Category: Gaming (Page 13 of 19)

      Nintendo Rejected New Technologies From Microsoft And Sony

      June 6, 2009 /

      Satoru Iwata.According to a Financial Times report this week, Nintendo toyed with technologies similar to Project Natal and the Sony wand announced at E3 and rejected them, citing better results from Nintendo’s own accelerometers. Nintendo apparently made experimental games using hardware rigs that were similar to those from Sony and Microsoft.

      Financial Times says this is Nintendo’s way of throwing the gauntlet at the feet of it’s two competitors. I say it’s more like a schoolyard insult from a company that sees its highly successful strategy adapted to fit the more hardcore consoles. Nintendo has sold some 50 million units worldwide, compared to 30 million 360s and just 23 million PS3s. As Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, says, “Companies whose people said that motion-sensing wouldn’t work are now proposing motion sensors.” Will they be able to top the Wii?

      Despite what FT says, Mr. Iwata seems nervous, and a little confused “Until they say when they’re releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with, we won’t know whether that is the route we should have taken.” So Nintendo rejected the technologies because the Wii had a better solution, but it’s still potentially a route Nintendo should have taken? Sounds like Nintendo dumped a hot girl, found out about her incredible new boyfriend and stands waiting for the wedding vows to make an objection.

      Source: Financial Times

      Gaming, microsoft

      A Collection of Wii trailers from E3

      June 5, 2009 /

      Here’s a few of my favorite Wii trailers from this year’s E3:

      First, Super Mario Galaxy 2. This looks to be an amazing follow-up to what could be considered the best game on the Wii. The graphics and gameplay again look great and you can never go wrong by adding Yoshii.

      Also, New Super Mario Bros. Wii looks awesome. I play the DS version and can’t put it down… even months after completing the final level. This looks great!

      And finally, even though it’s a XBox 360 and Playstation 3 title as well, you have to marvel at the quality of The Beatles: Rock Band trailer.

      Gaming

      Microsoft Confirms Xbox 360’s 10-Year Life Cycle

      June 5, 2009 /

      I’ve had a hunch, ever since Sony announced the 10-year life cycle for the PS3, that the Xbox 360 would take the same route. After all, who wants to launch a console months or years in front of a competitor, giving them plenty of time to get their hands on your stuff and gain some serious advantage.

      While talking to Venturebeat, Microsoft VP in charge of strategy and business for interactive entertainment, Shane Kim, has confirmed the 10-year plan as official policy. This is no surprise whatsoever coming on the heels of the Project Natal announcement, but it’s nice to hear you won’t have to give up on the big investment you’ve likely already made into your console.

      Kim also took to the interview like a victor in battle, claiming Microsoft “won” E3 with their keynote address. “We had a lot of content for a normal E3 briefing. But Project Natal doesn’t come along every year, and it is very difficult to match,” Kim said. True, and with Sony’s new wand device, Microsoft is sitting just where Nintendo was before E3, the the pioneer trying to get more people playing games, instead of getting gamers to play more games.

      Kim said Natal is a mid-cycle release for the 360, so we’ll have at least another 5 years to see how Sony and Nintendo plan to answer.

      Source: Venturebeat

      Gaming, microsoft

      Pocket Retro Game Emulator

      June 4, 2009 /

      I love ThinkGeek. It’s a great site for purchasing all things geek. And you have to admit, there’s at least a little geek in all of us.

      Yesterday, while sifting through the “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1” t-shirts and “The Linux Fish!” car magnets, I found something great. They posted a “Pocket Retro Game Emulator.” Here are the dets:

      Pocket Retro Game Emulator• Mini Handheld gaming system plays roms from your favorite 8 and 16 bit game consoles
      • No emulator software to load. Just copy over the roms and start playing.
      • 4GB of internal storage, expandable via mini SD
      • Beautiful 2.8 inch QVGA (320×240) LCD Screen
      • Output to TV via included composite video cables
      • Full media player functions including videos, music, FM radio, e-books and voice recorder
      • Built-in Stereo Speakers
      • Internal li-battery gives 6-8 hours of runtime on a single charge

      Not that we here at Gadget Teaser condone any downloading of roms, it would be sweet to have one of these things loaded with them. Plus, at 4GB, you could have thousands of them. I’d say it’s worth the $99 price tag for sure.

      Gaming

      Sony Says You Still Need Buttons

      June 3, 2009 /

      The Sony Wand.Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s Project Natal announcement, Sony entered the motion capture battle with their very own…Wiimote? In fact, yes, and from the looks of their demonstration, it’s a pretty slick little device.

      The presentation wasn’t groundbreaking, and reused a lot of the “motion is the future of gaming” hype, but Sony did highlight the main difference between their wand and Project Natal: buttons. In a shot across Microsoft’s prow, Sony said, “buttons are needed for some experiences.” They followed up by showing off the motion capture games we all expect: tennis, swordplay, baseball, and painting. Control looked pretty solid, and offers some benefits (like the ability to grab) over Natal (along with the aforementioned buttons), like the ability to control your game when you’re outside Natal’s viewing area.

      According to CEO Jack Tretton, Sony’s version of the Wiimote, which seems to still be nameless, will be available in Spring of 2010. I’m surprised it’s so late. Though the tech seemed solid, and the level of control impressive, releasing it so late gives plenty of time for people to get entrenched with a Wii Motion Plus. And though it is hard to imagine a game without buttons, it was also hard to imagine a game without analog sticks, or a traditional two hand controller, and look at the device Sony’s announcing – a deviation from those conventional forms of control.

      Can Sony win the future of motion control, or will they just be a Wii with excellent graphics?

      Image: Electronista

      Gaming, microsoft

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