Connected Gaming Week - June 1, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

While the LA Kings are busy winning Lord Stanely’s Cup next week (sorry, Devils fans…), there’s a little something called the Electronic Entertainment Expo going on. For gamers, it’s like Christmas and the Fourth of July rolled up into one. There’s a lot to look forward to at E3 this year, beyond the usual cavalcade of glitz and glamour. Venturebeat’s Dean Takahashi has a great roundup of what to expect, with the most telling assessment coming from this quote: “Consoles aren’t dead, but for the first time, the discussions about the future of games aren’t just about the future of the consoles or console games.”  

Speaking of consoles, Sony shot down the rumors about its PlayStation 4 being strictly online. According to Gamespot’s report, Sony flirted with the idea of an online-only console, but decided to nix the idea in support of physical media at the last minute due to the problem of bandwidth issues. But given that there are 2.3 billion internet users in the world, which is growing at an 8 percent rate, the bandwidth excuse is only going to last for so long.

Finally, there’s Apple. They won’t be at E3, and despite having one of the largest and fastest growing gaming platform (iOS devices) Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company isn’t interested in the traditional console market. But he is still optimistic on the future for Apple and gaming, since games are the dominant sector of app downloads. The way mobile gaming is going though, Apple’s Wordwide Developer’s Conference could be bigger than E3 in a few short years.

Check out the links below for more news from the world of online gaming in this edition of Connected Gaming Week, and have a great weekend.

Stay connected,

John Hardin
Editor
Connected Gaming Week

The Industry
Gartner: Mobile payments will top $171 Billion This Year, Despite Fragmentation
Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of E3 2012 HD
Used Games 'Probably' Good for Consumers - Former THQ Boss
Internet-obsessed Gen Y is Changing Traditional HR Practices
The DeanBeat: What to Expect at E3

The People
GameStop Expands Android Tablet Sales to More Than 1,600 Locations
Sequoia Capital Raising Around $1 Billion for New Funds, That’s One Instagram
Naughty Dog Co-Founder Becomes THQ President
Activision Paid Out $493 Million in Bonuses to Call of Duty House
Activision vs. No Doubt Case to be Heard by Jury
Facebook Stock Sinks Even More, Finishes the Day Down Nearly 10 Percent
Apple 'Not Interested' in Console Business
Welcome to Generation Tweet: 31 Percent of Online 18 to 24-Year-Olds Use Twitter
Silicon Knights Plans to Appeal in Epic Case
Korean Government Investigating Diablo III Refund Complaints

The Entertainment
WWE ’13: Bringing Attitude to a Revolution
Saints Row Franchise Hits 11 million sales globally
Metro: Last Light: "More Complete" Than 2033
First Details of Skyrim: Dawnguard
Indie XBLA Game Fez Sells 100K Copies
Playing with Death - Darksiders II Video Preview
Dota 2 Will Be Free-to-Play
Tomb Raider Due March 5, 2013
Defiance to Launch April 2013

The Technology
Seventeen Percent of PCs are “Walking Around Naked,” Says McAfee
Google Tablet with Android 4.1 & Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor Gets Closer to Reality
Windows 8 Release Preview Goes Live With Better Metro apps, Flash in IE10, & More
Sixty-Seven Million Xbox 360s, 19 Million Kinects Sold to Date, Says Microsoft
PlayStation 4 Due in 2013 – Report
The Seven Deadly Sins of Mobile App Design
Windows 8 Gesture Controls Will Make You Forget About the Mouse