Blog Posts by Associated Press

By Paul Foy, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY - The developer of video games including "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005" is serving a yearlong jail sentence in Utah for failing to pay more than 100 employees.

David M. Rushton (AP/Utah Attorney General’s Office)David M. Rushton, 57, owes $1.2 million in a rare criminal case for nonpayment of wages, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Thursday.

Rushton did business in a Salt Lake City suburb as Sensory Sweep Studio, which focused on selling games adapted from movies for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox game consoles and hand-held devices.

"We had occasional paychecks that trickled in. Some people were favoured more than others," said Adam Hunter, a 29-year-old game designer now working for another Utah studio. Hunter said he was owed $12,000 after quitting in 2009.

By Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — John Schappert, the chief operating officer of online game maker Zynga Inc., has left the company after less than a year and a half on the job.

John Schappert (Credit: Zynga)Zynga said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that Schappert's departure is effective immediately. The company lured Schappert away from video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. last year. He was COO there, too.

Zynga declined to say whether it's replacing Schappert. But it said that Schappert's resignation is not related to any disagreement with Zynga on any matter relating to the company's operations, policies or practices.

By Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Zynga investors are not playing games.

After Zynga's dismal second-quarter earnings report and still dimmer outlook, shares plummeted nearly 40 percent. At least seven analysts downgraded the online games maker and several raised questions about its long-term relevance.

Zynga Inc. cut its full-year guidance sharply Wednesday after reporting a loss and revenue below Wall Street's expectations. Though both user numbers and revenue increased, analysts were expecting much more.

Credit: AP Photo/Paul SakumaBy Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Zynga Inc. lost money and received less revenue than anticipated in the second quarter because "CityVille," ''FarmVille" and other games are not attracting as many paying players as they should.

Its stock tanked in after-hours trading and dragged Facebook's shares as well because the social networking icon relies on Zynga for a good chunk of its revenue — 12 percent last year. The news comes just as Facebook prepares to report quarterly earnings on Thursday, its first as a public company.

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sony Corp. has breathed new life into its handheld Vita and announced a tie-up with author J.K. Rowling that could cause Harry Potter fans to fly on broomsticks into the world of games.

Book of Spells (Sony)The Japanese console maker indicated Monday it could be years before it comes up with new version of its PlayStation. But at the world's biggest video game expo, E3, it announced plenty to keep gamers busy this coming holiday season.

Sony unveiled plans for a second-screen function for the Vita that keeps it in step with Nintendo's new tablet-controller-equipped console, Wii U. It also presented a Harry Potter-inspired book game called "Wonderbook: Book of Spells" that turns the Move motion controller into a magic wand.

(Credit: AP / Farah Abdi Warsameh)

By Abdi Guled, Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Inside a hot, cramped room in the Somali capital, 10 sweating children sat on wooden desks, not unlike those found in schools. These boys, though, were not in class. They were staring at a small TV and tightly gripping video-game controllers.

Video games are the new rage in Somalia, a first-world entertainment option for teenage boys that wasn't permitted when ultraconservative al-Shabab militants controlled the capital. The insurgents — who were pushed out of Mogadishu last year byAfrican Union and Somali troops — banned recreational pleasures like movies and Nintendo.

With the militants gone, Somali teens and boys are bingeing on entertainment systems like Sony's PlayStation, a development with both positive and negative aspects.

By Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press

Battleship (Universal Pictures)LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Battleship" steams into movie theaters overseas this week, giving international audiences the first chance to decide whether a board game-based movie is sea-worthy.

The Hasbro Inc. search-and-destroy game was once a way for kids to while away a summer afternoon. But as it debuts in Europe on Wednesday, "Battleship" the movie has become a potential franchise, sporting Michael Bay-inspired special effects, aliens invading Earth, a bikini-model actress, superstar Rihanna and, of course, lots of guns.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

FarmVille (Zynga)NEW YORK (AP) — "CityVille" fans afraid to spam their Facebook friends with updates about their virtual hometowns can sigh with relief. Zynga has unveiled a new online destination, Zynga.com, where people can play its games away from Facebook, including with people who are not their Facebook friends.

This doesn't mean that Zynga is divorcing Facebook. Players will log into the site with their Facebook account information and spend money in the games through Facebook. But Zynga hopes the move will lure more players and get them to spend more time on its games, unencumbered by the non-game-related Facebook updates and comments that can distract them from tending to their virtual farms, cities or poker games.