Aug 10

Nintendo to release Flame Red 3DS console next month, sunglasses not included

Posted in: 3ds, console, game, launch, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, price, Today's Chili
Better dust off your finest pair of shades, because this Flame Red Nintendo 3DS is on its way to the States. The console, which launched earlier this summer in Japan as the Red Flare, will hit stores next month (alongside the new Star Fox 64 3D game), joining a 3DS lineup that already features Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue. The company will also be releasing two new games this winter — Super Mario 3D Land in November and Mario Kart 7 in December — in the hopes of rectifying its disappointing Q2 earnings report with a strong holiday campaign. Only time will tell whether or not it has any effect on Nintendo’s bottom line, but if you’re interested in adding a touch of Santa-like cheer to your yuletide gaming season, you can grab a Flame Red console on September 9th, for $170. Find more information in the full PR, after the break.

Continue reading Nintendo to release Flame Red 3DS console next month, sunglasses not included

Nintendo to release Flame Red 3DS console next month, sunglasses not included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 06

Sony’s PlayStation Vita goes up for pre-order at Best Buy Canada

Posted in: console, Games, gaming, playstation, psp, Today's Chili

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here — or at least its pre-order page is. Sony’s hotly anticipated PlayStation Vita has been on our minds since January, and now it’s making its Canadian North American pre-order debut via Best Buy Canada. The product pages for both the WiFi-only and 3G editions list a release date of March 30th — which lines up with previous reports that the console won’t be gracing your stocking this Christmas — but we’d take that estimate with a heaping fistful of salt. If you’re itching to throw down some Canadian dollars, however, feel free to hop on over to the source to secure yours now.

[Thanks, Silverfox]

Sony’s PlayStation Vita goes up for pre-order at Best Buy Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Nintendo CEO responds to 3DS price drop backlash

Posted in: 3ds, console, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, price, Today's Chili

Post-purchase price drops are one of a number of curses that plague early adopters. Generally, however, such shifts take time, so Nintendo caught us all a bit by surprised when it announced that it will be cutting the cost of the 3DS from $249 to $169 in mid-August. The gaming giant was quick to mend fences, offering 20 free virtual console games to those who got burned by the discount. Nintendo’s CEO Satoru Iwata followed up the announcement with a more formal apology to consumers, noting that they may well feel “betrayed” and “punished” for their early adoption. Iwata added that early buyers are still “important” to the company, and that the decision to drop the price was due to concerns on the part of retailers and designers that Nintendo hasn’t released a worthy followup to the ultra-popular DS.

Nintendo CEO responds to 3DS price drop backlash originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Nintendo 3DS Panda dev model hits Canadian eBay, reminds US how little the dollar is worth

Posted in: 3ds, canada, console, developer, game, handheld, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, Today's Chili

Have $1,929 Canadian dollars to spare? You can swap those loonies for 2,000 all-American greenbacks, or the current bid on a Nintendo 3DS Panda development model, rounding out its final 24 hours on eBay’s Canadian auction site. This “like new” device won’t be playing retail 3DS or DS cartridges, but it will grant you access to a variety of development functions. The $2,000 current bid is more than a hair higher than the dev hardware’s unconfirmed original price of $324, but if you’re desperate to rank among the few gamers that rock 3DS dev hardware, logic probably won’t reign supreme when it comes time to hit that bid now button.

[Thanks, Julien]

Nintendo 3DS Panda dev model hits Canadian eBay, reminds US how little the dollar is worth originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Sony PlayStation Vita handheld will miss Christmas in US and Europe

Posted in: console, gaming, playstation, psp, sony, Today's Chili

How can this be? Sony’s new handheld console already passed through the FCC and was even leaked on a UK Blockbuster flyer that stated an October release date. Yet apparently these clues count for nothing, because Bloomberg reports Kazuo Hirai as saying that the Vita won’t launch in the US and Europe until early next year — with only Japan getting the device before Christmas. Why would Sony be content to miss out on all that festive trade? We have absolutely no idea, but it looks like we’ll have to email Santa a revised wish list.

[Thanks, Jerry]

Sony PlayStation Vita handheld will miss Christmas in US and Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 03

OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, camera, concept, console, electric vehicle, ElectricVehicle, ev, game, research, Software, Today's Chili, video
Cool game, or coolest game ever? That’s the question we were asking ourselves when we first came across Garnet Hertz’s augmented reality-based OutRun project — a concept car that weds Sega’s classic driving game with an electric golf cart, allowing players to navigate their way around real-life courses using only arcade consoles. Hertz, an informatics researcher at the University of California Irvine, has since brought his idea to fruition, after outfitting the system with cameras and customized software that can “look” in front of the car to automatically reproduce the route on the game cabin’s screen. The map is displayed in the same 8-bit rendering you’d see on the original OutRun, with perspectives changing proportionally to shifts in steering. The cart maxes out at only 13 mph, though speed isn’t really the idea; Hertz and his colleagues hope their technology can be used to develop game-based therapies for disabled users, or to create similarly AR-based wheelchairs. Scoot past the break to see a video of the car in action, and let your dreams converge.

[Thanks, Stagueve]

Continue reading OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool

OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 13

Microsoft’s Andy Lees on Windows’ future: one ecosystem to rule them all

Posted in: console, mango, Microsoft, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, slate, smartphone, Smartphones, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 8, windows phone 7, Windows8, WindowsPhone7, Wp7, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Microsoft has seen the future of personal computing, and it’s a world with a single Windows ecosystem. Windows Phone head honcho Andy Lees — who said that we won’t be seeing WP7 on tablets during Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference yesterday — still sees slates, phones, consoles, and PCs playing together in perfect harmony. His plan is to provide users with a consistent experience across all Microsoft-powered devices, though he didn’t flesh out exactly how this singular ecosystem will work. Given recent evidence indicating Xbox integration in Windows 8 and the UI similarities between the forthcoming desktop OS and WP7, it seems that Microsoft is well on its way to a consolidated future. But, only time will tell if Mr. Lees’ can deliver us from fragmentation with a unified Windows.

Microsoft’s Andy Lees on Windows’ future: one ecosystem to rule them all originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12

Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true)

Posted in: console, gaming, kinect, Microsoft, steve ballmer, streaming, Today's Chili, xbox

Steve Ballmer revealed a new service yesterday that should be, ahem, music to your ears when it starts spinning this fall. During Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, the Windows chief mentioned Xbox Music — a MS-branded music streaming service, with over 11 million songs and Kinect compatibility. That last feature will let you shout your music selections across the room, and could result in some pretty gnarly sibling battles whenever music tastes don’t match. Unlike the console’s current last.fm offering, we can only hope that Music will support multitasking, allowing you to settle those musical differences in the virtual boxing ring as the beat goes on, rather than on the living room floor.

Update: The Business Insider editor who reported the quote tweeted a correction and updated the article, explaining “No new Xbox Music service coming this fall. Just voice command to existing service. ‘Xbox. Music.’ Correction posted.”

Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 06

Microsoft tells Japanese gaming division to try, try again

Posted in: console, Japan, japanese, kinect, Microsoft, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, xbox 360, Xbox360

Turns out, the home of Mario and Sonic is still a tough world to penetrate for Microsoft’s gaming division, despite its near-decade presence in the market. While homegrown Nintendo and Sony products receive much of the love and Yen, newly-hatched industry outsiders are left to fend for themselves. Having finally broached the one million mark in Japan for its five-year-old console, MS is shifting the focus to its Kinect launch failures. Unsurprisingly, the full-body motion control accessory hasn’t jump-kicked its way into as many Japanese hearts and households as the Ballmer-led company would like, so it’s shuffling the deck at its Japanese outpost in order to spin the strategy a bit differently. Announced via press conference today, Takashi Sensui — former head of the Home and Entertainment division — will now oversee the newly created Interactive Entertainment Business division. Also in the works are some very culturally-tailored IPs for the Kinect platform: the Suda51-produced Codename D and a version of Steel Battalion from Capcom. Whatever the result of this renewed push may be, it sure won’t be long before Microsoft gets to give Japan the old next generation college try. After all, third time’s the charm.

[Image credit via In.com]

Microsoft tells Japanese gaming division to try, try again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 05

Wii U landing after April 1st 2012, may stream video to controllers

Posted in: console, game, gaming, nintendo, release, Today's Chili, wii
Wii U

Try as you might to maintain your nonchalant demeanor, we know you’re fired up about the potential of the Wii U. Well, we won’t spill your secrets, but we thought you might like to know that Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, recently sat down with David M. Ewalt at Forbes to talk about the company’s upcoming console. You’ll find the full interview at the source but here are a few of the more interesting tidbits. As you may have guessed, the original Wii won’t be disappearing immediately. The two will be sold side by side in stores for at least a little while. Interestingly, while we already knew that games will be playable entirely on the controller, turns out there is nothing technically stopping the console from streaming other media to the portable screen — including content from your Netflix account. Sadly, you’ll be waiting till at least Q2 of 2012 to pick one up — as Fils-Aime revealed, the next-gen gaming device won’t launch until “after April 1st.”

Wii U landing after April 1st 2012, may stream video to controllers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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