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Video game Dot's Home brings a story of housing injustice to life

The interactive game lets players follow one family's account of disadvantage and discrimination through the generations.
"We wanted to tell a multigenerational story, because when you think about housing disadvantage, it is cumulative," says Christina Rosales, above, co-creator of Dot's Home.
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

Why Microsoft is switching up its Xbox strategy

Feb 16, 2024
Microsoft sees the change in strategy as a revenue opportunity, explains Tom Warren, senior editor at The Verge.
Why might Xbox want to bring Xbox-exclusive games to rival consoles? For "the revenue opportunity," said The Verge's Tom Warren.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

What drove the strong growth in GDP at the end of 2023? Consumer spending.

Jan 25, 2024
Nostalgia, cold weather and an uptick in business travel have been good news for three Baltimore businesses.
The bump in GDP reflects increased consumer spending on goods and services.
LumiNola/Getty Images

Up-and-coming video game developers share their dream jobs

Video games have already grown bigger than a couple of other entertainment industries combined.
Students at the nonprofit Gameheads in Oakland, California spent the summer developing new video games. The group behind one called Project: Black Cat pushed the limits when it comes to making an online multiplayer game. Pictured here, from left to right: Trevor Cardoza, Jude Herbert, Matt Zhang, Melissa Romo Martinez, Jordon Dabney and Ryan Ramos.
Kelly Silvera/Marketplace

How video game training can boost employee performance

A recent study by Harvard and Columbia universities finds "gamified" training can lead to better business outcomes.
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The video game business is hoping streaming games from the cloud will attract new players

Oct 13, 2023
A $15-a-month subscription may be more attractive than dropping $500 on a console.
Cloud gaming sales hit about $5 billion last year, compared to about $35 billion for console games.
Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images

Chinese animation house puts AI capabilities to the test

Aug 21, 2023
Base Media and iQiyi see potential for a creative edge in a competitive market. But U.S. clients worry about copyright infringement.
A screenshot of an animation after AI tools were applied. The brick wall and background are generated by AI.
Courtesy Base Media/iQiyi Wonderworks

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What video games can teach us about economic decision-making

Jul 24, 2023
Researchers use some video games to learn about spending behavior and how players respond to economic crises.
A screenshot of EverQuest II. Dmitri Williams, a professor at the University of Southern California, said he uses that title and other video games to study real-world behavior.
Courtesy EverQuest II

Tomorrow's tech disruptors learn how to raise their game

Jul 17, 2023
The video game industry has a diversity problem. This Bay Area mentorship program has solutions.
"Marketplace Morning Report" host David Brancaccio speaks with mentees at Gameheads. The program aims to give students in the Bay Area the skills, connections and confidence to break into the tech industry.
Kelly Silvera/Marketplace

Older gamers say the industry doesn't design with them in mind

Jul 6, 2023
A quarter of video gamers in the U.S. are over 50, according to the AARP.
Some gaming companies think the 50 and up age group is only interested in brain health games, but narrative games are actually quite popular with older adults, according to one researcher.
David McNew/Getty Images