gaming

Are kids getting dumber thanks to TV and video games?

As someone who had hoped that Tivo and the internet were going to raise my child, I have to say that I am disappointed by this SF Gate article that says kids today are dumber than ever and may in fact be getting dumber as we go on.

As for the rest, well, the dystopian evidence seems overwhelming indeed, to the point where it might be no stretch at all to say the biggest threat facing America is perhaps not global warming, not perpetual warmongering, not garbage food or low-level radiation or way too much Lindsay Lohan, but a populace … Read more

Gaming laptops: The bold and the beautiful

The Dell XPS M1730 we just reviewed took home an Editors' Choice award. This massive, 11-pound laptop is about as good as it gets for mobile gaming. It serves up a most powerful mix of components, from a Core 2 Extreme CPU to Nvidia SLI graphics. The M1730 even finds room for Ageia's PhysX processor. While we liked what we saw from the M1730 in our labs, what helped it score so highly was a number of new features absent from previous XPS models. There's a gamer-friendly, 10-key number pad, a useful status LCD above the keyboard, and … Read more

'Gamer' shoes may be step in wrong direction

As the consuming world still tries to figure out if it likes musical footwear it's probably a good bet that shoes designed to look like game controllers won't be a huge hit anytime soon.

It would be one thing if they worked remotely, kind of like DDR for Gears of War, but we're talking about a shoe--and nothing more--with a sole that's embedded with ersatz buttons resembling those of an Xbox controller. Shiny Shiny says the footwear, made by Heelys as part of its new "Gamer" line, will arrive on the market just in … Read more

MySpace to debut casual-game site in January

News Corp.-owned social-networking site MySpace.com announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with casual-game maker Oberon Games, part of Oberon Media, to create a "channel" of social games.

Slated to launch in January, MySpace Games will allow users of the service to play games against other MySpace members and embed game widgets in their profiles.

Additionally--as it seems that there just can't be a social-networking announcement without talk of the "D" word--developers will be able to submit ideas for new games, and Oberon will be providing a developer toolkit when the game site … Read more

Space elevator teams inch along

So far, no one has won NASA's $500,000 space elevator challenge after five days of bad weather in Salt Lake City, Utah, and more than enough snafus.

As of Monday, three finalist teams--the Kansas City Space Pirates, The University of Saskatchewan (USST) and the Technology Tycons (high-school kids from California)--were scheduled to perform two tests each of their self-built robotic climbers. To win the prize money, the teams' robots must be able to hoist up a thin carbon tether 100 meters within 50 seconds, under its own power source.

The three finalists emerged from eight teams … Read more

Electronic Arts wants an 'open-source' gaming platform

Electronic Arts thinks the current gaming business is a quagmire of inefficiency. The solution, according to EA's head of international publishing? An open gaming platform.

...[I]ncompatible consoles made life harder for developers and consumers.

"We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible....We're platform agnostic and we definitely don't want to have one platform which is a walled garden."

Funny how different industries are increasingly coming up with the same answer to the inefficiencies that proprietary competition creates: openness. Open source. Open standards. Open competition.… Read more

'Chore Wars,' where 'World of Warcraft' meets toilet cleaner

SAN FRANCISCO--Housework is a lot more fun with a battle axe and a couple of dwarves.

Chore Wars, a game shown off by noted game developer Jane McGonigal at the Web 2.0 Summit recently, gives users "experience" points for various household chores. Collecting those points then lets you advance your profile in the online game.

Swiffer the floor twice a week and get 20 points for charm, that sort of thing. You can also play for virtual gold doubloons. These can be exchanged for rewards, inside your own circle of friends. Earn 200 doubloons and you can … Read more

Game gear that even IKEA could love

Take a look at the "D-Box GP-200" game chair posted just a few minutes ago, which looks about as aesthetically polished as its industrial name would suggest. Now imagine it morphing into a designer form worthy of the most Spartan interiors. That would be the "Battle-Rig Pro."

This German-made game station can be built with various color choices and personal specs for integration with any decor, according to Techie Diva. The apparatus includes built-in speakers and anything else that can be accommodated by its various storage compartments.

There's just one catch: Only Germany, Austria and … Read more

Games or no games, D-Box chair revs up

Not everyone has the cash to pump into a real racing car, nor the skill to execute a driving technique like a perfect drift. But if you do feel the need for speed, you can still take a seat--in the D-Box GP-200.

It's a bucket seat that's been outfitted with five speakers and three hydraulic jacks that simulates racing action onscreen. Pair it with a PC game like rFactor or Flight Simulator X and you can almost feel the wind in your hair at full throttle. For all this heart-pounding action, its $16,425 sticker price isn't … Read more