There's an interesting article over at local technology site, smarthouse.com.au, on the extraordinarily high failure rate of the Xbox 360 console. Smarthouse has received a lot of complaints about Microsoft's gaming machine going belly up, with many owners receiving the dreaded "red rings of death" not long after their one year warranty had expired. One hapless customer recounted the harrowing process of returning their console for repair, only to receive a refurbished (and not quite as clean…
Doctors in the USA are pushing to have "video game addiction" listed as a psychiatric disorder, in order to raise awarness and enable sufferers to be able to use their medical insurance to pay for treatment.
The article focuses on a case wherby an American teenager was transormed over two years, from an outgoing, academically gifted teen into a "reclusive manipulator", who flunked 10th grade. The boy was apparently addicted to World of Warcraft, and would play for several hours a day. The…
Majesco, hoping for the same success it had with Cooking Mama, are working with Melbourne developer Torus Games on their latest DS project Zoo Hospital.
Zoo hospital allows players to diagnose and treat more than 40 different species of birds, mammals and reptiles. Using the touch screen and stylus, players interact through a series of mini-games which allow them to do such things as administer injections, apply ointment, bandage appendages, pull teeth and x-ray organs.
Zoo Hospital is a fun…
It's official. The figures are in, and the Nintendo Wii has claim of the "fastest selling console in Australian history" title, with 100,000 units sold in six months and two weeks. Gamespot AU reports that it beat the previous record held by the Xbox 360 which had taken roughly seven months to sell the same amount. Hey, it didn't seem that long ago (E3 2005 to be exact) that most people had little hope for the new Nintendo console.
Hey, do you want to hear an interesting story? I bought a Wii…
I picked up Retro Gamer magazine today at the local newsagent because the cover caught my eye with its feature on Australia's most iconic development studio, Melbourne House. Retro Gamer is a great magazine which celebrates the classic games of yesteryear, even dragging back the creators of games made over twenty years ago for an interview or a making-of feature, so it's of no surprise that they managed to grab Melbourne House founder, Alfred Milgrom for his valuable insights on Mebourne House…
PCGamezone reports that everyone's favourite train simulator is making a big return in just a few days!! Trainz Classic promises new classic routes from around Australia, the UK and the US, which is bound to please the 600,000 strong Trainz enthusiasts around the world. Trainz producer, Rob Shaw, had this to say about the new installment in the Trainz franchise...
We've re-invented Trainz. We've made it look and run better and made it easier to use so as to bring in new Train lovers, whilst…
iTWire have a three page review up of AFL Premiership 2007, the latest AFL game by Melbourne developers, IR Gurus. iTWire compliments AFL Premiership 2007 on its depth and detail that that passionate AFL fans everywhere will appreciate, but outlines some areas that need improvement such as the controls and the AI. The review also includes some words from IR Gurus' Mark Houareau on the historic Guernseys that make their appearance in the game...
The retro uniform collection came about from a…
The Zpark - Tranzform Interactive 3D Design Competition is starting Wednesday 20th of June running until 31st August. Winners are to be announced by 14th September.
Inspired by the upcoming Transformers movie, the theme for the competition is Tranzform and we are looking for participants to create an interactive 3D robot.
Free to enter and with two categories, each with a student and an open section:
Design: make your polys count!
Scripting: make it do cool sh*t!
Using VastPark's free toolset…
This Game Career Guide article on "How I Got My Start In The Games Industry", features several veteran developers, and their path into the games industry. One of those developers is Australian, Derek Proud, who was the Executive Producer on the THQ end of, among other things, Destroy All Humans 2.
In the early ?90s, Proud managed to get a job with Sega of Australia working on the company's hotline through a friend. The job was far from straightforward, though - Proud notes that it was…
Hey, it may not be much, but every bit of news about the highly anticipated and possibly most ambitious locally developed title, L.A Noire, is very much worth posting about! In a news item at Eurogamer concerning episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, some tidbits were also revealed for Team Bondi's detective thriller...
The financial report also stated that fellow Take-Two title LA Noire is due out in fiscal 2008. The spokesperson suggested that both Xbox 360 and PlayStation…
