Gamers who are cruising the mean streets in games such as Burnout Paradise (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) had better keep an eye out for a couple of ads from several well-known brands. Electronic Arts and Massive Inc. have recently announced that they will be expanding their agreement to offer dynamic in-game ads for several EA titles on the Xbox 360 and the PC.

Both upcoming and live titles will get their fair share of dynamic in-game advertisements inserted into them thanks to the efforts of the video game advertising network in the next couple of years.

In particular, titles from the popular EA Sports franchises as well as a couple of the well-loved racing series will be getting the special treatment from Massive. The company will be working in conjunction with the developers at EA to deliver new advertising content for several games.

Titles which were mentioned include the Madden NFL series, NBA Live, NASCAR, and NHL series, as well as the Need for Speed Carbon and Need for Speed ProStreet titles. In addition, Massive will also be preparing advertisements for these games across several other mediums such as TV, online, and print media.

source pc.qj.net

Share This

Share This

Share This

While men and women tend to differ from one another, they also have certain things in common. Interest in casual gaming appears to be one of them. According to Forbes, women are reportedly more prone to get into casual gaming than their male counterparts.

For instance, statistics have revealed that 75 percent of those who pay for casual games are women. Furthermore, 72 of these ladies are over 35 years old.

With more women playing casual video games, it makes sense that developers and publishers are trying to catch their attention as well. Games with female protagonists such as Diner Dash (DS, PSP) and Wedding Dash cater to more than the usual 18-35 male gamer demographic.

Developers also tend to benefit from this setup. By doing away with fancy graphics and focusing on gameplay, companies can reach more gamers and still save money in the process. If anything, Forbes has only confirmed what an earlier scientific study has already discovered.

source pc.qj.net

Share This

Share This

Remember the proposed Minnesota bill that called for a US 25 fine every time a minor below 17 is caught renting or buying a Mature or Adults Only game? As it turns out, a judge from the US Court of Appeals blocked the policy, just a day before it was supposed to take into effect.

The judge raised points about the proposed bill, and put to attention the lack of evidence that video games directly harmed or affected Minnesota kids in any way. Here’s an excerpt from the judge’s ruling:

Indeed, a good deal of the Bible portrays scenes of violence, and one would be hard-pressed to hold up as a proper role model the regicidal Macbeth. Although some might state that it is risible to compare the violence depicted in the examples offered by the State to that described in classical literature, such violence has been deemed by our court worthy of First Amendment protection, and there the matter stands.

Well, there you have it. It’s a win for the video game industry (and, we dare to surmise, the gamers as well) indeed, and that’s all thanks to the First Amendment.

source pc.qj.net

Share This

Share This

If you want your horror to be a bit less of the psychological and more of the direct, freaky-as-hell sort, then you might want to give Ignition Entertainment’s Obscure: The Aftermath for the PC and Nintendo Wii a look. Sporting a player cast you might see in your local high school and an enemy cast you might see in Silent Hill, there’s definitely something worth screaming about in Obscure: The Aftermath - and it’s not just the questionable voice acting.

When all the other things about a game that tries its best to be scary looks good, the parts that need a bit more work definitely stick out. Hopefully, the voices play out differently in-game.

Mind you, the video you’re about to watch looks good and seems like a treat to play. But when someone is getting ripped apart by a monster, you’d expect at least a blood-curling scream or two, right?

Enjoy the video!

Buy: [ Obscure: The Aftermath (PC) ]
Buy: [ Obscure: The Aftermath (Wii) ]

source pc.qj.net

Share This

Share This

Valve is mighty pleased with this development: long-time PC developer Epic Games has finally wrought itself from the underbrush of retail only and entered its entire Unreal franchise - Unreal Tournament franchise line included - for your online purchase and download needs. What’s more is that the most exclusive of the Unreal Tournament SKUs - the special editions - are the ones offered for sale:

• Unreal Gold
• Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition
• Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor’s Choice Edition
• Unreal 2: The Awakening
• Unreal Tournament 3

Okay, so maybe there’s one exception, and that is Unreal Tournament 3. But that’s probably for a good reason, since Unreal Tournament 3’s regular and Collector’s Editions don’t have any in-game content that’s different from each other.

But Steam’s 10 discount whistles a wonderful tune to our ears, and this does bring up interesting prospects of Valve-hosted UT servers. This might be a perfect opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with what made the earliest games epic. And that’s without unsealing your - and my - cherished Totally Unreal and UT2004 ECE boxes just to taste the sweet nectar of UT.

source pc.qj.net

Share This