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SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 24, 2013

The roster of companies interested in acquiring a stake in Hulu is growing. In addition to The Chernin Group (in partnership with Providence Equity), Guggenheim Digital, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable — whose bids were reported on Thursday night and Friday morning — Yahoo, private equity firm KKR and talent agency William Morris Endeavor (in partnership with Silver Lake) have also placed bids, according to AllThingsD and Bloomberg. AllThingsD reported earlier this month that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer had met with Hulu executives, but after the company dropped $1.1 billion on Tumblr and another several million for gaming platform PlayerScale earlier this week, it seemed that the company might not go ahead with a bid. But that appears not to be the case — and even after the Tumblr acquisition, Yahoo has around $4 billion in cash to spend. Read more...More about Yahoo, Hulu, William Morris Agency, Time Warner Cable, and Directv

With Madden 25 right around the corner, we decided to compile a list of some of our favorite tips and strategies that hold true in every Madden game regardless of the year, console, or skill level of the person playing. Use A Custom Playbook in Madden 25 With the ability to finally use a custom playbook in connected franchise mode in Madden 25, you no longer have an excuse not to use one (other than you are just lazy). Ask any pro Madden gamer how hard it is to stop over 300 of the best plays in the game consistently. It is a living nightmare that your opponent will have to try to defend. Unless you are in a Madden 25 league, tournament, or game that doesn't allow custom playbooks, create one and get comfortable with it. Pay Attention to What Your Opponent is Doing Does your opponent like to call a certain play when he comes out in a specific formation? Does your opponent only run to the side of the field with the most room? Is your opponent only calling pass plays? All 3 of these questions can often be answered by a resounding, "Yes!" You should be able to pick up on your opponents tendencies by the 2nd half. Once you pick up what your opponent is doing, you can dominate any Madden game, especially Madden 25, without using any specific tips or money plays. Focus on Defense While paying attention can help you win games, their will be times when you are completely outmatched and you really have no shot of winning. No matter what schemes or strategies you are using, nothing seems to work. 99% of Madden NFL players in this situation get frustrated and just give up by either quitting or mentally checking out. But it is at this point that the elite Madden 25 gamer would take out a pen and paper (or a tablet for those of you technologically advanced) and start taking notes on what your opponent is doing. If you can't stop it, chances are a large majority of other people you play won't be able too either. Mark down things like what formation it is, who the open receiver(s) is, when they come open, what routes every other receiver runs, and the timing of the play. Then after the game go find the play and head into practice mode to perfect it for yourself. At this point you have just turned one of the most frustrating moments of a Madden 25 game into an entire year of dominance. Every heard the saying, "Defense wins championships?" The same holds true in any Madden video game. The best professional Madden gamers win the big tournaments because of their defense. At the highest levels, everyone knows the same sort of tips, money plays, and schemes on offense. Those Madden 25 tips will be shared on Madden-School.com, Youtube, and other websites. Defense is generally harder to master and therefore harder to share. Offense will come to you if you follow the tip above this and just observe what works for your opponent and simply incorporate bits and pieces of other people's offenses into your own. Read more Madden tips at Madden School > Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

You must think quickly to dominate Tetris Blitz for iOS and Android. Electronic Arts' newest game gives you just two minutes to achieve a high score. Where should tetriminos go? Which power-ups should you buy? No worries. You'll score tons of points by following these puzzle-solving tips. -Quickly form lines to build the Frenzy meter on the left. Filling it activates Frenzy Mode, which lets you form chain reactions that result in big-time combos; lines are worth double points. -Frenzy blocks allow you to make longer cascades. -Equipping power-ups before playing is the best way to score the most points. Tap the question mark next to each power-up for a description of what it does. You may equip up to three at a time. -A weekly power-up is available for a limited time unless you purchase it outright or use it a set number of times to permanently add the item to your collection. -Power-up blocks randomly fall into place, and you must form lines that incorporate these special tetriminos to activate them. -Unused power-ups will automatically trigger when time expires. -Like the Tetris Blitz Facebook page to receive 1,000 coins. Click here to see more Tetris Blitz tips > Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

A new report, stemming from a "high-ranking UK industry source, has explained that the consumer won't actually be the one paying the £35 activation fee for a used Xbox One game. Instead, the retailer will be paying the fee, so you will only be forced to pay whatever the retailer is selling it for. Although you can bet that a £35 fee -- which Microsoft is said to still be deciding on -- can result in some pretty pricey used games. In essence, Microsoft will control the cost of used games because of this fee. If the activation fee -- which will go to both the publisher and Microsoft -- is too high, the retailer won't be able to offer the game for much cheaper. It's unclear if the fee will increase or decrease depending on time, but you can bet that pre-owned games will be a tad bit more expensive then they are now. Sony's plans for pre-owned games have not fully been explained either, but the source doubts we'll see something similar on the PS4. Read more about the Xbox One at GameZone > Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Larry Hryb, aka Microsoft's "Major Nelson," has revealed what game cases will look like for the new Xbox One. The picture shown here is the box design for Forza Motorsport 5, which Microsoft Game Studios announced at the Xbox Reveal show on Tuesday. Turn 10 Studios is developing the racing game, which is the latest entry in the long-running Xbox series. What do you think of the new style? It's amazingly elegant and sleek, especially compared to the old model. Below is a look at the Forza 4 case. Read more at GameZone > Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

The very first thing I noticed when playing Legacy Tales: Mercy of the Gallows was the soothing, realistic sound of waves gently lapping, as if I were standing on a windy dock. That and the background music do a great job of setting the perfect tone for this pirate adventure. While the sound effects throughout the game are really great, I found myself wishing the narrator would speak a little faster. I found myself cutting him off and hitting "next" because I had already read the page and the narrator was only halfway through... come on already... I don't have all day! The graphics in Legacy Tales: Mercy of the Gallows are strikingly detailed and beautiful. Unlike other games of the genre, however, the screens took awhile to load. I thought maybe it was my computer but changing the settings or restarting didn't seem to resolve these issues, so the slowness appears to be game-based. The main characters, William van der Decken and his wife Isabele, lived long ago and are the subject of local folklore. The sea captain and his wife lived in a fairy-tale-like castle located, of course, on a dock. Read the full review at CasualGameGuides > Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

If there's one thing gamers have been clamoring for, it's more badger simulators. And by "more," we mean "one singular" badger simulator, because to our knowledge, there is no such genre. SEE ALSO: 10 Exciting Indie Games We Can't Wait to Play That's about to change, thanks to Swedish indie studio Might and Delight, makers of the charming 2012 platformer Pid. In its new game, Shelter, a player assumes the role of a mother badger, who must forage for food and protect her cubs from the dangers of — wherever badgers live. Cleveland? I don't know. The studio dropped a video (watch above) of some early gameplay, and in general, people have been reacting online with: "What the f ... oh. Oh, this is kinda cool!" Read more...More about Entertainment, Gaming, and Honey Badger

This Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S. kicks off the start of the summer travel season. You might have a trip or two meticulously planned and carefully entered into your Google Calendar for the summer vacation months. But what if your travel destinations were crowdsourced — partially dictated by someone else? A New York couple is ready to hit the road, depending on the whims of family, friends and random people in a crowdsourced road trip. Meet John Ellis and Laura Preston. They call themselves "The Democratic Travelers." Akin to their democratic nickname, the couple is spending a year driving across the United States and stopping at destinations that people suggest and vote for on John's and Laura's "The Democratic Travelers" website. Read more...More about Travel, Crowdsourcing, Vacation, Traveling, and Lifestyle

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