Latest Google Glass update has a secret feature: it can play music

November 13th, 2013, 01:25 Posted By: wraggster

If you thought the latest Glass update was designed solely to help with your schedule and commute, you'd be mistaken. The sneaky devs in Mountain View quietly added support for Google Play Music in the XE11 upgrade, laying the groundwork for a future feature announcement. After sideloading the app onto Glass, a new "listen to" voice command appears on the the hardware's home screen, a feature that Glass head of Marketing Ed Sanders tells USA Today it is "important to have" for the headset. Right on time, the Glass team has posted a new Explorer Story video featuring music producer Young Guru explaining how Glass can help him discover new sounds to sample, showing off playback and the existing Android Sound Search feature.
By uttering the new phrase and speaking the name of an album, artist, playlist or song, the company's guinea pigs can listen to tunes they've uploaded to Google Play Music or those available through All Access, provided they have a subscription. Once a user confirms their choice and the music starts, a card with album art and playback controls (Pause, Play, Previous, Next, Stop, Radio and Volume) is pinned to the wearable's timeline. As you might imagine, the audio quality through the bone conduction speaker isn't spectacular, and while the device's forthcoming earbud may offer some improvement, the foreseeable musical future of Glass Explorers is in mono.
Update: Google has informed USA Today and the New York Times that a set of earbud headphones will be available next month for $85, which you can spot in the video after the break. It also appears that the Google Play Music tricks discovered will be officially unveiled later today, and probably won't require any sideloading shenanigans.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/11/g...ss-play-music/

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Netflix comes to Virgin Media TiVo boxes with free six month bundles

November 13th, 2013, 01:21 Posted By: wraggster

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Battlefield's big competitor no longer Call of Duty

November 13th, 2013, 01:09 Posted By: wraggster

It's well understood now that in the world of mobile and free-to-play, a game's release date marks the beginning of the hard work for developers instead of the end. That mentality is making its way into the traditional console market as well, as DICE LA general manager Fredrik Loving made clear today in his Montreal International Game Summit presentation on EA's Battlefield Premium service.
For 2011's Battleifeld 3, the Premium pitch was similar to many season pass offerings in the console world. For a flat fee of $50 (which has since been reduced to $30), gamers would be allowed to download all five of the game's expansion packs, and with early access to boot. On top of that, Premium players would get access to exclusive in-game items, shorter wait times to get into servers, developer-made strategy videos, and access to special experience boosting events.
One of the appealing parts of the Battlefield 3 Premium plan for Loving is that when people put down their money for Premium, they had no idea what the content was actually going to be; they were willing to part with $50 just on the faith that DICE would make something cool for them. Loving said more than 4 million people signed up for Battlefield Premium.
With the recent release of Battlefield 4, DICE has brought back the Premium concept. Loving said with Premium, the developers were basically asked to take the best multiplayer experience in the world and do whatever they wanted with it. It was daunting, but also fun. To tackle the challenge, the team first had to look back on Battlefield 3 Premium and decide what worked and what didn't. And for that, they needed to go through all the data they collected the last time around.
"With the industry moving toward gaming as a service, I would say the line between the main game and what used to be called DLC is getting blurred out."
Fredrik Loving

"But data doesn't really show the full picture," Loving said. "It shows us trends, curves, but it doesn't really show the fun factor of what people like. If we based all our decisions on data, I think we would get it wrong."
Loving said community feedback was key for the developers to understand what to do. It's not always easy to filter out the noise from the facts when you have a vocal fanbase like Battlefield, but Loving said DICE has a full team focused on filtering that out. He referred to an old Henry Ford quote: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'faster horses.'" As entertainers, developers need to be taking risks and pushing forward beyond what people are asking, Loving said.
He talked about the first time he'd heard about the iPhone. He thought it was a bad idea on paper, in particular the removal of a keyboard. It didn't make sense to him at the time because it challenged the way he'd always thought about interfaces. Likewise, the challenge for game developers is to keep questioning their assumptions and ways of thinking.
Getting back to Battlefield 4 Premium, Loving questioned the naming conventions of "expansion packs." From Oblivion horse armor to Grand Theft Auto IV's Ballad of Gay Tony or stand-alone content like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Loving said the world is changing, and new terminology is needed.
"With the industry moving toward gaming as a service, I would say the line between the main game and what used to be called DLC is getting blurred out," Loving said.
As for models he would like to follow, Loving pointed to HBO, saying he's a sucker for the network. But the reason he gives them money every month is because he trusts them to release shows like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones.
"You never think about what type of data or tech is behind this entertainment," Loving said. "You just get fed entertainment on a weekly basis."
And when Game of Thrones has a season end, the subscribers stick around regardless, trusting that HBO will have some other quality content to replace it. Loving said he hopes Battlefield players feel the same way about DICE.
But Premium doesn't stand alone. Loving also brought up Battlelog, calling it the social glue that stitches together the Battlefield experience when people are away from the TV or PC. Play patterns have changed for gamers in recent years. Play time is no longer confined to a few hours with the TV after a busy work day, it expands to second-screen experiences during gameplay, with people interacting with the game world multiple times throughout the day, whether it's playing the Commander mode on an iPad or checking leaderboards and forums during the workday, or chatting and reviewing battle reports each night.
Loving said he's constantly asked about Call of Duty, and he acknowledged the Activision franchise is a direct competitor, but it is not Battlefields's main competitor. Time, not money, has become the limiting factor for people today. Whatever makes them not play Battlefield, whether it's HBO or Spotify, that is Battlefield's main competitor. The investment of time is a powerful motivator as well. Loving illustrated the point by talking about Facebook, which he hasn't spent a dime on, but into which he's invested an incredible amount of time. A superior rival social network could spring up tomorrow, but Loving said there would be no way he'd jump to it given how much time he's already spent building out his Facebook network.
"There's no one within DICE that knows everything about Battlefield, and that shouldn't be the case, either, because it's so damn complex."
Fredrik Loving

To make Battlefield Premium members feel the same way, Loving said the developers have tried to make players feel like they belong, and like they're engaged with something every time they log in. To that end, they've planned weekly content additions so there's always something new to keep them around. DICE is also giving people the tools and framework to record their own Battlefield videos and share them within the community. The result is players sharing their feelings about the game and showing "the power of a new generation of marketing."
Touching on the new generation of systems, Loving said the new hardware brings a lot to the table. But it's not just hardware horsepower that will change the industry. Instead, it's the new mindset the systems empower. The constant connection between players and experiences regardless of device, the ability to automatically update services in the background, and experimentation in the console space (Loving pointed to the free-to-play World of Tanks coming to Xbox 360 as one example) show that the new generation of gaming is about a rethinking of the relationship between games and players.
To deal with the new change, studios need to understand and support their players, Loving said. They need to be agile in responding to consumer demands, frequently updating their games and treating development as a marathon instead of a sprint. That agility extends inward as well, as developers need to rethink their structure, embracing flat organizations as much as possible.
"When projects become so big, there is no man or woman that has all the answers," Loving said. "There's no one within DICE that knows everything about Battlefield, and that shouldn't be the case, either, because it's so damn complex."
To do that, you need the best of the best talent, Loving said. And you need them to believe in the vision of the service, to have passion for the project.
"There are so many things we need to think about when we design a service for any type of game," Loving said. "There is no silver bullet. It's not just about content any more. It's so much bigger than that. The world is changing fast around us, we need to change fast with it."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...r-call-of-duty

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Upstagram: a Flying Raspberry Pi

November 13th, 2013, 01:06 Posted By: wraggster


This tiny paper house, modeled after the one in Disney’s UP, contains a Raspberry Pi, battery pack, camera, and 3G stick. The Upstagram, built by the folks at HackerLoop, took to the skies of Paris to snap and share photos on Instagram.
We’ve seen Raspberry Pis in flight before, but this build pulls it off using simple party balloons. It took around 80 balloons to get the house to a height of 300 feet. A kite string was used to tether the device and control its flight.
This hack also required some reverse engineering of Instagram. Since the photo sharing service only allows the official Android and iOS apps to upload, they had to use a reverse engineered Instagram client. This allows the unsupported Raspberry Pi to interact with the service, snapping pictures periodically and sharing them on the device’s stream.
After the break, check out a quick video overview of the project.

http://hackaday.com/2013/11/12/upsta...-raspberry-pi/

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IHS predicts 11m unit for PS4 over Xbox One by 2017

November 13th, 2013, 00:16 Posted By: wraggster

PS4 will have outsold its rival Xbox One to the tune of 11m units within five years, research firm IHS has predicted.
The company believes that by 2017 PS4 will have sold 49m units worldwide with Xbox One trailing behind on 38m units.
“IHS believes that Sony's wider geographical brand allegiance – especially across continental Europe and Japan – will be decisive in allowing PS4 to outsell Xbox One on a global basis by the end of 2017,” Piers Harding-Rolls stated.
However, IHS says that the launch will be a close-run affair, with PS4 selling 2.4m units and Xbox One 2.2m units by the end of 2013.
Factors working in Xbox One’s favour, IHS adds, are Xbox 360’s existing strong community and the reluctance of groups of friends to transition away from Xbox Live. It also expects Xbox One to maintain the brand’s lead in North America.
In addition, of benefit to both parties is the continuing weakness of Wii U which it believes will result in the further defection of more Nintendo fans to either PS4 or Xbox One.
It points out that Wii U has taken almost a year to sell 3.2m units – a number achieved by Wii in just its first few weeks, and that was with considerably supply constraints.
Added Harding-Rolls: “We also believe that both Sony and Microsoft will continue to benefit from Nintendo's Wii U weak sales, with some past Wii users adopting the latest consoles instead of upgrading to Wii U.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ihs-p...y-2017/0124122

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Smart glasses shipments to hit ten million by 2018

November 13th, 2013, 00:03 Posted By: wraggster

In the same time the app-enabled wearable device hardware market is expected to be worth around $19 million.
Shipments of smart glasses are expected to increase from the current estimation of 87,000 this year to ten million per annum by 2018, reports Juniper Research.
Towards the end of this period prices for the wearable devices are expected to decrease, making them more appealing to a consumer crowd causing a growth in adoption rate.
However, they will not achieve critical mass unless they become more than a complementary device or secondary screen, such as the Galaxy Gear which has been dubbed a ‘companion device’ to other Samsung gadgetry.
Nitin Bhas, author of the report, said: “These devices would need to incorporate intuitive and user-friendly functionalities and capture the imagination of the general public making the technology seamless within their daily routine.”
The consumer sector will primarily drive sales, followed by enterprise and healthcare sectors – first generation applications like video documentation and communication will be used heavily in healthcare.
Gartner reported that smart glasses are giving CIOs a new vision into how wearable technology could impact their businesses, predicting that $1 billion could be saved per year in some industries.
However as the possibilities are realised via diagnostic reference, surgical assistance and monitoring the consumer sector will be more willing to embrace the technology.
In the enterprise sector, there are already use cases for smart glasses, such as engineering to logistics applications - which are currently being worked on by developers.
If consumers are going to push the sales in these wearable devices as the research predicts, then developers will have to work hard on rolling out attractive hardware and apps.


http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...by-2018/022799

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Mad Catz' STRIKE M gaming keyboard folds up to fit in your pocket

November 12th, 2013, 01:55 Posted By: wraggster

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Can PS4 and Xbox One save console gaming?

November 12th, 2013, 00:28 Posted By: wraggster

2013 hasn't painted a pretty picture for the retail sales of console games. With the exception of the big lift the industry received from GTA V's record-setting launch, generating $1 billion in just three days, console game sales have been consistently down. In fact, there have been nine straight quarters of decline in the video game business.
Over the next two weeks, both the PS4 and Xbox One will finally launch, but will new platforms really change the business? Is the slump just the result of consumers growing tired of the eight-year-old console generation? Is the industry suffering from an emphasis on sequels at the expense of innovation? Have smartphones and tablets fundamentally undermined the market for set-top box gaming?
GameStop president Tony Bartel thinks new consoles will bring about the innovations in gaming that the industry needs. Bartel recently blamed a lack of innovation for the current consoles' declines, and he's incredibly encouraged by what Xbox One and PS4 bring to the table. But veterans GamesIndustry International spoke with appeared to be split on whether new consoles will really boost sales.
"There will always be those kinds of gamers that just relish the bleeding edge technology. For them, they're right. That's enough for them to pull the trigger on...a new console. But I don't think that's enough of a customer base to really explain the lack of financial success that we're seeing in the console space right now," said God of War and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe.
"I think they'll be impressive, cool consoles and I'm excited to play them as a gamer, but I think the days of the traditional console are on the way out"
David Jaffe

"So I don't think seeing another batch of specialized hardware is going to move the needle in any permanent way that's going to rectify what's not a technological problem. It's a business model problem and it's a creativity problem and it's a fundamental structure problem in terms of the way the industry itself is set up when it comes to decisions that are made for certain games and things like that."
The variety of platforms at gamers' fingertips now makes the decision to purchase a new console that much harder for the average person. The hardcore will always invest in a high-end PC rig or the newest, most powerful console, but that's not the case for the masses.
"I think we're going to see a huge chunk taken out of the pie for console sales [going forward]. I think they'll be impressive, cool consoles and I'm excited to play them as a gamer, but I think the days of the traditional console are on the way out," Jaffe continued. "I think a lot of the people who bought a console this generation or last generation are getting the same meal for substantially less cost on mobile, tablets or on PC with things like Steam and a lot more interesting games and price points. And there are things like Minecraft - people in the past who would have gone out and bought a console in year one are probably just fine playing stuff like Minecraft at this point."
Tony Goodman, founder of Ensemble Studios (which Microsoft shut down) and mobile studio PeopleFun, largely agrees with Jaffe. At the end of the day, there are only so many entertainment dollars to go around, especially in a difficult economy.
Just a few more days until PS4 launches...

"New consoles will always drive a short term spike in game sales. The bigger issue for consoles is the increasing competition for entertainment dollars from other devices," he noted. "It's much like the way the TV network market changed with channel competition introduced by cable and satellite TV. ABC, CBS, and NBC were the places you went to see high quality television just like you used to go to your Xbox, PS3, or Wii for the newest and best gaming experience."
"Many niche networks sprung up that didn't spend money like the big networks but they created innovative and focused experiences for television and drew viewers away from the big networks. Some of those smaller networks have gone on to produce incredibly high quality television such as The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc. The disruption in television continues today as many are leaving the satellite and cable providers because they can essentially create their own narrowcasted network using Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV and other services."
"The game industry is progressing down a similar path. The vast majority of revenue in consoles comes from sequels," Goodman continued, referring to the problems we've seen with innovation in AAA. "Most of the innovation is occurring in the mobile and PC market where it's possible to produce a hit game with a smaller budget. Mobile and social games have dramatically increased the number of 'gamers' and also increased the amount of time spent playing games since they can be played almost anytime and anywhere... It will change even more in the future as gamers expect all their games to live in the cloud and they want to be able to play them on whatever screen they have handy."
But perhaps we're getting too hung up on what innovation means. There's nothing wrong with becoming obsessed with a top franchise and wanting more of the same with just some moderate improvements, commented one industry veteran of more than 20 years, who wished to remain anonymous for this story.
"I personally fall in love with some franchises and can't wait for the sequel. (Like I'm genuinely sad Microsoft stopped making Flight Simulator, even after version TEN!) So in a weird way I want games like FIFA and Battlefield to continue to get better; the innovation comes in making it feel 'new' and fresh, just like when Apple releases new iPhones. The upgrades need to be tangible, then I'm OK with that," he said.
With so many entertainment options available now, however, quality is more important than ever before. If a game is only average or slightly above average, consumers will move on in a heartbeat to something else that captivates them.
"I feel there's an abundance of things now to grab my entertainment time; the game and its messaging needs to capture us more quickly than ever before. To be clear with so much choice now, if a game isn't well made, people just move on, time is too valuable. Time really is valuable, it's why time based items (saving your time) are always the number-one selling micro-transaction," the industry veteran said. "If too many games look like everything else, then it's not surprising sales are down. You should urge developers to look at what they are making. If it's leading a category or genre then great. If it's looking like lots of other games and isn't leading any genre or category then it's time to pivot."
For Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the original Xbox and a former agent of Creative Artists Agency, it would be wrong to point fingers at the development community for any perceived lack of innovation.
Xbox One ships a week after PS4

"Developers are really creative. It's not like developers have suddenly become stupid. But developers are also frustrated because a lot of people have great ideas. People with great track records have great ideas. People with no track records have tremendous ideas. The guys at ThatGameCompany. They were students... I think people probably believe that developers have a lot more choice than they do in bringing new ideas to light," he said, pointing out that business becomes restricting.
"Most developers have two or three really cool things they want to make, and the question is how? If the analysts and guys running the publishing business, and any sort of game financiers, don't feel comfortable or like there's a business behind taking a bit of risk at that time, then they won't. And those ideas will stay on the shelf. So that's the situation we're in now," he lamented.
But whereas Jaffe and others are somewhat pessimistic about consoles, Blackley sees reason to hope. The new consoles will lead to new business and support new ideas, he believes, and on that front, he agrees with GameStop's Bartel. The new consoles will give the suits an excuse to try out more interesting, creative ideas that the developers are looking to push out there.
"The train track that I got held down to when I realized I wanted to see this Xbox platform happen was that I had to abandon a lot of preconceptions I had about a lot of this stuff - which was, if you want the cool, innovative stuff to happen, somebody somewhere has to put in a terrific amount of business funding in order to enable it to happen. And it's exhausting," he said. "What I discovered is that the reason there wasn't a lot of innovation way back then in the '90s wasn't what I thought. It wasn't because developers weren't creative, or people didn't have enough ideas or opportunities, or the technology didn't exist to bring those ideas to life. That stuff's all a challenge, but the fact is, to make something innovative requires cash. It requires a financial opportunity to take some risks."
Ultimately, Blackley believes that the new consoles will create that financial opportunity. It's what new consoles do best, he said.
"...in the last 10 years, development costs have probably gone up 30x... you're squeezing more and more out of less and less, and that's really challenging if you're a smaller developer"
Alex Hutchinson

"Consoles are not about the television. They're not about high performance. They're not about having a consistent controller or any of those things. Those are true, but that's not the heart of the matter. And this is where there's an underground reality that people don't think about. What they're really about is providing a stable economic base that lets you take risks on games," he explained. "So we have seen all sorts of big innovation in gameplay on consoles. And sure, we've seen a lot of derivative stuff as well because it's expensive. It's a hard business. But it has been safe within that environment to take risks."
"Sometimes those risks are taken by first parties. Sometimes they're taken by third parties. But we've seen whole new genres erupt on the console that wouldn't have happened other places where there wasn't a defined, semi-safe business model that was clearly managed in sort of a walled garden way. So you think of Guitar Hero, Gears of War, or any of the console models that are innovative and have driven a lot of the industry, those were possible because the business behind them was possible. And that business was possible because these players, the console providers, created this safe baseline business model."
New consoles in and of themselves, however, aren't going to magically solve problems with innovation and industry growth. "What we need is the next generation of business infrastructure to make [innovation] possible. And iOS isn't doing a great job at that. There needs to be new excitement injected into the console world to provide more infrastructure for that to happen," Blackley pointed out.
Something definitely needs to happen on consoles to support a business other than massive AAA titles. Perhaps Sony's indie push and the ID@Xbox program will make a difference, but so far consoles have become tough places to survive for smaller studios. It's unfortunately led to a loss of the mid-level game, said Alex Hutchinson, creative director at Ubisoft Montreal
"If you talk about big AAA or traditional console games, I think it's the loss of the middle, the loss of the solid B title. And that's a shame because there's a lot of unusual stuff there in the past. But it's because the cost of development has gone up astronomically. If you think about it, in the last 10 years, development costs have probably gone up 30x, but the cost to the consumer has remained the same. So you're squeezing more and more out of less and less, and that's really challenging if you're a smaller developer," he noted.
Maybe in the end, the concerns about the future of consoles and whether these new systems spark sales is irrelevant. After all, it's the games that matter, and those will live on any platform.
"Big hits have never sold more than they do today, and indies have never been as prominent before. Today is the boom of that," Hutchinson said. "I feel like we're focusing on a very narrow window and saying it's all...going down. Games are so wide now. It's on your phone, your handheld device, your TV, my mom's playing on Facebook. It's so big now. It's bigger than it's ever been. It's come out of the bedroom, so to speak."
While consoles can no longer hog the spotlight, the bottom line is that games and the business around them will continue to grow and evolve. As our anonymous industry veteran said, "I think we need to stop worrying about the games business, it's growing constantly, there's more people playing games now than ever before and money is made in so many ways, in so many countries that are not made public. The amount of teams the industry is funding is growing exponentially and so it's not surprising that the overall wealth of the industry is becoming more distributed. I believe there's plenty of money out there if you do something innovative."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...console-gaming

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A third of all console spending to be digital by 2017 - report

November 12th, 2013, 00:26 Posted By: wraggster

IHS head of games Piers Harding-Rolls has predicted a dramatic swing to digital during the imminent console generation.
The analyst believes that by 2017 a total of 34 per cent of all games spend on PS4 and Xbox One will be spent on digital games. By comparison, it says that back in 2008 just seven per cent went on digital.
Day-and-date digital and retail releases will be one of the largest driving factors.
“While digital distribution of full games will drive the transition as it has in the PC sector, experimentation with new content and service models – paid downloadable content, free client software, virtual items and currency, more service-based games, service subscriptions – will help accelerate the switch to digital consumption,” Harding-Rolls stated.
“In the PC sector, competition between digital retailers and publishers on pricing is extensive and this has helped drive the transition to digital consumption. The nature of the 'closed' console platforms means that competition on pricing is inevitably less developed, but this is slowly changing. More aggressive digital pricing competition with boxed product will be necessary to build digital consumption.”
The analyst doesn’t believe this will result in any sales cannibalisation, either, and predicts that this shift will increase profitability for both Sony and Microsoft.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/a-thi...report/0124064

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You’re Playing It Wrong: the Console Wars, a condensed history

November 12th, 2013, 00:24 Posted By: wraggster

At this late juncture, no one can remember exactly how and why the Console Wars first began, and perhaps only their constant flogging in the media makes it seem like they’ve been a part a human affairs since the dawn of time. But it’s reasonable to assume that before civilisation, the first videogame consoles were just plain rocks, and the Console Wars originated when cavemen started throwing them at each other like a primitive game of Pong. Whether fighting over resources, territory or fiercely held differences of opinion on whether rocks should have lots of magical glittery bits stuck in them or be simple to pick up and use, these early warriors set in motion the dream of ‘one console to rule them all’, which led our world to its current state of absolute ruin.The first generation of consoles came together in ancient Greece after Archimedes invented the inclined plane, the wheel, the axle, the lever, the pulley, the wedge, the screw and, just for the hell of it, the egg whisk. These inventions primed the agora for competing products by three very different merchant guilds. The Sôny console offered superior technology at a daunting drachma-point, with upwards of 70 pulleys and levers pumping away inside a two-tonne slab of marble. The Mikrosoft console, with its more efficient machinery shelled in a sleek modern amphora, was renowned for its ergonomic handles and strong community experience. And the wildcard console, the Nintendos, was simply a cheap terracotta box, powered by a mouse on a treadmill and controlled, as far as we can tell, with an egg whisk.Few ancient Greeks could afford all three consoles. The Sôny alone could fill a small stadium and was worth hundreds of slaves – and that was just for the Arcade model; the Elite version was enhanced with enchanted dragon scales and could double as a funerary stele. Hardware makers ignited the Console Wars with inflammatory marketing slogans: “Genesis Does What Nintendoesn’t” trumpeted one of many attack ads in the Daily Papyrus cooked up by the Sêga guild, who tried to take over the hardcore sector but wound up abdicating the Console Wars to licenced games about an adorable mascot named Sonos the Vole. “Why did the Vole cross the road?” Nintendos shot back. “To place marker stones commemorating the god Hermes in his priapic form.” The reference is obscure now, but it apparently worked, as Nintendos far outlasted its rival.It was during the Industrial Revolution and beyond that the Console Wars really got interesting. By Victorian times, Sôny was selling a handsome teak-and-brass unit outfitted with the latest in gasworks and its own sewer system, which did not play games but could comfortably house a family of eight. Mikrosoft fielded a stylish, steam-powered console covered in punkish leather plates and meaningless gauges, enhancing its communications power with modern telegraph wires and an internal wet-plate camera process. Nintendos was marketing a hand-cranked console with a Kinetoscope that ran at a dozen frames per minute, whose whimsical titles were almost playable thanks to the invention of the Egg Beater Plus addon.One need hardly recap the depredations of the 20th century’s Console Wars, when a trend towards westernisation caused the three major companies to update their names to their contemporary forms. In short, the advent of the Internet shifted the onus of perpetuating the conflict from the companies to the fans, who avidly took up their new roles as unpaid kamikaze draftees in a vast, pointless psy-war. In my completely unbiased appraisal, you were either a Sony person, who valued processing power above all else in your abject fear of human emotion; a Nintendo person, a magical creature of pure imagination who functioned in the real world despite your irrational fear of complex technology (Nintendo was sticking with the gimmicky egg whisk controls, poorly disguised as a Nunchuk); or a Microsoft person, a well-adjusted and good-looking citizen who occupied the sensible middle.To be sure, there was slight justification for such fierce partisanship, as the popularity of your favourite console influenced its exclusives and its triple-A library. But was that worth all the rancour, the endless bullet-point skirmishes, the desolation and destruction that have characterised the 21st century? As we all know, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One took the Console Wars to the next level when they evolved into semi-sentient war machines, engaging each other in mecha battles across the continents, piloted by message-board trolls with unhealthy post counts and mortality rates equivalent to Advance Wars infantrymen. Couldn’t this have been avoided if everyone had simply played the console they liked and not worried about other people liking other things? At least Nintendo dropped out of the battle when its final console, the Wii U, became culturally adapted to all kinds of non-gaming functions, from exercise instruction and body fat monitoring to whipping up a delightful soufflé.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...ensed-history/

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Why Project Flare Might Just End the Console War

November 12th, 2013, 00:23 Posted By: wraggster

Project Flare, the new server side gaming technology from Square Enix, turned heads when it was announced last week. The first tech demos do little more than show the vast number of calculations it can handle with hundreds of boxes tumbling down in Deus Ex, but the potential is there to do much more than just picture-in-picture feeds in MMOs. As a new article points out, what's most interesting is the potential to use the technology for games that use more than one system — OnLive may have used this tech before, but only to play games you can buy on discs in the shops anyway, but the future is in games that need the equivalent of dozens of PS4s or Xbox Ones to power them. Ubisoft has already partnered with Square on the project.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/13/1...he-console-war

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Google Glass prescription lenses are coming into focus

November 11th, 2013, 20:26 Posted By: wraggster

Rochester Optical says it will launch an add-on to the wearable device by January.
Although a general release date has not yet been confirmed for Google Glass, the announcement from New York-based company Rochester Optical that it will be releasing a prescription add-on by January could be a hint.
Even though Google are not actually involved in the project, we still have our fingers crossed that we may be able to get our hands on a pair soon.
Earlier in the year, eBay removed a mysterious $15,000 Google Glass auction held by a user who claimed to be able to get hold of a device long before release and ship it straight out.
Wearable technologist Tim Moore who recently joined the project, took to Google + to express his excitement.
“After months in stealth mode here at +Venture Glass, we’re happy to finally let you in on this exciting news. One of the first wearable technology items Rochester Optical will be producing are custom prescription, fashion, and sport lenses for Google Glass.”
Moore told Mashable that the Google Glass-ready prescription lenses will be priced around the same as regular lenses, and will come in a range of colours to compliment the device.
Customers must enter their prescription details online, choose a colour and can expect their lenses to be shipped within two business days. Simples.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...o-focus/022795

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The Forest looks like an FPS Blair Witch Project

November 11th, 2013, 20:03 Posted By: wraggster

If there's one thing it seems Oculus Rift will be useful for, it's terrifying us to our very soul.
Have a gander at this trailer for The Forest, a Rift-compatible survival horror which puts players in control of a plane crash survivor who lands in a forest inhabited by a clan of mutant creatures.
The Forest is an open-world adventure where survival from the elements is as important as survival from the enemy. Players have to chop down trees to build a camp, start a fire to keep warm, scavenge food to prevent starvation and find and plant seeds to grow crops.
Traps can also be built, and over time players will be able to strengthen their shelter, building fortresses to protect them from the mutants that roam during the night.
According to its developer, SKS Games, the game lets players "enter a living, breathing forest with changing weather patterns, plants that grow and die. Tides that roll in and out with the day/night cycle. Below ground, explore a vast network of caves and underground lakes."
One thing SKS doesn't discuss too deeply is that The Forest will likely reduce us to blubbling wrecks, flailing around the room with our Oculus Rifts on and knocking countless family heirlooms off our shelves in the process.
Already greenlit for Steam, an alpha version of The Forest is due for release later this year, with the full game expected some time in 2014.
Turn off the lights.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...witch-project/

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UK Chart: Call of Duty Ghosts is 3rd biggest launch of 2013

November 11th, 2013, 20:00 Posted By: wraggster

Call of Duty: Ghosts has debuted at No.1 on the UK all formats all prices chart for the week ended November 9.
The game recorded the third biggest launch week sales of the year behind GTA 5 and FIFA 14, according to retail monitor Chart-Track. The Xbox 360 version of CoD Ghosts accounted for 62 per cent of sales, the PS3 edition for 34 per cent, the PS4 version for three per cent, and the PC and Wii U editions for the remainder.
<figure title="" data-media992="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311434_460.jpg" data-media768="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311434_700.jpg" data-media480="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311434_480.jpg" data-media="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311434_320.jpg"></figure>Battlefield 4 was a non-mover at No.2, followed by Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, FIFA 14 and GTA 5.
Batman: Arkham Origins, WWE 2K14, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, Football Manager 2014 and Skylanders Swap Force rounded off the top ten, while 3DS exclusive Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy debuted at No.13.
GfK/Chart-Track Top 10 (previous week)

• 01. Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
• 02. Battlefield 4 (EA)
• 03. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
• 04. FIFA 14 (EA)
• 05. Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
• 06. Batman: Arkham Origins: (Warner Bros.)
• 07. WWE 2K14 (2K Sports)
• 08. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Microsoft)
• 09. Football Manager 2014: (Sega)
• 10. Skylanders: Swap Force (Activision)

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GAME's Xbox One and PS4 console bundles reportedly revealed

November 11th, 2013, 19:58 Posted By: wraggster

The list of Xbox One and PS4 bundles set to be offered to consumers who pre-ordered either console at GAME has reportedly been obtained by VideoGamer.
In addition to the bundle offers republished below, VideoGamer is also listing a number of additional discounts available to GAME customers when they pick up their next-gen console.
<figure title="" data-media992="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311439_460.jpg" data-media768="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311439_700.jpg" data-media480="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311439_480.jpg" data-media="http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_3114/image_311439_320.jpg"></figure>[h=3]Xbox One: Day One Edition - £429.99[/h][h=3]Value Pack - £469.99[/h]

• Xbox One Day One Edition console including either FIFA 14 or Forza Motorsport 5
• One additional game from a choice of: Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Battlefield 4, Need For Speed: Rivals, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25 or NBA 2K14

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JoyToKey v5.4.2

November 11th, 2013, 02:06 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

JoyToKey v5.4.2 is released. This software is a keyboard emulator for joysticks. It converts joystick input into keyboard input (and mouse input).Use it when you want to control an application with joysticks that doesn't support joystick input. If you wish, you can control even Word, Excel, etc. with joysticks!

Features:
* Configuration for maximum 16 joysticks.
* Multiple configuration files
You can make many configuration files and choose it at any time.
* Support for many useful features...
o Automatic shooting of buttons
o Mouse emulation (including wheel input)
o "Adjust mouse movements" function
When it's pressed, mouse movement(or wheel rotation) becomes faster (or slower).
* "Switch to the other configuration file" function
You can switch to and activate the other configuration file with the button which is assigned to this function.
* "Use the setting of other joystick number temporarily" function
(Something like "shift" command of SNESKey. For example, you may usually use joystick1 for keyboard emulation, but during this button being pressed, joystick3's configuration (that emulates mouse or something) will temporarily be used. Note that joystick3 is not a real joystick, it's a virtual device to .)

JoyToKey v5.4.2 Changelog:
Fixed garbled characters for some non-Japanese PC and keyboard.
(only for advanced users) Support configuring "JoyToKey.ini" file path via registry.
If you have any reason why you need to forcibly specify "JoyToKey.ini" file path (e.g. you're using some launcher like Hyperlaunch), you can do that via registry editor.
Run "regedit" program
Create a key "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JoyToKey"
Create a string value "IniFilePath=c:\WhateverPath\JoyToKey.ini"

http://www-jp.jtksoft.net/

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GearSystem v1.0

November 11th, 2013, 01:57 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/


GearSystem v1.0 is released. GearSystem is a Sega Master System / Game Gear emulator written in C++ that runs on iOS, Raspberry Pi, Mac, Windows and Linux.

Features:
- Highly accurate Z80 core.
- Multi-Mapper support: SEGA, Codemasters, and ROM only cartridges.
- External RAM support with save files.
- Automatic region detection: NTSC-JAP, NTSC-USA, PAL-EUR.
- SMS2 only 224 mode support.
- Internal database for rom detection.
- Sound emulation using SDL Audio and Sms_Snd_Emu library.
- Integrated disassembler. It can dump the full disassembled memory to a text file or access it in real time.
- Compressed rom support (ZIP deflate).
- Multi platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Raspberry Pi and iOS.

https://github.com/drhelius/Gearsystem

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Walmart Black Friday: Online Specials with Bonus Gift Cards Highlights!

November 10th, 2013, 21:13 Posted By: wraggster


Walmart Black Friday 2013!
Walmart continues their pre-Black Friday Online Specials this week with some Bonus eGift Card offers in addition to deep discounting.
Highlights include:

• iPad 2 [IMG]http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=W*5dQtnjw8M&bids=223073.1&type=10[/IMG]- $399 + Bonus $25 eGift Card
• LEGO City Coast Guard Helicopter [IMG]http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=W*5dQtnjw8M&bids=223073.1&type=10[/IMG]- $35 + Bonus $15 eGift Card
• Nintendo Wii U Deluxe Console [IMG]http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=W*5dQtnjw8M&bids=223073.1&type=10[/IMG]- $299 + Bonus $25 eGift Card
• iPod Touch 5th Generation [IMG]http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=W*5dQtnjw8M&bids=223073.1&type=10[/IMG]- $295 + Bonus $25 eGift Card

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Google's Timothy Jordan: Glass is a complete break from the past

November 9th, 2013, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster

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Transmitting data with a Pi and RTL-SDR

November 9th, 2013, 23:48 Posted By: wraggster


Sometimes the best builds aren’t anything new, but rather combining two well-developed hacks. [Marc] was familiar with RTL-SDR, the $30 USB TV tuner come software defined radio, but was surprised no one had yet combined this cheap radio dongle with the ability to transmit radio from a Raspberry Pi. [Marc] combined these two builds and came up with the cheapest portable radio modem for the Raspberry Pi.
Turning the Raspi into a transmitter isn’t really that hard; it only requires a 20cm wire inserted into a GPIO pin, then toggling this pin at about 100 MHz. This resulting signal can be picked up fifty meters away, and through walls, even.
[Marc] combined this radio transmitter with minimodem, a program that generates audio modem tones at the required baud rate. Data is encoded in this audio stream, sent over the air, and decoded again with an RTL-SDR dongle.
It’s nothing new, per se, but if you’re looking for a short-range, low-bandwidth wireless connection between a computer and a Raspberry Pi, this is most certainly the easiest and cheapest method.

http://hackaday.com/2013/11/09/trans...i-and-rtl-sdr/

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