While Halo 3 might have set the record for the biggest one-day sales, and Grand Theft Auto IV was a smash hit out of the gate, one of the most popular and enduring games in the electronic entertainment industry has long been “the Blame Game.” This has been something that has been played by the industry for decades, and likely won’t stop being played anytime soon.

The Blame Game has been played year round, by companies big and small. It has never had any set rules, but this hasn’t kept this one from getting a whole lot of playtime. 

Basically, the Blame Game has been played anytime a developer, producer or publisher has run into problems. If a game didn’t sell, the...Read More

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Will the formerly largest trade show for all things video game survive? That’s bound to be the question being asked right about now. GameDaily has reported that Activision and Vivendi have discontinued their membership with the Entertainment Software Association, and thus will not be presenting at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles.

This is big news considering that the show is making a return to the Los Angeles Convention Center after opting to do a scaled-down affair in Santa Monica last July. The show will remain a low-key business conference with a tightly controlled invite-only list of press getting the chance to atte...Read More

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Last December I took the time to write about how the video game industry has so many end-of-the-year Best and Worst lists. But actually in truth the industry has lists throughout the year. At any given time one gaming magazine or another, or Web site or blog, seemingly posts the “Top X” of something game-related. It can be the Top 100 Adventure Games, or the 100 Most Innovative Controllers or in some cases the 15 Best Digitally Rendered (and overly endowed) Female Sidekicks. 

Of course the game industry isn’t limited to lists. Various business magazines provide annual lists of everything from individuals’ wealth to environmentally friendly companies. Entertainment magazines list the “power” of entertainers as well as those behind the scenes. So why shouldn’t video games be ranked? 

And in fairness, this reporter i...Read More

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It is safe to say that I’ve played quite a few computer and video games over the years. As a reviewer for nearly 20 years, I’ve conquered worlds, explored new lands and in the course of it battled monsters, zombies and Nazis over and over. My big pet peeve remains innovation, a non-stop hot topic in the world of video games. 

Gamers constantly clamor for innovation, while game developers continually promise it. Yet more of the same is what routinely sells. Note that Halo 3 was huge, Grand Theft Auto IV will be huge and other than the upcoming Spore, everything else sounds like even more of the same. So what’s the problem? Well, I’ve broken it down into a list of a few problem areas. Most of these affect action games, but these are where innovation is promised most, and yet rarely delivered. 

Now With 50 percent Mo...Read More

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With Earth Day a week away, a lot of attention is being directed toward the “green movement,” and a lot of reporters (including me) are using tired headlines such as “Not Easy Being Green,” and “Green Sees Growth.” This time I’ve looked at the issue of whether the electronic entertainment industry can ever go green — or at least get greener. The answer is yes and no. 

Earlier this year at International CES in Las Vegas, I attended the Keeping CE off the Curb SuperSession, moderated by Brian Taylor, editor in chief of Recycling Today, which I covered for TWICE. The panel addressed concerns that the CE industry might face mandatory recycling fees and new programs being implemented across the country. Over the hour-long session much was talked about,...Read More

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A question that comes up from time to time is: “Why did movies go widescreen?” The aspect ratio of early motion pictures was essentially based on the technology of the era, and for movie houses the screen maintained the perspective of a stage play. Of course, all this changed when TV started to keep people at home instead of going to the movies. To draw in the crowds moviemakers tried new gimmicks, and over time the widescreen thing stuck. TV, meanwhile, stayed the traditional 4:3 ratio that is only now being supplanted by 16:9 sets. 

OK, that’s a rough overview of widescreen vs. full screen — and you may ask why I’m mentioning it. What does it have to do with games?  

Well, there could be another showdown coming, and this time it could be the battle of the potential blockbusters. Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest in the ...Read More

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Most industries have trade groups, trade shows and conferences. But the video game industry — also known as the electronic entertainment industry — seems to be particularly filled with an annoying amount of intialisms.

There is the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which is the non-profit self-regulatory body that assigns ratings; there is the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which is the U.S. association trade group for video and computer games; there is E3, the annual trade show that is owned by the ESA. The list goes on and on.

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Ever since the demise of the HD DVD format there has been ongoing speculation that the Microsoft might embrace Blu-ray for the Xbox 360. First, a few questions need to be asked. The most important one is — Why?

The Xbox 360 never actually used the HD DVD format for games, and the system has done fine with normal DVD technology. Blu-ray wouldn’t really add much to the system either. Game developers couldn’t use the Blu-ray technology, so at best the Xbox 360 would become another affordable Blu-ray movie player. It would be an add-on feature that actually adds very little.

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Software giant Electronic Arts is moving forward with its hostile takeover of Take-Two Interactive, a move that EA chief executive John Riccitiello says could be good for Rockstar and its hugely popular Grand Theft Auto brand. The contention is that EA could provide better distribution for the highly anticipated game, which arrives April 29.

The level of smugness from the EA camp also seems to be at an all-time high considering the things that are being reported around the world. When speaking to The New York Times last week Riccitiello was quoted as saying “We, in many w...Read More

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In this day and age of video games and interactive entertainment, board games might seem quaint or even an anachronistic form of entertainment. But in fact, board games have made a big comeback in recent years, and a wave of releases from overseas has given new life to the tabletop activity.

Earlier this month I wrote a story for Playthings, the toy industry trade magazine and sister publication of TWICE, on how board games were selling at retail. To my surprise retailers across the country reported that the Euro Game trend was still going very strong, a fact that was reinforced at the recent Toy Fair trade show in New York.

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Last week Gary Gygax passed away at the age of 69. To video gamers his name might not be as familiar as Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier or Will Wright, but had it not been for Gygax there likely may have never been World of Warcraft, EverQuest or any other role-playing game. The Wisconsin native wasn’t a computer programmer or video game developer, but as co-creator of the paper and dice role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (or D&D) his impact on video games will be surely felt for decades to come.

Having founded Tactical Studies Rules (TSR, Inc.) with Don Kaye in 1973, Gygax can safely be called the father of tabletop role-playing games. And were it not for him, the entire genre of role-playing games — from the online massively multiplayer games including World of Warcraft and of course Dungeons & D...Read More

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