GameStop wants to offer exclusive content with its preorder titles
“Software publishers [indicated that they] are more enthusiastic about partnering with [GameStop]… For example, by offering exclusive content on each major game release, and longer term, future models may include GameStop offering exclusive gameplay.”
Filed under: Gaming
Don’t call it laser tag: this is a real-life version of ‘Left 4 Dead’
Every year we get another Call of Duty, but if you’ve given up hope waiting for a new Left 4 Dead, a Georgia-based company might have something a bit well, realer, to help tide you over. Blood, Guts ‘n Glory [sic] is looking to take the aforementioned games off of your TV and put them in the real world with the help of slick Hollywood-style production and some high-tech weaponry this October. In Apocalyptic Infested Horror, teams battle against hordes of zombies played by actors or Kickstarter backers, while War-torn Fallujah Battlefield has you facing off against “insurgents.” In terms of firepower, real weapons like the M4 assault rifle have been outfitted with infrared tech along the lines of what the military uses for training purposes, and the armaments apparently still sound like the real deal, have muzzle flash and require reloading. Authenticity above all, naturally. And thanks to a force feedback belt, you’ll feel each attack you’ve sustained too.
The way these events will play out should be pretty familiar if you’ve hopped into an online shooter recently: rescue a science team working on a cure for the zombie outbreak and drop the antigen in the city’s water supply before the other team does, while capture the flag and hard-point control are among orders of the day for the Fallujah mission. Winners can expect a room stocked with booze, “hot babes” (apparently someone hasn’t gotten the message yet) and as-of-yet unnamed VIPs, just for them. Each game is expected to last an hour, with the total experience, meaning gearing up and debriefing, pegged at three hours for each. Keeping with the video-game theme, the outfit is planning for 64-player rounds and stats like accuracy, kill-to-death ratio and how many secrets you’ve discovered in your game will all be tracked. If this sounds like something your usual squad would be up for, buy-in starts at $90 and group packages are available too.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Kickstarter
Source: Blood, Guts ‘n Glory
Build your own Game Boy with a Raspberry Pi, SNES pad and 3D printer
What’s a maker to do when they don’t have access to a classic Game Boy but happen to have a 3D printer and a few other parts laying around? Craft their own, no Legos required, of course. With some patience, you too can build a copy of Nintendo’s 25 year-old handheld using an Raspberry Pi, Super NES controller (for its buttons and circuit board) and a few other bits and bobs. Adafruit has print-files for the iconic portable’s case as well as step-by-step instructions for how it all goes together, but, as 3DPrint points out, it likely won’t be easy and the project requires a decent grasp on soldering and circuitry. Emulated games run off of an SD card, and the DIY-Game Boy can even play any classic Nintendo ROMs you might find online too. We’ll leave wading through the legalities of that whole process up to you, though.
Via: 3DPrint
Source: Adafruit
Xbox One’s Kinect sensor coming to Windows on July 15th
Microsoft’s plan to bundle Kinect with the Xbox One may not have been to everyone’s taste, but that’s not stopping it from expanding sales of the motion-sensing peripheral. In fact, you’ll only have to wait just over a week to get your hands on the second generation Kinect for Windows. We know because the company has updated its pre-order listing with the promise of shipment by July 15th. The sensor, which costs $199/£159, delivers better depth sensing, 1080p resolution, a wider field of view and various other improvements. Developers have been invited to publish their creations to the Windows Store, so there’ll likely be more Windows Kinect apps to download than ever before — good news if you’re not interested in the Xbox One but have always wanted to wave your arms about in front of your PC.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Via: CVG
Source: Microsoft Store (US), (UK)
This playable Tetris T-shirt requires you to touch yourself
In the 30 years since Alexey Pajitnov first launched Tetris, the world’s most popular game has regularly been immortalized in fashion. Luxembourgian Mark Kreger wanted to do the same, but instead of cooking up a colorful print, he’s staving off boredom with something much more interactive: a playable Tetris T-shirt. Featuring 128 LEDs powered by an Arduino Uno microcontroller, Kreger’s marvellous tee requires only four rechargeable AA batteries to power the game. It’ll keep score and display level numbers — the only thing it appears to be lacking is the super-funky soundtrack.
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables
Via: Time
Source: Mark Kerger (YouTube)
The forgotten losers of the console wars
History is written by the victors, but for all those generations of console wars we’ve managed to weather through, what about the other guys? Opening this week, a new games museum in southern Japan houses 56 different consoles of varying fame (or infamy). For every NES / Famicom, there’s curiosities like the huge “Pocket Home PC”, failing on the very definition of its name. Remember the Sega Game 1000? We didn’t, but we should probably cut these (mostly) beige consoles some slack. While most of the devices toured here weren’t a commercial success, each helped gently push gaming towards its current state — if only by firmly demonstrating what we didn’t want. And yeah, we wish the Dreamcast was still around too. Here’s to the games consoles we’ve loved and lost over the last 40 years.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nokia, Nintendo
This stackable media hub plays your old 16-bit game cartridges
The set-top box market is currently flooded with many cheap Android boxes, but they tend to offer limited remote access plus expansion capability, so it’s about time that something more exciting popped up. One such candidate is the EzeeCube, which aims to be an idiot-proof media hub with three main selling points: Auto-sync content across multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows and OS X); simple initial setup for accessing hub content from anywhere; and cable-free expansion that lets you stack up to four modules. We’re talking about slapping on an extra hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, a TV tuner and even a retro gaming module that will bring your dusty SNES and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis cartridges back to life. No messy cables here.
The EzeeCube itself is a 140 x 140 x 45mm box packing a dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, 4GB of flash storage (for the XBMC OS, version 13.1) and a 2.5-inch 5,400 RPM 1TB hard drive. All the ports are on the back, including an SD card slot, a USB 2.0 socket, a micro-USB port (for OTG accessories and hacking purposes), an HDMI 1.4 port, an optical audio socket and an ethernet port. For networking, you get the usual 802.11n WiFi plus Bluetooth 3.0 for data and device connection, as well as DLNA plus AirPlay for either wired or wireless streaming within your home network. The five pins on the top side are obviously for the stacking expansion, and they supply a total current of up to 5A (hence the maximum limit of four stacking modules).
Since this is an open source product, manufacturers can easily design an EzeeCube module after obtaining a free license (for the sake of enforcing its stacking patent). Ashok Jaiswal, the Hong Kong-based system architect behind this project, expects to see others jump in with Qi wireless charging pads, smart home hubs and more for his little box. As mentioned earlier, Jaiswal’s Indiegogo campaign currently offers an optional hard drive module (either empty or with a 2TB drive), a TV tuner and a retro game cartridge module at relatively affordable prices. The campaign will soon add a Blu-ray module as well, which will let you easily rip your DVDs onto the EzeeCube, in addition to playing Blu-ray movies.
On the software side, the TV interface and the EzeeSync mobile app share the same design language, which should help users quickly familiarize with the system. The relatively straightforward setup process involves the registration of your mobile number, which is later used as your unique ID for remotely and securely accessing your EzeeCube’s content. This saves you from having to manually set up UPnP port forwarding, which can be rather daunting for the non-technically minded — especially Jaiswal’s wife and mother-in-law, in this case. Of course, if your mobile device is connected to the same home network as your EzeeCube, then the app will automatically search for the box.
At Jaiswal’s office, we got to see a working live demo of accessing content on both iOS and Android, as well as viewing photos, video and music on the TV while simultaneously — and independently — playing the same content or other content on the mobile devices. The app also serves as a remote control for navigating around the TV interface; you can toggle those buttons by tapping the downward arrow near the top. Sadly, we didn’t get to see a working “EzeeGame” cartridge module, as this is a very fresh collaboration with the team behind XBMC’s RetroPlayer emulator.
Jaiswal told us that while the software requires further tweaking, the hardware is good to go, so now it’s just a matter of getting the funds for the tooling as well as initial production of 500 units. If you’re interested in helping the EzeeCube become reality, head over to the Indiegogo page to pick a backing option, and you’ll be able to get a hacker edition (no hard drive, but you can obviously stack one on later) for as cheap as $99 due December this year, before it officially rolls out for $299 towards Q2 next year — just as when the $50 gaming module is ready as well.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Indiegogo
China’s scalpers force Oculus to suspend Rift sales
With over 100,000 developer kit sales logged in its docket, it’s fair to say interest in the Oculus Rift is high. While we wait for the inevitable release of the consumer model, scalpers in China snapping up developer versions at such a rate that the Facebook-owned company has been forced to suspend sales in the country. According to comments made by an Oculus representative on Reddit, the VR specialist was seeing “extreme reseller purchases,” which were presumably sold at an unhealthy markup and took stock away from legitimate developers. While the company’s DK2 headset is making its way to buyers, it’s considered an in-development version of Rift and isn’t intended for consumers.
How bad was the reselling in China? “We were forced to suspend an entire country from purchasing,” says this Oculus employee. “I’ll let you put two and two together.” The good news is that the company is making it a priority to look into an alternative sales process, allowing Chinese developers to create slick VR experiences for the rest of us when the Rift finally gets its public release.
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables, HD, Facebook
Via: Eurogamer
Source: r/Oculus (Reddit)
Civilization: Beyond Earth ships October 24th with maps based on real planets
If you’re eager to play the first Civilization game set in space (not counting Alpha Centauri), you now have a date to mark on your calendar: Beyond Earth will reach Windows-based PCs on October 24th. That’s a long time to wait, although Firaxis is sweetening the pot with astronomy-themed bonus content. If you pre-order the space colonization game from certain stores, you’ll get a map pack based loosely on real, potentially inhabitable exoplanets like Kepler 186f and Rigil Khantoris (aka Rigel Kentaurus) Bb. It’s hard to say if the extra terrain will be worth plunking down cash in advance, but we suspect that you’ve already pulled the trigger if you’re a die-hard Civ fan — this is just icing on the extraterrestrial cake.
Filed under: Gaming, Science, Software
Source: Joystiq
Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘Shovel Knight’ for Wii U!
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They’re fun!
In Shovel Knight, you’re a knight with a shovel. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, that’s kind of the point. The latest from developer Yacht Club Games is a trip back to the 8-bit days of yore, and it aims to scratch that nostalgic itch without requiring you to dig the Nintendo Entertainment System out of your closet. Depending on how you spend your gaming time, though, you might have to dust off your Wii U before giving this retro platformer a spin. Shovel Knight takes the best parts of classics like Mega Man, Castlevania, Legend of Zelda and a handful of others, tosses them in a blender and adds a few modern conveniences. Curious to see the outcome? Well, come back here at 4 PM Pacific/7 PM Eastern and watch as I hit everything with a shovel and try not to die whilst doing so.
Watch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Nintendo
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