Games

"Always on" Internet connections haven't proved to be too popular when it comes to gaming lately -- yes, we're looking at you, Diablo III and SimCity.

But what about a gaming console that needs an Internet connection just to play games? Well, according Adam Orth, the creative director of Microsoft Studios, it's no big deal, and people should just deal with it. In fact, he'd like every device to be always on.… Read more

The cathedrals of Europe took centuries to build, surviving political upheavals for the benefit of future generations. Can a board game created today also last that long?

That's what game designer Jason Rohrer was shooting for when he unveiled A Game for Someone, winner of the Game Design Challenge at the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

Rohrer, who has created titles such as The Castle Doctrine, designed A Game for Someone for a challenge titled "Humanity's Last Game," which it won.

Rohrer's new board game is meant to be played not by anyone alive today, but by people some 2,000 years in the future, assuming our species survives that long. To that end it has been buried somewhere in the Nevada desert, Polygon tells us. … Read more

Frank Lee is a man with a dream. The co-founder and co-director of the Game Design Program at Drexel University has been staring longingly at the Cira Centre in Philadelphia, a massive building with a matrix of LED lights on the exterior. He imagined turning it into one of the world's biggest video games. Later this month, that bold dream will come true.

Lee's 4-year-long quest will culminate on April 19 and April 24 when he hands the controls of a giant Pong game over to Philly residents. Due to time constraints, fewer than 100 lucky gamers will get a chance to play. Certain student groups are already in line to participate, but other players will be selected via lottery.… Read more

The Grand Theft Auto V machine seems to be shifting gears as we slowly climb toward that mid-September launch date.

After the second official trailer hit the Web, fans eager for more information on the next GTA title found themselves twiddling their thumbs with just a slow trickle of screenshots to slake their thirst. … Read more

We've seen some pretty gosh-darn adorable fan art, but L.A.-based illustrator Joey Spiotto's take on Skyrim, Portal, and BioShock takes the biscuit.

Using the art of classic Little Golden Books, Spiotto (aka Joebot) has managed to visually explain the affection and nostalgia that gamers will have for these game titles in the years to come.

"As the sun sets on this current generation of video games, I've been thinking about some of the classic games that people will still (hopefully) point to years from now and hold them up as games that made a … Read more

Humanity lost a little more ground to machines last weekend, in case you're counting down the days to when Skynet takes charge of the planet.

A computer defeated a professional Japanese chess (shogi) player for the first time in a public match, Kyodo News tells us grimly.

A program called Ponanza, developed by Issei Yamamoto, took down 30-year-old Shinichi Sato on Saturday in the Shogi Master Versus Machine Match.

Sato was doing well until he made mistakes midway through the game. … Read more

April Fools' is a big day for conceptual technology products. Big tech companies get to let their hair down and come up with gadgets that would earn them ridicule and criticism if they were introduced on any day other than April 1.

We have some real doozies for 2013 when it comes to prank tech gear. ThinkGeek, as usual, has an entire lineup of weird and wonderful items. There's a Play-Doh 3D printer that forms figures out of the famous squishy clay-like material. If you enjoyed listening to Bane's garbled and growly speech during "The Dark Knight Rises," you'll want your very own pair of Bane Mask Walkie Talkies. Other fictional products from the geek retailer include an "Aliens" Chestburster-in-a-Can, a Creeper Body Pillow, and an Eye of Sauron desk lamp.… Read more

GameStop reported its earnings yesterday, but perhaps the biggest news came from its earnings call, in which it said that demand for the PlayStation 4 is already showing signs of strength.

According to GameStop President Tony Bartel, "nearly 900,000 members have already signed up for the PlayStation 4 First to Know List." That list provides all of the latest details on the PlayStation 4 to customers and is usually a strong indicator of the number of people who might preorder the device when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter.

Bartel went on to tell investors … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Who was the star character of video game mega hit Journey? Make that a what.

While you spend the entirety of the award-winning PS3 title playing as a nameless, mostly faceless humanoid with a very snazzy scarf, most of the oohs and ahhs come for what you're trekking across: sand.

It trickles down virtual dunes as it's stepped on. As the sun sets, it glows red and sets off a glassy sheen. And in the dark, blue light spills out over it, providing a (misplaced) sense of calm.

Like real sand, it's changing and flowing as … Read more