For those of you who have been waiting to Nvidia to enter catch up to the Direct X 11 market, you will be pleased to know Nvidia is launching their first GF100 based graphics cards probably by the end of Q1 2010. The first two cards have been named the GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470, completely skipping over the 300’s. Nvidia’s GeForce 300 series GPU’s are currently marketed to the less demanding consumer/gamer. We can’t wait to get our hands on the GTX 480 and see how it holds up to the competition from ATI. [Source]
Today while I was talking with a couple of developers from Bioware, I asked about digital distribution on the PC. They told me that they recently secured a deal with Steam for Mass Effect 2. A quick search in the Steam Store reveals that Mass Effect 2 will be available on Steam in time for the January 26 release date. The only thing missing is a price and whether or not a preload will be available for the next installment of the sci-fi saga.
After Microsoft announced Game Room at their keynote address at CES, it was only a matter of time before we would get our hands on it. Contrary to some beliefs, Game Room is nothing like Playstation Home, nope not at all. In fact, you never take control of your Avatar and navigate the room. Instead, the camera just goes over each arcade machine as you browse the different classics. Its actually very nice to use because every arcade machine is organized by platform and every platform has its own little alcove in the Game Room. I played Centipede and am glad to report that the port to the Xbox platform was very good. The game appeared to be upscaled so lines and text appeared to be sharp on the HDTV connected to the Xbox 360. Each game in the Game Room can be played for free before you choose to buy it. Each game can then be played like classic arcade machines by costing 50 Microsoft Points per game. If you want to buy a game for the Xbox 360, each will cost approximately 240 Microsoft Points. Since Game Room is also available on Windows, each game can be bought for 400 Microsoft Points, granting access for Xbox 360 Game Room and Game Room on Windows. Game Room is expected to launch on the Xbox Live this Spring 2010.
One of the more interesting gadgets I saw today was the Sonic Walk from Creanovative. The Sonic Walk is a light weight harness that you wear over your shoulders that has two speakers. I tried one of their water resistant models on the show floor and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and volume of the sound that filled my immediate area. The speakers are located just in front of the shoulders on each side and are connected to a source through wires embedded in the vest. The Sonic Walk comes in a variety of models that include different pouches and some even have support for a water bladder. Currently, the Sonic Walk is available for order online. I could see obnoxious Segway gliders easily adopting this into their gadget inventory.
For those of you who are looking for new innovative computer interfaces, the Peregrine is for you. The Peregrine is a glove that you wear on your left and that has tiny stainless steel wires on each finger and on the palm of the hand which complete a circuit when the contracts are touched in different patterns. The Peregrine can also read multiple touches at the same time so it can register multiple contacts for holding down two keys. The glove has over 30 user recordable actions which can be completely customized for the user. The Peregrine connects to a computer via a USB cable which is magnetically attached to the actual glove for quick attachment. One employee boasted that an experienced user of the Peregrine could type at up to 80 WPM. The Glove is supposedly designed to military standards so it should hold up after lots of use. While I did not get to wear the glove or see it in actual use, it seemed like an impressive gaming interface that anyone who loves to use macros will enjoy. The Peregrine glove is available in three sizes for pre-order for 129.99; the Peregrine will retail for 149.99 when it becomes available later this year. When Peregrine gets their systems up and running, I might go back to try it on.
Shuttle got to the hall a little late so I don’t have the best seat. Stay tuned.
Continue reading ‘CES 2010: Live from Ford CES Keynote’
To no ones surprise, Halo has been a great success for Microsoft and Bungie. In case you didn’t already know this, Microsoft’s President of Entertainment and Devices Robert J. Bach listed some statistics that show how well Halo has done as a franchise.
Continue reading ‘CES 2010: Halo has done incredibly well. Duh…’
During Microsoft’s keynote address, Entertainment and Devices President Robert Bach revealed Game Room, a service that will allow people to enjoy classic arcade games on their Xbox360 in their native form: the arcade. Bach introduced Game Room by filling the convention hall with 8-bit sounds from old classics including Centipede, Tempest and Asteroids. In Game Room, Xbox Live avatars will play in a virtual private arcade filled with classic arcade machines. Avatars appeared to react to the arcade machines in different ways depending on your scores; a video showed a Avatar kicking the bottom of the an arcade machine. Game Room will allow Live players experience classic arcade games with new leader boards and other forms of competitive play. There was no direct word on pricing. Game Room should be available sometime in 2010 for Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live. More images after the jump.
Continue reading ‘CES 2010: Microsoft announces Game Room’
Today after a brief power outage, Steve Ballmer delivered the first keynote address to everyone at CES. Ballmer focused mainly on the success of the release of Windows 7 despite the hard economic times. Ballmer showed new Slate computers running full versions of Windows 7. New 2010 features of Powerpoint were also revealed. But in Rotpod style, we take great interest in the gaming news. The President of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division Robert Bach confirmed that Project Natal for the Xbox 360 will indeed be available for 2010’s holiday season. Bach was very enthusiastic about 2010 for Microsoft because project Natal will revolutionize the user experience. Bach explained it’s not about losing the controller, its about creating user interfaces that people find natural. While Project Natal was not demonstrated on-stage, a video mashup showed developers and product testers praising Natal as the next big thing in the industry. Microsoft is wisely setting dates for their motion controller because this may contribute to stronger sales leading up to the holiday season.
Motorola may be unveiling two new phones next week at CES in Las Vegas, NV according to Trip Chowdhry, a Global Equites Research analyst. On top of their flagship Motorola Droid on Verizon, Motorola may be releasing yet another device on the network featuring an OLED screen with no physical keyboard. Also rumored is a new phone for AT&T featuring an OLED screen as well as a physical keyboard. The GSM phone may not be running Motorola’s Motoblur UI as seen on the Motorola Cliq, instead opting for the Google Experience as seen on the Motorola Droid. All should be answered at Motorola’s scheduled event at 5:30PM PST on January 6 2010.
Early next year, Rotpod will be expanding by going to CES 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. We will be providing coverage of the latest technologies as they are announced at CES. While at heart we look for gaming related content, we will be reporting on a wide variety of subjects. Get ready to read, hear, and watch the coolest gadgets as they are unveiled early next month.
It’s been almost 2 months since the first Android 2.0 device hit the market, the Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless. Since launch in November, I made the switch to Verizon because the release of the Motorola Droid has finally brought a device to Verizon which has a chance at competing with the iPhone currently available exclusively with AT&T Wireless. This a comparison of my experiences on both mobile platforms.
Continue reading ‘Droid vs iPhone’
It’s official, as a follow up to the previous mysterious Metal Gear Announcement, Konami has revealed the next Metal Gear title, METAL GEAR SOLID TOUCH will be for the iPhone. The story takes place during Metal Gear Solid 4 and consists of 8 stages according to Konami Productions. Gameplay on these stages will also unlock special goodies for the iPhone, such as wallpapers. From the title, it seems pretty safe to assume that the game will be controlled with the iPhone’s touch screen. While the details on Konami’s official site are still lacking, Kotaku reports that the game will be available Spring 2009. I can’t wait!
The iPhone Dev-Team has announced that an unlock package is on the way for the iPhone 3g. Set for a release date of December 31, the unlock tool codenamed “yellowsn0w” is being adjusted to be user friendly such as familiar tools like QuickPwn. Unfortunately, iPod Touch 2G owners will have to wait as the Dev-Team made it clear that they have not been focusing on the iPhone’s younger sibling and that you should stop bugging them. Other than that, if you have an iPhone with a baseband version 2.11.07 or earlier, you can finally unlock your iPhone 3G just in time the the New Year.
You can read the official Dev-Team post here.
Logitech recently announced the new Logitech G13 Gameboard. The gameboard consists of a 25 programible back-lit keys an LED display, and an analog, all presented in Logitech’s excellent gaming feng-shui. Like it’s full keyboard siblings, the G13 is capable of programming macro’s on the fly so you don’t have to use a configuration programevery time you want to create a new macro. The G13 also saves it’s game profiles on the device’s onboard memory, making it more portable between multiple computers. The 160×43 LED dot matrix display shows information from your system and games in realtime so you can check your stats in WOW, check your ammo in COD4, or check how much system memory is available. According to Logitech, the G13 will be available in December in the U.S. and Europe with an MSRP of $80. Hit the link for the official announcement from Logitech.
Continue reading ‘Logitech Announces G13 Gameboard’
Contrary to previous reports that Home would be launching later this month, possibly the 17th, Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that Play Station Home will be launching everywhere tomorrow! Although it will still be a beta, everyone will be able join. Hit the link to get the entire official announcement.
Continue reading ‘Playstation Home Launches Tomorrow’
Circuit City filed for bankruptcy today. If you have been reading or watching the news for the past few weeks, this should not be a surprise. After all, earlier this month, Circuit City closed one fifth of their stores around the country due to the downward economy and fierce competition with other major electronics retailers like Best Buy and even online sources like Amazon and Newegg. Despite bankruptcy, a letter from President and CEO Jim Marcum stated that Circuit City still plans to operate the 566 remaining stores within the U.S.. Where customers might get ticked during the holiday season is the gift card. Circuit City is asking the Court for the authority to honor returns, exchanges, gift cards etc… Marcum concluded his statement hoping things would keep on going as usual. So if you get a gift card from Circuit City this holiday season, try to spend it soon if you can.
After the great success of the Eee mobility laptop, Taiwan based PC manufacturer Asus is planning to take the concept to the desktop platform. The company intends to come out with a machine integrated into a 19″-20″ monitor as well as a model built into a 42″ LCD display. The integrated model is targeted towards someone who prefers the simplicity of the integrated iMac, but has a smaller budget. These models are projected to run around $500 with the integrated monitor setup and a few less Benjamins for a base system. In the future, Asus plans to use the Intel Shelton platform as soon as it becomes available for mass production.
More info after the break.
Continue reading ‘Asus Plans to Budgetize the Desktop Eee Style’
Leopard is officially out and it definately lives up to its reputation. While current 10.4 users may not need to upgrade now, it certainly looks great. It packs a whopping 300+ new features over Tiger. However, most these features are just small GUI enhancements like a shiny new dock. Leopard needs a G4, G5 or Intel based processor. So if you are a remaining G3 user, too bad for you. Some people are comparing this to Vista as a revolutionary upgrade. However the actual differences between Tiger and Leopard are not as apparent as those between XP and Vista. But bear in mind, Vista costs about twice as mich. If you have a Mac, you should look at what Leopard has to offer you. For those you using Bootcamp. The beta is over 
But don’t worry, your current installations will keep working. The differenecs in the drivers are also not that apparent. So Leopard is great for new Mac users, and definately worth considering for current Tiger users.
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