Tag Archives: Games

FarmVille Gets Real With Hasbro

10 Feb

FarmVille Gets Real With Hasbro

Zynga has partnered with Hasbro to develop a wide range of toy and gaming experiences based on Zynga’s most popular Facebook games and characters.

In other words, we could see a board game of FarmVille, Words With Friends or CityVille in the not too distant future. In addition, we could potentially see action figures based on some of its game characters.

Merchandising around videogames is not new, and has recently spread like wildfire to mobile and social gaming with rising stars like Rovio’s Angry Birds or ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope.

In a press release, Zynga says Hasbro has obtained the license to develop and distribute a wide range of product lines based on Zynga’s game brands, but does not get into too many details.

It also says the deal covers opportunities for co-branded merchandise featuring a combination of both Hasbro and Zynga brands, it said. Could we see a co-branded Words With Friends Scrabble game?

Hasbro already has a long-standing relationship with Electronic Arts, which publishes such titles as Scrabble and Monopoly across many platforms.

via Zynga Inks Deal With Hasbro to Bring FarmVille Into the Real World – Tricia Duryee – Commerce – AllThingsD.

Xbox Boss Starts New Game Company

5 Feb

Xbox

Seamus Blackley, the co-creator of the Xbox, passionately believes that gameplay will triumph in the game business. That is why he and his new startup are relying on a team of famous designers from Atari to make a series of games for the Apple iPhone and iPad.

The idea that he and his partner, chief executive Van Burnham, have dreamed up is to use the creators of the best arcade experiences from the golden age of Atari in the 1970s and 1980s to create games for the “new arcade” on iOS devices.

“We are looking at the new arcade, and 99 cents on the iPhone is the new quarter,” Blackley (pictured above), president of the startup Innovative Leisure, said in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “People are playing on all these new devices and are finding the joy of the arcade games.”

via Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley launches mobile-game startup with Atari arcade veterans | VentureBeat.

Confirmed: New Wii U To Be Released Later This Year

26 Jan

Confirmed: New Wii U To Be Released Later This Year

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has told reporters that the Wii U will launch in the US, Japan, Europe, and Australia for the end of 2012. While the system was previously pegged for a 2012 release, this is the first time we’ve got confirmation that it’ll make it in time for the holiday season in all major markets. The 3DS launched last year in February in Japan and March elsewhere, meaning it likely got off to a slower start than if it had been available before Christmas. The announcement also means we are likely to see much more finalized details of the Wii U’s software lineup at E3 in June — so far, hands-on time with the console has been limited to tech demos.

via Wii U to launch in US, Japan, Europe and Australia by end of 2012 | The Verge.

Nintendo Allows 3DS Fans A Chance To Demo Games

18 Jan

Nintendo Allows 3DS Fans A Chance To Demo Games

Nintendo has announced that game demos will be made available via the Nintendo 3DS eShop from tomorrow, with Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations kicking off proceedings.

The 3DS eShop launched in June last year, allowing Nintendo 3DS gamers to download original 3DS digital titles and DSi titles, along with a number of special apps for use with the handheld.

Demos of Resident Evil Revelations – the full game due for release next month — and Cooking Mama 4 will be made available for free download tomorrow, while demos for other titles such as Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure are due to appear “periodically,” says Nintendo.

 

via Gamasutra – News – Nintendo 3DS eShop game demos launch with Resident Evil Revelations.

Use A Real Game Controller With Your iPod, iPhone, Or iPad

29 Dec

Game Controller

There’s been quite a few attempts at creating a physical game controller for the iPhone. The most successful of which has probably been the ThinkGeek iCade.

Despite a few other promising starts, it seems the main hurdle has been Apple allowing unfettered access between said game controllers and the iOS devices themselves. As a result, most game controllers have relied on emulating a Bluetooth keyboard to interface with the iPhone or iPad. While it works well enough for digital controls such as the iCade, full analog stick control has remained elusive.

A company called 60beat is now offering their solution which does offer dual analog sticks as well as a number of other standard directional controls and buttons. The 60beat GamePad connects through the headphone jack of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to accomplish this task:

via MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors.

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