Technology - Video Games

It's easy to take a series like "The Legend of Zelda" for granted. The first game arrived on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and with more than a dozen releases over 23 years, even the most dedicated "Zelda" fan can be forgiven for having skipped a game or two. Full Story »

The idea that video games were recession-proof turned out to be a myth this year, leading to declining sales, shuttered studios and thousands of newly unemployed developers. Full Story »

Wal-Mart, it seems, is out for buckets of blood this holiday, lopping serious coin off a slew of popular video games, with intent to siphon video gamers away from retailers like GameStop, Best Buy, and Toys R Us. Full Story »

In the "I'll do anything for attention" category this morning, Spike TV Video Game Awards host Geoff Keighley can reportedly be heard pimping for Microsoft's upcoming Halo: Full Story »

NEW YORK - Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. plunged ahead of the regular session Friday after the video game maker lowered its financial outlook again and said it probably won't meet its profitability goals for next year. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - General Motors Co, battling for survival for much of the past year, has cut loose designers to sketch out a vision of the ultimate youth car of the future -- a virtual one-wheeled wonder that would match wits with its driver. Full Story »

ATLANTA - "Tony Hawk: Ride" ($120; Xbox360, Wii, PS3) is a groundbreaking video game that fits right in with the namesake skating legend's no-rough-edges appeal. It's a silky smooth experience with an inventive wireless skate deck controller and a friendly learning curve. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. tumbled 17 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the video game publisher slashed its full-year guidance for a second time, due in part to weak sales of its "Major League Baseball" titles. Full Story »

NEW YORK - The video game industry is doing a better job at keeping young kids away from violent and other inappropriate content than the music and movie businesses, according to a new report by the Federal Trade Commission. Full Story »

Research firm IDC says Apple's App Store could stock in excess of a quarter million iPhone and iPod Touch applications, tripling current levels by the end of 2010. That's some number. Contrast with an estimated 10,000 Windows 7-compatible apps, over 700 (released as well as announced) Xbox 360 games, nearly 600 PS3 games, over 1,000 Wii games, over 600 DS games (from September 2008), and over 700 PSP games. Full Story »

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp said it is enjoying robust demand for its PlayStation 3 game console and other electronic products so far in this holiday shopping season in the key U.S. market. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Investors sent GameStop shares sharply lower Wednesday amid worries that the Wal-Mart's video game promotions could undercut holiday sales at GameStop Corp.'s more than 6,000 retail stores nationwide. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Redbox is talking with video game developers about offering their products in its DVD kiosks and hopes to avoid the kind of resistance it encountered from some Hollywood studios, Redbox's president said on Wednesday. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc sees a future where its online and mobile games are as critical as "Madden NFL" and other console games as the company focuses on building core franchises and winnows its number of titles, said Chief Executive John Riccitiello. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Keith Arem, the talent director of the record-breaking Activision Blizzard video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," will make his feature directing debut with the action thriller "Frost Road." Full Story »

SAN FRANCISCO - Shanda Online Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Chinese online gaming company Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd., said Tuesday that it named Jing Zhu as its chief technology officer. Full Story »

Nintendo's report on the U.S. Thanksgiving-week sales for its Wii, DS and DSi systems showed healthy numbers -- but the company left out the fact that its Wii system total fell short of last year's finish. Full Story »

Thanksgiving week sales of Nintendo's Wii plummeted in the US despite a $50 price cut designed to reinvigorate the kinetically renowned console. In a press statement, the company revealed it sold about 550,000 units of the console during the holiday week, or nearly a third fewer than the nearly 800,000 units sold during the same timeframe last year. Full Story »