Video game consoles: Should you buy or wait?

Posted on by

The Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 have done well for themselves, as over half of all U.S. households own a modern video game console. That also means, however, that a good chunk of the country still isn’t playing along.

With whispers of next-generation systems swirling — and one confirmed to launch later this year — deciding whether to buy a current generation system isn’t an easy one. Should you spend the money now, or should you wait and be a part of the cutting-edge in the months to come? Systems have typically hit the sweet spot in pricing, and there’s a tremendous catalog of games to choose from (many at discount prices, thanks to “Platinum editions” of top-selling games).

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Big name game delays bolster 2013

Posted on by

With the circus-like E3 expo less than three weeks away (listen closely and you can hear the collective gaming industry screaming in excitement/terror), you’d think the focus would be on 2012.

But with game sales on track right now to hit a six-year low, developers and publishers certainly want this year to end on an uptick, right? Well, of course, they do, but more and more, 2013 is looking like the year where things are going to get really interesting.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Game sales slump continues, down over 30 percent in April

Posted on by

Four months of 2012 are over. And not one of them has held good news for video game publishers.

Total video game sales came to $630.4 million in April, down 32 percent from $930.9 million a year ago. Video game software sales were especially lousy, down an astonishing 42 percent, coming in at just $292 million. Hardware sales were down 32 percent, according to The NPD Group, which tracks the numbers. The numbers are significantly worse than analysts were expecting, more than double the 19 percent drop Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter had warned of.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

America’s Radio News Network – May 10

Posted on by

Every Thursday, I join Chris Salcedo and Lori Lundin on the mid-day edition of America’s Radio News Network to discuss trends and news in the technology and video game space. (Dana Mills sat in for the vacationing Lori today.) This week’s topics were Microsoft’s $99 Xbox 360 offer – and the strings attached to it, shocking statistics on Facebook privacy and a look ahead to next week’s Facebook IPO – and exactly how rich it will make Mark Zuckerberg.

Listen here

Apptastic: iPhoto

Posted on by

With so many photo editing apps available, it was only a matter of time before Apple stepped in with one of its own. iPhoto takes the popular editing suite from the Mac to the iDevice with a ton of features, a very user friendly interface and a powerful batch of tools letting you crop, enhance, color correct and add filters to your pictures with ease.

Read more (and listen) at KYW NewsRadio

Play legendary shooter ‘Wolfenstein 3D’ in your browser

Posted on by

Twenty years after revolutionizing gaming, the iconic Wolfenstein 3D is back. And it won’t cost you a dime to enjoy it.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first first-person shooter, id Software and its parent company Bethesda Softworks have released a free-to-play web version of the game that runs right out of your web browser. For folks who prefer their gaming on the go, the developer will also offer Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum free to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch owners for a limited time.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Xbox 360 at $99: How It Could Change The Industry, Or Fail Miserably

Posted on by

It’s hard to keep a secret in the video game world.

Microsoft’s confirmation this week that it will offer the Xbox 360 for just $99 (with a $15 per month Xbox Live subscription) was a bit anti-climatic after the news leaked last week. But spoiled surprises don’t necessarily negate a move’s impact.

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz