After Microsoft and Sony decided to slash the price of their video game consoles, Nintendo wanted in on the fun. Effective September 27, the Nintendo Wii will become $50 cheaper and will sell for $199.99.
So, where does this leave us? Xbox 360 = $299. PS3 Slim = $299. Wii = $199. Prices are dropping and games and content are getting better. This is a win-win situation for the consumers!
In related Nintendo news, the ever-popular sequel to Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, is packing a second WiiMotionPlus in its bundle. Starting October 12, Wii Sports Resort will include the game, two MotionPlus accessories, and will cost $60. Yes, that is $10 more than what it cost before, but now it has a second MotionPlus; don’t complain.
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS), Sony’s Kaz Hirai has split the details of a launch window and initial game launches that surround the newest PS3 accessory, the PlayStation Motion Controller. Sony plans on releasing the controller this Spring with the following games ready for launch: Ape Escape (Working Title), Echochrome 2 (Working Title), Eccentric Slider, Sing and Draw, Champions of Time, Motion Party, The Shoot, and Tower. Note that these are all working titles. Also announced was a new edition of RE5 called Resident Evil 5: Director’s Cut; this title will revamped so it can take advantage of the motion controller. Sony stated that there will be a number of current PS titles that will receive motion control support via software updates; one of these games includes LittleBigPlanet.
For those of you who want a refresher about the PS3 Motion Controller’s tech and for some information, look after the break for the official Sony press release. The gallery has a few images from the TGS below.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, director, writer, genius J.J. Abrams will be execuive producer for a half-hour “comedic medical show” on FOX. The untitled comedy will be written by Mike Marowitz, who comes from Abrams’ production house Bad Robot. Like all of Abrams’ projects (Lost, Fringe), this project is being kept under heavy wraps until the team is ready to officially announce the major details (plot-line, characters, air date, etc.). All I know is that I am already excited for it. Anything that Abrams touches turns (more often than not) into pure, delicious gold. Bring on the funny, Abrams.
Fast & Furious alums director Justin Lin and producer Neal Moritz are set to remake the classic 1986 cult film Highlander. Peter Davis, one of the producers from the original Highlander series, is also on board to produce. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (of Iron Man success) will pen the script. The original Highlander starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown and Roxanne Hart. Casting for the remake has not been decided yet.
Details are small on the direction of the film. According to insiders, “Summit’s plans to expand on the original Highlander premise of immortals battling amongst us and hunting each other through the ages. The new pic will center on an immortal Scottish swordsman who must confront a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for a fabled prize.”
The awesome dudes at Gizmodo picked up this story earlier this week, and boy is it a fascinating one. What was a big secret for Microsoft has now been reveiled to the public–a MS-hardware and software designed booklet.
Gizmodo has the details:
Until recently, it was a skunkworks project deep inside Microsoft, only known to the few engineers and executives working on it.
Courier is a real device, and we’ve heard that it’s in the “late prototype” stage of development. It’s not a tablet, it’s a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.
So, the MS Courier is in fact a real device, it packs two 7-inch multitouch displays and an integrated camera, and has a UI design that looks sleek, organized, and most importantly, simple. For more on the UI, check out the video below for a quick tour of the Courier user interface, still in development. One question: What’s with the stylus? That’s so 1990s!
Obscura Digital has created a pool table that uses a projection system and some sensors that allow for a fun experience. Check out said experience in the video above. The Cuelight Pool Table can be used at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and Esquire’s SoHo “Ultimate Bachelor Pad.”
If you are at all interested in this Personal Mobility Device, read on for the details, straight from Honda.
“Honda has developed a new personal mobility technology, U3-X. It is a compact experimental device that fits comfortably between the riders legs, to provide free movement in all directions just as in human walking forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally. Honda will continue research and development of the device including experiments in a real-world environment to verify the practicality of the device.
This new personal mobility device makes it possible to adjust speed and move, turn and stop in all directions when the rider leans the upper body to shift body weight. This was achieved through application of advanced technologies including Hondas balance control technology, which was developed through the robotics research of ASIMO, Hondas bipedal humanoid robot, and the worlds first* omni-directional driving wheel system (Honda Omni Traction Drive System, or HOT Drive System), which enables movement in all directions, including not only forward and backward, but also directly to the right and left and diagonally. In addition, this compact size and one-wheel-drive personal mobility device was designed to be friendly to the user and people around it by making it easier for the rider to reach the ground from the footrest and placing the rider on roughly the same eye level as other people or pedestrians.”
Here’s a cool comparison in building sizes for you. The Burj Dubai, which is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the world’s tallest building standing at 2,684 feet. In comparison, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall. Check out the chart in the gallery below to see some more interesting comparisons with other world landmarks.
“A montage of the most overused horror-cinema plot device, post-2000. ” Ha, so true! I mean, how many times have you heard/seen this used before at the movies?
According to PSFK.com: “Rather than use the traditional cold forming manufacturing process all cans undergo today, Samal’s concept makes use of a forming process called impact extrusion in which aluminum is pressed at a high velocity into a mold. Besides having a unique look, the faceted sides could make the can easier to grip and would prevent the can from rolling when placed on its side.”
The mojito shoe is designed by London architect Julian Hakes.
Hakes: “The material choice is simple: The shoe is a laminate with Carbon fibre for the core which gives the shoe its spring and strength, leather on the foot side and rubber on the walking wearing side. 3 materials, each doing a specific job.”
See more images of this fashionably unique yet somewhat disturbingly uncomfortable shoe in the gallery below.
