GAMESTOP STARTS SELLING ANDROID TABLETS PRE-LOADED WITH 7 GAMES

GameStop recently began carrying several Android Honeycomb tablets pre-loaded with seven free games. It was originally rumored that the game retailer would begin selling its own custom Honeycomb tablet, although it appears that is no longer the case. GameStop currently lists the Acer Iconia, Acer Iconia Tab A500, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola XOOM, ViewSonic VPAD7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in stock with prices starting at $300. The seven free games include Dead Space, Madden NFL, Monster Madness, Sonic CD, Re-Load, Riptide GP and Cordy. GameStop is also bundling a special tablet-friendly own-brand Bluetooth controller with its slates for an additional $39. The devices are currently only available in 200 of GameStop’s stores, although you can also purchase one directly from the company’s website.

NINTENDO CONFIRMS NO iOS GAMES

Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata recently reiterated that Nintendo will not develop games for Apple’s iPad, iPod and iPhone, despite recent pressure from investors to jump on the iOS bandwagon. “This is absolutely not under consideration,” Iwata told the Japanese news outlet Nikkei following the company’s recent 3DS press conference. “If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It’s the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It’s probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we’d make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo’s mid and long term competitive strength.” Several analysts have argued that Nintendo will continue to struggle against mobile gaming platforms that offer a larger selection of free or $0.99 games. Nintendo recently dropped the price of the 3DS to $169.99, which helped increase sales, but the system is still expected to miss sales targets for the year. According to AdriaSang, which translated the Nikkei article, Iwata believes Nintendo’s current business model works and he expects that to be reflected during the holiday shopping season.

AUGUST US GAME SALES PLUMMET 23%

Sales of video game hardware, software and accessories in the United States continued to slide in August according to new data from NPD Group, again dipping more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Overall industry sales slid 23% to $669.9 million last month from $873.8 million in August 2010. Hardware sales were down 12% from last year to $249.4 million, accessory sales were down just 1% to $134.7 million and software sales plummeted 34% to $264.8 million. ”August 2011 sales saw a decline versus August 2010 in all categories except for portable games hardware,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. “In software, the bulk of the decline can be attributed to the shift of the annual Madden release from August to September (8/30 release falls within NPD’s September 2011 reporting period).” Frazier continued, “Even though year to date performance of the new physical portion of the industry is down 5%, more than half of industry sales in this channel are still to be realized in the back four months of the year. Given the strong release schedule in the coming months, new physical retail sales could still be flat to slightly up once full year sales are tallied.” Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the seventh consecutive month in August with 308,000 units sold.

GOOGLE+ GETS GAMES

Google announced on Thursday that it is following in Facebook’s footsteps yet again by adding games to its Google+ social network. “We want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web,” the company said in a blog post. “That means giving you control over when you see games, how you play them and with whom you share your experiences.”

Thankfully we won’t be bombarded with Farmville requests and updates on Mafia Wars: “games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don’t,” the company said. A new ‘Games’ button will be added to the top of the Google+ stream that will bring users to the gaming page.

Launch titles include Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz, Bubble Island, City of Wonder, Collapse! Blast, Crime City, Diamond Dash, Dragon Age Legends, Dragons of Atlantis, Edge World, Flood-It!, Monster World, Sudoku, Wild Ones, Zombie Lane and Zynga Poker. Google will be rolling out the update to its users gradually and it will be available to all users “soon.”

UNLIMITED GAME DOWNLOAD COMING TO GAMEFLY THIS FALL

GameFly announced on Wednesday it will soon offer a new service called “Unlimited PC Play” that will allow gamers to download an unlimited amount of games to their Windows or Mac computer. Much like Netflix’s business model, GameFly will provide instant access to more than 8,000 rental discs or more than 1,500 instant downloads for a monthly fee.

The service will require a desktop client that will include news, a feed of HD trailers and screen shots of the latest games. GameFly also said there will be a social component that will allow gamers to interact with one another in real-time. A closed beta will begin on September 8th for current GameFly subscribers and a public launch will occur during the holiday season.

ONLINE GAMES CREATOR ZYNGA FILES FOR $1 BILLION IPO

Zynga, the popular gaming company behind hits such as Farmville — and the owner of other smash titles such as Words with Friends on Android and iPhone — has filed for an initial public offering (IPO), The New York Times reported on Friday. It currently has a $20 billion valuation and has plans to offer 10% of its shares; Morgan Stanley will work on the deal. Mark Pincus, the company’s CEO, expects that Zynga can earn $1 billion through the IPO.

Unlike some other recent tech IPOs, which have caused many to claim the industry is in the midst of a “tech bubble,” Zynga has had solid earnings through its business model, which typically relies on in-app purchases for in-game currency. The firm reportedly recorded a profit of $90.6 million in 2011 on revenues of nearly $600 million.

Zynga currently remains the top-dog when it comes to gaming on Facebook — it has 272.5 million active users across its biggest titles such as Cityville and Farmville.

WINDOWS PHONE MARKETPLACE REACHES 25,000 APPS

Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace is now home to more than 25,000 applications, according to the app tracking website WindowsPhoneAppList. That’s a rapid jump from the 18,000 applications that were available in May but it’s still a far cry from the competing app stores offered by Apple and Google. The Android Marketplace is populated with more than 200,000 applications, and Apple said in May that its iTunes App Store boasts more than 500,000 apps. The top-5 paid apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace are all games. Angry Birds is the most popular download, followed by Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, Plants vs. Zombies, Doodle Jump, and Pac Man Championship Edition DX. Microsoft has yet to officially announce having reached the milestone.

REDBOX RENTING GAMES FOR PS3, XBOX 360 AND WII

Exactly as promised, Redbox is today inaugurating a new branch to its media-renting venture with the introduction of video game rentals at $2 a day. There's a pretty rich and fresh selection on offer, including the likes of Duke Nukem Forever, Dirt 3, and Brink, and you can reserve your copy online before moseying down to your nearest Redbox kiosk to execute the transaction. About 5,000 of those crimson encasements have already been partaking in the testing of this service, but now Redbox is flipping the switch on the other 21,000 across the US and making things officially official.

PLAYSTATION STORE BACK ONLINE AFTER BEING DARK FOR ALMOST A MONTH

According to the Playstation blog the Playstation store is finally back online. The blog states "You will notice a huge lineup of new downloadable games, demos, add-on content, themes, avatars and videos. Also, PlayStation Plus has been updated with new full game trials, free games and DLC, free avatars and even more discounts."

Also, the free Welcome Back Offer content that was promised by the CEO is not available yet. The blog states it is in the final phase of testing and will be available shortly.

SKYPE INSTALLING CRAPWARE ALONG WITH PROGRAM

It seems that Skype is automatically installing crapware called EasyBits Go without informing or asking users for installation permission.

Easybit produces a number of game apps and is supported by many major brands including HP, Dell, Acer and Skype among others. When installing Skype, the installation also installs the Easybit Go application without the users permission or any notification.

Skype responded to the accusations:

It has come to our attention that concerns have been expressed from Skype users over the update delivered to Skype Extras for Windows by Easybits software.

The software is provided by our partner EasyBits, and is part of the Skype Extras Manager. The Extras Manager has been included in Windows releases of our software since 2006. This latest update from EasyBits included elements of their desktop games organizer in error, but it neither installs nor un-installs correctly. This update has been disabled while we work with them to correct the problems and user experience.

Skype works closely with its partners to ensure that our users receive the best possible Skype experience and is working with EasyBits to ensure this issue does not happen again.

Users are reporting it is a bit of a issue removing the offending software. To remove the software:

• Disable and remove 3rd party access to the easybitgo.exe file in Skype via Options > Advanced > Advanced Settings > Manage other programs’ access to Skype
• Remove the Easybits Go program via the Install/Uninstall panel under your system’s control panel
• Exit Skype and make sure the Skype.exe is not running in the list of running processes (via Task Manager). Also temporarily disable Skype from starting automatically when Windows starts.
• Then restart your computer since the program will still be is use by the system.
• Once restarted, go to [Drive Letter]:\ProgramData or [Drive Letter]:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data and permanently delete theEasybits GO folder.
• Remove whatever shortcuts it may have placed in the start menu and desktop.
• If you are confident enough to dig around in your registry, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software and delete the entire EasyBits folder (thanks Christopher)
• Go to the Windows\Prefetch directory and look for the file EASYBITSGO.EXE-364DAFD6.pf and delete it. Also do a search for ezPMUtils.dll and delete them all.
• If you are on Windows 7, delete the go folder in this directory - Users > [YOUR USERNAME] >AppData > Roaming (thanks Lesa)

SONY TO REMASTER SOME PSP TITLES FOR PS3

The HD collections of past game series have proved popular for Sony. But it looks like the raiding of back catalogs isn’t just going to stop with consoles games, Sony is now looking to its handheld titles for new releases.

A new range entitles the PSP Remaster collection will bring exiting PSP titles to the PS3. These aren’t just ports, though. Sony intends to spend time updating the visuals in each game to be HD quality as well as adding support for Dual Shock 3 force feedback, and 3D.

Existing owners of Remaster games on PSP may be tempted as new content will also be created for each title. So not only will you be playing some of the most popular PSP titles on PS3, you’ll most likely have new levels, characters, even a whole new storyline to indulge in. We also suspect multiplayer features will play a key part dependent on what games are remastered.

If you own the game on PSP and PS3, then save games can be shared across both platforms. That means while you’re at home you can enjoy the HD visuals, but then carry on playing while on the move using your PSP from your last save point. Vice versa when you return home and switch back to the PS3. Sony’s recently announced cloud save service for PlayStation Plus subscribers is sure to play a part in this feature.

UBISOFT STARTS MOVIE STUDIO TO TURN GAMES INTO MOVIES

Quick show of hands: how many of you like playing video games? And how many of you would like to watch movies based on video games you've played? No doubt slightly more sophisticated market research went into Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the game maker's unique approach to adapting games like Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell for film and TV, meaning we'll finally see movies about assassins. Last year's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film grossed $335 million worldwide, surely thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's smoldering yet boyish intensity, and the French game publisher clearly wants a bigger slice of Hollywood pie -- it also recently bought visual effects studio Hybride Technologies.

REDBOX TO OFFER GAMES IN KIOSKS; GAMESTOP TO START STREAMING GAMES 'EVERYWHERE'

Redbox's famous red disc-dispensing kiosks will start spitting out video games starting on June 17th, offering titles for the PlayStation3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii for $2 per day.

The new game rentals have been in testing at about 5,000 locations around the country for some time now, but Redbox says they’re finally ready to expand the program to their other 21,000 kiosks. According to the press release, video games will be introduced at the same time as Blu-Ray discs at Redbox locations nationwide. “Redbox will make discovering the latest games as easy as a trip to the local grocery, convenience, or drug store,” according to Redbox’s VP of Games, Joel Resnik.

Meanwhile, GameStop's Spawn Labs' offers a cloud-powered game streaming service, enabling users to enjoy their favorite console games on connected devices with substantially less horsepower. Back in March, Spawn was acquired by retail giant GameStop — and it looks as though you might soon be playing Xbox 360 or PS3 games on your Android tablet as a result.

Joystiq has discovered several job postings which are aimed at developers who can help the company port Spawn’s player software to Android and Linux. As an added twist, GameStop is also hoping to put its acquisition of Impulse to good use when its “new consumer interface” for Spawn is ready to rock.

Impulse is a digital content distribution service like Steam, and it even sports the unsurprisingly similar domain name impulsedriven.com (compared to steampowered.com). GameStop President Ton Bartel foresees pairing Spawn and Impulse in order to offer users the ability to stream its library of 1000-plus games on-demand.

SAMSUNG AND VISA PARTNER TO BRING NFC MOBILE PAYMENTS TO 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

On Thursday Samsung and Visa announced a new partnership under which the two firms will provide an NFC mobile payment solution before, during, and after the London 2012 Olympics. The two companies will release an Olympics and Paralympics Games mobile handset in London that’s equipped with mobile NFC technology, Visa’s payment application, and a special SIM card. Here’s how it will work: When you’re ready to make a purchase, you’ll just have to open the Visa application on your phone and then hold it in front of a special contactless reader. There are over 60,000 contactless readers already in London, and Visa says it’s continuing to work with banks and retailers to increase its NFC foundation.

The NFC-enabled phone, with its Visa SIM card, will first be available to Samsung and Visa sponsored athletes, and it will also be available to consumers through mobile operators. It’s unclear what the phone model is, or how much it will cost. “This mobile payment device will be available in the UK initially, and we plan to expand the service to other countries in Europe and around the world where contactless payment facilities are available in the near future,” said Seokpil Kim, President & CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe. Visa is currently rolling out its NFC mobile payment program in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the United States

GAMEFLY SPENDS MORE ON SHIPPING PER MONTH THAN INCOME

If you’re a gamer, you’ve probably heard of Gamefly. If you haven’t, here it is in a nutshell: it’s Netflix for video games. For a monthly fee, gamers can rent games which are delivered by the US Postal Service; when they’re done with them, they just mail them back.

Gamefly mails out about over a million games a month. With that amount of shipping, you’d think that Gamefly must have a special deal inked with the USPS to deliver their games cheaply and efficiently… but they don’t, and Gamefly’s failure to get such a deal inked has them writing to the Postal Regulatory Commission for resolution.

Gamefly wants the US Postal Service to allow them to pay the same amount of shipping that Netflix pays. Why is this such a pressing issue for them? It’s more than just about maximizing profits: according to a letter sent anonymously to Ars Technica, Gamefly is currently spending more shipping discs every month than they are making in subscriber fees.

“At the company’s current volume of approximately 1.2 million shipments per month, the difference between the two-ounce flat rate of $1.05 that GameFly must pay to avoid automated letter processing for most of its DVD mailers, and the one-ounce letter rate of $0.44 that Netflix pays to avoid automated letter processing of return mailers, amounts to about $730,000,” wrote Gamefly in a complaint. “This amount represents more than 100 percent of GameFly’s monthly net income in 2011.”

While Gamefly characterizes the issue as one in which Netflix gets preferential treatment over their own service, the fact of the matter is that Netflix discs are mailed in packages that are brightly colored to assist in manual sorting, they’re lighter than GameFly mailers, and Netflix operates at a much higher volume than the game rental service.

While the issue is more complicated than GameFly wants to admit, one thing’s for sure: either GameFly figures a way to minimize shipping costs, or the company is going to fold. You might want to capitalize on your subscription while you can.

ANGRY BIRDS COMING TO WINDOWS PHONE 7

Rovio's popular Angry Birds game will be available in the Windows Phone Marketplace starting April 6, Microsoft announced Thursday.

Angry Birds is one of six games coming to the Windows Phone 7 platform. The lineup also includes Doodle Jump, Plants vs. Zombies, Hydro Thunder Go, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, and geoDefense.
In a blog post, Microsoft spokesman Michael Stroh said all the games will be Xbox Live friendly, meaning access to achievements, leaderboards, and more. Today's lineup was revealed at Microsoft's spring showcase event in San Francisco, and is part of a new Windows Phone "Must Have Games" program.

Angry Birds has been branching out quite a bit lately. Most recently, game maker Rovio said the game would be coming to the Nintendo Wii and 3DS later this year. Earlier this year, it was also released for the PlayStation 3 and PSP.

SONY EVENT ROUNDUP; NEXT-GEN PSP, PLAYSTATION SUITE

Sony held an event today to launch their new PSP (codenamed NGP) and the Playstation Suite.

The NGP is the successor to the popular PSP handheld gaming device. It has a quad-core Cortex-A9 and a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU doing the grunt work within. Front and rear cameras and a multi-touch capacitive screen are also included. Bluetooth, 3G and wireless b/g/n are baked in as well. Games will come on "new media," not UMD anymore, but we're unclear on what sort of flash memory is being used. Sony's rather proud of the fact it's offering the world's first dual analog stick combo on a portable device, though we're more geeked about the quadrupling of pixel count from the original PSP.

Playstation Suite is a cross-platform software framework. What this means is Sony will have a whole Playstation Store filled with Sony games available for the Android tablets and phones. According to Sony the Playstation Suite will be "hardware neutral" and make games portable for "all kinds of handsets".

KONGREGATE ARCADE APP REMOVED FROM ANDROID MARKET

Google has removed the Kongregate Arcade game app from the Android Market after just one day. The reason: it apparently violates the non-compete clause in the terms and conditions developers sign to distribute Android apps.

Kongregate is one of the largest Flash game portals on the Internet and owned by GameStop. It offers in the region of 13 million games online, and a growing percentage were to be offered through the Kongregate Arcade App.

It looks as though Google has seen that the Kongregate Arcade app is offering access to those games and assumed it’s a competing app store operating on Android devices, which isn’t allowed.

Kongregate’s CEO Jim Greer disagrees as the games are only cached to a device while being played. At no point is a game stored on the Android device’s main storage. He also points out that by the same definition the Kindle app would also break the non-compete clause.

It’s unclear why Google has decided to take this action for what seems to be an app that offers no real threat to the Android Market. Greer assumes the decision was made by someone in the Android Market review department of Google, and not a senior member of the management team who didn’t like what he/she was seeing.

NINTENDO 3DS LAUNCH DATE/PRICE REVEALED

We have been hearing about Nintendo's 3DS system for quite awhile. At yesterday's event, Nintendo revealed the handheld device would become available on March 27th for $249.99 in the US. No word on European launch.

Nintendo is promising "30+" games to be available during the launch window, between the actual launch and E3 in June, though not saying exactly which will be available when the system drops in March. Many games were discussed including Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D, Dead or Alive Dimensions, and an obligatory Madden game.

GEINIMI TROJAN APPEARS IN CHINA; AFFECTS ANDROID DEVICES

A new trojan virus called Geinimi has appeared in China aimed at Android. The trojan is spreading via third party app markets. Geinimi has been repackaged to look like a popular game, but is in fact a trojan virus. The official versions of these games on the Android Market are fine, it’s the repackaged versions on third-party networks that carry the Trojan and need to be avoided. Examples of the games are:

• Monkey Jump 2
• Sex Positions
• President vs. Aliens
• City Defense
• Baseball Superstars 2010

Lookout Mobile Security, who identified the threat, is still looking into what Geinimi can do. This is what they have found it can do so far:

• Send location coordinates (fine location)
• Send device identifiers (IMEI and IMSI)
• Download and prompt the user to install an app
• Prompt the user to uninstall an app
• Enumerate and send a list of installed apps to the server

Lookout also points out this is the most advanced Trojan they have seen yet for Android even if it was quite obvious to spot by the security company. [Geek]