NYTimes Crosswords heading DS-ward, Older Gamers Rejoice!

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Casual, Nintendo DS, Puzzle, Release Dates

Nintendo stated for a long time that they were hoping to open the gaming market to new consumers (read: old folks), but ever since the release of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes A Day, there hasn’t really been a title that I could see either of my grandparents sinking their dentures into. Sure, Big Brain Academy was great, and it revolved around the same concept as Brain Age, but stylistically it was a little more gamer-oriented. And even though they’re under the Touch Generations line, I can’t really see G’pa Cardiff spending much time with Tetris DS or Elite Beat Agents.

Enter The New York Times Crosswords, a game practically screaming for attention from the new “older gamer” set. The New York Times Crosswords will feature, you guessed it, crosswords - and lots of them by the look of it. The cart will include over 1,000 real crosswork puzzles and will allow you to write in answers or use a touch-screen keyboard. It even features both cooperative and competitive 2-player games (no word on whether that will be single-cart based yet), so that G’ma and G’pa can work together or duke it out. Also no word yet on whether the game will be incorporating any features of the Nintendo WiFi Connection,although the ability to download and solve new puzzles would be pretty sweet!

Majesco has a mixed record on the DS, creating such acclaimed titles as Cooking Mama and Age of Empires, but they’ve also released a fair number of quick profit-makers like Brain Boost: Beta Wave and Brain Boost: Gamma Wave (read: one game divided into two equally priced carts). We’re hoping for the best with NY Times Crosswords, though, as it sounds like a game that really has the potential to recapture the casual gaming market when it launches this spring.

See the full press release, after the jump…

Click to continue reading NYTimes Crosswords heading DS-ward, Older Gamers Rejoice!

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A New Type of Gamer?: Hardcore Casual Gamer Wins $1,000,000

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Casual, Internet, PC

You know about the hardcore gamers, those pale ghostly figures that inhabit internet cafes late into the night, furiously dealing out death with clicks of the mouse. And you’ve heard of this new breed of “casual” gamers, folks who are more interested in short, pick-up-and-play gaming sessions. Well, we may be witnessing the birth of a new type of gamer - the hardcore casual gamer. (Maybe we should call them casual-core gamers?)

Witness Kavitha Yalavarthi, winner of the Worldwide Web Games competition, and proud recipient of a cool $1,000,000. The one million dollars was hers after beating out 70 other contestants and playing Zuma, Bejeweled 2, and Solitaire really REALLY well. 

Shortly after winning the million-dollar prize, Yalavarthi woke her parents with a late-night call to break the news. “Mom, Dad, you know those casual games that I play online?” Yalavarthi asked. “Well, they’re not so casual anymore. I just won the $1 million grand prize.”

Read More | MarketWire

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