Russ McCutcheon

There is no doubt that people still feel gamers to be anti-social, cave dwellers with no dating skills. If given a chance to go out and meet someone in person, they would rather go online and sit infront of their computers. But recent surveys show how the profiles of people on these sites are completely not what you would expect. In fact, one of these surveys suggests that youd have a better chance finding a significant other by joining one of these popular gaming sites.

Psychologist Varkha Chulani feels that though there is a common factor binding and bringing these people together online, there is a lot more that goes into a relationship,People might find co-players interesting but for a relation to blossom it takes a lot more than spending time playing the same game. You have to meet the person outside to get to know him/her more to see what their temperament is and if they can click or not.

For Jason Rhodes, an active member on a popular gaming site says,Gamers just have a different mentality in my opinion. Its so much sexier to connect with someone on that level with that adrelaline rush. I would say it is definitely more fun that marriage and dating sites. I know some people who have taken their gaming to the next level and met face to face. But maybe, I wouldnt do that.

Another avid gamer, Anuraag Shukla goes online to unwind completely,I go online to play for atleast an hour. It takes me away from the daily stress from my life and just love the way I can meet new, interesting people during the game. Such games are a fun way of getting to know new people without the pressure of getting into a relationship. My sole reason of getting into this is because my partner is into this game.

Psychologist, Kanan Khatau warns that what you may see online may not be the truth. She says,What is the virtual villain or hero may be very different in real life. The person may also have an ulterior motive as many cases have been seen like that. So keeping the virtual world virtual may be the order of the day! Dating still requires you to be prim and proper and portray your self as likable. Where as in gaming you always have the real part yet to emerge. Your idiocracies are on the surface.

While the idea of meeting new people does excite many, it might be totally opposite for some. Punit Shenoy, a pilot feels that he will join such a site for the pure experience of gaming and nothing else, Online gaming is definitely thumbs up but online dating is a big no-no for me. The kind of person I am, I know it will never work out for me because I doubt I would meet a random person whom I know only through the internet.

April 11 – Fitch Ratings expects Macaus gaming market fundamentals to
remain positive following the opening of Las Vegas Sands Corp.s (LVS)
new casino property on the Cotai Strip. Although gaming revenue growth in Macau
continues to decelerate, new supply additions will be constrained over the next
few years, providing support for incumbent operators free cash flow generation
potential and credit quality.

We believe gaming authorities in the Chinese-administered territory will remain
focused on careful management of supply, as the cap on table games through 2013
limits additional capacity beyond Cotai Central. Following the opening of Cotai
Central, which will ultimately have almost 6,000 rooms, we do not expect any
major casino properties to open in Macau until 2014-2015. The government has
targeted a table growth rate after the cap of 3% annually. The authorities
commitment to manage market growth primarily through supply regulation, as
opposed to travel restrictions, is a positive for incumbent gaming operators
long-term profitability.

Sands is opening the Cotai Central property at a time when the Macau gaming
market is growing at a reduced, but still very healthy, pace. The growth rate
slowed to 27% in the first quarter, down from 42% in 2011 and 58% in 2010, but
we do not expect a precipitous decline in visitation or gaming spending trends
this year.

We have not adjusted our original full year 2012 gaming revenue growth forecast
of 20%, which reflects our broader view that economic growth in China will slow
to 8% this year. Although VIP gamblers visiting Macau continue to make up the
majority of the gaming market, the burgeoning Chinese middle class is supporting
a healthy pick-up in the mass market. We expect this trend to continue in 2012,
despite the weaker macroeconomic backdrop on the mainland.

The VIP segment will continue to drive between 70% and 75% of total table
revenues, but the mass market segment is growing in importance, and we expect
mass market growth to exceed VIP growth over the next few years. The opening of
the Cotai Central, last years launch of Galaxy Macau, and ongoing
infrastructure improvements will contribute to this trend as the center of
gravity in the Macau market shifts from the peninsula to the Cotai Strip. Cotai
now accounts for more than one-third of Macau table revenues, and that
proportion will continue to grow materially.

Sands free cash flow (FCF) profile has been hampered in recent years by heavy
development-related capital commitments in Macau and Singapore. Management
remains focused in its pursuit of an aggressive global development plan, and the
company has signaled a desire to fund multiple properties in Spain, an
additional resort in Macau, and other potential new markets, such as Korea or
Japan. Still, with Cotai Central and other major properties up and running,
Sands FCF generation power will improve significantly in the near term.

The above article originally appeared as a post on the Fitch Wire credit market
commentary page. The original article can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com.
All opinions expressed are those of Fitch Ratings.

Here’s the time for all the gamers and movie lovers to join hands and welcome the groovy season of YashRaj games and applications. Yashraj Films, a legendary name in the entertainment industry has already spread its wings in the gaming industry by introducing games and applications that have a ‘filmy’ touch to the already fun filled games.

UNCERTAINTY about legislative changes to the gaming industry may damage the income and property values of Victorian pubs and clubs, according to new research from Colliers International.

This state of affairs has effectively put on hold the sale of gaming venues and operations, and comes as pub operators are set to take over gaming from Tattersalls and Tabcorp.

The state of play was set out in the Colliers white paper, The State of Gaming in Victoria – What it Means to Pubs and Clubs.

This week, we took a look at a Better Business Bureau bloggers claim that EAs pre-release hype for Mass Effect 3 amounted to false advertising, and found the reasoning a little bit wanting. We also talked about rumors that Microsofts next console will sport a ridiculous 16 cores, looked over a few demos from PAX East, and reviewed an indie puzzle platformer nearly five years in the making.

A double whammy of PAX pox and horrible allergies nearly laid me out this week. Hopefully a weekend of gaming therapy will do some good.

Did Bioware actually lie about the ending to Mass Effect 3?: A blogger from the Better Business Bureau claims that some of Biowares pre-release claims about Mass Effect 3 amount to false advertising, but were not sure that such an objective standard applies here.

Microsofts Xbox 360 follow-up rumored to pack 16 CPU cores: The next game console from Microsoft is rumored to pack 16 processing cores into its CPU, though its unclear what that number would actually mean to the systems peak performance.

Borderlands 2 ups the challenge, tweaks the interface, doesnt fix what wasnt broken: The PAX East demo for Borderlands 2 would be familiar to anyone who played the original game, but improvements to enemy AI and a bevy of interface tweaks add up to an experience thats much more streamlined.

Review: Fezs world-spinning puzzles drive us to distraction: Using a clever rotation mechanic, Fez marries 2D platforming to a 3D world in a clever way, but falters later on thanks to some inscrutable puzzle design.

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor shows potential for Kinect to augment standard controls: By adding intuitive motion controls on top of a core that uses a standard Xbox 360 controller, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor captures the best of two very different interface worlds.

DHS wants to extract evidence from foreign game consoles: The US Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $177,000 contract to a San Francisco company to develop tools that will allow it to extract communications and connection data obtained from used game systems purchased overseas.

Petitions help bring Dark Souls to PC, protest use of Games for Windows Live: Namco Bandai has officially announced a PC version for cult hit dungeon crawler Dark Souls, after over 90,000 people signed an internet petition demanding the port. But a new effort is already protesting the games use of Games for Windows Live as an online solution.

Lawsuit forces Gamestop to post used game DLC warnings in California, online: Used game retail giant Gamestop will have to display a message warning consumers that used games might not include the kind of downloadable content packed in with new copies, as part of a class action settlement.

Bethesda adding over 200 Kinect voice commands to Xbox 360 Skyrim: Bethesda has announced upcoming support for Kinect-powered voice commands in the Xbox 360 version of Skyrim, letting players navigate menus, command allies, and even control dragon shouts simply by speaking.

Rock Band Blitz dumbs the rhythm game down to timed thumb twiddling: Harmonixs Rock Band Blitz feels like a step backward for the venerable rhythm game developer, reducing the intricate note patterns of their previous games down to simple, two-note thumb-twiddling.

Date: 15th Apr 2012

Sony to transform its mobile, gaming and
TV biz

Sony Corporation has announced it is going to revitalize
and grow the electronics business to generate new value,
while further strengthening the stable business foundations
of the Entertainment and Financial Service businesses.

Below is the details it has announced in its release:

Key initiatives to transform the electronics business are:
1. Strengthening core businesses (Digital Imaging, Game,
Mobile)
2. Turning around the television business
3. Expanding business in emerging markets
4. Creating new businesses and accelerating innovation
5. Realigning the business portfolio and optimizing resources

By implementing the above measures, Sony will target sales
of 6 trillion yen and operating income margin of 5% in its
electronics business, and sales of 8.5 trillion yen, operating
income margin of more than 5%, and return on equity (ROE)
of 10% for the Sony Group overall, in the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2015 (FY14).

Details of these five core initiatives to revitalize the
electronics business and drive new growth are as follows.

Strengthening core businesses (Digital Imaging, Game, Mobile):
Sony is positioning digital imaging, game and mobile as
the three main focus areas of its electronics business and
plans to concentrate investment and technology development
resources in these areas. By growing these three businesses,
Sony aims to generate approximately 70% of total sales and
85% of operating income for the entire electronics business
from these categories by FY14.

Digital Imaging – Sony is reinforcing its development of
image sensors, signal processing technologies, lenses and
other key digital imaging technologies in which it excels,
and plans to leverage these technologies in both its consumer
products (such as compact digital still cameras, digital
video cameras and interchangeable lens digital cameras)
and broadcast and professional products (such as professional
use cameras and security cameras) in order to further strengthen
and differentiate Sony overall product line. The Company
also plans to extend the use of these key technologies across
a wide range of business applications, from security to
medical, to further expand the scope of its digital imaging
business. Sony will target total sales of 1.5 trillion yen
and double-digit operating income margin from the consumer,
professional and image sensor businesses by FY14.

Game – In the game business, Sony continues to deliver
exhilarating entertainment experiences through PlayStation3,
PlayStationVita, and its unique combination of hardware,
software, PlayStationNetwork (PSN), and range
of accessories and peripherals. These will form the foundations
on which Sony will target further sales and profit expansion
in the game business. The Company also aims to increase
sales by enriching its catalog of downloadable game titles
and subscription services available through the PSN platform,
and also by expanding the lineup of PlayStationSuite compatible
devices and content. Sony will target game business sales
of one trillion yen and operating income margin of 8% by
FY14.

Mobile – In the area of mobile, Sony is integrating the
Ramp;D, design engineering, and sales and marketing operations
of its smartphone business (operated by Sony Mobile Communications,
now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony), Sony Tablet
and VAIO businesses in order to quickly develop
and deliver compelling products to market. Sony also plans
to aggressively leverage its many technologies in areas
such as digital imaging and game, its rich content assets
including pictures, music and game, its Sony Entertainment
Network network service platform, as well as the communications
technology expertise and knowhow accumulated through its
experience in the mobile phone industry, to launch new mobile
products and establish new business models. Additionally,
by integrating operations across its entire mobile product
lineup, Sony aims to achieve further efficiencies and optimization.
As a result of these measures, Sony will target sales of
1.8 trillion yen in FY14 from the mobile business, and significant
profitability improvement.

2. Turning around the television business: Sony is already
engaged in a comprehensive television profitability improvement
plan (announced November 2, 2011), which aims to return
the television business to profitability in the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2014 (FY13), and intends to
accelerate these measures going forward. The sale of Sonys
share in its LCD panel manufacturing joint venture with
Samsung Electronics has been completed, resulting in panel-related
cost reductions. Additionally, Sony is taking further measures
to change the business structure, for example by improving
design engineering efficiency and reducing the number of
product models (targeting a 40% reduction from the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2012 (FY11) to the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2013 (FY12)), with the
aim of reducing fixed business costs related to the television
business by 60% and operating costs by 30% in FY13 compared
to FY11.

Sony is additionally taking steps to enhance the image
and audio quality of its BRAVIA range of LCD
televisions that form the cornerstone of its current television
lineup and to tailor its product offering to meet specific
regional market needs. Going forward, Sony intends to advance
the development and commercialization of next-generation
display technologies such as OLED and Crystal LED
Display, as well as enhance the integration of televisions
with Sonys mobile products, with content such as movies
and music, and with other assets across the Sony Group to
improve product competitiveness, drive hardware differentiation
and enhance the attractiveness of Sonys product lineup.

3. Expanding business in emerging markets

Sony will continue to leverage its strong global operations
and brand strength to drive sales growth in rapidly expanding
emerging markets.

Sony has already established strong foundations in emerging
markets. For instance, in India and Mexico, among others,
Sony has secured the largest share of the consumer AV/IT
market. Sony will continue to concentrate its sales and
marketing resources in these markets, and expects to strengthen
sales operations, introduce products tailored to local needs
and leverage the Sony Groups entertainment assets, including
pictures, music and television networks, to further enhance
its market presence.

Sony generated 1.8 trillion yen through sales of electronics
products in emerging markets* in FY11, and aims to increase
this figure to 2.6 trillion yen in FY14. The Company will
also aim for consumer AV/IT sales in emerging markets to
represent 60% of total anticipated global sales of these
products by FY14.

*Regions other than Japan, North America and Europe.

4. Creating new businesses and accelerating innovation

Sony will continue to aggressively promote innovation intended
to deliver mid- to long-term growth, as well as the development
of differentiating technologies that enhance core product
value.

Specific examples of business areas in which Sony will
target mid- to long-term growth are medical and 4K-related
technologies.

Sony is largely a new entrant to the medical industry.
In the medical peripherals business Sony has already successfully
launched a range of medical printers, monitors, cameras,
recorders and other medical-use products, and will target
sales of 50 billion yen in this market in FY14. Sony also
plans to enter the market for medical equipment components,
where its strengths in various core digital imaging technologies
offer significant competitive advantages in applications
such as endoscopes. Furthermore, Sony plans to enter the
life science industry, where the Company can leverage its
expertise in technologies such as semiconductor lasers,
image sensors and microfabrication. In the life science
industry, Sony has acquired iCyt, a manufacturer of cellular
analysis equipment, and Micronics, which manufactures medical
and diagnostics equipment. Sony plans to continue to aggressively
pursue other Mamp;A opportunities to expand its medical
business consistently with Sonys own strengths, with the
aim of developing the business into a key pillar of Sonys
overall business portfolio.

Sony is also drawing on its comprehensive strengths in
audio and visual technologies to aggressively promote the
growth of 4K technology, which delivers more
than four times the resolution of Full HD. Incorporation
of Sony-developed technologies, such as image sensors, image
processing compression LSIs and high-speed optical transmission
modules into its professional-use and high-end consumer
products will pave the way for Sony to continue to expand
and enrich its 4K-compatible product lineup.

5. Realigning the business portfolio and optimizing resources

Sony is accelerating its ongoing process of business selection
and focus, and is concentrating its investments in core
and new business areas. In terms of investment, core areas
include the expansion of Sonys image sensor manufacturing
capacity, capital investment in mobile products and aggressive
strategic investment in development or Mamp;A relating
to new business areas such as medical. Other existing business
areas will be evaluated according to the following four
criteria, so that Sony can determine the optimum strategy
for these businesses, including proactive consideration
of alliances and business transfers in order to optimize
its overall business portfolio:

- Loss generating, negative operating cash flow or low
revenue businesses
– Limited synergies with core businesses
– Businesses where commoditization is advanced and prospects
for growth are limited
– Businesses where opportunities for revitalization and
growth are enhanced through collaboration with partners
rather than independent operation by Sony.

BOSTON The state panel appointed to oversee casino gambling in Massachusetts continues to lay the groundwork for future operations.

The Gaming Commission is scheduled to hold its second public meeting on Tuesday. The agenda for the meeting includes personnel issues and an update on negotiations with two outside consultants.

The commission voted at its initial meeting last week to seek agreements with Spectrum Gaming Group and the law firm of Michael Carroll for advice in establishing casino regulations and law enforcement procedures. Both firms are based in New Jersey.

If youre the kind of person that pays attention to the monthly reports on new retail video game hardware and software sales from industry tracking firm NPD, then 2012 has looked like a bloodbath. Industry-wide software sales were down 37 percent, 24 percent, and 26 percent for the first three months of the year, respectively, when compared with the same period in 2011. Hardware and accessory sales have seen similarly massive declines so far in 2012.

But the suffering is not being borne equally across the industry. In fact, if you had to distill the root cause of the downturn in NPDs reported numbers into a single word, that word would be the company that very recently helped the industry grow to new record heights: Nintendo.

Everybody needs to realize that the Wii software segment is trending down 50 percent year over year, and has been for the last 12 months, Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz told Ars Technica. That is a massive decline. Theres no way you could not have a decline overall with that big of a decline in that portion of the software.

While software and hardware sales are also down for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, NPD analyst Anita Frazier confirms those high-definition system are seeing less significant declines. Thats especially impressive considering these systems are now pushing six and seven years old, which is usually considered the nautral end of a consoles life cycle. Frazier also points out that 1.5 million units of gaming hardware sold in March, representing over one percent of all US households and suggesting the market for the current generation of high-end consoles isnt yet completely saturated.

But the same probably doesnt apply to the Wii, which definitely had a longer way to fall than its competition. For years after its late 2006 launch, the Wii dominated both hardware and software sales charts. It did so primarily by attracting consumers that hadnt been a big part of the video game market beforehand. But around 2009, Creutz says, those consumers started shifting over to mobile phone and Facebook games in a big way, leaving Nintendo nowhere to go but down from its historical highs (this transition has also caused a lengthy dip in sales for the portable system segment that Nintendo has traditionally dominated).

Even with Nintendo reverting to the mean, though, theres reason to believe that the overall game market might not be in as bad shape as NPDs topline numbers suggest. The companys measurement of new retail sales leaves out the increasingly important market for downloadable games, including free-to-play titles that are bringing in big money on PCs and mobile phones. Even on consoles, NPDs core data doesnt include significant money brought in by downloadable content.

When Activision sells a year of Call of Duty, theyre not really getting $60. Theyre probably getting closer to $80 when you add in the average DLC sales downstream, Creutz points out, adding that the same is probably true for major titles like Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3.

This is all little comfort to Nintendo, though, which had few games with any downloadable content and even fewer must-have downloadable titles on the Wii (though the 3DS eShop is beginning to show promise). If the company wants to regain its recent sales glory, then the upcoming launch of the Wii U is going to have to recapture some of those non-traditional gamers that it caught with the Wii and DS years ago.

Ten years ago, Nintendo largely catered to kids and Nintendo fanboys, Creutz said. There was about a five year period they could expand their market beyond that, and now I think theyre back back to the kids and Nintendo fanboys again. Its not a bad market but its not a market thats going to grow enormously.

We at Crave love our PlayStation Vitas. Its actually shocking how much we play them, whether its while traveling or sitting on our couches at home. Between the gorgeous OLED screen, the comfortable dual analog sticks and everything in between, the PS Vita is a damn fine system with a ton of potential. And that potential has got us thinking: what other gaming franchises would we like to see on Sonys latest portable?

Honestly, there are a ton of series that would make for great PS Vita titles. But weve slimmed down our list to our top 10 must-haves. Here they are for your reading pleasure.

Grand Theft Auto

Weve loved every portable rendition of the Grand Theft Auto series thats seen the light of day so far. In fact, the GTA titles that released for the PSP, despite that things damn numb of a joystick, were ones that we played constantly.

Its because of that fact, coupled with the controls and graphical potential of the PS Vita, that wed love to see the Grand Theft Auto franchise have representation on Sonys new portable. This, hopefully, is a no-brainer for Rockstar. Theyve shown dedication to portables in recent years, and the PS Vita should prove a more than capable device for their potential ambitions.

NHL series

A lot like the other sports titles in this list, seeing an NHL title on the PS Vita would be a dream come true. Most hockey games in this series last around 15 minutes; thats perfect for gaming on the go.

Take it a step further and add the PlayStation 3/PlayStation Vita crossplay functionality that MLB 12: The Show sports, and this thing will be a must-have beast for all hockey fans. Imagine managing your team on the go. Or, even better, hopping into EA Sports Hockey League games while passing out in your bed.

Ratchet amp; Clank

Maybe this one is too obvious? Ratchet amp; Clank is one of Sonys best franchises. In fact, for a chunk of the Crave gaming staff, the Ramp;C line is what brought us over to the Sony side of the fence so many years ago. The humor, the gameplay and the style are all incredible.

Wed love a brand-new entry in the franchise, of course, but wed even like to see a port of the HD collection thats launching for the PlayStation 3 later this year. Yeah, we know, that probably wont happen; but, wed love to play classic Ratchet amp; Clank on the go.

Sly Cooper

One of the main reasons wed love to see Sly Cooper on the Vita is because the games graphical stylings would look phenomenal on the Vitas screen. The colorful characters would pop of the screen thanks to the franchises cel-shaded visuals.

In addition, the Sly Cooper games are just fun experiences with a ton of collectibles to keep you coming back for more (Trophies rock on the Vita, mind you!). Sucker Punchs anthropomorphic franchise would be a nice fit for the portable gaming scene, theres no doubt about it.

NBA 2K series

Having played a ton of MLB 12: The Show on the Vita its clear that sports titles, when done right, are great on Sonys latest portable console. The system has the horse power to impress visually while also making sure the smaller, portable version of said franchise doesnt feel like an insignificant bastard child.

With that in mind, seeing 2K Sports NBA franchise on the go would be a dream. Being able to take your franchise and your NBA Legend on the go would be incredible. And if 2K Sports can squeeze the NBA Greatest mode on there, too, then our lives would be complete because wed have Larry Bird in our back pocket at all times.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission, also known as the AGCC, recently announced that they had issued their 100th license. The lucky recipient was the online gambling software enterprise now pushing out Fast Poker- namely the Relax Gaming Network.

Click Here For Sites Still Accepting USA Players

Considering that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission was the body responsible for licensing the Full Tilt Poker site, once the sole provider of Rush Poker has caused many people to draw a parallel comparison between its not licensing Relax Gaming Network and its Rush poker like game – Fast poker.