Games

Since Parrot’s AR.Drone was released last year, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users have been able to control the twin-camera packing RC quadricopter via their iOS devices. At launch time Parrot said support for non-Apple platforms was on the way and following the release of piloting apps for mobile phones running Samsung’s bada and Nokia’s Symbian operating systems, Parrot has announced Android users will be able to find a free piloting app in the Android Market from next month. Read More

Perhaps Microsoft's employees responsible for product naming don't drive very often, given that they call this cordless gaming accessory a "wheel". For racing fans who own an Xbox 360, however, the arrival of the Wireless Speed Wheel is good news, as there aren't many driving controllers for the Microsoft console on the market. This one's price tag is pretty decent, too. Read More

Although you might have a big grin on your face as you're blowing away your opponents when playing Halo, you would actually be happier if you were playing a game like Endless Ocean, in which you interact with marine life - at least, that's what Ohio State University's Brad Bushman will tell you. The professor of communication and psychology conducted two studies, each with over 100 subjects, and has concluded that playing relaxing, nonviolent video games leaves people in a happier, more sociable mood than if they had played fast, violent games. Read More

Serious - or simply spoilt - gamers looking to enjoy motion-based gaming on all three current-generation consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have no doubt discovered that finding room for the various motion sensing peripherals on or around the TV can be a bit of a problem. The TriMount from videogame accessory company dreamGEAR addresses this by providing a home for the Xbox 360's Kinect sensor, the PlayStation Eye, and the Wii's sensor bar. Read More

Nintendo took the wraps off its new Wii U console at E3 today, sporting a controller as unique as we've come to expect from the company that brought us the Wii and the DS. With a 6.2" touchscreen, dual-analog sticks, D-pad, four face buttons, four triggers, front-facing camera, microphone, and motion controls (gyroscope and accelerometer), it's safe to say we'll see some innovative game mechanics invented to make full use of this thing. Read More

At its E3 press conference Sony finally revealed that its next generation handheld - previously codenamed the NGP - will carry the official moniker of the "PlayStation Vita". Most of the details of the Vita - which is Latin for "life" - have already been revealed, leaving the price and name as the only real new information, along with the announcement of some of the upcoming titles heading to the device when it is released from the end of the year. Read More

I'd forgive you for thinking that a 1993-era first-person shooter running in a web browser is not particularly worthy of Gizmag's attention, with the browser-based Quake Arena having been online since 2009. What makes this noteworthy is that while Quake Arena runs as compiled x86 code and a browser plugin, this Doom port relies solely on web standards like HTML5's Canvas element and Javascript. That sound you hear is an infinite number of high-school IT teachers groaning. Read More

Google's Android mobile OS is certainly an open and free system attractive to many producers, even those whose products are not portable at all. One of the newest and quirkiest inventions of this kind is a recently announced gaming console called EVO 2 by Envizions. It's actually the company's second attempt to conquer the gaming console market, though many readers probably haven't heard of Linux-based EVO 2's predecessor. Read More

On a cold morning on January 25, 1947 at the U.S. Patent Office, Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann submitted an invention that is now recognized as one of the earliest examples of the video game - the "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device". Described it as a game of skill where a player sits or lies in front of a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) mounted in a closet, the analog device was inspired by a radar commonly used in the second World War to control missiles. Using knobs to adjust speed and trajectory, a plane was represented by a single point and the scores were assigned by hand! Read More