Gadgets and Video Games

Speaking to Edge , Tecmo’s Quantum Theory development team had a few things to say about the Japanese game market, expanding its audience and, of course, Quantum Theory . According to producer Yasuo Egawa, the Japanese game market is shrinking, though the global gaming audience is expanding.

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Tecmo sees ‘opportunity’ in expanding audience, pursuing women

Filed under: Features Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq (“LGJ”), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games : [ Image Source ] I would imagine anyone reading this column has seen the coverage of the UK government’s plan to create a “Pirate Finder General” and other new anti-piracy activities . The Pirate Finder General would have exceptionally broad powers to find and punish pirates with little supervision in an almost Judge Dredd-esque “I am the law!” kind of way.

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LGJ: IP Police, Arrest this man, He talks in torrents

Here’s a Thanksgiving treat from the vault – we’ve dug out the following interview with BioWare co-founder (and Group Creative Officer of EA’s newly formed RPG/MMO Group) Greg Zeschuk from earlier this year at PAX. But don’t let the date fool you! Our discussion of multiplatform console development, DLC strategies on future BioWare titles like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, and Greg’s recommendation that everyone buy two copies of the game (one on console and one on PC) defies time. Read on! Joystiq: Dragon Age is the first PS3 game that BioWare’s developed. Can you talk about that process?

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Interview: BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk on Dragon Age, DLC, and more

Blizzard just opened a huge can of worms — or of pandas, in this case. The company announced the opening of an in-game pet store in World of Warcraft , wherein players can purchase their own Pandaren Monk or Lil’ K.T., the Littlest Lich , for ten bucks. Half of the purchase price of the Monk goes to the Make-a-Wish Foundation until the end of the year, but all of the Lil’ K.T. proceeds go to Blizzard’s spare Ferrari fund. Blizzard currently offers for-pay services including realm transfers, race and faction changes, and character appearance edits, but this shop offers the first in-game items for sale — and these items are exclusive to the Pet Store

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Blizzard opens real-money pet store in WoW

Man, when is Europe going to get over this whole soccer thing? Not only do they love the real-life sport to an unhealthy degree, often leading to gang formation and general acts of hooliganism , but they also possess a collective, soul-crushing addiction for the game’s many virtual representations. For instance, Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 debuted in the top sales spot for UK last week, bumping former first-place finisher FIFA 10 down to third place. Nestled betwixt these two was Forza Motorsports 3 , which admittedly has little to do with soccer

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PES 2010 is top seller in UK, Forza and FIFA close behind

When Viacom’s CEO, Philippe Dauman, says that The Beatles: Rock Band sales have “exceeded internal expectations,” we have to imagine that he doesn’t have his top expectations men on the job. If we had been asked for our expectations of a game featuring the most popular band of all time, we would have simply pointed toward www.mythirdyacht.com and been on our way. What’s actually a surprise from an IndustryGamers report on the matter is that even in our crummy economy, it’s the $250 version of the game — bundled with all the instruments — that’s performing so well that Dauman says he expects a sellout by November

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Beatles: Rock Band sales exceeding expectations, Viacom says

What do Vampire Rain , Tales of Vesperia , Lost Planet , Eternal Sonata and Enchanted Arms all have in common? Aside from being developed in Japan, every one of them landed on the Xbox 360 “exclusively” first, only getting ported (sometimes with additional content) to the PlayStation 3 a year or so later.

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Rumor: Microsoft exclusivity deals funding PS3 development in Japan

The following Xbox 360 games are now ready for direct download from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace :

While OnLive and Gaikai continue to hog the game-streaming spotlight, few are talking about the third option that people will have for server-based gaming: OTOY. And that’s likely because the company (of the same name) behind the technology hasn’t been exactly forthcoming with details — even the official website has nothing more than the “Soon” image you see above. Ars Technica recently got a chance to check out the service in action, pushing graphical monster Crysis to an iPhone with reportedly good results. The service is still in its infancy, as demonstrated by a TechCrunch hands-on video we’ve dropped after the break, but shows a lot of potential. Considering OnLive’s currently holding its public beta in North America and Gaikai’s kicking off a private beta in Europe late this month, we hope OTOY decides to start getting vocal soon

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OTOY: The game streaming service you’ve never heard of

During the second night of PAX 2009 , Capcom held a launch party for the PC version of Resident Evil 5 . In edition to the swanky PC setups featuring the game, Capcom had some other Resident Evil -themed goodies, like Majini makeovers. There was also a station for printing out personal Tricell employee ID badges. See the party in pictures in the gallery below, and check out a quick video of the shindig above. Gallery: PAX 2009: Resident Evil 5 PC launch party Joystiq at the Resident Evil 5 PC launch party originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:30:00 EST

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Joystiq at the Resident Evil 5 PC launch party