gdc

SAN FRANCISCO--YouTube today added a way for developers to publish live videos from their mobile applications.

A new set of application programming interfaces, or APIs, introduced today by the company at the Game Developers Conference, lets developers push out a video stream of an app for live viewing.

In practice, this means game developers can add some code into their existing games, then publish gameplay live from a smartphone or tablet.

Such a system has been in place for a handful of desktop gaming titles, including Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of … Read more

Sony gave the press a peek at its upcoming next-generation console last month, and today did the same with developers.

The company was in San Francisco earlier today as part of the Games Developers Conference, and showed off some of the only hardware of the PlayStation 4: the new DualShock 4 controller and PlayStation 4 Eye camera peripheral. Both were behind an enclosed display case and marked as mock-ups on GDC's expo floor.

High-resolution photos of both pieces of hardware were released by Sony late last month.

Key among the new features in Sony's new DualShock 4 controller is a built-in touch pad that can be used to interact with games and on-screen menus. There's also a built-in microphone jack, and a share button nestled next to the trigger buttons that lets gamers stream their gameplay live to friends in real time. … Read more

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been announced at GDC, and it didn't hurt at all.

Speaking onstage at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima said Metal Gear Solid V is Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain combined. Snake has been in a coma for nine years, and awakens in the hospital at the start of the game alongside Ishmael, the figure from The Phantom Pain whose face is in covered in bandages.

During the gameplay demo, which is set in the game's tutorial level, Snake … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--If you could play high-end, 3D games in your browser at the same speed as on a console, would you? Here at the annual Game Developers Conference, the maker of Firefox revealed a plan to get you to do just that.

Mozilla's current holy grail is getting the mix of HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS that powers the modern Web to run apps at speeds that rival native code, the operating system-dependent languages underpinning apps on iOS, Android, Windows 8, and other proprietary systems.

The not-so-secret weapon in Mozilla's plan is something called ASM.js, said Director of Engineering Vladimir Vukicevic. "It's a dialect of JavaScript that can optimize [code] much better. It's around two times as fast," he said.… Read more

Game developers on Facebook's platform generated $2.8 billion last year, Facebook executives told developers today.

The social network, in hopes of snagging more game creators, has been very vocal about wanting to beef up its platform with mid- and hard-core games -- the type of games in which players spend the most time and money. Executives said they are working on making Facebook a place for these committed gamers.

"Anywhere in the games business we are investing heavily," Facebook's Sean Ryan said at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Calif.

In addition to trotting … Read more

Hungry for more PlayStation Vita news?

A Friday Webcast hosted by Sony and titled "PlayStation Vita Game Heaven" will reveal "unannounced Vita titles, upcoming releases, Vita services, as well as new information about in-release titles," notes Andriasang.com.

A teaser video clearly hints at developer interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, but English-only speakers may have a hard time following.… Read more

Since Jeff can't attend the 26th annual Game Developers Conference on March 5 in San Francisco, we're doing the next best thing and bringing part of the show to him!

General Manager Meggan Scavio is our guest today and we're getting all the details on the upcoming show, like the split among console, PC, and mobile gaming, the rise of independent game developers, and sequelmania! We'll also rant about 3D games and the convergence of the film and gaming industries.

She'll also join us in the second half of the podcast where we'll run … Read more

Not so long ago, Nintendo was king of the hill in video game land--especially when it came to handheld games. Back in those magical days, the Nintendo DS was the pinnacle of kid-friendly fun, and even casual gaming for those who normally didn't find games appealing.

Then came Apple. While some might debate the quality games in the App Store versus offerings for the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, the success of Apple's seemingly endless supply of cheap games has been undeniable. Nintendo even acknowledges that Apple is its chief rival, now.

Enter the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo's next-gen 3D handheld. Can it change the equation and recapture the Nintendo magic--and, most notably, kid appeal--that's worn away a bit in the wake of shiny gadgets like the iPhone and iPad?

The 3DS goes on sale in America on March 27, and it's been on shelves in Japan for weeks. We've reviewed the system already at CNET, and I've been playing around with one for the last six days, along with a handful of launch games.

At this year's GDC, Nintendo delivered a keynote literally across the street--and on the same day--as Apple's iPad 2 unveiling. Nintendo's focus on handheld gaming has had to take into account the meteoric rise of Apple's App Store. The App Store redefined the landscape of game pricing and effectively stole some of the casual-gaming crowd from Nintendo. Now that the 3DS is about to arrive, can it help fix what Nintendo's been missing?

After a week playing with one, my feelings are mixed. The 3DS has technical tricks up its sleeve that no iDevice can lay claim to yet--namely, its 3D camera and glasses-free 3D screen--but 3D is a divisive technology. Some people prefer their entertainment without a third dimension forced onto it. Also, Nintendo has been intent on not using 3D as an essential element in its 3DS games, making it a less integral technology than motion control on the Wii. The system has its advantages, and it has impressively improved graphics, but that alone isn't enough.

If the Nintendo 3DS is to effectively answer back to the juggernaut of affordable, diverse iOS gaming and offer up a convincing alternative, this is what I think it still needs to stand a chance.… Read more

Update (Wednesday, 5:17 p.m. PST): This story now has a response from The Marine Mammal Center and The California Department of Fish and Game about the potentially hazardous effects of balloon litter on wildlife.

SAN FRANCISCO--Dozens of red balloons released today as a video game promotion ended up in the San Francisco Bay, causing anger among those who see the balloons as an environmental threat and an immediate danger to fish, birds, and other wildlife.

During the Game Developers Conference here, video game publisher THQ released hundreds of the balloons in conjunction with a promotion for its new … Read more