video game developers

20 Stories

Game Developers Irate Over 'Phenomenally Unpopular' Fee

Unity Technologies shuts 2 offices after death threat comes in over controversial new cost

(Newser) - Earlier this week, Unity Technologies, a video game software company based in San Francisco, made an announcement that roiled the gaming world: It would begin charging developers a 20-cent fee each time a user installed one of its games, a "phenomenally unpopular" move that set off "widespread anger,...

Video Game Developer Faces Mutiny Over Lawsuit Response

2K sign letter demanding Activision Blizzard seriously evaluate harassment claims

(Newser) - More than 2,000 current and former Activision Blizzard employees have signed a letter to management saying its response to a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment and discrimination is "abhorrent and insulting." A week-old complaint filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing following a two-year...

Fan Fixes Longstanding Issue With Grand Theft Auto

'tostercx' speeds up load times and is now $10K richer

(Newser) - A gamer who set out to fix the poor loading times on Grand Theft Auto 5 has now been awarded $10,000. The loading times "have been the butt of many a joke over the last seven years," writes Mollie Taylor at PCGamer . But Github user tostercx, who...

Cyberpunk 2077 Maker on Hackers' Extortion: We Will Not Negotiate

Ransomware creators steal, threaten to release source code from CD Projekt Red

(Newser) - "You have 48 hours to contact us." That was the ransom note left Monday after a cyberattack against Cyberpunk 2077 maker CD Projekt Red, which has posted the note online and said it's not in the mood for negotiations. The hackers' message indicated that they stole the...

Game Developer Sues Online 'Harassers' for $18M

Digital Homicide founders say they've been stalked, harassed, and threatened online

(Newser) - Carping about a video game online to other players may be routine in the gaming world, but being sued by the game's developer isn't. But that's what may be in store for some online commenters who complained about Arizona's Digital Homicide Studios, a game-maker founded by...

Flappy Bird Creator 'Considering' a Resurrection

Creator Dong Nguyen offers in-depth interview

(Newser) - The creator of Flappy Bird shocked fans when he mysteriously yanked the game , and since then, Dong Nguyen has been difficult to pin down. But Rolling Stone managed to catch up with him in his hometown of Hanoi, where he agreed to an in-depth chat. Perhaps the most important question:...

Flappy Bird Creator: Game Was Too Addictive

Rejects rumors of Nintendo warning

(Newser) - Why did the creator of Flappy Bird remove the hit game from download services? It was "an addictive product," he tells Forbes . "Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," notes Dong Nguyen, 29. But "I think it has...

Stressed Developer Yanks Best-Selling App

'I can't take it anymore,' says Flappy Bird creator

(Newser) - It's game over for Flappy Bird. At midnight, the Vietnamese creator of the hugely popular mobile game made good on his threat to pull the game from app stores, saying the attention from its instant success had become too much and he couldn't take it anymore, reports Mashable...

Video Games Score Vast Subsidies

Cold War-era tax breaks go to the likes of zombie shoot-'em-ups

(Newser) - By combining tax breaks, deductions, and subsidies designed for the Cold War, video game production is now one of the most highly subsidized businesses in the United States, reports the New York Times . Leading software developer Electronic Arts, for example, has made $1.2 billion in profits worldwide over the...

Gaming, Not the Military, Today's Technology Driver

Video games are 'driving progress'

(Newser) - It used to be the military that spurred cutting-edge technology—but these days, video games are doing the heavy lifting. To wit, the world’s fastest supercomputer is powered by processing cores manufactured by a gaming graphics-chip maker. As for the iPhone, "much of its technology—color LCD displays,...

iPhone Game App Makes $1M in 9 Days

Plants vs. Zombies appears to be on record pace

(Newser) - A popular game for the iPhone may have had the best rollout ever with more than $1 million in sales in just 9 days. Plants vs. Zombies, already a hit on Macs and PCs, has sold more than 300,000 copies at $2.99 a pop through the App Store....

The New Video Gamer Is a Chick

Females now constitute 40% of players

(Newser) - In 2001, women and girls constituted just 12% of video gamers; now, fully 40% of game players are female, and the gaming industry has taken notice. EA, Sony, Nintendo, and several other companies are rolling out new products catering to girls, from a dancing game to a Hannah Montana adventure...

Iran Launches Islamic Video Games
Iran Launches Islamic
Video Games
Aug 21, 2009 5:54 AM CDT

Iran Launches Islamic Video Games

(Newser) - Video game developers are in Cologne for one of Europe's biggest gaming conventions, and one booth is standing out: the Iranian National Foundation for Computer Games, which is trying to get a foothold in the West. The games have a decidedly nationalist slant, reports the BBC. One game is a...

Fallujah Video Game Sparks Vet Family Fury

(Newser) - A realistic video game featuring a historic Fallujah battle involving US forces in Iraq has incensed vets and their families, reports ABC News. Six Days in Fallujah is due out next year, and involves Marine consultants to ensure accuracy of the action. "It's upsetting," said a mom who...

Sims Creator Leaving EA for Think Tank

'Stupid Fun Club' incubator will partner with video-game giant

(Newser) - The creator of The Sims is departing Electronic Arts to focus on "strange products and ideas," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Will Wright plans to work full-time at his Stupid Fun Club think tank, which develops ideas for film, games, and TV. Wright says he has already cooked...

Japan's Square Enix to Buy 'Tomb Raider' Maker

'Final Fantasy' firm pays dearly for Lara Croft

(Newser) - Looks like Lara Croft has a new sugar daddy: Japan’s Square Enix will buy Eidos, maker of the “Tomb Raider” videogame franchise, for $119.9 million, Forbes reports. That's more than double the per-share price at yesterday's market close. With Square willing to pay such a premium, it...

Hollywood Getting Its Videogame On
Hollywood
Getting Its Videogame On
Aug 7, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

Hollywood Getting Its Videogame On

Disney, other studios see thumb-jockeys as new revenue stream

(Newser) - Videogames, once the bane of Hollywood studios, are making a comeback—and Disney appears to be leading the pack, reports Portfolio. Facing flat box-office sales, dwindling DVD revenues, and fickle TV audiences, the entertainment industry is seeking better ways to make a buck. That means revisiting the lucrative game market...

Video-Game Industry Scores Big-Name Composers

Established names drawn to new, lucrative branch of composition

(Newser) - Far from the shrill beeps of a decade ago, video-game music has come into its own with compositions approaching the maturity of film scores, BusinessWeek reports. A new wave of composers is putting time and effort into sophisticated soundtracks that mark the continuing expansion of video games as a form...

Spielberg Launches Puzzle Game
 Spielberg Launches
 Puzzle Game 
NEW RELEASE
May 12, 2008 4:02 PM CDT

Spielberg Launches Puzzle Game

Boom Blox hopes to engage kids and adults alike

(Newser) - As if the release of the next Indiana Jones film wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Steven Spielberg launched a new video game for the Wii last week, called Boom Blox, ABC News reports. A puzzle game with cute characters and engaging animations, it was created with the intent...

Wii Fit Among Highlights of Gamers' Conference

Video game industry converged in San Francisco

(Newser) - Fitness program Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii system, video games that let players warp Disneyized fairy tales, a parents-oriented video game review site, and initiatives by major publishers to let independent designers and even players develop games—those were the highlights of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco...

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