Gaming is for sad, dreary nerds. People with no social lives sit around trying to wrestle the sword of Albion from a be-tentacled dragon ballsack and blah blah. That’s what a lot of idiots think about computer games. Fact is, video games are better than watching films. The GTA series is like being in a mafia flick except you, dear gamer, get to go on a pretend cop-killing spree should the plot become too boring.

However, the way we go about playing games could be about to change. A new service will launch June 17th that will attempt to kill off the traditional gaming console.

OnLive, which launched in 2009, will stream popular games online properly this summer. Basically, instead of downloading and going to buy things from a dusty shelf, OnLive promises games on-demand. Imagine iPlayer if it was full of games.

Chief operating officer of OnLive, Mike McGarvey, says: “We want to take your dollars from hardware and let you spend it on software. We are a new platform and we’re building a network and infrastructure to last for the next 30 years of gaming, not the next five years.”

The company said it will deliver on-demand games via the cloud to the PC, Mac or TV and that it could provide high quality gaming on crappy computers that don’t work properly. The whole thing relies on video compression technology which streams video via the internet so if feels like the game is playing locally… which is all very clever indeed.

So how much? Well, OnLive will be available for a monthly fee of $14.95 (£9.99) for subscribers to then buy or rent games over the internet. Only time will tell if this is going to work, but as video game sales dropped in 2009, this could be to gaming what Spotify is to listening to music. Perhaps they should look at an ad-based free version to really suck everyone in? [BBC]

Two words. Fucking Bejeweled. I never play games but hours of my life are being sapped away by this time vampire. I hate it. Yet I love it. So I can tell you about the importance of lightning gems but beyond that I’m am amateur. Wired are a little more switched on about this sort of thing and they’ve compiled a list of the 15 most influential games of the decade.

And before we have a fight about whether the current decade ends this year or next, here’s the top 10:

(more…)

Are you a morally bankrupt video games manufacturer who’s been suffering during the recession due to your lack of access to the under-18s market? Are you a filth-peddling hardcore porn salesmen who’d like to see Oral Skatmania VII on sale in the local newsagents? Either way, your luck’s in. Researchers digging through the law books for the recent Digital Britain report have discovered a spectacular bollock has been dropped by both major political parties.

The Video Recordings Act was brought in by Thatcher’s Government; it laid down the law concerning the sale of videos and video games, specifically that they must be classified and rated for content by the British Board of Film Classification. The Act was to stop those under 18 buying violent console games, and those over 18 buying their under-the-counter grumble from anywhere other than Sven’s Adult Bookshop.

Unfortunately nobody thought to tell the European Commission about the new law, rendering it unenforceable and allowing anyone previously prosecuted under the Act to appeal and claim compensation. The act was passed in 1984, and no government officials – Tory or Labour – have spotted the problem, even though it has been amended since.

The Act must now be passed again, which will take up to three months. Retailers has promised to be good until the time, not that it’d matter if they weren’t because they’re untouchable. In the meantime, we’re just popping out to pick up Hairy Tearing 9 for the office and a copy of Close Range for Andy’s impressionable 6 year-old nephew:

The other day, we mentioned that video gamers are buying fewer new titles and are renting more games to support their habit during the current recession, yet they actually spend more time playing than ever. One US gamer/collector named JJ Hendricks has defied that trend by paying $17,500 US – around £10,700 – for one of only 26 known copies of a special edition gold Nintendo World Championships made for a competition in 1990.

But Hendricks, a video game collector, was pleased with his purchase, considering it an absolute bargain. This is because it was 30% off the asking price of $25,000 on eBay, equivalent to about £15,400.

The game consists of segments of three NES titles: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris, which all must be completed in 6 minutes, 21 seconds. Oh, the excitement.

Are there any “Holy Grail” video games you’d fork over thousands of pounds for? And could it be time to dig out and sell some of those vintage titles you left in that case in your mum’s attic?

A while back, we said that video games were a recession-proof business. But in the last few months, the sales of new video games have flattened.

People say the recession is catching up to the game industry. But according to a new Nielsen study, gamers are actually playing more than ever.

The problem? Gamers are starting to wisen up. We are substituting the purchase of new titles with used ones and subscribing to game rental services instead.

Nielsen research on 24,000 gamers who spend at least an hour a week on their home consoles and PCs playing games revealed interesting data. More than half of those surveyed say that they have been negatively affected by the global recession, but 42% of gamers between the ages of 7-54 showed that they are playing, or planning to play, more games than ever in these tough times. 41% say that they will play the same amount as last year. This composed mostly of 35+ adults who maturely stated, “I am choosing this kind of entertainment less this year”.

The industry has been relatively less impacted by the recession when compared to others. DVD purchases in January remained unchanged, and movies seen in the last 2 months was down 3%. But the total games purchased by consumers on average increased by 18%, while hours of gameplay per week has gone up by 13%. 35% of those surveyed are spending, or planning to spend, more on buying games this year, while 39% said they will spend the same.

Spending more time glued to our Wiis and PS3s should be good news for gaming companies, but they are finding that money-conscious gamers are shifting away from the purchase of new games. According to The NPD Group, new game sales are lower this year than 2008. Instead, used games are at an all time high for sales in 2009 compared to data from as far back as 2006.

Another reason why new game sales could be down in 2009 is that there were many more blockbuster hits in 2008 than 2009. But blockbusters don’t necessarily make better games. As an interesting side note, 34% of those who said they are playing more games this year than the main reason is ‘liking the games more this year’.

What about you? Are you spending more or less time playing video games, or have moved on to twittering and free entertainment mediums instead? If you are still gaming, are you spending more on purchase of used games or subscribing to rental services? Are there any tricks that you have that can help cut down on spending with video games? Let’s hear them!