Neowin.net

Not necessarily the worst, but the most wrong -- here are 10 of the most seriously flawed titles of all time.

Steel yourself for some of the most shameful, pain-inducing video games out there. Are these the worst games of all time? Well, that depends on your definition of "worst." Is it worse for a game to be boring, offensive, poorly designed, or simply stupid? It's hard to say, and there are plenty of games out there that fit one or more of those descriptions. It doesn't take much to be simply a bad game, but to be truly shameful, a game has to have something more… or maybe less. If the game makes you wince, it probably has that special something.

Maybe it has to do with expectations. Let's face it -- you expect some games to be bad. If they aren't, you're pleasantly surprised; if they are, you quickly put them away and forget about them. But the truly shameful games have something fundamentally wrong with them that makes them stick out as examples of flawed game design, even if they do manage to include a few redeeming factors. So, these 10 titles may not be the WORST of all time, but they are far, far from being the best. Now, on with the list!

10. Impossible Mission (Atari 7800)
9. Donkey Kong (Intellivision)
8. Bebe's Kids (Super NES)
7. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)
6. Atari 5200 Joysticks
5. Action 52 (Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System)
4. Pac-Man (Atari 2600)
3. Superman (Nintendo 64)
2. Super Pitfall (Nintendo Entertainment System)
1. Custer's Revenge (Atari 2600)

Why are these shameful games? Read the full article on GameSpy.

News source: GameSpy

In its suit, Sendo is alleging that Microsoft developed a "secret plan" to "plunder" Sendo's intellectual property, proprietary hardware expertise and trade secrets and transfer them to low-cost original equipment manufacturers such as High Tech.

The complaint also alleged that Microsoft used Sendo's relationships with carriers such as Orange to establish its own contractual relationships with mobile carriers. Van Hooren said that Sendo is "looking into the legal implications" of the Orange/Microsoft relationship, but she declined to provide further details. She added that Sendo has discussed selling the Z100 with Orange.

Microsoft spokesman Jon Murchinson declined to comment on the Sendo lawsuit because the company was still reviewing the filing. Orange spokeswoman Sally Quigg said her company views the lawsuit as a matter between Sendo and Microsoft.

Sendo, in its complaint, is charging that after gaining access to Sendo's intellectual property and hardware, Microsoft drove "Sendo to the brink of bankruptcy." Sendo said that Microsoft was late in delivering software and was unresponsive to Sendo's requests to fix software bugs and make changes through the spring of this year. Microsoft also failed to provide $14 million in financing, and Sendo had problems raising funds from outside sources, the complaint said.

The suit also says that under their agreement, if Sendo filed for bankruptcy, Microsoft would be allowed to obtain a royalty-free license to use the intellectual property Sendo had developed for its Z100 Smartphone.

Sendo said that around October, Marc Brown, who was a director of Microsoft's corporate development and strategy group and a Sendo board member, suggested that the company consider filing for bankruptcy. On Oct. 28, Sendo said Brown resigned from its board, and the next day the company terminated its relationship with Microsoft. Since then, Sendo said, it has made "repeated requests" to Microsoft to return its intellectual property. Microsoft, Sendo added, has "failed and refused" to return this property while at the same time forging relationships with mobile phone carriers and handset manufacturers around the world.

Sendo said Microsoft has gained an advantage in the mobile phone market by "its secret plan to pillage Sendo of its technology, convert that technology to its own use, steal Sendo's customers and leave Sendo cash-starved and on the brink of receivership." Sendo is seeking an unspecified monetary award in the suit.

Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass., said he views the dissolution of the Sendo/Microsoft relationship in October -- shortly before the Z100 was to hit the market -- "surprising, because it was a quite innovative product." Mathias said he had no insight into the allegations Sendo is making in its lawsuit, but he did say that Microsoft is "a corporation that has acted ruthlessly in the past."

Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies Inc. in Campbell, Calif., said Microsoft needed partners such as Sendo because it has been unsuccessful in its attempts to make alliances with major mobile phone players such as Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc.

"Microsoft has been running behind" in mobile phone technology, Bajarin said. He added that Microsoft views the Smartphone as a key extension of its products designed to serve enterprise markets and workers "anytime, anywhere."