Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Wii)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Xbox 360)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PlayStation 3)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Nintendo DS)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Nintendo DS)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (PC)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Nintendo DS)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Nintendo DS)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Nintendo joins massive new UK games event (Nintendo DS)

It's been a while since the UK had a proper, full-blown, full-fatgaming show. The London Games Festival has been doing a pretty good job over the last couple of years of course, but we haven't really seen a big, shiney, focused extravaganza of digital excess since the days ofGame StarsLive. And that was a long time ago.

That mightchange thisyear though, as new event Game On! (gratuitous exclamation mark theirs, not ours) attempts to stomp all over the June page of the gaming calendar and make it its bitch. Headlined by HMV and organised by the UK eSports Association, the plan is to make the 20,000 capacity event the biggest consumer-friendly games fest in the country this year. And by the sounds of it they could be onto a winner.New games, so-new-they're-not-even-finished-games, eye-popping tech and pro gaming will all be there in abundance, as now will Nintendo, having just confirmed their attendance.

Dirty little secrets of the keyboard revealed

Next time you are eating at your desk, try not to think of multitude of germs lurking on your keyboard along with some other unpleasant debris.

Nail clippings, chips, pastry crumbs, chewing gum and beard hair are some of the disagreeable detritus that accumulates inside the average office keyboard, according to Claire Burke, director of Keep IT Clean, an IT hardware cleaning company with clients including hotels and the NHS.

Burke told silicon.com, that IT chiefs call her company in so tech staff don't have to negotiate a minefield of grime when they are called on to fix a broken PC.

Analyst: OLPC won't draw global PC makers

Whitebox vendors in the region may warm up to the One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC's) decision to open its design, according to market research analyst IDC.

Multinational PC makers, on the other hand, will continue their focus on mini-notebooks, Reuben Tan, IDC's senior manager for personal systems research in the Asia-Pacific region, told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview.

Earlier this month, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte announced the organization's intention to open source its hardware design and invite commercial PC makers to copy it. In an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia, Negroponte said the OLPC intends to make open as many aspects of its next-generation XO laptop as possible.

Sony reorganizes as president steps down

Sony has announced a major reorganization of its business divisions that sees chief executive and chairman Howard Stringer also become president.

Britain buys more games than Japan

In the world of sales figures, America and Japan have commonly been seen to dominate the market - which is why so many games nowadays seem to cater to those markets. There's nothing but big muscles and spiky hair - not a Brogue-wearing businessman in sight.

Or, at least, that used to be the case. Japan it seems is no longer the market leader it once was, with the UK growing it's gaming market to become the nation with the second-biggest gaming market ever.

Amazon launches digital games sales service

Amazon has launched a new digital storefront for casual gamers today, with more than 600 casual games already listed for just £9.99 GBP, or less.

Currently running as an open beta until the feature set has been expanded a little more, Amazon is keen to get into the lucrative casual games market - which is ironically booming given the large number of lay-offs hitting many industries.

Each of the 600 games listed on the casual gaming service can be downloaded for a free half-hour trial without obligation, but after that it's either buy it or leave it apparently.

Games outsold DVD and Blu-ray last year

According to sales figures from Media Control GfK International, the video games industry managed to outsell both DVD and Blu-ray combined last year thanks to a huge growth in the format.

The sales figures show that while DVD and Blu-ray sales dropped by six percent last year, videogames grew by a staggering 20 percent and grew a lead over movie formats of more than £1.5 billion GBP.

According to the analysts at Media Control a huge amount of this growth comes down to the popularity of the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms, says GI.biz.

Ubisoft confirms seven new games this year

Ubisoft has confirmed seven new releases for the 2009/1010 fiscal year, which starts in April. The new releases include some previously detailed, some rumoured and some newly announced titles for the coming year - all of which will be released by next April.

The first and probably biggest game on the list is the sequel to Jade Raymond's Assassin's Creed that was released in 2007 and then later re-released on PC as Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut

Acer announces 10-inch Aspire One

Acer has this morning announced an updated version of its hugely popular Aspire One netbook which comes complete with a 10-inch screen, Windows XP and integrated Bluetooth.

Weighing in at 1.18kg, the new Aspire One should extend Acer's penetration into the netbook market, as it has rapidly moved on from smaller, sub 10-inch form factors adopted by earlier netbooks like the original Aspire One.

It combines a typical 10-inch LED-backlit LCD panel with a 1,024 x 600 native resolution and most of the remaining specifications will be familiar to anyone who has followed the netbook market over the past twelve months.

Splash Damage: Metacritic is a strain on devs

Splash Damage boss Paul Wedgwood has spoken out on what he deems a ridiculous arrangement between developers and publishers where pressure is put on developers to achieve certain Metacritic review scores in exchange for bonuses and better royalty agreements.

The Quake Wars developer said that the entire process was flawed and that journalists should abandon percentile scoring systems and instead use 'out of ten' scores. Otherwise, Wedgwood reckons, journalists are under pressure to justify such precise scores, which can lead to overly negative reviews.

Splash Damage: Metacritic is a strain on devs

Splash Damage boss Paul Wedgwood has spoken out on what he deems a ridiculous arrangement between developers and publishers where pressure is put on developers to achieve certain Metacritic review scores in exchange for bonuses and better royalty agreements.

The Quake Wars developer said that the entire process was flawed and that journalists should abandon percentile scoring systems and instead use 'out of ten' scores. Otherwise, Wedgwood reckons, journalists are under pressure to justify such precise scores, which can lead to overly negative reviews.

Splash Damage: Metacritic is a strain on devs

Splash Damage boss Paul Wedgwood has spoken out on what he deems a ridiculous arrangement between developers and publishers where pressure is put on developers to achieve certain Metacritic review scores in exchange for bonuses and better royalty agreements.

The Quake Wars developer said that the entire process was flawed and that journalists should abandon percentile scoring systems and instead use 'out of ten' scores. Otherwise, Wedgwood reckons, journalists are under pressure to justify such precise scores, which can lead to overly negative reviews.

EA: "We want to make quality games"

EA's CEO John Riccitiello has re-iterated that he is trying to lead the company away from it's reputation of making cheap and cheerful cash-ins and repetitive sports games and more towards innovative, quality titles.

That said, he does admit that the company need to make a profit too - but he doesn't believe there needs to be a distinction between profit and quality.

"Some of my greatest beliefs regarding gaming are that our art form is today - or certainly has the potential - to be recognised as the peer of the best of Hollywood movies. I want to help others see that.

Games mags have a tough time of it

Call us smug, but we always kind of knew that the internet was the way forward for most forms of media and journalism - and that's a fact which is being highlighted by the recent closure and sale of several fairly big games magazines today.

The big news for games fans today is the US magazine partnered with gaming website 1-Up.com, Electronic Games Monthly, has been closed down today. The closure comes after long-running rumours that parent company Ziff Davis Media were looking to sell the 1-Up network were finally proved true. The Hearst Corporation, owners of UGO.com (among others) has bought the entire network.