Video Games

At its Build 2014 conference on Wednesday, Microsoft announced universal Windows apps, which work across PCs, phones, tablets and even the Xbox One. In other words, the Windows runtime in Windows 8.1 Update 1 will be available to Windows Phone developers. This is a huge announcement for developers looking to build apps on Windows. David Continue Reading →

We all expected this, right? Yes, Amazon has a game controller, and it works with the company’s newly announced Fire TV. Sure, you could use the set-top box’s remote or an upcoming custom app to play games, but there’s a dedicated controller too that’s ready to wrangle a Fire TV-specifc version of Minecraft, NBA 2K14, Continue Reading →

With kids in the US clocking in screen time like it’s a full-time job — they spend on average seven hours a day in front of some sort of screen — researchers at Iowa State University decided to investigate what sort of effects, if any, parental monitoring of all that screen time might have. What Continue Reading →

Android and iOS users in the US spend an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes every day using apps on smartphones and tablets (up just four minutes compared to last year). Of that, 86 percent (or 2 hours and 19 minutes) is spent inside apps, while the remaining 14 percent (or 22 minutes, down Continue Reading →

Microsoft on Tuesday updated its Xbox Video service and Xbox SmartGlass app. At the same time, the company detailed what’s coming in the next Xbox One update, including bringing TV elements to more global markets and a new option for using OneGuide on multiple devices. First up, after you rent or buy a movie, Xbox Continue Reading →

On Monday morning, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella announced that Scott Guthrie is now the executive vice president of its Cloud and Enterprise group, Phil Spencer will run its Xbox work, and that, when the Nokia acquisition closes, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will pick up the title of executive vice president of the Devices group. Continue Reading →

In a call with investors following its surprise $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR on Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the virtual reality company’s focus will still be on games, for now. “I do think gaming is a start,” Zuckerberg said. “Once you get a network effect around gaming, you start to get communication Continue Reading →

Oculus VR has a new owner, and Facebook may end up molding the virtual reality company’s flagship product in its own image. According to a report from the New York Times, Facebook is planning to eventually rebrand the Oculus Rift experience, redesigning the hardware and updating it with “a Facebook interface and logo.” Though the Continue Reading →

King Digital Entertainment, maker of the wildly popular mobile game Candy Crush, went public Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange after raising about $500 million in an IPO that valued the company at about $7.6 billion. But it fell short of that valuation with a poor early response from the market, with shares Continue Reading →

Titanfall is great. Like really, really great. It’s the Xbox One’s best game and the most fun I’ve had with any next-gen game. I can’t say whether it’s worth a $450-$500 investment (if you don’t own an Xbox One), but it’s certainly the most convincing argument to jump into the new generation of video game Continue Reading →