Yahoo! News: Technology - Video Games
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Technology - Video Games

Fresh iPhone Apps for Feb. 6: Vanity Fair Hollywood, Game Your Video, Tank Battalion Blitz, Order Up!! To Go (Appolicious)
Appolicious - It’s almost time for this year’s Academy Awards, so get primed up for your Oscar ballot with Vanity Fair Hollywood, an app full of information about the nominees so you can make informed picks. After you’re done thinking about the best in Hollywood, you can make videos of your own with effects app Game your Video. In games, we’ve got Tank Battalion Blitz, a top-down tank battling game that includes offline and online multiplayer play. After that, there’s Order Up!! To Go, a time-management restaurant game that uses gesture controls for your cooking.
THQ misses Street on weak game sales, cuts forecast (Reuters)
Reuters - THQ Inc's cut its annual earnings forecast on Thursday and told investors it would become a much smaller video game company with half the volume of sales next year.
Take-Two quarterly revenue falls on NBA video game (Reuters)
Reuters - Take-Two Interactive's third-quarter revenue missed Wall Street expectations after the video game maker sold fewer copies of its basketball video game, "NBA 2K12", than expected.
Review: Square gets 'Final Fantasy' back on track (AP)
AP - The "Final Fantasy" franchise, now in its 25th year, has one of the most enthusiastic fan bases in all of video games. And those fans made their voices heard after the 2009 release of "Final Fantasy XIII," which jettisoned some of the series' long-standing features in exchange for a more streamlined, action-packed narrative.
Viacom 1Q earnings shredded by 'Rock Band' (AP)

AP - Viacom Inc., the owner of Paramount Pictures, MTV and Comedy Central, on Thursday posted a 65 percent drop in net income for the latest quarter, as it took a charge related to the "Rock Band" series of video games.

Zynga shares soar on Facebook connection (Reuters)
Reuters - Zynga shares jumped as much as 22 percent on Thursday in the first trading session after Facebook revealed it made 12 percent of its revenue last year from the video game publisher.
Fresh iPhone Apps for Feb. 2: Spice Invaders, Ghost Trick, Awesome Land, Reckless Racing 2 (Appolicious)
Appolicious - It’s the week’s big day for games, and we’ve got quite a few great ones on offer today. Spice Invaders is a robust tower defense title with tons of content and an eight-player multiplayer mode, while Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective puts players in the role of a ghost trying to solve his own murder by manipulating objects. Awesome Land is a side-scrolling platformer that puts a leather jacket and an attitude on Mario, while Reckless Racing 2 brings some quality top-down racing action to the App Store.
Sony cuts annual digital camera, PS3 hardware forecasts (Reuters)
Reuters - Sony Corp on Thursday kept its annual LCD TV sales forecast unchanged but cut its forecasts for digital camera and PlayStation 3 hardware sales.
Android gaming gets its own Humble Bundle with big savings on games (Appolicious)
Appolicious - The Humble Bundle, a charity offering pay-what-you-want video games, has made a pretty big splash in the indie PC games scene over the past few years. Now it’s making its way to Android.
Android gamer communities on the rise, attracting corporate attention (Appolicious)
Appolicious - Android game popularity may be decreasing in lieu of entertainment apps, but an emerging trend for mobile gaming communities may offer the best of both worlds. There’s growing expectations for Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE games and community to be made available on the Android platform, following in Sony’s footsteps with their cross-platform strategy for the PlayStation Network. Others are looking to Android as an extension for gaming communities, including Steam.
Gaming firms 888, Caesars extend licensing deal to U.S. (Reuters)
Reuters - 888 Holdings Plc said a unit of private equity-owned Caesars Entertainment Corp extended its UK software licensing agreement with the British online gaming company to the United States.
Triple Town developer files lawsuit against alleged App Store copycat (Appolicious)
Appolicious - When it comes to the video game world, it’s nearly impossible to discuss a game without talking about all the other titles that came before it. Every game on the market, be it store shelves or the iTunes App Store, has built off the foundations of games that have come before, and that creates a tough spot for many game developers. At what point does a game stop building off another title’s ideas or being “inspired” by another work, and start being theft of an idea?
IGT Is Betting Online Big-Time (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - Slot-machine maker International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT - News) looks poised to jump on the bandwagon of companies that are increasing their stake in online gaming. The company plans to acquire Double Down Interactive, one of the biggest virtual casino operators on Facebook.
Same Sex Romance Comes to a Galaxy Far, Far Away (Newsarama.com)
Newsarama.com - Same-sex relationships are coming to the "Star Wars" universe, courtesy of video game developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts' new massively multiplayer online role- playing game (or "MMORPGs" or "MMOs" for short), "Star Wars: The Old Republic," and the decision is getting people talking.
Nintendo chief promises to do Wii U launch right (AP)

AP - Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, set for this year's holiday shopping season, and acknowledged Friday some mistakes with selling its 3DS handheld.

Fresh iPhone Apps for Jan. 27: Frequency, Steam Mobile, RAGE HD update, Baseball Superstars 2012 (Appolicious)
Appolicious - Start your weekend with all the best videos the Internet has to offer with Frequency, an iPad app that makes finding and organizing great videos from all over the place a snap. It’s our top Fresh App today, followed by Steam Mobile, an iOS app that ties to the popular digital video game download portal and lets you impulse-buy during Steam’s crazy game sales no matter where you are. A big update with new levels to RAGE HD tops off our games picks for this weekend, followed by a new, free edition to the Baseball Superstars series from Gamevil.
Nintendo Announces Online Gaming Network (Mashable)
Mashable - Nintendo users will finally soon have an online experience on par with Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. At least that's the message from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who broke the news in a meeting with investors yesterday shortly after the company released its quarterly earnings. Iwata's presentation explained that the Nintendo Network would encompass the company's next generation of products, including the portable 3DS and the Wii U console, to be released later this year. The network won't just be a place where users can play games against each other online -- Iwata said it would also offer full downloads of game titles, some add-ons and access to other digital content. That would be a big upgrade from the limited network connectivity that currently exists on Nintendo's hardware.
Nintendo sees profit next year, but shares tumble (Reuters)
Reuters - Nintendo President Satoru Iwata dismissed the idea that the age of the dedicated handheld games device was over and said he aimed to return the company to substantial profit in 2012/13, after it warned of its first ever operating loss this year.
Nintendo sees first annual loss, cuts 3DS forecast (Reuters)

Reuters - Nintendo Co Ltd posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit and forecast a bigger-than-expected full-year loss, its first at an operating level, as it battles a strong yen and its games devices lose ground to gadgets such as Apple's iPhone.

Nintendo posts loss on strong yen, weak sales (AP)

AP - Nintendo Co. sank to losses for the April-December period, battered by a price cut for its 3DS handheld, a strong yen that erodes overseas earnings and competition from mobile devices such as the iPhone that offer games-on-the-go.