Apr 04

Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video)

Posted in: 3ds, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, console, Games, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, portable, Today's Chili, video, video games, VideoGames

If you haven’t already seen our demo of the 3DS’ rather impressive bag of augmented reality tricks, then let us take this opportunity to show you — once again — why we’re excited about the thing’s AR capabilities. The folks over at software development firm Refactr have done some tinkering and found that all you need to make your very own 3DS AR card is a white board, some dry erase markers, and a projector. By tracing the outlines of that mysterious question mark card on to a shiny white surface, they found that conjuring the device’s AR interface is actually quite simple, and mostly a matter of contrast. Going big, in this case anyway, not only makes for a good time — as evidenced by the video below — but it should also put to rest any questions about whether or not these things are sprinkled with pixie dust, Juju powder, or some other magical substance.

Continue reading Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video)

Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

Five PS One Classics Hit Xperia Play

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, xperia

medievil.jpg

This isn’t an April Fool’s joke. The Xperia Play, better known unofficially as the PlayStation Phone, is now available for sale in Europe, and launching right alongisde it are five PlayStation One titles:

* Syphon Filter
* Destruction Derby
* MediEvil
* Jumping Fish
* Cool Boarders 2

The games cost about $6.38 each. Crash Bandicoot, incidentally, comes pre-loaded on the Play for free.

Via Tech Tree

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Apr 01

ThinkGeek April Fool’s Products Include PlayMobil Apple Store and Angry Birds Pork Rinds

Posted in: Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games, Weird News

ThinkGeek - Playmobil Apple Store

Every year on April 1st, the folks at ThinkGeek go out of their way to come up with hilarious products that don’t exist. Often, those April Fool’s products are so well loved that the community demands they become real, like the My First Bacon talking plush. 
This year, ThinkGeek’s April Fool’s Day arsenal includes goodies like a Playmobil Apple Store Playset, complete with a little Steve Jobs giving a keynote speech in the theater and a Steve Wozniak on a Segway outside. The show floor is covered in iPads and iMacs, and the “optional line kit” gives you enough people to make your own little line outside the store full of people who have waited for days for the next shiny iThing. 
Also among the spoof roster this year are Angry Birds Pork Rinds, which, as you might imagine, are crispy and green. We know where those came from. There are also Star Wars Lightsaber Popsicles, a Minecraft Nether Portal USB desk toy, Gummi iPhone Cases, and more. Sadly none of them actually exist, but if you like them enough you can tell ThinkGeek that you want a real one when you click to add the fictional product to your cart.
You can check out the videos for the Angry Birds Pork Rinds and the Playmobil Apple Store behind the jump.
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Apr 01

Joy Division Coming to Rock Band 3

Posted in: nintendo wii, Today's Chili, video games, xbox 360
ian_curtis.jpg

Seriously. Why you would pick April 1st to make such a bizarre announcement is beyond me, but Harmonix sent out a note today, revealing that tracks from Grand Funk Railroad, the J. Geils Band, and yes, Manchester post-punk legends Joy Division will be coming to Rock Band 3 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. 

The game will be offering up the pre-New Order band’s best known track, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” which is admittedly a lot less harsh than some of the band’s. The song will be available next week, so you’ve only got a few days to perfect your Ian Curtis dance.
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Mar 31

PlayStation One games appear in Android Market, predictably restricted to Xperia Play (update)

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, availability, available, Games, gaming, Google, market, on sale, OnSale, playstation, sony, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames

If there was one thing that bothered us most about the Xperia Play, it was the dearth of original PlayStation games we could, you know, play on it. That’s getting a shot in the arm tonight with the introduction of five PS One titles to the Android Market: Syphon Filter, MediEvil, Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, and Jumping Flash. Each is priced at £3.99 in the UK, with the first two games on the list also being available in five languages. That pricing translates to $6.38 when the games are accessed from the US, but we imagine the final pricing may differ once the Xperia Play lands stateside. And yes, the Xperia Play will be your only way to access these for now (R800i is its codename), leaving the rest of us Android PS One lovers with a bunch of games to envy and one less emulator to enjoy. The Android giveth, and the Android taketh away.

Update: Sony Ericsson wants you to know that since the Xperia Play is, in fact, an Android handset, it won’t be restricted to just those five PS One games — it will also feature quite a few titles that you can also find on the Android Market and even a few temporary exclusives like Backstab and Dungeon Defenders Second Wave. Still, it’s a little light on actual PlayStation gaming… See the full list in the press release after the break.

Continue reading PlayStation One games appear in Android Market, predictably restricted to Xperia Play (update)

PlayStation One games appear in Android Market, predictably restricted to Xperia Play (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 31

Street Fighter II Turns 20 Years Old

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, Weird News

Street Fighter 2

Arguably one of the best fighting games ever made, and perhaps more definitively the most famous and long-lived fighting game franchise of all time, Street Fighter II turned 20 years old this month, having been released in arcades (remember those?) in March 1991. Street Fighter II wasn’t the first game in the lineage, but it was the first game in the Street Fighter II series, and the first game of the series that saw broad popularity around the world. 
The game was actually the successor to a lesser known and even less played game “Street Fighter,” a 1987 title that had some of the elements of the game most people came to know and love later. In the original Street Fighter, you could only play as Ryu (except in the multiplayer mode, where one player took control or Ryu, and the other player controlled his rival, Ken) and fought your way through five countries and ten different opponents along the way. 
Street Fighter II expanded on the premise, allowing you to choose from a roster of eight characters to control. It was the first game of its type to allow you to select the character you wanted to play, and tasked the player with learning the character’s strengths, techniques, and special abilities in order to defeat the other characters in the game. 
Once you fought your way through the other playable characters, you were confronted with the four boss characters of the game. In the multiplayer, the second player could join at any time and select any of the other playable characters to challenge the first player with. 
Street Fighter II spawned an entire industry. Theatrically released movies, animated features in the United States and Japan, toys and action figures, even a Saturday morning cartoon were all based on the game. The game’s success set the stage for five additional games bearing the Street Fighter II name, the Street Fighter Alpha series of games, the Street Fighter EX series, the Street Fighter III series, and finally, the 2008 release of Street Fighter IV, the current generation of the franchise.
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Mar 31

PlayStation Emulator Removed From Android Market – Xperia to Blame

Posted in: Google, playstation, sony, Today's Chili, video games
sony xperia play.png

PlayStation emulator PSX4DROID was pulled from the Android Market recently, and the app’s developer smells something fishy. After all, why would Google target one particular app in a store lousy with console emulators–especially when it doesn’t ship with any ROMS, and therefore doesn’t actually break any of the app store’s rules (namely the first one involving illegal content)?

The emulator’s developer thinks the whole thing stems from the upcoming release of Sony Ericsson’s Android-based gaming device. “Sony’s Xperia Play must be coming soon,” the developer wrote on Twitter yesterday. “Google just suspended all my legal Sony PSX emulator app id’s from Marketplace.” And shortly after, “This isn’t about emulators. This is about Google letting Sony rule their ‘open’ marketplace.”
As Ars Technica is quick to point out, however, other PlayStation emulators still exist in the Market, which seems to take air out of the argument that Sony is working with Google to remove the competition from the store.
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Mar 30

Microsoft Seeks Beta Testers For Xbox 360 Update

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, video games, xbox 360

 

xbox-360.jpgMicrosoft will be updating the Xbox 360 disc format its forthcoming console. However, the company is looking for thousands of willing testers to test out the new format. Here is what was posted on one of the blogs ran by Microsoft.

We are doing a Xbox 360 System Update Preview program for our next release, and the opportunity to sign up is now available. We are conducting an open call for U.S. based participants for a public preview to help us prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format. This is an important update as we continually strive to improve our products […]. As part of the preview program, you will receive a copy of Halo: Reach along with other possible rewards

 Microsoft has not released much info about the beta testing or the upcoming changes.

Via Xbit Labs

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Mar 29

Angry Birds: The Movie

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, videos, Weird News, YouTube

Angry Birds The Movie

If you’re not familiar with the folks at Rooster Teeth, now is as good a time as any to get acquainted. The crew is more commonly known for their hilarious Web comic and YouTube videos that describe how to unlock achievements and entertain us by re-enacting video game scenes in real life. This time however, they’re on the Angry Birds train with a trailer for Angry Birds: The Movie, a ridiculously funny war film based on the game that actually has more depth than a number of movies currently in theaters. 
Clearly it’s a film that will never get made, but the trailer looks fun: real pigs, animatronic birds, and lots of real human characters to identify with. Not to mention a high-tech slingshot. You have to wonder how many birds they went through just for the shoot, though. Check out the full trailer behind the jump.
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Mar 28

Guy in Power Glove Buys First Nintendo 3DS in US

Posted in: 3ds, nintendo, Today's Chili, video games
isiah johnson 3ds.jpg

He waited outside in the cold in New York’s Union Square, kept warm by an NES beanie and matching Nintendo varsity jacket–and a Power Glove covering his right hand. No one in the States was more ready to buy a Nintendo 3DS than Isiah Johnson–or, rather, Isaiah “Triforce” Johnson (we mentioned that he had his middle name changed to pay tribute to the Legend of Zelda, right?).

To call Johnson a “super fan” seems a bit like underselling the man’s convictions. Johnson was also the first person in line in the US to pick up a Nintendo Wii, way back in 2006. Johnson had reportedly been waiting in line for five days for the new handheld console–though the police made him move along on Tuesday, the second day of his stationary pilgrimage. Naturally, he was back soon after.
Nintendo eventually came to Johnson’s aid on Thursday, offering him a VIP pass to pick up the device.
[Image via Wired]
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