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Segerstrale Keynote: ‘The Relentless March Toward Free’
EA’s Kristian Segerstrale’s Social & Online Games Summit presentation advocates the unparalleled growth potential in creating connected experiences for players.
Segerstrale says free is useful for the industry due to its unquestionable ability to attract new audiences by lowering the barrier to entry.
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Cap on Online Game Time may be Introduced in South Korea
A system encouraging online gamers to moderate their playing time has been proposed in order to fight game addiction. For instance, in role-playing games, a popular genre, heavy users would see their characters penalized after a time limit has passed.
This and other measures are part of a package introduced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday, together with some leading domestic online game makers.
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Sony Calls PlayStation Phone Speculation
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Sony is involved in a pair of intriguing products: first, a phone that could download and play PlayStation games, as well as an iPad-like tablet device.
PCMag.com phone analyst Sascha Segan tends to dismiss unsourced stories – which, unfortunately, are both the genesis of scoops as well as rumors that are later proven to be unfounded. In the WSJ’s case, the paper’ is banking on its reputation.
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Sony Subsumes Media Molecule
When Media Molecule was first unveiled more than three years ago, the upstart development studio already had an exclusive relationship with Sony. The electronics giant formalized that exclusivity, announcing that it has acquired Media Molecule.
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Popular Gaming Program Making UC Santa Cruz One of the Elite
An innovative program at UC Santa Cruz is luring students and professors from all over the country and overseas, and it has nothing to do with the campus’ proximity to the beach.
Four years ago, the Baskin School of Engineering’s computer science department began offering degrees in game design. Now the program boasts more than 400 undergraduate students and 18 doctoral and master’s students.
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I Want It Now! The Fierce Urgency of Videogaming’s Future
Videogame execs say impatient gamers increasingly act like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — they want their games now, Daddy, and if you don’t give them what they want, they’ll find somebody who will.
“People have no patience,” said Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, a company that is currently beta-testing a service that streams high-def games directly into homes without the need for consoles. “What they want is all media, and they want it instantly delivered.”
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Uncharted 2 Prevails at Awards Show
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves stole the show at the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony in Las Vegas Thursday night winning 10 awards.
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Industry Sales Plunge While Innovation Beckons
Game sales dropped nearly 9 percent in 2009 from the previous year, dipping to $20.2 billion from $22.11 billion, according to digital entertainment market researchers NPD Group. Then a stellar December – a record sales month, thanks to holiday spending – seemed to be a sign that things were rebounding quickly.
They weren’t.
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Gamers More Scary Than Bikers, Says Australian Minister
An Australian politician who opposes the lifting of a censorship ban on adults-only computer games has said he feels more threatened by gamers than outlawed motorcycle gangs.
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Legendary David Crane Forms New Studio, AppStar Games
David Crane has announced the creation of a new game studio, AppStar Games, a joint venture with noted game developer Garry Kitchen. AppStar will focus on “small footprint” games for connected devices, the iPhone being among the studio’s targeted platforms.
Read the story here.