Video-Gaming Industry - Sinking Faster Than The Titanic - Here's Some Tips So You Can Stay Afloat

According to the NDP Group, new retail video game hardware and software sales have plummeted in every single month of this year compared to 2011. Industry-wide software was down 37 % in January, 24 % in February and 26% in March of 2012. Hardware and accessory sales are showing similar figures. But what exactly is causing this all?

Although sales in hardware and software are down for every different console, Nintendo is 'suffering' the most. They are the main reason for the industry-wide decline of sales. As you may remember the Nintendo Wii has been a huge success. Both hardware and software sales went to the roof since the Wii got launched in 2006. Nintendo managed to attract consumers that had not yet been a part of the video game market before. But unfortunately that did not last for long and around 2009 these same consumers found alternatives such as mobile phone and Facebook games. Not only did Wii sales go down, but Nintendo's portable consoles suffered as well.

Sony and Microsoft have also seen a decline in their hardware and software sales but less significant than Nintendo, which is impressive, considering the xbox360 and PS3 are almost six and seven years old.

But how representative are NDP's figures? They are leaving out the market for downloadable games. Even on consoles, NPD's data doesn't include significant money made by downloadable content.

So is the gaming industry in as bad shape as NDP suggests? Well, sales are down, that's a fact. Don't forget, we are still in a recession. Video games and consoles are expensive and are considered luxury items. More and more consumers are looking for other ways to acquire content, including full game and add-on content downloads, social network games, mobile games, rentals and subscriptions. But a diehard gamer will not settle for these alternatives. This kind of gamer is looking for high quality games with superb graphics, sound, story lines and great gameplay. Right now there is nothing like an actual game console that can offer this all.

What can a gamer do to fulfill his needs whilst keep a little money in his pocket? Here are some tips for you.

1. Used games

The used games market is growing and is becoming a large part of the revenue of retailers. Also more and more retailers have entered the used games market. Used games are about 25% cheaper than new games.

2. Coupons and vouchers

Coupons and vouchers are offered by retailers and can be found online. They can give you that little extra discount that makes you decide to pull the trigger. The downside is that there are thousands of websites that look for coupons and vouchers and that you have to find the right one that offers working coupons and vouchers.

3. Price comparison websites like Pricegrabber, Nextag or Bizrate can help you find the best deals by comparing multiple retailers. The downside is that these websites are not mainly focused on video games but on all consumer products.

4. Affiliates

An affiliate is a seller that is associated with one or more retailer(s) and receives a commission whenever the affiliate redirects a visitor to the retailer's website which then results in a sale. Affiliates can offer "used games", "coupons and vouchers" and "price comparison" all on one website.

Affiliates are given promotion material by retailers to use on their websites. They also get information about deals and offers, coupons and vouchers which they can use to advertise on their website.

Buying through an affiliate can save you a lot of hassle finding all the best deals, offers, coupons and vouchers yourself. Plus affiliates also offer used games if the retailer that the affiliate is associated to has them to offer. The affiliate can also compare prices and offer you the best deal they can find.

http://www.videogame-offers.com/ searches the web for all the best offers and deals. The website is also full of content to provide the gamer with all the information needed before purchasing a video game. Visit the website and sign up to be the first to know about the best offers and deals.

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Yu-Gi-Oh Battle Pack: Epic Dawn

Yu-Gi-Oh has long been a game of "cookie cutter" decks based around powerful archetypes, only really altering with the changes in the meta-game as new sets are released. It is very true that certain archetypes simply overpower a wide majority of others, and match-ups between the Top 8 "cookie cutters" versus the more creative brews tend to be very poor for the latter category. Well, Konami has decided, correctly, to switch things up and level the playing field with the new Battle Pack, and hopefully the first of many, Epic Dawn.

Like the Mega Packs before it, the Battle Pack is a reprint set, with cards dating back quite a few years. Unlike the Legendary Collection 2's Mega Packs or the more widely distributed Ra Yellow Mega Packs, however, Epic Dawn goes back to the very beginning of Yu-Gi-Oh. As you might imagine, this makes for a very large and varied set, and that it does. While having Airknight Parshath in the same pack as an XYZ monster like Utopia is a little strange, when you look at how the set is constructed, it all comes together.

The Battle Pack is specifically designed to be a product that allows you to go out with your friends, buy a few packs and instantly make a deck from those cards. This is pretty awesome when you consider just how good the cards in these packs really are. Yes, there are a lot of "old school" cards that don't seem all that relevant anymore, but man, how long has it been since you've seen a Slate Warrior? With only 5 cards in a pack, yes, you'll have to buy quite a few packs, but considering they'll be selling for about the same price as a Duelist Pack (about $2) you can afford to buy a lot on a tight budget. Think of that, 50 cards, a little more than a basic Yu-Gi-Oh deck, for about $20. That's better than buying a starter deck, really, when you then see the set list.

Understandably, to make it appealing for a competitive limited format there are a lot of interesting cards, as well as very powerful cards. Tour Guide from the Underworld (one of the most popular monster cards in the history of the game) and Fiendish Chain are now very readily available for you to use in your Battle Pack deck, not to mention, you can then use them in your actual Constructed Yu-Gi-Oh deck. Even more fascinating is the inclusion of cards long banned from competitive play, such as Raigeki and Harpie's Feather Duster. These cards are now playable in the Limited Battle Pack tournament format, since they're going to be fairly common (even as rares in the pack) so you can be sure that you'll see more than a couple during any given tournament.

What's great about this set though is the fact you don't even need to go to tournaments to have a lot of fun. You can just keep buying packs until you build a really good and powerful deck, one that you could actually take to a very competitive Constructed Tournament and win more than a few games with.

How does this affect the secondary market for cards like Tour Guide? To be honest, it's the starfoil card in every pack that will make this set so highly sought after. Like the Hobby League parallels and Duel Terminal foil cards before them, the starfoils can be any card in the entire set (either common or rare). Since every pack has one, you could potentially have a very valuable collection of starfoil cards very quickly, especially if you're getting Pot of Duality, Forbidden Lance or Tour Guide on a regular basis in that slot. Yes, you'll see a huge drop in card prices, but the only ones that are really going to be affected severely is Tour Guide (goodbye $100 price tag) and Fiendish Chain (no longer $50). The inclusion of the starfoils in such a huge set is going to make individual starfoils highly sought after, and therefore, they will have pretty high value on the secondary market.

Yu-Gi-Oh players can't wait for the Battle Pack tournaments to start. There will be some pretty good prize cards for winners, apparently, and not only that, you'll be able to take home some pretty good cards just from the packs you played with to soup up your own personal deck to help take it over the top to win you that tournament that you could never seem to top simply because you couldn't afford Fiendish Chains and Tour Guides. Thank you, Konami.

If you're looking for more information on recent and upcoming card game releases, you'll want to check out Exceed Summon (http://exceedsummon.wordpress.com/) for Yu-Gi-Oh and Win Target Game (http://wintargetgame.com/) for Magic the Gathering.

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Dead Space iOS

With the recent rash of E3 announcements, including Dead Space 3, I thought it might be interesting to take a closer look at the world of iPhone gaming. Aside from a few basic games for the iPhone, I haven't had much experience with this new, relatively unexplored concept of playing games on a mobile device. Back when I was a teenager, cell phones had all the entertainment value of a cinder block, and so I never really thought of my handheld as a way of casually playing a game, let alone taking on a console franchise like Dead Space.

As a huge fan of both the original game and its impressive sequel, when I learned that there was an iPhone edition, I was pretty eager to take a look and see how it stacked up against the PS3 version, whose disc I had replayed so many times it was nearly run down to the size of a drink coaster. At first I expected a rehash of the original game. By this time, Dead Space 2 had been on the shelves for a brief period of time, but I thought, There's no way that this will take on the second game.

In fact, the iPhone version does neither. It instead follows a completely separate storyline that runs parallel to the adventures of Isaac Clark on the Sprawl space station. Otherwise, the game mechanics of the first two titles have been replicated for the iPhone version, and done very well. The action takes place from a similar perspective with the camera trailing behind our protagonist, Vandal, as Necromorphs pop out of vents and up from grates, and players are once again tasked with severing mutated limbs.

When I first downloaded the game, my expectations for the controls were pretty low. Touch screens have been, in the past, very finicky, often without the responsiveness required for intense gameplay. But I should've known to expect more from the iPhone. After a few minutes of playing, getting used to the way sliding my fingers back and forth controlled Vandal's movement, aiming, and firing, the process became second nature, and instead I could focus, as the video game gods intended, on holding my bladder during a turn around a sharp corner. It was surprising how quickly the user interface (or, really, the lack thereof) got out of the way and let me just enjoy playing. If there was a qualm I had with the controls it was that, being on a smaller device, when I was frantically trying to escape being dismembered I found myself running out of screen space to try and maneuver.

Graphically, Dead Space for iOS really made an impression on me as well. The graphics, of course, aren't as detailed as its big brother console editions, but they hold up well when you realize you're playing this game on a telephone about as thick as a pencil. The game's lighting effects and sound design are very faithful to the overall Dead Space experience, putting you in the middle of an overly dark and industrial space station with a compounding uncertainty about where you're safe and when you're going to be attacked next.

Playing Dead Space for iOS has expanded my view of what mobile gaming can be. I'm in awe of what this tiny little slab of glass and metal can do. With games like Dead Space, the iPhone might just be leading the charge toward the future of mobile gaming.

Visit http://www.slackers.com/ to read more great reviews!

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Diablo III Wizard Leveling Build

The wizard is one of the newest class additions to the Diablo game series, along with the witch doctor, monk, and demon hunter. It essentially replaces the sorceress that existed in Diablo II.

Leveling a wizard can be extremely time consuming if you don't properly prepare or use the right set of skills. Here are some of the best ways to ensure that you will level as fast as possible while playing a wizard in Diablo III.

First off, it's important to ensure that you do everything you reasonably can to get the best gear on your character for leveling. This doesn't mean that you need to seek out legendary gear but it does mean that you should check the auction house to get the best pieces you can afford as you level. Having good gear means that you'll do more damage and have more vitality; this is important and will increase the speed at which you can level. Other options for getting gear are checking out the vendors in town and using blacksmithing to create gear (you can also have a friend with blacksmithing do this for you).

Also, make sure that you have a ruby placed into the socket in your helm. A ruby in your helm will increase the amount of experience you gain while leveling and dramatically reduce your leveling time.

Finally, for your follower, be sure to choose a Templar so that he can heal you. This will provide you with the best survive-ability, which you will need to make it through Normal to Nightmare, onward through Hell and into Inferno.

While playing the wizard I've developed a build that is designed especially for leveling. It includes using the following skills: Magic Missiles, Arcane Orb, Frost Nova, Wave of Force, Familiar, and Magic Weapon.

For passive skills this build utilizes Glass Cannon, Astral Presence, and Power Hungry.

Remember that you won't get all of these skills right off the bat, so you'll need to be smart about it all and integrate them with the skills you currently have until you have all of the skills available to perfectly match the build.

If you are wondering what to expect when leveling a wizard, in terms of whether or not it will be slower to level than other classes, I can provide some insight since I have played all of the classes in game. If you take the time to get gear, socket your helm, pick the templar as your follower, use this build, and do your best to avoid taking loads of melee damage you will find that you can level as fast as or faster than the other classes in game.

For a link to the build used in this article take a look at this Diablo III Guide.

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Bubble Game Can Help Children With Disabilities

Bubble Game was released in 1986, and was similar to Atari's game called Bubbles. Bubble Shooter, which is the flash version of the game, not only requires no special skills whatsoever, but is also extremely fun and very simple to play. The rules are very easy to understand and straight forward. The player blows up as many bubbles as they can within a certain period of time. The score will depend on the number of colored balls that the player pops. If a bubble object touches the ground, then the game will end automatically.

Players need to find a line-up of three or more balls of the same color. They will then look at the color of the object coming out of the cannon at the bottom of the screen. This is to help the player know what color is coming next, so that they can plan the best strategy for game play. The computer mouse will help the player in navigating the cannon to shoot in the correct direction at whatever color the player is aiming for.

This means that planning ahead for your next move is absolutely necessary if you are going to clear the objects before the time limit has elapsed. The goal is to pop the colored objects before they reach the bottom of your screen to keep game play going. It only takes one bubble to touch the ground before the game ends. A good method of popping many colored balls at once is to bank the ball you are shooting off of the side wall of the playing board. If you do this, you can knock out many different colors of bubbles at once. This will allow the player to score a lot of points, and will progress the player to further levels in the game.

Another game that is similar to Bubble is a game called Bubble Bobble. This game was released in 1986 by Taito. In this game, a dragon is used to shoot the bubbles. There are also enemies on the playing board in this game. Once the objects are popped, the enemies will disappear. Thanks to the success of this marvelous game, more games have been developed that are very similar to the original game. Bubble has been introduced into many educational classrooms, and is especially used for children who have developmental problems or special needs. It teaches children to problem solve, strategize, identify colors and even improves motor skills.

We provide the best info about bubble. For further details please visit the provided link.

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Free Minecraft Hosting: What Should You Know?

Minecraft, a game which had been there for long has undergone numerous revisions. However, with all these changes, the game continues to be the favorite of our time. If you wish to start a small Minecraft server in your home computer to play with one or two of your friends, you just have to configure the Minecraft in Linux or Putty. If yours is a Windows operating system, you can start a free Minecraft hosting service by following the instructions given below:

Download the Minecraft software from the official game website. Keep it saved in a specific folder which in future would contain all your Minecraft files. Before going further, make sure that Java version 6 or later is installed on your PC. This is a must because all the other previous versions produce errors which may make the installation of the downloaded software something next to impossible. Done this, proceed with the executable file, open it. This starts the automatic configuration of the Minecraft host server on your computer. Ignore the error messages which may pop up in between. Upon its completion, you are required to increase the memory of your Minecraft server. To achieve this task, just open a notepad file and paste the following code:

"C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\javaw.exe" -Xmx2048M -Xms2048M -jar "Minecraft_Server.exe". This file fetches the file which you are using to configure the Minecraft server. Done this, you are required to rename the file as "run.bat." Save it in your Minecraft folder. By doing this, you increased the memory of your Minecraft server from 100MB to 2GB which is generally regarded as satisfactory to play the game for some time.

However, when the game starts gaining momentum with more and more of your friends joining the excitement, your computer may face a tough time to cope up with the extra pressure it is forced to handle. This may become quite annoying with the game getting disrupted at times. And it can be regarded as a warning signal alerting you on the requirement of a paid server for the same. A paid server offers greater stability and improved performance allowing you to enjoy the maximum excitement the game offers. Opting for a paid service for your Minecraft game would never create a situation where you are made to regret your decision. Minecraft is a game which allows the free flow of one's creativity and spirit of adventure. The treasure hunting in the game is made dangerous with the presence of angry monsters which are waiting for you to reach there. And if you go too close to them, you get killed. And when you revive the game with renewed freshness, you are required to find out all the treasure which you had hunt previously because when you die, all these get scattered.

Go ahead, boost your creativity and the spirit of exploration while having the time of your life enjoying the game of Minecraft.

Ishana Luthra, writer and CEO at SEO writing company Pattraco, is adored for her writing skills.

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