Vidgames face great divide

Forget Xbox vs. PlayStation. In the videogame industry, the biggest brewing battle these days is the one between traditional developers and the new breed — those who specialize in Facebook and iPhone titles.

While social networking games and mobile gaming apps are still dwarfed financially by franchises like “Halo” and “Call of Duty,” they’re stealing eyeballs — and talent — from the console world. And, according to some high-ranking execs, they’re putting the future of the industry at risk.

Read more at Daily Variety

App review: Angry Birds Rio

New Angry Birds levels are never a bad thing — and Angry Birds provides plenty. With 60 initial levels and commitments from developer Rovio for additional updates in May, July, October and November, this will keep fans of the runaway hit franchise happy for a while. Veterans of the game, though, might be disappointed with how easy half of the levels are this time around, although there are other elements, such as hidden fruits and new achievements to keep them busy. The marketing parts of the game are relatively tame, which is refreshing as well. While the visceral thrill of the game is still there, the gameplay is starting to show very early signs of aging. Angry Birds has been around for a while now and there are lots of clones on the market. It’s still a lot of fun, but Angry Birds Rio is noticeably less addicting than Angry Birds.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Angry Birds gets a sequel – and a film tie-in

Because there are so many app games on the market, we don’t write about them too often here at Technotainment, but we’re willing to make an exception for “Angry Birds.”

The sequel to the most popular game on the iPhone, iPad and pretty much any other mobile device it’s on has finally been unveiled. And this time, the birds are turning their wrath on… other birds. The game – called “Angry Birds: Rio” – is due out this spring and will have 45 initial levels. But to get you pumped up, creator Rovio and 20th Century Fox have put together one heck of a trailer.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog