• Thanks A Lot, Apple
    Many parents might be sarcastically thanking Apple this Thanksgiving, as according to recent research from Nielsen, the iPad (starting at $499) is the most desired item by kids 6-12 going into this holiday season.This isn't really a surprise. The iPad is an extremely kid-friendly device, with an intuitive and simple interface, tons of games, and several entertainment options. What I am wondering, though, is this: How did the 6- to 12-year-old market figure out that it was such a kid-friendly device?
  • 'Smurfs' Trump 'Birds,' Highlighting Rise Of Virtual Buying
    Last week, my colleague Josh Lovinson covered the new world record in the most expensive virtual goods transaction -- $335,000 for a virtual property in "Entropia" -- and the profusion of virtual goods that have been showing up in the gaming space this year. This week, virtual goods hit another milestone. "Smurfs' Village," a Farmville-esque iPhone app, unseated the amazing "Angry Birds" at the top of the app charts. "Angry Birds" costs 99 cents, while "Smurfs' Village" is free to play, so the entirety of its sales figures are based on in-game purchases of "Smurfberries," a currency that allows players …
  • $335,000 For Virtual Goods!?
    A new world record has been set for most expensive virtual goods transaction. Again, it's the MMO "Entropia" beating its own record, with a player purchasing several virtual areas of the game from another player for $335,000. Previously "Entropia" made headlines for the auction of a virtual space nightclub for $330,000. The amounts are somewhat less startling when it is noted that the game has a transfer rate between in-game currency and real money. Still, this new record is a nice reminder of how high virtual goods are valued.
  • New Gaming Model With Release Of 'Undead Nightmare'?
    You may have seen some of the ad blitz for this weekend's launch of "Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare," a zombie-themed downloadable content (DLC) pack that builds on top of Rockstar's hit western genre game released earlier this year. Adding to the lifespan of a game through DLC isn't a new thing by any stretch of the imagination -- games like "Dragon Age," "Mass Effect," and "The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion" have been releasing plenty of paid DLC to get another crack at the same audience without an entirely new title launch. But "Undead Nightmare" feels a little different from what …
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