newVideoPlayer("sonicunleashed_gawker.flv", 463, 387,""); To go along with the alleged (for now) Sonic Unleashed screenshots, a video has appeared on YouTube courtesy of Sega On that matches up with the art style of the screenies, showing off what could very well be a side of Sonic the Hedgehog we’ve not seen for years. Until we hear anything official I shall try desperately to curb my excitement, but I cannot help get a little bit tingly thinking that Sega may have finally gotten it right. Thanks to everyone who sent in the clip! SEGA’s Sonic Unleashed – WE HAVE THE VIDEO! [Sega On] More »
Sonic fan site Sonic Stadium writes that it may have uncovered the first shots of Sonic Unleashed, the title Sega trademarked earlier this month. According to Sonic Stadium, the screen shots, some in-game, some pre-rendered CG, were culled from one of Sega’s FTP servers. They certainly look like the genuine article, giving the impression that Sonic Unleashed will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, hopefully with gameplay that’s more Sonic and the Secret Rings than it is Sonic the Hedgehog “Next-Gen.”
No, Crecente doesn’t really sound like that or review games for garlic. Still, this is a hoot. Just watch. Crecente Reviews [eegra via Dtoid Thanks, August!] More »
It’s a shame my summer is already booked up, because there’s a couple of events I’d really like to be able to hit. The Games, Learning & Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin (10-11 July) is one of those. According to their blurb, the conference is about “real-life people playing real-life video games, and what they learn from doing it; it fosters substantive discussion and collaboration among academics, designers, and educators interested in how game technologies — commercial games and others — can enhance learning, culture, and education.” If you’ve got a paper you’re sitting on, now is the time to submit it — submissions close on 31 March. Full details after the jump.
Jay is Games’ Casual Gameplay Design Competition #5 is now up with twenty one entries. I always like spending some time with the contest entries when they’re finally up; even though there’s always an overarching theme (this go around, it’s ‘upgrade’), the games are usually a pretty diverse and interesting bunch.
We’ve mentioned the latest study coming out on aggression, kids, and violent video games, a book by two Harvard researchers entitled Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. In case you’re just itching for more information on the study that comes down on the side of the gaming industry, an education blog has three lengthy articles up discussing the book. The three-parter (as of now) includes some thoughts on the research, an interview with one of the researchers, and some more thoughts on what all this means when it comes to parenting.
Pearl Research has released their latest report and forecast on China’s market and has come up with some pretty astonishing numbers. A quick rundown: the market grew 60% in ’07, reaching $US1.66 billion; they predict the market will exceed $US 3 billion by 2010; domestic games are getting as many as 1.52 million concurrent users. It’s no secret the market is huge in China and continues to grow, but those are some pretty impressive numbers (and a lot of zeros). The full press release, with some extra details, is after the jump:
We posted a little musing on books that should be made into games a while back, which spawned plenty of discussion. Now someone’s gone the extra step and added screenshots and more complex mechanic ideas for Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff’s Revenge, Huckleberry Finn’s Xtreme Rafting, and To Kill a Mockingbird: Furor Excessum:
Going off naught but anecdotal evidence, it’s easy to see why Midway CEO David Zucker was binned (as if he actually “resigned”) earlier this week. Guy didn’t do a very good job, and leaves Midway in worse shape than when he came in. But that’s just a general assumption: it’s a lot more fun to look at some numbers showing just how shitty the company have become since 2004, when Sumner Redstone bought a majority stake in the company (which ties in nicely with Zucker’s tenure, which began in 2003):
