Razer’s 3D-sensing camera brings motion tracking to your games
Razer has been big on immersive gaming as of late, and it’s reinforcing that by unveiling a 3D-sensing camera at the Intel Developer Forum. The ominous-looking gadget uses Intel’s RealSense to track your movement in games, whether you’re sitting at a desktop or sporting a VR helmet (including Razer’s own OSVR, naturally). For example, it can follow your head movements when you look to the side in a race car’s cockpit. There aren’t many more details to speak of just yet, but this hardware should arrive in the first quarter of 2016.
Filed under:
Gaming, Peripherals, Intel
Tags: camera, gaming, idf2015, intel, motiontracking, peripherals, realsense, virtualreality, vr
Unofficial Amiibo can use data for any Nintendo figurine
Haven’t had any luck scoring the Amiibo you need to unlock certain goodies in a Wii U or 3DS game? A very, very unofficial accessory might help. Axiogame’s Amiiqo device uses an Android app to load the data from any Amiibo (it can store up to 200), including those that already have some gameplay under their belts. The company isn’t shy about the true purposes of its $89 gadget, either. While you can use the Amiiqo for a “personal backup,” it’s really meant to both grab bootleg Amiibo data and help you cheat. It even comes with info for 10 characters out of the box.
To put it mildly, the Amiiqo is swimming in dangerous legal waters. While you’re not swiping the figurines themselves, you are using code that you aren’t supposed to have. We’ve reached out to Nintendo to gauge its stance. However, it won’t be surprising if the console maker cracks down. After all, Nintendo is barely profitable even with the mania that surrounds the Amiibo scene — it’s hard to imagine the company willingly giving up some of its statuette revenue.
Filed under:
Gaming, Peripherals, Nintendo
Via:
Eurogamer
Source:
Axiogame
Tags: 3ds, amiibo, amiiqo, android, axiogame, gaming, nintendo, smartphone, video, videogames, wiiu
ICYMI: Head injury alert, zombie killing centers and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: Google is putting its glut of satellite imaging data to good use with the “Sunroof” database, which helps people check their homes and figure out if they get enough sun to install solar panels. University of Pennsylvania researchers made a polymer that changes color depending on the depending on the amount of force used against it. They’re hoping to make helmets that quickly signal the degree of a possible brain injury. And Australians beat the Americans to the virtual reality laser tag fun zone finish, building a VR zombie killing gaming center ahead of the U.S. one slated to open next year.
If you’re into internet characters doing appropriately strange stuff, you’ve also got to see the video from the Slingshot Channel guy of the frisbee made for lethal intent.
You should also make sure to read the New York Times piece analyzing workplace culture at Amazon. It’s generated enough chatter that you’re likely to continue hearing about it and any changes in tech culture for some time to come.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under:
Gaming, Household, Peripherals, Transportation, Science, Internet, Software, Google
Tags: engadgetdailyshow, engadgetvideo, football, footballhelmets, Google, Googlessolarpanels, Googlesunroof, h, icymi, InCaseYouMissedIt, robots, solarpanels, traumaticheadinjury, UniversityofPennsylvania, UPenn, video, virtualreality, virtualrealitygaming, VR, zombie
Next month Comcast will turn off the Xbox 360 app Netflix hated
When it launched in 2012, Comcast’s Xfinity Xbox 360 app became a lightning rod for controversy. That’s because to some (like Netflix CEO Reed Hastings) it was a symbol of the cable giant’s abuse of network neutrality by streaming video that didn’t count against its own bandwidth caps. Since then, the app hasn’t quite turned the video market on its head, Comcast failed to acquirre Time Warner Cable, Netflix grew by a few (tens of millions of) customers and now users report the ISP has sent emails out indicating the Xfinity app will disappear September 1st. Windows Central contacted Comcast via Twitter and heard back that “We are removing this to make way for new updates and improvements to our online experience for customers.”
@JCalMN We are removing this to make way for new updates and improvements to our online experience for customers – PL
— ComcastCares (@comcastcares) August 17, 2015
It’s unclear what improvements are on the way, and so far, Comcast has not followed up with an app for Xbox One (or PlayStation, or other set-top boxes for that matter) to replace it. Comcast never added live TV to the app, so it was mostly just a faster way to get video on-demand, something the cable giant may prefer to do with its X1 platform, especially since it’s starting to add games too. Whatever the plan is, the lights are turning out in just a couple of weeks.
Filed under:
Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source:
Windows Central
Tags: comcast, hdpostcross, IPTV, microsoft, VOD, Xbox360, Xfinity
Windows 10 won’t run old games with dodgy copy protection
Do you recall the bad old days of PC games in the mid-2000s, when titles were loaded with copy protection that was not only a hassle, but horribly insecure? Well, Microsoft does — and that could be a problem if you’re trying to run some of those vintage games on Windows 10. The company notes that games which depend on some versions of SafeDisc and Securom DRM (digital rights management) aren’t allowed to run on Windows 10 at all. That could mean that your dusty copy of Grand Theft Auto III, Battlefield 1942 or The Sims won’t load. As Microsoft’s Boris Schneider-Johne says, their DRM intrudes so deeply your system that they introduce a “possible loophole for computer viruses.” Sure enough, at least one of the concerns about burdensome copy protection proved true — it was more of a nuisance to honest gamers than to pirates.
We’ve asked Microsoft for more details, including the effect on other copyright mechanisms. However, you’ll be relieved to hear that there are frequently workarounds. Some developers have already patched out the offending DRM, and digital stores like GOG sell versions that aren’t subject to the restrictive software. And while we wouldn’t recommend it, the cracking tools this copy protection was meant to defeat (but rarely did) should theoretically do the trick. While you could still be locked out of some of the classic games you own, that list might be relatively short.
Filed under:
Gaming, Software, Microsoft
Via:
Rock Paper Shotgun
Source:
Rocket Beans TV (YouTube)
Tags: copyprotection, drm, gaming, microsoft, safedisc, securom, software, windows, windows10
This knock-off console puts the PS4 and Xbox together at last
Have you ever had a dream where you were in a place, but it looked or felt like another place? As in, you were in San Francisco, but really it was your friend Paul’s basement in Delaware? That’s what I imagine playing this knock-off console from a Chinese Kickstarter-style crowdfunding site is like. The main console looks remarkably like a PlayStation 4, with a controller that has more than a hint of Xbox about it. Even its “Ouye” name is eerily familiar. This three-way console mash-up appears to be running Android (4.4.2), and the modest octa-core A80 processor is definitely more Sonic Dash than Destiny. The campaign page also claims the Ouye supports 4K, because buyers of this box deserve the best. We’re not sure anyone’s going to confuse this with a real-deal next gen console, but you have to admire the cheek. Despite all the obvious reasons not to, if you were inclined to buy one, you can snap one up for about $70/£45. Perfect for Paul’s basement.
Filed under:
Gaming
Via:
Kotaku
Source:
JD.com
Tags: kickstarer, kirf, knockoff, ouya, ouye, Playstation4, ps4, xbox, xboxone
‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ tribute games reflect a mascot’s fall from grace
It’d be an understatement to say that the Sonic the Hedgehog game franchise hasn’t held up well over time. Sonic was once nearly as big as Mario, but a long string of bad titles (with exceptions) ruined his rep — you’re more likely to spot him in dodgy fan fiction and internet memes than a popular game. And the homebrew developers from Arcane Kids know it. They’ve built the Sonic Dreams Collection, a batch of tiny tribute games for Macs and Windows PCs that acknowledge the Sega mascot’s fall from grace. It masquerades as a leaked set of Dreamcast protoypes, but it’s really a nod to the weird places Sonic fandom has gone in the 21st century. There’s a “Sonic Movie Maker” where the hedgehog calls you his dad, and “My Roommate Sonic…” well, let’s just say it turns romance stories on their head.
You’ll probably finish playing the whole collection in minutes. However, it’s uncanny at recreating both the vibe of crude fan art and Sega’s turn-of-the-century zeitgeist, that sense that the Dreamcast would usher in a brave new era for the blue hedgehog and his friends. In that light, it’s worth giving Sonic Dreams a spin just to see the contrast between the 1999-era optimism and the grimmer, stranger reality circa 2015.
Via:
Boing Boing
Source:
Arcane Kids
Tags: arcanekids, dreamcast, fanfiction, gaming, mac, nostalgia, sega, software, sonic, sonicdreams, sonicdreamscollection, sonicthehedgehog, videogames, windows
Darth Vader PS4 bundles cater to your ‘Star Wars’ cravings
Between The Force Awakens, Battlefront and Disney Infinity, you’re about to get your fill of Star Wars — and Sony is determined to capitalize on that sci-fi feast with some special PlayStation systems. It’s releasing two limited edition Darth Vader PS4 bundles that each include a distinctive 500GB console (emblazoned with the Sith Lord’s face, naturally) and a controller whose red and white accents mimic Vader’s chest panel. The core Battlefront Vader bundle includes both a Deluxe edition of its namesake shooter as well as a voucher for four vintage Star Wars games (Super Star Wars, Bounty Hunter, Jedi Starfighter and Racer Revenge). Head to Walmart, meanwhile, and you can spring for a Disney Infinity 3.0 Vader bundle that replaces Battlefront with Infinity and a matching figurine kit. And if you’re just interested in software, there will be a plain PS4 bundle that includes Battlefront and the classic games.
Sony hasn’t divulged pricing just yet, but we’d expect at least the Darth Vader kits to carry a premium over run-of-the-mill 500GB systems. All of the new hardware will be available on November 17th, and pre-orders are poised to start “soon.”
Source:
PlayStation Blog
Tags: battlefront, bundle, darthvader, disneyinfinity, gaming, infinity, playstation, playstation4, ps4, sony, starwars, starwarsbattlefront, video, videogames
Immersive Virtual Reality gaming center opens in Australia
A new gaming center has opened its doors in Melbourne, Australia, and it’s not quite your typical after-school haunt. This place, called Zero Latency, offers true immersive virtual reality experience: if you want to kill zombies, you’ll literally have to walk/run around, aim and shoot a VR gun. CNET got to try it out before launch and found that the center uses a 4,300-square-foot warehouse covered in a white-grid pattern and equipped with 129 PlayStation Eye cameras. One session can have up to six players, each one fitted with a backpack that houses an Alienware Alpha PC, which renders the environment for the users’ Oculus Rift DK2 headsets.
The facility’s creator, Scott Vandonkelaar, conjured up the idea before Oculus Rift’s Kickstarter campaign, but he ultimately decided to use as many existing technologies as he could. It took three years of work for his idea to finally become a reality. CNET calls Zero Latency the world’s “first VR entertainment facility,” but it definitely won’t be the only one. A similar project called “The Void” plans to open a VR gaming center in Salt Lake City, and we wouldn’t be surprised if there are others still in the very early stages of development.
Source:
Zero Latency
Tags: australia, gamingcenter, virtualreality, VR, zerolatency
Square Enix is killing its game-streaming service in Japan
Square Enix is shutting down Dive In, the game-streaming service it introduced last year. In a blog post earlier today, the renowned developer/publisher said the platform will cease to exist on September 13th — less than a year after being launched. The soon-to-be-defunct Dive In, which had only been available in Japan, was designed to let people rent titles such as Season of Mystery or Final Fantasy XIII on their iOS and Android device. How much you’d pay for each game depended on play time, but you could also test them out for 30 minutes at no cost. If you’re curious about what the service was like, Kotaku spent some time with it a few months ago — you can read those impressions here.
[Image credits: Getty Images]
Filed under:
Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Via:
Ubergizmo
Source:
Dive In (Translated)
Tags: DiveIn, GameStreaming, gaming, hdpostcross, SquareEnix, streaming, streamingservice
AIVAnet 