Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
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God of War III comes out today (YES!), and with all the hoopla surrounding it, I thought this would actually be a good time to recommend/pay tribute to the other God of War games. I’ll explain. I’ve always considered myself to be a hardcore gamer — up on the big new releases, aware of what’s going on in the industry — but for some reason, I completely missed out on God of War and God of War II . I have no idea why. I hadn’t really slacked off in my gaming at all. (Maybe I was still collecting all those dumb shards in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker . That took forever.) Yet I didn’t buy them when they were first released, and I didn’t really know anything about them. Anyway, sometime in 2007, the Wii was my current system of choice, and I was making my way through Paper Mario . It was alright: It controlled well, it looked nice, and it was cute. But I’d continually be asking myself, “Am I having fun?” I really was becoming jaded and disinterested in games at that point, I’d realized. One day I found myself at a Best Buy, and saw God of War for PS2, now a Greatest Hits title, priced at $19.99. I still really had no idea what it was about or what type of game it was. I just knew the name. What the hell, I thought. Let’s do this. All hyperbole aside, I was truly blown away. I’d never seen anything like God of War — the music, the graphics, the scale, and the sheer fun of it all. The brilliance of Kratos’ weaponry, combos, and pace gaining new powers. I thought about Paper Mario — and not to throw Nintendo under the bus, because I truly love that company and its games — but this was way ahead of anything the competition was doing, especially something like Paper Mario. And I wasn’t impressed by just the game; the bonus making-of documentary was fascinating and, most importantly, brutally honest. Kudos to Sony for including it. Overall, the experience completely reinvigorated my love of gaming and led me to rethink the possibilities of the medium. I bought God of War II the day after finishing God of War . It was also quite excellent, if slightly weaker and sloppy in the story department, but was still a great entertainment. So yes, I’m excited for God of War III. But if you, like I once was, are unaware of the God of War franchise or what all the hubbub is about, trust me. Pick up the God of War Collection (an HD remastered package of the first two games) for PS3. It’s a great way to get up to speed, and you will be amazed; if you care about games or gaming history — or just want to experince Greek mythology on steroids — it’s essential.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Monday, March 15th, 2010
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So here’s a quick rundown on what’s going on with the new Nintendo DS, tentatively called the DS2 but, knowing Nintendo , they’ll probably call it the WiiDSBoard2Screen or something. The first improvement is an almost bezel-less set of two screens, so close together that they can act as one. It will also have an accelerometer and the dev kit is out and folks are currently working on games with an eye on an announcement at E3 and a 2010 release. Raymond , who unearthed this info, talked only to devs and not Nintendo proper, so most of this information could be false. However, ‘tendo knows they need to keep moving lest they fall behind the iPhone juggernaut, so there’s definitely a chance he’s right.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
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After trying to find a way to remotely control their DSLRs, the clever hackers at HDRLabs couldn’t really find anything that would do what they wanted. So what did they do? Built a control of their own, using a Nintendo DS. HDRLabs went on to make the device available, for free . All you have to do is build one yourself. So this is kind of a DIY project, if for no other reason then you can’t buy this, but you can buy all the parts (and download the instructions) on how to build it. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s easy, but the end result is incredibly cool. You’re going to need to take apart a camera release, a WarioWare: Twisted cartridge, and don’t even think about using this on a DSi. What’s the gain? Well, there’s a fairly large homebrew community sprouting up, but the basic set up gives you a sound activate trigger, motion sensor, time-lapse, and sun and moon rise awareness. Considering that this is a just a bunch of hackers building something that they couldn’t buy color me impressed. My only question is when can I get one for my Nikon? [via Electronista ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 12th, 2010
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Last month, we reported that according to some rumors in the industry, Sony is seriously considering relaunching their portable gaming device, the PSP Go, with a price cut and marketing campaign. And today, Tokyo-based research firm Media Create released [JP] the latest hardware sales numbers for Japan, one of the biggest video game markets in the world. And these numbers indicate that sales-wise, the PSP Go is poised to go down as the biggest failure in recent video gaming history: According to Media Create, a mere 1,275 units were sold all over Japan between March 1 and 7. By way of comparison: The Nintendo DS Lite (not the DSi or the XL) found 4,316 buyers in the same time frame. The regular PSP (the best portable gaming device ever in my opinion), on the other hand, was the No. 1 console, selling 64,808 units in that week. Sony was able to sell just 17,618 PSP GO [GER] in the ten weeks between December 28, 2009 and March 7, 2010 - an almost unbelievably low number. Good for Sony that in the same time frame, 667,961 of the regular PSPs were sold, making that device the best-selling game system in Japan in 2010 (if you ignore the three-way split of the DS systems). In Japan, the PSP Go currently goes for 26,800 Yen , a more than steep price when compared to the 16,800 to 19,800 Yen buyers have to pay for a PSP-300o or the 29,980 Yen a PS3 costs (10,000 Yen=$110). It looks like the rumored price cuts, marketing campaigns and hardware changes don’t come out of nowhere.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
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It’s not a huge deal – $7 off – but if you’re in the market for a new DS, maybe to rock some Pokemon (now with Pokewalkers! ™ ) eCost has a rectified DS Lite (not the DSi) for $88. Obviously this thing is refurbished so don’t expect it to have that new Mario smell – an admixture of garlic and patchoulli, judging by Mario’s dreams in Super Mario World 2 – but it’s black and it’s fun for the whole family.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
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Fuel cells are on their way into the mainstream, even though the commercially available models are still pretty pricey . But there are companies like Kyoto-based Aquafairy [JP], for example, preparing affordable fuel cells, too. Their four new fuel cells are intended to make gadget fans in particular happy: the micro FC Stick (0.8W), the FC-Stick (2W), the FC-Cube (3W) and the FC-Cube Dual (6W). The graphic above shows just a selection of gadgets that can be powered by these hydrogen/oxygen-based fuel cells (the video embedded below, for example, shows a robot that runs on two FC-Sticks). An FC-Stick can supply enough energy to charge a cell phone, while the FC-Cube is able to power a Nintendo DS. An FC-Cube Dual, connected to a lithium-ion battery, can power a standard notebook for about 3 hours. Aquafairy is planning to sell their fuel cells, which consist of a power unit and a hydrogen cartridge, within this year (in Japan, at least). An FC-Stick, for example, will cost $22, with one cartridge setting buyers back $1.10 (the carts can be replaced). Watch this video for more info (courtesy of DigInfoNews , Tokyo):
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
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So I got a random delivery today, and I was quite surprised to see it was from Nintendo. Even more surprising was when I opened the box and saw they had sent me the two latest Pokemon games, HeartGold and SoulSilver . What was even more interesting was when I started to read the enclosed literature that explained exactly what’s new about these two games. One of the criticisms leveled at video games is that they encourage children to sit on the couch instead of going outside. Nintendo has of course bucked this trend with the Wii Fit and other games that have been coming out recently that encourage getting up and moving around. Imagine my surprise when I saw that HeartGold and SoulSilver include something called a “Pokewalker”. What is a Pokewalker? Well, apparently you can download your favorite Pokemon into a small pedometer that you clip to your clothing, and then you take your Pokemon for a walk. Walking your Pokemon will increase it’s happiness, help it to gain experience points, and even help you to catch other species of Pokemon. Kids (and let’s be honest, adults too) can connect two Pokewalkers to gain special gifts. I love it! Gameplay is the same as the other Pokemon games, but feels closest to the most recent release, Pokemon Diamond . This is actually a great thing, since Pokemon Diamond is considered to be one of the best games of the franchise. I haven’t had a chance to try the Pokewalker yet, but I’ll update this story after I reach the level where I can use it.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
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Technology analyst firm Strategy Analytics just announced their latest forecast: Sony’s Playstation 3 will will outsell the Wii and Xbox 360 by the time they all end their product cycle. Say what? Unfortunately analysts are a trusted source in the tech industry, but stuff like this makes me wonder why. SA predicted that 127 million PS3 units will be sold, 103 million Wii units, and an unknown number of Xbox 360’s. That’s right, despite the prediction that the PS3 will win 4evar, they didn’t bother to predict how many Xbox 360s will be sold. SA furthermore goes to predict that the PS3 will continue to be a commercially viable platform for years after the Wii has been replaced by it’s successor. I buy that, but only due to the Blu-ray angle. For years now, the PS3 has been one of the best Blu-ray players other there. The author of the report goes one step further, predicting that while Nintendo has done a great job with the Wii, it’ll probably peak sometime during 2011, with the Xbox 360 doing the same in 2012 and the PS3 in 2014. All I know for sure is that I’m in the wrong business – Strategy Analytics is charging $6,999 for this report. Please don’t go buy it . [via PC World ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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Brando presents us with the Buffalo USB Nintendo PC Game Pad. Priced at $22 plus $3 shipping, it’s a somewhat enticing purchase given the fact that it’s made by a pretty well known company as opposed to other more gray-market Nintendo USB gamepads. This one’s about the size of your favorite old-school NES controller but you get a few extra buttons beyond A, B, Select, and Start. There are two shoulder buttons, X and Y buttons, and Turbo/Clear buttons. The shoulder and X/Y buttons, especially, ought to lend themselves nicely to some Super Nintendo emulation on top of NES emulation. Buffalo USB Nintendo PC Game Pad [Brando]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
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The explosion of casual gaming over the last few years, primed by companies like PopCap and touched off by Nintendo’s incredibly accessible Wii, has put gaming firmly in the mainstream. Halo, Grand Theft Auto , and other AAA games, while not by any stretch of the imagination “casual,” end up selling in the tens of millions of units, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue. Nintendo employees were said to generate more money per employee than Goldman Sachs , and the growth of the industry was barely hampered by recession. Despite all this, there is still a double misapprehension about the gaming world: “non-gamers” think games are for gamers, and “gamers” think games are… well, for them . The reality is that games have reached the point where games are simply a product, easily divisible into categories the way TV shows and movies, and indeed things like cameras and microwaves are. Games used to be made for gamers, and money was a pleasant by-product. Now the game is a pleasant by-product of the money-making process. And the DSi XL is a perfect exemplar of this new situation. Later this month , Nintendo will be shipping the device, essentially a super-sized DSi; it will be the fourth iteration of the insanely popular handheld gaming console. The question brought up by Nintendo fans when it was announced was obvious: who asked for this? The DSi was just recently released, with a slightly larger and brighter screen than its predecessor, the DS Lite, and along with its new online store and dual cameras, it seemed to be an improvement people could get behind. But 4.2-inch screens? A chubby stylus that doesn’t conceal itself in the device? An e-book reader? The collective fanboy mind boggled. And for good reason. There are stories, probably not true, of Native Americans seeing ships on the horizon but not seeing them, because the idea of ships like that existing didn’t fit in to their worldview. Well. I think we can safely say that the braves around Plymouth Rock saw the enormous galleons, but like today’s fanboys, their minds refused to recognize the import of what was happening. In the case of the braves, it meant annihilation; for the fanboys, it means marginalization — which, to the fanboy, is worse than annihilation. See, gaming has always been somewhat of a closed community. Kids born after 1975, growing up playing Atari and NES, and went on to adulthood with gaming as much a part of their life as movies or TV — but often more so, because everyone watches TV, but gaming was like a club. Nobody cared if you watched CBS or NBC, but whether you were a SNES or Genesis kid was of huge importance. And people who didn’t play games — well! The insider culture persists to this day, but the actual distinction is disintegrating around them (that is to say, us). Even when casual games and “hardcore” games alike were selling millions of units, gamers could convince themselves that games were still being made for them, but more people were just “getting into it.” But aside from a few notable exceptions like Valve, some indie kids, and niche developers, that’s simply not the case any more. Games are being created to attract as great an audience as possible without completely compromising the content. Like it or not, Modern Warfare 2 is the Titanic of the gaming world. But I digress. What does the DSi XL have to do with any of this? Think of it this way (in another digression). Once upon a time, Mohamed went to the mountain. That was when gamers at heart, raised on old-school gaming prohibitive to the masses in both price and playability, were the audience. But recently, an invisible line was crossed. And now Nintendo is bringing the mountain to Mohamed. Because Mohamed has poor eyesight and needed a bigger mountain brought to him. See? Look, the point is this: the DSi XL is a symbol of the final step in the little progression I’ve illustrated here: Once the non-gamer community is not only compatible with the gaming industry, but actively designed for, then you can be absolutely sure that gaming is no longer a gamer’s game. Even things like the Wii Fit weren’t specifically designed for a subset of people who were unreachable by Nintendo. The DSi XL is exactly that: a product made just for people who not only don’t, but could not play Nintendo games. What does it mean? Well, one thing it doesn’t mean is there will no longer be good games or anything like that. Movies were never a closed community — they were created as mass entertainment and are to this day, yet no one would say that moviemaking (or moviegoing) is dead, drowned in the mainstream. Furthermore, the medium is equally open to arthouse flicks and weird shorts as it is to blockbusters and B-movies. Movie fans would agree on is that the medium was not made for one or the other — and, significantly, you don’t have to love one to love the other. That hasn’t been the case for games until recently, but soon it’ll have to be. What the DSi XL signifies is that gaming has gotten bigger than gamers. The writing’s been on the wall for some time but now it’s on the billboards as well. For a time, there will remain the “true gamer” argument: the only true gamers are the ones who can beat Contra on three lives, or can wall-jump to the roof of the castle in Super Mario 64. But sooner or later, it will have to be accepted by the gaming community that true gamers are just a market segment, and an increasingly small one at that. It’s sad, isn’t it — but it’s bittersweet, like an empty nest. We’ve watched our baby grow up from a Pong paddle and monochrome vector screen to the photorealistic, politically inflammable, yet accessible-by-grandma chimaera of present day. The sooner we “true gamers” accept that the world of gaming now encompasses our non-gamer friends, our family, and a billion other people who never knew the joy of Gradius, the sooner we can move on — and start playing again.