games

There's a new social network for gamers called GamerLibrary. The site takes the Delicious Library and Shelfari angle by letting users compile, and show off, their gaming collections, while at the same time adding a request feature to let members trade and borrow games among themselves. The idea is that you'll be able to join with your small collection of games and get others to loan you theirs, assuming they see something they like in your library. Together you build up a larger pool of shared games that can be borrowed or bought on the side.

Of course … Read more

This story has been updated from its original version.

In order to get back on top of the video games market, Electronic Arts is willing to pay a hefty price. Namely, $860 million.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based publisher announced on Thursday afternoon that it had agreed to acquire VG Holdings, the parent company of two game development companies, BioWare and Pandemic Studios, from private equity firm Elevation Partners.

This deal, expected to close in January and originally reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the largest in EA's 25-year history.

For more coverage from CNET News.com's … Read more

The New York Times on Monday ran a piece on the use of violent video games in Christian youth ministries. They get the kids into the parish hall by offering Halo 3 sessions, for example, for fun and community-building.

Following this revelation, anyone with an opinion on first-person shooters, God or teenagers took to the keyboard and beat the devil out of it. As a result, there's some pretty broad analysis out there. Whether churches should use violent video games as a recruiting or "outreach" tool is a topic that raises a number of questions.

Is it … Read more

If your child is spending so much time with games that you're concerned about ergonomics, perhaps posture isn't the first thing that needs to be corrected. But every parent has different priorities, so here's something for those who care more about orthopedics than their progeny's brains turning to mush.

The "Synergy Arcade Cabinet" supposedly keeps your child upright while playing on what looks like an updated version of the old Pac-Man tables found in fern bars of the '70s. We're not sure how it would truly improve posture when they're bent over … Read more

Now that the long-rumored "bargain" PS3 now a reality (in Europe, anyway), how will Microsoft respond? Over the past few months, the company has refreshed the bulk of the 360 line: the $450 Elite debuted in April with a large 120GB hard drive, HDMI port, and (finally!) black color scheme; the Pro (a.k.a. "Premium") 20GB model got a $50 price cut and HDMI upgrade; and there's even a limited-run $400 Halo Edition (basically, the Pro with a military camo paint job) for $400. But what of the lowly Xbox 360 Core System? The … Read more

Belkin has announced the successor to the n52 SpeedPad, the n52te. What does the "te" stand for, you ask? Tournament Edition. This professional-grade SpeedPad promises to improve your response time in PC games like first-person shooters, real-time strategy games, and MMORPGs.

Teaming up with elite gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer, the n52te carries with it a customizable software suite allowing players to completely modify their gaming experience. The device will support multiple player profiles in addition to Razer Synapse onboard memory, which allows for plug-and-play functionality without the need to install additional software wherever you take it. Also new … Read more

The rumors were true, almost to the letter. Sony Europe has confirmed the existence of a new entry-level PlayStation 3. Scheduled to hit stores on the Continent on October 10, the new PS3 has been stripped down to hit a lower price point: it's got a smaller 40GB hard drive, no built-in flash media reader, and two (rather than four) USB ports. But the biggest change appears to be the loss of backward compatibility with PS2 games. Sony's release specifies that "[t]he new model is no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles, reflecting both the … Read more

In a recent interview with a gaming news site called Kikizo, Valve Software co-founder Gabe Newell explained that he thinks Apple "has never taken gaming seriously" and the company "can't even follow through [sic] on any of their commitments [to] game developers"

It is this, Newell explains, that has created an environment in the gaming industry where Macs are a non-existent platform. And while I agree with Newell that Macs have very little gaming presence, is there a reason that Apple should have a presence? It seems to me that high-end gaming is best kept on Windows where players can either purchase incredibly powerful machinery or build their own rigs. That's simply impossible on a Mac.… Read more

Razer just announced two new gaming products at the World Cyber Games 2007 grand final in Seattle. The gaming peripheral maker revealed the Lycosa, a new gaming keyboard, and the Piranha, a new gaming headset. Once again, Razer keeps its themes of naming its mice after snakes, its keyboards after spiders, and its audio equipment after fish.

The Lycosa keyboard takes characteristics from both the Razer Tarantula and the Microsoft Reclusa (built with Razer technology) and combines them. Like the Tarantula, the Lycosa features Razer's claimed Ultrapolling 1ms response time and like the Reclusa, the Lycosa's keys light … Read more