PC Gamer’s Place

The personal computer is king in the world of games, according to a new report by the PC Gaming Alliance.

On the opening day of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the Alliance said the industry made about $11 billion world wide last year.

PCGA president Randy Stude said these figures underline the PC as the “Number 1 platform for gaming world wide”.

“Despite Xbox LIVE and PlayStation, the online platform that remains the most accessible and robust is the PC.”

According to research company IDC, there are over 1 billion personal computers world wide. The PCGA maintains that 250 million are being used for gaming.

The report also revealed that three of the biggest trends for last year were the growth of digital distribution, the rise of free games with a micro transaction model, and the increased presence of game cards at major retailers such as 7-Eleven

“The biggest story in PC games is the expansion beyond retail,” said Mr Stude.

“PC games have successfully pioneered online subscription and distribution models that have resulted in a global boom that shows no signs of slowing.”

In 2008, Americans spent more than $21 billion on video game hardware, software and accessories, up from $18 billion in 2007, according to market researcher NPD Group. And sales continued to rise in January and February of this year.

Thriving and hiring

Such figures come as a welcome boost for GDC as the recession casts a shadow over the event, the biggest of its kind in the world.

Even though organisers are expecting attendance to be down slightly from last year’s 18,000 people, GDC event director Meggan Scavio told BBC News the economic downturn is not deterring people from coming.

source/full story:  news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7960498 .stm

Detoam News

lassic game Quake III will be re-released for the web browser on Tuesday, highlighting the rapid development in web games.

It runs inside browsers after the installation of a software plug-in.

“It is a significant step which proves browser games can be sophisticated,” said Michael French, editor of games industry magazine Develop.

Quake Live is a version of a PC game which was first launched in 1999.

The game is being released free of charge for browsers by id Software, and is supported by advertising. It opens to the public as a beta later on Tuesday.

Mr French said: “A lot of the foundations of the mechanics of modern shooters were established by Quake.

“It makes a lot of sense for id to be trying new avenues for their intellectual property.

“One of the things id has always been known for is being cutting edge in graphics but also for finding new ways to get their games to gamers.”

Id Software is not the first company to offer browser versions of games that were once synonymous with physical formats: Garage Games offers web versions of games like Fallen Empire and Marble Blast Online, while there are also a number of online multiplayer titles such as PMOG.

High profile

But Quake is the most high-profile PC franchise to branch out into the browser space.

Mr French said: “It proves that consumers are willing to try these things. All kinds of people could now be exposed to games for the first time.

“There is no console or hardware in the way. This is gaming for people who are more used to using Facebook.”

Mr French said browser-based games had already surpassed the graphical sophistication of titles that used to rely on console hardware such as the original PlayStation.

“You won’t play this and be put off thinking it is old fashioned or ugly. It is very playable and watchable,” Mr French said.

However, he said browser games were not yet a substitute for a dedicated piece of gaming hardware.

The games industry will be watching id software’s browser developments very closely.

“The Massively Multiplayer Online space is certainly the area most likely to move to browser. Some well-known role playing game franchises could also move to the browser and are probably already in development.”

source: bbc

Detoam Downloads, Player videos quake for browser

According to BBC Xbox live players are being hounded by Hackers, the full story goes as follows:

Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network.

The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game.

The attackers are employing data flooding tools that have been used against websites for many years.

Microsoft is “investigating” the use of the tools and said those caught using them would be banned from Xbox Live.

“There’s been a definite increase in the amount of people talking about and distributing these things over the last three to four weeks,” said Chris Boyd, director of malware research at Facetime Communications.

“The smart thing about these Xbox tools is that they do not attack the Xbox Live network itself,” he said.

He said the tools work by exploiting the way that the Xbox Live network is set up. Game consoles connecting to the Xbox network send data via the net, and for that it needs an IP address.

Even better, said Mr Boyd, games played via Xbox Live are not hosted on private servers.

“Instead,” he said, “a lot of games on Xbox Live are hosted by players.”

If hackers can discover the IP address of whoever is hosting a game they can employ many of the attacks that have been used for years against websites, said Mr Boyd.

One of the most popular for the Xbox Live specialists is the Denial of Service attack which floods an IP address with vast amounts of data.

The flood of data is generated by a group of hijacked home computers, a botnet, that have fallen under the control of a malicious hacking group.

When turned against a website this flood of traffic can overwhelm it or make it unresponsive to legitimate visitors.

When turned against an Xbox owner, it can mean they cannot connect to the Live network and effectively throws them out of the game.

“They get your IP address, put it in the booter tool and they attempt to flood the port that uses Xbox traffic,” said Mr Boyd. “Flooding that port prevents any traffic getting out.”

you can read the rest of the new at BBC website if you like

Detoam Site news hackers, targets, xbox live

Are you are hardcore gamer or just a fair weather gamer? The way to know hardcore from fair
weather is to have absolutely all the equipment you need to show your friends you are not a push over and when it comes to computer, you can go the distance with the best of them.  The author of this post is one such hardcore games fans, he has set up a gaming area in his garden complete with a LAN where his friends can plug their computers when they come around for gaming and sleeping bags for those all name gaming contested.

He went to online camping equipment specialist to get things like sleeping bags, flash, water cooler and all the essential creature comforts you need when you do not want to be interrupted he even deployed a portable toilet in his specially erected gaming tent.

The camping website where he bought this unusual gaming gear were very surprised, the manager of the online store remarked that “all the camping equipment and accessories we have sold today has been used for camping, this is the first time we are selling camping equipment which is being used for gaming” but he said he admire the gaming clan so much that he has offered then 20% discount on their next purchase at his store.

Once the gaming tent set up was completed, the mater gamer was very pleased and naturally he invited his friend around to test it. They played games on various console ranking from Xbox to Nintendo till the following morning.

Detoam Reviews campoing equipment, gamers, online gaming, pc gaming

Spore, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and More Available Now

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – December 18, 2008. Just in time for the holidays, Valve announced that, Spore™, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™, Mass Effect®, Need for Speed™ Undercover and EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009 are available now to gamers in North America via Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

In the coming weeks, Mirror’s Edge™ , Command & Conquer™ Red Alert™ 3, and Dead Space™ will also be added to the catalog of EA’s titles available via Steam.

“EA is one of the industry’s largest publishers,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “The EA titles coming to Steam this holiday include some this year’s top PC titles.”

“We are pleased to extend our holiday titles to gamers worldwide via Steam — a revolutionary technology that is one of the game industry’s most successful digital distribution services,” said John Pleasants, President, Global Publishing & Chief Operating Officer.

For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com

Detoam New releases