game

Google PSP redesign or PSP2, and you'll get tens of thousands of results (and even a few interesting homemade Photoshop jobs, such as the "PSP Mini" shown above)--a testament to the fact that many gamers, it seems, were never quite comfortable with the design of Sony's first handheld gaming system. To be sure, the PSP has its share of issues, not the least of which is the UMD format--the proprietary optical disc format is hobbled with slow load times, and the moving parts sap the PSP's battery life. Controls have always been suspect, too, … Read more

This morning King.com is launching its new user-generated casual games site, MyGame.com. The service combines some of the professionally made casual games offered on King.com alongside user-generated titles and those made by users with a Web-based game creation tool. Game creators who publish on MyGame.com can opt-in to a revenue-sharing program, which pays off ad clicks. The service is also promoting an advanced payment scheme similar to recording industry contracts that pays in advance to popular titles.

I had a go with MyGame's game creator yesterday, and had a good time with the three titles that are currently available for editing. Users can upload a picture either off their hard drive, or by using their Webcams. MyGame will do its best to map your face, as well as give you a quick and dirty cropping tool to fine-tune. You can then test the game to make any last-minute adjustments to your face.

Once done, users (even unregistered ones) get quick-sharing links, along with embed codes to put their creation on a blog or Web site, which I've done below. Users who decide to register with the service are given some extra power tools, like a stats manager, high-score list, and guest book.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of MyGame's future game offerings, along with some of the user-submitted content, although between Kongregate's recent inclusion of badges, and that oh-so-addicting McDonald's Flash game, MyGame must compete for my unfortunate lack of attention span. … Read more

Sony launched a pre-emptive strike on the E3 grapevine with its announcement yesterday that it's cutting the price of the 60GB PlayStation 3 to $500, and offering a new 80GB model for $600 in August. But what else does the company have up its sleeve for the show? There are still at least a couple of unanswered questions offering grist for the rumor mill:

rumble-enabled Sixaxis controller: Sony has already shot down rumors that the 80GB PS3 will come bundled with a new rumble-ready Sixaxis controller. (Of course, the company was denying rumors of a PS3 price cut as … Read more

Some of the very first details have emerged about Steven Spielberg's video game partnership with Electronic Arts.

According to Newsweek, the famed film director is working on a game code-named PQRS--note the sequential letters--that "neatly blends the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon."

Newsweek said the game, which will run on Nintendo's hit Wii console, has a physics engine designed to allow players to move blocks around with the Wii controller.

The second game, code-named LMNO--also sequential letters, hmmm--is for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 … Read more

Plant Tycoon, a garden simulation game that lets players nurture simple backyard gardens into lavish nursery empires, is about to set down roots in the PC and Mac. Now here's an upbeat title even grumpy game foe Jack Thompson might like.

Created by game studio Last Day of Work, the new version of the handheld title lets players breed and cross-breed species, within a budget, in a search for six magic plants. Solve the genetic puzzle and you'll be rewarded with wealth--and virtual horticultural fame.

In a nice twist on real-time green-thumbing, the gameplay continues unless you pause … Read more

For those of you who are keeping score, last week, the American Medical Association decided to postpone the vote on whether or not heavy video game playing is an addiction.

In a statement prepared by the organization, an AMA spokesperson explained that more research needs to be conducted before a decision is made: "Given that approximately 70 to 90 percent of U.S. youths play video games, the AMA today called for more research on the long-term beneficial and detrimental effects of video game and Internet use."

I can't help but think that the AMA should really … Read more

Sony has said it's sorry for using an Anglican cathedral as a background for a bloody shootout in a video game--but it doesn't have any plans to withdraw the game anytime soon.

According to the BBC, the company on Friday printed a public apology in the Manchester Evening News for any offense caused by its Resistance: Fall of Man game, which includes a gruesome battle between soldiers and aliens in a building that resembles Manchester Cathedral.

"It was never our intention to offend anyone in the making of this game, and we would like to apologize unreservedly … Read more

Maybe the next version of Apple's iPhone will have games, but for now only a few have been ported to iPhone by developers. iChess lets you play the classic game against an AI opponent. One word of warning: if you set the level of the AI too high, you're going to be waiting for a long time to make your next move.

iPhone link: http://ec2-72-44-51-230.z-1.compute-1.amazonaws.com/ichess.html

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Under the Radar event last week, checking out the latest new media ideas and companies. But I did leave unhappy with several of the CEOs who presented there. The problem: They're building sites that pander to our worst instincts and fears.

The CEO of one of the gaming companies talked about his goal of bringing the "lapsed hardcore gamer" back into games, with the sharklike acumen of a crack dealer trying to prey on a recovering addict who's having a bad day. Then there was the gaming company CEO … Read more