Hasta La Gadget!

This afternoon Gameloft appears to have lost the cover on what very much seems to be a legitimate list of all the games they’re planning on releasing in the year 2013. This list is one that several Android gaming-centric sites are claiming to be legitimate, where in reality many (if not all) of the games could have been guessed simply based on the release schedule and success of game series over the past couple of years. Can you guess a few of them before we hit the full list below?

Of course we’re not going to focus too much on the fact that these games will be released, instead taking a moment to think about how such a list is “leaked.” When a developer group or a manufacturer has a collection of widely-anticipated products ready to be released in the future, there’s always the risk that someone looking for karma (in one form or another) will find their plans and let the whole world know. If Gameloft is on the wrong side of this sort of situation, we pity the original source – especially if they’re inside the Gameloft network.

Meanwhile the games list reads like a who’s-who of top-name titles, next-generation sequels, and high-powered beasts prepared for the next generation of high-powered devices. What this tells us in a sort of offhand way is that Gameloft is fully prepared for the next generation of devices, a generation that does not yet exist – in other words, some of these games might not be working with your smartphone from a couple years ago, that one with a single-core processor, that little baby of a cell.

The following list comes from Touch Arcade:

Edit: We’ve removed the list at the request of Gameloft.

The list above should (removed), again, be taken with a grain of salt, and if you do find that it’s taken out of the post sooner than later, you’ll know that there’s a bit more credit to it than just a co-incidental creation by a rabid Gameloft fan. Have a peek at the timeline below to see recent Gameloft news from across the gaming universe as well, and keep on playing Asphalt 7 until the nest face-blasting title appears with an 8 on the end of it!

[via Droid Gamers]

Gameloft 2013 games roadmap leaks in full is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I love cool art and design, but artists can be a weird bunch. Take for instance this fruit bowl which was on display in the Design Space Tel Aviv booth at this week’s Art Basel show in Miami.

What you’re looking at is a 3D-printed fruit bowl that automatically opens itself when a user approaches it, and closes itself when they walk away. When it’s in motion, it looks pretty cool – like something out of a science fiction flick – but the design seems completely impractical too. Not only would I be worried that my fruit would fall out of it, but it also costs a whopping $11,500 (USD). I think I could buy out all of the fresh produce at my local grocery store for less than that.

The Robotic Fruit Bowl was created by Noam Dover and Amit Drori, and at that price they will probably will continue to own it.

[Thanks for the tip, Buster!]

You. You’re out drinking with your friends, matching them round for round. They’re sippin’ fancy whiskey, but you’re saving money, sticking with the well specials. So why is it, halfway through the night, you’re suddenly hit with a brutal headache, and everybody else is fine? More »

The gaming industry is ready yet again for a major change. Every five years or so, gamers are asked to toss away their old hardware and buy the new stuff. The cost, of course, is high, and the effort to actually get a new console is somewhat ridiculous in the beginning, but like good, trusting gamers, we oblige.

The so-called “next generation” is starting now. Nintendo has launched its Wii U, and that device delivers HD graphics and a vastly improved experience compared to the company’s previous console, the Wii. For now, the console is sold out and likely will remain so for the next few months.

Although the Wii U will continue to dominate the console market for the next several months, there’s trouble on the horizon. Microsoft is expected to launch its next console, the Xbox 720, next holiday season. The PlayStation 4 from Sony will likely follow close behind. Both of those consoles are expected to come with better graphics than the Wii U and have more features. In other words, they’ll probably be better all-around consoles than Nintendo’s option.

Realizing that, I don’t think Nintendo has any choice but to launch a new console in 2014. Call it the Wii U 2 or something else, but whatever Nintendo does, the company must deliver a new device in 2014 that’s capable of competing against the actual “next generation” of consoles.

It’s almost laughable that Nintendo would say that the Wii U is a next-generation device. In my own time with the console, I find it to be a nominal upgrade over the Wii. And although HD graphics is a nice addition, we’ve had those for years now from Microsoft and Sony.

“Nintendo is hiding behind the Wii’s success to prove it doesn’t need bells & whistles”

Oddly, Nintendo doesn’t appear willing to launch a new console in 2014 that can actually compete against the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720. The company is hiding behind the Wii’s success to prove that it doesn’t need all of the bells and whistles to be successful. After all, Nintendo says, the Wii had fewer features and lacked HD graphics, and dominated the console market.

But let’s not pretend that past success can inform our understanding of future market dynamics. After all, if we assume a console will be successful because its predecessor was, shouldn’t we also assume that a failure like the GameCube would spawn another loser? Obviously that didn’t happen.

Nintendo needs to consider the changing market. Today’s consumers want more-capable products in the living room, and like the idea of having consoles that are meaningfully better than those that came before them. The Wii U isn’t that device. And I’m still not convinced that third-parties will embrace the GamePad the way Nintendo hopes. Add that to the Wii U’s lofty price tag and the impending obsolescence at the hands of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720, and I think there’s a recipe for disaster being cooked up as we speak.

With a new console in 2014, however, Nintendo can change all that and put itself back in a position to control the hardware market. The Wii U should be an iterative step to whatever major upgrade might come in 2014. Without that launch schedule, Nintendo might be in serious trouble.

Why Nintendo Must Launch A New Console In 2014 is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon lets you pay a few extra bucks to “gift wrap” an order in case it’s being sent to someone special. Say, this holiday season! What they don’t tell you is that it’s being done by a mule. More »