yahoo!
Yahoo! Names Rock Band 2 One of the Best Tech of 2008, Blu-Ray One of the Worst
6:40AM Brian Crecente | Yahoo! Tech writer Christopher Null listed Rock Band 2 among his personal eight best tech products of 2008. More »
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Wii, 360 And…Runescape Top Yahoo! Search Queries For 2008
3:30PM Luke Plunkett | It’s no Google, but in the absence of Google’s stats, it’ll have to do: according to Yahoo!, the Wii, 360, PSP and even PS3 were amongst the 10 most-searched for technology items for 2008. More »
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Runescape More Popular Than Jessica Alba
1:40AM Mike Fahey | Yahoo! has published their list of the most searched terms of 2008, and popular free MMO Runescape has actually made the cut, coming in at number 5, beating out Naruto, Jessica Alba, and Lindsay Lohan. More »
Sony & Yahoo Survey Says Games Are Good For Kids Development
11:30AM Stuart Houghton | In June, Yahoo’s ‘lifestyle’ site Shine hosted a Sony Online Entertainment survey into the gaming habits of US families. As well as the heart-warming finding that 87% of parents regularly play videogames with their children, the survey also looked at how parents perceived their child’s development being affected by gaming. Perhaps surprisingly, the survey conducted by a major games console manufacturer found that many parents noticed improvements in their kids that they attributed directly to gaming! 75% of surveyed parents think that their children’s hand/eye coordination has been improved by gaming, while 84% say that PC gaming has boosted their kid’s typing skills. Parents See Benefit of Children Playing Video Games [GameSpy] More »
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Yahoo! Japan Polls Interest In Buying Metal Gear Solid 4
4:00PM Brian Ashcraft | For Metal Solid 4, Sony has system seller expectations! Many current PS3 owners are already planning on purchasing MGS4, but Sony is also hoping that the PS3 exclusive will move consoles. No doubt it will, but how many? Obviously, we won’t know that until the post-launch retail data comes rolling in, but this Yahoo! Games Metal Gear Solid 4 poll sheds light onto at least how a sample of 625 Japanese gamers feel about the title. This cannot be taken as a blanket barometer for the entire country, but rather, simply results for those who were polled. The above info reads: More »
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Valve Asked Microsoft To Build Steam (Microsoft Said “No, Thanks”)
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | Sure, it had a rocky start to life, but Valve’s Steam platform is probably the best thing PC gaming has going for it right now, and has given the company far more clout in the industry than it could muster from its games alone. But how different could things have been if Valve had looked to somebody else to build the system? Somebody like…Microsoft? Or maybe even Yahoo? Valve’s Doug Lombardi tells GamesIndustry: You know, we went around to Yahoo, Microsoft…and anybody who seemed like a likely candidate to build something like Steam. We basically had our feature list that we wanted. We wanted auto-updating, we wanted better anti-piracy, better anti-cheat, and selling the games over the wire was something we came up with later. We went around to everybody and asked ‘Are you guys doing anything like this?’ And everyone was like ‘That’s a million miles in the future…We can’t help you. Can you imagine a Steam built by Yahoo? And how goddamned brilliant it would be? And intuitive? Boggles the mind. Microsoft and Yahoo rejected Steam, says Valve [Gamesindustry.biz] More »
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Yahoo! Dishes On Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows
7:30AM Mike Fahey | Well no wonder we’ve not seen a press release for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows! Yahoo! has the exclusive details on the new game, including the announcement trailer and a few choice pieces of concept art. Web of Shadows, developed by Shaba and Treyarch, the game features the same free-roaming gameplay we’ve come to be cautiously optimistic about, with a dark twist. New York City has been invaded by something horrible, the city leaders have declared martial law, and Spidey’s friends and foes alike are struggling to handle the situation. More »
Sierra Debuts Oakenfold’s Bourne Soundtrack Live
1:40AM Mike Fahey | Sierra and Yahoo! are teaming up to present the debut of the original soundtrack for their upcoming The Bourne Conspiracy game tomorrow at Winter Music Conference 2008 in Miami, Florida. World-renowned trance DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold will be performing the soundtrack live in concert at Miami’s Mansion club, along with members of the Florida Classical Symphony and a special appearance by hip hop artist Cee-Lo. “It was a rewarding experience to score The Bourne Conspiracy video game — I have always been a fan of the series and the pace of the game is an ideal match for my musical tempo and style,” said Paul Oakenfold. “I look forward to premiering the soundtrack during “The Bourne Sessions” at WMC.” Yahoo! will be airing the event live tomorrow night at both Yahoo! Live and Sierra’s own http://www.bournesessions.com/. As a big fan of Oakenfold’s work, I will feel really bad on Wednesday when I realised I completely forgot about this. More »
UNICEF Campaigns to Stop Virtual Child Porn
12:00AM Brian Ashcraft | While the Japanese government has been cracking down more and more on child pornography, Unicef feels the government’s efforts have come up a little short. What’s more, the organisation has been campaigning the government to ban child porn imagery in manga, anime and games. (Note that Microsoft and Yahoo totally support Uniceft’s campaign.) According to Unicef’s definition, imagery like sailor uniforms should not be permitted in adult scenes. Meaning? That Unicef is saying that even adult videos that feature over 18 actresses should not be allowed to use underage imagery like school girl outfits and whatnot. Though, people who look under 18 would not be prohibited from doing what they do. Whatever that is. Campaign to Make Virtual Child Porn [IT Media via Canned Dogs] More »
