It’s that time of year again — the biggest convention in Nevada for video games, anime, and cosplay returns to Las Vegas. Fans from all over the country travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the annual LVL UP EXPO for the exhibits, tournaments, and panels throughout the three-day event.
Read MoreThe LVL UP EXPO returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center for its 10th anniversary. The yearly event brings together fans, collectors, and competitors to a place where everyone can celebrate their hobbies and participate in various activities. The event features everything from cosplay contests, voice-actor panels, wrestling matches, and plenty of artist, exhibitor, community, and indie game dev booths.
Read MoreDespite what some people may think, Pokémon Go is still around and it’s thriving. It’s been a long four years since the game’s release—with a couple of hurdles in the beginning, boring people out of the game. Even with its flaws, many have continued to support the game to this day. New content is regularly added, yearly revenue continues to increase, and the game continues to evolve.
Read MoreWhile some people frown upon video game cheats, others see them as an alternative way to enjoy video games. Cheats codes in video games have come a long way from giving the player additional lives, big heads, and even flying cars. Some cheat codes give the user an advantage while others have simple novelty effects, but they weren’t always meant for the player.
Read MoreThe LVL UP EXPO is one of the biggest conventions centered around video games, anime, and technology in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annual event features a variety of entertainment and interactive experiences. Everything from retro games, video game tournaments, virtual reality, pro wrestling matches, vendors, voicing anime, cosplay, and special guests.
Read MoreVideo games haven’t received the best movie adaptations. Historically, they’ve been budget movies that either don’t understand the video game or try too hard to be like the video games they’re based on. Generally these movies have been negatively received by critics and fans while bombing at the box office but a few have managed to stand apart from the “video game movie curse.”
Read MoreI may have missed the actual date of PlayStation’s 25th anniversary but it’s never too late to celebrate the great memories and video games Sony has given us. A perfect occasion to take a look at the development of the PlayStation and its successors’ milestones in the video game industry. A lasting legacy in the industry that all began with the vision of Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation.
Read MoreWhile younger gamers may not be familiar with the Video Game Crash of 1983, some people at the time weren’t aware of the situation either. Atari was at the top while the video game market was on the rise before crashing. Competitors oversaturated the market with too many consoles and unlicensed games. The market crashed when Nintendo was ready to introduce their Famicon video game console to American consumers. Releasing a console during this time seemed like a terrible idea by market analysts but against all odds, Nintendo launched their Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States, and restored the video game market.
Read MoreWhile most major video games are made by teams of hundreds of people, independent video games can be made by as few as just one person. These games are usually passion projects. Indie video games have become a breath of fresh air in the oversaturated market of big budget shooters filled with microtransactions. Angel Polanco of Veyeral Games shared his experience of working on his game, The Void Rains Upon Her Heart, as a solo developer.
Read MoreNiantic developed Pokémon Go in partnership with The Pokémon Company through Nintendo. Summer 2016 saw the release of Pokémon Go and quickly became the most downloaded game of the year. Niantic looking to further monetize the millions of players on its game introduced Pokémon Go Fest Chicago in 2017, a real-world event. Its overwhelming success became a burden on the servers. The game was nearly unplayable during the event upsetting over 20,000 trainers in attendance.
Read MoreMusic has been used in video games in a variety of ways such as trailers, intros, soundtracks, and even key moments in games. I just wanted to take some time to appreciate all the musical goodness in video games and breakdown some of my favorite uses of them in video games. This has become a way for gamers to be introduced to new and old tracks while also creating memorable moments enhanced by the joy of music.
Read MorePlants vs. Zombies is a tower-defense game developed by PopCap Games. PvZ originally released on the PC before making its way onto mobile. The game had a smooth transition from the PC’s mouse to touch-screen controls on mobile. Due to PopCap’s major success with mobile games, Electronic Arts bought the studio. This shifted the focus at PopCap games to free-to-play games and implemented it into their long awaited sequel, Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time.
Read MoreMarvel’s Spider-Man developed by Insomniac Games for PS4 is not only one of the best superhero games, it’s also one of the best games of 2018. Spider-Man had a lot to live up to after the movie tie-in, Spider-Man 2 was regarded as the best Spider-Man game for some time and the Batman: Arkham series set the standard for superhero games. Despite all its pros, fans’ anger escalated over the exclusion of the Sam Raimi “webbed” suit from the films.
Read MoreWhen it comes to award shows, motion pictures have the Oscars, music has the Grammys, and TV has the Emmys. The video game industry has a few award shows but the ones that really matter are the Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) awards and the Game Awards. Video game award shows have had their ups and downs with the Spike Video Game Awards but now are being regarded as the future of entertainment award shows with 2018’s Game Awards.
Read MoreIn 2011, it was a landmark year for video games, not because of great video games but because the Supreme Court addressed the topic of video games for the first time ever. The Supreme Court acknowledged that video games, like books and movies, communicate ideas and are entitled to first amendment protection. Although this was a win for the video game industry in the U.S., it is not the same worldwide, and other countries, such as Germany, have only recently followed suit.
Read MoreKeiji Inafune had a helping hand in developing the character of Mega Man. After leaving Capcom in 2010, Inafune set out to release a spiritual successor to Mega Man in 2013. His project, Mighty No. 9 became the most successful Kickstarter with $4 million toward its goal. Fans thought Capcom had poorly treated the Mega Man series and Inafune was going to be the savior with his new game.
Read MoreTelltale Games was known for their episodic adventure games based on existing properties. They made games based on Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Borderlands, and Game of Thrones. The Walking Dead was their flagship game with multiple entries in the series. They were ready to release episode two of four from The Final Season when they found out the studio was closing.
Read MoreP.T. was released onto the Playstation store under the guise of a new horror game by an unknown developer. P.T. was then revealed as a demo for a new Silent Hill game. Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima, along with director, Guillermo del Toro, and the Walking Dead’s, Norman Reedus, were attached to the project titled, Silent Hills, before Konami unexpectedly canceled it.
Read MoreNintendo and Sega found themselves in a court hearing regarding violent video games after the 1993 release of Mortal Kombat. As Nintendo’s version was edited to be family-friendly, Sega faced heavy criticism due to its version featuring blood as well as the series’ graphic fatalities, and allegedly marketing it toward children. Nintendo and Sega would have to work together to propose an independent rating system or have the government step in.
Read MoreIn 2006, Sega acquired the rights to the Aliens franchise and announced they would be working on a first-person shooter with developer, Gearbox. The result was Aliens: Colonial Marines, and even featured actors from Aliens reprising their roles. Gearbox showed promising “actual gameplay” demos but when the game was released in 2013, it didn’t resemble what was promised.
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