Hardware > Earlier Games
Game off: No end to official China console ban
Rumours earlier this week that China was about to overturn a long-standing ban on the sale of gaming consoles appear to have been premature, after the government apparently denied it was planning to lift the ban.
A source at the Ministry of Culture had told state-run paper the China Daily that it was “reviewing the policy” and …
China may axe 13-year console ban, games OK for kids after all
China may scrap a 13-year ban on the sale of games consoles in the country, according to a government source.
Equipment from the Xbox to the PlayStation was outlawed in 2000 for supposedly wrecking the physical and mental development of the young - but consoles may be about to get the official green light in a change of heart by …
Game over for Atari? One life left as biz files for bankruptcy protection
Atari Interactive Inc has sought protection from US creditors, 41 years after Nolan Bushnell’s gaming legend was born with Pong.
Atari has entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a provision in US law that’ll enable the struggling biz to operate and potentially restructure without those it owes calling in their debts.
The …
SimCity to teach SimMaths and SimScience at school
Hot on the heels of news that a Swedish school has decided Minecraft is a great way to teach its kids town planning, games giant Electronic Arts (EA) has does the same by announcing SimCityEDU, a version of the game that embeds the USA's Common Core standards for school curricula in the game.
EA’s clearly aware of President …
Obama calls for study into games ‘n’ guns link
US President Barack Obama has called for a study into whether computer games are a cause of gun violence.
Obama yesterday (UK time) announced a set of measures to control guns, among them regulations to more promptly trace firearms used in crimes that will probably mean DBAs in the US public sector get a hurry-up.
The main …
NRA: Video games kill people, not guns. And here's our video game
Just weeks after the vice-president of the US National Rifle Association blamed video games for gun crime, the outspoken organisation has released an iPhone video game.
NRA: Practice Range is a first-person shooter available from the iTunes Store as a free app for iPads as well as Apple smartmobes. It incorporates a live feed of …
Swedish school puts Minecraft on the curriculum
Whereas most schoolchildren have to sneak in a gaming fix at school on the sly, one Swedish hall of education has made playing Minecraft compulsory.
The Viktor Rydberg school in Stockholm introduced the gaming lessons to inspire creative thought. Minecraft, which was developed by the delightfully named Swedish programmer Markus …
Sony PS3 extends lead over Microsoft's Xbox 360 by a cool million
Bad news for Microsoft and Xboxers: in December 2012, Sony shipped sufficient consoles for the number of PS3s the Japanese giant has sold to exceed the volume of 360s Microsoft has sent out by a margin of a million machines.
And that’s despite the year in which the second-generation Xbox had no direct competition from Sony. …
Razer uncages Core i7, GeForce megaslab for hardcore gamers
CES 2013 Games peripherals specialist Razer is finally bringing to market the concept gaming tablet it introduced at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
A year after unveiling "Project Fiona" at CES 2012, Razer used CES 2013 to unveil the Edge - geddit?! - a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-based 10.1in, 1366 x 768 pixel megaslab. It's …
Nvidia fixes hole that turns PCs into remote-control toys for hackers
Nvidia has plugged a critical flaw in its graphics card software that allowed hackers to gain "super-user" access to vulnerable PCs over a network.
The Nvidia GeForce display driver update, version 310.90, also features a number of other bug fixes and performance upgrades.
"The vulnerability allows a remote attacker with a …
Nvidia takes fight to Sony, Nintendo with Android handheld console
CES 2013 Nvidia’s Project Shield seems positively daft at first thought. Who in their right mind would launch a new handheld gaming device today? If Sony and Nintendo can’t win over the millions of folk who play games on phones and tablets with their dedicated gaming handhelds - and very strong gaming brands - how the heck can a …
Dad hires online assassins to slay game-obsessed son
A Chinese Dad has come up with a unique way of persuading his game-addicted son to turn engage with the real world: hiring gaming pros to destroy his morale by hunting him down online.
The frustrated father had apparently seen his 23-year-old offspring become obsessed with online games to the point that he had no interest in …
Ubisoft probes sudden rash of hijack attacks on gamers' accounts
Ubisoft is investigating a recent spate of hijackings of gaming accounts belonging to users of its Uplay platform.
Complaints about account hijacking flared up around 30 December, leading to numerous posts on support forums. "There is no one at Ubi manning the support system, and the DRM requires access to your account," one …
Review: Lego Lord of the Rings game
Being half Scottish, many of my summers were spent camping in the glens. After the daily grind of hitting each other with sticks, getting bitten by midges and eating fried spam, my sister would fill our evenings by reciting The Lord of the Rings – from memory! Being a more committed geek than me, by the age of 14 she had somehow …
UK games market clutches chest, bleeds out sales in 2012
Retailers have blamed a lack of good video games in the summer of 2012 along with a patchy, uneven release schedule for the 17 per cent shrinkage in the value of the UK games market last year. Worth £1.9bn in 2011, the sector brought in £1.6bn in 2012 according to stats released today by the Entertainment Retailers Association ( …
Red-faced, sweating and still in your chair: Welcome to eSports
Video games are believed by many to be a waste of time - but this is something consistently being challenged by the people who love them. And despite the fact that video games just can't seem shrug off the label of "just for kids", new research (PDF) would suggest that you're never too old for them.
And as the debate over the …
North Korea releases first computer game
Vid Just popped a Wii U under the tree? You poor, poor fool: this Christmas your kids won't clamour for Nintendo's latest, the thumb candy they really want is "Pyongyang Racer", the very first North Korean Computer game!
We make that assertion because the in-browser Pyongyang Racer is, at the time of writing, down. Servers at Koryo …
Valve hauls down The War Z, offers refunds
Valve has performed a humiliating climb-down over zombie game The War Z, pulling the game from Steam and offering refunds to players.
The game launched to two huge customer responses: it became simultaneously the top-selling game on Steam, and the most hated. This Reddit thread will give you the flavour.
After first defending …
After Sandy Hook, Senator calls for violent video game probe
Gun control remains a politically fraught issue in the US, even after such events as the December 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, but one top lawmaker has proposed legislation that could lead to tighter restrictions on firearms – at least the imaginary kind.
On Wednesday, Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West …
Sinclair ZX Spectrum FAILS latest radio noise rules SHOCK
A pal of mine suggested a short while back that it might be fun to obtain the blueprints for Sinclair Research’s ZX Spectrum and have a batch built up to sell to fans of retro computing. It’s a good job this plan never made it out of the pub: the dear old Speccy would have immediately fallen foul of modern electromagnetic …
2012: A generation-spanning year for gaming
This year has been arguably the most important year for the videogames industry in a long time. Not only did we see Sony take a final punt at the handheld market with the PS Vita - a move it may well now be regretting - but 2012 also saw Nintendo usher in the next generation of gaming with the Wii U. Sure, the Wii U may not be a …
Microsoft Surface to hit third-party stores on Wednesday
Microsoft has confirmed that it has ramped up production of its Surface fondleslabs in advance of a new global retail sales push, one that should see the devices hit third-party retail store shelves as early as this Wednesday.
"The public reaction to Surface has been exciting to see," Surface general manager Panos Panay said in …
Microsoft notices Xbox gamers actually slack-jawed TV fans, adds 43 new apps
Everyone's been waiting for a game-changing Apple TV product to come riding over the hill, but it could be Microsoft that captures the internet TV market first.
In the Xbox, Microsoft already has a popular internet box that people plug into the sitting room TV. Now Microsoft is ramping up the TV and video content available on …
Earthworm Jim
Antique Code Show I can’t think of one person I’ve met who didn’t enjoy the run and gun fun of Earthworm Jim. Released in 1994 on both the Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive (Genesis) it made my eyes pop. The graphics were revolutionary (and surreal) and it’s certainly one of the most popular platform games ever made. It went on to spawn a cartoon …
Valve chief confirms Steam-centric console-killing PC
Expect to see a Steam-brand console-style living room PC in 2013, Gabe Newell, the head of Valve, has revealed.
There have been hints the company is working on such a box. The debut earlier this year of a TV-centric UI for the Steam client, called Big Picture, which came out of beta last week, is perhaps the most important one …
Latest Call of Duty sequel shoots past Avatar sales benchmark
In December 2011, Activision boasted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had clocked up $1 billion in sales more quickly that James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster Avatar had done back in 2009. CoD reached that milestone in 16 days, ‘Dances with Wolves in space’ in 17 days.
A year on, the games publisher is making exactly the same …
NY Museum of Modern Art embraces 14 video games
The prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has elevated the humble video game into its pantheon of art objects, and has named the first 14 of the 40 or so games that it will eventually add to its collection.
"Are video games art?" MoMA curator Paola Antonelli asked rhetorically when announcing the collection, then …
Microsoft cues next-gen Xbox for Crimbo 2013
Microsoft will release the next-generation Xbox console in time for Christmas next year, sources claim.
While World+Dog could come up with a 2013 'Xbox 720' prediction, this latest claim comes by way of "people familiar with the company's plans", according to Bloomberg at least.
The firm has apparently yet to decide whether it …
Six of the best Nintendo Wii U games
All new consoles need the right line-up of games to make them a success. The Wii U, however, finds itself in the unusual position of not only having brand new games built for it at launch, but also having numerous games ported over from Xbox 360 and PS3.
Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders 2, Assassin’s Creed 3, Mass Effect 3, FIFA …
Nintendo Wii U Review
Six years ago Nintendo brought gaming to the masses with the Wii, now it’s hoping to repeat the trick. The Wii U signals not only Nintendo’s first foray into HD, but the arrival of a new peripheral for us to get to grips with in the shape of the Wii U GamePad and its ‘asymmetric’ gameplay.
Wii U Playing the field: Nintendo's …
Bungie talks up 'genre-defining' Destiny shooter
Halo and Marathon developer Bungie has officially confirmed its next project will be called Destiny, a futuristic shooter with "a universe as deep as that of the Star Wars franchise".
Details of the game were splashed across the web when a blabbermouth leaked the project write-up to IGN after getting his mitts on Destiny's story …
Far Cry 3 game review
In a few simple beats Far Cry 3's accidental hero, Jason Brody, goes from being nervy, spoilt rich kid to John Rambo, as his extreme sports holiday takes a turn for the worse. It’s a forgivably quick process for plot development purposes, if an abrupt one, but made palatable by the use of subtle tricks skilfully employed to pull …
Sinking Xbox 360 sales still stymies Nintendo numbers
Microsoft shifted three quarters of a million Xbox 360 consoles during "Black Friday" week in the US. While that works out at 22 per cent fewer units than it managed to shift this time last year, the figures remain impressive for a console nearing the end of its lifecycle.
To be fair, overhauling 2011's Xmas Xbox sales would …
Take-Two praises release breaks for Grand Theft Auto's healthy figure
Some 125 million copies of Grand Theft Auto games have shipped since the series' introduction, publisher Take-Two Interactive has claimed.
While it would be easy to celebrate that such figures means GTA easily challenges Tetris for fifth place in the world best-selling franchise table - behind Mario, Pokemon, Wii Sports/Play/Fit …
Nintendo shrinks Wii for Crimbo
Nintendo has officially unveiled a new version of the original Wii console, a smaller, top-loading model that shows the Japanese firm hasn't quite given up on its old tech yet.
While many expected Nintendo's focus to shift following the arrival of the Wii U, the company clearly believes there's still a market for standard …
Steam stats show surge in honest PC gaming
PC gaming is on the rise… if the popularity of Valve's Steam platform is anything to go by, that is.
Over six million people were simultaneously logged into Valve's digital distribution service this past weekend, the highest number it has ever seen.
Steam statistics 2012
The five million mark was reached in January 2012, a …
Pong creator turns nose up at Nintendo Wii U
Atari founder Nolan Bushnell has doubts over the long-term success of the Nintendo Wii U, after admitting he doesn't get the tablet-controlled console.
"I actually am baffled by it," said the Pong creator in an interview with the New York Times. "I don't think it's going to be a big success."
Bushnell - often hailed at the …
Minecraft coming to Raspberry Pi in hackable edition
Minecraft will soon be available for the Raspberry Pi, and in true Pi fashion will be hackable.
The Pi guys have blogged that they “sent a bunch of boards out to Notch and the guys at Mojang in Stockholm a little while back, and they’ve produced a port of Minecraft: Pocket Edition”.
The port, dubbed Minecraft: Pi Edition, …
Ten Xbox 360 games you may have missed
Games Round-up Our second helping of our console game roundups, caters for those playing on Microsoft's Xbox 360.
Sure you may be preoccupied connecting up smartphones through the new SmartGlass feature, but we wouldn't want you to be caught out for Christmas and be lost among the hundreds of new titles, unsure of what to purchase.
So perhaps …
Ten PlayStation 3 games you may have missed
Games Round-up While summer was a fairly dry time for games releases, this autumn has gone haywire in the build up to Christmas and as a result, it feels like more titles are being handed out than knighthoods.
As usual, we've sifted through the good and the bad to compile a list of any worthy ones you may have missed. While the following ten …
Man strives to shatter Call of Duty world record
We all know gamers spend too long on their consoles, but even the craziest of enthusiasts tend to hit the sack when the sun rises. Bedtime, however, was the last thing on one madcap Australian's mind this week, as he attempted to set a world record for the longest videogame marathon known to man.
Retail worker Okan Kaya played …
Taito's Double Dragon
Antique Code Show It was the summer of 1989 in a not-so-sunny Prestatyn Pontins, so the majority of our holiday's evenings were spent in the resort's arcade hall. Being my first foray into the seedy underbelly of cutting-edge - well, for 1987, when the game debuted, at least - videogames, one of the first arcades I ever played was the side- …
