Nintendo’s Wii U Puts Hardware Strategy to the Test – WSJ.com

Like its famous character Super Mario in his latest game, Nintendo Co. is trying to outrun its enemies.

The Japanese videogame pioneer, coming off of its first annual loss in more than three decades, will start selling the Wii U in U.S. stores Sunday—its first home console in six years.

With the new machine, Nintendo is betting it can continue to push pricey hardware in a videogame market where most of the growth has been in software for smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

“The changes that have taken place over the last few years are massive,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata in a recent interview. “If we don’t do anything to keep pushing forward, we may see demand shrink as those devices encroach on our space.”

Starting at $299, the Wii U packs high-definition graphics with a 6.2-inch, tabletlike controller that offers a second screen in addition to the television display—a big change from the current generation’s more simple motion-sensing wand.

In packing more technological muscle, Nintendo aims to win over the core gamers who never fully embraced the motion-sensing games of the original Wii.

via Nintendo’s Wii U Puts Hardware Strategy to the Test – WSJ.com.

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Sex and Violence: The 10 Most Controversial Games – CNBC

Image via Wikipedia

Video Games With Sex and Violence

Every new entertainment medium is initially seen as something detrimental to the nation’s youth. It happened with comic books. It happened with music. And it’s still happening with video games.

The majority of titles that are released each year are made for general audiences and enjoyed by families. But it only takes a few bad apples to damn an entire industry. And the gaming industry has had its share.

Since the days of the Atari 2600, developers have pushed the artistic envelope, but sometimes they’ve pushed too far. Here are 10 titles that have galvanized critics of the industry – and sometimes even had hard core gamers wondering what the developers were thinking.

via Sex and Violence: The 10 Most Controversial Games – CNBC.

Strange Random Video Game Quote:

I think that if someone plays a video game, and then goes out and harms another human being, or themselves because of what they just saw in the video game, they were screwed up in the head long before they got their hands on a controller. – TIM BUCKLEY, GameCore interview, Mar. 4, 2005

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Famous Objects in Classic Movies (online game)

This one was passed on to us by a colleague who has been spending the last few days improving both her knowledge of English and classic film titles in original version! It’s a hangman-type game where you have to guess the title of a movie from an object that somehow plays an important role in it. For example, we have a very tall building and the title is two words (4 letters and 4 letters) and the first letter of each word is a “K”. Hmmm …

The films included range in time from 50 years to a few months ago and some are quite difficult if you haven’t seen the movie, but if you don’t get it the first time, you can always watch a trailer on YouTube from the links provided.

Go to http://famousobjectsfromclassicmovies.com and try your luck!

Strange Random Movie Quote:

“Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!” –  from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

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Electric Box 2, educational online game (and free!)

We’ve mentioned the free online games site friv.com before and one of the best games they have at the moment is the thoroughly addictive Electric Box, where you try to create the necessary power and connections to drive a target object. It sounds easy and for a while, and it is. And for someone who failed (by a small margin) elementary Physics, it’s not only a challenging and enjoyable puzzle, but also a very educational one.

Electric Box 2 has updated graphics and levels and is available to play for free online at Candystand.com. (They also have other great free games, too!).

Strange Random Game Quote:

Games lubricate the body and the mind. – Benjamin Franklin

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An ancient game of life and death

Ancient Court

If you think your national sport is taken far too seriously (and you may be right), it’s probably because the first ever ballgame was, quite literally, a matter of survival for both the players and their supporters.

The Mesoamerican ballgame began almost 3,500 years ago as what we might see today as a combination of football, Gaelic and Australian Rules football – you might have seen it played in the film Road to El Dorado.

This excellent and informative site documents the geographical and historical background, as well as giving you the chance to experience the game through a video or by playing online, answering questions to score points.

Site: http://www.ballgame.org/

Strange Random Games Quote:

Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal – George Will

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