King.com has announced the release of its first-ever games for the iPhone and Facebook. Kalorie King and Mars Lives are the first in a series of games for Facebook users and Amazon Survival is its first iPhone game.

According to mobile analytics company Mobclix, of the 50,000 programs available through Apple’s App Store, games are the largest category, at about 20 percent of all offerings. King.com already provides more than 150 different skill and social games to over 17.5 million unique users per month. By making its games available through these new distribution channels, they will significantly extend their reach and market lead, as well as aim to bring high quality games to these new platforms.

Tune in to this week’s podcast, as King.com VP, Robert Norton, joins us and shares the details of the launch.

The traditional playground is getting a modern makeover. City officials in Layton, about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City, plan to open an electronic public playground later this summer. The playground includes electronic versions of games such as capture the flag and tug of war. Layton’s city parks planner, says the goal is to get the video game generation back to the playground so they become more active. The playground is part of a $500,000 yet-to-be named park that’s set to open later this month.

Source: AP

JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games have announced that top model Anja Rubik will be featured in their upcoming Wii title Yoga. A very enthusiastic yoga practitioner, Anja will not only grace the cover, but also accompany players during their yoga exercises, providing motivation throughout the game. Anja Rubik is considered one of the upcoming stars of the model scene and is ranked among the top 15 international supermodels. Yoga for the Wii system hopes to offer a new fitness and lifestyle experience, by bringing this ancient art to your living room.

Microsoft has taken the rare step of warning about a serious computer security vulnerability it hasn’t yet fixed. This vulnerability affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run either Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, and can enable hackers to remotely take control of victims’ machines. The victims don’t need to do anything to get infected except visit a Web site that’s been hacked.

According to security experts, criminals have been exploiting this vulnerability for nearly a week. Thousands of sites have been hacked, and people are drawn to these sites by clicking a link in spam e-mail (mom was right about candy and strangers). The so-called “zero day” vulnerability affects a component of MS software used to play video. The problem arises from the way the software interacts with Internet Explorer, which opens a hole for hackers to tunnel into.

Microsoft has urged vulnerable users to disable the problematic part of its software, which can be done from Microsoft’s Web site, while the company works on a “patch” for the problem.

Source: MSNBC

3D videogames will soon be coming to a living room near you!

A spate of summer blockbuster movies has introduced moviegoers to the latest stereoscopic 3D technology. Now videogames are following suit, with moves to bring the third dimension home as some of the biggest names in Hollywood work on 3D games that expand upon the stories of their 3D films.

Disney Interactive Studios’ G-Force game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, based on Jerry Bruckheimer’s live action 3D film that features secret agent guinea pigs, will use Anaglyph 3D, the traditional red and blue glasses from the 1950s 3D craze. Disney is using this same technology on a Wii game due out next fall, Toy Story Midway Mania, which is based on the Walt Disney World and Disneyland 4D theme park ride and comes out alongside the movie Toy Story 3D in October.

Pushing 3D technology even further, Ubisoft has developed proprietary stereoscopic 3D technology (the clear polarized glasses movie theater patrons receive these days) for James Cameron’s Avatar game. Avatar will be the first Hollywood-licensed game to introduce stereoscopic 3D to gamers.

Source: NBC News

Bioware made headlines years ago when it was revealed there was a sex scene in the sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect. The company is looking to do it again with their upcoming title Dragon Age: Origins, but this time it’s intentional. Co-founder, Greg Zeschuk, defends his reasoning for including sexual acts in their games, and said it should be reserved for certain titles as a means to better convey the relationships between characters.

“I don’t think they need to have them, I think that in certain types of games it makes sense to have them…It’s interesting because I think the Mass Effect thing was completely over-blown. There wasn’t even really nudity; it was like the side of a leg. I think some of the press took huge advantage of the situation. The reality was that it was the kind of stuff you’d see on evening television.”

Source: IGN

Play the latest videogames without investing in an ultra-fast computer, a pricey console or even a disc from the local game store. Just log onto OnLive, a Web service that runs processor-hogging games on its own computers and zaps them over the Internet to almost any screen, including your cheap laptop or TV.

The action is almost as quick as if it came from a box in your living room. When you press a key, whether to shoot an enemy or catch a ball, OnLive’s servers calculate the next image at least 15 times as rapidly as an ordinary desktop PC does. Then software compresses the image so it can reach you in less than 80 milliseconds. This compression differs for each user, because OnLive constantly measures the speed of your Internet connection to determine how much data it can squeeze through. Sometimes it does decrease the pictures’ quality.

( read more… )

(click to play the video)Memento Mori’s previously announced July 7 release date has been delayed for about another week (firm word on that coming soon), so the folks over at Got Game Entertainment have released a new trailer to tide you over.

In the famous Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, a precious painting has been replaced with a near-perfect copy. At first glance it looks like just another art theft, but is there more than meets the eye? Join an investigation that will put you on a trail of clues across Europe and into a secret world of art and obsession. Help Max, a reformed art forger, and Lara, an ambitious Interpol detective, who gave Max solve the mystery. As your investigation deepens, you’ll be drawn into a web of intrigue spun by an ancient Order obsessed with the 15th Century Latin work, “Ars Moriendi” (Art of Dying). When the powerful worlds of art and religion collide – the result can be murder.

(click to play the video)Europa Universalis: Rome Gold has shipped to stores. This new compilation contains the original strategy game set in ancient times, along with the updates available in the Vae Victis expansion pack. Set your own goals of conquest or cultural assimilation as you take control of the great powers of the era, in a race for world domination. Conquer and subjugate your enemies or dominate the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and rise to become the greatest trading power in the world. Mobilize large armies to ward off the barbarian hordes or stave off the threat of invasion from powerful neighbors with gifts. Europa Universalis: Rome Gold retails for $19.99.

December 1944 – Germany conducts her last great offensive of the Second World War in what is known as Operation Watch on the Rhine (the Battle of the Bulge), throwing her last reserves against a thin Allied front line in a bid to unhinge the entire Western Front. Tens of thousands of soldiers, supported by tanks, artillery and airpower fought for three weeks around the Ardennes forest to determine the outcome of this gamble. Now you can step up to the commander’s seat and lead your divisions to either stop the German offensive or break the Allied defenses.

World War II: General Commander is a war strategy game that brings a unique mix of scale, combat dynamics, and force management. Evaluate the tactical situation while monitoring your overall strategy. Features include 3D units, a scenario editor to create new battles, multiplayer support, and the ability to set rally points and summon air strikes.