The guys at Rooster Teeth are at it again and have just released the second episode of their Halo 3: ODST Red vs Blue video series.
Entitled “Aliens, Aliens, Aliens” watch the group former of Blood Glutch deal with something other than the intelligence of each other. There nothing like watching “military intelligence” argue with each other and somehow stay alive on the other end.
Casual Games, Game Design, Gamer Culture, Nintendo Wii
Simplification for the masses.
Nintendo’s doing it, catering to the casual crowd with its dreck for the Wii, and Microsoft aims to do the same with Project Natal.
“Blasphemy!” old-time gamers say. But simplifying things really isn’t so bad. Simple games like Today, I Die show the benefits of paring games down to their core, and by becoming increasingly accessible, games can become experienced rather than played.
Most gamers can generally be divided into two major groups, you’re either a PC gamer or a console gamer. Yes, some can be a little bit of both and there are also some exceptions (handhelds to name one), but for the most part, gamers tend to favor one over the other.
And up until now, the two groups were both closely related species, but with the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft’s Project Natal, it is clear that console games have begun to deviate on their own evolutionary path.
Console, Gamer Culture, Nintendo Wii, Press Releases, Xbox 360
E3 has come and gone leaving in its wake an ocean of new games and fascinating gadgetry that will keep us salivating for at least another year. Microsoft may have had one of the most intriguing displays we have yet to see come from the annual E3 convention.
Business, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Sony, Xbox 360
Sellouts! Traitors! Blasphemers! These are words you’ve probably used to define developers that have turned your favorite franchises upside down for a few extra bucks. Complain all you want though, they’re not going to listen anytime soon.
The fact is these game developers, the major ones at least, are a business first and a company second, that is, their product is secondary to their profits. To them, loyalty is a one way street, and like mercenaries, they go only where the money goes.
From Captain Richard Phillips, to Captain Fatbeard, pirates seem to have been in the news a lot lately. The pirates I’m thinking of though are not the dangerous and deadly ones prowling the Somalian coasts. No, I speak of course about e-pirates. While unlikely to kill or kidnap you, they do their fair share of financial plundering and are actually more likely to have a direct impact on you, the honest consumers.
Business, Console, PC, Xbox 360
Earlier this month, Kotaku reported Microsoft was kicking around the idea of opening its own retail chain. Now, it appears the technology giant is going through with its scheme, and its shops will definitely stock Xbox 360 games and consoles.
Microsoft has announced that Aces Game Studio will be closing its doors. The studio was responsible for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, one of Microsoft’s oldest product lines, stretching back 20 years. The first Microsoft Flight Simulator game was released in 1982, while the most recent version, Flight Simulator X, was launched in 2006.
