| Casual Games Publisher/Developer PopCap Games Hires Microsoft's ...
Microsoft's GM of Xbox Live Arcade has been hired on by leading casual games publisher/developer PopCap Games. In a press released issued today by PopCap Games, Greg Canessa explains his decision for the move to Vice President of Video Game Platforms of PopCap Games after seven years at Microsoft: From the Xbox 360 video game console to handheld videogame devices and more, PopCaps lineup of casual games are really well suited for a wide range of platforms, and Im excited to have this opportunity to help guide PopCaps future growth, said Mr. Canessa. The fact that PopCap is both a recognized leader in its space and a pioneering company with a start-up mentality is very appealing to me, and Im really looking forward to helping the company bring their award-winning suite of games to these platforms.
Game Console Forecast From IDC: Nintendo Wii On Top
The Nintendo Wii is expected to outsell the other consoles in both 2007 and 2008, according to a new forecast from International Data Corp. The Wii will "disrupt the market, broadening the industry's audience by bringing in nongamers with the console's value pricing, says Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at IDC. The overall worldwide video game console and handheld market grew to 62.3 million consoles sold in 2006, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier thanks to strong Nintendo DS Lite sales. IDC expects hardware sales to grow 26 percent to 78.5 million units in 2007. Industry-wide revenue was $29.6 billion, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier thanks to strong sales of DS, Xbox 360 and Wii software sales. IDC expects revenue to grow 31.4 percent to $38.9 billion in 2007.
Pence should play NOW. Lee, Jennings, Loretta impress
Carlos Lee wasted no time in his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs at Disney's Wide World of Sports. "He may look good riding a horse," manager Phil Garner said of Lee, "but he looks better in the middle of our lineup." He hit two RBI singles up the middle. Nobody even teased him about taking two days off to attend the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where he bought a prized Brahman Heifer at auction on Wednesday night, rode in the Rodeo's Grand Entry on Thursday night and presented Brahman from his show string on Thursday and Friday. Despite the busy travel schedule, Lee was right at home in the batter's box in his first game wearing an Astros uniform. "Tell you what, when you step on the field it's a total different mind, attitude," he said.
Over-by-over: England's innings
It's Saturday, it's three am and the streets of London are pretty gritty right now. Rain sodden and rubbish strewn, you need a good reason to be out of bed and not drunk out of your head. Good thing we've got one then: one more win and England will be emerge from this tour with a trophy to take home as well as some stories the players might not be embarrassed to tell their grand kids about. .
Video: Laura Veirs: "Cast a Hook"
Portland-based singer/songwriter Laura Veirs' instills her lyrics with the kind of crafty imagery that makes videos usually unnecessary or redundant. Fittingly, she's only made one previous video, a big-budget clip for "Galaxies" two years ago. By contrast, "Cast a Hook", from her forthcoming album Saltbreakers, embraces "low-budget" as an aesthetic decision, yet remains visually inventive without stooping to literalizing the lyrics. The nutshell concept concerns the message-in-a-bottle correspondence between Veirs and a lonely woodsman who lives on a remote island, and it gives the filmmakers an opportunity to juxtapose the natural settings with cardboard waves and paper-and-glue aquatic animals (there goes a narwhal!). Best of all is a giant sea serpent that takes three puppeteers to operate.
Bamco Shoots The Moon: $20 Tekken PS3 Download
How much are you willing to pay for a downloadable game? Bandai Namco is willing to bet that you'll go as high as, say, $20. That's what they're charging for Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection when it hits PlayStation Store today. This is an interesting development. $20 prices Tekken right out of the "impulse buy" bracket, slapping it squarely into the realm of retail pricing -- even though it's half the price of the PSP version of the game. Part of the allure of downloadable content is rock-bottom microtransaction-level prices; then again, part of the allure of the Sony store is their singular ability to offer high-quality content that could just as easily be shoved into a retail box. Tekken's an excellent test case, too, as the game is very good. So what will win out -- are sales of digital downloads driven primarily by price, or will people pay retail-level amounts if they want the game enough? We'll see.
The Oscar speech I didn't need
"Wow. I never expected this. I don't know what to say. [Slight welling of tears.] I only wish I had prepared something. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. There are so many people and deities who should be standing up here with me [voice cracks] -- my lovely wife, my two brilliant children, the Post-Gazette for believing in me as a guy who could fill space, the backup Morning File guys (whose names escape me), the artists, my fashion consultants at Burlington Coat Factory, my hair stylist Lou, my beer distributor, my pharmacist. [Orchestra kicks in with some annoying tinkling notes.] Oh, God, who am I forgetting? That's right, God. What can you say about God? This past year it seemed as if He was everywhere. He's amazing. He's like a God to me. You deserve a hunk of this [looking upward].
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