Saints Row: The Third's Initiation Station Lets Us Put Hitler in Bondage Gear

THQ recently debuted the Saint's Row: The Third character creation tool - dubbed Initiation Station - prior to the game's scheduled release to give fans a chance to create and upload custom characters that will be available to all players on day one. For fans, it's a great opportunity to play with the creation tools, which have the kind of fine granularity it takes to make a character that looks exactly how they want. For people with more twisted minds, it affords the opportunity to make avatars that look like famous people, and put them in weird costumes.
Saints Row: The Third's Initiation Station

For instance, you can do a pretty decent looking Hulk, thanks to the extended options for skin color in Initiation Station. You can do natural flesh tones as well as less expected colors like green or silver, opening up the possibility of doing a lot of different comic book-inspired characters.

You can always take a crack at doing real-life people as well. Here is my attempt at creating an avatar the looks like Sarah Palin:
Saints Row: The Third's Initiation Station

Not bad if I say so myself, though the hair and the glasses aren't quite right. You are still somewhat constrained by the items developer Volition has given you. Also, I think Hulk looks better in that outfit:

Mario Kart Gets Gritty in New Indie Film

One of the cooler video-game-themed movies part of G4's Film Festival is Kart Driver, which features a much darker take on Nintendo's Mario Kart series.
Written and directed by Drew Daywalt, Kart Driver follows Mario as he attempts to save his girlfriend Pauline and defeat what's probably the ugliest interpretation of Donkey Kong we've seen.

Postal 3 is Not Dead, Coming to Steam on December 10

After years without any kind of an update on Running With Scissors' Postal III, the company has officially announced that the game will finally be coming to PC through Steam on December 10th.

Postal III sees the return of the "Postal Dude​" as he wreaks havoc in the town Catharsis, as well as some special celebrity guests including none other than Ron Jeremy.

While only the PC release date has been announced so far, the developer says that they are still planning on eventually releasing the game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3​, too.

Namco Bandai Having a Pretty Big Mobile Sale, Because Halloween

Another holiday, another abundance of awesome sales events up 'till the end of the month. If you're more of a mobile-minded, on-the-go gamer, then you may want to check out some of these iPhone and Android games from Namco Bandai, on sale starting today:

Android:

More Brain Exercise - $2.99 -> $1.49
TNA Wrestling Impact - $4.99 -> $2.49
Isaac Newton’s Gravity - $1.99 -> $0.99
Ms. PAC-MAN - $2.99 -> $1.49
Pac-Man - $2.99 -> $1.49
Pac-Man Championship Edition - $2.99 -> $1.49
Pool Pro Online 3 - $2.99 -> $1.49

iPad/iPhone

Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima - $1.99 -> $0.99
Buccaneer Blitz - $2.99 -> $0.99
Fossil Feast - $1.99 -> $0.99
House of Glass - $4.99 (in-app) -> $1.99 (in-app)
Isaac Newton’s Gravity (iPad) - $4.99 (in-app) -> $1.99 (in-app)
Isaac Newton’s Gravity (iPhone) - $2.99 (in-app) -> $0.99 (in-app)
Mishap - $4.99 -> $1.99
Mooniacs - $1.99 -> $0.99
More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima - $4.99 -> $1.99
More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima HD - $6.99 -> $2.99
Mr. Driller - $1.99 -> $0.99
Ms. Pac-Man - $4.99 -> $1.99
Pac-Man - $4.99 -> $1.99
Pole Position: Remix - $2.99 -> $0.99
Pool Pro Online 3 - $1.99 -> $0.99
Puzzle Quest 2 - $4.99 -> $1.99
Star Trigon - $1.99 -> $0.99
Stroke of Midnight - $4.99 (in-app) -> $1.99 (in-app)
Tamagotchi: 'Round the World - $4.99 -> $1.99

EA Defends Battlefield 3 Single-Player as a Way to "Train Up and Get Ready for Multiplayer"

In many first-person shooters, crafting a great multiplayer experience is something that's become more and more important. Eurogamer reports, however, that EA is taking that one step further by stating that Battlfield 3's criticized single-player campaign serves more as training for "new players ramp into the game," with "the game" referring to the multiplayer component of BF3.

Here's what EA executive Frank Gibeau had to say today during a conference call.

    "We consider Battlefield an online service...The single play experience is important. It's a great way to get fans into the experience, have them train up and get ready for multiplayer. And a lot of fans just enjoy having that single player experience. So I think you have to have both."

    "Clearly the multiplayer is the richer opportunity for us because of the services opportunity in keeping customers engaged 365 [days a year]. Fortunately, Battlefield, as a franchise, since the late '90s has been configured around multiplayer and I think that's why you're seeing such popularity around the design."

FPS games are my genre of choice. And while I'm certainly somewhat in the minority, I generally always look forward more to a shooter's single-player offering over its multiplayer. I value both SP and MP, but the idea that it's somehow less important to deliver a solid single-player campaign than the multiplayer is disconcerting.

Top 8 Facebook Sim Games

Simulator games, or "sims," are an exceptional common genre represented on the Facebook platform. Anything you can think of that could possibly make a sim game is probably out on the Facebook platform somewhere. Fancy starting a new religion? Check. How about running a town full of gnomes? Check. Becoming a millionaire from running a lemonade stand business? Check. The trouble with sim games, as it always is with Facebook games, is finding games that are actually any good. Here are eight that we love.

Top 8 Facebook Sim Games
The Sims Social

Electronic Arts' most popular franchise has finally come to Facebook and is close to knocking CityVille from its long-standing position at the number one slot. The Sims Social is ridiculously popular, with some 51 million people playing it, so a good chance some of your friends are already onboard. As the title suggests, it's a simplified version of the Sims, with less focus on the minutiae of daily life like going to work, eating and sleeping and more on the social aspects. To progress with the game, in fact to do pretty much anything, you're going to need a little help from your friends or your wallet. Want to make a new room? You'll need three of your friends to agree to help before you can build it. Want to buy a new bath? Well, you'll need a mountain of collectibles to install it. Best way to get those? Either wait endlessly for them to come up as random drops, buy them or rely on the kindness of your friends. As a long-time Sims fan I found this incredibly frustrating and would rather just play the Sims, but it's worth checking out.


Top 8 Facebook Sim Games
My Tribe

In Big Fish Games' My Tribe you take charge of a tribe of simple villagers living on a small island of your choosing. You can assign your tribe members jobs like fishing for food, building new structures and collecting materials to make them productive members of society. Your tribe members will slowly grow old and die, so it makes sense to have more babies to replace them -- just try not to think too hard about how everyone's related to each other when you do. Goodies like shells and stork feathers (which you need to make babies) appear randomly on the island and scouring the shores for them is a fun way to pass the time while you're waiting for other tasks to complete. As you play through the game you'll also get to place game machines that you can use to open up mini games (you get a certain amount of mini game plays free every day or can buy more with cash). My Tribe's a great little game in the same vein as Virtual Villagers​... if you're into that kind of thing.

Top 8 Facebook Sim Games
Airport City

Can't afford a holiday this year? Not to worry, you can still the frenetic feel of traveling by playing an airport management sim instead-- no packing required. You get two sections of land to manage -- an airport part, and a city part. You use the city section for housing (which creates passengers) and shops (which create money). In the airport area you build hangers, buy planes and give permission for flights to land and take off on your runways. There are three currencies in the game -- passengers (you get them from houses), fuel (this recharges over time like energy does in other Facebook games) and gold (which you get from shops or from accepting flights). Although you level up fairly slowly, there's always something to do, as planes are constantly asking for permission to land and a steady stream of missions (mostly of the build x or collect x variety) will keep you busy. After a while it starts to ask you to hassle your friends or spend real cash, but so far -- quite a way in -- there are other ways round this to keep playing if you prefer.

Top 8 Facebook Sim Games
Dirty Dancing

With a remake of the 1987 film in the works (why? why??) and the fact that the Dirty Dancing Facebook fan page has 10 million fans, Lionsgate has decided that now is the perfect time to release a Facebook game based on the original movie. In this sim game, you get to run Kellerman's and try to make it into a successful resort. You buy attractions like dance floors, magicians and hotdog vendors to amuse your guests but the trick is that people will only spend money if they're part of a couple. To get them to hook up, you'll need to strategically drop 'romance waves' which bounce off decorations like topiary dogs, flower beds and duck ponds. You get romance waves from completing quests and by putting on dance shows. You can also buy watermelons which you can exchange for various special items or use to speed the action up. Despite its silly premise, it's actually a pretty solid game and rather addictive as Facebook sims go and is well worth a look if you like that kind of gameplay.

M-Rated Jaws Game on 3DS Has Gore, Killer Shark

Set 35 years after Spielberg's terrifying feature film, Jaws: Ultimate Predator looks to reintroduce the Great White aquatic assassin, and make a whole new generation of gamers afraid to ever go swimming. Seriously, I saw Jaws when I was about six years-old, and you can't pay me to go near water. I don't care how shallow it is; there's at least a 0.001% chance that there's a shark in there just waiting to bite my legs off. And I need those. For, you know, walking and "kicking it" and such.
M-Rated Jaws Game on 3DS Has Gore, Killer Shark

Anyway, Jaws: Unleashed -- to reiterate, an M-rated Jaws game on the 3DS (the Wii iteration is rated "T for Teen," so pshhh to that) will allow players to chomp up swimmers and scuba divers, battle "armed civilians and deadly deep-sea bosses," and essentially re-terrorize Amity Island all over again, leading me to believe that they should really just shut that place down, as it might stop these kinds of things from happening. You'd think, huh? Maybe in a perfect world.

There's no official release date yet, but hey, it's a Jaws game that has a pretty good shot at making us forget about Jaws: Unleashed. Oops, I just remembered it. Well, there's a chance it'll be pretty good regardless.

Everything That’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, Except The Video Game

At New York Comic-Con last week, I found a case full of Star Wars: The Old Republic stuff. Not the video game. The stuff. Books, comics, statues, and even Razer’s Old Republic mouse and headset (apologies for not being sure it was Razer’s in the video. It is!)

So if the December 20 game isn’t enough for you, consider this other stuff for your Old Republic purchases. And for my latest, positive impressions of the game, check out my preview of how the game starts if you play as a Sith Inquisitor.

It’s Modern Sonic’s Turn In The Sonic Generations Demo Spotlight

Classic Sonic got his chance to sell folks on Sonic Generations with his demo back in June. Tomorrow it’s modern Sonic’s time to shine, and he’s a lean, mean, generally screwing things up in 3D machine!

Oh, and classic Sonic is coming along for the ride too.

Back in June Sega treated fans to a small classic taste of what Sonic Generations had in store. Now that the game is only a few weeks away from its November 1 release, Sega is bringing out the big guns. Both modern Sonic and classic Sonic will be playable in the demo hitting Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow and the PlayStation Network October 25, giving the hedgehog faithful a chance to tour around the iconic Green Hill level of the game.

Sega must be feeling really good about this one. It does the heart good, doesn’t it? Let’s hope it doesn’t fall on us tomorrow.

News Yup, Ezio Is In Soulcalibur V

It’s been confirmed tonight that Ezio, star of the last three Assassin’s Creed games, will be making a guest appearance in upcoming fighter Soulcalibur V.

As far as these wacky guest appearances go, he’s…surprisingly tasteful. Appropriate, even, given the series’ loose affiliation with world history and things with sharp edges.

You can check out his debut trailer below.

This Is The Greatest Button-Press In All Of Video Gaming

QTEs, or Quick Time Events, are a way for video games to let the player feel like they’re interacting during a mostly cinematic sequence.

They’re slightly controversial, because many argue they’re barely “gaming” at all; you’re just pressing some buttons while the real action takes place solely on the screen.

There’s no controversy about this QTE, though, found at the end of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. It’s just… awesome.

Portal 2′s Chell Has Never Looked Better

Comics artist Alex Garner whipped this Portal 2 tribute up in his spare time. It feels strange calling it fan art. There should be a better name than that for pieces like this.
As the original image wasn’t in wallpaper dimensions, and it’s so damn pretty people are going to ask, I’ve taken the liberty of putting together a 1920×1080 version, which you can grab here.

Community Kudos

Well, it’s the end of the week, my desk is surrounded by kit-kat wrappers, and that can only mean one thing. It’s time for Community Kudos.

I honestly don’t know why loads of kit-kat wrappers surrounding my desk means it’s time for Community Kudos. It just does. Also, I want more kit-kats.

This week was another beezer. Harli, Dr What and Steve-O the Deve-O put together an absolutely awesome website in order to collect all the great writing work being done by some of the regulars. I think it’s totally your duty to go and check it out. God’s honest truth — I’ve started using this to make sure I keep up with what’s going on in Talk Amongst Yourselves.

Another thing of significance was Chuloopa and his insane Kotaku role playing playing game. As always that Fruit Loops consistently brings the chuckles.

TO THE NOMINATIONS MOBILE…

Strange was totally first in with the nominations, slightly spurned by the fact that last week her nominations got trapped in my spam filter junk mail prison of doom. She nominated Fled, which is (in my humble opinion) an absolutely stellar nom. For those that frequent our now daily Remember This posts, Fled has been creating some pretty creative interpretations. Instead of trying to guess the game, he actually takes that part of the screenshot posted and build a new, totally made-up game around it.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Origin Worlds Preview (Smuggler, Jedi Consular)

Mike Sharkey and Mike Nelson became a Jedi Consular and a Smuggler, respectively, and explored SWTOR's Origin Worlds of Tython and Ord Mantell. See what these two GameSpy editors thought of their early level Republic class adventures.

My XBLA RPG (work in progress, XNA, C#)

I decided to make a blog about the RPG game i am making for XBLA and share some info and progress.

I have the old videos from 1.5 year back and new art (which is actually what will be used in the game, since it is a 2D one), latest updates will go up in the page, i plan to later post this blog in the official website of the game, when i create one.

I would love to get opinions and suggestions of course :)

The game is a RPG, with real time combat like Caste Crashers and many powers/spells/armor etc, a proper story line, completly non inear with complete freedom, party members to reqruit and summon in combat, interactive objects for the adventure part, NPCs with dialogs and quests, a strategic part (which i cant describe right now, but it is fully programmed and taking shape, it is very complicated though) and many more.

----------------UPDATE 27 January 2011------------------------

I tested fraps and works wonders for taking HD movies !!!! Big thanks to AC-Revolution, i can now post a proper video when i have a final combat scene to show, which is not that far away :)

Cant wait to play my RPG on an actual phone device too, the emulator is nice and runs great, but on the real thing is another matter

This is how it would look in real phone, looks about same in the emulator right now, but graphics need adjustment from XBLA version to phone

http://img502.imageshack.us...

I also want to test the virtual stick in real device

I have finally programmed the few top level systems i was missing, like actors that will leave or enter screen properly, NPCs that can follow the hero and proper dialog system for them all in all screens and in presence of multiple other NPCs and some more presentation stuff and now i am looking at the overworld map, planning new quests, combats, bosses and link them to story and quests etc

----------UPDATE January 2011------------

I have ported the game to Windows 7 Phone and runs fine on the emulator (have not tested on real device) and ram usuage is very low, well below the 90MB limit. I have also finished a basic controls system so i can test the game. Of course now i will resume the 360 development.

Unfortunatly none of the custom effect shaders like the bloom, particles and lights i had in 360 work on the phone, so i will have to remake them later

---------UPDADE 28 December 2010-----------

I finally took the huge decision to move my code to XNA 4.0, mainly because i have finished coding all main systems (controls, quests, real time combat, AI, inventory, save/load, interactive items, strategic art etc) and i am in the stage of polishing visuals, adding special effects and polishing/adding to the story/quests/NPCs and testing

All went well, the game is now fully working on XNA4.0, all shader/lighting effects have been remade for the new shader implementations, particles have been fixed too.

The best part is that the new system allows easy dynamic shader use for each sprite, something extremely complicated and hard before in XNA3.

Also for some reason graphics look a lot crisper, i can see the full detail of the art i have created, in game, while in XNA3 i got a slightly more blurry result, for whatever reason.

Another perk is Windows 7 Phone support, which means i could potentially consider a port to phones after the XBLA release.

PS3 OR 360 OR BOTH Part 1

Its a question that gets asked on this site pretty much every day "which console is the best" and to be honest in my opinion its to close to call. On one hand you have the PS3 which is clearly the more powerful console, it has a great roster of games exclusive and multiplat and it has a blu-ray drive which is a huge bonus. On the other hand you have the 360 which also has a great roster of games exclusive and multiplat but doesnt have a blu-ray drive. But the 360 does have xbox live and in my opinion its superiour to Playstation Network in most areas.

Ok so lets do the games first, exclusives wise the PS3 is the console to go with if you thats what decides your purchase. It has some truly stunning games including Uncharted 2, God of War 3, Killzone 2, Heavy Rain and countless others. The 360 on the other hand has exclusives but know where near as much unless you count kinect games which im not because this is about core gaming and which console offers the better service. Yes the 360 has some great exclusives including Halo Reach, forza 3, gears of war, fable, splinter cell, alan wake and a few others that are worth mentioning, the problem is that compared to the ps3 list of exclusives the 360 list looks a little thin. The problem I have is that why would you want to miss out on any of them games, I havnt. I purchased a 360 and ps3, I couldnt resist the temptation either console offers. Its brilliant that ps3 owners get to play there exclusives but why miss out on gears or halo. Alot of them will tell you "there rubbish" but the simple fact is halo is one hell of a game as is gears. So in this area even though the ps3 clearly has the better exclusives I vote both due to the fact that there are great games on both systems not to mention the multi plats like crysis 2, dead space 2 etc.

Another advantage of owning both consoles is that when a multiplat releases you can choose which system you want to play it on for exsample Red dead redemption. The console top play that on was the 360, it was the superiour version where as final fantacy you went with the ps3. With owning both consoles your always playing the best version of the games you like. Surely ps3 owners would have prefered to play the 360 version of the orange box and 360 owners would have preferd to play final fantacy on the ps3. Why settle for second best. Another thing I like about owning both is the fact that there never seems to be a game drought, theres always something new to play.

Microsoft needs to quit next gen

Now that you've calmed down somewhat, I recently read an article in a magazine about Microsoft and it's gaming division. The magazine pretty much says that Microsoft's gaming division made roughly 90% of it's money from game sales, licensing, and XBL. That's a huge percentage, and I feel if it's true Microsoft should get out of the console manufacturing business and become a publisher/developer.

1. Hardware vs. Software

Microsoft has never really had any success developing hardware, simply because they are a software company. No one will argue that the Xbox 360 is the most technical piece of hardware out there. Software is what they're good at and what they should stick with. XBL is the best online gaming service available on consoles. PSN is great and free, but XBL is the better service because of 3 simple things missing from PSN. A Party System, Cross Game Chat, and a mic with every system.

These 3 things make XBL a more lively place then PSN. The PS3 has these features in some games, but leaving it up to the developer to add, instead of having it integrated into the network isn't the best way to do it, unless they can't this gen. Which brings me to the point that MS should sell their service to another platform, and make royalties off of the sell. Who am I kidding sell to Sony, Wii needs it more but oh well.

2. These Bots know how to hype and sell a game.

Microsoft has shown itself to be a capable publisher/developer. As a publisher MS knows what it takes to make itself stand out among the competition. They nabbed up 3rd party devs. to make exclusives for them and many of those games have become financial hits, have garnered critical acclaim, or both. Microsoft is willing to spend money to make money. As a developer the company hasn't been the best we've seen, but they've managed to hold their own against the big boys.

Now for my next point. Microsoft should turn into a video games publisher again straying away from the hardware. MS has the money to bring big developers like Rockstar, Epic, and once Bioware their way to make exclusives titles under their name. Not to mention MS is by far the best at hyping (and sometimes over hyping their games), and as a publisher they'll be able to put on a real show of games at E3 rather than the fiasco we saw at the Kinect party.

3. Kinect

To be honest Kinect has pissed me off. Looking at the line-up for 2011 for Microsoft makes me angry. I love Gears, but dammit that's not enough. So far we have to rely on the 3rd parties to carry us through the beginning of 2011, and hopefully E3 will bring something worth talking about for the hardcore.

Kinect seems to be Microsoft's new bread and butter, and that's fine for a publisher or developer, but as a console manufacture and for your hardcore audience that got you where you are, that's a slap in the face. You could get away with it if you were just a publisher/developer like I previously stated, but as of now you aren't. Kinect could have been something you made for Nintendo as a publisher/developer and made billions on during their next venture, but instead you tried to beat them at their own game, and unfortunately it's not going to happen this gen.

4. Made in the USA

Japan hates you. End of story. There's nothing you can do about it. You should almost 1.5 million consoles there in 5 years. Not a pretty sight. The rest of the world has been more generous, but with the PS3 overtaking you in all other territories while coming out in those markets over a year after you (PS3 didn't hit Europe until March the following year) they proved who they love more.

Again MS games sell great at least in Europe, but hardware while doing good in Europe is another story in Japan. And thanks the the Red Ring of Death crisis you may never get another chance with Japan. But again as a publisher/developer you don't need them.

5. Financially it's a big "NO DUH"

You make most of your money on games and on XBL. Consoles were making money, but the RROD replacement plan cut into that, along with maintenance from keeping XBL running. If you sell XBL maintenance is no longer your problem, you just sit back and collect, and make updates, and a better version to sell to them next time. Games bring you pure revenue, consoles are a risk plus they unnecessarily split the market cutting into your sales. As it's been stated over and over again, multiplat titles sell more thanks to a larger audience if there's only one hardcore system you don't have to worry about it, so you can make money off of that system.

So as you can see I don't want Microsoft to go anywhere. I just want them to stop making consoles, so my money can go to the best part of their business, the games and services. I think Microsoft is a much better Publisher/Developer than it is a console maker. I don't think they have hardware down just yet. Don't get me wrong they've done an excellent job keeping the 360 afloat, but that ship needs more than a flotation device, and MS unlike Sony and even Nintendo aren't willing to take that chance to try something bold and new. MS can also continue to make money selling some peripherals since a lot of people like the Xbox controller (keep the shape and size, just relabel the buttons). MS came into this business with the hope of taking over, or getting it's fair share, but their venture has been so up and down, I can't see the execs. being too happy with the way things are going, but if they became a publisher/developer then it would all be smooth sailing for EVERYONE (MS and gamers).

My 2011 Gaming Predictions

Here comes another cliché prediction list. I took some time to go over 4 predictions I have for the coming year, and let me know if you think I'm crazy, or to share any of your predictions. (Sorry in advance for the wall of text, but you have headers and paragraphs to help you out.)

1) The Last Guardian will be delayed to Spring 2012:

It's well known that Sony's exclusive lineup for 2011 is killer. The beginning of the year starts off with LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, and infamous 2. The problem is that the fall is crowded with exclusives and other big-name multiplatform titles. Resistance 3 comes in September and Uncharted 3 drops a bomb in November, which is also packed with The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and another Call of Duty. Jaffe tweeted that Twisted Metal will release before December, and Insomniac has a history of releasing their Ratchet & Clank games in October/November too.

But where does that leave The Last Guardian? It's still a relatively niche title and won't cater to the mainstream like a Call of Duty or Uncharted. Most likely, soccer moms won't go to Walmart to pick up this artsy game for Christmas for little Johnny. The timing just doesn't seem right for Sony to try and win big with this title. I think it will be pushed a few months and released in the first or second quarter of 2012, and the Team Ico Collection will come in July or August of 2011 instead of the predicted "Spring." I don't foresee a difference in the number of copies of The Last Guardian sold if it releases in the spring instead of the holiday time.

2) Halo: CE HD/Remake will come in 2011:

Yes, I know, this is not a very original prediction. But with Bungie officially fulfilling their Halo obligation and moving on to multiplatform developing, Microsoft needs something to continue the Halo brand. It's not practical to expect a full-fledged Halo 4 next year because Microsoft has a brand new developer, 343 Industries, and they like to build at least 1-2 years of hype before their Halo releases. What better way to test out a new developer then to remaster the best Halo using the Reach engine during Halo’s 10 year anniversary? They could add Xbox Live multiplayer support and achievements, as well as some sort of internet community site similar to Bungie.net so users can share their pics, videos, and played games. We've all had our epic split screen moments on Halo: CE and wished we could share them for others to see, and maybe now is the chance.

3) Wii HD/ Wii 2 will be revealed first:

The current generation of consoles has been on the market for sometime, and some of them are starting to show their age. Microsoft just launched Kinect, and as their new focus, I can't imagine them refreshing the hardware anytime soon. The disc-drive, HD graphics, or online capabilities are not holding back Kinect games or applications, so it doesn't make financial sense to invest in an improved platform after sinking $500 million into the development and marketing of Kinect. The Playstation 3 is hitting its stride and already has secured the media format that will dominate the living room for the next 10 years. The hardware is currently profitable or break-even for Sony, so it doesn't make financial sense to invest in a new machine. I think Sony will be the last to launch their PS4.

And that leaves the Wii, and the much-fabled Wii HD (thanks Pachter!). I don't think Nintendo would refresh the Wii and only add 720p and 1080i/p support. The vast majority of the Wii audience isn't clamoring for HD, or probably even knows that their current machine is 480p capable, or what that even means. Instead, I see Nintendo innovating with the controller and how the user inputs data into the machine. They have innovated in the past by making touch-screens standard with the DS, using motion controls and balance boards for the Wii, and now with the 3DS. I think E3 2011 will give us more insight into their revolutionary plans for expanding the video game genre, with new hardware coming fall of 2012.

4) Agent, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and the vaporware category:

These are some of the most wished for games, but never seem to progress or have any new information released about them. I'm going to predict if we'll hear any information or a release for these titles in this upcoming year.

Agent - Originally revealed at Sony’s 2009 E3 conference, nothing else has been heard about this game. I think Sony will mention the game at their E3 conference, but will not show a trailer. However, I think it will be finally unveiled at the 2011 VGA’s, and have a late 2012 or early 2013 release date. I think it will launch as exclusive, but eventually will make its way over to the Xbox 360.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII - I am not an expert on Japanese games or developers, but apparently more information will be revealed about this game in January 2011 at the Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference, and a playable build for the public at E3. I think this game will be exclusive to the PS3 in Japan, and multiplatform everywhere else, similar to the launch of FF XIII. The game will release in Spring/Summer 2012.

Halo 4 - 343 Industries finally shows an announcement trailer this summer at E3, and the game will release Fall 2013. This has potential to be an Xbox 3 launch title, depending on when, or if, Microsoft delivers a hardware successor.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 - I didn't forget about you PC guys. Valve's website lists 1 game, Portal 2, in development for 2011. They definitely have more things up their sleeve, and I think 2011 will finally be the year for the Half-Life franchise. Expect a formal announcement this year.

Wii Vitality Sensor - This goes along with my 3rd prediction above. I think this will be incorporated into the next hardware revision for the Wii, instead of as a stand-alone peripheral.

Kingdom Hearts 3 - Nothing is known about this, and has never been confirmed to be in existence. 2011 will not bring any news about this, but gamers will eventually get the game in 2013. A Kingdom Hearts HD Collection will release in 2012.

Amazon's "Console Buying Guide"

I just so happened to be on amazon.com looking for something to buy (lol I have nothing better to do a 1:00 am).

But to the point. I came across a page that explains the pros and cons of each console called "Console Buying Guide". There are 6 videos each about 1:30 (1 minute and 30 seconds) long. Each video covers a different aspect of the consoles.

1- Overview
2- Controllers
3- Cost
4- Performance & Graphics
5- Game Selection
6- Online & Multimedia

The thing is how surprising simple and accurate the videos represent each console. They state the negatives of each console, but they keep the focus on highlighting the positives of each console. Each category is represented perfectly in that short span of time they have. I only have concerns over the controller section and Game selection sections.

The controller section shows the standard controllers off well, but they practically skim over PS Move and Kinect. And during the game selection they represent the PS3 perfect, but the Wii games aren't shown off as well, and the Xbox 360 only get Halo as a nod.

Other than that, this is by far the best way to show some uninformed individual each consoles and let them make their decision. Anyway I thought this was neat, and nice of them to d

Casual Gamers are destroying the industry

Zephyrnix takes a look at casual gamers and their effect on the current gaming generation. In order to do this, we need to take a look at the history of gaming and how we got to this point…

March Contest Winners

With April 1 safely behind us I think I can safely post the winners of March's contests without anyone worrying that it's a cruel joke! Here we go...

Winner of our LOYAL READER LOTTERY...

Abash!!

Abash wins their choice of a PS3 Slim or Xbox 360 Slim!! Congratulations and thank you for visiting N4G so faithfully!

Congratulations to the winners of the March FORUM LOTTERY:

WhiteNoise
TheLastGuardian

You each have a choice of a copy of Killzone 3, Bulletstorm or Dragon Age 2!

Congratulations to the winners of the March CONTRIBUTOR CONTEST:

1. BIoodmask, $250
2. mezzo,
 $150
3. Kors, $50
4. Nineball2112, $50
5. SpaceSquirrel, $50

You'll all hear from me soon so we can get you your prizes!

For information on April's contests (and how to win a 3DS): http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...

young7yang (User) Member 5 bubbles 5 in CRank Score: 23430 "" PM Add as friend Track Ignore Report Moon Diver PS3 Play Through

Wassup everyone!

This is a really cool game a true blast from the past in the multi-player format. If any of you remember classics like Rockman x4 and Strider you will be right at home with this game. In any-case check out the play-through and let me know what you think.

My take on Crysis 2 for the PS3

What a ride this game was. I am very pleased to have played it, while not as good as the first it holds its own very well. I know there are a lot of people comparing this game to the PC and 360 versions of this game but ill tell you right off the bat don't. I'v played the PC version of Crysis 1 at full specs and while the PS3 version doesnt look as good, It still holds it's own. A highly recomemded game that every PS3 owner should own or at least rent.

In any case check out the video and let me know what you think of this game. ( sorry in advance as the sound quality is not the best but it should give you a good idea)

Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says

Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.

Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.

Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.

Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.

Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.

It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.

PS Pass complaints and Resistance 3 - Rational responses to complaints

As many of you probably know Sony has announced its very own PS pass which is going to be implemented into some first party games. In short this is very similar to THQs or Ubisoft online pass, to play multiplayer a code has to be activated this comes with the game when buying new but you have to pay for this pass if you have a second hand copy *gasp*

Yes this is the issue that has been getting so many people whining. So lets go over a few things and look at this rationally to why this is not such a huge crisis. Starting with Resistance 3 in which this pass system is being started with here are a few things that I feel need clearing up or just explaining to some people about this. It is all my opinion but a rational outlook and any comments and corrections or your own opinions just comment after reading I'll reply asap

1) Boycotting. So lets start with some comments about Resistance 3 I've seen things like "if they don't get rid of this I wont be buying" this is a pointless boycott. Let me redefine the point that you only will need a pass if your buying it second hand, when buying new its no different than buying every other game and wont cost any extra. That leaves people who are planning to buy day 1 or just new no reason to boycott and those who were planning to buy second hand and now don't want to because of the online pass will actually have no effect what so ever. If people believe boycotting buying second hand games will somehow convince Sony to stop this pass then there going to be sorely mistaken. Therefore I don't see how people are going to boycott R3.

2) Tank/Flop. My second point is also based on a comment I read this one was suggesting that Resistance 3 will actually tank and suffer purely based off of this PS pass. As mentioned before buying new doesn't effect the price of the game and requires minimal extra effort, it may discourage second hand sales but that's not going to make R3 tank or flop as second hand sales aren't counted and don't actually give the developer money anyway. The comment did suggest also that people wont buy the game new because they wont be able to sell it later because of this pass. While this is quite an indirect worry it could happen if stores will not buy the game off you. However I don't see how they wont, a game store deals in games, chances are the store clerk may not even know about the pass system time will tell on this one but again I don't see the masses doing this

3) Milking gamers. Another general idea going round is that this is just another way for a big company to make more money out of us gamers. While this part is actually kinda true in the fact that us gamers will be paying a bit more money its for the benefit of the online service being given to us. The same reason why people argue that Xbox Live is better than PSN. This way more money go to the developers as they actually get something from second hand sales. I don't think the companies are doing this just because they can but because its a more financially viable business model that allows for these big budget games

4) Blame. This one is directly related to R3 and Insonamniac games as the article that caused this blog was one where they were taking a lot of hits from gamers because of this and its totally unjust. It's Sony's idea and even they shouldn't be blamed as its a trend in the market and a lot of online games now have a similar thing (and are receiving a fair amount of hate on there own) but whining and complaining is not helping

5) Principle. So here I actually agree with others when annoyed about this part, the principle of buying a game and then having to pay to do everything on it. This is annoying but unfortunately how it goes with several things, hell if I could pay for the online only for certain games I would but it doesn't work like that. I cant defend this one so much but it is for the benefit of the developers and not just greed

Hope this has helped balance and cleared up a few things about the PS pass and this is a open site so comments and debates are encouraged but keep it mature if you can and thanks for reading

Most Anticipated game of the Year?

Guess what the most anticipated game of the year for many gamers including myself.

It is the sequel to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and is a massive RPG game with many fans just crying in agony of having to wait for the next sequel.

If you havent guessed what the game im talking about is, It is the Elder scrolls V: SkYRIM!

I personally CAN NOT WAIT. Oblivion is good but Skyrim is going to be better in every game from every little detail to an unscripted dragon that can attack you at any time. Skyrim will include so many features and the aim of the producers game was to let the players 'run wild' and do whatever they want in the fantasy world of Tamriel. There are so many features from fishing to marriage. Cant wait. 11-11-11 feels like such a long time away.

Kinect is the future. Keyword here is future.

If you watched Iron Man then at least once you have talked about how cool his lab was in his house. Remember the screens that appeared in the air as hollograms and how all of his movements manipulated them? I do too and it was fricken awesome.

Two years ago Microsoft introduced us to their new controller. You. A camera that lets you control the screen with your body? What is this insane technology? Lacking. Now that it has launched most core gamers or people over the age of 15 will say the same. And why may you ask. Well let me tell you. The technology for it isn't there. Yes it works and it's simple but it hasn't been developed far enough to be useful in any way. Many people may disagree with me and even go as far as to say that This technology will die only to sit in the closet of thousands of gamers' homes. But it won't. You know why? Hollograms. Going back to Iron Man and his computer it was a hollogram. Imagine turning on your computer and surrounding you is all of your icons floating in a circle. You say open pictures but then you notice your pictures are too small so you open up your arms wide and make them look huge. Now would it be useful then? Hell yes. Would it be the coolest thing on the planet? Yes again.

So there you have it. The key to Microsofts success is to hold off. If they can make it so it was intuitive and broke the boundries of a standard television (even with 3D technology perhaps since hollograms are still a far off dream) then they'll have something really great. Untill then I don't think Kinect will be entering my home any time soon.

Angry Birds for PC

Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.

Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.

Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.



Angry Birds for PC


Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.

In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.

Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.

You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.

This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.

Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.

Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7



Free Angry Birds for PC

Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer

Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.

Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.

During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.

Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made.  This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
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      - Angry Birds PC Updated

      The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!

      As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy  you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there  who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.

BBCW launches CBeebies games app

Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.

CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.

Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.

Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.

She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”

More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.

Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says

Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.

Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.

Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.

Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.

Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.

It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.

Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63

New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb

Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.

The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!

Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!

Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!

Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!

Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!

Have Fun!

Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!

Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!

Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games

A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.

According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games.  A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son.  Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.

In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession.  They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after.  The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.

Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.

They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.

When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”

Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.

Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones

The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.

Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.

According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.

Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.

Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.

A release outside of Japan has not been announced.

Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia

Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.

Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.

Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.

TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.

The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.

Social game makers Gree, DeNA to take spotlight at Tokyo Game Show

Social games will go toe to toe with the hardcore scene at this year's Tokyo Game Show, Reuters reports. Gree, the 26 million player-strong mobile and social games creator hailing from Japan, will have one of the largest booths at Japan's equivalent of E3 this year, according to Reuters. In fact, both Gree and its competitor DeNA will conduct keynote addresses at the event, which runs Sept. 15 through 18.

Reuters reports that several game companies aside from DeNA and Gree, including famed creator of games like Contra and Castlevania (some of the most hardcore franchises around) Konami, are shifting resources toward social games. While the biggest Japanese games company, Nintendo, lags behind as it continues to focus on games created deliberately to take advantage of its hardware. Unfortunately, that hasn't been working out so well for the company as of late.

"Nintendo has done some pretty awful things - no software, poor pricing, poor PR, no sign of a sustainable turnaround, software support dropping like flies," JP Morgan analyst Hiroshi Kamide told Reuters, referring to the failed 3DS launch (and resultant massive price drop).

On the other hand, competitor Konami recently welcomed over 10 million players to its social games. "You can make serious returns with social games in Japan if done well - and that is exactly what they have done," Kamide said to Reuters about Konami.

Both DeNA (which enjoys 3 million more monthly players than its rival) and Gree have major ambitions of becoming global competitors in the social games space to companies like Zynga and EA, which have blazed the trail for Facebook and mobile social game in the western world. Just this past year, both Gree and DeNA made huge purchases to make global headway in the space with mobile social game network OpenFeint and mobile games developer Ngmoco, respectively.

Just as some social game makers invaded this year's E3 event in the states, it looks like the ballooning sub genre will fill up the streets of Tokyo this week, too. Whether the two companies will fill the conference halls with hot air has yet to be seen. But considering Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley analyst Masato Araki expects Japan's social games industry to grow to about 400 billion yen ($5.1 billion) by 2013 from 106 billion yen in 2011, according to Reuters, you can bet everyone will be all ears.

Do you think Gree and DeNA will have some new, interesting things to say about social games at this year's TGS? How do you think traditional Japanese gaming companies will respond? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Very Good Grief: Snoopy's Street Fair is Charlie Brown's iPhone debut

Nope, no dogfights between Snoopy and The Red Baron just yet. And based on the title of Beeline Interactive's (Capcom's mobile games arm) iPhone game surrounding The Peanuts, Snoopy's Street Fair, we doubt there will be any. But that's OK, because based on these brand new screens that were just released, it looks like the game might be a hoot regardless.

It appears that this freemium iPhone game adaptation of the iconic comic strip (and don't forget those ABC specials!) will take the property management approach in its homage to Snoopy and the gang. It looks like players will guide Charlie Brown as he builds a bustling street fair from scratch, adding new booths, carnival games and kitschy attractions to level up.

Basically, judging from these images, Snoopy's Street Fair won't be a far cry from one of the studio's first releases under Capcom, Smurfs' Village. Players will be given hints or quests on how to advance their little fairs from supporting characters in the Peanuts world like Peppermint Patty through classic phone call gags. If you notice, the characters still don't own cell phones, a welcome touch of authenticity to the world Charles Schulz created.

Gallery: Snoopy's Street Fair on iPhone
In fact, the entire game embodies the late and great cartoonist's artwork so well, that it looks like one of Sunday's Peanuts strips come to life. In addition to running their fair, players will partake in mini games like roasting marshmallows against a timer to sate Snoopy's sweet tooth. According to Capcom, Snoopy's Street Fair is slated for a November release. So, hopefully by then Beeline can somehow squeeze in a mini game involving Snoopy piloting his dog house ... somehow.

Are you psyched for Snoopy and the gang's iPhone game debut? Are you interested in how the game is looking to play out so far--a property management game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Why are we so hooked on Angry Birds? It's science [Infographic]

We already know that Rovio and its Angry Birds are poised to do battle with Zynga for global gaming domination. The iPhone-game-turned-everywhere-game has become millions' preferred time-waster on the run. But there's one thing we just can't seem to put our finger on: Why? An infographic put together by Ask Your Target Marketing attempts to answer this question with two forms of science (though, the latter of which is debatable in some circles): psychology and sociology.

But before we get into that, some basics. According to 1,000 surveyed Angry Birds players, men are 35 percent more likely to buy Angry Birds than women, and 18 to 24-year-olds are 33 percent more likely to buy the game than those 25 or older. Here's an interesting finding: gamers collectively play Angry Birds an average of 200 million minutes per day--that amounts to 16 collective years of flinging agitated avian creatures every hour of every day.

While just 15 percent of players feel addicted to the game often when playing and an even smaller 13 percent say they feel addicted always, a whopping 54 percent say they feel addicted occasionally. OK, so we get it: We're hooked by their angry talons. Now, how in the world did this happen? Simply put, it makes us feel good.

Out of 1,000 people who played Angry Birds 25 or more times, 32 percent of them felt "somewhat relaxed" after an Angry Birds session, while 23 percent said to have felt "very relaxed" after launching the birds into the amorphous green pigs. But generally speaking, 58 percent of Angry Birds players reported their mood to be improved after playing the game, while 37 percent said their mood was unchanged.

This is thanks to an amazing strange little thing called dopamine, which our brains put out on overdrive in anticipation of reward, according to the infographic. This massive release of dopamine makes us want to know just what will happen after letting that next bird careen into some wooden planks.

For 12 percent of players, the addiction has been so bad that they were forced to delete the game from their phones, while another 12 percent have merely considered that drastic measure as an option. The other 76 percent just keep playing, apparently. Good idea, you not-so-jovial bird junkies. Find the full infographic below, and click it to make it larger.

[Via Scribbal]

[Image Credit: ThinkGeek]

Are you hooked on Angry Birds? Do you think this infographic does a good enough job of explaining why you're addicted to the game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Angry Birds infographic

BringIt puts games in your Facebook games, so you can ... gamble?

If you're the type who enjoys wasting their money gambling, have we got some news for you. In select Facebook games by CrowdStar, East Side Games, Sometrics and Mall World, you can wager your hard-earned, paid game currency with your friends in custom mini games by BringIt. A real-time transactional platform for social games, BringIt announced that its head-to-head competitions for virtual currency are now available in games from these developers.

According to BringIt, 8 million players have participated in these mini games within their favorite social games, and the asynchronous, head-to-head competitions will increase their number of daily players to 2.1 million. Players can wager any amount of virtual currency they choose, and post challenges to multiple friends at once. These challenges are sent to players who then can respond with their own wagers and post their scores in said games--the winner takes all.

For instance, Happy Aquarium fans can now challenge each other in a game of match-three, Aqua Blast, which is strikingly similar to Bejeweled. Using speed and various power ups, players must score as many points as possible in 60 seconds after wagering so many Pearls (the game's paid currency). Then, players can post that score to whomever's News Feed that they challenged.

If a friend responds with a wager of Pearls and a score that beats the challenger's score, they win whatever the challenger wagered. If the friend happens to score less than what the challenger did, then whoever posted the challenge wins whatever amount of Pearls that the loser wagered.

Payments are said to be posted automatically, but as of Sept. 11, there have been issues with the speed of payment, though BringIt is cataloging all payments to ensure that all winnings are met with payments. (At least this applies to Happy Aquarium.) Other BringIt partners like East Side Games, have different BringIt-powered mini games such as Gold Rush in Pot Farm.

Developers like East Side Games hope to make lots of dough from this form of in-game gambling. BringIt claims that the novelty of wagering paid currency could turn more freeloading social gamers into ones that pay up to play. And we guess it's all kosher, because the money at stake isn't "real" money. Though, if you paid for it with real cash originally, it kind of is, no?

Would you ever gamble wager your hard-earned Pearls or other paid currency in these mini games by BringIt? What are your thoughts on online wagering, generally speaking? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments

NBA Legend creator Lionside bought out by Ngmoco [Updated]

Update: An ngmoco spokesperson confirmed the news to ISG: "We can confirm that ngmoco has acquired the Lionside team. The terms of the agreement are undisclosed. We are very excited to have Lionside join the ngmoco and DeNA family. They are working on new products for the Mobage social gaming platform, bringing their passion and experience to our continuously expanding first party development capabilities."

Neither side seems to want anyone to know about it just yet, but signs are pointing toward a buyout in the works between ngmoco and Lionside. Inside Social Games reports that, according to numerous Lionside employee Linkedin pages, a shuttered website, an inactive Twitter account and Facebook games that simply aren't operational, ngmoco may have acquired the San Francisco-based company.

A tipster pointed ISG toward the Linkedin pages of Lionside VP of Business Operations Michael McBride and European Account Manager Kane Curran, both of which read that Lionside has been acquired by ngmoco. Not to mention that Lionside CEO Brandon Barber's Google+ profile reads, "Lionside & ngmoco marketing and product guy."

To add to the mountain of evidence that Lionside has potentially been acquired by ngmoco, the company's official website has been taken down. And neither NBA Legend nor Lionside Football are available to play, the former of which is "being enhanced," according to a page that has replaced the actual game on Facebook.

Unfortunately, both games have been performing poorly, garnering a mere total of just over 367,000 monthly players, according to AppData. So, this begs the question: If Lionside has been acquired by ngmoco, just what would the studio be up to in its new capacity? Ngmoco, since it was purchased by Japanese social gaming giant DeNA earlier this year, has been working diligently on a global version of the publisher's Mobage mobile social games network, which was just released for Android.

So, our best guess is that Lionside would be working on mobile social games to be played on the Mobage network, though it doesn't seem that Lionside has ever worked in mobile games as a company (official information from the company is unavailable at the moment). We've contacted Lionside for comment.

Are you convinced that ngmoco has purchased Lionside? What do you think or hope the studio will do for ngmoco and DeNA as a result? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

Zoo World creator RockYou's Jonathan Knight leaves for Zynga

And there goes another. Inside Social Games reports that Jonathan Knight (pictured), former SVP of Games at RockYou, has left the company for Zynga. The company's--best known for Zoo World--CEO Lisa Marino confirmed the move. Before his departure, Knight oversaw the acquisitions of studios like 3 Blokes, which just launched Galactic Allies, and Playdemic of Gourmet Ranch fame.

"We hired [Knight] to help us build out a portfolio of great products and he's done the job," Marino told ISG. "We have built a strong team of talent through a careful hiring process, our Studio Partners program, and acquisitions over the past year. The departure of Jonathan will not impact our game development pipeline or our plans to continue to launch quality titles."

Knight has a deep history in the games business, coming to RockYou from veteran publisher EA as VP and executive VP for nine years. During that time, Knight oversaw major releases like entries in The Sims series and The Simpsons Game. In fact, ISG recalls that Knight was brought in to help RockYou transform from a social app developer into a social game creator.

The move happens just as RockYou prepares to launch Cloudforest Expedition on Facebook with designer John Romero's Loot Drop. Knight joins a number of major video game execs that have flocked to Zynga in the past year, many of which coming from EA. The company's CCO Jeff Schappert recently left for Zynga, who was then followed by NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell and EA Play exec Jeff Karp. We've contacted Zynga for comment as to what Knight might be up to with the company.

What do you think of Knight's move from RockYou to Zynga? What are your thoughts on RockYou's stable of Facebook games thus far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

CrowdStar CEO: We want to create a game that reaches a billion people

The question is, however, can it be done? Speaking at this week's HTML5 Dev Conference in San Francisco, YouWeb chairman and CrowdStar--It Girl, anyone?--CEO Peter Relan (obviously not pictured) said, "We want to create the game that reaches a billion people." VentureBeat reports that the general consensus of the event was that HTML5 is the future of social and mobile gaming.

HTML5 is a web-based coding language that, in theory, will allow game creators to develop a single game that could be played across multiple devices through web browsers without a change in the experience. Currently, however, HTML5 isn't looking so hot as a gaming platform--HTML5 games aren't as sophisticated yet as even FarmVille on iPhone--but it's gaining steam.

"We sense that web 3.0 is here," Relan said during a panel at the conference. "Mobile devices will get to six billion people. They will become pervasive. We greatly overestimate what we can do with a technology in two years, and greatly underestimate what we can do in 10 years." Relan is confident that, from arcade-style games, HTML5 games will evolve into more complex experiences, citing games on the iPhone as an example.

And Relan shares this sentiment with a number of folks in the space. Rovio marketing exec Peter Vesterbacka has already mentioned his company's goals of reaching 1 billion players with the Angry Birds franchise. Even EA CEO John Riccitiello sees his company topping 1 billion players worldwide. And the mighty Zynga, despite being less than bullish on this whole dang-fangled HTML5 thing, is rumored to be working with Facebook on its not-so-secret Project Spartan.

But wait a tick--we're talking 1 billion players of a single game, no? To do that, it's going to take not only the right technology, but a game with enough widespread appeal to hit critical mass. If anything, the number one challenge game creators will face in this effort isn't whether it is possible, but whether they can craft characters that folks of any background can fall in love with.

Do you think any of these companies could create a game that will reach 1 billion players or downloads? What do you think it will take to accomplish such a feat. Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

FarmVille Pic of the Day: FeketeV's towering oak

Folks, just a few more hours and we'll be smooth sailing on weekend waves; it's a beautiful thing. But perhaps just as beautiful is today's featured farm, designed by the one and only FeketeV. This splendid FarmVille design takes a simple concept and makes it wonderful.

FeketeV clearly set out to make their farm into a tree. Simple. But folks, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that if one of us had attempted to design a tree farm, it definitely would not have looked this good. The detail is incredible, you almost forget there is a FarmVille farm plot underneath it all. From the shading on the trunk to the azure hay bale skies of deepest summer in the background, this farm is a masterpiece. The overlapping and cascading trees create a natural, organic effect that really makes this farm special.

What do you guys think of FeketeV's tree farm?

If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!

Empires & Allies: Play Adventure World, score a Red Vampire Jet

The cross promotions for Adventure World, Zynga's brand new giant Facebook game from Zynga Boston, have officially exploded. After taking tours through both CityVille and Mafia Wars, Empires & Allies players can now score their own limited edition item, the Red Vampire Jet, for giving the new game a ride. All you need to do is long into E&A and click on an icon of a red plane on the right of your game screen.

Once you click this, click on the button to jump into Adventure World. You have until Oct. 6 to reach Level 6 in the massive game to score the item. Since the item won't be given to players until that date, we're unsure as to what it does. But our best guess is that it will be an aerial military unit. And it looks quite interesting with a very "seaplane" look to it.

Before the bevy of cross promotions, Adventure World wasn't doing so hot. But now, after diligent in-game advertisements like these, Zynga Boston's debut has reached over 29.5 million monthly players, and it looks to soon topple E&A, according to AppData. Oh, and the fact that the game will soon be thoroughly branded with Indiana Jones will certainly help that growth. Things are on the up and up for Adventure World, and the team already looks to capitalize on this critical mass.

Are you going to play Adventure World for this new item? What do you think of the cross promotions in Zynga's games overall? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Adventure World Mountain Chase Expedition: Everything you need to know As we told you yesterday, a trio of new Expeditions have launched in Adventure World, being triggered by the upcoming appearance of Indiana Jones in the game. First came the Great River Expedition, and now, we'll take a look at the second of two: The Mountain Chase. This particular Expedition requires you to have 400 Supplies and two each of Foods, Fuel and Water. You'll have a period of three days to finish this entire Expedition, which contains three quests to complete. The story of this Expedition sees you gathering a rubbing from a second Standing Stone. However, you'll have competition for this stone, as a group of thieves have taken it, and you'll need to get it back. Let's get started! Let the Chase Begin! * Collect the First Stone Piece * Collect Second Stone Piece * Use the Stone Base * Take a Rubbing of the Standing Stone This quest is the main, overall quest for this particular Expedition, and it requires you to collect the various pieces of the stone, which has been broken up. You'll go through the thieves' campsites searching through boxes that may contain stone pieces, but not all of them do. There's no skill involved in this setup, but there will be some trial and error, so keep that in mind. While the first piece is held in a box, the second is held by a snake at the end of the path. The Stone Base is back at the beginning of the map. Sweethearts and Sweet Tooths * Collect 3 Cocoa * Collect 12 Sugar * Use Cooking Fires to Bake 3 Brownies * Collect 3 Brownies If anything, your research teammate Emily is definitely demanding. Just like in the Great River Expedition, you're sent on what might as well be a while goose chase by Emily in this Expedition as well, as she asks you to gather cooking ingredients for brownies that she can use to "woo her beau." Cocoa is found growing from large trees, while you can ask your friends to send you the sugar. The Cooking Fires are found inside the thieves campsites, and you'll just need to click on them when you have the proper ingredients to make the brownies. Take Their Stuff * Collect 7 Backpacks * Collect 4 Maps In this Expedition, you can think of Backpacks and Maps as though they were Red and Jade Vases. That is, they're scattered throughout the map, often blocked by pieces of debris, and by collecting them, you'll apparently learn more about the identity of these thieves. When you've finally retrieved the pieces of the Standing Stone and have finished these other two goals, you will have completely finished the Mountain Chase Expedition. Indy still has one more job for you though, before he makes a true appearance, so keep checking back with us for more guides on completing that Expedition and more in the future! Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here. What do you think of the Mountain Chase Expedition? Do you think these "Emily-based" quests have any point of being in the game, or do you like the variety they add? Sound off in the comments.

As we told you yesterday, a trio of new Expeditions have launched in Adventure World, being triggered by the upcoming appearance of Indiana Jones in the game. First came the Great River Expedition, and now, we'll take a look at the second of two: The Mountain Chase. This particular Expedition requires you to have 400 Supplies and two each of Foods, Fuel and Water. You'll have a period of three days to finish this entire Expedition, which contains three quests to complete.

The story of this Expedition sees you gathering a rubbing from a second Standing Stone. However, you'll have competition for this stone, as a group of thieves have taken it, and you'll need to get it back. Let's get started!

Let the Chase Begin!

    * Collect the First Stone Piece
    * Collect Second Stone Piece
    * Use the Stone Base
    * Take a Rubbing of the Standing Stone


This quest is the main, overall quest for this particular Expedition, and it requires you to collect the various pieces of the stone, which has been broken up. You'll go through the thieves' campsites searching through boxes that may contain stone pieces, but not all of them do. There's no skill involved in this setup, but there will be some trial and error, so keep that in mind. While the first piece is held in a box, the second is held by a snake at the end of the path. The Stone Base is back at the beginning of the map.


Sweethearts and Sweet Tooths

    * Collect 3 Cocoa
    * Collect 12 Sugar
    * Use Cooking Fires to Bake 3 Brownies
    * Collect 3 Brownies


If anything, your research teammate Emily is definitely demanding. Just like in the Great River Expedition, you're sent on what might as well be a while goose chase by Emily in this Expedition as well, as she asks you to gather cooking ingredients for brownies that she can use to "woo her beau." Cocoa is found growing from large trees, while you can ask your friends to send you the sugar. The Cooking Fires are found inside the thieves campsites, and you'll just need to click on them when you have the proper ingredients to make the brownies.

Take Their Stuff

    * Collect 7 Backpacks
    * Collect 4 Maps


In this Expedition, you can think of Backpacks and Maps as though they were Red and Jade Vases. That is, they're scattered throughout the map, often blocked by pieces of debris, and by collecting them, you'll apparently learn more about the identity of these thieves.

When you've finally retrieved the pieces of the Standing Stone and have finished these other two goals, you will have completely finished the Mountain Chase Expedition. Indy still has one more job for you though, before he makes a true appearance, so keep checking back with us for more guides on completing that Expedition and more in the future!

Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of the Mountain Chase Expedition? Do you think these "Emily-based" quests have any point of being in the game, or do you like the variety they add? Sound off in the comments.

The Sims Social Summer Blowout Week decor shows its pearly whites

With a freebie frenzy of sorts and a new feature in Land Expansions, Playfish has been rather busy with The Sims Social. Just recently, the team released a number of new summer-themed items in its Summer Blowout Week to ring out the brightest season ... again.

At any rate, there are quite a few items to check out both for Simoleons and SimCash. But we're going to focus on the decorations, so moving right along:

LuxLite Wonder

    * Costs: 8 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,200


Sunflower

    * Costs: 9 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,500
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Lemonade For All

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 350


Contempo Chair

    * Costs: 14 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,050


Basix Lounger

    * Costs: 450 Simoleons
    * House Value: 300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


Twisted Topiary

    * Costs: 15 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,200
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Heart Topiary     SolTrain Gazebo     LuxLite Lamp

Contempo Table

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800


Stunning Palm

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800
    * Fun: 3
    * Social: 3


ArchPine Chair

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 650


Star Parasol Rose/Pale

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 650


Heart Topiary

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Contempo Bench

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700


Lizard Lounger

    * Costs: 800 Simoleons
    * House Value: 700
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1



SolTrain Lounger

    * Costs: 29 SimCash
    * House Value: 4,300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


ArchPine Table

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,100


Contempo Lux

    * Costs: 35 SimCash
    * House Value: 5,150


Sunflower     Font of all Awesome     Pale Star Parasol

ArchPine Bench

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,300


Mini Palm

    * Costs: 1,350 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,450
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Aquatix Thrill

    * Costs: 55 SimCash
    * House Value: 8,150


Atlas Fountain

    * Costs: 1,750 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,650


Font of All Awesome

    * Costs: 2,250 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,800


Spheres Topiary

    * Level 23 Required
    * House Value: 3,250
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Dolphin Topiary

    * Costs: 4,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 3,400
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Elephant Topiary

    * Costs: 6,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 4,650
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Air and Air Pool

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 9,500
    * Fun: 19
    * Sleep: 11



While a majority of these item unfortunately cost SimCash, a good amount of them go for Simoleons. The best bang for your buck? I'd recommend going for any of the topiaries to give your House Value an instant boost. Also, keep in mind that a number of new wall and floor patterns were added, too, most of which cost Social Points. So, keep visiting your friends if you want to change the overall palette of your Sim's home.

[Image Credit: Playfish]

Have you snapped up any of these summer items? What type of decor are you hoping for next in The Sims Social? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment

Enrique Iglesias says, 'I Like How It Feels' in CityVille, visits next week

CityVille Enrique Iglesias
Man, why can't an act like Metallica crash CityVille? Oh, excuse my inner metal head, but you ladies out there are gonna' love this one: Zynga has announced that Grammy-winning pop star Enrique Iglesias is coming to its top Facebook game. Starting next week on Oct. 4, players will get the chance to help Mr. Iglesias kick off his recently-launched Euphoria Tour in-game.

Once Enrique lands in CityVille--and if you're over Level 6--you will be graced by his digitized presence in the game. But there' far more to this promotion than just clicking on the guy to hear witty sayings: Players will be able to collect various items fond to Enrique to score a thematic speed boat and Miami high-rise to place in their cities. The event will run through Oct. 10, and there is a grand finale in store for Enrique fans.
Enrique Iglesias in CityVille
Toward the end of the event, you will have the chance to build Enrique his very own Euphoria Arena in-game. Once you do, the guy will be so nice as to show you a sneak preview of his brand new music video, "I Like How It Feels" (featuring Pitbull and The WAVs). Of course, this is far from the first time a Zynga game has enjoyed celebrity exposure.

Just recently, the company announced that Indiana Jones will swoop into Adventure World through its work with Lucasfilm, and who can forget when Lady Gaga ran FarmVille for a few weeks earlier this spring? Even before that, both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg had their fun with Mafia Wars. Are you sensing a trend yet? Good, because we doubt this is the last time a celeb will hit Zynga with a touch of fame. In fact, if you ask Facebook's major game creators, branded games are on the up and up.

Are you psyched to see that Enrique will hit up CityVille on his Euphoria Tour? Which celebrity or artist do you hope makes their way into a Zynga game next? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

Vostu goes for Goooaaal with GolMania on Facebook, Orkut [Video]

And boy, does it look intense. Vostu--you know, the Brazilian social game maker trading legal blows with Zynga--has released what is likely its most ambitious social game yet with GolMania. Available now on Facebook and Orkut in English, Portuguese and Spanish, this social soccer game touts real-time, directly-controlled soccer matches between friends in a cute art style.

And, according to a Vostu representative, "real-time" means live, arcade-style gameplay between two friends over Facebook or Orkut, Google's wildly popular social network in South America. The game pits players against one another on the field, but has friends cooperate off of the green to build up each other's stadiums and to gain energy and money for more matches.

As player progress in GolMania by mastering its keyboard controls and dominating opponents live, they will unlock special maneuvers. You will also be able to organize private tournaments between friends and participate in global cups amongst the game's top players--you can even play soccer in low gravity on the moon. And Vostu already has even bigger plans for its now flagship social soccer game.
Gallery: GolMania on Facebook
Vostu's Mystery Fantasy Game on Facebook
"GolMania brings Vostu's fun social experience to a casual sports game," Vostu Chief Scientist Mario Schlosser said in a release. "We look forward to our millions of users getting to play GolMania and like with all of our games, we will then quickly react to their feedback and our deep analytics about player behavior to unveil new features that take into account how users make the game their own."

The game was developed Vostu's recent acquisition MP Studio, and employs the publisher's Vostu Game Network, meaning friends can play with one another in real time across social networks. Vostu also teased to us an unnamed social game (found in the gallery above) with a deep, cartoonish fantasy setting that's set to launch this fall as well. But until then, check out GolMania below and see if it gives your fingers a real challenge.


Click here to play GolMania on Facebook Now >

What do you think of Vostu's first real-time action sports social game? Do you see these types of games taking off on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments

Gree's OpenFeint hires ex-Glu Mobile exec, more social games coming?

The mobile social game wars are heating up, as OpenFeint just took on former Glu Mobile executive Sarah Thompson (pictured) as its director of developer relations, SocialTimes reports. In other words, OpenFeint, owned by Japanese mobile social gaming powerhouse Gree, hired Thomson to strategically acquire build relationships with independent developers.

Namely, SocialTimes's Azam Khan guesses those developers will be primarily social and mobile social game creators, given Thomson's past exploits in the industry with Glu Mobile and IUGO Entertainment before that. And frankly, we couldn't agree more. Considering OpenFeint is a social network for mobile games at heart, and Gree's existing status, it simply makes sense.

"OpenFeint is going through an exciting phase of growth right now and Sarah is exactly the kind of person we need to keep up the momentum," OpenFeint SVP Marketing and Developer Relations Eros Resmini said in a release. "Sarah's deep history in mobile gaming paired with her connections to the developer community made her a great fit for OpenFeint."

We can't help but recall what just went down between OpenFeint and Gree: The former's co-founder and CEO Jason Citron resigned, and Gree CFO Naoki Aoyagi took his place. (Though, VentureBeat reckons the move was less ... cut-and-dry.) But back to Gree and OpenFeint's future plans, the simple fact is mobile social games are growing at an exponential rate on iOS and Android devices.

"I've always admired OpenFeint for its constant innovation in the mobile gaming space," Thomson said in a release. "As the company continues to change with the market, I'm excited to help OpenFeint continue growing." And we think we have an idea of just where Thomson would like to go. It starts with an "S" and--oh, forget it. You get the point already.

Do you think this puts OpenFeint in a better place to compete with opponents like DeNA and Zynga in mobile games? Don't you wish you could have rockin' tattoos and a big time exec gig? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments

Very sneaky, Zynga: Mafia Wars Shakedown revealed for iOS devices

Jeez, these guys are just terrible at keeping secrets, huh? (Alright, so this one looks like it was intentional, but nobody told us!) Zynga has announced yet another game, Mafia Wars Shakedown for iOS devices. However, the company went with a more low key approach for this announcement, which is far from its style. Exhibit A: Mafia Wars 2.

News of the game appeared when it replaced the Facebook page for Mafia Wars: Atlantic City, which was shuttered earlier this month in preparation for a "a much more exciting destination," the Mafia Wars Blog reads. What that implies to us is that Atlantic City may have been a failed experiment in HTML5 game creation, hence Shakedown. No other information about the game has been revealed other than it will first release for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Well, that and these tiny pieces of artwork. It's unknown whether this new iPhone game will come within a dedicated app like FarmVille and CityVille Hometown for iOS or through HTML5 like its predecessor. Frankly, HTML5--a web-based coding language capable of game development across multiple platforms simultaneously--is capable of more than Atlantic City.
Mafia Wars Shakedown Banner
Shakedown has all but replaced the web presence for Atlantic City (even the Twitter account has been taken over). My guess is that this new game will be a native iOS app like previous Zynga Mobile games, especially considering this news comes just as Zynga Mobile's David Ko told The Guardian he thinks HTML5 is still too early. We've reached out to Zynga for comment.

What are your guesses about this brand new Mafia Wars game for iOS devices? Are you bummed at all that Atlantic City has been closed down? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

Entertainment Games looks to revive soap operas in Facebook games

FarmVille may have killed the daytime soap opera, but it seems like soaps might have their heyday after all. Langhorne, Penn.-based Entertainment Games announced that it hired Michael Fairman (pictured below), a leading expert on daytime soaps (bet you didn't know such a job existed, eh?) to help the company develop a soap opera game with Heyday Games.

Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."

Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."

Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.

In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.

From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.

Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head

Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.

"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."

Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.

King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.

Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments