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…

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…

I’m gonna come right out and admit I’ve never owned an Xbox 360 – but most of my friends have one, so I’ve still experienced second-hand the Red Ring of Death more than a handful times. Technically, one cannot hold experiences in their hand, though, so that’s not quite right, but whatever. Look on in amazement as these Marines show you one way of coping with your loss – the same way I’m sure most Xbox gamers would be used to: firing a gun. Y’know guys, I heard that a damp towel or something can fix the RRoD in ways bullets never can. In fact, come to think of it, I’ve never heard of bullets fixing the RRoD in any…

If there is a more ambitious case modder than Brian DeVitis, I haven’t heard of him. Not content with having his game consoles anywhere but in one place, Brian has taken the liberty of dismantling and reconfiguring eleven game consoles, a projector, and sound system into one box. And, naturally, that box is a life-sized R2D2. Of course it is. Making its debut at PAX ’10, the droid is a fully-functioning one-stop-shop for classic gaming and includes *deep breath* an NES, Super NES, N64, Gamecube, Genesis, Dreamcast, Atari 5200 and 7800, PSX, PSP, Xbox… and Windows XP, just for good measure. Power…

You probably didn’t need a blog post to tell you that Halo: Reach was going to do well. Every word you’re now reading drips with the reek of superfluousness. But I’m gonna type them anyway, and I’m gonna rock out with my [xxxx] out as I do so. Halo: Reach did really, really well, guys. How well? 200-million-dollars-in-the-first-day well. If you’re bad with money – and what gamer isn’t – that’s a ludicrous sum of sweetcoin. In fact, that’s the biggest entertainment release of 2010. That’s bigger than Iron Man 2. That’s bigger than even Toy Story 3. And those films had three days apiece. Minor leagues,…

Though recently it has been the smartphone market that has garnered the most attention in the tech world, the arrival of a revamped – if slightly disappointing – Apple TV is a reminder that the living room is the next big play for digital transformation. Think about it: unlike so many other sectors of society, the living room is one in which traditional approaches to media still largely dominate. DVD sales still dwarf streaming and online video in both numbers and revenue, while the web has yet to make any serious inroads onto people’s TVs. So there is a massive market ready for the taking – if only someone…

Get the pizza in, buy the beers and prepare to sign your autumn away on news Electronic Arts will release The Sims 3 for all three consoles and the Nintendo DS this fall. The Sims 3 is already a big seller on the PC and Mac platforms. Millions rushed out to pick up The Sims 3 on the PC/Mac last summer making it the biggest PC launch in EA’s history and the best-selling PC title in 2009. Now, EA says the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS versions of The Sims 3 are on the way. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will allow content creation and sharing online. The Wii versions gets an exclusive new area Beach…

Parents may at last have a winning argument to kick their youngsters off their Xbox, Wii or PlayStation – too much video gaming can inhibit learning in young boys. Seems that young boys who had a PlayStation spent less time engaging with after-school educational activities and showed less advancement in their reading and writing skills over time than the control group….