E3 2012 is Upon us, but What Choices lie Ahead?

The mood is unmistakable. The current generation isn’t quite over, and the next one hasn’t gotten started yet. Unlike recent years, everyone has both eyes looking into the future even as both feet remain firmly planted in the present. It

Feedback Loop: How Halo Could Improve Democracy Forever

It turns out that the characters we play and the stories they’re in can change our patterns of behavior and our attitude towards others. Armed with better stories, game developers can change the world.

Imagine the latest Halo game with an all new DLC. As Master Chief during election season, it’s your civic duty to get to a voting booth, no matter how many Grunts get in your way. This could be the near future if game writers decide to embrace the responsibilities that come along with the latest research from Tiltfactor’s Geoff Kaufman.

Kaufman’s recent study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, examines the phenomenon of ‘experience-taking.’ The principle is that certain types of fiction, specifically those where the participant can take on the identity of the protagonist, push the participant to merge the character with their selves, “feeling the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses of one of the characters as if they were their own.”

One particular part of the study shows promise to provide a solution to the political conflict arising from Halo 4’s scheduled release date.

Big Brother is watching: how developers use game analytics

Information is a high-value commodity in the digital age. Retailers like Target and companies like Google are regularly on the lookout for information they can mine and analyze to produce effective, highly personalized products. The gaming industry is no different:

Bungie ends Halo stat tracking March 31st

Bungie is ready to hand off the last of its connection to the Halo series to 343 Industries, who will be handling development of future games. As of March 31st 343 will be tracking Halo multiplayer stats on Halo Waypoint.

Kinect for Windows coming February 1st

It was inevitable. Microsoft will be releasing a new version of the Kinect made especially for Windows. Considering the blistering amount of video demos we’ve seen including Kinect controls for Skyrim and turning invisible, it’s surprising that this announcement didn’t

Microsoft donate to historical game archive

It’s good to know that while Roger Ebert, the state of California and conservative lobbyists may question the artistic value of video games, there is a concerted effort to preserve the medium’s history. In that spirit, Gamasutra reports that Microsoft

Timesplitters 4 Reportedly in Development for Microsoft's Next Console

According to a high-ranking industry source at Crytek, Microsoft is going to reveal the new console within 12 months, possibly at E3 2012. The console’s hardware specifications hasn’t been finalized, but Crytek seems to be basing next-gen development on DirectX

The Potential of Movement

If there was a theme of this year’s E3, it was pure potential. Developers one and all offered us lots of what ifs and hypotheticals, a shining glimpse of what the future could be that they then greedily snatched back,

The Future of The Xbox Brand and Shifting Marketing Strategies In The Gaming Industry

Too often we berate companies like Microsoft for being out of touch with what their consumers actually want, for exhibiting an utter lack of introspection. In the latest Microsoft Blog, however, it has becomes clear that this isn’t the case

Right in Front of Your Face

Elitism still is the big divide. It’s the biggest obstacle facing games today. Elitism is the belief that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive