Opposable Thumbs / Gaming & Entertainment

Week in gaming: Diablo 3 on consoles, OnLive, Kinect hacked

This week we looked at what one can do with the open-source PC drivers for the …

Gaming news is slowing down a touch as we get ready for Thanksgiving next week, the day where we host our families and see if Granny really will like our Kinects, Moves, and latest Wii games. This week we took a look at the issue of gaming as a business from the point of view of a successful indie developer, we explored the possibility of Diablo 3 on consoles, and reviewed Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Also: the 360 is the best-selling console in the US this year? Good news for Microsoft, bad news for Nintendo.

Hacked Kinect used to manipulate images, more to come: The Kinect is a flexible, powerful piece of equipment, and that makes it an attractive target for those wishing to code their own programs to take advantage of what it can do. Ars speaks with Florian Echtler about his PC-based image manipulation program, and what's next in Kinect hacking.

Risk aversion, funding mistakes block gaming masterpieces: Ars talks with 2D Boy cofounder Ron Carmel about why a well-funded, mid-size game development studio is the key to unlocking the first true gaming masterpiece.

A console Diablo 3? Blizzard hiring talent, looking at possibility: Some job postings show that Blizzard is in fact looking into bringing Diablo III to consoles. But will we ever get to play it? The history of Blizzard's thoughts on bringing the game to consoles.

Super Meat Boy devs: why sale came first: The two men behind Super Meat Boy explain why the game was released on sale, and why they asked the press to spread the word of the price increase so no one "feels screwed." Welcome to the world of a very unlikely indie hit.

Big-head mode returns in Wii Goldeneye 007, college days relived: A number of cheat codes for the Wii re-make of Goldeneye have been revealed, including one that revives the classic big head mode.

Activision may close Bizarre after giving it too little love: Bizarre Creations didn't make enough money for Activision Blizzard, and is now facing a 90-day consultancy period... a legal requirement in the UK before widespread layoffs go down. The problem came from poor timing and promotion on a number of games, painting the picture of a studio that may have been set up to fail.

Crazy Taxi on PSN, XBLA: when the music stops and stores close: Crazy Taxi was known for its feel and mood more than the specifics of gameplay, and the loss of the game's original soundtrack and licensed stores hampers the nostalgia of an interesting game. 

Xbox 360 set to be 2010's best-selling console in the US: While the Nintendo DS was the best-selling hardware in the US in October, Microsoft looks like it will win the year with the Xbox 360. The top four games in the software charts were also on Microsoft's platform. Oh, and the Kinect was a hit. It's a good time to be green.

The $99 gaming PC: the OnLive microconsole in pictures: The Onlive microconsole is in our hands, promising high-level PC gaming in a $100 box. The games are played on more powerful hardware, and then streamed to your television through the box. Here is our first look at the hardware, with a full review of the service coming very soon.

Burnout gets heavy: Ars reviews Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit takes the developers of the Burnout series and asks them to make a racing game that feels more like cops and robbers. That's not a bad thing at all.

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