In case you ever wanted to be a hero or a villain in the comic book world but didn’t want to pay for it, the massively multi-player online game DC Universe Online by Sony Online Entertainment is going to be free to play starting in October. The increase in social games mixes with the impending release of Star Wars: The Old Republic are likely the causes for the shift after less than a year of charging players $15 a month. DCUO, which cost Sony $50 million and took 5 years to develop, was released in January. To continue to recoup their money, they are not making it entirely free; players will have three tiers…

The battle has long waged between different gamer types. Which is better, console or PC gaming? That’s a question that likely won’t be answered in this generation, but we can all keep trying. Since 2009, PC game revenues have increased while console game revenues have decreased. 2010 marked the first recent shift in trends where more money was generated through PC game sales than console games. The trend started showing signs of reversing this year as projections for the holidays and into 2012 show a greater increase in console gaming sales over PC. Hardcore-PC-Gamers often point to processing…

Arguably the most anticipated first person shooter of 2011 is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Sledgehammer Games and Activision prepare for the launch on November 8th. Today, Call of Duty XP in LA gets started, offering players the first full experience of the game and a tournament to start the buzz and bragging rights. If you’re not one of the 6000 people who forked over $150 for the tickets, you’ll have to settle for this interview with the Sledgehammer Games team about what they put into building the game. …

Fans of Minecraft will appreciate this real-life, working dirt block that reacts to pulverizing blows, just as they do in the game. It’s already wildly popular despite being in a long beta awaiting official release. Creative designer Ben Purdy put this little contraption together. There might not be a ton to see here if you’ve never played, but fans may end up wanting one. (via: Walyou)…

With all of the hype building up around first-person shooters COD: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, it’s easy to forget that Valve will be releasing CS:GO early in 2012. Just to remind us, they released an official trailer to whet our appetite. From the Valve camp, we’ve learned that they have kept with the same “feel” as the franchise has held for over 8 years. There will be major graphi improvements and additional features, but the “soul” of the game stays intact. One of the new features will be to have casual and competitive servers to allow new players to enter the franchise while experienced…

It was a scumbag move, but in the end the sheep will still buy it. And so will I. When PC game peripheral maker Razer put the word out earlier in the week that something big was coming, speculation rose. It wasn’t necessarily about the potential product, it was about the message itself. “PC gaming is not dead.” Gamers and bloggers rallied around the message excitedly. People started wondering what it meant. Was there a battle coming? Was a revolution starting? With the ominous messaging style used by Anonymous when they declare things such as taking down Facebook on November 5th, Razer sparked interest…

For fans of one of the most popular games of the last decade, Halo Fest marks more than just the 10-year anniversary. It’s a time to remember where the game has been and where it’s going. “It’s our place to take over the baton that’s being passed to us for Halo, and it’s also a chance to introduce the team who have been working away in anonymity and secrecy for a couple of years now, give them a face and show people who’s stewarding the Halo franchise for the next 10 years,” said Frank O’Connor of 343 Industries. The official “baton” was handed off earlier this month, marking the start of the next decade of…

Companies are often no longer the experts about their own products. The internet has allowed us to find information like never before and people are able to offer advice or resources at a bulk rate in ways that companies simply cannot replicate. Such is the case for Nintendo who, according to Reddit, has simply given up. It’s probably a good move….

Ever since the Portal phenomenon started in 2007, memes, strategy groups, and a sequel have popped up. What started out as an add-on portion of a bundle turned into one of the most loved puzzle-solving games of all time. Filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg put together the most epic live-action Portal video to date. There is no doubt to that. One thing is clear – the character might pretend like she’s never played the game, but after seeing her moves, it’s clear that now she’s thinking with Portals. …

Gaming was once ripe with solitude and individualism. Sure, there were multiplayer games, but that required people to be playing on the same console or computer with joysticks attached to the same device. They either took turns or played with each other, depending on the game. In the last decade and a half, network connections, the internet, and social media have changed the face of gaming forever. Social media in particular has drawn a lot of interest in recent years because of the way that it is attracting a larger demographic. Nearly 60% of gamers play with friends. One-third play with siblings,…