Gamers failed to buy enough games for new consoles to make up for a steep fall in demand for older formatsGame Digital shares have dived nearly 40% as the retailer warned that profit would fall sharply after worse than expected sales of games in the run-up to Christmas.The seller of video games and consoles said UK sales for the 21 weeks to 19 December fell 11.4% to £353.4m as gamers failed to buy enough games for new consoles to make up for a steep fall in demand for older formats. Continue reading...

Kimoji is already the most popular paid iPhone app in the US and UK, but Apple denies its popularity ‘broke’ its App StoreKim Kardashian’s bottom may have broken the internet earlier in 2015, but her new emoji iPhone app hasn’t yet had the same effect on Apple’s App Store.Kimoji was released earlier in the week, with celebrity-news site TMZ claiming that “9,000 download requests per millisecond” crashed the App Store until “the Apple tech team swooped in and shored it up”. Kardashian apologised via tweet: Continue reading...

The tech team review the best games and biggest trends of 2015, and gaze into their gaming crystal balls for the year ahead2015 has witnessed the extraordinary success of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as the unlikely birth of the Steam Machine and smartwatch gaming. It’s been the year of not just epic blockbusting adventures like Metal Gear Solid V, Witcher 3 and Fallout 4, but also indie hits like Her Story and Undertale. So what will 2016 bring?Keith and Jordan are joined by journalist Simon Parkin, author of Death By Videogame; and Dishonored 2 narrative designer Cara Ellison, to look back at the biggest games and trends of 2015, and what to look forward to in 2016.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Wednesday. Continue reading...

Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, reacts to a New Zealand court’s ruling that he can be extradited to the United States to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. The decision, which can be appealed, comes almost four years after New Zealand police first raided Dotcom’s mansion west of Auckland at the behest of the FBI.

If you’ve just bought a new PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Wii U for your kids this Christmas, here are the things you need to know before handing it overSo it’s Christmas and you’ve bought your kids a video game console – for a few sweet hours you’re going to be the greatest parent on the face of the planet. Congratulations.But, to be honest, your work has only just begun. Like any new technology, you can’t just let them get on with it – even if the mere sight of a games controller sends shivers of terror (or boredom) down your spine. You need to step up and take an active part in this. Giving a console is like giving a pet: it’s a long term commitment and it can be tricky and demanding. But at least a console won’t pee on your carpet when it gets over-excited. Continue reading...

Police allege the 27 November post by a Swan Hill woman, 38, would encourage others to commit harm to MuslimsA Victorian woman has been charged with serious religious vilification after posting comments about Islam on Facebook.Related: Man charged over Facebook messages to MP Continue reading...

UK Treasury looking at ‘all possible options’ after claim that big online marketplaces collaborate with vendors over tax evasion on popular goodsTop tax officials are exploring whether Amazon and eBay can be forced to foot the bill for ballooning VAT fraud associated with an army of small overseas sellers who are rapidly coming to dominate sales of many popular items on Britain’s leading shopping websites.A Guardian investigation has found that hundreds of high-value gifts including Apple watches, iPads, Fitbits and Panasonic cameras are being sold on Amazon’s UK website without VAT being charged.

Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, delivered communications satellites to orbit before its main-stage booster returned to a landing padThe high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has hailed a “revolutionary moment” for reusable space hardware after his SpaceX programme successively launched and returned a rocket to earth, landing it in an upright position.In its first mission since a cargo ship was destroyed in an accident in June, SpaceX sent a Falcon rocket into orbit on Monday night with 11 satellites on board. Continue reading...

The twentysomething multimillionaire heirs documenting their jetset lives are a real inspiration to their followers – I might give it a go myselfSo, I haven’t really got to grips with Instagram yet. Eager not to be left behind, I’m hoping that The Rich Kids of Instagram (Channel 4) can help steer me in the right direction. I want to be rich, I want to be a kid, I want to be on Instagram; this sounds like a show that’s been tailor-made for me. (If you think this is all too much about me, then you’re probably just a sad jealous hater troll; and you know what? I don’t care.)Right, this Lana – @LanaScolaro – seems like a lovely girl and a really great role model and guide, to help me build Brand Me on Instagram. Lana, 20, a multimillionaire heiress, spends her time jetting and helicoptering between London, Ibiza, New York and Monaco. She’s also known for not being Robin Thicke’s wife but still having his hand up her skirt. No wonder she’s got 23,000 followers. Continue reading...

Tech company makes rare foray into British politics in a submission to the committee on the investigatory powers billApple has called for changes to the UK government’s investigatory powers bill, over fears it would weaken the security of “personal data of millions of law-abiding citizens”.In a submission to the bill committee, released on Monday, the Californian technology firm expressed major concerns and called for wholesale changes before the bill is passed. Continue reading...

Social network and its 8bn daily video views join YouTube in switching to HTML5, which could be the critical cut that finally starts Flash’s demiseHas Facebook finally struck the fatal blow in the long, slow demise of Flash by switching to HMTL5 video by default?

12 months in which the video game industry finally started to represent women both in-game and in developmentTo say the video game industry hasn’t always been a model of inclusion and diversity is a bit like noticing that the sea’s wet or that Jeremy Hunt needs to be lowered quietly into a septic tank; it’s so blindingly obvious it’s hardly worthy of comment. However, unlike the sea and the Conservative health secretary, gaming has begun to change, and not for the worse. There’s been a dramatic rise in the number of women making games, and some inspiring success stories among small, independent developers. That said, it’s still a blockbuster-driven industry that employs disproportionate numbers of men, but hey.According to a poll conducted at the end of last year, 52% of British gamers are female. A survey of the industry taken around the same time found that just 22% of game developers were women; that’s double the number in 2009 thanks to more open recruitment practices, but still tragically low. That’s a real disparity but some recognition of the medium’s shifting audience is emerging. One simple but important change is that it’s now standard to be given a choice between playing a male or a female character. Even in traditional boys-y bastions such as Rainbow Six Siege, there are female special forces operators every bit as effective at blowing holes in walls, floors and terrorists as their male counterparts. In Fallout 4, one of the year’s highest-profile titles, the sole survivor of the nuclear apocalypse can not only be a man or a woman, but also gay, straight, or robo-sexual (for those interested in stretching diversity in new and potentially painful directions). Continue reading...

Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Spotify and Instagram’s year-end recaps had plenty to teach us, but there was a lot they left outYou probably wouldn’t bang on about your galloping gout or your teenager’s arrest for grand larceny in a round-robin letter at Christmas. So why should technology firms be any different?Most end-of-year reviews from technology companies emphasise the positive, from the biggest videos on YouTube or the top apps on Apple’s App Store through to the most popular hashtags on Twitter and the most-streamed artists on Spotify. Continue reading...

Why shouldn’t a Muslim American block a Facebook friend for bringing Islamophobia into their personal space?I once read that a Facebook account is like a living room. My front door is unlocked, and anyone can come sit for a spell, have a conversation or just listen to the dialogue already going on. If, however, someone comes in and starts hurling epithets or insulting my other guests, I can ask them to leave. Immediately.I thought of this metaphor upon reading Caitlin Dewey’s recent Washington Post piece, in which she argues (with substantial statistical evidence) that unfriending Donald Trump supporters (or in conservatives’ case, unfriending feminists) is unwise and only serves to further polarize an increasingly partisan America, keeping us from any meaningful progress. I’ve certainly unfriended a handful of people over the past few years. When it’s happened, it’s usually because the person has said something rude and intolerant in my living room, and when asked to stop, they’ve refused. (Most of those people just happen to also like Trump’s fan page.) Continue reading...

Struggling smartphone maker announces a 12% rise in revenue and finds success with phone powered by Google’s Android mobile operating systemBlackberry is not dead. The struggling smartphone maker announced a 12% rise in revenue for its latest financial quarter, the first time in two years it has reported back to back rises in revenue.Related: BlackBerry boss John Chen: security focus heralds return 'from edge of death' Continue reading...

Web monitoring experts say traffic was down 5.5% in the UK and 10.9% in France during the 24 hours following the first screenings of JJ Abrams’ filmRelated: Discuss Star Wars: The Force Awakens (with spoilers)Star Wars: The Force Awakens has broken the web - or at least, temporarily tangled it. According to internet monitoring experts, traffic in nations where JJ Abrams’ space opera reboot has arrived in cinemas dropped significantly in the wake of the first screenings – potentially as a result of fans choosing to avoid spoilers by staying offline. Continue reading...

Card game maker bestows surprise present upon its factory employees as part of its ‘eight sensible gifts for Hanukah’In the run-up to the holiday season, the makers of popular (if controversial) party game Cards Against Humanity offered a special promotion: eight small, mystery presents delivered over the month of December.The company has a history of offering unexpected items for sale: in 2014, to celebrate Black Friday, it gave customers the chance to purchase a literal box of bullshit. So the 150,000 fans who paid up for the mystery gifts genuinely didn’t know what to expect, except for the fact that they were branded as “eight sensible gifts for Hanukah”. Continue reading...

British company says it plans to continue developing its technology for barring touts from ticketing pre-salesThe British company that helped to prevent 18,000 touts from buying tickets for Adele’s 2016 tour has raised $10m of funding to continue developing its technology.Songkick raised its latest funding round from Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, the investor that owns Warner Music Group and has a significant stake in music streaming service Deezer. Continue reading...

Santa Claus is coming to town – and he’s got a shotgun, a stash of nuclear warheads and an army of zombie elvesChristmas, that traditional time when families come together to sit around looking at their iPhones. So what better way to get in the spirit for that solitary sofa time than by downloading some Christmas-themed apps?The festive phone-staring tradition has spawned an entire industry of yuletide apps, from 101 Christmas Cake Ideas (which seems to be a slideshow of different ways to disguise the leaden mass no one actually wants to eat) to Christmas Countdown and Sleeps to Christmas, which are basically calendars with clip-art tinsel stuck on. Continue reading...

Blood, sand and chaos – our five favourite video games of the year

Technology company’s offer has raised concerns over accelerated ‘gentrification’ of Silicon ValleyFacebook is offering employees at its Silicon Valley headquarters at least $10,000 to move closer to the office.The move is a reflection of the challenges many tech companies face in the increasingly expensive and congested San Francisco Bay area of California.

Car crashes could be a thing of the past if car makers deliver on their promise to roll out autonomous cars over the next five years. But researchers are still questioning what this accident-free future might look likeCompanies like Google and Tesla have held up autonomous vehicles as a panacea for road accidents, which claim over 32,000 American lives each year. This month, Obama put stock in that idea, signing a $305bn transportation bill that includes grants for self driving vehicles. That backs up 10 years of US Department of Transportation work on technical studies and policies surrounding autonomous cars.But will all this investment and research actually result in a future free of car accidents? Continue reading...

Messaging service used by millions of Brazilians was meant to be blocked for 48 hours to pressure app’s owner Facebook to cooperate in criminal investigationMillions of Brazilian WhatsApp users had their service disrupted for hours on Thursday as judges flipped back and forth on how to punish the company for failing to cooperate with a criminal investigation.Related: WhatsApp blocked in Brazil for 48 hours by court Continue reading...

Revised scheme will focus incentives on zero-emissions vehicles and no longer subsidise most expensive hybridsGrants to subsidise the purchase of electric and other low-emission cars are to be extended by at least two years, to encourage more than 100,000 UK motorists to buy greener vehicles.The plug-in car grant, which gives buyers up to £4,500 towards the cleanest new cars, will now run until March 2018, the Department for Transport announced on Thursday. Continue reading...

Konami’s golden boy has gone indie – and his new studio’s first game is a partnership with Sony. How did he get here, and what’s next?For decades, the conspiracy-mad Metal Gear Solid games thrilled players with their labyrinthine plots, filled with casual betrayals – so perhaps it is fitting that, the auteur-like creator of the series, Hideo Kohima, left in murkily acrimonious circumstances. The gaming soap opera of 2015 began in March, when rumours first circulated that Kojima would be forced off the project by the series’ publisher Konami after September’s release of MGSV: The Phantom Pain. The speculation ended on Wednesday when Sony announced it had signed up the first game from his new independent studio. How did Kojima end up here? Why did it go wrong with Konami? And what’s next?

Six years ago complaint from Berkshire-based shopping comparison site started battle with EU that has since widened to multiple frontsIt began in the English home counties, not far from Windsor Castle, when a small shopping comparison website decided to launch a complaint against Google with the European commission.Berkshire-based Foundem formally accused Google in November 2009, claiming the Silicon Valley company abused its monopoly position by deliberately and systematically lowering rivals’ sites in its search engine results. Continue reading...

Unknown petitioner gains injunction blocking Facebook’s popular messaging service used daily by 93 million users in the countryBrazil has blocked Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app, preventing users in the country from connecting to service or sending messages.A Brazilian court ordered mobile phone providers to block all access to the internet-based messaging service on Wednesday for a total of 48 hours, starting at midnight on Thursday, according to Brazilian phone company association Sinditelebrasil . Continue reading...

We’re into the top ten of our video game countdown, and it’s good news for the Wii U console – as well as rocket powered football cars

The whens and hows of upgrading Microsoft Windows 7 to Windows 10, or going back to Windows 7I’m thinking of upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I’m told the free upgrade is only for one year, and after that you have to pay £80 for it. Is that the case? Robert Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Thursday. Look at the book I found in Oxfam! Continue reading...

All point-to-point rides, including Uber and cabs, could face a $1 per trip levy to fund a compensation scheme for taxi licenseesUber is officially legal in New South Wales, following a decision by the cabinet to regulate the ride-sharing service.The cabinet of the premier, Mike Baird, agreed to legalise the service on Thursday after considering the recommendations from an independent taskforce into the taxi industry and transport providers such as Uber. Continue reading...

Telecoms firm says it is aware of incidents in which devices have overheated and customers should stop using themEE has issued a recall for all its Power Bar portable chargers because of a fault that can cause overheating and a fire safety risk.The move by the telecoms firm comes just four months after an initial recall of one batch of the portable chargers amid reports they could overheat and explode. The company has now said that in order to make sure all customers remain safe, all Power Bars should be returned to an EE store. Continue reading...

Ever wanted to wield a lightsaber through your browser, interact with droids via Cardboard VR or explore a map with a stormtrooper? Help you Google canGoogle has continued to roll out easter eggs inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, including a way to fight stormtroopers on your computer, as fans prepare to head to movie theaters for midnight showings.There’s also the Google Search text crawl – search for the words “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” (no quotes) to check it out. Lightsaber Escape, which debuted on Wednesday, is an old-fashioned “rail shooter”-style app you can play through Google’s Chrome browser, provided you have a fast enough internet connection. Modern media companies have suitable internet connections for this purpose, the Guardian has found. Continue reading...

The draft regulations, issued almost a year late, will allow manufacturers to operate or lease – but not sell – self-driving cars to the publicCalifornia finally issued draft regulations for the public operation of self-driving cars on Wednesday, almost a year after it was supposed to. If they are adopted, manufacturers will be able to operate or lease – but not sell – self-driving cars to the general public for the first time in the US.The draft regulations require all vehicles to have a human operator ready to take immediate control of the car if anything goes wrong. This would rule out completely driverless cars such as those being developed by Google. Continue reading...

Food-delivery firm and crowdfunding site among 15 companies inducted into government-backed Future Fifty scheme for fast-growing start-upsDeliveroo, the upmarket food-delivery group, and the Crowdcube crowdfunding site are among 15 firms tipped as potential stars of the UK’s digital economy by Tech City UK, a government-backed organisation.The companies have been inducted into the Future Fifty programme, which aims to support fast-growing tech firms and help them to the next stage. Continue reading...

The Guardian tech team nominate 2015’s winners and losers in techFrom the highs of Fallout 4 to the lows of the Talk Talk hack, from the troubled birth of the Apple Watch to the apparent death of Google Glass, it’s been a year of ups and downs for tech.So what were the biggest news stories? Who were the technology winners and losers? What were the best gadgets? The most irritating memes? Continue reading...

As the most anticipated film of the year begins its global rollout, fans and industry unite in praise of The Force AwakensRelated: The Force Awakens reviews roundup: verdicts arrive on JJ Abrams' Star Wars epicAs global anticipation builds for what is undoubtedly the cinematic event of the year, if not the decade, Star Wars: The Force Awakens had its world premiere in Los Angeles in advance of its worldwide release.

Guardian investigation reveals illegal weapons including stun guns, pepper spray pistols and knuckledusters are routinely sold on UK website

New rules will strengthen European citizens’ privacy protections, while a controversial proposal to raise ‘age of digital consent’ to 16 was devolved to member statesEurope has taken a big step towards stronger, pan-European data privacy laws, after agreeing the text of new reforms.

Andrew House talks PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR and PlayStation Now, and even praises his counterpart at MicrosoftTwo years ago, industry pundits were declaring the inevitable death of the specialist games console. Before the launch of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it looked like consumers had moved on from expensive specialist games hardware, toward smartphones, tablets and other formats.But Andrew House, who as president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment is the ultimate boss of Sony’s PlayStation division, always had faith. And now he has the sale figures too. In November, PlayStation 4 passed the 30m global sales milestone, two months earlier in its lifecycle than the PlayStation 2, which ended up selling more than 155m units, making it officially the best-selling console in history.

It’s part three of our rundown of the year’s best games – and we’ve arrived at the apocalypse already

As the first reviews of the much-anticipated blockbuster roll in, UK critics laud Star Wars with five star reviews, and in the US reviews are admiring but with qualificationsThe embargo is over, the first reviews are in... and the reaction in general has been thoroughly positive. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens hasn’t blown everyone away entirely.Related: Star Wars: The Force Awakens review – 'what a Christmas present' Continue reading...

Transgender people and victims of domestic violence who use aliases to hide from their abusers had criticized the social network’s policyFacebook unveiled changes to its controversial “real name” policy on Tuesday after criticism from transgender people and victims of domestic abuse.The social network bans anonymity and has insisted people use their birth names on their accounts. The policy has caused problems for people who used different names from the one they were born with, including transgender people and victims of domestic violence who use aliases to hide from their abusers. Continue reading...

UK engineering software maker had agreed in July for French company to take a 53.5% stake to reduce its exposure to oil price fallsShares in the engineering software maker Aveva have fallen by more than a third after it scrapped a complex tie-up with France’s Schneider Electric that would have reduced the UK company’s exposure to troubled oil and gas markets.The companies agreed a deal in July in which Schneider was to buy £550m of new Aveva shares for a 53.5% stake and combine Aveva’s business with Schneider’s software division. Continue reading...

New European data protection rules would see companies require parental consent to handle data of those under 16, effectively blocking them from social mediaThe European Parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on new rules that could see teenagers banned from internet services such as Facebook, social media, messaging services or anything that processes their data, without explicit consent from their parent or guardian.

21-year-old arrested as part of a cybercrime investigation into computer hacking at children’s electronic toymaker VTechA 21-year-old man has been arrested as part of a cybercrime investigation into computer hacking at children’s electronic toymaker VTech. The suspect was detained in Bracknell, Berkshire, on Tuesday morning, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu) said in a statement.He was held on suspicion of “unauthorised access to computer to facilitate the commission of an offence” and of “causing a computer to perform a function to secure/enable unauthorised access to a program/data”. A number of electronic items were seized by investigators. Continue reading...

Our countdown of the year’s finest gaming moments continues with old-school shooting, apocalyptic adventure and turn-based infiltrationIt’s part two of our romp through the best games of 2015, and after yesterday’s concentration of offbeat indie hits, here are ... well, a few more. We did warn you this was a highly subjective list. Continue reading...

All this week we’ll be counting down our favourite games of the year, beginning with indie sci-fi horror, platforming fungi and LegoWell, it’s almost Christmas, that wonderful time when all entertainment writers turn their thoughts, not to family and friends, but to end-of-year list features. Here then, is our traditional rundown of the year’s 25 best video games, collated by our team of experienced games writers – just before they all disappear into a fug of eggnog and carol singing.As ever, these are the titles we personally enjoyed this year, not the ones we felt were the most groundbreaking or that attracted the widest critical acclaim. It’s not objective or scientific – or fair or reasonable. Continue reading...