Other : game

The Ultimate Game Card launches in USA

Zyuu — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 05:44:45 GMT

Dislike paying for your MMO subscription(s) with a credit card? No problem, there has always been game cards for most MMOs – however, this news is something bigger and more convenient. If you're worrying about credit card fraud, PayByCash recently announced the release of their Ultimate Game Card in over 5.600 7-11 stores across the United States. No need to ever use your credit card again.

The Ultimate Game Card is a prepaid card that allows you to fill up your account in 150 different MMORPGs. This is neat! It comes in either $10 or $20 increments, giving you the ability to grab a couple if you feel like it and fill your favorite MMO(s) with precious game time. Obviously you don't have to buy several cards either and can just stick to getting one.

For more information check out The Ultimate Game Card website.

From Supreme Court Justice to Game Maker

Zyuu — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:38:09 GMT

NEW YORK -- Sandra Day O'Connor is going from Supreme Court justice to game maker.

Delivering the keynote address Wednesday at the annual Games For Change conference at Parsons The New School For Design, O'Connor detailed a project she is spearheading called Our Courts, which she described as an "online, interactive civic education project for seventh- and eighth-graders" that familiarizes students with the legal system. O'Connor believes that America's youth aren't learning enough about civics, and thinks that the educational power of videogames is just the thing to change that.

"Only one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government," O'Connor said, "but two-thirds can name a judge on American Idol."

"If someone told me when I retired from court that I'd be talking at a conference about digital gaming, I'd think they'd had one drink too many," O'Connor told the crowd of academics and gaming professionals.

Now in its fifth year, the Games For Change conference is run by Parsons The New School For Design and is dedicated to exploring the development of videogames that deal with social issues.

"Of the three branches of government, the one that's least understood is the judiciary," said former U.S. Senator and current New School President Bob Kerrey, introducing O'Connor.

O'Connor said that the No Child Left Behind act of 2001 has "effectively squeezed out civics education" from public schools. "We can't forget that the primary purpose of public schools in America is to produce citizens who have the skills and knowledge to sustain our form of government," she said. "Public education is the only longterm solution to preserving an independent judiciary and constitutional democracy."

Read the rest here.

Nordic Game 2008: Record-breaking Results

Zyuu — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:06:45 GMT

The Nordic Game conference has secured its position as the largest industry-exclusive event for the computer games community in Europe. After two event-filled days from 14-15 May in Malmö, Sweden, the organisers can look back at a conference where records were beaten and many exciting announcements were made.

Nearly 1200 delegates from around the world attended Nordic Game 2008; a new record and an increase of 38% compared to last year’s conference.

Delegates from more than 300 different games related companies attended the conference, including game developers, publishers, content delivery firms, hardware manufacturers as well as educational and government organisations.

Twenty countries were represented at Nordic Ga! me 2008, from Asia and North America to Europe and the Nordic region.

Thirty exhibitors displayed in the Congress, Career Expo and Recruitment Day halls, also a record, including Autodesk, Emergent Game Technologies, NVIDIA, and TeliaSonera International Carrier.

Press attention was higher than ever, with coverage from major media outlets including Gamesindustry.biz, Edge Magazine, Next-Gen.biz, Games TM, SVT (Swedish national television) and Nordic news media such as Metro, Politiken and Aftenposten.

Nordic Game also saw the launch of the new Gamesindustry.biz Network online community, and hosted a new business lounge and reception to mark the event.

More than 110 speakers participated, including Fumito Ueda and Keichiiro Toyama, SCEI, Mark Rein, Epic and Peter Zetterberg, Microsoft.

Keynotes were held in a new and inspiring form, with appearances by Jonathan Smith, TT Games, Rob Kay & Ryan Lesser, Harmonix, Ste Curran, Z! öe Mode and representatives from leading Nordic game developers including Alex Peters, DICE, Matias Myllerine, Remedy and Hilmar Petursson, CCP.

A host of networking and social events included the Nordic Game Party at HIPP in central Malmö and the Delegate Dinner, which also featured the second annual Nordic Game Awards. “Kaptein Sabeltann” by Norwegian developer Artplant took the prize for Best Nordic Children’s Game at the awards event, and Swedish Starbreeze received the Best Artistic Achievement Award for “The Darkness”, while Massive Entertainment danced on stage to accept the award for Best Nordic Game 2008.

The Development Support Grants Ceremony for the first round of this year’s support program also took place during the conference, and ten Nordic game companies were granted funds for new game projects. Three million Danish crowns (DKK) were distributed, with ZOINK Games from Sweden receiving the largest g! rant, 600,000 DKK for the game ”WIIWAA”.

Nordic Game also hosted a new Recruitment Day in the Career Expo, and more than 300 students had the chance to present themselves and explore job opportunities with game developers such as CCP, Ubisoft, Crytek, Starbreeze, Remedy and many more.

Nordic Game would like to thank the 2008 Advisory Board for their support and invaluable contributions to the conference program. A warm thank you as well to our sponsors, Autodesk, CCP, NVIDIA, Intel, HP, Gamesindustry.biz and Massive Entertainment, as well as our partners EGDF, Edge, Metro Teknik, Next-Gen.biz, DFC, Pelaaja, PixelTV, Media Mötesplats Malmö, City of Malmö and Region Skåne.

Selected quotes from Nordic Game 2008:

"The Nordic Game Conference has claimed its rightful place in developers’ calendars. It provides an opportunity to exchange views and share insights on the topics that impact us all."! - Matias Myllyrinne, Business Director, Remedy Games.

”We had a blast sharing lessons we learned making Rock Band with everybody at the Nordic Games Conference. Thanks to our fellow speakers who gave us real insights into their own development methodologies. Thanks also to the hardworking behind-the-scenes team who ran the show impeccably, fuelled by a clear passion for games and the people who make them” - Rob Kay, Director of Design and Ryan Lesser, Art Director, Harmonix

“Nordic Game was a total delight – brilliantly well-run, full of good people and good cheer. We got an awful lot out of it, and had fun too.” – Jonathan Smith, VP Publishing, Traveller’s Tales

”The city was beautiful, the weather was glorious, and I had a fantastic time meeting different game designers and other people in a relaxed Swedish atmosphere. Nordic Game was different from the conferences held i! n Tokyo or Los Angeles. I think it was more intimate and imaginative and unique to the local culture. I am grateful that I was offered such a wonderful opportunity.” - Ryuuta Ueda, Sega of Japan

The Nordic Game conference is organised by the Nordic Game Program, an initiative financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Read more about the Nordic Game conference & events at http://www.nordicgame.com and about the Nordic Game Program at http://www.nordicgameprogram.org.

Playing to Win: Inside the Video Game Industry

Zyuu — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:58:17 GMT

There's an upcoming program at CNBC that will go deep into the video game industry, called Playing to Win: Inside the Video Game Industry

Are you a player? Take a look at the $18 billion video game industry. CNBC's Playing to Win: Inside the Video Game Industry is a behind the scenes look at the creators, games and big business of video games. Enter a virtual world where everyone is Playing to Win!

Find out more here

ION GC08 Empowers Online Game Developers

Zyuu — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:06:57 GMT

Over 500 global online game industry professionals connect at Seattle conference

SEATTLE, Washington, May 19, 2008 - Nearly a week of high-powered networking and knowledge exchange occurred at the online interactive entertainment-focused 2008 ION Game Conference in Seattle, starting from the early check-in reception on May 12th continuing through the closing keynote on May 15th.

2008 ION Game Conference Facts:

Over 500 attendees from around the world attended ION, an increase of about 50% from 2007.
Over 270 companies from game development, content delivery networks, middleware and other companies were in attendance.
19 countries were represented at the 2008 ION Game Conference
Nearly 70 lectures, mini-lectures, panels and roundtables
Over 110 speakers covering Community, Business/Legal, Programming/Technical, Research/Education, Design, Globalization topics.
ION in 2008 has been supported by 25 sponsors and 8 partners

ION keynote addresses were delivered by Won Il Sue, Vice President of Neowiz; John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment; Yat Siu, Founder and CEO, Outblaze and Sanrio Digital and Alex St. John, CEO of Wild Tangent. Networking opportunities were numerous and well-attended, including an early check-in champagne reception, the official ION reception at the Seattle Aquarium, and speed dating-style breakfasts over all three days.

"This year's ION was a huge step forward for Evergreen Events and for the many returning and new attendees who participated," proclaimed Peter Freese, Director of the 2008 ION Game Conference. "We delivered three days filled with content, networking, amazing food. We're already anxious to start planning an amazing experience for 2009 ION attendees."

The ION Game Conference is an annual Seattle-based game industry event designed for an experienced international attendee audience or those who strive to network and learn about new online game development and business trends. Visit the official website at http://www.ionconference.com for the latest news and information about the 2008 ION Game Conference. For more information about the global and diversified advisory board supporting the ION Game Conference, visit http://www.ionconference.com/advisors.php....

To keep informed about the latest news about ION and the online game industry, sent straight to your e-mail Inbox, sign up for the free ION Connection newsletter at http://www.ionconference.com/signup.html. To network and share news with fellow members of the online game development community, join up with the ION Network here: http://ionnetwork.ning.com.

Top 5 MMO/PC Game Subscribers

Zyuu — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:34:53 GMT

There's been some interesting data released by The NPD Group that show information on the current top 5 MMO/PC Game Subscribers.

"Now that NPD can estimate the value of the subscription market, it's clear that there is a sizable chunk of revenue being generated by PC gaming beyond what is reflected in retail sales," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

PC retail sales declined slightly from just over $1 billion in the US in 2006 to $910.7 million in 2007. This did not include digital distribution and online subscription sales.

NPD said there are 11 million gaming subscribers monthly.

The billion-dollar figure includes three categories: MMO, casual and console revenues. The firm calculated the figures by taking the online revenue average of Q4 2007 ($94.3 million) and Q1 2008 ($80.1 million), in turn taking the average of those figures and multiplying by 12 months.

MMO/PC Game Subscribers

ION Game Conference 2008 - Not just gaming on the menu

Zyuu — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:51:28 GMT

Gourmet Food and Outstanding Content on the Menu at the 2008 ION Game Conference

SEATTLE, Washington, May 5, 2008 - In just one week, the greatly anticipated 2008 ION Game Conference will be set in motion in Seattle, Washington on May 13. The quality of attendees, sessions, and networking opportunities were among the high points at last year's conference. One of the most frequently praised amenities from the 2007 event was the lunches and snacks offered to attendees. In 2008, continuing to elevate the standards for game industry conference experiences, ION dishes up haute cuisine selected to complement the quality of the event's superb and renowned content.

The ION experience begins Monday night, May 12, at the official Welcome Reception, where attendees are greeted with a glass of fine French champagne and invited to stay for live music and tasty comestibles, including oysters, sea scallops, Vietnamese spring rolls, baked brie, and crudite martinis.

Won Il Suh, Vice President of Neowiz, presents the Tuesday, May 13, keynote, "State of Online Games: Partnership and Investment Opportunities Around the World". Mr. Suh addresses the potential and pitfalls of investment opportunities and partnerships in the high stakes world of the online game business. Attendees will profit from his first-hand experience in guiding Neowiz to be an international investment force while dining on a premium lunch buffet including minestrone soup with pesto drizzle; roasted garlic aioli; prime rib French dip with au jus; and tiramisu.

On Wednesday, John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment, takes on the heady question of what it takes to reinvent the tried-and-true massively multiplayer online game genre with his keynote, "Reinventing the MMO". During Mr. Smedley's talk, attendees can partake in Pacific clam chowder with Manila clams; Greek pasta salad with feta, tomatoes, red onion, and herbed vinaigrette; chicken kabobs with garlic, lemon, and rosemary; whole roasted salmon served on a cedar plank; and Washington apple tart with vanilla bean whipped cream.

Yat Siu, Founder and CEO of Outblaze, Typhoon Games, and Sanrio Digital, delivers his Thursday keynote lecture, "The Integration of Social Networks, Casual Gaming, and MMOGs". In his talk, Mr. Siu explores the powerful technological and social elements in online gaming, the proliferation of social networking, and the abundant population of untapped female gamers. As a complement to his keynote, lunch includes pho noodle soup; peanut noodle salad with toasted peanuts and green onions; California rolls with wasabi and ginger; and Mongolian beef with green onions, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.

Indulgences for the palette are not limited to the conference keynote lunches. Snack breaks will feature Häagen-Dazs® ice cream bars, premium Odwalla® juices, chocolate-dipped fresh fruit, CLIF® BAR energy bars, and much more.

Convenient online registration for the 2008 ION Game Conference is available until the end of the day Pacific Standard Time, Friday, May 9. An attendee pass at the 2008 ION Game Conference permits access to all keynotes, nearly 70 sessions and panels led by 110 speakers, the expo area, delectable lunches and snacks, as well as official conference parties. Attendees from hundreds of companies are already attending the 2008 ION Game Conference, representing a diverse global audience of executives and decision-makers.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Zyuu — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:27 GMT

The following game addiction research was done by The British Psychological Society.

People who are addicted to playing computer games show some of the same personality traits as people with Aspergers syndrome.

This is the conclusion of Dr John Charlton of the University of Bolton and Ian Danforth of Whitman College, USA. Their results will be presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Dublin today, Thursday 3 April 2008.

The researchers questioned 391 computer game players, 86 per cent of whom were male. They considered relationships between addiction, ‘high engagement’ and personality.

They found that the closer the players got to addiction the more likely they were to display negative personality traits. And that as players showed more signs of addiction they were increasingly characterised by three personality traits that would normally be associated with Aspergers, a variety of high functioning autism. These were neuroticism, and lack of extraversion and agreeableness.

The researchers believe that these people are not classifiable as having Aspergers syndrome but share some of the same characteristics because they find it easier to empathise with computer systems than other people.

Dr Charlton said: “The thinking in the field is that there is a scale along which people, even those considered to be ‘normal’, can be placed upon. And that people such as engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists are nearer to the non-empathising, systemising, end of the spectrum, with people with Aspergers syndrome even further along again.

“Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming.”

Last Day for Early Reg Rate at ION Game Conference

Zyuu — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:55:55 GMT

Last Chance to Fly With the Early Bird Registration Rate for ION

SEATTLE, Washington, March 17, 2008 – Less than one day remains to save hundreds of dollars to attend one of the most high-powered, exclusive game industry conferences you'll find on the calendar this year - the 2008 ION Game Conference. Taking place in Seattle, WA, from May 13-15, this year's ION Game Conference is geared to compellingly engage representatives involved in the business and development of online games, virtual worlds and social networks across all platforms.

By purchasing a pass before March 18th, attendees can save about 30% off the subsequent rate and have access to every one of the nearly 70 peer-reviewed lectures and panels, every gourmet snack and meal break, and just about every other benefit the ION Game Conference features. From the dozens of speakers ION participants will enjoy, these are six of the latest to officially be announced:

Bruce Woodcock — MMOG Analyst, MMOGCHART.COM
Dana Hanna — Senior Producer, Microsoft Game Studios
Jason Roberts — Lead Gameplay Designer, 38 Studios
Sam Lewis — Lead Designer, Cartoon Network
Robert Ferrari — Vice President of Business Development, Turbine, Inc.
Steven Klebe — VP, Sales & BD, Danal, Inc. (BilltoMobile.com)

Above and beyond the savings guaranteed by registering early for ION, The Seattle Marriott Waterfront hotel, the site for the 2008 ION Conference and official event activities, is offering a special discounted rate for attendees of $209 for single or double occupancy. This rate is only available until April 14, 2008 and hotel rates will then be subject to market rates thereafter.

The ION Game Conference is an annual game industry event designed for an international attendee audience, for those who strive to network and learn about new online game development and business trends, at the highest level. Visit the official website http://www.ionconference.com for the latest news and information about the 2008 ION Game Conference. To review the global and diversified advisory board supporting the ION Game Conference, visit http://www.ionconference.com/advisors.html....

ION is Powered By:

2008 ION GAME CONFERENCE SPONSORS: BigWorld, Dolby, Enterprise Seattle, Goodwin Proctor, Kelley Drye, Omni Interactive Audio, Parature, PlaySpan, PLAYXPERT, PowerUp Games, Solid State Networks, Sony Online Entertainment and Vivox.

2008 ION GAME CONFERENCE PARTNERS: Association of Virtual Worlds, China GC Networks, MPOGD, Pearl Research and Themis Group

About Evergreen Events

Evergreen Events, Inc., (http://www.evergreenevents.org/), is an independent Seattle area-based producer of conferences and events for the interactive entertainment industry. Evergreen Events is dedicated to the enrichment of both established and aspiring professionals through innovative first-class events offering exceptional content that is compelling, educational, and cogent. Our directors and advisors bring over a century of collective successful experience and involvement in the game industry.

ION Game Conference logos, media, and art assets: http://www.ionconference.com/logo_art.html...

Press Contact:

Paul Philleo

Marketing Communications Advisor

Voice: 408-702-2697

Email: press@ionconference.com

Top 50 Game Developers

Zyuu — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:01:51 GMT

Gamasutra, Game Developer Magazine and Game Developer Research division have worked together to compile a list of the top fifty (50) best game developers of 2007. They take ratings, weekly sales and also an anonymous survey where their reputation is taken into account.

The top 20 rankings of game development studios for the first-ever countdown, alongside some of the notable games they released in 2007, are as follows:

1. Nintendo Kyoto (Brain Age, Wii Play)
2. Infinity Ward (Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
3. Blizzard Entertainment (World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade)
4. Electronic Arts Canada (FIFA Soccer 08, NBA Street: Homecourt)
5. Valve (Portal, Team Fortress 2)
6. Konami Japan Studio (Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer, Dance Dance Revolution Universe)
7. Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank Future)
8. Capcom Osaka Studio (Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Monster Hunter Freedom)
9. Electronic Arts Tiburon (Madden NFL 08, NASCAR 08)
10. BioWare Edmonton (Mass Effect, Jade Empire: Special Edition)
11. Bungie Studios (Halo 3)
12. Ubisoft Montreal (Assassin's Creed, Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja)
13. 2K Boston [& Australia] (BioShock)
14. Harmonix (Rock Band)
15. Bandai Namco Tokyo (Ace Combat 6: Fires Of Liberation, Beautiful Katamari)
16. Square Enix Tokyo (Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Front Mission DS)
17. Game Freak (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl)
18. Epic Games (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears Of War PC)
19. Hudson Soft (Mario Party 8, Mario Party DS)
20. Neversoft (Guitar Hero III, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground)

Read about it all here

Video Games Live: Greatest Hits Volume One to rock your

meteo — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:02:33 GMT

Soundtracks designed for video games have evolved a lot since the first synthesized beep was created years ago. Indeed, music in the interactive gaming industry has gone a long way. Now you can hear entire musical scores dedicated for a single game.

EMI Classics has pushed this concept further as they, Video Games Live and IMG Artist, are planning to release an album filled with some of the best known and most popular video game music of all time.

Entitled Video Games Live: Greatest Hits - Volume One includes medleys from various well-known games such as Zelda, Mario, Halo, Warcraft, Sonic, Tron, Myst, Civilization IV and Final Fantasy. The album was compiled by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, reknowned video game composers and Video Games Live co-creators. Included as well are the Slovak National Orchestra and the Crouch End Chorus and the "Video Game Pianist," Martin Leung.

The album will be released on October 19, coinciding with this year's Video Games Live event on the same day at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and on October 22 at London's Royal Festival Hall, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra.

Violent video games not a factor in V-tech shootings

meteo — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:54:08 GMT

Official VA Tech review panel: violent video games not a factor in V-tech shootings

While the world was still reeling from the shock of the horrible tragedy that is the V-Tech shootings, a formal investigation into the murderer's background - as well as what could have been done, and what should be done to prevent anything like this from happening again - was launched, and has recently concluded. Its findings, which should provide at the very least, solace to the bereaved, also provide an answer to a question that the videogame community (as well as the rest of the world) had been asking: was violence in videogames a factor in Seung Cho's outburst?

The answer is a resounding 'no'.

This comes directly from the full report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, spearheaded by none other than Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, with the actual material hosted on his official website. Excerpts that best convey this affirmation presented as is:

Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog. None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars.

Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:

I like to listen to talk shows and alternative stations, and I like action movies…My favorite movie is X-Men, favorite actor is Nicolas Cage, favorite book is Night Over Water, favorite band is U2, favorite sport is basketball, favorite team is Portland Trailblazers, favorite food is pizza, and favorite color is green.

Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark.

With various critics of videogames such as Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson pointing to videogames as a major influence in the V-tech killings before the findings themselves were published, it's certainly interesting to find out just what the reaction of the masses will be, now that these results have come to the public light. We'll be here to update you on developments as they happen, and you can let us know what you think by your comments below.

IGA Worldwide Shows In-Game Advertising Milestones

Nimloth — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:43:50 GMT

IGA Worldwide Momentum Builds: Adds 50th New Title and Set to Deliver One Billion Ad Impressions per Week by Year's End

With broadest reach of any in-game ad network, IGA Worldwide continues to add landmark brands and is on track to reach over 20 million unique users in 2007

Tuesday 20th March/...IGA Worldwide, Inc., the largest independent in-game advertising network expects to hit several key milestones by the end of March, having this week successfully added its 50th new title to it's proprietary ad serving network. IGA Worldwide presently generates over 200 million impressions per week to many of the world's leading brands including: Intel, Burger King, Discovery Networks, Paramount Pictures, T-Mobile, Jeep, 20th Century Fox, Nokia, Ben Sherman, FHM, Orange and Universal Pictures.

IGA is expected to deliver ad content to its 10 millionth consumer before the end of month and to more than double both its reach and the number of games in its network by the end of the year, joining a wide range of leading franchises already signed from major publishers and developers including EA, Atari, Acclaim, Codemasters and Valve. IGA's Radial network already covers every major genre include Sport, Racing, Simulation, Action, Role Playing, Fantasy, Poker, Social and Casual.

As traditional media continues to lose eyeballs, advertisers are increasingly looking to in-game advertising to reach millions of highly-engaged consumers while they play. IGA is already seeing CPM's higher than broadcast network primetime, reinforcing in-game ads as a premium medium for advertising.

"We are thrilled to offer advertisers a surefire way to reach millions of consumers with high impact advertising and highly measurable results in some of the worlds leading game franchises. Seven-figure budgets are no longer an anomaly and we are seeing more brands shifting dedicated budgets of this magnitude into the in-game space," said Justin Townsend, CEO, IGA Worldwide. "This supports the general expectation that the market will grow by between 40 and 50 percent in 2007, with the latest market-size estimates for 2010 averaging $1.3 billion."

IGA Worldwide is currently serving ads in more than 150 countries worldwide, reaching mostly the highly coveted 18-34 male audience but increasingly encompassing all demographics including both females and 'grey gamers'. IGA Worldwide remains committed to ensuring that all in-game advertising and brands are contextually incorporated in and around the game environments, and offers in-game advertising in a multitude of formats from video to outdoor-style billboards and even 3D geometry, as well as developing unique static integrations and product placements via its wholly owned subsidiary, Hive.

About IGA Worldwide IGA Worldwide, Inc. (www.igaworldwide.com) is the largest in-game advertising company with a proprietary ad serving network. The IGA Worldwide Radial network enables advertisers to target millions of engaged gamers across a wide range of platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide has already delivered campaigns for diverse brands such as; 20th Century Fox, Ben Sherman, Discovery, FHM, Hawaiian Airlines, Intel, Jeep, MTV, and T mobile. IGA Worldwide also provides strategic consulting services including integrated product placement and promotion through its wholly-owned communications consultancy, Hive, a trading name of IGA Hive Ltd. Headquartered in New York with offices in London and Berlin, the group is backed by Easton Capital Group, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures and DN Capital.

What Game Companies expect from Graduates

Nimloth — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:37:04 GMT

>Schooling and Qualifications > >Though the majority of gaming-specific schools have only been relatively recently established - or, at least, only recently accredited to award degrees - there's no doubting their growing popularity. The Computer Research Association revealed in 2005 that intended enrolment into more "traditional" computer science degrees by incoming students had fallen by 60% from 2000 to 2004. While Computer Science isn't exactly a games-industry specific degree to begin with, and the statistics are far from an indication that the enrolment is transferring to game specific degrees, the organization did point to the growing popularity of other options for students looking to study in the field as a probable reason for this decline. > >Additionally, of course, there are no figures stating exactly how many arts students are viewing their degree as an entry-point into the games industry. However, all gaming specific institutions offer courses in arts and design, which allows for a more focused learning outcome. > >McCreary notes that she feels "not all students are suited for the traditional academic experience and it's nice for those students to have options," though adds that EA encourages students "to pursue more traditional academic degrees that allow for an emphasis on game development." > >"Our concern with for-profit institutions is that students may not learn the fundamental the tools for understanding and solving complex issues," she says. "We are most likely to hire someone who has a BFA or MFA from a traditional art college and a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science for our entry level artist and software engineer positions."

GDC Coverage: Expo Pictures

Nimloth — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:38:17 GMT

So GDC is well on its way and Curse has of course taken part in most of the festivities. Although days have been spent running around from meeting to meeting, we do have some image reportage from the expo itself to show to you! GDC (Game Developers' Conference) is not the same kind of expo, but never the less, there has been a lot to see - even some really good looking girls!

You may find them all in our image gallery for GDC!