Publisher THQ is looking at 2008 as another great year for casual games, and it shows with decisive moves to partner up with Elephant Entertainment and Oberon Media. Marketing and retail deals have been inked, and they’re out to get more and more people into gaming.

Particularly important is the Oberon Media pact. The company is a world leader in cross-platform casual game releases and is considered vital to THQ’s strategy. Getting the mass market into the groove is the idea, and Oberon seems suitable for the job.

THQ’s charge with Oberon will be led by the release of such IPs as Dream Day. Host platforms have not been announced, but revelations are expected to hit soon.

For its part, Elephant Entertainment is set to come up with 20 new online and casual games in partnership with THQ. Among the titles to be released is best selling author James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.

Casual gaming is having its heyday as of the recent months with the rise of Nintendo’s Wii and DS platforms. This day, developers and publishers are hoping to capture some of that success by creating simple to play games which can be appreciated by a wider audience regardless of age and background.

source pc.qj.net

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If you guys have been slobbering at the sight of Microsoft Surface, well, it’s time to wipe that saliva off and do some shopping. That’s right, shopping. AT&T has just announced that they’ll be using the flat display in retail stores in a two weeks.

Starting April 17, 2008, shoppers can see the wonders that Microsoft Surface has to offer in choose AT&T retail locations. This includes stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco.

The 30-inch flat display will grant consumers the opportunity to utilize the device when doing some shopping. Aside from the usual interactive touch display it has, Microsoft Surface can also recognize mobile devices as well. They have the ability to compare and contrast mobile phones as well, just by placing them on the surface.

Furthermore, customers will have the opportunity to drag and drop various items such as ring tones, graphics, video, and a whole lot more by just “grabbing” the files and “dropping” them into the phone.

With the forthcoming launch of this latest technology, Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility, said:

We’re thrilled to bring this groundbreaking new technology to our stores so we can introduce customers to their mobile worlds in a very personal and simple way.

We look forward to working with Microsoft to continue developing new ways for our customers to learn about the ever-growing lineup of mobile devices and applications.

source mobile.qj.net

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If you’re feeling down in light of the recent word of Stormfront Studio’s upcoming closure, here’s some good news for a change.

Brad Ruminer, Dennis Booth, and Glenn O’Bannon have announced the formation of TimeFly Studios, an independent game developer specializing in creating action/adventure, rhythm and puzzle titles.

One we’re reason we’re looking forward to this news is the history that Ruminer, Booth, and O’Bannon have quite a bit of history between them. The trio had a previously worked for Rainbow Studios (a THQ subsidiary), where they collective worked on projects like the MX vs. ATV series, Cars (PSP, Xbox 360, Wii) and , and Star Wars Racer Revenge.

Yeah, we noticed it too – it’s pretty odd that a group that’s racked up so much experience building racing titles did not mention that in their new studio’s itinerary. Regardless, this is one dev that’s certainly worth given a look. You can find out more about TimeFly Studios by visiting their site via the source link.

source pc.qj.net

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It might have been released on April Fool’s Day 10 years ago, but it was certainly no joke. Yesterday, the StarCraft franchise celebrated its 10th anniversary, prompting Blizzard staff members to take a stroll down memory lane. They included Chris Sigaty, lead tester; Sam Didier, art director; Frank Pearce, executive vice president of product development, and Bob Colayco of Blizzard PR.

According to Didier, Blizzard decided to eschew licensed stuff like Star Wars in favor of doing its own thing all those years ago. While they based StarCraft off its predecessor, Warcraft, he admitted that Blizzard drew from a variety of sources. These included Star Wars, comic books and regular books.

As fun as reminiscing was, the Blizzard developers also talked a tiny bit about StarCraft 2 as well. Pearce stated that Blizzard currently has no plans to bring StarCraft 2 to consoles. Right now, the company’s focus lies in working to make the sequel a great gaming experience on the Computer. Apparently, its not scared about being unable to deliver, either. According to Pearce:

We’ve got really seasoned veterans making StarCraft II, and we have complete faith in their ability to deliver a top-notch experience. It’s not something that scares me; I don’t think it’s something that scares these guys either.

Sigaty, Didier, Pearce and Colayco also touched upon a variety of other topics, such as how they were treated when they visited Korea and a comparison of StarCraft and chess. If you’d like more information, just click on the source link below.

source pc.qj.net

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Conscious about a game’s content? Then Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) with Clearspring Technologies’ latest piece of work could help you. They’ve developed a nifty little widget that could help consumers search through games according to their rating.

That’s right, folks. ESRB’s widget grants people to go through more than 14,000 games that have been rated and indexed by the company. All you have to do is put in a name of a game that you’re curious about, then the widget will be providing the respective rating.

Aside from this, this particular technology can be customized through inputting color codes. It can definitely please those people who are picky.

Regarding the launch of this widget, ESRB president Patrica Vance said:

Our single most important message to consumers, particularly to parents, is that they should always check a game’s ESRB rating when considering a purchase or rental for their kids.

Parents are hungry for this information, and research shows that three-quarters of parents regularly check ESRB ratings when making buy or rental decisions about which games to bring home. Our ratings search widget makes checking the rating that much more convenient. We’re very excited to be offering this widget with the help of Clearspring.

source pc.qj.net

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Steam-o-philes can now have many games to look forward to in their favorite gaming distribution site, now that Ubisoft, developer of major titles such as Assassin’s Creed (Personal computer, PS3, Xbox 360), struck a partnership with Valve and its Steam platform.

Aside from Assassin’s Creed, which is currently available for pre-purchase, Ubisoft will also add several of their franchises such as the Tom Clancy series, Heroes of Might and Magic, Far Cry, and several other titles. The reported number of Ubisoft games to be hosted by Steam is about 40 as of this writing.

Gamers hailing from Canada and the United Says will have access to the library of Ubisoft games, which is touted to be the largest library of games available “from any single publisher or developer to Steam,” according to Valve’s director of business development Jason Holtman.

Aside from previously-released titles, PC gamers will be able to enjoy future releases such as Far Cry 2 (PC, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3).

source pc.qj.net

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Suzi & Jason hit the high streets with £1,000 each to spend on gadget goodies! The team test out lap top bags and find out if your home insurance policy is keeping up with modern day technology.

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Back in January, we heard of an interview with Jade Raymond and Hideo Kojima. And yeah, we thought something was going on back then. At that time, we might have mused about a possible MGS fusion with Assassin’s Creed, but now, well, Kojima and Raymond might be getting the last laugh.

A gameplay video was uploaded online, apparently, “for rampant World wide web consumption.” And right off the bat, you’d automatically assume that the video doesn’t take itself too seriously – something that’s painfully obvious it’s an April Fools’ gag. The video shows what Jade Raymond introduces as “a brand new chapter in the Assassin’s Creed series.”

In the video, we’re treated to gameplay footage with Altair stalking around a war zone. If you’ve seen a couple of Metal Gear Solid 4 videos, you might find the setting familiar. It’s the same one in which Solid Snake was running around in the level that was demoed at E for All. Only, instead of Solid Snake, here, we’ve Altair… or is it?

Fun as the little fusion project might be, we can’t help but think of its implications. Is this really an April Fools’ gag that’s just meant to amuse and entertain? As introduced by QJ.NET tipster Tony D in an email, there might be more than meets the eye in this video: “…Actual NEW MGS4 gameplay shown, new area possibly revealed at end of trailer. Possible Altair costume unlockable.” Interesting… Hmm…

Of course, we’re just notching this up as an off-topic humor post, but if you guys have any other thoughts on the matter, by all means, you know what to do!

Hey, Tony D, thanks for the tip!

source pc.qj.net

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