May 30

NGP to be less ‘investment heavy,’ more ‘affordable’

Posted in: gaming, playstation, sony, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames
After years of losses in its PS3 division, it’s no surprise that Sony’s not attempting a fiscal encore. Just the opposite, in fact. Massaru Kato, Sony’s Chief Financial Officer, stated recently that the upcoming NGP handheld won’t be as “investment heavy” as previous platforms. What does this mean? Sony probably won’t pour cash into developing new semiconductors just for its new handheld, and will instead opt to build NGP hardware with off-the-shelf and readily available components. This could translate to competitive pricing versus Nintendo’s 3DS (we hope), but it’s all quiet on the pricing front at Sony HQ. That’s liable to change at E3 next week, but regardless we’d rather not have to wait four years just to hear Yoshida’s good news again.

NGP to be less ‘investment heavy,’ more ‘affordable’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |  sourceWSJ  | Email this | Comments

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May 28

PlayStation announces official wireless cans for PS3, stereo frags coming September

Posted in: Games, gaming, headphones, headset, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, sound, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, Wireless
Perhaps Sony deemed the Ultimate Weapon too powerful (or too expensive) for PlayStation 3 owners, but these new wireless cans ought to keep your ears warm, at the very least. The new official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset features 7.1 virtual surround sound, a retractable, mutable microphone, and standard embedded volume controls. These proprietary sound-muffs connect via USB dongle, and push headset related status updates (that’s your battery status) directly to your TV screen; if you’re into that sort of thing. Sony-approved hearing will set you back $100 starting this September.

PlayStation announces official wireless cans for PS3, stereo frags coming September originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 05:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 26

Chinese prisoners forced to produce virtual gold, real profits for their guards

Posted in: chinese, gaming, Online, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, web

The virtual goods economy of massively multiplayer online games may be thriving, but it’s also stimulating an undesirable side-effect: exploitation. A former detainee at a prison in Heilongjiang province, China, has told the Guardian about how he was habitually forced into playing MMOs like World of Warcraft for the collection of loot, which the prison guards would then resell online for as much as ¥6,000 ($924) per day. Such totals would be the product of up to 300 inmates working 12-hour daily shifts, though predictably they saw none of the profits themselves. The unnamed source was at a “re-education through labor” camp where the usual toil would involve actual, rather than virtual, mining. The profitability of the online market has seemingly inspired prison bosses to move with the times, however, with business being so brisk that the computers “were never turned off.” A Chinese government edict from 2009 is supposed to have introduced a requirement that online currencies only be traded by licensed entities, but it’s believed that the practice of using prisoners in this fashion continues unabated.

Chinese prisoners forced to produce virtual gold, real profits for their guards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 12

NaClBox brings DOS-based gaming to Chrome along with sweet, sweet nostalgia

Posted in: gaming, Retro, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames
Now that Angry Birds has come to Chrome, none of us have any reason to leave the house. But if you like your games closer to 1fps, NaClBox may be more your speed. The Chrome-only emulator revives such DOS-based classics as The Secret of Monkey Island , Falcon 3.0, and Alone In the Dark. Most are demos, meant to show off the browser’s Native Client potential and tug the heartstrings of retro-gamers. And we’ll admit getting a little misty at stepping back into the blocky shoes of Guybrush Threepwood — but maybe even more so at the bleepy-bloopy Soundblaster-era soundrack.

NaClBox brings DOS-based gaming to Chrome along with sweet, sweet nostalgia originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 18:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Smithsonian announces titles for Art of Video Games exhibit, snubs Mario Paint

Posted in: Games, gaming, plans, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames
GoldenEye 007 is certainly a fun way to waste your childhood…but is it art? According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, yes. The game was one of 80 selected for an upcoming exhibit, The Art of Video Games, and the the venerable museum drew on fan expertise, using online voting to winnow the field of 240 nominees. The selections span the last four decades (!) of gaming, from the days of the Atari VCS and ColecoVision all the way to today’s modern time-sinks like Portal and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The exhibit won’t open until next spring, but in the meantime check out the source link to argue about who got left out.

Smithsonian announces titles for Art of Video Games exhibit, snubs Mario Paint originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 08:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Kotaku  |  sourceSmithsonian American Art Museum  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 28

Redbox will offer $2 per day videogame rentals nationwide in June

Posted in: gaming, nintendo, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, VideoGames, wii, xbox 360, Xbox360

Kiosk movie rental giant Redbox is finally officially expanding into the games category, announcing today it will offer videogames nationwide starting June 17th. The $2/day game rentals will include selections for PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii (two of which even have a working online service right now). This may be old hat to some since it’s been in testing at about 5,000 locations since around the same time it kicked off nationwide Blu-ray rentals, but for 21,000+ other locations there’s now a whole new reason to stand behind someone that wants to check each and every title available when all you want to do is return a disc. Seriously, express return slots Redbox — get on it.

Continue reading Redbox will offer $2 per day videogame rentals nationwide in June

Redbox will offer $2 per day videogame rentals nationwide in June originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 28

Visualized: Growing up in arcades

Posted in: awesome, gaming, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames
If you’re anything like us — and you are — you can get quite nostalgic (and often downright teary-eyed) when contemplating your geek past. That’s why we know you’ll just love our latest favorite Flickr pool, Growing Up In Arcades: 1979-1989. We’d like to stay and chat, but there are well over a hundred pictures featuring stonewashed denim, cheesy mustaches, and coin-op console games that we are dying to check out. Feel like joining us? Hit the source link.

[Photo credit: Daves Portfolio]

Visualized: Growing up in arcades originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Dangerous Minds  |  sourceFlickr  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 23

SLG 3000 scanline generator brings grimy gaming to modern displays (video)

Posted in: console, Games, gaming, Retro, Today's Chili, video, video games, VideoGames

As diligent as we are about keeping you abreast of absolutely every awesome new gadget that hits the market, every once in a while even we miss a real gem. Case in point: Arcade Forge’s SLG 3000 scanline generator, which gives your seemingly flawless HD display a throwback makeover. As the name suggests, the rather diminutive board acts as a middle man between your VGA compatible device and your TV, bringing back the sweet imperfections that marked early console gaming. The thing enlists a series of DIP switches and a potentiometer for setting scanlines and resolution to your specifications. You can land one of your own at the source link for €50. In the meantime, though, we suggest you check out the video after the break to see why we couldn’t bear to let this one get away — even if it is a few months old.

Continue reading SLG 3000 scanline generator brings grimy gaming to modern displays (video)

SLG 3000 scanline generator brings grimy gaming to modern displays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Retro Thing  |  sourceArcade Forge  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 13

iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder

Posted in: Apple, bluetooth, case, gaming, ipad, Retro, teardown, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames, Wireless

Ion iCadeThe Ion iCade, our favorite April Fools’ joke turned actual product, has just passed through the FCC and moved one step closer to retail reality. The arcade cabinet for your iPad had all its Bluetoothy bits laid bare and even brought along its user manual, in case you’re the type who bothers to read those sordid things. There aren’t too many surprises here except, perhaps, the inclusion of an Ikea-esque hex key — some assembly required. With the green light from the feds, though, that means the iCade is right on schedule for its May 31st release. If you want to ensure you nab one of the first batch, you can pre-order it now for $99 from either GameStop or ThinkGeek. And, while you wait for the blissful marriage of Atari’s Greatest Hits and Bluetooth joystick, you can peep the pics in the gallery after the break.

Continue reading iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder

iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wireless Goodness  |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 13

Four Grammy Awards renamed to include ‘video games music,’ underline its growing importance

Posted in: audio, gaming, Music, sound, Today's Chili, video, video games, VideoGames

Video games have never had a problem sitting alongside movie DVDs and music CDs (back when such things were distributed physically) in stores, so it’s frankly overdue to see them pop up in a mainstream awards show like the Grammys. The US Recording Academy has finally deigned to address video games and their aural landscapes as a separate class of entertainment, and has now amended four of its awards to spell that out. What was formerly known as “Motion, Television, or Other Visual Media” is now reclassified as “Motion, Television, Video Games Music, or Other Visual Media,” leading to there now being four awards that explicitly recognize excellence in video game music scores. Guess that was inevitable after Christopher Tin’s Baba Yetu won a Grammy this February, ostensibly because of its inclusion as one of the marquee songs on Civilization 4, but in a category entirely unrelated to gaming. Skip past the break to hear it for yourself, along with a couple of other favorites of ours.

Continue reading Four Grammy Awards renamed to include ‘video games music,’ underline its growing importance

Four Grammy Awards renamed to include ‘video games music,’ underline its growing importance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq, The Escapist  |  sourceIndustryGamers  | Email this | Comments

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