Tech Culture- Page 263

Navy may be calling on Wii Fit to train recruits

The United States Navy is well-known for its grueling boot camp. But it may be adding a new element to it that might surprise you: video games. The Navy Times first reported the news Wednesday.

According to Navy Surgeon General Vice Admiral Adam Robinson, he wants to use games like Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution to increase the effectiveness of boot camp and prepare recruits for the rigors of getting through the ordeal. He plans to use games to increase recruit "endurance" in the early stages of boot camp, the Navy Times reported.

"There are lots of programs now that people can [use to] become very physically active while they're using interactive computer games," Robinson said. "So, in other words, this isn't about [starting] with computers and stopping [everything else]--because we're not going to do that. This is about incorporating those types of activities into something that people can use to become more physically active."

Robinson's intentions are based on what the Navy believes is an increasingly troubling issue. According to the Navy Times, fewer recruits are coming to boot camp with the requisite physical ability to get through the training. The branch of service has also found that more recruits are getting injured as they attempt to get through boot camp. Video games, Robinson believes, could address those issues.… Read more

Study: Pac-Man on Google wasted 4.8 million hours

It might not sound like a lot on first glance, but the 36 extra seconds that the average Google.com visitor spent there last Friday playing Pac-Man adds up to a massive 4.8 million of wasted hours.

According to a study by RescueTime, Pac-Man on Google--the playable version of the iconic game that the search giant replaced its home page logo with on Friday--cost the economy a total of 4,819,352 man-hours and a whopping $120,483,800 in lost productivity. As RescueTime put it, you could hire every single Google employee, including co-founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin, … Read more

The man behind World of Warcraft magazine (Q&A)

More than five years after its launch, World of Warcraft is still as popular as ever. These days it boasts more than 11.5 million users, many of whom are waiting eagerly for the game's third full expansion, Cataclysm, which is expected later this year.

It's not clear yet if the new version will match the impressive sales of its predecessor, Wrath of the Lich King, which sold 4 million copies in one month, but there's sure to be a rush of excitement when it does launch.

One thing that's clear, though, is that WoW fans … Read more

Sony to coders: For Move, don't rehash Wii failures

Note to developers planning to make games for Sony's PlayStation Move controller: don't even try to rehash your past titles for the Wii.

Speaking in an interview with Gamasutra, Sony's senior vice president of publisher relations, Rob Dyer, told the publication that when it comes to motion gaming, some titles work, and some just don't. And his company is currently working with developers to help them find the right genres and types of games that would work with the PlayStation Move--and nix those that would not.

"Our challenge here is to make sure [developers are] … Read more

Get 12 months of Xbox Live Gold for $28.99

Are you looking to renew your Xbox Live subscription? If you walk into any Best Buy, Target, or the like, you'll pay $50 for a 12-month Gold Card.

For about the next 24 hours (ending May 25 at 8 a.m. PT), Buy.com via eBay has an Xbox Live Gold 12-month subscription card for $28.99 with free shipping.

Even if you're not an Xbox user, I'll bet you know a dad or grad who is. This is a great gift item.

As I've noted before, I despise paying monthly fees for anything. However, this … Read more

Guinness crowns Mario 'Godfather of gaming'

In a run-up to Sunday's release of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Guinness World Records has published a list of the franchise's achievements.

According to the record-tracking organization, Mario has appeared in the most video games of any character in the industry's history. Based on the Guinness count, Mario has appeared in "207 distinct titles, including remakes and re-releases." Also, since he made his first appearance in 1981 as Jumpman in "Donkey Kong," Guinness said, Mario holds the title for the "longest-running computer game character."

Guinness likewise found that the Super Mario … Read more

Is playable Pac-Man getting Google's home page banned?

There's no question it's happening: All over the place today, you can be sure that people are heading on over to Google's home page and discovering that instead of the normal multicolored Google logo, there's a fully playable version of Pac-Man sitting there, beckoning them.

This, of course, is to commemorate tomorrow's 30th anniversary of Pac-Man. And no doubt, a lot of people are having a lot of fun with this. Google is so sure of that that it is planning on keeping the Pac-Man logo--known in company terms as a "doodle"--on … Read more

What Pac-Man means at 30

It's probably impossible to count the times someone has written that video games are a business as big as or bigger than Hollywood.

But long before the Halos and the Sims and the Call of Dutys and the Maddens began bringing in billions of dollars, the world was dominated by a simple yellow character munching his way through a maze of dots, trying to avoid getting eaten by ghosts.

On May 22, 1980, a Japanese company called Namco Bandai released a game in Japan called Puck-Man. The title was rejected in the United States because some worried that the &… Read more

Google gets Pac-Man fever

Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the release of Pac-Man, and to commemorate the occasion, Google is rolling out its first-ever truly interactive and playable home page logo, a fully-functional version of the iconic 1980s video game.

For years, Google has produced its so-called doodles for all kinds of holidays and special occasions, from Valentine's Day to the Fourth of July to Mother's Day and many others. In each case, the Google Doodle team works on a special logo that appears on the search engine's home page.

But a few months ago, when the team discovered that … Read more

Miyamoto: We're making Zelda 'easier'

The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto believes the famed franchise is too difficult for gamers. And in a recent interview with German gaming outlet Gaming Media, he said he's working on making it easier.

Miyamoto told the publication that the last few generations of Zelda games have been too complicated for gamers to get into. He said he and his team are "creating a new way to play the game."

Unfortunately, the wildly successful developer didn't divulge how he planned to change the way players interact with the next game in the franchise. He also … Read more