In what sounds like the lovechild of a Blockbuster video store and Netflix’s DVD rental service, GameStop is launching a new video game rental program called PowerPass that gives customers unlimited access to used games. [More]
video games
Why Is There A Seductive Photo Of A Woman In A McDonald’s Video Game?
By 8.25.17
This might be stating the obvious, but the backs of the cards on a solitaire machine in McDonald’s PlayPlace locations are supposed to have something kid-appropriate on them, not a photo of a woman in a seductive pose. Yet that’s what one girl found on a machine that was marked as being for ages 3-12, and her mother is upset that the game was left running until a local TV station stopped by to ask questions. [More]
Atari Claims Nestlé Ripped Off Classic Video Game For Kit Kat Commercial
By 8.18.17
A 2016 ad for Nestlé’s Kit Kat bars includes a video game that looks an awful lot like Breakout, the classic Atari video game co-created by Apple’s Steve Wozniak. Problem is, Atari says Nestlé didn’t get permission to make this Kit Kat-themed Breakout clone. [More]
Did Nintendo Rip Off Controller Design For Switch?
By 8.11.17
The Nintendo Switch has been a solid success, selling nearly five million units since its March 2017 release, but one company claims that Nintendo’s hybrid handheld/console gaming device is illegally infringing on its patents. [More]
Sega Jumps On Retro Game Train With Mobile Versions Of Sonic, Altered Beast, Others
By 6.21.17
Perhaps Sega has been paying attention to Nintendo’s recent success with its Mario Run smartphone app — which has been purchased and downloaded hundreds of millions of times since its release in Dec. 2016: The video game company has announced it’ll be bringing back a few retro titles of its own, starting with Sonic the Hedgehog and four other classic games on June 22. [More]
Microsoft Announces Updated XBox, Backwards Compatibility For Some Old Games
By 6.12.17
Ah, yes, June: Schools are out, the days are getting long and hot, and the sweet sound of marketing wafts our way from southern California, where E3 — the annual video game exposition that in theory is still at least kinda, sorta an industry trade show — is finally underway. [More]
Video Game Studio Says Upcoming Game Files Being Held For Ransom
June 8, 2017
The video game studio behind the popular Witcher series of games says that files for an upcoming release have been stolen and are being held for ransom. [More]
Twitch Wants To Let More People Make Some Money From Livestreaming Video Games
By 4.21.17
Video, video, video. That’s basically all any and every platform wants to talk about, here in 2017: how much video it can stream, and how many people are watching it. But one step in getting people to watch live video on your platform is making sure the folks making those videos have an incentive to keep making them. There’s only so much people will do for their own amusement. So what better enticement than more money? [More]
How Much Do Video Game Companies Make Off DLC And Add-Ons? Around $5B A Year
By 4.19.17
The typical price tag for a full-fledged console or PC video game is around $60, but rare is the game that doesn’t also include an array of add-ons — everything from additional game content to new characters to outfits to in-game currency. It’s become such a popular practice that this “extra” stuff is now larger than some entire industries. [More]
Microsoft Testing Refund System For Xbox And Windows Games, Apps
By 4.13.17
In a move to be more consumer friendly — or, at least, less consumer-hostile in the digital goods space — Microsoft is now testing a refund system to make it easier for customers to return Xboxvideo games and apps from the Windows Store. [More]
Sony Adding (Some) PS4 Games To PlayStation Now Streaming Library
By 3.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
A few weeks after Microsoft announced it would offer a new monthly subscription that includes access to downloadable Xbox games, rival Sony says it’s expanding its PlayStation Now library to include some PlayStation 4 titles. [More]
Nintendo Doesn’t Think Switch Devices With Dead Pixels Are Defective
By 3.6.17
If you spend $300 on a new gaming device, you’d hope that it wouldn’t come out of the box with dead pixels that will remain a constant visual annoyance for the lifespan of the device. You’d probably call such a product “defective,” but the folks at Nintendo would disagree.. [More]
Nintendo Switch Cartridges Taste Awful So Kids Won’t Eat Them
By 3.2.17
While it’s baffling to imagine any rational adult intentionally deciding to lick a video game cartridge, a few gamers doing just that with Nintendo Switch cartridges were surprised to find the things taste absolutely awful. Turns out, that’s for a very good reason. [More]
Xbox Launching $10 Monthly Subscription To Library Of 100+ Downloadable Games
By 2.28.17
Times used to be, a video game player’s library might have been limited to as many piles of cartridges or discs as they could fit at home. But as consumers turn to digital libraries for everything from movies and TV to music, it only makes sense that the gaming industry would follow a similar path. That’s why Microsoft is launching a new monthly subscription service that gives users access to more than 100 downloadable games from its legacy catalog. [More]
Like That Game You’re Watching On Twitch? Amazon Will Now Sell It To You There
By 2.27.17
More than a year and a half after spending nearly $1 billion to acquire game-focused livestreaming service Twitch, Amazon’s finally doing something you’d have expected them to try sooner: Putting big “Buy” buttons on streams of some new games, so you can grab ’em while you’re watching ’em. [More]
Pokemon Go To Add Over 80 New Critters, Some New Features
By 2.15.17
Pokémon Go was an all-ages breakout mobile game hit in the summer of 2016, and it kept on existing even after it was no longer in the headlines. This morning, there was good news for lapsed and loyal players: The game is introducing more than 80 new species of critters, adding more in-game boosts, wardrobe options for players’ avatars, and items that will help players direct the evolution of their Pokémon. [More]
Video Of Real-World ‘Portal’ Shows Off Possibilities For Microsoft HoloLens
By 2.6.17
If you have doubt about the entertainment potential for augmented reality headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens, this video from developer who recreated the mechanics of the popular Portal video games in AR may give you something to believe in. [More]
Your GameStop Said New Copies Of That Game You Want Are Out Of Stock… Are They?
By 2.2.17
As Wells Fargo rather spectacularly demonstrated in recent months, putting too much pressure on employees to notch up a certain kind of sale can lead to a perverse incentive: Employees who need to keep their jobs may try increasingly underhanded things just to meet an impossible metric. This week, a report suggests that the latest set of employees who might be lying through their face to you just to keep their jobs are the ones selling video games. [More]
