gaming – News Stories About gaming - Page 4

Gaming Industry Slow
to Find Its Feminine Side

Oct 21, 2008 9:40 PM CDT

Gaming Industry Slow to Find Its Feminine Side

Under 20% of workers are women—a demographic games have barely tapped, either

(Newser) - The video-game industry has yet to really tap into the female audience, the Los Angeles Times reports, and a big reason looks to be how male-dominated the business is. Women make up fewer than 20% of the industry’s total workforce, and a mere 3% of programmers. Some fault education,...

Winning on the Web, Obama Turns to Xbox Advertising

Oct 14, 2008 4:12 PM CDT

Winning on the Web, Obama Turns to Xbox Advertising

Billboard in online racing game marks another first for Dem's campaign

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s campaign has been lauded for its online efforts, but in the race to make high-speed connections with voters, the Democrat has taken another “new media” leap, placing a campaign billboard inside an Xbox 360 online racing game. While politicians have promoted themselves online before, this is...

A Possible Cure
for BlackBerry Thumbs

product review

Jul 25, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

A Possible Cure for BlackBerry Thumbs

Gizmo comes complete with claims about treating geeks' aches

(Newser) - If your thumbs ache after hours of texting and gaming, a new gadget may be able to whip your digits back into shape. The Xtensor "exercise device" helps geeks strengthen their wrists and hands or rehabilitate injuries, reports Laptop Magazine, but reviewer Joanna Stern acknowledges that she hasn't had...

More Girls Get Into Gaming

Jul 21, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

More Girls Get Into Gaming

Half of Wii users and majority of PC puzzle gamers are female

(Newser) - After years of male dominance, the video game industry is seeing a growing number of girls pick up the controllers, SiliconValley.com reports. More than half of "casual" PC card and puzzle-type game users are female, but girl-play goes further: More than half of Nintendo Wii players are now...

Study: Video Game Addicts Aren't Nerds

Jun 13, 2008 8:20 AM CDT

Study: Video Game Addicts Aren't Nerds

'Problem gamers' may be unhealthy, but they're not lonely geeks

(Newser) - The stereotype of the hard-core gamer as a friendless geek may be as outdated as Pac-Man, Reuters reports. An Australian study looked at "problem gamers" who spent more than 50 hours a week playing and discovered that less than 1% had poor social skills. The findings contradict statements from...

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques

OPINION

May 31, 2008 1:14 PM CDT

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques

Cultural attitude toward virtual world reflects antiquated view

(Newser) - The dizzying growth of the video game industry continues to alarm cultural Luddites, writes Tom Chatfield for the Prospect, but the critics are trapped in video gaming’s past. They haven't adjusted to the development of social, team-based gaming worlds, treating games “as an odd mix of the slightly...

For Actor,
Grand Theft Auto
Doesn't Pay

May 22, 2008 6:05 PM CDT

For Actor, Grand Theft Auto Doesn't Pay

Gaming companies refuse to dole out royalties

(Newser) - He has gained fame and exposure as the voice of sly Balkan criminal Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto IV. But actor Michael Hollick would rather see a royalty check from Rockstar Games, reports the New York Times. Though the game has raked in roughly $600 million so far, Hollick...

Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming

May 22, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming

Games developer seeks to reach new markets with innovative scenarios

(Newser) - Sony is seeking to boost online gaming to the next level with a pair of new adventures in the pipeline. The company's 1999 EverQuest was the first massive online game to rocket to popularity, but rivals like World of Warcraft have since taken the lead. With spy shooter game The ...

Dell Gets Behind Alienware for Gaming PC Push

May 13, 2008 11:48 AM CDT

Dell Gets Behind Alienware for Gaming PC Push

Computer giant tries to recapture geek hearts with languishing brand

(Newser) - Dell is dumping its popular XPS line of gaming PCs so it can focus exclusively on the once-hot Alienware brand it acquired in 2006, the Wall Street Journal reports. The PC giant is in the midst of a full turnaround push, having fallen behind arch-rival HP, so it’s hoping...

Competitive, Social Aspects Make Video Games Addictive

Apr 22, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Competitive, Social Aspects Make Video Games Addictive

No shortage of horror stories about fun-seekers-turned-junkies

(Newser) - The American Medical Association may not yet rank video gaming as addictive, but players who call World of Warcraft “World of Warcrack” know the score, writes Kristin Kalning on msnbc.com. But what is it that drives obsessed players to neglect their jobs, their health and even their kids?...

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Mar 5, 2008 3:29 AM CST

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Gary Gygax rocked the gaming world

(Newser) - Widely revered Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, regarded as the father of role-playing games, has died at his home in Wisconsin after years of health problems, AP reports. He was 69. Together with Dave Arneson, Gygax created the massively popular medieval fantasy Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 that struck...

Microsoft Opens Game Creation to Users

Feb 21, 2008 4:01 AM CST

Microsoft Opens Game Creation to Users

Games made by gamers for gamers coming to XBox Live

(Newser) - Microsoft says it's going to bring democracy to video game creation and distribution, MSNBC reports. Microsoft's game-making kit has been a popular download, and the company is now introducing a way for gamers to share the games they make with millions of fellow enthusiasts. They plan to launch a YouTube-style...

Good Wii Hunting!

Dec 5, 2007 4:05 AM CST

Good Wii Hunting!

Tips for savvy shoppers trying to track down elusive console

(Newser) - Know where to go. Know the right people to talk to. Most importantly, get up early! Demand for the Nintendo Wii is going to far outstrip supply for the second Christmas in a row and Wired has some tips for people determined to track one down. Nintendo has stoked up...

Singapore Lifts Ban on Game With Lesbian Love

UPDATED

Nov 16, 2007 2:54 PM CST

Singapore Lifts Ban on Game With Lesbian Love

Mass Effect can be sold with M18 rating

(Newser) - Gamers in Singapore may now buy Microsoft's Mass Effect despite a female-female love scene. The country has decided to allow the sale of the video game under an M18 rating, reports Singapore's Straits Times, after previously banning it due to a scene showing a human woman and an alien woman...

Gaming Giant to Close Chicago Office

Nov 6, 2007 11:43 PM CST

Gaming Giant to Close Chicago Office

EA shutters 'Fight Night'-producing studio as part of restructuring plan

(Newser) - The video game maker Electronic Arts is closing its Chicago office, laying off or relocating nearly 150 employees, the San Jose Mercury News reports. A spokesman for EA says the Chicago studio, which had tripled in size since 2004, wasn't profitable, and likely wouldn’t have been for at least...

Battle Axe Gods in Latest Guitar Hero

Oct 31, 2007 11:21 AM CDT

Battle Axe Gods in Latest Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero 3 includes a fighting mode with whammy bar-slamming action

(Newser) - The latest game in the Guitar Hero franchise is out and reviewers are shredding to it already. Ars Technica says Guitar Hero III hasn’t suffered from Neversoft’s loss of Harmonix, the original developers. In this release, wireless guitars are standard, more rock songs are included, and the career...

Xbox Guru
Quits Microsoft

Jul 18, 2007 6:16 PM CDT

Xbox Guru Quits Microsoft

Redmond claims charismatic exec's departure unrelated to warranty woes

(Newser) - Microsoft's former entertainment honcho Peter Moore has decamped, the company confirmed today, after a four-year tenure highlighted by the release of the wildly popular Xbox 360. The announcement comes two weeks after Microsoft answered persistent Xbox hardware defects with a massively expensive warranty extension.

Microsoft Will Drop $1B on Xbox Warranties

Jul 6, 2007 5:39 AM CDT

Microsoft Will Drop $1B on Xbox Warranties

Company calls number of defective consoles 'unacceptable'

(Newser) - Microsoft will respond to complaints from around the world by extending the warranty on its faulty Xbox 360 gaming console, at a potential cost to the company of over $1 billion, USAToday reports. The company will extend warranty coverage from 1 year to 3 in response to buyer reports that...