gaming

Musika: Trippy spelling game for your iPod

I guess it's physically impossible for you to get Dance Dance Revolution for your iPod, but this might be as close as you can get. It's Musika, a pseudo-psychedelic new game from PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura of the Japanese gaming company NanaOn-Sha, and it's just been released for 5th-generation iPods in conjunction with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. You can buy it in the iTunes Store's game section.

It's a "visualization game," so you can either watch the pretty patterns that synchronize with your iPod's current tunes, or you can use … Read more

Price cuts and video games

In an announcement that was confirmed earlier this week, Microsoft has officially announced that its Xbox 360 console price will drop across the entire line. For those who are keeping score, the Elite version will go for $449.99, the Halo version for $399.99, the premium version for $349.99 and the core version for $279.99. And while I applaud Microsoft for making some headway in reducing prices, why can't the same be said for the entire video game industry? Why are prices so high? Forget movie theater tickets, the real robbery is found on video game … Read more

Xbox 360 price drops now official

After weeks of credible rumors, Microsoft finally made it official: the Xbox 360 will be cheaper as of August 8. The new price points are as follows:

Xbox 360 Core: The cheapest 360 drops just $20, to $280. But since it still doesn't come with a hard drive--which will cost you at least $100--you're much better stepping up to the Premium version (see below).

Xbox 360 Premium: The sweet spot in the Xbox 360 lineup drops $50, to $350. If you don't need HDMI output and you're not planning on downloading a lot of videos, … Read more

When only Big Bird is safe enough

Toy makers have made good progress in robots and pretty much anything with a remote, but they've never quite been able to figure out computers for tots. Usually they're just toy laptops with lame black-and-white screens that are barely legible, making them kind of like fancy Etch A Sketches with some flashing lights and a mouse.

The latest offering from Fisher-Price, the "Easy Link Internet Launch Pad," takes a different approach. Rather than just try to look like a notebook for kids, it's a plug-and-play navigation device that works with any regular computer with a … Read more

New details--and video--of the updated PSP

Just a few short weeks after its first public unveiling at the Santa Monica E3 show, the newly slimmed-down Sony PSP was on display for New York media. We already knew the basic details of the PSP redesign (thinner, lighter, sleeker, faster), but Sony's John Koller, Senior Product Manager for the PSP, was kind enough to give us an on-camera summary of the updates. Executive Editor David Carnoy is handling the camera, an RCA Small Wonder EZ201--he's the one you hear asking the questions offscreen, and you can even see him reflected in the PSP screen at … Read more

Console modding: Right or wrong?

In a recent blog on CNET News.com it was learned that modders in 16 states were brought down for allegedly selling and distributing "circumvention devices."

While federal agents, including U.S. Customs officials, are heralding the capture of these "criminals" as a mark of significant progress in the fight against modding, I'm not so quick to agree.

At its very core, what is so wrong with modding, or modifying, one's gadgets? While I admittedly don't know as much about the techniques involved, because I don't own any modded devices, I still … Read more

Future Implications: Killing in video games

In a recent blog entry posted here,, an African woman expressed anger and distaste for the alleged "depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young? fearing, hating, and destroying Black people." And while I understand where she is coming from (no one likes to see their own people being killed), it seems she is echoing an ever-increasing issue with video games: over-sensitivity.

Ever since graphics became the big thing in … Read more

Multiverse to launch version 1.0 of its virtual world platform

For people wanting to design their own 3D virtual world, or online game, doing so just got a little bit closer to reality.

That's because the Multiverse Network has announced version 1.0 of its development platform, a system that allows anyone to create a fully functional massively multiplayer online game based on a common set of tools.

Until now, the platform had been in beta, but over the last year or so, more than 11,000 teams of designers have begun using it.

Multiverse's model provides the platform free of charge to anyone who wants it. The … Read more

Feds' raids hit alleged mod chip smugglers

Look out, modders: federal customs agents have just announced a new crackdown on the smuggling of "illegal" devices that enable gamers to play pirated wares on Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360, Sony's Playstation 2 and other consoles.

As part of an ongoing investigation into the sale and distribution of such "circumvention devices," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from 22 offices said they raided businesses, storefronts and residents in 16 states on Wednesday. They reported executing 32 search warrants, but there was no word on whether any arrests were … Read more