Toyota’s Sports Drive Logger lets you relive real life races in Gran Turismo
Imagine this: you just rounded the final bend of the Fuji Speedway International Course. Pedal jammed against the floorboard, you’re neck and neck with Jenson Button, eying the finish line. Let’s face the facts, you’ll never actually race Jenson, but you can use Toyota’s new Sports Drive Logger to hone in your skills just like he does.
To use the Sports Drive Logger, you’ll need to A), own a Toyota GT86 sports car and B), have access to certain race tracks in Japan (the Fuji Speedway International Course, the Tsukuba Circuit 2000 Course, and the Suzuka Circuit International Course). Meet those requirements, and you can use the accessory to record your race digitally and replay it within Gran Turismo 6 on PS3. Similar to the Corvette data recorder we saw at CES, the device tracks real-life laps and vehicle data (GPS location, pedal input, steering angles and the like) onto a USB flashdrive, the device builds a digital representation of your performance that’s recreated in-game. And judging by the video, it’s surprisingly accurate. You can even race against friends and pros alike to learn the fastest way round the track.
The device will launch in Japan only for $900 on June 2nd, which makes sense given that the first three courses supported are found in the land of the rising sun. Thankfully, Toyota does have plans to add more circuits in the future. For folks who prefer other tracks, Toyota says that they’re in the works — speed is king, but patience is a virtue, people.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
Via: Gizmag
Source: Toyota
Super Smash Bros. 3DS launches this summer, Wii U version due in winter
Jonesing for a new Super Smash Bros. game? Hope you own a 3DS: Nintendo has announced that the mobile version of the series’ latest entry will land first, debuting this summer. The Wii U version will arrive this year too, but it won’t be available until winter, presumably to make the most out of the holiday season. Nintendo teased the launch windows with a tweet right before today’s Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct, where Masahiro Sakurai (the game’s director) updated players on the game’s latest development.
In addition to showing off the standard deluge of stages and new characters (Sheik, Zero Suit Samus, Yoshi and Pokemon’s Charizard and Greninja, specifically), Sakurai explained the new games’ disparate multiplayer modes: “For Fun” and “For Glory.” Gamers playing “for fun” will play with randomized items and stages, counting only victories to the players record – gamers looking for glory, however, will play on simple, flat stages with no items. In “For Glory” mode, both wins and losses count against the player’s record. Finally the 3DS version comes with an exclusive battle game called “Smash Run,” where up to four players navigate a timed obstacle course to collect power ups and fight enemies before ultimately facing each other in a final battle. Miss Nintendo’s live broadcast? Not to worry: we’ve embedded the full presentation after the break.
Via: Joystiq
Source: Nintendo
Unreal Engine 4 to support Windows Phone and Windows RT, but not anytime soon
Unreal Engine 4′s new $19 subscription option might be real tempting for developers on a budget, unless, of course, they’re hoping to make games for Windows Phone and Windows RT. Although Epic Games’ next-gen engine doesn’t work with the aforementioned flavors of Microsoft’s OS, that might be changing, albeit slowly. Tim Sweeney, the studio’s co-founder and CEO, divulged on the software’s forums that the firm’s already doing leg work to support the platforms. “We have been doing some work in this direction (implementing various levels of WinRT API support) and we want to have Windows Phone support eventually, but we’re a very long way from having a ship-quality implementation,” Sweeney said. Still, the head honcho adds that their focus will remain on Android and iOS development before branching out to Microsoft’s other flavors of Windows. Impatient devs can stick with Unreal Engine 3, but those aching for the latest tools will have to sit tight a while longer.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Mobile
Source: Unreal Engine Forums
This is what Titanfall looks like on Xbox 360
Titanfall doesn’t officially release for Xbox 360 until tomorrow, but somehow a few gamers have gotten it early and, what’s more, they’ve decided to show it off. The good news is that the game appears to play exactly the same on the Xbox 360 as it does its current-gen counterpart — just as developer Bluepoint Games promised. The graphical fidelity isn’t as easy to judge, however. Two of the videos below (spotted by NeoGAF) aren’t what we’d call great representations of the title: one is a Twitch stream and another looks like it was shot with a cheap handheld camera. A third is a full direct-feed Attrition match on Boneyard. In the Twitch stream, the game is a bit laggy and the frame rate dips quite a bit in spots, but that could be a result of the game running on pre-release servers. We spoke with the user and he said that since that stream he’s had a much better experience with very low ping.
In the shaky-cam video, you can clearly see that tucked away in the options menu is a checkbox for locking the frame rate at 30Hz, which should improve performance. The Attrition match runs pretty well frorm start to finish, and looks pretty okay in the graphics department too. We’re comparing the two different versions against one another this week, so keep it tuned here for our impressions.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Via: NeoGAF
Source: YouTube (1), CityFlex (Twitch), (2)
Game of Thrones’ season premiere is free to watch on Xbox this week
If you missed out on Game of Thrones‘ season 4 premiere when it first aired — say, because of the HBO Go meltdown — you’re in for a treat this week. HBO is giving all Xbox users free access to the episode between April 8th and April 14th, whether or not they’re subscribers to the premium TV service. Some cable and satellite providers are also offering gratis access through their on-demand platforms and websites. This isn’t purely an act of generosity, as you might imagine. Besides giving HBO a chance to advertise a show à la Silicon Valley, the free content could steer some of the many people pirating Game of Thrones toward legitimate sources. Time Warner’s CEO has argued that piracy promotes HBO’s series — his company may see a chance to replicate that buzz through official channels.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
This skin-sensitive controller ramps up game difficulty when you’re bored
The concept of using your emotional state to alter gameplay is nothing new, but the technology to make that happen has frequently relied on cameras and other special add-ons. Stanford University’s Corey McCall has a far more elegant solution — he recently developed technology that builds skin-based emotion detection into an otherwise ordinary gamepad. The controller changes the intensity of a game based on the feelings you convey through breathing, heart rate and motion. It can boost the difficulty level if you’re obviously bored, or tone things down if you’re taking a challenge way too seriously. There may not be a great need for McCall’s approach when systems like the Xbox One can check your pulse at a glance, but it could let console and peripheral makers offer emotion-aware gaming without requiring cumbersome (or costly) extras.
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables
Via: Fast Company
Source: Stanford University
Most Suitable Device for Gaming
There have been so many developments in technology in recent years that means it has become easier than ever for games developers to ensure that their games can be accessed across all portals and devices. Of course it depends on the type of game, which device would be most compatible.
With the introduction of the likes of Google Play this has made things fairly standard for Android phones so game can be brought into the mobile market quicker. This is also similar for the iOS platform with the app store. There has even been the launch of the likes of GameKlip that now allows you to attach PS3 controllers to your Android device just like you would with a PS Vita. It means you don’t have the added complication of using the touch screen and can simply use the controls.
We thought that we would give you the scoop on some of the best mobile devices that can be used for gaming.
Apple iPhone 5C
This little number is very compact which means it’s not a pain to transport around. It’s also less expensive than the iPhone 5S making it attractive to consumers. The resolution isn’t as good as what you could get with other mobile phones at 1136×640 a 325ppi. The best thing about this phone is the range of games that you can play on it. With the Apple App store, you can do just a quick search and be presented with a flurry of gaming treats.
Google Nexus 5
The Google Nexus 5 is available in both black and white, so would appeal to those of you who want to look stylish. It is powered by Android 4.4, so has a fantastic HD resolution. This is perfect for those of you who enjoy good graphics and animations whether you are playing Angry Birds or having a game of some mobile bingo. Find out more details about mobile bingo sites. The only downside about this device is that there is no section for an external card to be inserted, so it’s only available in 16 GB and 32 GB. This may be an issue if you are playing games that require a lot of data.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
This game allows up to 64 GB in storage which is double that of Google Nexus and can offer up to a further 64 GB if required. The quad core and GPU will allow you to have a go on any game you come across and with Google Play at your disposal there is more than enough to choose from. It has a high resolution of 1080p and 386ppi making games even more enjoyable to play.
The LG G2 is one of the best selling phones by LG. It’s available in 16 different varieties with 32 GB. What is most promising about this device is the visuals that it offers. It runs at 1080p and 424ppi and has the capacity to support HD graphics. The downside with this device again is that it doesn’t have a memory card slot so there is minimal space for data.
Nokia Lumia 520
Nokia Lumia is of course a Windows phone. This means that there are fewer games that are compatible with it. Although the selection is smaller, there are some games that are only exclusively available to that phone. It has a 6 inch screen which is the largest on the list, prefect for games that require a little more detail than normal. It runs at 1080p and 367ppi and has a fantastic touch screen.
There we have it folks a full list of phones that are great for gaming! If you are looking for a phone that can support games with a large amount of data then you may like the Samsung Galaxy Note. Or if the enjoyment of graphics and animations are more top on your list, then the Google Nexus 5 will be right up your street. If it’s variety you are after then the iPhone 5C is the one for you!
Microsoft’s working on Xbox 360 emulation for Xbox One, but ‘there aren’t currently any plans’ to make it
Xbox-related news from Microsoft’s Build conference last week wasn’t just relegated to Kinect for Windows, it would seem. Redmond is having a hard time bringing the Xbox 360′s considerable catalog of games to the Xbox One via hardware emulation. Last week an audience member asked lead partner developer Frank Savage if there were plans to bring an Xbox 360 emulator, as spotted by Kotaku’s Australia wing, to its new console. Savage said there are, but “we’re not done thinking them through yet, unfortunately.” He went on to say that emulating the last-gen console’s PowerPC architecture on the Xbox One’s x86-based platform is actually pretty hard to do. We reached out to Microsoft for confirmation and were told, as Savage said, nothing has been assembled yet. “It is super challenging to emulate two completely different architectures, and there aren’t currently any plans to build this,” the Redmond spokesperson said. Just like that, our dreams of playing Red Dead Redemption with the Xbox One’s controller have (temporarily) been dashed.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Kotaku Australia
EA Sports’ UFC game bends reality by letting you fight as Bruce Lee
If you’re EA, how do you build up hype for EA Sports UFC — a license-based fighting game where players will largely know what to expect? You promise them Bruce Lee, that’s what. Yes, PS4 and Xbox One gamers will get to pit the Game of Death star against the UFC roster despite a 41-year gap separating the two. You’ll have instant access to Lee if you pre-order, and he’s otherwise unlockable. EA justifies this by contending that Lee is the “father of mixed martial arts;” that sort of makes sense given Lee’s style and Judo knowledge, but the inclusion stretches the definition of MMA (and, arguably, taste) to the limit. If you’ve ever wanted to know how Jeet Kune Do fares against Brazilian Jiujitsu, though, you now have a good reason to look forward to EA Sports UFC‘s release on June 17th.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: AllGamesBeta, IGN
Source: EA Press Room
Xbox One now shares gameplay footage direct to YouTube
We can all agree that sharing gameplay footage on Xbox One via SkyDrive OneDrive isn’t really the best social solution. Okay, so there’s Twitch, too, but the holy grail of video sharing lies with YouTube. And, as of tomorrow, Xbox One owners will get just that as an app update will bring the much desired ability to share Game DVR footage directly to a user’s YouTube channel. It’s really as simple as that. Once the update hits, you’ll need to dive into the console’s settings menu and enable the social sharing feature first, but that’s about as deep as it gets.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox
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