Online Gaming

Further Reading: Gaming

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Razer Switchblade ... They started a project, codenamed the "Switchblade", which is a portable gaming device that "would revolutionize the future of gaming"... When asked about the development of the Switchblade, Razer's CEO, Min-Liang Tan, believed that the development of the Switchblade started from a small gaming peripheral company, into a well-known corporation that would develop the first full portable PC gaming console... He said "Razer isn’t just about bringing innovation to the PC, but creating products that will change the future of gaming...

Nintendo 3DS ... The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan on February 26, 2011; in Europe on March 25, 2011; in North America on March 27, 2011; and in Australia on March 31, 2011. On July 28, 2011, Nintendo announced a major price drop starting August 12...

Handheld Electronic Game ... The initial success of Mattel and Parker Brothers' entries spawned a wave of similar handheld devices which were released through the early 1980s. Notable among these were a series of popular 2-player "head-to-head" games from Coleco...

Live Action Role-playing Game ... In 1981 the International Fantasy Gaming Society (IFGS) started, with rules influenced by Dungeons & Dragons...

Role-playing Game Theory ... In 1994-95 Inter*Active, (later re-named Interactive Fiction) published a magazine devoted to the study of RPGs. In the first issue Robin Laws called for the creation of a critical theory for role-playing games...

N-Gage ... This was unsuccessful, partly because the buttons, designed for a phone, were not well-suited for gaming and when used as a phone the original N-Gage was described as resembling a "taco"... Instead of using cables, multiplayer gaming was accomplished with Bluetooth or the Internet (via the N-Gage Arena service)...

Pandora (console) ... When announcing the system, the designers of Pandora stated that it would be more powerful than any handheld video game console that had yet existed. It includes several features that no handheld game consoles have previously had, making it a cross between a handheld game console and a subnotebook...

History Of Video Game Consoles (sixth Generation) ... Dreamcast Sega's Dreamcast was the first console of the generation and introduced several innovations including Internet gaming as an optional feature through its add-on modem, and a web browser...

Dart Golf ... Dart golf games use golf-like rules and scoring. Dart Golf rules and board configurations vary from league to league, but are generally played single, head-to-head or with teams...

North American Video Game Crash Of 1983 ... There were several reasons for the crash, but the main cause was supersaturation of the market with hundreds of mostly low-quality games which resulted in the loss of consumer confidence. The full effects of the industry crash would not be felt until 1984...

Game.com ... Many of the Game.com's extra features had only limited functionality compared to later portable devices such as the Nintendo DS. The touch screen had a fairly low sensor resolution along with no backlight, so it lacked precision and made it hard to see the on-screen controls...

PlayStation Portable ... Several gaming websites were impressed by the handheld's computing capabilities and looked forward to the system's potential as a gaming platform...

Parimutuel Betting ... The parimutuel system is used in gambling on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games...

Role-playing Game ... There are several forms of RPG. The original form, sometimes called the tabletop RPG, is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing games (LARP) players physically perform their characters' actions...

History Of Video Games ... In 1949–1950, Charley Adama created a "Bouncing Ball" program for MIT's Whirlwind computer. While the program was not yet interactive, it was a precursor to games soon to come...

Problem Gambling ... According to a logical study conducted by Alec Roy, M. D. formerly at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their under-dosage...

Game Boy Advance ... Around the same time as the release of the Game Boy Micro, Nintendo released a new backlit version of the SP (model AGS-101) in North America (commonly referred to as the "GBA SP+", SPII, or SP2). The switch that controls the light now toggles between "normal" (which itself is already brighter than the original Game Boy Advance SP's screen), and "bright", an intense brightness level similar to an LCD television set...

Watara Supervision ... Though the machine garnered some attention at launch (mainly due to the low price point for the machine and its games, which many felt might enable it to make inroads into Nintendo's market share) it was ultimately unsuccessful in unseating the Game Boy from its position as the world's most popular handheld. Reasons commonly cited are the poor quality screen which was prone to blurring and made following the action difficult, a general lack of games and the simplistic nature of those that were released...

History Of Games ... The extinct Chinese board game liubo was immensely popular during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE). Early Chinese records indicate that liubo was already a popular game by the Warring States Period (476 BCE – 221 BCE)...

Dartball ... Dartball rules and board configurations vary from league to league, but generally teams comprise either seven or nine players plus possible alternates. Dartball teams are usually formed by churches, often playing their games during fall and winter months in church basements or common areas...

American Darts ... Embedded in the board are thin steel wires that separate the board into scoring sections, as opposed to the wider steel dividers placed onto the surface of traditional boards. On those English boards, the wider steel makes it much more likely that the dart will hit the steel divider and bounce off onto the floor...

Electronic Game ... Examples of text-based Teletype games include: The Oregon Trail (1971) - the earliest versions Trek73 (1973) Dungeon (1975) Super Star Trek (1975) Adventure (1976) - the earliest versions Zork (1977) - the earliest versions Electronic handhelds The earliest form of dedicated console, handheld electronic games are characterized by their size and portability. Used to play interactive games, handheld electronic games are often miniaturized versions of video games...

Special Versions Of The Nintendo DS ... In Australia, the DS Lite was also only available in white (Polar White) at launch. On September 21, 2006, the Jet Black (Onyx) color was released...

Video Game ... The input device used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, and varies across platforms. For example, a controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, while another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks...

Tapwave Zodiac ... The product was designed to be a "high performance mobile entertainment system” centred on games, music, images, and video, aimed at 18 to 34 year old gamers and technology enthusiasts. By running an enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T), Zodiac also provided access to Palm’s personal information management software and many other applications from the Palm developer community...