Tag Archives: CNBC

E3: Scenes from the video game circus

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E3 scenes-from-e32014is a hydra. There’s so much going on at any given moment that it’s hard to keep up with everything being shown, talked about and hinted at.

While the show is closed to the public, Nintendo once again offered fans the chance to play demos of “Super Smash Bros.” at over 100 Best Buy locations around the U.S. And while that may gave fans a taste, it hardly filled their appetites.

While it’s impossible to fully showcase E3’s eccentricities, here are a few snapshots of the industry’s annual party/trade show to give you a taste.

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E3 gaming show: What investors may have missed

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The E3-wrap-upE3 after a console hardware launch is always an awkward one for investors.

The excitement that surrounds new game systems often has a sweeping effect on share prices of companies in the video game space—but it’s hard to get as worked up about game announcements the following year.

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10 exciting video games to look out for

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The E3-10-to-watchworst part about E3 is the waiting.

After ingesting a flood of information for hundreds of titles and watching their excitement levels rise to critical peaks, players now must sit back and be patient. Some of the games won’t be out for months. Others could take years.

Figuring out which will top sales charts is always a dangerous exercise. Publishers show carefully controlled demos of small segments of their games, specifically designed to pique interest. It might be fun in a five-to-10-minute microburst, but truly terrible after an hour of gameplay.

As we do each year, we’ve compiled a list of the games most likely to perform well when they hit stores. That doesn’t mean they’ll be critical smashes, but they’re likely to connect with today’s gaming audience.

Here’s what turned our head at this year’s E3.

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Xbox still more about games than shows

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Microsoft phil spencerhas long painted the Xbox One as a system that’s about more than just video games, saying home entertainment is equally important.

To underline that, a year ago it announced a live-action “Halo”-themed series produced by Steven Spielberg—and has since revealed a fairly extensive lineup.

But the division has undergone changes, and now original video content is being de-emphasized.

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Gaming’s new superstars are independent developers

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Independent e3-indie-developersgames don’t rule the sales charts. Their fan base is dwarfed by that of even a mid-level game put out by a major publisher. And the money they make is just a drop in the bucket in an industry whose global revenues last year totaled $93 billion.

But lately, those indie developers have been the belle of the video game ball.

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11 inventions that could change the world

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Trying world-changing-inventionsto predict the future is a fool’s game.

What seems a failure at first (like, say, the electric light) becomes indispensable. And what seems destined to succeed (Hello there, Apple Newton!) can soon become a toss-away item. So claiming any invention as a “sure bet” is an easy way to set yourself up for humiliation.

There are items, though, that certainly have the potential to dramatically impact the way people live—from interacting with the world around them, to exploring deep space, to simply finding ways to survive in hostile environments.

Some have been on the market a few years; others are just gaining traction; and others, still, are in the late formulative stages, but each of these inventions has the potential to change the world as we know it today.

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‘Grand Theft Auto V’ races to next gen platforms

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“Grand GTA-next-genTheft Auto V,” which last September set entertainment industry sales records, is speeding toward the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software broke the news late Monday night at Sony’s pre-E3 press conference. Although the announcement had been expected, that didn’t dampen the response from fans.

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E3 may pull the plug on Los Angeles

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The e3-leaving-lavideo game industry has held its annual trade show in its backyard of Los Angeles for 17 of the past 19 years. But the president of the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the annual event, says E3 may pull up stakes.

“E3 is a world class show that deserves a world class venue,” said Michael Gallagher at a media dinner Sunday night. “The Los Angeles Convention Center is no longer a top-tier property.”

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Nintendo at the crossroads

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Just nintendo-crossroadsseven years ago, Nintendo was the undisputed king of the video game world. The Wii was impossible to find, as people who had never considered themselves gamers couldn’t get enough of the company’s products. Today, despite the introduction of a high-definition system that blends console and tablet gaming, the company is looking more and more like the industry’s pauper.

Sales of the Wii U are stagnant. A slow trickle of releases hasn’t helped matters. At the same time, Sony has managed to recapture its golden touch from the PlayStation 2 days, when it could do no wrong in gamers’ eyes—and Microsoft is posting healthy Xbox One sales, despite some public relations missteps.

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