Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. He previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked.
Recent Posts
Doom Resurrection brings hardcore gaming to the iPhone
For hardcore gamers, the iPhone hasn’t had much to offer. The games are mostly light-hearted, casual games that you play when you need a short distraction. They’re also a big compromise compared to what you can play on traditional game platforms.
But Doom Resurrection is… Continue Reading
As turnaround continues, June chip sales point to tech economy recovery
While the U.S. unemployment dashed stock market hopes of a recovery in the national economy, the bellwether semiconductor industry seems like it’s on its way to a recovery.
Chips are a leading indicator for sales of things such as computers, consumer electronics and cell phones…. Continue Reading
BringIt lets gamers put their money where their mouths are
Gamers like to brag. That’s why a lot of social networks have risen to serve their need to shout about their achievements. BringIt is going a step further by letting them place bets on their duels.
The Chicago-based company has created a portal where gamers… Continue Reading
Bling Nation raises $8M for cell phone payment system
There’s something cool about buying stuff in stores with your cell phone. They do it in Europe and Asia, so why not here? Bling Nation has come up with a way to introduce pay-by-cellphone transactions in the U.S. for the purchase of physical goods at… Continue Reading
Nickelodeon launches its AddictingGames brand on iPhone
Nickelodeon is launching a cross-promotion network for the iPhone, dubbed the AddictingGames iNetwork.
AddictingGames iNetwork will let the company and others publish games on the iPhone with built-in social features that can help the game and other games spread. The features include high scores, reviews,… Continue Reading
Gaikai demos how to serve games over the Internet
Playing video games on demand, or over a server connection instead of installing a game on your own machine, has become the hot topic of the game industry, not only because it threatens to cut retailers out, but also because it lets gamers play any… Continue Reading
Sparkplay Media nears launch of its Earth Eternal online fantasy game
Joining the fray of free online fantasy games, Sparkplay Media is preparing to launch its massively multiplayer online game, Earth Eternal.
The fantasy game runs in a web browser, with no download required. But it also has a plug-in option that allows gamers to play… Continue Reading
China’s crackdown on virtual goods transactions could ripple through the game economy
China’s new crackdown on the fast-growing virtual goods industry has many possible outcomes, both good and bad for game publishers.
Those publishers make most of their money through virtual goods transactions. China has more than 298 million Internet users and its online games industry is… Continue Reading
PlaySpan expands into new countries with prepaid game cards
PlaySpan said today it has expanded into Brazil, Turkey and other countries with its Ultimate Game Card, a prepaid card sold in stores that gives gamers credits to spend in online games.
These cards are popular among kids too young to have credit cards and… Continue Reading
AMD stirs up hype with limited-edition processors
Advanced Micro Devices’ latest microprocessor is so rare you can’t even buy one.
The AMD Phenom II X4 42 Black Edition TWKR processor is available today. But not for you. AMD is making only 100 of these chips for super geeks known as “extreme overclockers.”… Continue Reading
F.A.S.T. brings cool 3-D aerial dogfights to the iPhone
The 3-D air combat game F.A.S.T. debuted a couple of weeks ago on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
It’s a very difficult game to play, but it’s been growing on me. That’s because I’d ordinarily think it would be impossible to do this kind of… Continue Reading
Inflated laptop battery claims may lead to class action lawsuit
A couple of weeks ago, Advanced Micro Devices blew the whistle on the battery-life claims that laptop manufacturers make in their ads. The chip maker said the battery life cited in these ads cite were based on tests done in ideal conditions that users wouldn’t… Continue Reading
Steve Jobs returns to work at Apple
Steve Jobs went back to work today at Apple. How many other CEOs can make the news just by going to work?
This is one of those days when I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the secretive Cupertino company, which has… Continue Reading
Report: Games will see strong growth over next three years
Game publishers should be able to grow revenues 9 percent a year in the U.S. and Europe as they embrace digital content and find ways to extend the consumption of games for the current generation of game consoles, a new report says.
The market for… Continue Reading
Ten unconventional wisdoms for funding startups
Serial entrepreneur Naval Ravikant was the co-speaker at the inaugural Finance4Founders dinner in San Francisco last week. The event was organized Dave McClure, who runs the Founders Fund angel fund and fbFund, and Dan Martell, founder of Flowtown. It drew about 100 or so people…. Continue Reading
AdmitOne’s new tool to make subscription-based sites more profitable
AdmitOne has built a security business with a technology, called keystroke dynamics, that can recognize who’s logging into an account by the pattern of the person’s typing.
Now it’s launching an analytics business that promises to boost business opportunities for its clients by measuring 200… Continue Reading
GridIron taps Hollywood visual artist for new workflow software
Mark Coleran has created the user interfaces for cool gadgets in movies for years. His futuristic designs have been used in movies such as Mission Impossible 3, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and The Island. Now he’s used his talents to design a new kind of… Continue Reading
Rumors surface of a PlayStation cell phone
Sony Ericsson is reportedly working on a phone that combines PlayStation games with a cell phone. It’s not the first time that such rumors have floated, but Nikkei, a big Japanese business publication, reported that Sony has a team working on the product now.
The… Continue Reading
Warner Bros. likely to buy bankrupt Mortal Kombat maker Midway Games
The game division of film studio Warner Bros. is expected to buy Midway Games, the once mighty owner of the Mortal Kombat franchise.
The Los Angeles Times reported tonight that Warner Bros. has emerged as the only bidder for the bankrupt video game publisher that… Continue Reading
News sites collapsed from fetching ads in Jackson traffic surge
The tsunami of traffic related to Michael Jackson’s death brought down news web sites on Thursday because those sites had to wait for third-party content, such as images for ads, according to a new analysis.
Keynote Systems said in a report tonight that its analysis… Continue Reading