Technology, Video Games | featured news

The next generation of Xbox could finally be announced this spring. On May 21, the company will forget about the troubled Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems and lavish a bit of attention on the Xbox, according to bloggers who cite sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

Software and tech hardware companies have to protect their secrets and shield their upcoming products from the prying eyes of competition right up to the day they choose to announce. In a multi-billion dollar industry like gaming, market players take this kind of thing seriously. Very seriously. An Australian hacker was visited by a handful of law enforcement officials this week on allegations that he’s been stealing intel about the not-yet-released new Xbox, a Microsoft product.

Once again, Steve Wozniak proves that he is the absolute best guy in the world of technology. Forget all the other antics of the world’s tech billionaires combined, this is a guy who is just having fun with it – witness the fact that he’s co-starring in an upcoming iOS game with “Machete” star Danny Trejo.

Zynga has countered a copyright-infringement lawsuit from Electronic Arts with its own allegations that EA sought a potentially illegal agreement to avoid poaching each others' employees.

Virtual reality goggles, Google Glasses, Valve's wearable computing crusade, and now a patent discovered that shows Microsoft working on the next level of Kinect technology: turning your room into a game environment through 3D projection. Virtual reality gaming is just around the corner, it appears.

Multiscreen gaming is emerging as a major trend as consumers increasingly access games through their PCs, consoles, tablets and smartphones.

Tuomas Erikoinen, the man who drew the hit "Angry Birds" app, doesn't really resent his creation. He's just bored with it. He sees the game's grumpy, ball-shaped, wingless birds everywhere he goes, their furrowed brows staring him down. Here in Finland's capital, where "Angry Birds" began, Erikoinen's drawings have been turned into T-shirts, "plushie" stuffed animals and two brands of soft drinks -- Tropic and Paradise.

Feeling besieged by pesky little problems today? You might want to be careful with your Google searches.

When game company Double Fine first went to Kickstarter, they were aiming high. They hoped to raise $400,000 to fund an upcoming adventure game. When their campaign concluded last night, they had raised 3.3 million, a Kickstarter record. Financing for indie games might never be the same again.

Modern Web standards are taking gaming on the Web to the next level. We took a brief look at how Mozilla and Google are contributing to the effort. Standards-based open Web technologies are increasingly capable of delivering interactive multimedia experiences; the kind that used to only be available through plugins or native applications. This trend is creating new opportunities for gaming on the Web.