gaming

Fund this: An iPhone game controller that's also a case

Too many great iPhone games suffer from digit interruptus: onscreen controls force your thumbs or fingers to block too much of the action. Plus, there's no tactile feedback. meaning you don't get the button-mashing goodness associated with the best console and arcade games.

Developers have proposed a variety of solutions to this problem. For example, ThinkGeek's iCade 8-Bitty gives you a Nintendo-style controller with a D-Pad and lots of buttons -- but it works with only a smattering of games. Plus it's a hassle to carry around.

The upcoming iMpulse controller is small enough to ride … Read more

Microsoft offers free month for Xbox Live users hit by outage

Xbox Live members affected by a recent outage of the Cloud Saved Games feature will be treated to an additional month of membership on the house.

Xbox Live's Cloud Saved Games lets members store their saved games online so they can play them on a different console and pick up where they left off. An outage that hit Xbox Live on Friday also took the Saved Game feature offline, according to gaming blog site Joystiq.

Microsoft apparently spent most of the weekend trying to resolve the problem. And as of early Monday, all issues had been fixed, Microsoft spokesman … Read more

Online services for Madden NFL 11, others get sacked

Electronic Arts has once again announced that a wide array of its games will soon no longer be playable online.

The company has updated its Online Service Updates page to announce that Madden NFL 11 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii will lose its online playability on January 11. FIFA Soccer 11, NBA Live 10, and NHL 11 are among the other titles that will no longer be playable.

EA has several times in the past removed online services for older titles. In a statement posted to its Web site, the game publisher said that the decision to … Read more

Great game deals to kick off the new year

Welcome to my last post of 2012. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and I wish you the best as we head into what will hopefully be a saner, safer new year.

Personally, I'm hoping to find a little more time for fun -- more books, more sports, and more gaming. Especially cheap gaming, which makes it even more fun in my book. Today I've rounded up some pretty spectacular game deals for consoles and PCs; take a look:

1. While supplies last, Newegg (via eBay) has an Xbox Live 12-month Gold membership for $37.99 shipped. … Read more

Zynga puts PetVille and more out to pasture

Say goodbye to PetVille, FishFille, Mafia Wars 2, and a slew of other games from the folks at Zynga.

The video game studio has reluctantly pulled the plug on 11 of its gaming titles, as detailed by blog site TechCrunch.

The list of casualities encompass some of the company's most popular games, most of which were playable online through Facebook and a few that were available as iOS or Android apps.

PetVille - Shut down as of yesterday. Mafia Wars 2 - Shut down to new players as of yesterday. FishVille - Shut down December 5th. Vampire Wars - … Read more

Game over for PlayStation 2 in Japan

Sony has discontinued the PlayStation 2 in Japan, says a report, nearly 13 years after the device's introduction.

Famitsu broke the news that Sony halted Japanese production of PlayStation 2 hardware in its home country, but the blog also noted that the company plans to continue developing and selling games for the video game console. We've reached out to Sony Computer Entertainment America for more information about future PS2 plans in the U.S. -- check back later for a response. … Read more

Ouya game consoles now on their way to developers

Developers who ordered an Ouya game console should soon find one in front of their doors.

The folks at Oyua confirmed today that 1,200 developer consoles have been shipped and should reach eager buyers in the next few days.

Created this past year, Ouya is an attempt to bring gaming back to your TV. Designed to hook up to your television, the Ouya console plans to be home to a platform of Android-based games built by interested developers.

The console itself is the brainchild of Julie Uhrman, a video game industry veteran who wanted to lay the groundwork for … Read more

Boost your PC with Wise Game Booster

You don't need a supercharged PC to run high-demand games. Wise Game Booster will speed up your computer's gaming performance with the touch of a button. It's a little too powerful for rookie users, but the ability to change or modify how it closes programs makes it a worthwhile download.

Though the program claims to boost game performance, it really just optimizes RAM and processing speed. More often than not, this means shutting down any open programs and stray processes. If you're not careful, that could mean closing Word or another program when you haven't … Read more

Ho ho ho! How a 5-year-old got a porn-filled Nintendo for Xmas

Refurbishing is an art, as well as a craft. The whole point is to make a gadget feel pristine, even when it used to be owned by a cult leader, a scout leader or an exhibitionist.

Sadly, someone in a Colorado GameStop stopped refurbishing before the job was complete.

So much so that 5-year-old Braydon Giles opened his Xmas gift -- a Nintendo 3DS -- and discovered images of naked people doing less than pristine things. As Channel 9 News tells it, Braydon showed the 3DS to his brother Bryton. He wanted his help to remove these weird pictures.

Bryton … Read more