When Space Invaders arrived in Japanese arcades in 1978, it was a sensation. Entire arcades were given over to the game; at one point, the Japanese Government was forced to mint extra 100-yen coins because, it is said, the game’s cash-boxes were removing so many from circulation. It was the video game that inspired an entire industry.
The average age of a video game customer now hovers around the late twenties to early thirties. The variation on either side of that average reveals a fascinating picture, too. Many of the first generation of child gamers now approaching their forties have children of their own. Being a stranger to video games will soon be seen as eccentric.
Says IGN 360 editor Nate Ahern: \"If you bought Rock Band 1 then chances are you\'ll feel cheated by the release of RB2. Immediately upon purchasing Rock Band 2 you\'ll have the ability to download a huge library of songs, as well as all of the songs off of the original disc as a free download.\"
These are the titles that take their (possibly genuine) love of country to almost embarrassing extremes. These are the titles that plaster red, white and blue all over their box art simply to make a few extra bucks. These are the titles about saving presidents, killing terrorists and going from rags to filthy, filthy riches.
E3 may not be the bonanza it was in years past, but this year\'s show should at least reveal some new info on a few anticipated titles. With mammoth companies such as Activision-Blizzard pulling out of the show\'s lineup, though, you can\'t help but be concerned for the show\'s future. Here are the ten games that we just can\'t miss.
The world of gaming would be a sad, sad place indeed without the noble headshot. We decided that the time was long overdue to pay tribute to the headshot, and have thus put together the most gratuitous overload of exploding crania we could fit into a single two minute video
There\'s little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren\'t many superstars left to cross off the list. But no Led Zepelin.
Problem is, the nerds and dorks tend to have a lot more free time - and passion - than the teachers and professors. The end result? A hilariously skewed, terrifyingly twisted view of the world in which all the wrong things are deemed \"important\" and worthy of serious academic discussion. Here are 15 mind-boggling examples.
A batch of five tiny screenshots, concept art and a teaser trailer from Sony Online Entertainment Austin\'s DC Universe Online have been revealed, offering a first look at the PlayStation 3-exclusive comic MMO.
h goodie, another bound-to-be-misconstrued \"games are bigger/better than X\" story! This time, it\'s the results of the Entertainment Merchants Association\'s annual report, which reveals that not only did games rake in more cash than movie theatres last year, but for the first time DVD sales as well.