This article talks about the Japanese telecommunications provider, Softbank buying a little more than half of the Swedish mobile video game developing company Supercell.  Supercell is responsible for the successful titles Clash of Clans and Hay Day. Softbank most likely engaged in this risky transaction due to the growing popularity of mobile games, especially in Asia where they are an alternative to traditional console gaming, where the governments have embarked on heavy censorships of games they deem unsuitable for children. Another reason is that mobile games are more accessible and relatively cost less than that of console video game that allows the player to play while on the go wherever they may be.

This article is about the various issues and experiences that the Swedish video game developer Patrick Bach and the Swedish video game developing company DICE has gone through while developing the upcoming first-person shooter, Battle Field 4.  One of the main issues that Bach and DICE face is devoting more time in making the video game more realistic in terms of the combat systems and locations depicted in the games rather than focusing on creating a compelling story. Bach argues that a simpler video game that focuses more on the gaming aspect of the video-game rather than the storytelling aspect will help in the battle against the rising mobile games industry that features popular vide game titles that are very popular and successful, yet are developed with much less money compared to a videogame such as Battle Field 4. Two examples are the mobile games industry features  titles such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, two titles that are not exactly complicated or story-driven, yet have been two of the most  commercially successful and popular video games to date. Thus, Bach focuses on making Battle Field 4 game-oriented as possible in an  attempt to help keep the traditional gaming industry in the competition against the mobile video games industry.

I think I will first mention that I have broken my arms 3 times (My right has been broken twice, and my left once).  What can I say? I have been pretty reckless for the most part, much to my mother’s dismay.  Anyway, my favorite method of passing the time is watching movies. I enjoy watching different films, of different genres of different origins and analyzing them in order to attempt to better understand the meanings of each scene, character, or aspect in the film . If it is a fun movie such as the 2012 film The Avengers that does not really challenge you to think about underlying messages and meanings, I will just sit back and enjoy it for what it is. With that said, my favorite movie right now would have to be the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange created by cinematic master Stanley Kubrick. Talking about this movie would deserve its own separate blog post, but for now here is a brief synopsis.The film takes place in a dystopian future tells the story of a young man named Alex DeLarge, who is the epitome of evil and is cured of being evil at the cost of his free will, when the government takes it away. This caused me to ask myself this question; “What is free will and who deserves to have it?” Ever since I saw that movie, I have pondered the thought and have yet to come up with an answer. Anyway, that movie is an adaptation of a book with the same name and actually one of the few instances where it compares rather well with the source material. The same cannot be said about my favorite book, Les Miserables. I do not enjoy the musical, nor the numerous film adaptions. I prefer the book because it portrays the characters as they should, unlike the film versions. When I am not watching movies, I watch sports mostly NFL. MY favorites teams are; the Jets, Packers and Lions. I also enjoy music; my favorite band are the Doors. Now things I do not like are heights and rollercoasters.