit their twilight years (we’re looking at you, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), publishers are slashing prices left and right. It might mean a few hours of lost sleep, but for savings like these, that’s not a tremendous sacrifice.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Study: Teen gamers outperform medical residents in virtual surgery

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Be careful mocking a teen playing video games. He or she may well be in a position to save your life someday.

A study at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston decided to pit a number of groups against each other to see who performed better using virtual surgery tools. The contestants? High-school sophomore gamers, college gamers and medical residents.

In the end, the high-school students won.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Nintendo Hits a Few Hurdles in Wii U Launch

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System launches from Nintendo tend to be smooth running affairs, but the ambitious nature of the Wii U has presented a few stumbling blocks for the company.

Within hours of the next generation console’s debut, new owners were grumbling about a system update that kept them from playing for an hour or more, sporadic system outages and anticipated features that were delayed at the last minute.

Read more at CNBC.com

Game Review: Sing Party

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Sing Party’s lack of sexy (or violent) videos makes it suitable for families and since the game doesn’t boo anyone off stage (no matter how tone deaf they might be), it’s fun for large groups. The music mix is a good one, too, with 50 songs blending recent hits and some older classics (i.e. it’s a safe bet this is the only time Frank Sinatra and Carly Rae Jepsen will appear together). It’s a title that’s likely to enjoy a presence at family get-togethers.

While Sing Party is hardly a bad karaoke/dance game, it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity, given the promise of the Wii U’s two-screen approach to gaming. Rather than using the Gamepad to display lyrics for all game modes, the game relies on the television screen for two of its three modes, giving it a very “me too” feeling. It’s a pivotal opportunity to differentiate itself that’s squandered. Also, the scoring system in the game’s sing and team modes isn’t well defined (not that this is a game that’s focused on sing-offs against friends). Given its high price, this is definitely a title you should rent before you buy to see if it’s for you.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Game Review: Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge

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Ninja Gaiden 3 had plenty of shortcomings when it came out for other consoles and developer Team Ninja takes several steps to correct those in this revised version of the game for the Wii U. But Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is still far from perfect. The fight sequences are full of glorious overkill, which should please fans of blood-soaked fighting games, but its the reason to keep kids away. It’s fast-paced and never lets you catch your breath. Boss battles, though, are still extremely difficult — sometimes taking up to an hour to complete. And the other battles get a bit repetitive after a while, even as you gather more weapons in your arsenal.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Analysts chime in on Wii U’s mid-term forecast

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The Wii U is going to be a big seller this holiday season. That’s about as bold a prediction as saying Black Ops II will top the November NPD charts.

But what happens when Santa returns to the North Pole and the first wave of consumer fanaticism has started to calm down? That’s when Nintendo’s new system will really be put to the test.

Read more at Gamasutra