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DCEmu Featured News Articles
by Published on July 26th, 2012 12:26- Categories:
- Android News,
- Xperia Play News,
- Apple iPhone,
- Windows Phone
An insane $0.8 trillion of a $2.1 trillion market.
Bugger the recession, Gartner reckons spend on consumer tech will rise $114 billion in 2012 compared with 2011, and will reach a staggering $2.7 trillion by the end of 2016.
The market broadly constitutes devices based around mobile, computing, media and entertainment, plus all the services that make them useful.
Mobile alone will hit $1 trillion by 2016, with devices accounting for ten per cent of the spend. That's $222 billion this year and $300 billion by 2016.
Gartner predicts that consumer spending on mobile apps stores and content will rise from $18 billion in 2012 to $61 billion by 2016.
And the other great growth area will be digital books, news and magazines – up from $5 billion in 2012 to $16 billion by 2016.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...in-2012/018776 ...by Published on July 26th, 2012 12:25- Categories:
- DCEmu
IronMonkey is probably best known for adapting popular EA titles to mobile, like Dead Space and Mass Effect Infiltrator, while Firemint has produced a number of its own popular games, including Flight Control, Real Racing, and SPY Mouse.
Together, the two firms are responsible for more than 85 million downloads from Apple's App Store.
Firemonkeys will work out of EA’s Australian headquarters in Melbourne, where the teams will create new, original titles, while expanding on their existing catalogues.
Last month, EA said it plans to shift its business away from premium mobile game sales to focus on the freemium model, calling free-to-play titles "the norm" moving forward.
Furthermore, big acquisitions of Playfish and PopCap have made it obvious that the company sees its future in mobile and social.
As for the new Firemonkeys, IronMonkey general manager Tony Lay told GameSpot that it wants to “sit shoulder to shoulder with EA studios, like DICE and Criterion.”
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...studios/018779 ...by Published on July 26th, 2012 12:17- Categories:
- PC News
Just when you thought you knew exactly where you wanted to party and occasionally study electrical engineering, Seton Hall in New Jersey comes along to offer you something better. That's right people, 'free' gadgets: in addition to those Lumia 900 phones it's already promised, the university has also announced a splurge on Samsung Series 7 Slates for all science and honors degree juniors once Windows 8 arrives in the Fall, while those studying other disciplines will have to make do with a Series 5 Ultrabook. The scheme might sound like bribery or a soma to ward off campus activism, but it's actually part of Seton Hall's 15-year-old SHUmobile program, designed to ensure that "everyone has access to the advanced technology they need to succeed" -- and according to the video after the break, that technology just has to be Microsoft Office.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/s...ows-8-tablets/
...by Published on July 26th, 2012 12:15- Categories:
- DCEmu
BlackBerry users who routinely feel left out while friends share retro pictures of coffee and pastries onInstagram will soon have their own BB alternative. Slides released by N4BB reveal that aScalado-powered photo editing app has been baked into BB10, which is due early next year. The software will let you tweak and enhance your casual snaps, but also offer a carousel of aged filters you can drag onto shots of your own taste-appropriate snack goods. After the break we've got an early hands-on with the app from the folks at Crackberry, which walks you through a non-working prototype.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/b...ro-camera-app/ ...by Published on July 26th, 2012 12:14- Categories:
- Xperia Play News
While we've been fussing over the Xperia GX (aka the LT29i), it seems Sony's been working on something one integer higher. Mobile-review has published a run-down of a device it claims is called the LT30p -- aka the Mint we first heard of back in January -- which also appears to possess many of the specs we'd want from a high-end phone. The front side hosts a 1280 x 720 4.3-inch LCD, while the rear boasts the same 13-megapixel camera as the GX, and there's a microSD slot on the side too. Internally,Mobile-review says ICS is running off a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, which all sounds healthy enough -- but since the build quality looks a bit suspect and we don't know for sure that this is a final production handset, we'll wait for IFA fever to paint a fuller picture.
Update: Although Mobile-review says it has a 4.3-inch screen, a side-by-side photo with the GS III after the break suggests the Mint's panel may be slightly larger than that.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/26/s...ia-mint-lt30p/
...by Published on July 25th, 2012 23:35- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld two complaints levelled against on of Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ads.
The ad showcased a number of the countries featured in the game and, in the words of the ASA, contained “computer-generated scenes of New York under military assault, with buildings exploding and catching fire, soldiers loading guns and a submarine firing rockets”, “armed men firing at a lorry” and “further scenes of armed warfare and destruction, including soldiers firing weapons, military vehicles firing rockets at buildings and explosions”.
The complaints centred on the time of the broadcast, which took place at 2:30pm in the afternoon on Sunday November 6th during a Premier League football match on Sky Sports 1
The only restriction placed on the short at the time was that it should not be broadcast during or adjacent to programs designed or likely to appeal to those under 16.
In response, Activision rightfully highlighted that it abided by the rules that it had been given, and even produced a revised edit specifically for the time slot. Plus the ad had been given a PG rating by the BBFC.
Nonetheless, the ASA has now ruled against Activision, saying: “We considered that the scenes of violence and destruction, together with the sound effects and music, could cause distress to some children who might see the ad.
“Although we noted that the ad was only shown during the football, we concluded that it was inappropriate for broadcast during the day when young children might be watching and the ex-kids restriction was insufficient. We considered a post 7.30pm restriction would have been more appropriate.”
The only consequence is that Activision will not be allowed to broadcast the ad again any earlier than 7:30pm. Which presumably is of no consequence at all as Call of Duty advertising has already turned its attention to November’s Black Ops II.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/asa-r...e-3-ad/0100124
...by Published on July 25th, 2012 23:33- Categories:
- PS3 News
Sony is to re-release hit racer Gran Turismo 5 and give it a brand new name in the process – Gran Turismo 5: Academy Edition.
The SKU will include all the DLC released for the game to date. Specifically, that’s three car packs and two course packs.
It will also boast an added extra – the Nissan GTR driven in this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hour Race by none other Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi.
Most importantly, the game will have a discount RRP of £19.99. It will be released for PS3 on September 26th.
"GT Academy has captured the imagination of many Gran Turismo fans,” Yamauchi stated.
"People can now see that it is possible to make the switch from being a fast gamer to become a real racing driver. We wanted to mark the tremendous success of GT Academy with the very latest version of GT5."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/gran-...elease/0100125
...by Published on July 25th, 2012 23:20- Categories:
- DCEmu
A lot has happened since Tanya Byron first put pen to paper on her Byron Review in September 2007.
We’ve had the on-set of the global recession, swine flu, Barack Obama, the volcanic ash cloud, two major earthquakes, a tsunami and the death of Michael Jackson. Elsewhere, Manchester United (twice), Chelsea and Manchester City have all won the Premier League. And MCV has published 230 magazines.
But now, five years on, and Byron’s request for a more coherent age rating system for video games has almost been answered. As of July 30th – barring any other delays – PEGI will legally become the UK’s single age rating system for video games.
“Making a law is a meticulous process, there is a lot of technical work involved,” explains PEGI’s communication boss Dirk Bosmans.
“The last six months were spent on formalities that every law must go through. Everything was ready, but you can't just skip the technical bits that make a law watertight. It can be frustrating to wait, but once everything was set in motion, we knew that there was no way back.”
So, now that process is almost complete, MCV asks all the parties involved what exactly has changed, and what comes next.
Why is PEGI the best video game age rating system and not BBFC?
Dirk Bosmans, Communication manager, PEGI:?In order to rate 2,000 games per year in more than 30 countries, you need a robust system and broad support.
That was available from the start: the industry was committed to use an efficient and reliable system and governments were willing to support such a solution. So we were not new to this and we could show that our system was built on objective criteria with an organisation to back that up.
The Netherlands, parts of Austria, Finland, Lithuania and Iceland have legislation that use PEGI – all slightly different in execution and scope, but the common part is that PEGI was seen as the best choice to rate games.
Gianni Zamo, communications officer, Video Stanards Council: PEGI was designed purely for rating games. The system incorporates a series of criteria which are objective and makes rating games straightforward. That means studios, publishers and the public will know exactly why a game has attained its particular rating and that that rating has been based on the game’s content and nothing else.
What changes for publishers, retailers and developers?
Dr. Jo Twist, UKIE?CEO:?Publishers and developers now have to deal with only one regulator rather than two as was the case when the BBFC also had input into rating games.
In addition, and specifically for developers, the result of these changes is that they now know what age rating their game is likely to attain before they submit it for rating. This allows them to adjust or alter content accordingly.
Also, in the past, retailers treated PEGI as if it was legally enforceable, – even though they were only advisory – but sometimes this presented problems for retail as an awkward customer who could demand a PEGI rated game be sold to him even though he might be under the age restriction on the packaging.
With the PEGI ratings now legally enforceable, this situation should no longer arise.
Dirk Bosmans: It doesn't change everything. Most games in the UK already had PEGI ratings – all games rated PEGI 3 and 7.
With the new law, all the PEGI 12, 16 and 18 ratings become legally enforceable, which means those games must have a PEGI rating to be sold legally. And just like games that required a BBFC classification in the past, it remains illegal to sell those to someone younger than the rating indicates. That is not new, but it includes a larger group of games.
The Video Standards Council will work with publishers to ensure their game can be sold legally. There are new packaging regulations, and if a box contains not only games but film, some rules apply to determine which rating must be displayed. The VSC can assist publishers in these cases.
What role does the Video Standards Council play?
Gianni Zamo: Under the name Games Rating Authority, the VSC has been selected to act as the designated authority to administer the statutory rating of video games in the UK. In truth, the VSC has been undertaking this role in an advisory capacity since 1994 – under the old ELSPA system – and since 2003 using the PEGI system.
What about digital games?
Dirk Bosmans:?We must follow the innovations in the games industry. The digital market is here, but still changing in many ways – business models, platforms and so forth. For that reason, we launched PEGI Express last year, which is a procedure to get a PEGI rating for a game app quickly, easily and cheaply. Microsoft offers it for free on Windows Phone. These are fast-moving, turbulent areas of the games market, whereas authorities tend to move at a slower pace. We have got the time in between to provide workable solutions that both sides can be happy with.
Tanya Byron emphasised an importance of educating parents on video game ratings. What is the industry doing about that?
Jo Twist:?UKIE is launching ...by Published on July 25th, 2012 23:18- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News,
- Wii U News
Nintendo made a loss of ¥17.2 billion (£141.76m) in the financial quarter ending June 30, though the company is heading in the right direction ahead of the launch later this year of Wii U. This time last year, losses were ¥25.5 billion.
Net sales revenue for the quarter came to ¥84.8 billion (£697.7m), a drop of 9.7 per cent year on year - but an improvement on the 50 per cent decline the company was hit with last year.
3DS sales totalled just 1.86 million worldwide, with almost half of the hardware total sold in Japan. Around 920,000 units were sold in Nintendo's home country - which given the impact the strong yen has had on revenue from exports isn't the worst thing in the world, but does reflect the struggles Nintendo has had in building and sustaining momentum for its 3D handheld in the west.
Cause for cautious optimism, then - and Nintendo still forecasts a return to profit by the end of the fiscal year - but a breakdown of the company's historic performance in this quarter shows just how far it has fallen. In 2009, net sales were ¥423.4 billion - almost five times its revenue for the quarter just gone.
Nintendo says the release of 3DS XL will "solidly revitalise" the handheld's performance overseas, with the belated, vital acknowledgement of the importance of digital sales also expected to help. New Super Mario Bros 2 will be the first game to benefit from simultaneous digital and retail releases when it launches next month.
Internally, though, the immediate priority must surely be making 3DS hardware profitable again; Nintendo has been taking a loss on every system sold since the dramatic price cut last August. But one suspects Wii U's launch will be key. Nintendo will be first to market in the next generation of consoles, and it must ensure that opportunity is not wasted, with a substantial installed base required before Microsoft and Sony release next-gen consoles of their own in 2013.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/nint...ntinue-improve ...by Published on July 25th, 2012 22:51- Categories:
- DCEmu
Leading developer Chris Stevens tells Edge magazine that neuroscience researchers will soon find 'non-violent triggers to mimic the rush of pleasure gamers feel when firing guns.' Researchers can now use functional MRI scanners to monitor what is going on in a player's brain and search for more optimistic and non-violent pleasure triggers. 'For decades it's as if developers have been driving a car with no speedometer,' Stevens claims, referring to the reliance on reported emotions rather than empirical measurements in game development. The functional MRI now gives a much more accurate indication of when peaceful triggers light up the brain's pleasure regions, opening up alternative game designs, without crude weaponry. 'I would like to see many more beautiful games like Fez and Limbo,' Stevens says. 'When I was a kid, games were more beautiful and magical and immersed you in fantastical, peaceful and enjoyable landscape.' The functional MRI could make these peaceful titles provably superior — no mean feat in a mass-market games industry currently obsessed with the crude dopamine-triggering effects of simulated weaponry.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...sion-with-guns ...
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