Gundam Musou 2 or Gundam Dynasty Warriors 2 is the convergence of two massively successful video game franchises. Both Gundam and Dynasty Warriors have sold thousands of games and have made millions in sales. This sequel to their first popular lovechild looks good, allowing the player to fight hundreds of enemy robots at once.
Who wouldn't want to pilot a giant robot and wreak havok?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Video Games outperform economy
The video game industry made 22 billion dollars in 2008. In an economy that logged huge losses for 2008, the video game industry was able to increase their sales by 22.9%.
"Even in difficult economic times, the video game industry continues to support our country’s local, state and national economies with record-breaking sales figures and rapid technological innovation,”
-Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA
While some may argue that the industry took hits in the second half of the year like the rest of the economy, they still managed to rake in a whopping 5.3 Billion dollars in December sales alone.
For more figures and statistics check out the entertainment software associations full article.
"Even in difficult economic times, the video game industry continues to support our country’s local, state and national economies with record-breaking sales figures and rapid technological innovation,”
-Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA
While some may argue that the industry took hits in the second half of the year like the rest of the economy, they still managed to rake in a whopping 5.3 Billion dollars in December sales alone.
For more figures and statistics check out the entertainment software associations full article.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
15 Gigabytes
Empire: Total War specs were announced today.
Whatever happened to the days when 1 gigabyte hard drive space meant a huge game. 15 gigabytes? Really?
Regardless, when the game releases in March I will definitely be picking up the latest installment of my favorite video game series, Total War.
Whatever happened to the days when 1 gigabyte hard drive space meant a huge game. 15 gigabytes? Really?
Regardless, when the game releases in March I will definitely be picking up the latest installment of my favorite video game series, Total War.
Starcraft and College, together as one!
UC Berkeley is adding a new course dedicated to Starcraft, one of the bestselling games ever and awarded a massive number of awards.
The course will:
"go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course. Furthermore, the class will take the theoretical into the practical world by analyzing games and replays to reinforce decision-making skills and advanced Starcraft theory."
I'm not sure how any of this applies to future success unless your working for an RTS developer but it is every gamer (and many a South Korean's) dream come true.
For further details you can check out the courses official site at http://michaelo.phswebs.com/BerkeleyStarcraft/ or facebook group.
The course will:
"go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course. Furthermore, the class will take the theoretical into the practical world by analyzing games and replays to reinforce decision-making skills and advanced Starcraft theory."
I'm not sure how any of this applies to future success unless your working for an RTS developer but it is every gamer (and many a South Korean's) dream come true.
For further details you can check out the courses official site at http://michaelo.phswebs.com/BerkeleyStarcraft/ or facebook group.
Drugs, Alcohol, and Video Games
A few days ago professor Laura Walker from Brigham Young University published a study that video gamers are more likely to "use drugs, drink alcohol, have poor relationships, and poor self esteem". The article raised some red flags in my head not because it came from BYU, a school that has a strict honor code mandating no drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and coffee to name a few, but because of the way the survey was conducted. Sureveyees were invited to the survey after having read a specific newspaper ad raising questions on the studies impartiality and bias.
As expected a few newspapers took the study and published it, decrying the evil of video games. The Telegraph for instance published an article where they presented the findings as fact, listing out the many negative conclusions drawn and adding a small alternative view from Walker herself which in the end turned out to be a validation of her own work again.
Well today Valke from NuclearGeek was able to obtain an interview with Walker to discuss her findings. Walker defended her findings with a well written email that almost convinced me she was a fair and impartial person until the end where she wrote:
"Also, please remember the nature of the statistics shows that as one variable goes up the other went down. For example, the more one played video games the lower their quality of relationships."
"Also please remember, these are averages. Just because you happen to be an "exception" doesn't mean that the results cannot be "true" for a good number of young people. Right?"
She is defending her claims although by her own admission her study only focused on the extremes of gaming and she did not know if video games caused these behaviors or if these behaviors drove people to video games.
Take what you want from this study but remember, these are extreme cases and not representative of every gamer as the mainstream media would like you to believe.
As expected a few newspapers took the study and published it, decrying the evil of video games. The Telegraph for instance published an article where they presented the findings as fact, listing out the many negative conclusions drawn and adding a small alternative view from Walker herself which in the end turned out to be a validation of her own work again.
"It may be that young adults remove themselves from important social settings to play video games, or that people who already struggle with relationships are trying to find other ways to spend their time," she said. "My guess is that it's some of both and becomes circular."
Well today Valke from NuclearGeek was able to obtain an interview with Walker to discuss her findings. Walker defended her findings with a well written email that almost convinced me she was a fair and impartial person until the end where she wrote:
"Also, please remember the nature of the statistics shows that as one variable goes up the other went down. For example, the more one played video games the lower their quality of relationships."
"Also please remember, these are averages. Just because you happen to be an "exception" doesn't mean that the results cannot be "true" for a good number of young people. Right?"
She is defending her claims although by her own admission her study only focused on the extremes of gaming and she did not know if video games caused these behaviors or if these behaviors drove people to video games.
Take what you want from this study but remember, these are extreme cases and not representative of every gamer as the mainstream media would like you to believe.
Microsoft Games still going strong despite layoffs
It looks like Microsoft is committed to keeping Windows a "first-class gaming platform".
This morning Ron Pessner the chief of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division and now Interactive Entertainment Business as well, announced that they would continue to invest in the platform and continue to develop and publish new games.
The announcement was no doubt intended to assure investors as 1,400 employees were laid off, many from the video games division. Chris Early, former general manager of games for Windows Live was also let go and his duties will be assumed by Pessner.
As a PC gamer myself I am glad to see that Microsoft decided not to axe their entertainment division altogether. Although games on Windows live were a joke to many in the industry, more traditional pc games like massively multiplayer online role playing games and and real time strategy are all important genres which just wouldnt be the same if ported to consoles.
This morning Ron Pessner the chief of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division and now Interactive Entertainment Business as well, announced that they would continue to invest in the platform and continue to develop and publish new games.
The announcement was no doubt intended to assure investors as 1,400 employees were laid off, many from the video games division. Chris Early, former general manager of games for Windows Live was also let go and his duties will be assumed by Pessner.
As a PC gamer myself I am glad to see that Microsoft decided not to axe their entertainment division altogether. Although games on Windows live were a joke to many in the industry, more traditional pc games like massively multiplayer online role playing games and and real time strategy are all important genres which just wouldnt be the same if ported to consoles.
Friday, January 9, 2009
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