Nancy Drew’s 21st adventure coming this fall

The 21st installment of the Nancy Drew PC adventure game series is coming to the PC in October, In Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy Nancy Drew is called on by the prestigious all-girls boarding school to discover the culprit behind threatening notes and dangerous accidents that seem to be targeted towards the academy’s valedictorian candidates.

To fit in at the school, players will immerse themselves in the boarding school culture, exploring the campus, helping other girls with projects and navigating the social scene. To build the case, players will have to snoop through dorm rooms and snap cell phone pictures of evidence they come across. Sounds like fun for the whole family..

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy will be available this October at retail and from the Her Interactive website for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

ESA: 68 percent of American households play games

When Nintendo said “everyone’s game” at its press conference today, perhaps they were on to something. According to new research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) sixty-eight percent of American households play computer or video games, according to new research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. The data was revealed during ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher’s key note address on the opening day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo happening this week in Los Angeles.

“This is the new golden age of entertainment software. Our products are now being enjoyed by over two-thirds of Americans,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA. “As the findings of the 2009 Essential Facts illustrate, more and more Americans across all demographics are now embracing the interactive entertainment experience that computer and video games provide.”

Other findings of the survey? Forty-two percent of American homes have a video game console; the average adult gamer has been playing for 12 years - a decrease from 2008 and an indication that more Americans are picking up video game controllers for the first time; the average game player is 35 years old;
seventy-seven percent of parents believe that the parental controls available in all recent video game consoles are useful; almost half of all games sold (45 percent) are rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board; and forty-three percent of online game players are female.

In addition, the report indicates that parents are paying attention to what their kids game play. Sixty-three percent of parents who have children under 18 with a gaming console in the home believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives. Those parents are present when games are purchased or rented 92 percent of the time and report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play 91 percent of the time.

The research for Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2009 was conducted by Ipsos MediaCT, gathering data from almost 1,200 nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a video game console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software.

Marvel Super Hero Squad details

THQ today formally announced Marvel Super Hero Squad, the first video game based on the animated series, The Super Hero Squad Show, scheduled to debut this fall on Cartoon Network. Marvel Super Hero Squad will mark the first title in THQ’s licensing agreement with Marvel Entertainment, and is currently in development for Wii, DS, PS2 and PSP. The game will offer both multiplayer and single player action and adventure using some re-imagined versions of Marvel’s most popular heroes and Villains.
Set in the Marvel Universe, the Super Hero Squad is on a mission against Dr. Doom’s Lethal Legion of villains to recover the hidden Infinity Fractals; fragments of the all-powerful Infinity Sword. Each Infinity Fractal holds power and can give each character special abilities that could alter the game’s rules and playing field. The game offers 20 Marvel characters to mix and match including Captain America, Dr. Doom, Falcon, Hulk, Iron Man, Juggernaut, Ms. Marvel, Silver Surfer, Thing, Thor and Wolverine, to name a few. Players can jump into a battle arena against up to three opponents in Battle Mode, or choose to play through six campaigns based on the animated series in Adventure Mode.

For more information on the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game, visit www.marvelshsgame.com.

Free Realms hits two million user mark

Sony Online Entertainment’s free-to-play, family friendly MMO game, Free Realms continues to surprise everyone - including its developers. In its first month of service the game has managed to attract over two million registered users. That’s a pretty incredible number, given what Free Realms is: an MMO that the whole family can play together.

According to internal data from SOE, 75 percent of those users are under the age of 17. Can you say pay dirt? I believe that it won’t be a fancy multi-million dollar MMO that will topple World of Warcraft - it will be a myriad of free-to-play MMO games like Runes of Magic and Free realms. On the other hand,  perhaps this is all just a phase. We’ll let you know in a month how both of those games hold up.

The Dares Record Free Realms Theme

Free Realms is getting its theme song from Southern California trio, The Dares, Sony Online entertainment announced today. The game’s theme song, “It’s Your World,” will be recorded for the game by the group. The track was conceived and composed for the Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) game by Robbie Nevil and Matthew Gerrard. Nevil is known for his international hit, “C’est La Vie,” while Gerrard is the composer behind Kelly Clarkson’s number one song, “Breakaway.” The duo has been responsible for numerous “tween” hits since teaming up in 2006, like the Hannah Montana theme song, “The Best of Both Worlds.”

Free Realms is being billed as a whimsical virtual world where players can explore, compete, raise pets and socialize - in a safe, family-friendly environment. Free Realms offers a wide variety of gameplay, including exploration, combat, race kart driving, pet raising, mini games and social networking.
Learn more by visiting ww.station.sony.com.

Kym Worthy and the Evils of Video Games

I touched upon this yesterday in The Rundown, but today let’s analyze the particulars. This week Wayne County, Michigan Prosecutor Kym Worthy released her list of Top 10 Violent Video Games Played By Teens. The list, which is actually a rehash of the Mature rated section of games from the National Institute on Media and the Family Video Game Report Card for 2008, feature’s a who’s who of the most popular “M” rated games in North America. The link between “teens wanting to play these particular games” is tenuous at best, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

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