Gamer Over At The Box Office?

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From The Hollywood Reporter:

The four-day weekend’s two other wide openers drew lackluster support: Lionsgate’s sci-fi action pic “Gamer” fetched $11.2 million in fourth place. [the other being Extract at tenth-place]

Co-helmed by “Crank” co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, “Gamer” opened to audiences skewing 64 percent male, with 60 percent of its support from patrons under age 25.

“The opening was in line with our projections,” Lionsgate exec vp distribution David Spitz said.

It’s hard to believe expectations weren’t higher for a Labor Day weekend action flick with a mid-level star in Gerard Butler as the lead, but the story of how this film stacks up to something like District 9 (by former-Halo director Neill Blomkamp) could prove interesting, and will be the subject of one of our upcoming exclusive features.

Commodore 64 Coming To IPhone

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Just released is a Commodore 64 emulator that plays a number of C64 games, each sold separately. To get you started, the emulator comes with five free games: Dragons Den, Le Mans, Jupiter Lander, Arctic Shipwreck and Jack Attack.

This goes along the lines we’ve been touting of looking at old IP and trying to use it to either market something brand new, or open up a new market, much like these C64 games are doing.

How many classic video game systems can you see coming to the iPhone

Uncharted 2 Special Edition Really Special

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We love when limited editions are actually, you know, limited.

Uncharted 2 has a special edition that includes the requisite art book and plastic toy (in this case, a knife), but rather than making it as easy as pre-ordering the game to get it, Sony is having gamers jump through a few hoops to land their copy.

From PlayStation Blog(official):

And part of what makes the Fortune Hunter Edition a real fan collectible is that you can t buy it you can only win it! There will be several ways to win including right here on the Blog. Stay tuned as we’ll have more details on that in the very near future!

Keep it really personal and exclusive to your biggest fans, and they will show up with the all important viral word-of-mouth that is usually so difficult to land.

Meet Xbox Live’s Top Cop

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From Stepto:

Ladies and gentlemen my name is Stephen Toulouse and I am the Director of Policy and Enforcement for Xbox LIVE. Many of you know me by my Gamertag, Stepto.

So, what does policy and enforcement mean for Xbox LIVE. Our job is to help provide safe and enjoyable experiences on Xbox LIVE.

So what are some of the things that get you permanently banned Repeat egregious behavior. Things like fraud, piracy. Let’s see I’m missing something. There’s something else oh yeah. Naked Uno. Actually, naked anything.

Take a look at his talk from this past weekend s PAX conference for an insightful look at Xbox Live’s top cop, the guy who keeps your games pleasant when, frankly, they’re largely out of our hands.

PS3 Box Art Changes Begin

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Uncharted 2 is among the first batch of games undergoing a new standard box art design as part of Sony’s massive rebranding of the PlayStation 3.

Gone is the Spider-man font on PlayStation 3 along the left side of the box, instead replaced with more real estate for the game’s art assets. Along the top, PS3 is prominently displayed, as is the PlayStation Network logo from the old box art and an Only On PlayStation tag on the upper right.

The new boxes follow Sony’s PS3 redesign, price cut and rebranding away from the PlayStation name as the company adopts a cleaner look across its video game product line.

Sony: 3D On PS3 Coming Soon

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From Engadget:

It’s not a straight up rebuttal, but apparently Sony corporate is singing a different tune than what we heard from a Sony rep on the floor of IFA (multiple times) the other day: that all existing PS3 games would be playable in 3D after the software update next year. According to Sony, it’s “conducting a technological investigation” as to the possibility of this, but claims there’s “no plan for the market launch of this at this time.”

There are still a few things to sort out on the technical end, but even more so, the upcoming shift to 3D will prove to be a marketing hurdle.

Many consumers who have HDTV sets haven t hooked up their systems appropriately to get the HD signals to their televisions. Console makers don’t help matters either, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 both HDMI-capable, but sans the HDMI cable to really make an HD visual output a guarantee.

Still, for some game companies, the advent of 3D can be as important to gaming as the popularity of motion controllers. At least one game, Invincible Tiger for Xbox Live Arcade and PS3, already offers consumers the choice to play the game in regular 2D, but also in two types of 3D (one with the old school red-blue glasses and the other with polarized lenses).

As game marketers, do you think 3D gaming s pros outweigh the cons

Video Of The Day: Punch-Out

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Today’s video of the day comes to us from Mega 64, the folks who have brought viral sensations that brings video game characters into real world situation; in this case, the trainer from Nintendo’s classic boxing series, Punch-Out.  Enjoy.

AFK: Look Into Gaming’s Future

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From core77 :

Australia-based designer Tai Chiem’s bugged-out next-gen gaming systems take it to the next level. Above, his X-Box 720; below, a Playstation 4 with a glass touchscreen panel, and bottom, the coup de grace–a PSP with a flexible, roll-out OLED screen.

Today’s AFK looks into the future of gaming, and is a fun look at some sweet concepts that could someday make it onto store shelves.

Okay, probably not, but still it’s pretty interesting.

 

PS3 Reality Show In The Works

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Just when you thought we ve seen it all in reality television comes The Tester, a new concept that is holding open casting calls through the official PlayStation blog.

The show will run eight episodes long and will follow the paths of several contestants as they try and land their dream job in the video game industry. Marketer, you say? No.

From the blog:

The lucky winner will earn a contract position at Sony Computer Entertainment’s Quality Assurance department in San Diego, CA, where he or she will get hands on time with the most highly anticipated games in the industry.

The Tester is scheduled to appear exclusively on the PlayStation Network, though no word on whether Sony plans to charge. Our guess is they re looking for or already have a sponsor lined up to usher the new program in.