Apple Purchases WiFiSlam

BY

Apple has reportedly bought out indoor GPS start-up WiFiSlam. The price tag was said to be $20 million, as the company looks to improve its Maps application.

WiFiSlam has technology that detects a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. This allows internal mapping inside buildings and other structures, not unlike what Google has done with the insides of locations like museums.

This indoor tracking technology complements what Apple has done in acquiring start ups like Placebase and Poly9 to bolster its mapping and positioning functionality.

Source: RTTnews.com

Ouya’s Retail Launch Coming June 4

BY

The Ouya console has shipped out to Kickstarter backers, and its official retail launch will be June 4. The company says that there will be hundreds of titles for the console in June and there will be pre-paid cards with redeemable codes at retail.

Over 8,000 game developers worldwide are currently developing games for Ouya including Square Enix, Double Fine Productions, Tripwire Interactive, Vlambeer, Phil Fish’s Polytron Corporation, and Airtight Games. The console itself will retail for $99 and additional controllers will be sold for $49.99.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Coming To Retail

BY

Microsoft has confirmed that Minecraft will see a retail release. The disc version is designed to appeal to consumers without an Internet connection.

The Minecraft DVD release will have all the content of the current downloadable version, including new additions coming soon in the ninth title update. Any further updates will require an Internet connection.

Minecraft will release on disc on April 30 for $19.99, and it will also arrive in Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan in early June.

PC Gaming Market At $20 Billion In 2012

BY

The PC Gaming Alliance is reporting that PC software sales in 2012 hit a record $20 billion worldwide, 8 percent greater than last year. While every region of the world is performing better, China led the way with $6.8 billion in revenue.

“DFC was surprised the industry still showed growth in 2012 with the decline of large subscription MMOs, heavy attention being paid to the impact of mobile games, and the struggle of many social network games,” said David Cole, an analyst for DFC Intelligence, which compiles the report in conjunction with JPR Research. “However, 2012 saw significantly increased distribution of successful titles that positively impacted the market, including Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, Minecraft and the Mists of Pandaria expansion to World of Warcraft.”

The report believes there are now 1 billion PC gamers worldwide, with roughly 25 percent identified as “core” players interested in traditional genres like strategy, action and RPGs. The global PC software industry is expected to grow to $25.7 billion in sales by 2016.

Infinite Crisis Announce Trailer

BY

Infinite Crisis is a free-to-play MOBA from Turbine and WB Games with RPG mechanics and deep strategic gameplay. This Ayzenberg produced trailer shows off a taste of the combat and the iconic locations and characters from across the DC Mulitverse that will make up the game.

Yahoo Buys Teenager’s App

BY

Nick d’Aloisio has sold his app Summly to search giant Yahoo. The remarkable thing is that he’s still a student, only 17-years old, and thought of the top-selling mobile app for a content-shortening program while preparing for exams.

“I would have never imagined being in this position so suddenly,” he wrote on his website.

Summly is designed to condense content so readers can scroll through more information more quickly, which is useful for the small screens of smartphones. D’Aloisio said he is working how to invest the money from the sale, though his age imposes legal limits for now on his access to it. “I’m happy with that and working with my parents to go through that whole process,” he said.

D’Aloisio taught himself to code at age 12 after Apple’s App Store was launched. He created several apps including Facemood, a service which analyzed sentiment to determine the moods of Facebook users, and music discovery service SongStumblr. While he’s in the English equivalent of final school exams, he plans to continue his studies while also working at Yahoo’s offices in London.

Source: NBCnews.com

Journey Slam Dunk At Game Developers Choice Awards

BY

Thatgamecompany won all of the awards at the Game Developers Choice Awards that their game Journey was nominated for. That includes Best Audio, Best Game Design, Best Visual Arts, Best Downloadable Game, the Innovation Award, and the crown jewel: Game of the Year.

Journey ended up winning more than half of the main GDC Awards given out this year and was the only game to win multiple categories. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, the Pioneer Award went to Spacewar! creator Steve Russell and the Ambassador Award was given to Chris Melissinos, guest curator of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s “The Art of Video Games” exhibit.

The full list of main category winners follows below:

Best Downloadable Game

Journey (Thatgamecompany)

Best Narrative

The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)

Best Visual Arts

Journey (Thatgamecompany)

Best Technology

Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)

Best Game Design

Journey (Thatgamecompany)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

The Room (Fireproof Studios)

Best Audio

Journey (Thatgamecompany)

Best Debut

FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)

Innovation Award

Journey (Thatgamecompany)

Audience Choice Award

Dishonored (Arkane Studios)

Game of the Year

Journey (Thatgamecompany)