Google Play game services takes on Apple's Game Center 3
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
As Google looks to truly take on Apple in the mobile games space, the company today launched the Google Play game services, an Android equivalent to Apple's own Game Center for iOS devices.
Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing

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In free-to-play, don't toy with players' emotions 38
by Gamasutra Community [05.15.13]
Game Developer magazines's Patrick Miller takes a look at something he thinks a lot of free-to-play developers forget: Spending money is an intense emotional experience for players.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Business/Marketing

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Activision wants to buy a piece of itself back from Vivendi 3
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
Activision Blizzard's majority stake holder Vivendi is gearing up to have another go at selling its stake in the World of Warcraft company.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Wii U GamePad reverse-engineered 6
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
A group of developers has reverse-engineered the Nintendo Wii U GamePad, peeling back the layers to discover the methods by which the controller connects with the main Wii U console.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing, Video

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DICE has a mobile Frostbite engine in the works 4
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
DICE has confirmed the existence of a mobile version of its Frostbite game engine, noting that a number of Frostbite-powered mobile games are currently in development.
Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing

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Putting on a game symphony with the greats  
by Gamasutra Community [05.15.13]
Thomas Boecker put on a series of symphonies over the last decade -- and here, he shares stories of working with Final Fantasy's Nobuo Uematsu and Chrono Trigger's Yasunori Mitsuda.
Console/PC, Audio, Business/Marketing

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Gree closes Chinese studio as profits dip 1
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
Japanese mobile company Gree has been forced to close its studio in China, after recording "extraordinary loss" as a result of its recent business performance in its full 2013 fiscal forecast.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing

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New DICE studio opened in L.A., focusing on Star Wars 1
by Mike Rose [05.15.13]
Electronic Arts has opened a new DICE studio in Los Angeles, with a key focus around bolstering the creation of new video games in the Star Wars franchise.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Sponsored: Win $100K in Intel's Perceptual Computing Challenge  
by Intel [05.14.13]
Intel wants to inspire developers to forge new ground by integrating voice control, gesture control, facial recognition, and augmented reality with apps and games on PCs.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Serious, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Sponsored Article

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GDC Europe sees 25% submission boost, adds Crytek, CD Projekt board members  
by GDC Staff [05.14.13]
Organizers of this August's GDC Europe have announced more than 275 talk submissions, adding Advisory Board notables from CD Projekt (The Witcher) and Crytek (Warface).
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

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Another major MMORPG is going free-to-play 2
by Kris Graft [05.14.13]
Trion Worlds' MMORPG Rift is set to go free-to-play, starting June 12, alongside the launch of its next major content update.
Social/Online, Business/Marketing

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Angry Birds studio Rovio moves into mobile publishing  
by Mike Rose [05.14.13]
Angry Birds studio Rovio today launched a new mobile game publishing initiative, through which it plans to forge its first path into the world of third-party titles.
Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing, Video

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Twitch video game broadcasting comes to Xbox 360  
by Mike Rose [05.14.13]
With live video game broadcasting becoming more and more popular, video streaming service Twitch today released a dedicated app for the Xbox 360, which allows users to watch broadcasts directly on their home console.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Sony tells us what's going on with the PlayStation Vita 38
by Mike Rose [05.14.13]
Sony's counting on a wide breadth of developers to save the slow-selling PlayStation Vita. We talk to Sony biz dev manager Shahid Kamal Ahmad about the future of the platform.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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Nvidia's Android handheld costs as much as a Wii U 21
by Mike Rose [05.14.13]
The Nvidia Shield, an upcoming handheld game device that can both play Android games and stream games from your PC, will launch in June for $349.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Capcom's Phoenix Wright franchise goes download-only 18
by Mike Rose [05.14.13]
Capcom has made the decision to release the upcoming Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, the latest in the popular court-room adventure game, as a download-only title for Nintendo 3DS.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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YoYo Games rolling out GameMaker: Studio module for Tizen  
by Kris Ligman [05.13.13]
"We strongly believe that Tizen will be a significant platform for mobile and other devices," says GameMaker: Studio developer YoYo Games, in announcing the software's support for the open-source OS.
Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Business/Marketing

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Warren Spector teams with University of Texas for new game school 2
by Kris Ligman [05.13.13]
The University of Texas at Austin is joining forces with Warren Spector (Epic Mickey) and Paul Sams (COO, Blizzard) to found a new game design school, the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Production, Business/Marketing

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Nintendo triumphs in Wii patent case (again) 3
by Kris Graft [05.13.13]
One patent holder wanted to get a piece of the Nintendo Wii's success, but a court has denied that notion.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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Take-Two's big franchise focus paying off 5
by Kris Graft [05.13.13]
Irrational Games' BioShock Infinite drove Take-Two revenues to $300 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31. That's up from $148.1 million for the same quarter a year ago.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing

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