Video Games Blog

GameStop will no longer stock or sell the Zune, citing weak sales and a poor fit with its "product mix". Despite recent the positive sales and only weeks short of Microsoft's launch of games for Zune, Microsoft's player will no longer be found at the gaming retail giant. The decision came about a month ago, and sales will continue at Gamestop.com until stock is depleted.


GameStop has hundreds of stores across the country and losing that distribution channel could hurt Zune sales. Many of GameStop's customers are avid users of Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and could have presented a cross-selling opportunity for Microsoft. GameStop first offered Zunes to its customers for pre-orders in Oct 2006.


Microsoft has sold about 2 million Zunes since the device's release in Nov. 2006. Zune is estimated to have about 4% of the overall market share for digital media players currently.


The decision to stop selling Zunes took a toll on the company's margins in the first quarter. Gross margins for the quarter were 26.1%, down from 27.2% the same quarter year before.


Shares of GameStop were down $3.15, or 6.2%, to $47.72 following in-line guidance for the current quarter and fiscal year.

Dominate, sales, incredible demand, breaking records, these key terms are invariably showing up in headlines, and becoming synonymous with PSP. This hardware is continually dominating sales in Japan. Weekly Japanese hardware sales fell across the board once more, but PSP retained its place at the top of the chart by some distance.

Greenpeace has released the results of its investigation into hazardous materials in next-generation video game consoles. The study reveals that the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 Elite and Microsoft Xbox 360 have all tested positive for hazardous chemicals. The analysis of the toxic materials shows that all three manufacturers failed the green-electronics test established by Greenpeace.

As games are amazingly popular all around the world game developers work a lot to satisfy the needs of their consumers, who have different requests and abilities. So their mission is not really an easy one.

Three graduates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Class of 2008 have created a game to foster independence among disabled individuals.

Graduating seniors Jennifer Ash, Zach Barth, and Peter Mueller have led an interdisciplinary student team. In the frame of the CapAbility Games Research Project, the students worked in collaboration with the Adult Services Division of the Center for Disability Services in Albany to develop a game that specifically addresses the needs of the center’s consumers.

The game, called “Capable Shopper,” simulates a shopping trip at a local Price Chopper. Players walk around the virtual grocery store - which is based on actual blueprints obtained from an area Price Chopper where the center’s consumers often shop - using a specially designed joystick or a head mouse, depending on their individual mobility.

A computer monitor set up directly in front of the user simulates the layout of the store, and a second monitor to the left displays a virtual shopping list. Users start the game by selecting a meal they’d like to make.

The new game also helps people to find their way easily around the supermarket and to identify the right aisles in which to find items on their shopping list, and selecting specific items off of shelves.

P.S. So here is a new game to gain independence. Let’s see how it will work.

Reference:

http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2444&setappvar=page(1)

A while ago I bought a stereo Bluetooth headset Jabra BT3030 for using with my Nokia E90 Communicator. Today, I was playing the final levels of Resistance: Fall of Man (oh by the way, there is a teaser of FOM 2 available on PlayStation store... Hale's back) and as it was quite late, I did not want to bother people around me with the noise. So I tought, what if I used this headset with PlayStation 3? So, I gave it a try.

The good news is that within a minute I had the headset paired with PlayStation. The bad news is that PlayStation cannot direct the main audio output to a headset. Thus, it is only used for chatting and communication purposes. The Jabra headset has a built in microphone, so it makes a really perfect combination with PlayStation.

The quality of sound and microphone was excellent.

While Grand Theft Auto IV is racking up sales records, console makers are vying for bragging rights of their own, and Microsoft seems to be the victor.

Gamers who play the new Grand Theft Auto IV are able to buy downloads of the music they hear through Amazon.com. It’s an interesting twist on music marketing.