AP – This summer has been so oppressive throughout most of the United States that even driving to the video-game store feels like an ordeal. Fortunately, you don’t have to leave home to experience some of the season’s most interesting games — you can download them directly to your console.
Reuters – The “James Bond 007: Blood Stone” video game event in London this month had all the class and splash one would expect from the world’s most elegant spy.
James Bond producers worried by indefinite delay (Reuters)Reuters – Back in 1982, first-time director Steven Lisberger brought mainstream audiences into the world of videogames with the sci-fi thriller “TRON”, using early computer-generated imagery that paved the way for today’s 3D movie blockbusters.
"TRON:Legacy" movie brings video game world to life (Reuters)PC World – Tired of feeding your PS3 discs to access Netflix’s streaming video service? Of playing second fiddle to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which offers the service fully integrated with Xbox LIVE, disc-free?
PS3 Netflix Disc-Free Streaming Coming by October (PC World)PC World – Microsoft’s Kinect has an identity problem. The company won’t come right out and say it, but their newfangled “you are the controller” motion-sensing camera for the Xbox 360 probably isn’t for gamers like me. It’s for gamers like you. That is, assuming you’re not really a gamer.
Microsoft’s $149.99 Kinect Price: Right For You, Wrong For Me (PC World)PC World – Retail video game sales fell slightly in June, dragged under by anemic handheld hardware and software sales, but bolstered by strong console unit growth. Helped by new model sales, the Xbox 360 topped the Wii for the first time in months, pulling ahead of Nintendo’s console by roughly 30,000 units, and Sony’s PS3 by a comfortable 147,000 unit spread.
Video Game Sales Slump as Xbox 360 Sales Surge (PC World)AP – Some PlayStation 3 users in the U.S. will be able to try out the $9.99-per-month video subscription plan from Hulu right away.
Sony Corp. says that means the PlayStation 3 will be the only game console able to play streaming videos from Hulu this year.
Hulu plans to launch its Hulu Plus subscription service on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 early next year.
Invitations will be sent to certain subscribers of PlayStation Plus, a $49.99-a-year service that offers gamers select downloads and game trials. A wider rollout to all U.S. PlayStation 3 users is expected in the next few months.
Sony PS3 to offer Hulu Plus preview immediately (AP)PC World – Who loves Dragon Quest? You do, you do. And in case you missed it, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (how alliterative of Square Enix) for the Nintendo DS rolled off store shelves yesterday. Yes, Sunday. Because that’s how Nintendo rolls.
Gamewatch: Dragon Quest IX, NCAA Football 11 (PC World)
Ben Patterson – Popular gaming handhelds like Nintendo’s DS and the Sony PlayStation Portable already boast Wi-Fi antennas for online shopping, Web browsing and multiplayer matches, but now a Japanese wireless giant is floating the idea of a handheld console with 3G support when Wi-Fi isn’t an option.
PC World – The military-minded franchise worth billions with recent record-snapping sales has another lawsuit in its lineup of legal perplexities. Activision Blizzard, publisher of the Call of Duty franchise, has countersued Jason West and Vincent Zampella, claiming the two former Call of Duty development studio executives tried to “hijack” company assets related to the war-themed first-person shooter series.
West and Zampella, former heads of Call of Duty development studio (and Activision subsidiary) Infinity Ward, were fired early last month, according to Activision, for “breaches of contract and insubordination.” Activision subsequently spun the franchise into its own business unit, and created a second studio, Sledgehammer Games, to develop an action-adventure game based on the franchise. West and Zampella quickly followed up by filing suit against Activision for over $36 million in royalties and damages, alleging they were wrongfully terminated and their contacts breached. …
Activision Countersues Fired Call of Duty Developers (PC World)
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