gaming

I'm a software reviews guy by trade, but I've mentioned before I'm also an avid gamer. I grew up in the era of "classic" arcade games and with all the advancements over the years in technology, graphics, and the birth of new and exciting game genres, I've never stopped. But even with today's advanced games, I sometimes long for the games that required only a joystick, a fire-button, and a pocket full of quarters.

The Mac gaming community knows all too well there is often a significant amount of lag time between when … Read more

The last time we saw a "HotSeat" game simulator, it was a relatively bare-bones setup, at least compared with some others on the market back then. But with competition getting increasingly insane, it clearly needed to upgrade its offerings--lest it be named HotSeat for reasons other than intended.

BornRich says the "HotSeat 275 " is a two-seater that features a "Sony Slim PS 2 with controller, 8MB memory card, two Dolby 5.1 surround-sound speakers with a remote control and subwoofer unit, a copy of Grand Turismo 4 and two Logitech Driving Force Pro force-feedback wheels … Read more

NICASIO, Calif.--Search for sounds tagged with the word "funny" in Skywalker Sound's library of more than 120,000 effects, and you get precisely 510 results.

Among them are "animal cow," eight different forms of "human hiccup," six forms of "tuba comedy," and many, many more.

It's vital that the sound design and post-production arm of George Lucas' Lucasfilm empire has such a massive proprietary database of sounds. Its sound designers are tasked with coming up with just the right effects to create things like "rat (point of view)&… Read more

Note: Article updated on 4/17/08 with new carrier information.

Guitar Hero Mobile (review) is now widely available on many U.S. carriers and cell phone platforms, though at the time of this taping, it was only offered on Verizon. Cozy up with the cell phone interface and keypad frets in the First Look video below, and don't miss experiencing the thrill of star power and the burning shame of getting booed off the stage.

In a slight departure from my regular tone here on The Digital Home, I wanted to share an experience with you that has helped me regain my love for old video games and force me to reconsider my thoughts on what video gaming should be.

And although it wasn't one of the most welcome consoles in the history of video games, I truly enjoyed my Sega Dreamcast. Was it perfect? Certainly not. After all, this is a console that was advanced when it came out and disgustingly obsolete once the Playstation 2 hit store shelves just one year later.

But for all of its bad (can you say Sega's awful business practices?), the Sega Dreamcast was one of the greatest consoles of all-time.

Success in this business isn't always measured in sales and revenue, sometimes it's measured in what it does for the average person. And while Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo left Sega in their wake, the Dreamcast provided an experience that acted as the forerunner to many of the consoles we enjoy today.

Simply put, the Sega Dreamcast was great when it was released on 9/9/99 (in the US) and I'm a firm believer that Sega should release Dreamcast 2 on 9/9/09.… Read more

UPDATED! See below for additional comments after hours and hours of more playing time.

Addicts of Activision's Guitar Hero console game will no longer be confined to fretting their faux guitar in the living room, game room, or basement. Soon they'll be able to play from their mobile phone.

Thanks to Hands-On Mobile, a mobile games company from San Diego, I got to test my rhythm-matching mettle with Guitar Hero Mobile on a slick LG VX9400.

The first thing you'll notice about Guitar Hero Mobile is how familiar it feels; just like the console game's little cousin ought. Being able to seamlessly hop into the popular rock-star universe is no coincidence. Hands-On Mobile worked closely with Activision to import songs, graphics, characters, and gameplay from Guitar Hero editions II and III. Players of the mobile version choose from two characters, Axel Steel or Judy Nails, and at first have a nonchoice of a Les Paul guitar. Stellar guitar skills unlock three Gibsons, vetted by Gibson itself.… Read more

One can always rely on Maxim for briefings on popular culture. Somehow, it had slipped our minds that male readers in the 18-to-35 demographic would enjoy bringing scatological humor and video games together at last. The popular men's magazine has got this insightful angle covered in a best-of list.

Warning: Contains lurid situations and references to lower intestines.

See the image gallery at Maxim.

Now that the deal between Vivendi and Activision has been officially announced, it looks like the former will take two-thirds control in the popular developer and be able to compete more effectively against the video game industry's de facto big shot--EA.

And while the $1.7 billion will allow Vivendi to become a more "complete" organization that can offer a wide array of games for people on all platforms, I just can't see how this will benefit any consumers.

Sure, the merger between Vivendi and Activision will finally create a competitor for the behemoth that is EA and with Activision's current streak of 74 percent growth since 2003 as compared to EA's paltry 25 percent, it's certainly possible that the former could overtake the latter in terms of size within the next decade.

But is an environment where two major video game developers control a significant stake of the market really beneficial to consumers? Unfortunately, the answer is no.… Read more

I woke up this morning to news that France's Vivendi has agreed to buy a controlling interest in Activision, perhaps creating the world's-largest independent video game company.

The new entity will be known as Activision Blizzard--a suitable name based on the fact that Activision has the best-known video game brand in the new company, but that Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment unit also produces World of Warcraft, one of the most successful massively multiplayer online games of all time.

But what is not clear is whether the new company will be able to achieve something that is clearly part … Read more