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Engadget editors share their current YouTube obsessions
Engadget editors share their favorite YouTube guilty pleasures during quarantine.
Sound Off! What games have you spent the most time playing?
Recently, I took a look through my Steam library and realized that I've spent a lot of time playing games. From old standbys like Civilization to more recent titles like Kerbal Space Program, there's hundreds hours of my life sunk into some of these titles. Let's not even get started on colleagues and friends who've played thousands of hours of WoW and Dark Souls. Which games have you found yourself obsessed with and how many hours of your life have you devoted to them? Head over to the Engadget forums to share your top games or post about them below.
Avoid society with this great Civilization IV + V bundle deal
Amazon has a pretty killer deal going on. For $20, you can nab downloads of Civilization 4: The Complete Edition, Civilization 5: Game of the Year Edition and The Stronghold Collection. It's perfect for the strategy gamer in your life who's been out of the loop for a decade.[Thanks, Patrick!]
Glitch dev lashes out against Zynga's business model
Not all social games developers are in love with Zynga's business model. Some are bucking against what Tiny Speck's Stewart Butterfield is calling a "scorched earth policy" that will do far more harm in the long run than what helps the industry now. Butterfield is the co-founder of Tiny Speck, which recently launched the sleeper MMO hit Glitch. While both Glitch and Zynga's games are browser-based and use microtransactions to fund the titles, the similarities end there. Butterfield says that he is adverse to how Zynga creates artificial walls in its games: "The fundamental design of the game became 'Here's a stop sign in your gameplay, you can stop now and come back in a day, or you can keep on playing and it will cost you three bucks, or a buck, or ten bucks, or whatever it is.'" Butterfield called Zynga's approach "unsavoury" and said that it leads to burned-out players and a "lame future" for the genre where gamers are unwilling to return. Ultimately, he predicts that people will forget Zynga's efforts entirely: "They won't be as into it as someone who's playing WoW is in to WoW, or someone who's playing EVE is into EVE, or even someone who's playing Civilization IV is into Civilization IV. It's a much lighter touch." For more Stewart Bufferfield goodness, make sure to check out our interview with him on Massively Speaking!
Civilization 4 and 5 marked down for Amazon Deal of the Day
When it comes to kicking off a campaign of wholesale world domination, there really is no time like the present. Actually, there's doubly no better time than the present, as both Civilization 4: The Complete Edition and Civilization 5: The Only Edition are on sale today through Amazon.
Christopher Tin wins Grammy for Civ 4's 'Baba Yetu'
Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," otherwise known as "that Civilization IV song that won't get out of your head," won a Grammy for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists" at the 53rd annual music awards. The track, which is the first piece of video game music nominated for a little gramophone, was recognized so many years later because it was the opening track on composer Christopher Tin's debut album, Calling All Dawns, which also won a Grammy for "Best Classical Crossover Album." Tin's "Baby Yetu" has been a mainstay of Video Games Live for several years and can be seen performed live on the show's DVD/Blu-ray (and on the YouTubes). "We're so proud of Christopher's Grammy Award victory and what he has accomplished," said Video Games Live CEO Tommy Tallarico in a statement this morning. "This historic moment will continue to bridge the gap between mainstream music and video games. It is an honor to perform his music in our show." The award-winning song and the entire Calling All Dawns album are both available through iTunes.
Civ IV theme nominated for Grammy, first game music ever nominated
The slow-to-adapt music industry has finally caught on that Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," an amazing piece composed for Civilization IV, is worthy of a Grammy nomination. The song was originally created for the 2005 game, but has since made the pro choir circuit over the years, and has also become a staple of Video Games Live. The track, which is nominated in the "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists" category, is from the composer's debut album, Calling All Dawns. Video Games Live Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico tells Joystiq that this is the first time a song made for a video game has been nominated for a Grammy award. He explained, "We've worked very hard through the Game Audio Network Guild for the past decade to gain game composers the ability to be nominated for a Grammy and to get the recognition they deserve. ... We've always been very honored to work together with our good friend Christopher Tin to bring this wonderful song to the world. As video games start to evolve more into our culture and become a bigger part of mainstream society, we're hoping to see a lot more of this kind of thing happening in the future." The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, 2011. Best of luck to Tin on grabbing the Grammy: he'll win an award and hold a record that will stand the test of time.
Direct2Drive lights a fire sale on 2K titles this week
Direct2Drive has launched a promotion in which it designates a "Publisher of the Week," and then takes a different game from said publisher and cuts its price in twain (or more) each weekday. This week, it's 2K's turn, resulting in mad price cuts on gems like Borderlands and BioShock 2.
'Civilization 4: The Complete Edition' for $10 on Games for Windows Live
Civilization 4: The Complete Edition is on sale through Games for Windows Live for $10. That's 75 percent off the regular price. The sale began today and will stand the test of time ... until September 1, 2010, when a sneak attack will wipe out the deal -- or so The Oracle foretells. The Civ 4 complete edition includes all the expansion packs for the epic critically acclaimed strategy game, including Colonization, which is more of a spin-off. It's certainly an amazing deal, but just remember that Civilization 5 will be out September 21. We doubt that one will cost $10.
Crazy summer Steam sale includes some fantastic Mac games
The PC gaming community has long enjoyed the ridiculously awesome Steam sales Valve loves to break out during holidays and at other fun times of the year. The sales deliver game bundles for crazy cheap prices, even on AAA current titles. Steam's summer sale kicked off a couple of days ago. For the first time, Mac gamers get to join in on the fun thanks to Steam's recent adoption of OS X. While there are hundreds of Mac & PC titles on sale through July 4th, most of the best deals are found on a few select games featured each day. Today's sales have two good selections that Mac gamers may want to check out. For strategy fans Paradox Interactive's deep historical real-time strategy game Europa Universalis III lets the player control a European nation and rewrite history between 1453 and 1820 AD. For adventure gamers, a bundle of all five episodes of the previously mentioned Telltale Games' Tales of Monkey Island is also available at a great price. The clock is ticking -- but thankfully Valve offsets the time for most US timezones so you can get a chance to pick them up in the morning. If those two games don't belong to any of your favorite genres, there are a bunch of other titles included in the full sale. Right now is a great time to pick up any of Valve's growing list of games released for OS X with first-person shooters Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Portal and Half-Life 2. Better yet, grab the Valve Complete Pack for all of them so you're ready to go when Left 4 Dead 2 arrives on OS X.
Direct2Drive's Spring Sale: Star Trek Online, Civ 4, Torchlight and more discounted
Once again, downloadable gaming retailer Direct2Drive has chosen to reduce the price of a whole gaggle of its offerings. Encheapened titles as part of the "Spring Sale" include interstellar MMO Star Trek Online ($29.95), Nazi-vanquishing sim The Saboteur ($14.95), mine-raiding RPG Torchlight ($9.95), world-dominating strategy title Civilization 4: Complete Edition ($9.95) and every X-Com game ever made, except for, you know, the new one ($4.95). To see the complete list of discounted games, click past the jump. Now look, Direct2Drive. You really, really need to chill out with all of these sales. If you keep discounting the prices of your games with such regularity, then people are going to start thinking that these are your normal going rates for these titles. During the off-times when you're not holding a sale, they're going to start thinking that you're just having a temporary ... expensiveization. That can't possibly be good for business.
April Fools: Civilization V to feature 'Extreme Diplomacy'
Firaxis and 2K Games today announced "Extreme Diplomacy," a new feature for Civilization V, the upcoming installment of the tired strategy series. In an attempt to get the masses playing the turn-based snore fest, the series will add a fighting game death match arena: "two world leaders enter" ... "one world leader leaves." The victor is said to gain control of the defeated's empire. The publisher has also announced an Über Edition of Civ V, which includes an 8-button joystick "to bring the classic fighting arcade game feel to these Extreme Diplomacy battles." Each faction leader will also have a super move, and we've listed the first six moves to be revealed after the break. Finally, Civilization will have some action!
Direct2Drive discounts Civilization IV, Supreme Commander this weekend
Perhaps in celebration of Civilization V's recent reveal, Direct2Drive is offering Civilization IV -- as well as the standalone Civilization IV: Colonization -- for 33% off. Other deals on the direct download service this weekend include Supreme Commander: Gold Edition, Majesty The Fantasy Kingdom Sim: Gold Edition, and more. If you're one of the few who doesn't "get" the Civilization addiction epidemic, which has swept the world over the last two decades leaving workplace productivity in shambles, consider yourself luckier than the folks in the video after the break. Yes, Civilization Revolution was solid, but CivIV has the uncanny ability to turn the sweetest old lady into a crazed destroyer of all mankind. Basically, It's fun for the whole family. Shortcut: See all weekend deals on Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive celebrates 5-year anniversary with 50 games for $5 each
Over the next five weeks, Direct2Drive is offering a special discount on a host of different titles in celebration of its five-year anniversary. Every Monday, Direct2Drive will feature a new set of titles, reducing them to $5 (or £5 UK), with the first week of the promotion focusing on "Ubisoft and Strategy titles." While the upcoming week's titles have yet to be revealed, Direct2Drive has teased us with utterly vague descriptions of what to expect: Week Two: Action Games Week Three: RPGs & MMOs Week Four: Indie Games Week Five: War Games The first week of the promotion ends on September 14. Games differ slightly based on your geographical region -- for instance, Ubisoft is strangely omitted from the European promotion. Check out a full list of this week's games for both regions after the break.
Direct2Drive hosting huge 2K Games half off sale
Digital distribution retailer Direct2Drive is playing host to a pretty sweet deal for those who've been hesitant to pick up 2K's PC gaming offerings for reasons financial. D2D is offering a huge selection of their 2K Games catalog for half off until May 31. For just $9.95, you can nab Bioshock, Civilization IV, Serious Sam Gold, Prey and a few others -- or, for just $7.50, you can pick up the entire five-game X-Com series. That's $1.50 per game. If that doesn't blow your mind, you should really consider getting your frugality receptors examined.[Via Big Download]
Second Life pwns Gordon Freeman, Warhammer Online, others
Wagner James Au at New World Notes is carrying some surprising data from ratings giant, Nielsen Media Research. From actual measurements of usage across over 180,000 homes in the USA, Linden Lab's Second Life (paradoxically measured under the 'PC games' category) rates the number two most played title, just behind World of Warcraft. Forget Warhammer Online, or EVE Online, they don't even make the top ten. World of Warcraft and Second Life beat out Gordon Freeman (Half Life 2), Civilization IV and StarCraft. As for actual weekly usage, Second Life is top of the pops at an average of 760 minutes per user per week. World of Warcraft earns the top spot with 653 minutes per user per week, but has a whole lot more users. How about Google's YouTube, the 800 pound gorilla and market leader of online video? Just 47 minutes per week (figure from C|net). Facebook? 84 minutes per week. Myspace, just 10.5 minutes per week (figures from ITProPortal). This data is measured from actual homes, as we mentioned. Almost 200,000 of them, so it isn't just data that's centric to the hardcore gamer. This is a random sampling of ordinary people. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Civilization IV 'Complete' releases May 12 for $40
The Civilization IV franchise appears to have come to a close as 2K Games announces Civilization IV: The Complete Edition, releasing May 12 for $40 on PC. The epic bundle includes Civ IV, the Warlords and Beyond the Sword expansions, plus the standalone Colonization expansion (it's practically a different game)."The Complete Edition" title makes it sound like Civ IV won't be making another encore. We really have no idea what Firaxis is currently up to and we're unaware of any E3 plans.
Joystiq E3 eyes-on: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization is an interesting title in its marketing and presentation. The Civ IV tag is put on the game to give an idea of what to expect for those who don't remember the original Colonization, but the game is also clearly based on the Civilization IV engine and uses similar assets. Also, given some of the well-designed mods in Civ IV expansion, Beyond the Sword, we were wondering if Colonization would end up being a glorified mod or appear to be an actual new game? We still haven't come to a conclusion on that question, but there's a lot in this stand-alone product that certainly goes beyond what we'd call "a mod." For starters, and it really bites that we can't show the UI or find videos, the interface and music are different from Civilization IV. Also, the graphics have been given a nice boost and, seeing them in person, it's certainly noticeable. Senior Producer Jesse Smith also walked us through several other things that make Colonization different from Civ IV. %Gallery-24746%
Big Versus compares Civilization Revolution to PC predecessors
Wipe away those tears, sunken-eyed PC loyalists. We know you're upset that Firaxis appears to have turned their back on you in favor of the somewhat fairer console waters, but perhaps the latest edition of Big Versus on Joystiq's youngest sibling, Big Download, will mend your tattered hearts. The console-exclusive Civilization Revolution is measured against the PC-exclusive Civilization IV in this installment -- are PC gamers being robbed of an important chapter in the seminal turn-based strategy franchise, or are they dodging a dumbed-down, oversimplified bullet? You've got to read to find out -- but knowing you brainy PC types, that shouldn't be a problem.
GameTap Thursday: Civ IV Warlords, Descent 3 and American Deer Hunter
Some more Interplay titles return to GameTap this week, but the really nice addition is that of Civilization IV's expansion, Warlords. It added several new elements to the excellent turn-based strategy game, like the Great General unit, vassal states and unique buildings for each nation. Civilization IV: Warlords (Windows) - The expansion to Civ IV. There are also several scenarios in Warlords to try out if you're not looking for the full-blown world conquering experience. Descent 3 (Windows) - Shoot everything in 360 degrees of blasting awesomeness (for a third time). American Deer Hunting (Windows) - PETA will thank you for playing this game instead of being a real man and killing yourself a big ol' buck. GameTap's free games list gets several new additions this week. We've placed the full list after the break and bolded the new titles for easy reference.
