Sales of video game hardware held steady in Japan for the week ended May 24, as the Nintendo Wii managed to edge out PlayStation 3 for the third week in a row, capturing the top home console slot. But it was the handhelds that once again ruled Media Create's weekly hardware chart, with the Nintendo DSi generating 34,152 in unit sales, topping second-place PSP, which sold 27,536 during the week. Media Create records DS Lite ...

After operating without fanfare for several months, development studio PushButton Labs has formally announced its existence and stated its plans to target "emerging consumer markets" with web-driven games and other software. The Eugene, Oregon-based studio was established by GarageGames co-founders Jeff Tunnell and Rick Overman; Tunnell was also a co-founder of now-defunct developer Dynamix, where Overman was an early employee. Also on board is fellow GarageGames veteran Tim Aste, who spoke to Gamasutra prior to ...

In earlier years the activists, educators, researchers and nonprofits that attended the annual Games For Change event had a tendency to dismiss the commercial games space as less useful to their cause. But this year, all of the attendees interested in how game design can be leveraged for social change were very excited about lessons from The Sims and Spore. That's why EA Maxis VP and general manager Lucy Bradshaw was in New York to ...

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days, as well as any notable features on his sister 'state of indie' weblog.] This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week. The goodies in this edition include a new game from the ...

With E3 events beginning next week, video game analysts have weighed in on what to expect from the re-revamped expo, which takes place in Los Angeles. Analyst Doug Creutz with Cowen and Company expressed his belief in widely-circulating rumors that Sony's PSP will be getting a substantial upgrade that will allow the handheld to become a bigger player in the digital distribution arena. "The original PSP is now four years old and continues to play ...

Intel-owned middleware and tools company Havok said that its fast-selling Cloth technology has made its debut in THQ's recently-released fighting game, UFC 2009: Undisputed. Cloth is the latest product from Havok, which is widely known in the games industry for its physics and animation offerings. Havok technology can be found in over 200 games, including Halo 3, MotorStorm and BioShock, among many others. THQ renewed its licensing agreement with Havok last year, allowing THQ to ...

In our weekly Best of Expert Blogs column, we showcase notable pieces of writing from members of the game development community who maintain Expert Blogs on Gamasutra. Member Blogs -- also highlighted weekly -- can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while the invitation-only Expert Blogs are written by development professionals with a wealth of experience to share. We hope that both sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more ...

[Item-collecting has been a staple of video games for many years. What is it inside gamers' heads that makes us want to accumulate items and chase after Achievements? Gamasutra's Kris Graft speaks with the experts...] You may recall the eccentric Collyer Brothers. Homer and Langley, heirs of one of New York's oldest families, lived in a Manhattan mansion in the first half of the 1900s. There, the two became reclusive, boarding up their windows and ...

Games need difficult, negative or uncomfortable experiences to create the kind of empathy and understanding necessary for social change. So suggests researcher Sam Gilbert of the MacArthur-funded GoodPlay Project, which explores the intersection of ethics and online worlds, virtual spaces and games, speaking on a panel at the Gamasutra-attended 2009 Games For Change conference in New York. For an example, Gilbert looks to World of Warcraft. "The game could do some kind of automatic loot ...

Electronic Arts is dipping its toes further into the emerging web-based gaming model with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, a 3D golf sim streamed directly to gamers' web browsers. By beginning to break into the web-gaming market, EA is making sure that all of its bases are covered, from its foundation of physical distribution to digital downloads to subscriptions, and now to streaming online gaming. Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online will launch in the fall, ...