Video Games & Gaming

Is Halo the New RuneScape?

October 24, 2008

Nintendo has launched Wii Music, letting up to four players mimic the real-life motions of playing instruments with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers.

Players will be able to mimic the motions of more than 60 real-life instruments using the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers to learn to play along with more than 50 songs -- and the game encourages players to improvise, making their own music, mixes and arrangements.

Unlike games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which are very competitive, the goal of Wii Music apparently is simply to be creative and have fun experimenting with instruments, styles and musical elements.

Songs available in Wii Music include familiar melodies like "Ode to Joy" and pop tunes like "Every Breath You Take" -- along with tunes Nintendo fans know and love.

Time for more singalongs with Mario!

More at Digital Trends.

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Video Games & Gaming

Sony PSP Extends Download Capabilities

October 20, 2008

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

Alienware Comes to Best Buy

October 17, 2008

Let the buyers beware!

You might notice a few extra gamers hanging around your local Best Buy -- Dell has announced it will sell the Alienware Aurora exclusively through 200 Besy Buy locations as well as the store's website.

People are defining themselves by the products they choose and the groups they associate with -- Alienware Aurora lovers are saying "I am a serious gamer and user who demands the best in personal computing."

Designed for the serious gaming crowd, the Aurora has an AMD Phenom X4 9550 quad-core CPU, dual ATI Radeon HD 4850 GPUs, a 500GB3 7,200RPM hard drive and 4GB of DDR2 memory.

Other features include a multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive, Alien Ice 3.0 cooling and Windows Vista Home Premium.

Price: $1,699.99 (without monitor, mouse and keyboard).

More at Electronic House.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Video Games & Gaming

Obama Campaigns on Xbox 360!

October 14, 2008

No, you are not seeing things ...

Last week there were unconfirmed sightings of an "Obama for President" billboard in the Xbox 360 racing game Burnout Paradise.

Today the truth can be told. It is, in fact, an official advertisement placed by the senator's campaign team.

"I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," revealed Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts (EA), the game's publisher.

EA regularly allows ad placements in its online games.

"Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates," she added. "Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams."

Now can we expect to see a McCain ad in some video game, too?

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

More of Us Will Be Living in a 3D Virtual World

October 14, 2008

An increasing number of industry players will help push 3D virtual worlds into a sustainable industry, reaching 33 million registered users by 2013, according to Virtual Worlds: the Internet of Avatars.

This new report from Parks Associates details the evolution of the virtual world value chain, which has added a variety of different companies and providers in its relatively short period of existence.

3D virtual world platform companies, world operators and full-service agencies form the core of the virtual world ecosystem, providing services to consumers, media companies, advertisers and enterprises.

However, content and application developers and service providers are becoming increasingly important.

Parks Associates will distribute a free whitepaper titled "Virtual Worlds and Social Media" at the Virtual Worlds London conference, October 20-21.

So, will Second Life have a second life?

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

Less Merry Xmas: Sony Keeping PS3 Pricing As Is

October 13, 2008

Sony has ruled out cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 console before Christmas, insisting that the PS3 is better value than rivals half its price.

(Maybe time to rethink that in today's -- or at least last week's -- economy?)

With up to 50% of video game sales made in the run-up to Christmas, Sony is gambling that despite the weak economy, consumers will not just buy the cheapest machine.

If they do, Sony could lose further ground to Nintendo's Wii and to Microsoft's entry-level Xbox 360, which sells for $199 in the U.S. after a price cut in September - half the $399 cost of the cheapest PS3.

Sony argues that the basic Xbox has no hard disk drive, while the PS3 plays High-Definition Blu-ray movies as standard.

Sony launched its third PlayStation model in the line in November 2006. The PS3 competes most directly with the Xbox 360. Both are high-powered consoles that have sold well to gaming enthusiasts, but neither has matched the casual appeal and rapid success of the much cheaper Wii.

More at the Financial Times.

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

Do We Need a Digital Bill of Rights?

October 6, 2008

TechCrunch, much like the Digital Freedom Campaign, believes we need a Digital Bill of Rights to serve as "a consistent policy governing everything from Internet Protocol regulations to intellectual property on the Web."

The Digital Freedom Campaign focuses on the first three issues laid out in the TechCrunch piece -- "The Right to Use and Reuse Content," "The Right to Control Digital Property On Your Own Device" and "The Right to the Free Flow of Information."

The presidential election gives us a chance to turn the page and move forward, with support and guidance from policymakers, into a bright digital future.

Now let's see if anyone in Washington is listening.

Read more about it at TechCrunch.

And then cast your vote!

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Satellite Radio, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

See, Video Games Are Good for You

October 3, 2008

Games and virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular tools for training by the army, various police forces and even in medical applications. If a new pilot program called "InSight" pans out for Allstate, though, the next place you could be seeing video games is at the local DMV.

Allstate is currently piloting a new program which seeks to find out if playing driving video games could make better drivers out of those over age 50.

If the study shows that it can, the insurance company plans to offer discounts to mature drivers who pass the online tests and the current, single-state pilot would be spread across other states next year.

The initial run at the program is taking place in Pennsylvania, where select drivers aged 50 to 75 will be brought in to test out the special games as part of a free option in the customers' current insurance plan. The total number of hours played by this experimental group will be tracked and then accident rates will be compared to a control group that had no contact with the games.

Posit Science, a software developer from San Francisco, is behind the games in question.

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

Nintendo's New DS Goes Music, Camera, Wireless

September 29, 2008

Posted in Video Games & Gaming

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VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Video Games & Gaming

Is Halo the New RuneScape?

Wii Takes It to the Music

Sony PSP Extends Download Capabilities

Alienware Comes to Best Buy

Obama Campaigns on Xbox 360!

More of Us Will Be Living in a 3D Virtual World

Less Merry Xmas: Sony Keeping PS3 Pricing As Is

Do We Need a Digital Bill of Rights?

See, Video Games Are Good for You

Nintendo's New DS Goes Music, Camera, Wireless