Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Computer, Gamer, Games, Keibi Technologies, NPD Group, The New York Times Company, Video game, Wall Street
Sales of video games, game hardware and accessories tumbled in March 17%, 18% and 15%, respectively, according to a study by NPD Group. The report connected the poor performances to the sluggish economy and the dearth of hot, new releases last month. 
ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (4/17) , The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (4/17) , Reuters (4/17)
There are, or will be soon, more than 200 virtual worlds designed with the young computer user in mind up and running, according to industry leaders, which has prompted several companies to develop monitoring software to keep these gamers safe while online. Crisp Thinking, Keibi Technologies and eModeration are among the companies making inroads in this space. The New York Times (4/18)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Business, Casual game, Chats and Forums, Gamer, Games, Handheld Platforms, Mobile Phones, Video game
The gaming sector is on pace to reach $40 billion in annual revenue by 2012 on a global basis, in part because of the availability of mobile devices, network access and improved broadband speeds, according to TMNG. “The expansion of casual games, simpler user interfaces and the proliferation of innovative business models is broadening the gamer demographic. The timing is ripe for service providers to hedge the business cycle,” said TMNG Chairman and CEO Rich Nespola. InformationWeek (3/13)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Acclaim, Acclaim Games, David Perry, Gamer, Games, Rockfree, Video game, Video game publisher
Video game publishers large and small are beginning to enlist a new group of people as they develop their next generation of titles: the game players themselves. Acclaim Games, for instance, enlisted gamer input while creating its Rockfree online game last year. “They tell us what they want; we listen,” said David Perry, Acclaim’s chief creative officer. The New York Times/GigaOm (2/7)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Featured Episode, FrontPage Episode, Gamer, GAMING, The Reboot, us, Video game, Video game industry
The video game industry is developing new titles aimed at appealing to female gamers, who now make up 38% of U.S. players and represented 21% of the industry’s sales growth in 2007, according to this article. “The challenge is not to get them to play, but to get them to spend more of their time and money on games,” one analyst said. The New York Times/Reuters (10/2)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: 3D computer graphics, Casual game, GAME, Gamer, Massively multiplayer online game, Minigame, Moondo, Video game
Today sees the launch of Moondo, a new gaming “world” that is trying to merge the best parts of MMOs and the casual games that litter the web. The Moondo world is comprised of a number of multiplayer minigames that feature 3D graphics that rival those seen on most MMOs. Each minigame is intended to require only about 15-20 minutes, though they include multiple levels that should keep gamers satisfied for hours at a time. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/27/moondo-fuses-casual-gaming-with-massively-multiplayer-games 7/27)
