Game Gov

Despite Slow Video Game Sales A Few Titles Are Still A Hit

Now that the holiday season is over, video game sales have slowed down tremendously during the beginning of 2011. A few games are still being sold at high number, but it is unclear when gamers will finally get their fill. “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” is still being sold in high amounts despite the fact that most gamers have been buying it in droves since its November release. With new accessories and expansion packs coming out on a regular basis, you can expect that the latest title in the “Call of Duty” franchise will continue to sell until the next one is released.

Surprisingly, just about every dance themed video game has been quite popular, even before the long awaited, “Just Dance 2″ was released. The Nintendo Wii has had quite a few titles that encourage gamers to get up and get fit, but it seems that game players would rather get up and simulate the latest dance moves than anything else. Sales for “Just Dance 2″ are probably as high as they are because this title appeals to audiences across all demographics. In other words, it’s just not teenage girls that have fallen in love with dance themed video games.

In an industry where virtually every successful game spawns a generation of ‘knock offs,’ game develops know that consumers just aren’t as likely to purchase a title unless they are sure that it is good. This makes it harder for smaller companies to break into the industry, but there is still room for the next hot title.

Will The Wii And The Kinect Really Help Gamers Get Fit?

Parents, doctors and nutritionists have been complaining about how difficult it is to get kids to go outdoors and increase their activity levels, and for awhile it seemed like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinect would help them to achieve at least one of their goals. Gaming consoles that turn gamers into virtual controllers appeal to a number of parties, but can these technologies really encourage people to become more active? Recent studies have shown that gamers are responding to the Wii and the Kinect positively. The only downside to relying on games to get more healthy is the fact that gamers quickly lose interest.

Both Nintendo and Microsoft have released a number of titles that they hope will encourage gamers to really get into their games, but all video games have an expiration date. Since the average video game costs around $50, most consumers only purchase around one or two a month. In order for gamers to really see results, they would need to play continuously for approximately 60 minutes a day, five days a week. The simple fact is, gamers aren’t able to dedicate enough time in order to see real results. Some exercise experts are recommending that the games released should have more solid story lines in order to entice gamers to spend more time actually playing. Another negative aspect of gaming is that it can sometimes cause people to lead to the kitchen more often as they wait their turn or become bored most often than not.

Spike TV Hosts 8th Annual Video Game Awards

For an industry that appeals to so many consumers, it is surprising that video games don’t get much fanfare when it comes to awards and honors. This year, Spike TV will give kudos to all those involved in the development of new, cutting edge video games and improvements to the gaming industry. Fans will be able to turn to the popular TV station and find out who has won this year as well as preview video game trailers and learn about the men and women who help to create their favorite games. The awards ceremony will be aired in approximately 175 nations, and hopes that the event will help them to get gaming fans that are loyal to G4TV to see what they have to offer. Although Spike TV has been on the air for more years than G4TV, they have been losing ratings due to the competing station’s ability to appeal to younger viewers. Spike TV is a bit more straight forward, while G4TV seems to rely on slapstick humor and overtly sexual overtones, even when it comes to presenting news on video games, new technology and developments within the Internet.

You might not recognize many of the gaming industry stars slated to appear, but you will instantly identify the brands and games that they represent. At the very least, Spike TV will get a much needed ratings boost during the airing of the 8th Annual Video Games Awards, but only time will tell if they will be able to retain any of the viewers that watch the show.

Netflix Offers Streaming Capabilities Video Game Console Owners

With Blockbuster headed towards bankruptcy, more convenient rental options from Netflix and RedBox have already fulfilled ever movie junkie’s wildest dreams. Now, the online movie rental giant has created a dream of their own. Once it became apparent that physical DVD rentals were being obsolete, gamers began to wonder when they would come into the equation. No, you can’t stream new video game releases through your computer and into your console yet, but Netflix will let you do it with your movie rentals. With a fast Internet connection and a Netflix subscription, you will be able to use your Wii, Xbox or PlayStation 3 to play movies without popping in a DVD. This new feature allows renters to stream a movie on a television in room room, press play, and then continue waiting the same scene, thanks to video game consoles.

People have already been using their consoles in place of traditional DVD players for years, but the new move by Netflix may make them the staple of every household. The video game industry has always been innovative when it comes to developing technologies that will allow you to use consoles and accessories for more than the intended use. Back when companies like Zenith and Sony introduced the VCR/DVD combo player, consumers laughed in their general direction. Yes, you need a device to play your DVD and Blueray discs on, but consoles have made it so that stand alone devices are becoming discretionary. It is a good thing that television manufacturers are coming up with new models and technologies every year, or else they would risk being as obsolete as the stand alone DVD player is.

Video Game Group Rallying for Free Speech in US

Changes are quick to happen in an industry that moves as quickly as the video game industry does, but free speech issues, while not new, are certainly not what one normally thinks of when it comes to video games. The Entertainment Consumers Association, a non profit group that is composed of and represents gamers in the United States, has said that it will be holding a free speech rally in November 2010 which will take place at the United States Supreme Court building. The gamer rally is going to bring together a number of gamers from the organization who will be making a show of support to help make sure the Schwarzeneggar vs. EMA ‘violent video game case’ is not ignored by the media. Oral arguments will be held the same day the free speech rally takes place and is meant to protect the rights of gamers who wish to exercise their 1st Amendment rights under the US Constitution which guarantees them the freedom of speech. They believe that video games deserve to be considered as protected speech and have submitted a brief to the Supreme Court to state their support of this concept.

So far, video games have not been seen as deserving of quite the same protections that cover other forms of entertainment in the US say experts in the games industry. The worry is that without these protections, harsh censoring could go on based on some political leaders who use violence or other adult type topics in games as a way to malign the industry which they, being out of touch with today’s entertainment industry, think are primarily aimed at children despite the forced ratings which disallow minors from purchasing games with content that could be objectionable to parents.