CNET News - Gaming and Culture

Review: 'MacHeads,' a documentary on the Mac faithful

Daniel Terdiman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:36:00 GMT

'MacHeads,' a new movie about the Apple and Macintosh culture, will premiere Wednesday at MacWorld.

(Credit: MacHeads)

It's a long-established truism in technology journalism: That stories about Apple are pretty much guaranteed to do better than just about any other subject.

And why? It's certainly not because of ...

First iPhone game summit takes shape

Daniel Terdiman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:45:00 GMT

Bandai's iPhone version of I Love Katamari is one of the most popular games on the mobile platform. This March, iPhone game developers will gather in San Francisco to promote the platform.

(Credit: Bandai)

While there are more than 10,000 applications for the iPhone, many of the most ...

Early returns show strong holiday video game console sales

Daniel Terdiman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Updated at 5:28 p.m. to include additional data and analyst perspective.

Though the retail economy suffered what appears to be one of the bleakest holiday seasons in recent memory, it looks as though the video games industry bucked that disastrous trend.

That's one conclusion that can be ...

Forrester study: Got game? Not in a recession

Dawn Kawamoto — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Internet and mobile services are expected to score against handheld video game players and satellite radio amid an economic recession, according to results from a Forrester Research survey released Monday.

According to the results, 51 percent of North America consumers surveyed said they planned to curtail technology spending in the ...

Wikimedia Foundation: Jimmy Wales 'absolutely' not out

Daniel Terdiman — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 02:06:00 GMT

Updated January4 at 3:04 p.m.: This story has been changed to correct the number of members of the Wikimedia Foundation's board.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is "absolutely" not out of a job at the Wikimedia Foundation, according to the foundation's director of communications.

On Saturday, Valleywag ...

'Make' magazine debuts television series

Daniel Terdiman — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:44:00 GMT

Following on the success of their hit do-it-yourself magazine, the people behind Make will now bring their efforts to public television.

On Saturday, Make: Television will debut, a partnership between the magazine, Twin Cities Public Television, and American Public Television. All episodes will also be available for DRM-free download in ...

A funny thing happened on the way to a birthday greeting

Daniel Terdiman — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:37:00 GMT

Happy New Year, everyone.

And according to some very unexpected messages I got today, it seems it's also my birthday.

Which is strange, because unless my parents were lying to me, I believe I was born in November. Yet, when I finally woke up today and checked in with ...

Yep, Microsoft and Sony sell game consoles too

Don Reisinger — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:38:00 GMT

Remember Sony and Microsoft? No? Well, neither does the average Amazon customer.

According to a release sent out by the online retail giant Friday, the Nintendo Wii and all its accessories dominated video game sales during the holiday shopping rush and not one mention was made of Sony's Playstation 3 or Microsoft's Xbox 360.

"Nintendo Wii dominated the top sellers in video games and hardware, including the Wii console, the Wii remote controller and the Wii nunchuk controller," the release reports.

What about all its competitors? Have they somehow entered the realm of irrelevance?

I'm starting to wonder if they have.

...

Tony Hawk talks charity, game development

Daniel Terdiman — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:00:00 GMT

In mid-December, Forbes.com concluded that pro skateboarder Tony Hawk is the world's third-most influential athlete, trailing only Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.

For those not all that familiar with skateboarding as a sport, this might come as a surprise, given some of the athletes he came in ahead ...

Finding rare songs on YouTube

Daniel Terdiman — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT

In the small hours of a summer night when I was in college, I heard a song play on San Francisco's famous Live 105 that seemed, at the time, one of the most profound, melodic, and catchy tunes I'd ever come across. ...