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Video game coverage with an emphasis on PC gaming, performance benchmarks, and innovative platforms based on the cloud. Gaming industry and development news complement our coverage.
Weekend game deals: Plants vs. Zombies $2, Mass Effect 2 $5
- With Mass Effect 3 coming next month, it's a great time to catch up with the series and GameFly (formerly Direct2Drive) is selling the second installment for only $4.99. Microsoft is offering some legitimate discounts this week with 50% off…
Diablo III coming in Q2, WoW and StarCraft II expansions discussed
- Blizzard has once again announced that fans of the Diablo series will have to wait even longer to get their hands on the pending title. During a conference call to discuss the company’s fourth quarter financial results, Blizzard CEO Mike…
Digital game purchases: do we really "own" them?
- Gaming website Rock, Paper and Shotgun has published an interesting piece chronicling the ill-treatment received by one of its readers, a PC gamer by the name of Gimperial, from Valve.The gaming firm disabled his Steam account without citing an exact reason and thus…
Double Fine Kickstarter campaign raises over 700k in one day -- make that 1+ million
- Video game developer Double Fine Productions recently launched a joint campaign with 2 Player Productions on Kickstarter to raise money for the development of an upcoming point-and-click adventure game. In less than nine hours, the team surpassed their goal of…
Avast accidentally identifies Steam as a trojan
- Just a quick heads up for Avast users: if you're having trouble opening Steam, your malware protection might be to blame. For over an hour Sunday morning, the free antivirus accidently flagged a Steam executable as a trojan and moved…
Microsoft Flight coming February 29, free to play
- Microsoft Live’s Larry Hryb, otherwise known by his online moniker Major Nelson, announced via Twitter that a release date has been confirmed for Microsoft Flight. The free-to-play title is scheduled for download worldwide starting February 29, 2012.
Sony PSN service renamed Sony Entertainment Network
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Sony has announced that the accounts of PlayStation Network (PSN) users will be rebranded Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) on February 8 as part of scheduled software and firmware updates PlayStation 3 and PlayStation...
Weekend Open Forum: Your worst gaming habits
- Although I've never pillaged someone's RuneScape account at knifepoint, I have plenty of less-than-proud moments in my gaming history -- like many of you, I imagine. My lowest point was undoubtedly spending months of free time on a little-known MMORPG…
Weekend game deals: 66% off Warhammer titles, Section 8: Prejudice
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If you didn't grab Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine for $25 via GamersGate last week, Steam has it for only $17 as part of its "Warhammer Weekend" promotion. You'll also find 66% off seemingly every other game in the franchise as well as their DLC packs...
Valve at work on secret Team Fortress 2 project, Meet the Pyro short
- A new post on the Team Fortress 2 blog hints at an upcoming secret project for 2012. The post is short on details but readers are told that it’s something brand new, isn’t a hat or a map and that…
Bethesda releases Skyrim 1.4 patch, mod kit previewed
- Bethesda Studios has made the latest Skyrim 1.4 update available for everyone on Steam after just over a week of public beta. In addition to several bug and quest fixes, 1.4 adds launcher support for the Skyrim Workshop as the…
Crytek-backed Gface unveils social gaming platform with OnLive-like streaming
- Crytek, the studio behind the Crysis series and the CryEngine technology behind it, is helping develop a new social network service centered around gaming. Dubbed Gface -- a mash between gaming and Facebook, perhaps? -- the service is currently in…
GeForce 295.51 beta fixes GTX 590 fan bug, adds 3D Vision profiles
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Nvidia kicked off the R295 driver family with a new pre-release build this week, adding or improving support for tons of games along with introducing several bug fixes. Among the problems is one that caused the GTX 590's fan to operate improperly. Under certain circumstances...
Dutch Supreme Court: Stealing RuneScape gear is a crime
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The Netherlands' highest court upheld a ruling Tuesday that it's illegal to steal virtual items. In 2009, an unnamed minor and his accomplice were convicted of stealing an amulet and mask from a fellow RuneScape player. One of the defendants lost his appeal this week...
Valve games now available through digital distributor Impulse
- Digital video game distributor Impulse, now owned by GameStop, has announced a new deal with developer and publisher Valve that will see some of the company's most popular PC games available for purchase through Impulse’s digital service.
Latest Humble Bundle supports Android, includes World of Goo
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Improving what was already a wildly successful formula, the Humble Bundle has added Android to its latest pay-what-you-want promotion. Folks willing to dole out up to $5.70 (a penny below the current average amount submitted) will receive a copy of three hot indie games including...
TechSpot's Most Anticipated PC Games of 2012
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Like a rollercoaster, 2011 was full of transient highs and enduring lows -- mostly the latter for PC gamers. The year began with a promising lineup, but title after title fell flat. Determined to redeem themselves, developers have readied yet another tantalizing roster.
In fact, many of last year's most anticipated titles have spilled over into 2012, including Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, Mass Effect 3 and Max Payne 3. As usual, we've assembled a list of the hottest PC games expected to hit shelves over the next 12 months.
AMD Radeon HD 7950 is out, more affordable cards coming in Q1
- As expected, AMD today officially announced worldwide availability of the Radeon HD 7950 graphics card for desktops. The card is based on the Pro derivative of the 28nm 'Tahiti' core that debuted with the HD 7970 just a few weeks…
No Xbox 720 or PS4 this year, Sony will likely be the last to market
- With Nintendo's next-generation console slated for launch later this year, the rumor mill is producing all sorts of "leaked" info about upcoming consoles by Microsoft and Sony. Although expectations are high for official unveilings in 2012, neither company will ship…
Weekend game deals: 50% off F.E.A.R. 3, Bastion, Space Marine
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The pickings are slimmer than usual this week. Direct2Drive now redirects to a digital section of GameFly, but we don't see any deals -- nor are there any noteworthy sales at Origin, Games for Windows or Green Man Gaming. However, Steam, GameStop and GamersGate are...
Portal lead designer demos her upcoming title, Quantum Conundrum
- Kim Swift, a level designer and team leader for Valve's Portal franchise, has a new project in the works and recently offered an eight-minute demo that definitely got my interest piqued. Developed by Airtight Games and published by Square Enix,…
Nintendo reveals Nintendo Network for Wii U online connectivity
- Following up on his announcement yesterday regarding a release date for their next generation console, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the Wii U will be built around an online service similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation…
Valve launches Steam Mobile for iOS and Android devices
- After years of begging, avid Steam users will finally be able to access Valve's gaming platform on mobile devices. The company announced yesterday that Steam applications for both iOS and Android are readily available for download through each operating system's…
Crytek teases Warface, upcoming free-to-play military shooter
- Announced in November 2010, Crytek has mostly kept its upcoming free-to-play venture under lock and key, but it's hoping to pique your interest this week with a few new screenshots. Called Warface, the title is planned as a PC-exclusive military…
Paradox: DRM is a waste of money, only pleases investors
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DRM has been a major point of contention between publishers and gamers in recent years. The former argues that restrictions are needed to prevent piracy, while the latter says that's a load of baloney because DRM-laced software lands on filesharing sites anyway...
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