All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Grammy award-winning producer/former Virgin Records CEO and top Wall Street bond trader give music creation abilities to anyone.

We know we're entering that time of year where you're not technically supposed to buy games for yourself but, rather, for your fellow man. Still, the upcoming wave of Amazon Lightning Deals is making it hard for us to not treat ourselves to a few discounted gems. In fact, Amazon's made it all the more difficult by accidentally revealing the identities and prices of all the offers therein, those monsters:

• 8:15 AM PST: Write your own epic story each time you play -- Civilization 5 (PC) for $29.99
• 10:15 AM PST: Suit up in this sci-fi shooter -- Vanquish (X360 or PS3) for $44.99
• 10:15 AM PST: The premier device in handheld gaming -- Nintendo DSi XL (Midnight Blue) for $139
• 1:15 PM PST: Customize your spy in this RPG/Shooter -- Alpha Protocol (X360 or PS3) for $29.99
• 4:15 PM PST: Don't forget to put your hands up -- Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum (PC) for $14.99

Blizzard unveils launch event details for its upcoming expansion.

After the last few years, we don't know how to react to the kind of wealth on the Wii and DSi Shops today. It's too much to process all at once. WiiWare demos are back, offering a chance to check out Bit.Trip Fate, ThruSpace, And Yet It Moves and Jett Rocket with no financial outlay. There's a new Tetris game on DSiWare. There's even a Virtual Console game! How is this possible?

Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg must have just come back from holiday on Glib (it's one of Greek Islands), because he expertly delivered one of the most urbane quotes on the PlayStation Phone to date. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the executive said on the subject of the device, "There's a lot of smoke, and I tell you there must be a fire somewhere." Perhaps it's in the R&D building.

As if channeling Monty Python's "Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink" sketch, Nordberg gave another interesting answer when asked why the company's phone division hadn't tapped into Sony's gaming resources before. "I haven't dug into that history, but the future might be brighter."

The PlayStation Phone, which the WSJ speculates will carry Sony Ericsson's Experia brand, is still a phantom, existing in "read between the lines" executive comments and leaks that allegedly showcase the prototype.

#budget With the United States' budget projected to hit a $418 billion shortfall by 2015 and a $1.3 trillion shortfall by 2030, the New York Times knows something has to be done. So they made a game. More »

#xbox360 When people first started talking about messing around with the insides of the Kinect, Microsoft played bad cop, making legal threats. Thankfully, things have calmed down since then. More »

#ps3 On July 29, PS3 title Hyperdimension Neptunia was released in Japan. Late last week, Record of Agarest War 2 hit Japan. Hey, wait a sec... There's something familiar, and it's not just the game covers. More »

#humor It says a lot about the Metal Gear Solid series that the best description of its follies I've ever seen comes from an Irish comedian. More »

#pspphone Late last month, photos of a rumored PSP phone surfaced. The prototype looked like a Sony Ericsson cell phone mated with a PSP. Rumors, right? Know what they say, where there's smoke there's fire — with "they" being Sony. More »

Call of Duty: Black Ops sales may have dropped 85 percent in the UK last week, but even with that massive dip its record-breaking debut ensured that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood would stop at second place. 63,000 copies separated the two.

According to Chart-Track, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood had the well-deserved, largest debut of the franchise to date. The only other top ten premiere this week came from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, which raced into third place.

The remainder of spots in the top five are occupied with games that involve feet. FIFA 11 defends its spot at fourth, as Just Dance continues reaping the benefits of its Faustian deal and its sequel does the Charleston in fifth. Check out the full UK top ten after the break.

Bungie brings something for everyone in what might be their best maps yet.

'There's a lot of smoke, there must be a fire somewhere.'

'There's a lot of smoke, there must be a fire somewhere.'

#3ds Never mind that we don't know how much a Nintendo 3DS game costs to buy, developers need to develop the games first. And that costs money. More »

#art Now that the game is on store shelves and impressing people's pants off, Nicolas Collings — an artist at Ubisoft — has been able to share some of his work from the game. More »

Prepare to 'jack off early next year.

New Vegas' DLC explained by Obsidian.

More power means more money.

#clips Star Wars Kid, one of the internet's earliest celebrities, had to do his lightsaber combat the hard way. Now, with Kinect and a computer, anyone can look like the world's biggest Star Wars nerd. More »

#clips The Nintendo 3DS is a glasses-free 3D gaming portable due next February for ¥25,000 (US$299). That's a long ways away! Let's make a low budget version right now. More »

Activision's mega-franchise holds firm against the Assassin's Creed assualt.

#clips I can't remember if I ever even finished PC adventure game Myst. There was just so much sitting, and thinking, and doing nothing. This guy, he's finished Myst. And he's done it in under two minutes. More »

#clothing GSC Game World, developers of the cult PC shooter series STALKER, think there are people out there who would like to dress like someone who scrounges around in post-apocalyptic wastelands. So they've come up with an official line of STALKER clothing! More »

#gallery GStar, South Korea's annual video game expo, ended on Sunday, but the show's photos live on. More »

#doy You don't need to spend tens of thousands of dollars if you want to own your own flight simulator. You can just do what this guy did and build your own! More »

#rumor Interest in the Nintendo DS is drying up as people await the arrival of the new 3DS. Which means Nintendo has to resort to an old trick to keep shifting units: release handhelds in new colours. More »

#culturesmash Some cops arrest drug dealers, murderers and master thieves. In Tokyo, Japanese police arrested a 25-year-old vocational student from China for selling knock-off hug pillows. More »

- features a New Super Mario Bros. Wii music track - also features cameos from Mario and friends - also features music from from Muscle Koushinkyoku, Ridge Racer Type 4, Ace Combat X2 Joint Assault, F/A, God Eater, and Pokemon Diamond & Pearl - over 70 songs - four player party mode - seven mini games - Wani Wani Panic; Hit [...]