Tag Archives: yahoo

Disney becomes a player

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While Disney might be one of the biggest forces in the film and television industries, it has always been something of an also-ran in the gaming world. Despite a deep catalog of characters and properties to draw from, the company has licensed out potential hits to other publishers and focused mainly on the kid and tween market.

That’s changing fast these days. The company has tripled its investment in video games and staffed up to over 1,200 people (notably bigger than Microsoft’s internal game-building team). It’s also bringing on high-level talent, like industry legend Warren Spector (Deus Ex) and Bungie Studios co-founder Alex Seropian (Halo).

Read more at Yahoo! Games

3D gaming: Five reasons it won’t work

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To hear some people tell it, 3D gaming is the wave of the future. In just a few years, you’ll be bobbing and weaving in your living room as you play in an environment that’s more realistic than anything you’ve ever experienced.

Bull.

Sure, 3D can be a cool feature in games, but is it something that will take over the industry? We don’t think so. And we’ve got five good reasons why the pundits are wrong.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Can motion controllers save the game industry?

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2010 hasn’t exactly been a good year for the video game industry. In fact, it’s been pretty lousy so far.

While the quality of major titles has been top-notch – with Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and God of War 3 leading the way – consumers, on the whole, just aren’t buying games.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

No sale: 2010’s most disappointing games

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While 2010 has been a bad year for video game software sales in general, it’s been particularly tough for some high-profile releases. Several titles that were expected to be big sellers — or at least impressive ones — have fallen flat, the victim of the economy, gamers’ continued interest with other titles or just plain old bad luck.

There’s still time to recover, of course — the year’s only half over. But while these six titles may have mostly met critical expectations, they still failed to set the sales charts ablaze.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

The taste test: Games vs. Movies

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Critics and audiences don’t always agree. That’s a given.

But the gap between critical and commercial success in Hollywood is significantly wider than what you will find in the gaming world. Despite the fact that the film industry is more mature and nuanced, audiences often flock to films that make critics lose their lunch while gamers and critics tend to march together.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Slideshow: Top Open-World Games

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There’s nothing wrong with tightly-scripted video games, but sometimes, you just want to mess around without stressing so much about reaching the next level. If you’re looking for that kind of wide-open adventure — where gamers can explore and progress without restrictions — try roaming about in these terrific titles.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

No end in sight for open-world games

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While they’ve always been interactive, video games began as very narrative forms of entertainment. After an initial cut scene, setting the stage for the game, you’d receive your first orders and set off on your first mission. From there, you’d be instructed to do something else – and the cycle would continue until you reached the end of the game.

Storylines are still a core part of titles, of course, but more and more, developers are letting you explore the worlds they create when and how you want – letting you roam at will, performing non-essential missions that boost your enjoyment of the game and extend your playable hours.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Where are the new consoles?

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It has been a staple in the video game industry for generations now: roughly every five years, the major console manufacturers roll out new systems, packing graphics that are even more eye-popping and features we couldn’t have previously imagined. The core gaming world immediately goes crazy for early previews of next generation titles, scrutinizing every frame of released video. And the countdown begins for the next generation.

Not this time, though.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Pac-Man’s headed back to TV – in 3D

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Pac-Man, that pellet-eating, ghost-avoiding icon of the video game industry is ready for his close-up – again.

Namco Bandai announced late Tuesday that it was working on a new television program featuring its most popular character – one that would air in stereoscopic 3D. It’s the brainchild of Avi Arad, former CEO of Marvel Studios and current executive advisor for Namco Bandai, who showed a three-minute clip from the show at an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

EA heads into E3 with guns blazing

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Not too many years ago, Electronic Arts was a company that was avoiding the first-person shooter genre. These days, it’s counting heavily on it.

The company showed a lineup that was bullet-heavy at its 2010 E3 press conference, highlighting shooters that will likely cheer action fans and court controversy from game violence opponents. And as if to underscore their commitment to the genre, EA is launching a new customer loyalty program, dubbed “Gun Club,” tailored to appeal to action fans.

Read more at Yahoo! Games