Gaming posts

In many ways, Xbox 360 Kinect is simply another tech product. Microsoft, like so many companies before it, is attempting to expand its demographic reach and maybe rebrand a key product in the process. But Kinect itself may be indicative of more than just one company’s attempts to make some cash. After all, like the iPhone before it, Kinect is a new model for interfaces. It might not be the very first gesture controlled system; but it’s certainly the coolest and most accessible. As a result, it might mean the success of Kinect, like other transformations in how we interact technology, may be a sign…

Think you’re a hardcore gamer? It can be argued that nobody is more hardcore than the guy who spends enough for a decently sized house – on a video game. Yan Panasjuk, a software engineer living in Boston, recently paid $335,000 real world dollars for a number of properties in the Entropia online gaming universe, including the popular destination Club Neverdie. This busts the previous record held, also within the same game, for a $330,000 purchase of the Crystal Palace Space Station. Panasjuk intends to maximize his investment, much like a real-world investor, by devoting his time and energy…

OnLive was a success with it’s cloud computing gaming idea, which many people thought wouldn’t work. They took another step tonight by releasing the MicroConsole. If you don’t know what OnLive is, its basically a gaming service that streams games over the Internet that don’t take up any hard drive space on your computer. You can also watch other people playing in the OnLive Arena, and can watch ten second Brag Clips, which are basically just short little videos that people take while gaming to showcase their skills. With the addition of the MicroConsole, you will be able to use these games on an OnLive…

Alright, so maybe I’m being a little cheeky by claiming that this robot is the most fun you could have with Kinect, but quite frankly, as far as I’m concerned, it sure beats some of the arm-waving minigames I’ve seen so far. MIT student Phillip Roebbel has hooked up a newly-hacked Xbox Kinect to an iRobot to create the coolest thing that I’m gonna see today – and with any luck, the coolest thing you’ll see, too. By giving the Kinect – which can already and judge terrain and distance – the ability to look and wander around, Roebbel has given it the ability to map its surroundings in 360 degrees, allowing it…

With the recent successful launches of Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Playstation Move, it is now more likely that this generation of consoles will last longer than in the past. While previously, a 5 or 6 year cycle has been the norm, it’s conceivable that this generation might go longer – maybe 7 or 8 years – because of this new tech that appeals to a broader demographic, prolonging the sales potential of each console. Still, that hasn’t stopped speculation about what the next generation of consoles might look like. At hardcore gaming communities like NeoGAF, speculation rages about the kind of…

Three things are now certain in life: death, paying taxes, and Chinese growth. China just so happens to be the one I’m focusing on now. And why is China so important? Video games! More specifically, Web-based video games — those time wasters that we spent hours on, which probably contributed to our economic demise and China’s incredible growth, is now invading China at a hot clip. How big can it get? The browser-based gaming market in China has already doubled from 990 million yaun ($149 million) in 2009 to 2.28 billion yaun ($343 million) in 2010. Around 15 million Chinese got their gaming on last…

Because you’re awesome, have this quick video of Mehmet Akten playing with his prototype for a 3D art program for use with the newly-hacked Kinect. ‘Memo’ is short and sweet about it. The XBox Kinect is connected to my Macbook Pro, and I wrote a little demo to analyse the depth map for gestural 3D interaction. One hand to draw in 3D, two hands to rotate the view. Very rough, early prototype. Very well. But know this, Mr. Akten. You like to touch people? Well, we like to watch – and we’re going to be watching you very closely as this radness develops. You might say it… kineckts ass? No, that’s a really terrible…

What happens when you want to take a break on your laptop or netbook? Don’t like cheap, free, Flash games from Miniclip and Addicting Games.com? The service OnLive, which streams games over your Internet service provider, gives you a nice list of games to play without taking up hard drive space. What most people were worried about is the lack of games. Starting with only around ten titles, OnLive has added the likes of games such as NBA 2K11,  Kane, and Lynch: Dog Days. Other games include Just Cause 2, MLB 2K10, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, and Red Faction Guerrilla. If those don’t appeal to you, don’t…

We’re not gonna be foolin’ you with some controller waving and wagging. No, seriously, this is it. Real dancing with a console game. With the XBOX Kinect and the game Dance Central, this is possible. No longer are we going to be shaking a Wii remote in the direction that we’re supposed to, we’re actually going to be pulling off real dance moves, which are tracked by the XBOX Kinect’s camera. Check out IGN’s Jessica Chobot for a demo on how Dance Central for Kinect works. While I was playing the game, I have to admit I got into it really quickly. And for those old-timers? The Kinect has got it covered with…

My apartment hasn’t had cable for years, and I’m pretty strapped for cash most of the time – understandably, I’m a little behind in the advertising world. But hot damn, have commercials for videogames ever been getting high budget. This one for Call of Duty: Black Ops will either be the best commercial you’ve seen in awhile, or the worst. The cameos by Kimmel and Bryant (and… maybe there’s other stars in there too, I’m terrible with Hollywood) are great touches, and the guy at the end is, of course, gut-bustingly funny – but on the other hand, I have never seen an ad glorify war like this one does. It…