Facebook’s mood study: How you became the guinea pig
VideoThat controversial research into how posts affect users’ emotions is just latest in a long line of privacy flaps — and apologies — for the social networking giant.
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Apple, Google Vie to Offer Exclusive Game Apps
StandardA long-running battle between Apple Inc. and Google Inc. for mobile dominance is spreading to the most lucrative genre of apps: videogames.
The two Silicon Valley giants have been wooing game developers to ensure that top-tier game titles arrive first on devices powered by their respective operating systems, people familiar with the situation said.
Apple, Samsung in Renewed Settlement Talks, but Deal Elusive
StandardApple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have held a series of private negotiations about their patent disputes since last summer when Apple notched a victory in one case, according to legal documents and people familiar with the matter.
Fans Take Videogame Damsels Out of Distress, Put Them in Charge
StandardPlaying “Donkey Kong” this spring, Mike Mika’s 3-year-old daughter Ellis asked him why it is always the mustached Mario who saves Pauline, the damsel in a pink dress who gets kidnapped by a gorilla.
The game has no option for the girl to save the boy. It just works like that, the dad told his daughter. “She was bummed out,” he says.
So Mr. Mika, a 39-year-old videogame developer in Emeryville, Calif., hacked the classic game’s software to make the damsel into a heroine who saves the plumber Mario. He published his version, dubbed “Donkey Kong: Pauline Edition,” online, where it has been downloaded more than 11,000 times since it was posted in March.
The Big Game Battle
StandardIn a slick two-minute trailer from David Fincher, the director of “The Social Network” and “Fight Club,” a young boy is stolen from his home, turned into a surgically enhanced supersoldier known as “Master Chief,” then set loose to battle hordes of evil aliens.
The splashy preview isn’t for Hollywood’s latest major motion picture. It’s part of the elaborate build up to the release of “Halo 4,” the latest installment of Microsoft’s blockbuster videogame for the Xbox 360. When it debuts on Tuesday, the game, in development for four years, could easily end up bigger than most movie releases. Its predecessor, “Halo 3” sold $300 million worth of copies in the first week following its 2007 release.
Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to ensure that every male under 45 in America knows “Halo 4” is on its way. In partnership with PepsiCo, there will be Halo-themed Mountain Dew and Halo Doritos. Boys can wear Halo Axe deodorant while playing a Halo version of Risk.
Apple Makes a Wrong Turn as Users Blast Map Switch
StandardApple Inc.’s move to replace Google Inc.’s mapping software with its own on its mobile devices sparked a world-wide consumer backlash, marking a rare strategic blunder by a company more accustomed to rave reviews from users.
As Apple prepped its stores for the first sales of the iPhone 5 on Friday, the company faced vociferous complaints from consumers over the mapping application it released this week, which replaces the Google maps that have been part of the iPhone since the device’s initial 2007 release. The new maps come installed on the iPhone 5 and will be seen by other users who upgrade their iPhones and iPads to the company’s latest iOS 6 mobile operating system.
Videogames Reach for the Cloud
StandardFor decades, consumers have played videogames in arcades, on personal computers or specialized consoles hooked to televisions. Sony Corp. SNE +2.21% is placing a bet on a different approach—technology that streams games to Internet-connected devices.
Microsoft Pulls From Apple Playbook With Surface Tablet
StandardMicrosoft Corp.’s first personal computer, the Surface tablet, provides further evidence that Apple Inc.’s strategies and success continue to shake up the tech sector.
The software giant is for the first time emulating Apple’s longtime practice of managing both elements in a computing device—one that will directly compete with products from its biggest customers.
Though insisting it remains committed to helping other hardware companies make successful tablets using its software, Microsoft also endorsed Apple’s philosophy in forceful terms.
“We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects of the experience—hardware and software—are considered and working together,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, during the Surface launch event Monday.
The iPhone Gives ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ a Second Chance
StandardOld is the new cool in videogames.
Videogame titles that once gathered dust on collectors’ shelves have found a new life on mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, giving companies a cheap way to make money while also helping to promote new software.
It is what Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. did when it was preparing to release the third installment in a popular film-noire series called “Max Payne.” About a month before the new title went on sale, the company released “Max Payne Mobile”—the first game in the series released 11 years ago, reworked to run on smartphones and tablet computers rather than videogame consoles and personal computers.
Sony Rejects Web-Based PlayStation Console
StandardSony Corp. considered but ultimately rejected a download-only plan for its next videogame console, people familiar with the matter said, opting to include an optical disk drive rather than break with decades-old industry practice.
The Japanese electronics maker’s flirtation with dropping the optical drive underscores the rising importance of online networks in the videogame industry, which allow console users to download games, television shows and music without the need for disks or cartridges.