gaming

Audio-based virtual gaming aims to help the blind navigate

A video game that uses audio cues and computer-generated building layouts has proven to be better at improving a blind person's spatial awareness of that place than does actually walking them through it, according to new research out of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

The findings could have implications for how visually impaired people -- and possibly those without impairments -- best learn to navigate unknown territory.

"It is a tool to build a map of a place you have never been to before," Lotfi Merabet, the neuroscientist whose team developed the software used in the study (which appears in the Journal of Visualized Experiments), told Reuters. "The video game not only allows you to build a map in your mind, it allows you to interact with it mentally in a way that you wouldn't be able to if you were taught explicitly by walking through it."… Read more

Name your own price for six (really) good Android games

I feel like I'm on bundle overload these days, what with some new software or game collection cropping up on an almost weekly basis.

That said, when I see a good one, I gotta share. And if you're an Android user, this is definitely a good one.

For the next week or so, the Humble Mobile Bundle offers six surprisingly good Android games for whatever price you want to pay. Well, sort of.

It works like this: There are six apps on the table. Four can be had for any amount: a penny, a dollar, whatever. If you … Read more

Apple again said to be planning game hardware

Apple is once again rumored to be planning a game controller.

Citing developer sources, Pocket Gamer says Apple has been floating the idea of a physical controller to developers at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which wraps up today. The publication adds that such a device would be unveiled at a press event next month.

Pocket Gamer's report says Apple actually has a space reserved at the show for meeting with developers, but that it's using a false name to fly under the radar.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the report, citing company policy.… Read more

Ouya, apps, and the future of gaming

The annual Game Developers Conference, which attracts tens of thousands from the gaming industry, had all of the usual players this year: Nintendo, Sony, EA, Activision, etc. But they weren't the only players in town this week at GDC.

There was plenty of buzz about Ouya, the new $99, Android-based gaming console that broke Kickstarter records like Adrian Peterson breaks tackles.

Now, before the serious gamers out there savage me, let me be clear: The Ouya isn't going to be displacing the role of traditional consoles like the PlayStation or the Wii (although the Wii U has gone nowhere). … Read more

Low Latency No. 57: Well, that's one way to wipe away the debt

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Friday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

GameStop: PlayStation 4 demand to outpace supply at launch

GameStop reported its earnings yesterday, but perhaps the biggest news came from its earnings call, in which it said that demand for the PlayStation 4 is already showing signs of strength.

According to GameStop President Tony Bartel, "nearly 900,000 members have already signed up for the PlayStation 4 First to Know List." That list provides all of the latest details on the PlayStation 4 to customers and is usually a strong indicator of the number of people who might preorder the device when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter.

Bartel went on to tell investors … Read more

International Mobile Gaming Awards hit San Francisco

After existing as a peripheral event during Mobile World Congress each year in Barcelona, Spain, the International Mobile Gaming Awards this year moved its ninth annual show to San Francisco.

Launched in 2004, the IMGA is a competition for mobile games developed in countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Awarding is based on two rounds of judging by a jury of twelve, with 10 category finalists announced in the months leading up to the event, and one winner ultimately winning in each category. In addition, the IMGA also gives awards for Honorable Mention, People's Choice (based on online … Read more

Console on the cheap, games on the free with $99 Ouya (hands-on)

After seeing it in person this week, I can safely say that the Ouya game console does indeed exist. Now, will it quickly piggyback its way into millions of living rooms thanks to its low price and free-to-try games or assume a place in the pile of wouldbe consoles that failed to mount a legitimate challenge gaming’s mainstream? My bet’s on it finding a comfortable place somewhere in the middle; however, having only spent an hour with the console this week, it wouldn’t be fair to make any final judgments.

What I will do is attempt to … Read more

Razer Edge review: The Swiss Army gaming tablet

Take a Windows 8 tablet. Add Nvidia graphics. Mix in a snap-on controller. Toss in a TV-friendly dock. Suddenly, what was a gaming PC in theory can become a console; step back, and a tablet becomes a gaming handheld.

This is the promise that the Razer Edge provides: a Surface for the gaming set, if you will. It's a novel idea that no one else has made tangible yet, and the Razer Edge stands alone in that regard.

At its heart, the Razer Edge is a 10-inch Windows 8 tablet with either a Core i5 or i7 processor, like … Read more

Don't miss these new Grand Theft Auto V screenshots

Since its first release in 1997, the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game series has given gamers a nearly unlimited supply of chaos and mayhem on virtual city streets. For several months now, Rockstar has been teasing hungry gamers with exciting screenshots from the highly anticipated GTA V.… Read more