The PlayStation Move might not be a huge success without the help of big name, hard-core games, Heavy Rain creator David Cage said in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
Cage told the publication that the success of Sony's motion controller, announced at E3 in June, will depend on software "because the hardware works really well." But he cautioned that a focus on casual games could marginalize the impact the PlayStation Move could have on the market.
"If it's only about casual entertainment and casual games, I don't think it's going to play … Read more
Not impressing her with your slick smartphone and intimate knowledge of the Duke Nukem Forever release schedule? Scientists in England say they've identified the key dance moves that make men irresistible to the ladies. And no, the King Tut isn't one of them.
Not surprisingly, the dance moves considered "good" signal health, vigor, or strength--and, by association, a man's reproductive prowess, say the researchers at Northumbria University in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Their findings are published Wednesday in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
The researchers, led by psychologist Nick Neave and researcher Kristofor McCarty, filmed 19 male volunteers aged 18 to 35 with a 3D motion capture camera system as they boogied to a basic rhythm. Their real-life movements were then mapped onto feature-less, look-alike avatars so heterosexual women could rate their steps without being prejudiced by dimples or come-hither baby blues.
The results showed that eight movement variables made the difference between a Patrick Swayze and a male Elaine Benes. These included the size of movement of the neck, trunk, left shoulder, and wrist; the variability of movement size of the neck, trunk, and left wrist; and the speed of movement of the right knee. Yes, the right knee.
And in case you're taking notes, fellas, the women apparently appreciated large and varied neck and trunk movements. Which could bode well for The Sprinkler (assuming it's executed with some degree of rhythm and grace).
"We now know which area of the body females are looking at when they are making a judgment about male dance attractiveness," Neave said. "If a man knows what the key moves are, he can get some training and improve his chances of attracting a female through his dance style."
The team plans to carry out further research to hone its theories about dance and mating. In the meantime, men wishing to impress the gals at the nightclub might do well to study the below videos demonstrating "good" and "bad" moves. And wear red. … Read more
So many people use humor to get through their days and their dreary jobs, but sometimes people aren't joking.
I am sure there is often juvenile tittering when neophytes pass through Intercourse, Penn. Perhaps the same occurs with Fort Gay, W. Va., home to a 26-year-old gamer named Josh Moore.
Moore apparently wanted to show his Fort Gay pride. Indeed, he listed "fort gay WV" as his location in his Xbox Live profile.
Unfortunately, the Associated Press reports that, ever alert for the japes of wrath, Microsoft suspended Moore for what it assumed was a rather crude … Read more
Microsoft plans to offer a Kinect bundle for $400 when its motion-gaming peripheral launches on November 4.
The bundle includes a 250GB Xbox 360 Slim, the Kinect peripheral, and video game Kinect Adventures. Microsoft plans to release the bundle on November 4, the same day it will launch the Kinect peripheral.
For the price, consumers are getting a decent deal. The 250GB console retails for $300 without the extras, and the Kinect on its own will sell for $149.
The latest bundle is the second Microsoft has announced for the Kinect. In July, the company announced a $300 Kinect bundle … Read more
Apple's Game Center, a new social-gaming platform for the iPhone and iPod Touch, will rely upon the masses to be successful.
But some of Apple's longest iOS users apparently won't be invited to join the fun.
Game Center is due to arrive with Apple's iOS 4.1, which may be released as early as Wednesday. Apple already has a Game Center page up, though, and it lists all of the iOS 4.1 devices compatible with Game Center. That list includes the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and the last three generations of the iPod Touch. … Read more
Computer games have played an important role in advancing the state of the art for computing, and now Mozilla hopes to draw upon gaming to advance browser application development.
The Firefox backer launched the new Mozilla Labs Gaming project Tuesday with the goal of encouraging programmers to use a host of new browser and Web technologies.
"Modern Open Web technologies introduced a complete stack of technologies such as Open Video, audio, WebGL, touch events, device orientation, geolocation, and fast JavaScript engines which make it possible to build complex (and not so complex) games on the Web. With these technologies being delivered through modern browsers today, the time is ripe for pushing the platform," said Pascal Finette, the Mozilla Labs "catalyst" whose job is to "make things happen."
As part of the effort, Mozilla also announced the Game_On 2010 browser-game contest that will start in September.
The work dovetails with a broad industry transition: Browsers are growing from a vessel for containing Web pages into a foundation for applications. Even Microsoft, for years a laggard in the browser realm and still a powerhouse with PC applications, has gotten Web app religion with its coming Internet Explorer 9, due to launch next week in beta form. … Read more
When a nearby college, Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., started offering classes on Star Trek's place in popular culture years ago, the old guard shook their heads in confusion and disgust. Had I a starship and a wormhole, I'd perhaps go back and offer up a new course that will be available at the University of Baltimore: Zombies 101.
As part of the advanced English course, students will learn about zombies from Arnold Blumberg, a renaissance geek who already teaches about comic books at the University of Maryland and has written or co-written books on Doctor Who … Read more
Sony is apparently taking its fight against PS3 jailbreaks a step beyond court injunctions with a new firmware update that blocks hacks meant to let users play pirated games on the system.
System software update 3.42, made available for download Monday, contains features that PS3 owners report patch the exploit used for PS JailBreak, a USB dongle that would allow PlayStation 3 owners to dump borrowed games onto the system's hard drive. It's probably the most publicized of the hacks; PSGroove, open-source code that allows homemade games to be played on the console, is also reportedly impacted by the firmware update.
Sony, for its part, made just a brief statement on its PlayStation blog, calling the update "minor" and noting that it includes unspecified "additional security features." The update is mandatory for those wanting to access PlayStation Network features.
Even though Sony wouldn't confirm whether the v3.42 update disables the functionality of the PS Jailbreak, visitors to the PlayStation blog's message boards were quick to make the connection. "I think we all know what this update is really for," one wrote.
Wrote another: "Oh, come now. At least be honest about the update. We all know it's the first of an expected hundred-plus firmware updates to block the Jailbreak. Now you'll be doing these every day like with the PSP instead of actually taking the time to give us updates we actually need or working on making the system/service better."
Feeding speculation that Amazon.com is planning a gaming push, the company has snagged Microsoft's director of game platform strategy.
Andre Vrignaud announced his departure Friday on his personal blog. "Can't really talk about details at this point, but it'll become pretty evident soon enough...and you all know where my passions lie," he said in the blog.
He added that he is "excited about where Microsoft is going in the next few years" but is "very intrigued about what Amazon is looking to do."
Vrignaud's departure from Microsoft is … Read more
I just got back from my first day of 2010's PAX. At this three-day gaming festival, the big names have pulled out their big guns to try to out-wow each other in pursuit of gamers' geeky greenbacks. Here are a few of the best things I saw.
Tron
The new Tron game is pretty awesome. The reps from Disney wanted to show me the story elements and cinema cutaways. I said, "Show me the Light Cycles." And they did.
I played on two different platforms, the PS3 and the Wii. The games are very different. For the … Read more
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