gaming

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Will Amazon's Nearly $1B Acquisition End Up a 'Zombie'?

Retail giant bought video streaming platform Twitch in 2014, but it hasn't performed as hoped

(Newser) - Ten years ago, Amazon ponied up nearly a billion dollars to acquire Twitch, a video streaming startup popular among gamers that insiders now worry may become a "zombie brand" for the retail giant, per the Wall Street Journal . Both current and ex-employees tell the paper that the platform is...

Gaming Superstar Has Skin Cancer
Gaming Superstar
Has Skin Cancer
Mar 27, 2024 12:45 PM CDT

Gaming Superstar Has Skin Cancer

Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, 32, says it was caught early

(Newser) - One of the gaming world's biggest superstars says he has been diagnosed with skin cancer, but it was caught early and doctors are optimistic. Tyler "Ninja" Blevins has around 19 million followers on the Twitch platform, where he is best known for playing Fortnite, Rolling Stone reports. In...

Sony Slashes Gaming Jobs
Sony Slashes Gaming Jobs
Feb 27, 2024 12:01 PM CST

Sony Slashes Gaming Jobs

Company to drop 8% of workforce, close London's PlayStation Studio

(Newser) - Sony will cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, or about 8% of its global workforce, becoming the latest company in the technology and gaming sector to announce layoffs, per the AP . Sony cited changes in the industry as a reason for the restructuring. "The industry has changed...

13-Year-Old Is First Person to 'Break' Tetris
13-Year-Old Is First
Person to 'Break' Tetris
in case you missed it
Jan 7, 2024 7:25 AM CST

13-Year-Old Is First Person to 'Break' Tetris

No one thought the video game could be beat, but Willis 'blue scuti' Gibson proved everyone wrong

(Newser) - Since its inception, the NES version of Tetris had been considered an impossible game to beat. After more than three decades, however, a 13-year-old has now done the impossible. Popular Science reports on the "wunderkind" Willis Gibson, 13, who at the end of December reached what's called the...

Doritos Caters to Gamers With Crunch-Silencing App

Geared toward people talking over mics, the brand has an app that silences chewers

(Newser) - Doritos is helping out some of the brand's biggest fans: gamers who like to snack. Crunching on chips sounds pretty irritating over microphones, which gamers use to chat while playing—and anyone who's been on a Zoom or phone call with a loud chewer can relate. Using noise-canceling...

Microsoft Closes One of Tech's Biggest Acquisitions

Company's massive $69B deal to buy 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard is approved

(Newser) - Microsoft has completed its acquisition of video game-maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, closing one of the most expensive tech acquisitions in history that could have repercussions across the video game industry, per the AP . The notice that the deal has gone through came seven hours after Microsoft got final...

46 Years Later, Atari Releasing Game for Classic Console

Cartridge 'Save Mary' will cost $60

(Newser) - For Atari diehards, it's better late than never. The company is releasing a new game cartridge for its classic 2600 console that debuted in 1977 and ceased production 15 years later, reports Engadget . "Save Mary," which Atari says was "another victim of the 1983 game crash,...

UK Just Nixed the Biggest Tech Deal in History

Microsoft's $69B attempt to buy video game maker Activision scuttled over fears of stifling competition

(Newser) - British regulators have blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said in its final report Wednesday that "the only effective remedy" to the significant...

Rollout of Much-Awaited Video Game Does Not Go Well

Sony has to pull glitchy 'Cyberpunk 2077' from PlayStation Store

(Newser) - The Dec. 10 release of Cyberpunk 2077 by Polish developer CD Projekt Red was one of the most highly anticipated drops of the year. Now, Sony has pulled the role-playing action video game starring Keanu Reeves from its PlayStation Store and is offering refunds after users complained of glitches and...

FarmVille Is Being Fallowed
Final Harvest
Looms for FarmVille
Sep 28, 2020 1:43 PM CDT

Final Harvest Looms for FarmVille

Zynga says game will be gone at end of 2020

(Newser) - The original FarmVille is about to become a dust bowl, 11 years after it first became a social media gaming sensation. Zynga announced Monday that the original FarmVille game will be officially kaput as of the end of 2020, Ars Technica reports. "Adobe will stop distributing and updating Flash...

Teen Pushes Back on Government's Gaming Rules

Japan's Wataru, 17, says limits on video games, smartphone use are unconstitutional

(Newser) - In 2018, the World Health Organization added "gaming disorder" to its official list of addictive diseases. This past April, the Kagawa prefecture government on Japan's Shikoku island decided to address the issue head-on, putting in place regulations that asked parents to limit the playing of video games by...

Gamer Gets 15 Months for 'Harmless Prank'

But Casey Viner's prank got someone killed

(Newser) - An Ohio gamer upset about a $1.50 bet while playing Call of Duty: WWII online was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison for recruiting a prankster to make a bogus emergency call that resulted in the fatal shooting of a Kansas man by police, the AP reports. Casey...

US Teen Wins $3M at Fortnite World Cup

'This is life-changing for him,' says mom of Kyle Giersdorf

(Newser) - Pennsylvania 16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf plays 8 to 10 hours of Fortnite a day, but his parents aren't complaining: Giersdorf, better known as "Bugha," won a record-breaking $3 million Sunday at the inaugural Fortnite World Cup at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, USA Today reports. The contest...

'Gaming Disorder' Now an Official Illness

Industry groups want UN agency to reconsider

(Newser) - Video game addiction is now officially a disease. The World Health Organization added "gaming disorder" as a modern disease in its International Classification of Diseases at the 72nd World Health Assembly on Saturday, CNET reports. The UN health agency's fact page on the disorder describes it as "...

Coming Soon: Nation's First Esports Arena

$50M arena to be built in Philadelphia

(Newser) - The US has a lot of sports arenas, and now it's about to get its first esports arena. Comcast Spectator is building the nation's first video gaming arena in Philadelphia, Philly.com reports. The arena will be home to the Comcast-owned Philadelphia Fusion , a professional esports franchise competing...

Is Google's Latest Move the Future of Gaming?
Is Google's Latest Move
the Future of Gaming?
THE RUNDOWN
Mar 20, 2019 11:10 AM CDT

Is Google's Latest Move the Future of Gaming?

Introducing Stadia, Google's game-streaming platform

(Newser) - Google on Tuesday unveiled a video-game streaming platform called Stadia, positioning itself to take on the traditional video-game business. The platform will store a game-playing session in the cloud and lets players jump across devices operating on Google's Chrome browser and Chrome OS, such as Pixel phones and Chromebooks,...

Fortnite Streamer Gets the Shock of a Lifetime

For ExoticChaotic, it really comes in handy

(Newser) - A Fortnite streamer was stunned earlier this week when a pretty big donation appeared on his screen, Kotaku reports. The streamer, known as ExoticChaotic, can be seen on his Twitch feed : "What a minute," he said Tuesday when he saw the number. "That can't be right....

Before Shooting, Gunman Was Eliminated in Tournament
Before Shooting, Gunman
Was Eliminated in Tournament
the rundown
Aug 27, 2018 12:34 PM CDT

Before Shooting, Gunman Was Eliminated in Tournament

But police are not speculating about a motive in Florida killings

(Newser) - Police have identified the shooter at a gaming tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, Sunday as 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore. What they don't know is what prompted Katz to open fire in the "Madden 19" qualifying tournament, fatally shooting two fellow competitors and wounding nine others before killing himself....

Before Shooting at Gaming Tournament, a Chilling Sight

Red laser dot appeared on competitor before gunfire began; 3 dead, including gunman

(Newser) - The details from Sunday's mass shooting at a gaming tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., have begun to settle: Police say a gunman killed two people and himself during the video game competition within a riverfront entertainment venue called the Jacksonville Landing, reports the New York Times . At least nine others...

WHO's Newest Mental Health Disorder: Obsessive Gaming

But parents shouldn't freak out just yet

(Newser) - The World Health Organization says some obsessive video gamers may actually have an addiction. In its latest revision to a disease classification manual, the UN health agency said Monday that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a mental health condition, per the AP . WHO said classifying "gaming disorder"...

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