Gaming News Headlines - Yahoo! News

New Xbox more than a game console for Microsoft

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:17:07 -0400

By Malathi Nayak and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is set to make a splash this week with the eagerly awaited unveiling of its new Xbox game console, eight years after the last version, as it seeks a larger share of the $65 billion a year global computer gaming industry. But the small device faces some big competition from the PlayStation 4 by Sony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo Co Ltd in a shifting market. ...

'Sonic' video games coming to Nintendo

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:26:09 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sonic the Hedgehog is rolling with Nintendo.

Xbox 360 dominates console sales for 28th consecutive month

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:05:41 -0400

The Xbox 360 topped the charts again in April, marking the 28th consecutive month Microsoft’s gaming console has outsold Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii consoles. According to research from NPD Group, the Xbox 360 accounted for 42% of current-generation sales with 130,000 units sold last month. It wasn’t all good news, however, as sales plummeted 50% from 261,000 units in March. As a whole, the industry continued to struggle in April with total gaming sales down 25% year-over-year from $657.5 million to $495.2 million. Microsoft and Sony’s next-generation consoles are expected to help sales pick up when they launch ahead of the holidays this year.

'Sonic the Hedgehog' vid games coming to Nintendo

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:03:51 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sonic the Hedgehog is rolling with Nintendo.

Computer Games May Improve 'Chemo Brain' in Cancer Patients

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:03:05 -0400

Doing computer puzzles may improve thinking skills in women who've undergone chemotherapy, according to a Stanford study.

'Angry Birds' to invade screens in new Sony Pictures 3D film

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:51:17 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The popular video game "Angry Birds" is jumping off smart phones and onto the big screen in a new animated 3D film due to be released in 2016, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Wednesday. The film will be a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Finnish game-maker Rovio, and follows the game's foray into television with an animated weekly series that began in March this year. "Sony impressed us with their great attitude, determination, and professionalism. ...

JANA Partners reveals stakes in Zynga, Groupon

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:12 -0400

By Alistair Barr and Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - JANA Partners, a leading activist hedge fund firm run by Barry Rosenstein, has taken a liking to two of the most beaten-up technology stocks. JANA, which oversees more than $4 billion in U.S. stock holdings, disclosed stakes of 24.6 million Zynga Inc class A shares and 21.9 million Groupon Inc class A shares in regulatory filings on Wednesday. The positions represent just over 3 percent of the companies' outstanding shares. ...

Groupon and Zynga shares up on Jana's investment

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:11:46 -0400

Shares of Zynga Inc. and Groupon Inc. jumped Wednesday after activist shareholder Jana Partners disclosed that it has claimed a stake in both. THE SPARK: Jana Partners disclosed in a regulatory filing ...

Video Game to Help Kids Fight Cancer

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:49:00 -0400

Video Game to Help Kids Fight Cancer

Nintendo wins appeals court decision over Wii

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:54:47 -0400

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Nintendo Co, one of the world's largest makers of video game players, won a U.S. appeals court decision in a patent case that will allow it to keep importing its popular Wii system into the United States. Monday's decision by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. affirmed a January 2012 ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which handles many technology patent disputes. The decision against Motiva LLC, which sued Nintendo in 2008, could make it harder for U.S. ...

Activision CEO: Next-gen Xbox, PlayStation 4 sales might sputter just like Wii U

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:05:25 -0400

Nintendo is off to a rough start with its new Wii U video game console and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick thinks Microsoft’s “Xbox Infinity” and Sony’s PlayStation 4 could see similar tepid debuts when they launch ahead of the holidays this year. “We continue to face the uncertainties of the console transition” Kotick said during Activision’s earnings call this week. The executive noted that Nintendo’s Wii U has had a “very slow” start, and he warned that “uncertainties” in the coming year might impact Activision’s performance. “There are still many unknown factors such as pricing, launch dates and quantities, the level of first-party support and, importantly, consumer purchase intent in a world where consoles are no longer just competing with each other,

Xbox Infinity vs. PlayStation 4: Is the classic rivalry coming to an end?

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:55:17 -0400

In the video game industry as in many popular video games themselves, a fierce rivalry has taken center stage. Sony took a commanding early lead and its PlayStation and PlayStation 2 systems are both among best-selling video game consoles of all time at No.4 and No.1, respectively. Then the tide turned and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 edged out the PlayStation 3 in the current generation console wars, having recently posted its 27th consecutive month as the top-selling console in the U.S. But we may soon see this rivalry fade as the missions of Microsoft’s next-generation “Xbox Infinity” and Sony’s PlayStation 4 begin to diverge. At launch, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were both laser focused on gaming. They lured in hardcore

Looking for a comeback, Zynga embraces austerity and FarmVille

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:44:43 -0400

By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In the past twelve months, Zynga Inc has struggled with a contracting player base, a deflated stock price and waves of layoffs. Now it is coming to terms with downsized ambitions. As Chief Executive Mark Pincus, 47, leads the online games developer he founded in 2007 through perhaps the most crucial year of his tenure, he is pushing to restore revenues by doubling down on "FarmVille," the franchise that took Facebook users by storm four years ago and launched Zynga to stardom. ...

Another blow for Nintendo: Next-gen EA games will skip the Wii U

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:45:06 -0400

Things keep getting darker for video game giant Nintendo. The news that the company’s previous-generation Wii console outsold the new Wii U during the first quarter really put Nintendo’s troubles in perspective, and now more bad news has emerged for the video game giant. As picked up in a report from Joystiq, an Electronic Arts executive has confirmed on Twitter that the company is abandoning plans to build its new gaming engine for the Wii U. “[Frostbite 3] has never been running on WiiU,” EA DICE’s technical director Johan Andersson posted on Twitter. “We did some tests with not too promising results with [Frostbite 2] & chose not to go down that path.” Nintendo’s Wii U sought to be a console

Video game maker drops gun makers, not their guns

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:23:17 -0400

By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In the midst of the bitter national debate on gun violence, gun manufacturers and videogame makers are delicately navigating one of the more peculiar relationships in American business. Violent "first-person shooter" games such as "Call of Duty" are the bread and butter of leading video game publishers, and authenticity all but requires that they feature brand-name weapons. Electronic Arts licensed weapons from companies like McMillan Group International as part of a marketing collaboration for "Medal of Honor: Warfighter. ...

Microsoft’s next-gen console reportedly called ‘Xbox Infinity’

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:30:19 -0400

Microsoft’s hugely anticipated next-generation console apparently has a name and it isn’t the Xbox 720. Unnamed sources have told the International Business Times that the new Xbox will be called the Xbox Infinity and that development kits for the new console “are already in the hands of studios.” Microsoft will formally unveil its new Xbox on May 21st and earlier reports have indicated that it will run on the “core” version of Windows 8 and will feature an 8-core 1.6GHz processor, 8GB of RAM, an 800MHz graphics processor, a 50GB 6x Blu-ray Disc drive and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.

Disney teams with EA on 'Star Wars' video games

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:26:26 -0400

Disney is not giving up on "Star Wars" video games after all. A month after shutting down game production at Lucasfilm subsidiary LucasArts, The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it had entered ...

Next Xbox won’t force users to stay online to play games

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:15:16 -0400

Good news for Xbox fans: Microsoft has decided to not commit commercial suicide by forcing gamers to have an Internet connection just to play games. Ars Technica has got hold of an internal Microsoft email to Xbox engineers outlining “a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection” and instructing the engineers to make those functions “‘just work’ regardless of their current connection status.” The email goes on to say that the new Xbox should be designed for “playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game” without an Internet connection. Rumors that Microsoft would require an online connection for single-player games gained fuel recently when former Microsoft Studios creative

New Trend in Baby Naming? Video Game Characters

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:29:13 -0400

What makes the perfect baby name? There's no right answer, of course — perhaps you're a traditionalist who prefers John and Mary, or maybe you tend toward the literary: Ahab or Hermione, anyone? Perhaps you're in the market for something a little bit country, in which case Oakley or Harlan might suit.

How the video games industry is faring

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:41:25 -0400

Companies in the video games industry have begun releasing earnings reports for the latest quarter. Here's a look at selected companies that make or sell video games or machines. — April 3: Mobile game ...

Video Game Play Sharpens Elderly Minds

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:03:08 -0400

Elderly people who played a video game that challenged their brain processing speed showed improvements in executive function compared with those who did crossword puzzles. Amy Kraft reports

New twist in the Zynga tragedy

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:10:00 -0400

Soon after its IPO, Zynga’s share price spiked above $15 in early 2012. Very little has gone right since then. Just last month, Zynga issued yet another warning and its share price now hovers just above $3. On Thursday, Zynga’s latest flagship game, Draw Something 2, dropped out of iPhone’s top-10 paid app chart after having spent only six days there. The original Draw Something spent nearly three months on the iPhone’s top-10 chart in early 2012. Zynga spent more than $200 million to buy game developer OMGPOP in March 2012. Four months later, Draw Something dropped out of the iPhone’s top-50 chart. Now its sequel seems destined for an even faster burn-out. This is a sharp reminder of how difficult it is

Call of Duty: Ghost coming to Xbox 360, PS3, PC and ‘next-gen platforms’ on November 5th

Wed, 01 May 2013 23:59:21 -0400

Activision on Wednesday announced that the latest installment of its best-selling Call of Duty franchise, called Call of Duty: Ghost, will launch later this year on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and “next generation platforms.” The latest Call of Duty game is being developed by Infinity Ward, the studio behind the original Call of Duty and the critically acclaimed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. Activision’s first-person shooter has consistently shattered game sale records year after year and its latest installment is expected to continue this trend. Call of Duty: Ghost is scheduled to be released on November 5th. Starting today, fans can pre-order the game at retail stores. Activision’s press release follows below. ACTIVISION ANNOUNCES THE NEXT GENERATION

Activision summons new 'Call of Duty' video game

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:28:40 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Activision is trading "Modern Warfare" for "Ghosts."

PlayStation 'Heritage Sale' Discounts Nine Long-Running Franchises

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:34:00 -0400

Dubbed "Sony Smash Bros." by fans, after Nintendo's crossover brawler, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale features characters from Sony PlayStation games fighting each other in stages which mix their own titles. The characters featured include everyone from first-party favorites Nathan Drake (from Uncharted) and Sackboy (from Little Big Planet) to the armored Big Daddy from 2K Games' Bioshock. ...

Microsoft: Next-gen Xbox won’t include revolutionary ‘IllumiRoom’ feature at launch

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:30:48 -0400

We first saw Microsoft’s vision of the future of gaming last year when a patent filing revealed a novel system that projects images from a video game all over a room, extending the gaming experience beyond the TV screen. Our interest was piqued again when a video demo of “IllumiRoom” made the rounds earlier this week alongside rumors that the exciting new feature might be available on Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox. The feature would undoubtedly give the next Xbox an edge over rivals but unfortunately, Microsoft has confirmed that IllumiRoom won’t be included in its next-generation video game console at launch. Microsoft Research’s Hrvoje Benko and Brett Jones told Engadget in a recent interview that Microsoft is actively developing IllumiRoom technology

Microsoft shows off reality-distorting tech that turns entire living rooms into Xbox games [video]

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:30:28 -0400

While Microsoft’s next Xbox won’t feature virtual reality headsets, it will try to do the next big thing by making your entire living room into a big video game screen. Microsoft on Monday posted a new demonstration video showing off the new Xbox’s IllumiRoom feature that projects aspects of games onto the walls surrounding your television set to increase immersion within virtual environments. The new feature comes with several options for filtering content if you’re not interested in having your entire living room transformed into a game world: For instance, you can choose to only have weapons or enemies displayed on the peripherals of your television set or you can choose to only have the bare outlines of the game

Next-gen Xbox reportedly includes touch controllers, may be called ‘Xbox Infinity’

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:50:29 -0400

Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox video game and home entertainment consoled will be unveiled in less than a month on May 21st, and we should expect a steady flow of rumors and leaks leading up to the official debut. The latest report comes from Forbes, which claims that the next Xbox may launch as the “Xbox Infinity,” though recent rumors suggested the name might simply be “Xbox.” More interestingly, Forbes claims multiple sources at Microsoft have said that the next Xbox’s controllers will feature a clickable touch-sensitive area that will support gestures and other functions. Other recent reports suggest that the upcoming Xbox 360 successor will not require an always-on Internet connection as had previously been rumored, but game publishers will have

Next-gen Xbox to let publishers decide whether games require Internet connection

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:20:57 -0400

The next-generation Xbox is expected to include high-end hardware and a variety of software improvements when Microsoft announces the system next month. According to a new report from Polygon, the console will incorporate the controversial requirement that users will need an Internet connection to play some games, although the decision on whether a game will require a constant Internet will be decided by the game’s publisher. Polygon warns that Microsoft’s current guidelines can still change, however. The report goes on to claim that the next-generation Xbox will include the ability to capture gameplay videos that can then be shared across different social networks, similar to the Share button on PlayStation 4′s controller. Microsoft is said to be working on a

Next-gen Xbox will reportedly run on ‘core’ Windows 8, start at $299

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:30:34 -0400

Even if PC sales continue tanking, Windows 8 could get a significant boost in adoption later this year just from eager gamers picking up the next-generation Xbox. Paul Thurrott of WindowsITPro reports that the next-generation Xbox will release in early November and will run on the “core” version of Windows 8 that “suggests a common apps platform or at least one that is similar to that used by Windows 8.” Thurrott speculates that Microsoft could use the common app development platform as a way to “open up this platform to enthusiast developers” and encourage more development of native Xbox apps. As far as pricing goes, Thurrott says that the Xbox will cost $299 up front if users sign a two-year