Are you into gaming or mobile or social gaming or earning rewards or all of the above? If so you’re in luck as playd iPhone and Android apps are now available for you to download on both the iPhone app store and Android Market place. Playd allows you to you rate, share, and discuss the games you love with your friends!

In an email sent last night Playd founders say:

I’m proud to announce that Playd is finally born! We spent the entire summer building and collecting feedback from you guys and now you can see it in action. As gamers our work is never done. We are forever working on new features and partnerships to offer you guys the best experience.

Playd app features include verified check-ins, real-time game channels with your friends and tokens. With tokens you can earn you free swag, discounts, DLC, and more! Here are a few Playd screnshots.

For more about Playd visit: http://playd.it or follow @getplayd on Twitter.

Disclaimer: Anthony Frasier, @AntyonyFraiser, cofounder Playd was one of the startups that participated in the NewME Accelerator. BlackWeb 2.0 and NewME Accelerator are owned and operated by Black Web Media.
Have you downloaded and “played” Playd? If so let us know what you think about the app in the comments below.

In June Justin.tv launched one of its first verticals, TwitchTV, a live-streamed video game portal and community for gamers. The platform has since taken off in terms of usage, and today, TwitchTV is expanding to the iPhone.

For background, TwitchTV features competitions of a variety of games and platforms with top gamers, tournaments and commentary. The platform aims to be a one-stop-shop for live video for ‘eSports,’ which Justin.tv says is synonymous with competitive video gaming. TwitchTV features live video game battles and commentary from titles like Halo:Reach, Starcraft II, World Of Warcraft, Call Of Duty: Black Ops and others.

Read the rest of this article at TechCrunch

Guitar hero was one of the hottest game out a couple years ago. Then there was DJ Hero, that intrigued the hip-hop space even more. There is now something similar on the market. Skillz: The DJ Game is very similar to DJ Hero, but you can play it on your iPad.

Built by champion turntablists, Skillz’s includes a diverse array of styles including hip hop, house, dubstep, drum n bass, and funk.

The Skillz OST includes a  mix of mainstream club hits and underground classics from artists such as The Roots and Kid Cudi.

Check out  the trailer, it looks fun! :

UK-based retailer Topshop has partnered with location-based mobile gaming app SCVNGR to get students into stores for back-to-school shopping.

Beginning September 5, anyone within a 500-meter radius of a Topshop location can play the game via SCVNGR’s apps for iPhone [iTunes link] and Android devices. Players choose the reward they want — say, a 20% in-store discount or a chance to win a £500 shopping spree — and complete challenges to achieve the required number of points.

As with Neiman Marcus’s SCNVGR campaign last spring, challenges are designed to get shoppers more thoroughly engaged with merchandise. Participants will be asked to snap photos of their favorite “back to college” outfits and items corresponding with certain trends, among other tasks.

Read the rest of this article at Mashable

Oh. My. God, Becky. Look at this game.

Rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot of “Baby Got Back” fame has just popped the top on a hilarious new Facebook venture.

Called MixNMatch, the game challenges you to answer either-or questions. The catch is that you have to answer them the way another person would. For example, you might have to guess whether Sir Mix-A-Lot prefers zombies or vampires or whether a friend of yours would pick a front rub over a back rub. You can also pose similar questions to your own friends.

Read the rest of this article at Mashable

Konsole Kingz is an Atlanta based, urban video gaming company that focus on a unique combination of promotions, event planning, gaming tournaments, viral marketing, and editorial pieces. Their mission is to connect with and understand the urban gamer. Founder of Konsole Kingz, CJ Peters and his team have recently developed an iOS spades game. The application hasn’t launched yet, but plans to release by the end of July.

Watch the spades game demo as Peters and Angela test the app:

For more of Konsole Kingz check out their website: www.konsolekingz.com

Global human rights organization, Breakthrough, has launched a new Facebook game called 2049. Players actively explore “how the choices and challenges Americans now face will shape the future of the country, its democratic values and how we define ourselves as a nation.”

America 2049 is the first Facebook game to integrate the social networking platform with other resources, both online and off. It includes multimedia and interactive features, clues planted across the Internet and real-life events at leading cultural institutions nationwide. These real-life locations include the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience members, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Bosque Redondo Memorial in New Mexico.

America 2049 is literally a game-changer,” said Breakthrough President & CEO Mallika Dutt. “It parachutes us into an alternate reality perhaps not so far from our own, where we find America poised at a crossroads, and where we are asked to make critical decisions about how we truly want to define ourselves as a nation. The game experience allows us to immerse ourselves in a future that could be — but also inspires us to envision, and recommit to, a real America built on pluralism, democracy, dignity, equality and human rights for all.

Breakthrough multimedia director Heidi Boisvert says that, by placing America 2049 on Facebook, “Breakthrough is using one of the Web’s most popular cultural platforms to create the possibility of changing culture itself.” The game also features appearances by Harold Perrineau (LOST), Victor Garber (Alias), Cherry Jones (24), Anthony Rapp (Rent) and Margaret Cho (Notorious C.H.O.), who generously donated their time and talents to help Breakthrough put a human face on complex social issues.

“’America 2049’ entertains and enlightens about the real-world issues of acceptance and tolerance,” said Harold Perrineau. “The project resonated with me because I love the idea of people fighting at all costs for their right to pursue the life they choose without fear of persecution. I hope that through playing ‘America 2049,’ young people in particular will be inspired to help stop institutionalized hatred and intolerance — today.”

Breakthrough is definitely hitting a hot spot between online social gaming and social networking and leveraging the largest social network may actually allow them to hit their mark. Play America 2049 on Facebook and tell us what you think.

Following in the path of British-born rappers Young MC and Slick Rick is now easier with the latest announcement from 4mm games. The company is offering potential UK rappers and hip-hop artists the chance of landing a record deal with Atlantic Records via a competition based around its new game, Def Jam Rapstar. The recording deal competition is part of a marketing initiative connected to the new rapping game in order to discover new music talent in the UK.

Emcees can submit their best track using Def Jam Rockstar’s freestyle mode with beats from the best producers in the world such as DJ Premier, Just Blaze and Cool & Dre. Once complete, players can upload the video and be judged in a national competition. Real talent scouts from Def Jam Records will also monitor the videos searching for the next diamond in the rough.

UK-based retailer HMV is the nationwide sponsor for this effort, hosting potential stars in its Gamerbase stores. Any talent interested in making it big can go into HMV stores as of January 1,2011 next year to record their performances or, of course, they can buy a copy of the game and work on their world-conquering rap from the comfort of their lounge.

“Rapstar’s social community not only gives players the chance to perform their favourite hip-hop songs and show off their emcee skills, but it also builds a platform for us to discover new talent,” said Kevin Liles, president and CEO, Def Jam Interactive. In fact, Liles keeps a silent presence on the DefJam Rapstar YouTube channel where you can see a weekly top 10 of the best performances.

Def Jam Rapstar allows you to launch your own rap career. Create your own music video (of an existing song or a freestyle) with an attached console camera, edit in any special effects and upload it to the Rapstar community and get instant feedback. Watch your back though, because you could get challenged to a battle as you work your way up the leaderboards. As witnessed from the example above, this is not only a game, it has the  potential to become a legit way to get yourself (and your skills) out there for all to see.

Anyone with a PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii have this game already? If not, trade in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, scoop this up and give us the rundown in the comments section.

Xbox Live has an update coming to their platform on November 4th. Included in the update is Netflix Search, ESPN and Zune Music. The one addition that catches most people’s eye is the ESPN factor. Note you must be an Xbox Live Gold Member. Let’s take a look at what is included in the ESPN portion of the update.

The update has access to over 3,500 live and on-demand sporting events throughout the year, including out-of-market games on ESPN3.com. There is also an interactive feature that allows you to keep up with scores of ongoing games without leaving the game you are watching. Also, with the superior chat feature that LIVE has, you can voice chat with up to seven different people while watching a game. This is a gift for people who live out of market from their favorite teams. Watch and talk with your friends on the east coast while you are living on the west coast.

The Zune features are also quite impressive. Users are now able to watch thousands of music videos on 1080p on the Xbox. For the first time in the US, U.K., France, Italy and Spain, Xbox live members can enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of millions of songs via a Zune Pass music subscription and see what their friends are listening to on the largest screen in the house. Plus, in December, this feature will also be available on your Windows 7 Phone.

Netflix Search now will become available in Canada as well but what is probably most impressive is that this update coincides with the launch of Kinect. This means that all of these new features can be accessed and navigated by simply your voice and the wave of a hand. Wow. A small bonus feature for Video Kinect is that it will integrate with Windows Live Messenger which allows Xbox Live members to video chat with people all over the world.

Note that you have to be a paying member of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Zune to have 100% access to these features. Also, check with your ISP to determine your access to ESPN3.com (although a $4.95 subscription to ESPN Insider is an easy way to get access).

The updates to Xbox Live’s service are very attractive, exciting and keeps Xbox’s service well ahead of PlayStation 3. Black Web 2.0 Nation, what are your thoughts on the Xbox Live update coming in November? Meet us in the comments section.

M. Jack fans your time is now. According to MichaelJackson.com, the King of Pop’s long-awaited new video game is available for pre-order. Titled “Michael Jackson The Experience.” the game will feature a combination of dancing and singing, sort of like a Dance Dance Revolution/Singstar Karoake mashup. Created by Ubisoft, the developer behind the worldwide hit series Assassin’s Creed, this latest game will have players stepping into the iconic shoes of “The Gloved One”, performing some of his biggest hits including “Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, and “Earth Song”.

While the game will appear on all next-gen consoles (Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox), if you want a truly interactive Michael Jackson experience, you might want to go with the Xbox Kinect version. That’s right, Microsoft has found a way to get gamers skeptical of the “me-too” stunt Sony and Microsoft has pulled with the introduction of motion controllers, to pony up some cold-hard cash for the Kinect add-on. The Kinect version of the game has some interesting interactive features that if properly executed could potentially make Michael Jackson The Experience a big seller with massive replay appeal. The game is set to release sometime in November, just in time for the holiday shopping melee.

The features include:

• Single player gameplay, multiplayer dance challenges, dance crew performances and jump-in/jump-out features make The Experience the ultimate party game.
• A crew of expert backup dancers and Michael’s Dance School help take your performance to the next level – great for beginners and experienced performers.
• Next gen technology allows players to interact with the music in new and amazing ways, letting them star in their own Michael Jackson video.
• Players have the option to sing along to their favorite tracks while simultaneously showing off their dance moves, providing the ultimate pop star experience.
• Kinect version leverages proprietary Player Projection technology that puts their image in the game.

If that isn’t enough MJ video game goodness for you, Jackson’s estate has also inked a deal with SEE Virtual Worlds for Planet Michael, a 3D computer environment that will allow players visit Jackson’s Neverland Ranch as well as explore conceptual continents created around the artist’s music and life. According to USA Today, the game is slated to release sometime next year and will be free to download. Players will be able to create custom avatars and purchase virtual items.

“We put a focus on something that will truly allow fans to immerse themselves in a Michael Jackson-like universe or music-video-like world and interact with each other and then go on adventures and do gameplay stuff and socialize,” says Josh Gordon of developer SEE Virtual Worlds.

Before Jackson’s untimely passing, he was pursuing a comeback. That comeback included creating games and interactive experiences. Michael Jackson was always ahead of the curve, let’s hope that these games can do the man known as The King of Pop some justice.

Will you be playing either of Michael’s new games? Share your thoughts in the comments section