Video Games

When Mike Bemiss was looking for a new video game to buy, he hopped on a site operated by Gaikai Inc. and clicked on "Dragon Age 2. " Within seconds, the 37-year-old engineer from Erie, Pa., was able to play the game right from his browser — with no download, no game console and no credit card. He liked it so much that he bought the game, along with the previous game in the series. Headed by industry veteran David Perry, Aliso Viejo-based Gaikai operates a streaming service that is like Netflix for games.

Eugene is thinking about buying an Xbox One game console. but he's worried about extra charges if the device turns out to be all buggy. Buggy tech is a worry shared by most users. You think everything should be running smoothly because a gadget is new, and it turns out the software still needs patching. ASK LAZ: Smart answers to consumer questions A game console is basically a personal computer in new clothes, so it's a very real concern that something can go kerblooey on the coding level.

I had been with him through a wardrobe door to Narnia, and down a rabbit hole to Wonderland. So when my 12-year-old son disappeared into a television screen beyond my calls for dinner, curiosity led me to explore the world that lay on the other side. I come back transformed by both wonder and horror, as I believe our children do. I had vastly underestimated the significance of that journey, as I believe most parents do. The PacMan wave came and went. A second wave has hit like a tsunami.

Humble Bundle is one of those websites trying to make optimal use of our digital world. It combines downloads with a pay-what-you-like system that funnels money to charity. And for the first time, it's trying its hand at audiobooks. This is how it works. Every week or two, Humble Bundle makes a set -- bundle -- of digital downloads freely available. Downloaders are asked to pay what they like: what they think the downloads are worth, what they can afford, an amount that represents their appreciation of the creator.

For the last two decades, video game movies have been so bad that the genre itself has become shorthand for failure. So when French game publisher Ubisoft, best known for its "Assassin's Creed" series and Tom Clancy-branded military games, decided to take a stab at movies, the company didn't search for a Hollywood expert to be its partner. Ubisoft decided to hire him. Jean-Julien Baronnet, chief executive of the 2-year-old Ubisoft Motion Pictures unit, takes a hands-on approach to translating his company's intellectual property from interactive to linear media.

Blockbuster Inc. plans to allow some customers to rent video games on the Internet. The pilot program will begin during the second quarter and be available to subscribers of its Total Access service. Blockbuster plans to make online video-game rentals available nationally in the second half of the year, the Dallas-based company said.

National Geographic, best known for its yellow-framed magazine and often breathtaking nature shows, is getting into video games. National Geographic Ventures, a unit of the nonprofit National Geographic Society, will work with game publishers to turn its material into games for PCs, consoles and hand-held devices. "Our content is extremely well-suited for a global gaming audience," said Paul Levine, the National Geographic executive who will lead the new games division. The games will be drawn from a broad range of content and themes across National Geographic's properties.

Electronic Arts Inc. on Tuesday canceled Tiberium, a spinoff of its popular Command & Conquer franchise of shooter games, and said it would lay off an unspecified number of employees at its Playa Vista office. "The game was not on track to meet the high quality standards set by the team and by the EA Games label," EA spokeswoman Miriam Sughayer said. Sughayer said the Redwood City, Calif., developer would strive to place most of the affected workers into other EA projects. "This is not about cutting back financially," she said.

Yahoo Inc. will offer 400 free, advertising-supported games to increase revenue. Yahoo will use Double Fusion Inc.'s marketing technology and NeoEdge Networks' ad networks to sell and place video spots in the downloadable games, the company said.

After putting in a full day at his computer technician job, a 30-year-old Internet game player known as Ebaid went home, logged on to a game called "EverQuest" and started his night job. His game character donned armor, slapped on his sword and began slaying beasts so he could make some real money. Hail the rise of yet another strange creature of the Internet revolution--the professional online game hunter. Ebaid played for hours, slaying every computer-generated monster on his screen.

The new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 fueled a 50% spike in video game console sales in December, compared with a year earlier, as enthusiasts rushed to buy the latest systems. Micrososoft's Xbox One was the top-selling console in December, but Sony's rival PS4 sold more units since the November launch of the new systems, according to newly released figures from the NPD Group. "The newest consoles from Microsoft and Sony are off to a tremendous start," said NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan.

How does a game designer ask his gamer girlfriend to marry him? How about with a video game that ends with a wedding proposal? Robert Fink, a video game artist, teamed up with a few of his friends to develop "Knight Man: A Quest For Love," a video game that proposes to his girlfriend Angel White after she completes an obstacle course. The game is online and available for all to play . "The first thought in my head when I saw her was, 'She's beautiful...and she plays video games...

Warner Bros.'s video gaming division has partnered with Wikia, an online social network for pop culture and entertainment enthusiasts, to connect with Middle-earth aficionados. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has teamed with Wikia to create the official interactive community site and a companion iPad application for its upcoming action game "Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor," which takes place between the narratives of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings.

"Family Guy" fans will soon have another pastime that fits with Peter Griffin's preferred level of physical activity: a video game for mobile devices.  Fox Digital Entertainment, the mobile content division of 20th Century Fox, has teamed with San Francisco start-up TinyCo to put out the yet-unnamed game based on "Family Guy," the irreverent animated comedy. The game will launch early next year for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, the companies said Tuesday. TinyCo is working with the writers from Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions on the role-playing game in which players control the characters from the "Family Guy" hometown of Quahog, R.I., through various adventures.  RELATED: More games coverage by The Times   One of the important challenges, said Andrew N. Green, TinyCo's head of business development, is to make sure the humor of the show carries into the game.  "We want you to laugh your ass off," he said.

Brazil's history of subjugated peoples, environmentally dubious sprawl and violent resistance gets a mythic, politically forthright treatment in the animated feature "Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury. " Writer-director Luiz Bolognesi's fast-moving tale is structured around the eternal love between a 17th century Indian warrior (Selton Mello) who transforms into a bird at the moment of death and the beautiful woman (Camila Pitanga) he is fated to meet, fall in love with, and fight alongside over the course of four turbulent epochs in Brazil.

The maker of the international online video game hit "League of Legends" will move to a five-building office campus in West Los Angeles after signing what was described as the biggest new office lease in Southern California in five years. Up-and-coming video game publisher Riot Games Inc. has agreed to rent all 284,000 square feet in the Element LA creative office campus being built on Olympic Boulevard between Bundy Drive and Centinela Avenue. Riot Games makes only the one game so far, but it operates around the clock.

The amount of time young people spend consuming media has ballooned with around-the-clock access and mobile devices that function practically as appendages, according to a new report. Young people now devote an average of seven hours and 38 minutes to daily media use, or about 53 hours a week -- more than a full-time job -- according to Kaiser Family Foundation findings released today. A few years ago, the same researchers thought that teens and tweens were consuming about as much media as humanly possible in the hours available.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment key franchises Batman/Arkham Upcoming game: Batman: Arkham City (Oct. 18) Developer: Rocksteady (Britain) Lego Upcoming games: Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Nov. 1); Lego Batman 2 (2012) Developer: Traveller's Tales (Britain) Mortal Kombat Next sequel expected in 2013 Developer: Netherrealm Studios (formerly Midway Chicago) Lord of the Rings Ongoing game: Lord of the Rings Online Developer: Turbine (Boston)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says a "technical error" caused its website to offer absurdly low pricing Wednesday morning, touching off a buying frenzy that was fueled by bargain hunters on social media. Many products were listed at more than 90% off, with televisions and computer monitors supposedly going for $8, video games for $18, treadmills for $33. Word of the deals spread quickly. "Spent $300 on $5800 (retail pricing) of product on the Walmart ordeal. Hopefully it goes through.

Activision Blizzard Inc. is one of the world's largest publishers of video games. The Santa Monica company produces games that are used on PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, personal computers, mobile phones and other hand-held devices. Two of its most popular games are the war-themed "Call of Duty," and "World of Warcraft," a role-playing game set in a fantasy world. It's a big business. In 2012, the company released "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," which set video game sales records with more than $1 billion of retail sales within 15 days of its launch, the company said.