Gaming Roundup

Recent news has been adorned with plenty of stories in relation to the the games industry so I thought I would provide a quick summary of both the good and bad.

Let's get the bad side out of the way. The video game retailer Game Group has gone into administration which will also see the immediate closer of 277 of its stores around the UK. This is obviously very bad news for thousands of employees who will be losing their jobs. The fact that the Game Group has gone into administration is somewhat of a surprise based on the size of the video game industry but is perhaps a sign of the strength of the online market as well as superstores such as Tesco.

More Info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17512143

Gamers who were unhappy with the endings available for Mass Effect 3 have been told that they will receive clarifications on the games plot line. This is despite the game currently already providing 3 different endings. Many gamers complained that there were no real differences between the three.

More Info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17458208

Another news story highlights the popularity and worth of mobile apps. 'Draw Something' was only released within the last two months but its success has led to its development company OMGPOP being snapped up by Zynga for £113 million.

More Info: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/do-you-get-the-picture-draw-something-developer-sold-for-180m-7583887.html

In last weeks Budget George Osborne announced that there would be tax breaks for the UK video games industry. In a move that is aimed to keep development in the UK whilst aiming to aid growth of smaller game development businesses, the chancellor stated that he wanted to turn Britain into the technology hub of Europe. Within the Budget Osborne also announced which ten cities will benefit from a £100 million pot in a bid to get them 'super-connected'.

More Info: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/mar/23/video-game-tax-credits

OWA Domain Analyser

Last week we released our OWA Domain Analyser to the world via the Apple App Store. The app is designed to help IT professionals resolve DNS issues by providing information based on a given domain name. The DNS tool can provide information including:

• A records
• MX records
• Name servers
• IP addresses
• Web server details

The mobile app is simple and is pretty specific in terms of the functionality available to the user. The OWA Domain Analyser has been deisgned to help users get the core information they need when faced with DNS problems, helping to simplify a sometimes complex subject. We are currently in the process of releasing the app into Google's Android Market.