Games

June 30, 2006 As personal computer and mobile telephones have become ubiquitous, there have been few surprises in the way the cookies have crumbled, but one that seems to fly completely in the face of logic is the attraction that the female gender has for computer games. Women represent 59% of all U.S. consumers who play games on a mobile phone and these findings concur with the overall demographic makeup of Internet gamers, where women are the majority due to their penchant for online trivia and card games. Men, on the other hand, hold the majority among gamers who play intense action and role-playing games, and there is not a comparable group of male users in the mobile gaming space. A new research study entitled "Electronic Gaming in the Digital Home" concludes that women are the foundation of the gaming market, and the industry needs to cater to their preferences. John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates believes, "Women generally spend little on gaming even though they like to play games … the industry just needs to find a game they are will to pay for."  Read More

June 13, 2006 The evolution of the computer human interface will take a step forward next month with the release of a Gyroscopic Gamepad. eDimensional already manufactures a number of innovative gaming accessories using technologies such as 3D, motion tracking, audio and voice recognition so it’s not surprising the company has added another interesting interface. With proprietary VRMS (Virtual Reality Motion Sensing) technology, the G-Pad Pro delivers a next generation gaming experience to current model Playstation 2 consoles and PCs. Using a 12 button analog configuration, the G-Pad Pro adds intuitive and precise motion sensing technology to improve gameplay performance in virtually any genre of gaming. Rotate the controller on multiple axes to gain four additional control options in three dimensional space. The result is advanced new movement functions and a smoother, more dynamic ability to control in-game action. Additionally, users may experience decreased hand fatigue compared to standard keyboards or controllers. Now, what can we do with this for non-gamers?  Read More

May 12, 2006 You don’t need a degree in ergonomic engineering to realise that the Computer Human Interface (CHI) is still in its infancy. The QWERTY keyboard was designed 150 years ago, shaped by all the wrong reasons, and still masquerades as high tech when it is indeed a dinosaur. Ironically, it has been given an indefinite stay of execution thanks to the invention of the mouse, the lack of an obvious successor and a curious human resistance to change. Promising technologies such as handwriting recognition and voice recognition cried “ready” a few too many times before they really were and damaged consumer trust and … let’s just say that when we find a better way, we’re looking forward to a ceremonial burning of the keyboard. Logically, the computer can be interfaced with the human in many ways, and the BodyPad is a perfect example, as it turns body movements into computer inputs, effectively turning the human body into a Gamepad! BodyPad is a motion sensor game controller that works with Sony's Playstation 1 & 2 and Microsoft's XBox. Though it’s compatible with almost every existing video game, it’s ideal for fighting, dance games, and some sports games too! Indeed, a bit further down the track, we can see the BodyPad teaching us how to dance, box, throw a baseball, shoot a basketball or kick a football.  Read More

May 11, 2006 With the world’s largest electronic entertainment expo (E3) opening overnight, there’s some exciting new products appearing on the radar over the next few days. One that we think has long-term merit perhaps beyond the realm of gaming, is the Gaming Headset X205 from Motorola. The X205 has a noise-cancelling microphone that supports clear voice recognition commands, a premium quality mono ear cup so users can easily communicate with others in the room, an ergonomic design to minimise the discomfort after endless hours in the saddle and inline mute and volume controls for seamless sound management.  Read More

April 25, 2006 Given that it’s the most obvious way in which two males can exercise their testosterone without outright violence, arm wrestling probably predates all other sporting contests. It is known to have been a common way to while away the hours for Rome’s all-conquering armies and depictions of arm wrestling have been found on the walls of Egyptian tombs, though we suspect that informal contests predates those historical notations my ten of thousands of years. Which is why we think this high-tech update of the game deserves mention. It’s arm wrestling with an electric shock for the loser. The contestants wear elbow pads and gloves, and when the circuit is completed by the back of a losers hand touching the pad, they get an electric shock! Here’s something bound to appeal to all those perverse natures out there. Latestbuy seems to have a wide range of games in which the loser gets shocked – quite literally. Apart from arm wrestling, you can also inflict pain on your opponent by dueling with Laser Guns, remote control Battle Tanks and a game designed to pit your reaction time against your opponent, Lightning Reaction Xtreme. There’s even a memory game like the one’s you probably played as a kid. Well, Shocking Memory is kinda like that!  Read More

April 19, 2006 The internet continues to radically change the world of media and cross-media fertilisation continues to develop even more potent mixtures of compelling, targeted entertainment. Games are now a part of mainstream global entertainment, with professional gamers and teams gaining celebrity status and six figure incomes. Similarly, reality television is now an established winner as networks attract massive audiences of vicarious thrill-seekers by getting low- or no-paid nobodies to bare their all in the hope of becoming highly-paid somebodies. Mix it all together and put it on the web as high-resolution video that users can stream to their computer and you have the makings of yet another new high-appeal hybrid genre that raises the profile of all concerned. And so it came to pass that video game publisher Ubisoft, which sponsors an all-women gaming team known as the Frag Dolls, has partnered with MTV’s GameTrailers.com site to produce five weekly online-only episodes about the recruitment of the newest team member. The first episode premieres today. Would we be a trifle cynical to note that all eight candidates, not to mention the incumbent FragDolls in their entirety are unrepresentatively attractive?  Read More

March 21, 2006 The game industry continues to grow and with an entire generation now having been raised on games, it is a legitimate and burgeoning part of our culture. Which makes it worthwhile honouring the people who have played a role in the industry’s formative years. Sony Entertainment’s Metreon centre is a 350,000 square-foot entertainment complexlocated in the heart of downtown San Francisco that was opened 18 months ago. Last year Metreon launched the video game industry’s version of the “walk of fame” to commemorate some of pop culture's most indelible icons of the digital screen. Last year the inaugural inductees were Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of “Mario Brothers” and “Donkey Kong”) and Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari and “Pong”), in the Lifetime Achievement category, and Halo, Link (The Legend of Zelda), Mario, and Sonic The Hedgehog in the category for favorite Games/Characters. This year fans have voted in six new inductees and all were on hand to claim their stars on the “walk of game.” They were Sid Meier (creator of Civilization, Railroad Tycoon and Pirates) and John Carmack (Technical Director, id Software - developers of DOOM and QUAKE) for Lifetime Achievement, and Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), StarCraft, FINAL FANTASY and EverQuest as favorite Games/Characters.  Read More

February 26, 2006 VIA Technologies has set up what is in effect, the first sports academy for computer gamers when it recently launched the girlz 0f destruction gaming house in Sweden. Dubbed the “Home of Chrome” after the Hi-Def Chrome computer hardware provided by VIA and S3 Graphics, the year-round eSports training house provides both professional and amateur gamers with a unique opportunity to improve their competitive gaming skills in a focused environment. One of the largest and fastest growing entertainment markets with global sales of around US$20 billion last year, PC gaming is becoming increasingly competitive around the world, with the growing recognition of eSports reflected in escalating tournament prizes, such as the US$150,000 purse at the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) finals. The Home of Chrome is a strategic move to facilitate intensive training for competitive PC gamers to hone their skills and practice with the best.  Read More

January 7, 2006 – Philips Electronics has unveiled a tabletop gaming platform that marries traditional multi-player board and computer games in a uniquely simple and intuitive way, at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The prototype, known as Entertaible, allows the players to sit around a table and play a new class of electronic game, combining the features of computer gaming – such as dynamic playing fields and gaming levels, with the social interaction and tangible playing pieces – such as pawns and dies – of traditional board games. Entertaible owes its name to the social entertainment experience it encourages and the tabletop form factor it is built upon.  Read More