Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer

Katherine Graden doesn't really like shoot-'em-up video games. She prefers games on her Wii system that test her fitness and agility - the ones her guy friends tease are her "sissy games."

Keeping Up Nintendo's Momentum

After overseeing several years of rapid growth at Nintendo, President Satoru Iwata faces new challenges: how to keep players of the company's videogames interested, and how to cultivate a new wave of customers.

Raging Thunder tries online multiplayer

Raging Thunder is one of those games we've been watching since the App Store was first announced, and now it may have reached another milestone. Polarbit says that with version 1.0.3, which is in the App Store now, they've released online, real-time competitive multiplayer. They say it's an App Store first, and I think they're right -- a few games have offered wifi multiplayer before (Apple's Hold'em does, and Raging Thunder did previously), and some games have done some non-real time multiplayer (Loot Wars is interesting in that way) but allowing players to play competitively online in real-time is something that hasn't been done much.It's not quite on the level of Xbox Live yet -- Polarbit is offering a free beta of their server software on the website, so you've apparently got to have your own server running (or sign on to someone else's) to race against your friends online. I just gave it a shot, and it worked well. The lobby system is a little awkward and without voice chat (strange how much I've just taken it for granted in multiplayer nowadays), it's hard to tell whether people are playing or just waiting in a room (or why they're dropping out of the race, as a few players did while I played). But once you get into the game, it's Raging Thunder with other people driving the cars. Well done.It would be nice to see player names above cars. Easier to do trash talking when you know who you're talking about. This is only the beginning, however -- here's to many, many great online multiplayer experiences on the iPhone.TUAWRaging Thunder tries online multiplayer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

'Fable II' is a fresh, essential game experience

The freedom to chart your own course, morally and throughout the game's landscape, makes “Fable II” a fresh and essential game experience.

Microsoft, Sony Copy Nintendo's Playbook (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - Nintendo raised the bar for casual, easy-to-play video games again Tuesday, as rivals Microsoft and Sony scrambled to imitate the family-friendly appeal of Nintendo's Wii game console with their own product announcements this week.

GTA IV May be Driving Sales of Gaming Consoles (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - While Grand Theft Auto IV is racking up sales records, console makers are vying for bragging rights of their own, and Microsoft seems to be the victor.