Gaming

In one of the least surprising moves in recent gaming history, Microsoft has slashed the price of its popular Xbox 360 console. Given the growing affection for Nintendo's Wii, a much cheaper system, the announcement is hardly shocking. It has been ... rumored for months that Microsoft may lower the price of its Xbox 360, released in November of 2005, in order to stay competitive. (Source: seattletimes.com ) How cheap will it go? According to reports, the standard "Premium" edition of the console will drop from $399 US to just $350. The Premium version boasts a 20 GB hard drive, wireless ... (view more)

Better late than never, huh Sony? In the two weeks after the video game company cut its PlayStation 3 price by $100, sales of the console have surged upwards some 135%. It's finally some good news for the PS3, which has been nothing short of a ... disappointment since its troubled launch last November. Of course, we're taking Sony's word for it on this one. For now, the sales increase comes from the company's own preliminary reports, compiled with the help of its five top retailers in the United States. (Source: gamespot.com ) Regardless, it's not much of a surprise. Although the PS3's game ... (view more)

Not long after Microsoft announced that it would be extending the warranty on Xbox 360 consoles to three years, system owners served up a class action lawsuit against the company, seeking $5 million in damages for scratched discs. The lawsuit, filed ... in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, claims that the plaintiffs "have been damaged in that their game discs were destroyed by the Xbox 360 during reasonable, foreseeable, normal, and intended use." The lawsuit maintains that Microsoft is responsible since "the Xbox 360 was negligently designed and manufactured in that the console's laser disc reading ... (view more)

It sure does stink to be a PAL of Sony's. That's because PAL territories, or those in Europe and Australia, won't receive the much-publicized price reduction of the PlayStation 3 console. They also won't get a chance to take home the freshly ... announced 80 GB version of the system, which boasts 20 GB more hard drive space than the previous edition. What's the deal? Europeans and Aussies still pay the same price for the 60 GB version of the PS3, $599 Euros and $A999 respectively, but they'll be privy to a fairly interesting bargain from Sony. The company's new compilation, which has been called ... (view more)

After Sony Corporation reduced the price of its PlayStation 3 system, rumors swirled that Microsoft was to make a similar move with its Xbox 360 price tags. Lower prices were the talk of the town at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) ... videogame trade show. Nintendo's Wii console, which now outsells its competitors, is allegedly what provoked Sony's price cut. As the PlayStation 3 quickly fell far behind its rivals, Sony dropped the system's price from $599 to $499. Many were led to believe that a price cut would happen for Microsoft because the company's profits experienced a ... (view more)

Update: Now that Sony has indeed dropped the price of the PlayStation 3, does it indicate that Sega knew the following all along? How ironic: A company whose own massive marketing mistakes flushed its hardware down the toilet is now offering Sony ... advice on how to get the PlayStation back on top. It figures. When you're dominating the market, no one says a word. But, once the going gets tough, everyone's a critic. Enter Sega, once a dreadnought of hardware power. Sega began its rise with the Master System, a poor man's Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The company then struck gold with the ... (view more)

While video games regularly face a heat wave of criticism from politicians, "crusading" lawyers, and other members of the mainstream media, the industry is currently facing a particularly brutal firestorm. Not long after Florida lawyer Jack Thompson ... tried his hardest to connect the Virginia Tech massacre with PC sensation Counterstrike, Rockstar's Manhunt 2 has raised concerns to new heights. It's prompted a re-evaluation of video game ratings, in both the United States and United Kingdom (where the game has been outright banned). (Source: bloomberg.com ) Now, American physicians ... (view more)

In a highly-speculated albeit still surprising move, Sony has agreed to cut the price of its PlayStation 3 video game console by $100. Although a price slash had been speculated for months, the cut itself is both a tad shocking and very significant. ... The $100 represents 17% of the PS3's current retail cost, which has been set at $599 USD since its launch in November of last year. (Source: gamespot.com ) Sony expects the cuts will completely turn the tide on the console war, which has been anything but successful for the company's latest device. Outsold three to one in Japan by the Nintendo Wii ... (view more)

It's been over seven years since I first laughed at Diablo II players posting their weapons and other items on eBay. It seemed strange to me that anyone would pay real-world money for virtual artefacts, tools that could only help a person in that ... one specific game. It takes a very devoted player to invoke his or her everyday bank account for a simulated Blade of Fury (or something of that nature). But, people bought up these items. Diablo II remained a popular application on Blizzard's multiplayer page (Battle.net) for a very long time, and today retains a surprising following. However, it ... (view more)

Sony's PlayStation 2 was a dominant force. After the first Sony console trounced the Nintendo 64, third-party support flourished for its younger, sleeker, black sibling. The PlayStation 2 was home to some of the generation's most impressive games, ... including the revitalized Grand Theft Auto franchise and the story-driven Metal Gear Solid series. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Today, the next in line at Sony, the PlayStation 3, is being outsold 3 to 1 in Japan (some say 5 to 1) by Nintendo's Wii. In North America, the bleeding isn't so severe, with the PS3 selling at least half the units ... (view more)