Filed under: Games, Linux
If we’re to believe this new job posting over at Valve, reports of Steam for Linux’s death may have been greatly exaggerated. As you can see, Valve is on the hunt for a senior engineer who can port Windows games to Linux.
If you recall VP Doug Lombardi’s actual words, he never said Steam for Linux was dead — only that they weren’t currently working on it. Maybe that’s because they just hadn’t found the right man or woman for the job yet. As Sebastian pointed out to me, this doesn’t necessarily mean “Steam for desktop Linux” — it could just as easily have to do with embedded gaming.
Whatever the case may be, the news is certainly a bit more encouraging than Lombardi’s interview.
[via Tech Drive-In]
update: as Kaushik points out (as do a few of our friends at Reddit) this one’s a tad on the old-and-moldy side. Linux gamers, return to your pining…
Renewed hope for Steam on Linux: Valve job boards looking for engineer to port Windows games originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Linux – Steam – LinuxSteam – Valve Corporation – DougLombardi
View full post on Download Squad
A feast of XBLA games may be headed to Xbox Live Marketplace soon, but that’s not all there is. First up, there are a lot of festivities planned for the launch of Halo: Reach. Microsoft is dubbing September 14-20 “Invasion Week,” and plenty of Halo goodies will be available “including new gear, exciting content, spectacular prizes and a chance to play with the creators of the game.” Microsoft will also be offering opening up Xbox Live Gold features to Silver members from September 17-20. Finally, “all fans that jump online” can download a free “Invasion” theme. It’s a bit unclear exactly what’s meant by “jump online,” whether it be players that play Halo: Reach or simply anyone that signs into Live. We’ve contacted Microsoft for clarification.
New Deals of the Week are headed down the pipeline as well, with Resident Evil 5 “avatar outfits and game add-ons” receiving as yet unspecified discounts next week. The week of September 13, several puzzle games will get the DoTW treatment. Bust-a-Move Live, Puzzle Chronicles and Tower Bloxx Deluxe are all being knocked from 800 MSP ($10) to 400 MSP ($5), while Gyromancer will drop from 1200 MSP ($15) to 800 MSP ($10).
If you still have money to spend after all that, some new Rock Band 3 Avatar items are now on Marketplace, as are two new Games on Demand, Bully: Scholarship Edition and Cabela’s African Safari.
Xbox Live in September: Halo goodies, free Live Gold, cheap puzzle games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
We’ve
had a good time with
OnLive’s “instant-play” game streaming service so far, but if there’s one thing we’d change, it would be the fact that it only supports wired internet connections. Thankfully, there are enough similarly minded folks out there, prompting the service to single out WiFi support as a “top development priority” to be introduced in beta form before October.
OnLive also announced today that it is extending its Founding Members program yet again (it was due to end this coming weekend), offering a free year of service and a guaranteed $4.95 monthly fee thereafter to anyone who signs up before January 1, 2011.
For those who are already members, Labor Day weekend (that’s September 4-6 — only two days away!) will bring with it a sale on all titles in OnLive’s catalog, to the tune of 50 percent off each and every one. A full list of games available can be found here. If you’re keen to try out the service (or get a preview of its WiFi support) the company will be exhibiting at PAX Prime this weekend, September 3-5.
Continue reading OnLive to test WiFi support, extends free year offer and sale on all games
OnLive to test WiFi support, extends free year offer and sale on all games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
During this morning’s event, Steve Jobs tossed out the factoid that the iPod touch was trouncing traditional handheld gaming, claiming that the system had sold more than Nintendo and Sony’s portables combined. If, like us, you thought that meant Apple had sold more devices than traditional game makers, then Steve was wrong — he mentioned in the same event that Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices, and while that’s very impressive, it’s not quite as big as the 125 million Nintendo DS systems the Japanese company had sold around the world as of January. That doesn’t even count the 62 million PSP units Sony has sold worldwide. In terms of gaming devices sold, Apple has a long ways to go.
But Steve can’t have been that wrong — he said that the iPod touch had sold more than Nintendo or Sony combined. He can’t be off by over 60 million, right? It’s more likely that he meant software sales. There have been about 718 million DS games sold in the system’s history, and about 252 million games sold on the PSP. And there have been 6.5 billion downloads of iOS apps so far (with 1.5 billion of those being game and entertainment apps). When you compare the numbers that way, yes, Apple is far outselling Nintendo and Sony in terms of game sales. But of course, iOS apps tend to be much cheaper than Sony and Nintendo’s software (if not free), and gamers could probably argue all day about the difference in average quality of the two platforms.
Either way, Steve was stretching the truth a little bit on that stat. Apple has done a terrific job making inroads on portable gaming (some of it even without planning to do so), but the Cupertino company has a little way to go yet before it starts really competing with the established console manufacturers.
Update: A few commenters suggest that Apple has sold more iPod touches than both other systems combined recently, as in the last quarter or so. But the other two devices are a few years older than the oldest iPod touch, so that doesn’t seem like a great comparison either. Again, Apple has made really incredible strides into handheld gaming, but the company isn’t quite overwhelming its competitors in this market yet.
TUAWiPod touch outselling PSP and DS in games, not systems originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
Steve Jobs just showed off some screenshots and functionality for Game Center, which will be officially releasing with iOS 4.1 next week. The official app will provide social networking features for App Store games, including friends lists, achievements, “auto matching” (the rest of the world calls that matchmaking), challenges and a host of other cross-platform features for gamers on Apple’s mobile platform.
Jobs also invited a few gentlemen from Epic Games onstage to show off “Project Sword,” a gorgeous title running in the Unreal Engine inside iOS. It’s an action RPG title that’s coming soon with full Game Center integration, and the demo featured practically instant multiplayer fighting from a third-person perspective, as well as first-person world exploration. Seriously, this thing looked great, but you don’t have to take my word for it — Epic has already uploaded the very same environment shown in the demo as a free app, so go download and check it out now. It does require an iPhone 3GS or better, but man that’s a good looking game.
Game Center is finally coming out with iOS 4.1, which Jobs said would be available next week. Looking forward to it!
TUAWGame Center coming in iOS 4.1, Epic Games working on Project Sword originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
Filed under: Games
It’s easy to get fixated on Steam when it comes to digital distribution of games, but they aren’t the only option for Windows users.
Starting today (and running through September 10), Stardock is running Play for the Cause and is donating a portion of the proceeds from their Impulse platform to Child’s Play. Child’s Play is an awesome charity that donates video games, toys, and movies to hospitals with the intention to help young patients get their minds off of whatever has them in the hospital and improve their lives during a potentially bleak time.
While I have great faith in the altruism of Download Squad readers, Stardock isn’t going to give up the chance to sweeten the deal with some great sales, which may help you find your way to the purchase button. At the moment, they have 132 games on sale, including a bunch of really good titles and bundles at 50% off.
A few of my personal “can’t miss” items include the Dragon Age Origins Bundle and the THQ Ultimate Bundle. If those aren’t your style, take a look at The Sims 3, the Unreal Pack, Hearts of Iron III – Semper Fi, or Gothic II Gold. Stardock’s fantasy strategy title Elemental: War of Magic was also recently released (though not at a discounted price).
If you want to donate more, there is also a convenient link to do so right on their home page.
Play for the Cause; get games cheap and support Child’s Play originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Stardock – elemental-war-of-magic – Video game – Impulse – Sims 3
View full post on Download Squad
The latest Hothead dev diary is out and, well, it doesn’t have much to do with video games, with hardly a mention of DeathSpank. Actually, it does note that Hothead’s games combat communism, though it never elucidates how. It has something to do with circumcisions, we guess?
Continue reading Hothead’s games prevent communism, apparently
Hothead’s games prevent communism, apparently originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
Put your thinking caps on, friends — it’s time to get to work on dissecting the image seen above. The photo in question was recently emailed to fans of indie dev Gaijin Games as a teaser for the next entry in its musically-inclined series, Bit.Trip Fate. The email accompanying the image included a challenge from Gaijin, who stated “the discerning BIT.TRIPPER will be able to figure it all out.” We consider ourselves pretty hardcore fans of the franchise, and, wow, we have absolutely no idea what’s going on up there.
The game’s official site mentions the title will receive a WiiWare release sometime this fall, so less cryptic information on Fate should surface soon. In the mean time, we’re just going to assume it’s a game about a snake made of light which likes to eat lava.
Gaijin Games teases Bit.Trip Fate, coming to WiiWare this fall originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
With used games still making up the lion’s share of retailer GameStop’s profits — and the failure of big box competitors Best Buy and Walmart in the space — the time seems right for someone else to give it a shot. Enter: Target. The red and white-themed yin to Walmart’s yang has announced the creation of the “Target Electronics Trade-In” program which “encourages guests to be eco-friendly by trading in old electronics devices” in exchange for (what else?) store credit. Included in that list of “electronics devices” are iPhones, iPods, cell phones and … video games.
While we have no idea what someone wants with an old cell phone (Oh snap! Is that a 2003 RAZR?) we do know that used video games are big business. For now, it sounds like Target is just in the business of buying used games; it’s unclear what happens to those games and if they’ll ever find their way back into Target stores.
Speaking of Target stores, this in-store program launched in Northern California yesterday and “will rollout to additional stores in September and will be available in approximately 850 stores by the end of the year.” All you need to do is take your old games to a store (remember: NorCal only for now) that features a Target Mobile counter – there, they’ll be appraised, you’ll get paid in Target-bucks, and you pick up some more trash bags. Oh, and batteries! And don’t forget you need some new socks.
Target buying used games; in NorCal for now, 850 stores by year’s end originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
Best Buy is offering a pretty sweet incentive to do your game shopping on its online store. The retailer will reward you with a $25 gift card when you purchase two games or accessories from its site. There’s no end date listed for the promotion, but there is a list you’ll have to choose your games or gear from. Don’t worry about having to pick from a crop of stinkers though — it contains 694 items, including all the big upcoming releases.
Keep in mind that this deal is only available through BestBuy.com and that, as the fine print says, the gift card will ship separately. (Hopefully that isn’t retail-speak for “three months later.”)
[Thanks, Eric!]
Buy two games, get a $25 gift card at Best Buy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
View full post on Joystiq
