Tausi Insider

Workers who test games at Activision Blizzard Inc.’s unit Blizzard Albany have voted to form a union months after the games developer began negotiating with employees at its Wisconsin unit, the first in the company to unionize. The workers based near Albany, New York, voted 14-0 to join the Communication Workers of America union, the National Labor Relations Board said on Friday. Blizzard Albany has developed installments of popular video game franchises including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Activision had argued that Blizzard Albany’s entire work force of about 100 employees, including production workers, should have been involved in the union vote and not only game testers. The NLRB rejected those claims earlier this week, saying game testers could form their own bargaining unit because they perform a distinct role and have separate supervision and significantly lower wages than other employees. CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens said in a statement th...

Tony Hawk Ride - trailer featuring gameplay and board from Activision In video game history, 2009 was the intersection of the “motion control all the things!” and “fake plastic instruments everywhere” eras, so the Tony Hawk skateboard peripheral must have seemed like a no-brainer. Released with Tony Hawk: Ride , the plastic skateboard was meant as a real controller, not a gimmicky collectible: It featured two accelerometers, four motion sensors, and you couldn’t play Ride without it. This was serious gaming stuff, and the $120 price tag reflected it. Ride and the controller were not successful, and that’s an understatement. Non-intuitive, confusing, and just kind of lame, the controller and game were relegated to the bargain rack, where they remain to this day. You can buy the Wii version for $20 . https://www.tausiinsider.com/12-of-the-weirdest-video-game-peripherals-ever-made/?feed_id=328798&_unique_id=64285d3a1dea6

Tony Hawk Ride - trailer featuring gameplay and board from Activision In video game history, 2009 was the intersection of the “motion control all the things!” and “fake plastic instruments everywhere” eras, so the Tony Hawk skateboard peripheral must have seemed like a no-brainer. Released with Tony Hawk: Ride , the plastic skateboard was meant as a real controller, not a gimmicky collectible: It featured two accelerometers, four motion sensors, and you couldn’t play Ride without it. This was serious gaming stuff, and the $120 price tag reflected it. Ride and the controller were not successful, and that’s an understatement. Non-intuitive, confusing, and just kind of lame, the controller and game were relegated to the bargain rack, where they remain to this day. You can buy the Wii version for $20 . https://news.winestle.com/12-of-the-weirdest-video-game-peripherals-ever-made/?feed_id=330195&_unique_id=63b92a0e303a9