Category Archives: Technology

Preview: Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience

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On Monday June 14 I will be attending the Microsoft pre-E3 event titled World Premiere Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience.  It’s described as “a spectacular live performance imagined by Cirque du Soleil.”  The LA Times has the scoopt on what to expect at the Natal-themed event.  Microsoft rented out USC’s Galen Center for three weeks so a  cast including 80 performers “supported by a crew of more than 100 designers, set builders, engineers and seamstresses” could properly prepare for what hopes to be a fantastical and visually stunning performance.

But what does Cirque du Soleil have to do with motion-sensing hardware for a video games console?  Though the 45-minute long event is being kept under wraps, show director Michel Laprise had this to say about the theme: “It’s a story about humanity, about a quest and about overcoming obstacles.  In history, there have been discoveries that have made us leap forward as a civilization. But those technologies demanded that we master their language, the language of machines.  This time, it’s the machine that’s adapting.  The human is at the center, doing what comes naturally.  Moving, jumping, talking.  And it’s up to the machine to interpret what that means.”

Microsoft would not disclose how much this secretive spectacular cost them.  Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg said, “This is a massive investment for Microsoft.  For us, it wasn’t about the money.  It was about creating an experience that would be remembered forever.”

In an FAQ, Microsoft states that “some seating areas of the event are a standing experience” and they “recommend comfortable shoes.”  Whether that means the event is part show/part hands-on Natal, I’m not so sure.  For those of you not attending the event and want to see how it all unfolds, don’t fret!  Check back this space tomorrow evening to read all about what happened at the event.  And if that’s not enough for you, MTV will air a commercial-free condensed program covering the event on Tuesday June 15 at 3:30PM (ET).  It will re-air on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo Tuesday, June 15 at 9:00PM (ET).  (In related news, SPIKE TV will air an exclusive televised stream of the Microsoft press conference (called “Xbox 360: The Future Revealed”) tomorrow June 14 at 1:30-3:00PM (ET).)

E3 2010: What to expect

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In just two days the Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo press conferences will be over and “the big three” will be showing off their latest innovations in hardware and games on the show floor at their respective booths at E3.  Let’s dive into each company’s plans and dissect what they have in store for us.

Xbox 360: You can expect massive titles like Halo: Reach, Gears of War 3, and Fable III to be demoed in real-time and hyped up during the Microsoft press conference.  But the buzz around Microsoft this year surrounds their gaming without controllers initiative codenamed Project Natal.  With a pre-E3 event called “Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience imagined by Cirque du Soleil” you can expect the motion-capture accessory to dominate Microsoft’s offerings throughout the week.  With Natal Microsoft is first and foremost targeting the casual gamer, looking to expand to the same market Nintendo captured with the Wii.  Natal’s initial launch lineup will be announced and this first batch of games will likely take advantage of Natal in simplistic ways.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Richochet and Paint Party games that were previewed last year end up shipping with it.  And there’s always little Milo who may certainly star in his own game.  If you’re the hardcore type, it would be remiss for Microsoft to ignore you after all these years of support.  I’ve seen video of Burnout Paradise being used with Natal and Fable III lead designer Peter Molyneux stated in an interview that the next Fable will incorporate Natal functionality.  Whatever the launch lineup may be, I would hope Microsoft has at least a dozen casual games to entice new gamers to their console and a sprinkle of hardcore experiences to satisfy their longtime users.  Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version of the Xbox 360 dashboard took advantage of Natal with a gesture-based UI.  As of now we know Natal is expected to launch this holiday season; the press conference should make things more clear with not only a definitive release date and a price (fingers-crossed under $100), but also a final name for the hardware (although “Natal” has grown on me over the months).

Enough Natal.  Let’s talk games.  I’ve already hit on the big sequel exclusives like Bungie’s Halo: Reach, Epic’s Gears of War 3, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Fable III.  First person shoot XCOM from 2K Games looks fantastic (also available on PC), Capcom’s Dead Rising: Case Zero brings another compelling zombie shooter, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Avatar-based racing game Joy Ride will likely use Natal in more ways than one.  And you can’t forget about the next Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft subtitled Brotherhood.

Read on for PS3 and Wii/DS discussion, plus more about third-party games and some “bizarre predictions”! Continue reading E3 2010: What to expect →

[experience-it-all] @ E3 2010

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It’s that exciting time of year again.  E3, the world’s biggest and baddest video games trade show, is upon us!  From Monday June 14 through Thursday June 17 [experience-it-all] is your destination for the latest coverage from the major E3 press conferences and the show floor.  E3, which stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo, is not open to the public.  In order to gain access into the show, you must be affiliated with the interactive entertainment industry.  It has been a life-long dream of mine to attend E3, and now I’ve finally found my way in.  I want you to live vicariously through me by checking into the site.  Throughout the course of the week I will be reporting from the show floor providing developer interviews and hands-on impressions of the latest and greatest games coming soon to video game consoles, PCs, and mobile devices near you.

E3 brings together thousands of developers who are itching to show off their games to the world.  First there’s “the big three” in Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.  2010 is the year of motion control; Microsoft will unveil the near-final version Project Natal, Sony will show off its latest foray into the motion scene with Playstation Move, and Nintendo will have to prove why Wii should remain the go-to console for interactive and motion-based gaming against the onslaught of competition.  Then there’s the third-party developers including (but certainly not limited to) 2K Games, Capcom, EA, Konami, Lucas Arts, SEGA, THQ, Ubisoft, and Valve.  The show floor will be packed with lavish company booths (and requisite booth babes) featuring game trailers, demos, and developers ready to answer any and all questions about their upcoming games.  And I will be right there smack in the middle of it all, reporting all the latest news straight to you.

Here’s how it’s all going down.  Things kick off Monday (6/14) morning at 10:30AM (PT) with the Microsoft press conference.  Later that day is the “Project Natal” for Xbox 360 Experience show (read more about that here).  Tuesday (6/15) jam packs the Nintendo press conference at 9:00AM, the Sony press conference at noon, and the opening day of the E3 show floor at the LA Convention Center.  The convention center is stays open through Thursday (6/17).  I will be on the show floor all three days with a broadcast crew, constantly pushing out posts with video and images of hands-on experiences and developer interviews.

[experience-it-all] @ E3 2010.  Tell your friends.

-sm

From June 14 to June 17, your destination for E3 coverage is [experience-it-all].

http://www.experience-it-all.com/

http://www.youtube.com/experienceitallblog

WWDC ’10: All about iPhone 4

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This year’s World Wide Developers Conference in San Fransisco *officially* introduced the world to the next super phone from Apple dubbed iPhone 4.  Want all the details from the Steve Jobs hosted keynote?  Read on.

Jobs ignited the introduction of the next phone with this choice quote: “It’s the biggest leap since the original iPhone.”  It packs over 100 new features, but per usual, Jobs offers a glimpse into arguably the nine most exciting new features.

(1) All new design

Jobs compares iPhone 4’s design to a “beautiful old Leica camera.”  The phone features a glass surface front and back for optical quality & scratch resistance (plus it’s 30x harder than plastic) and a stainless steel band around the perimeter for strength and antenna integration (plus it provides for extraordinary build quality).  The band is “the primary structural element of the phone.”  It’s used as part of the phone’s antenna system.  Jobs says this is all part of “brilliant engineering.”  There are three slits in the band; one piece is for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS, and the other piece for UMTS & GSM.  Now here’s what buttons and levers you’ll find on the phone.  Left side: volume +, volume -, mute; Right side: micro SIM tray; Front: home button, receiver, front-facing camera; Back: camera w/ LED flash; Top: 3.5mm headset jack, second mic for noise cancellation, sleep/wake button; Bottom: mic, 30-pin connector, speaker.  iPhone 4 is just 9.3mm thick, that’s 24% thinner than iPhone 3GS.  Jobs is happy to say “it is the thinnest smartphone on the planet.”

(2) Retina display

That’s the name for Apple’s latest display technology.  iPhone 4’s display contains packs four times the number of pixels into the same 3.5-inch screen found on older iPhone models.  At 326 pixels per inch, Jobs claims that 300ppi is the limit of the human retina and so iPhone 4’s display is “comfortably over that limit.”  This results in incredibly sharp and precise text, images, and video.  Jobs compares it to how text looks in a fine-printed book.  He also throws out this stat: “the retina display has got 78% of the pixels on the iPad, right in the palm of your hand.”

iPhone OS 4 (renamed iOS 4) makes it so that your apps automatically run full size on the retina display.  Apps will look even better on an iOS 4 device because the software automatically renders text and controls in the higher resolution.  So in other words, developers do not have to do any work on their apps to make them look better for the new display.  However, Jobs points out, if devs choose to open up the hood of their apps and add higher resolution artwork “then they will look stunning.”

Here’s some hard specs for you.  iPhone 4 features a 3.5 inch display, 940 x 640 resolution (4x more than iPhone 3GS), 800:1 contrast ratio (4x more than 3GS), and IPS technology for “superb color and wide viewing angle.”  Jobs: “The display is your window into the Internet, into your apps, into your media, into your software. .. We’ve got something here that’s the best window in the planet.”

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Continue reading WWDC ’10: All about iPhone 4 →

LuminAR robot combines projector & camera for gesture-based interactivity, in a lamp

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LuminAR, created by Natan Linder and Pattie Maes at MIT, combines a Pico-projector and camera inside a lamp-shaped robotic device to augment reality by beaming computational images onto a surface.  While the projector is there to display information and content from the Internet, the camera enables user-defined gestures.  Theoretically the LuminAR can be “screwed into standard light fixtures everywhere” meaning you might find such technology in a household lamp sometime in the (likely distant) future.  Watch Linder demo it in the video above.  Very Tony Stark/JARVIS-like, am I right?

[Via Engadget; YouTube]

More Rock Band 3 details: new guitars, cymbals expansion kit, MIDI adapter & keyboard priced

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It was just yesterday when we learned all about Rock Band 3’s new instruments and game modes.  One day later comes even more news about the highly anticipated music game from developer Harmonix and peripheral maker Mad Catz.  Here’s what we know so far: RB3 will feature a new game mode beyond the Expert level called “Pro”.  Pro mode aims to actually teach you how to play an instrument.  If you’re asking to yourself, “How can plastic toy guitars teach me how to play the real thing?” I’ve got a definitive answer that might just blow your mind.

In addition to the redesigned standard guitar that will ship alongside the game, Mad Catz is also manufacturing two new guitars that will resemble real life guitars.  The Wireless Fender Mustang PRO-Guitar Controller ($149.99) contains 102 buttons in total, including 17 frets along a button-based neck and a 6-string strumming area which allows for discrete picking of each string and a touch-sensitive string box which allows players to mute or ‘cut-off’ notes when pressed.  This thing is so authentic that it operates as a fully functional MIDI guitar; a MIDI output connector provides compatibility with MIDI software sequencers.  A six-string Fender Squier Stratocaster is also in the works but has yet to be detailed.

The Wireless PRO-Cymbals Expansion Kit ($39.99) will bring the drums setup into Pro mode territory.  The kit will attach to the standard drums setup and add three new cymbals to the mix: hi-hat, crash, and ride.  The cymbals will feature enhanced responsiveness, quieter sound with noise-dampening rubber, and permanently rest at a pre-defined 10° angle.

Next up is the MIDI PRO-Adapter ($39.99) which allows you to hook up your own keyboard or electronic drum set to a console.  This conversion box will act as mediator to allow for MIDI to USB to console.  It features a velocity sensitive adjustment for MIDI drums and a full D-Pad plus standard gaming controller buttons so you can properly navigate on-screen menus.

And last but certainly not least is the Wireless Keyboard Controller ($79.99), the latest addition to the party.  The keyboard/keytar instrument includes 25 keys and features a two-octave (C3 to C5) range and non-weighted, velocity-sensitive key bed.  Just like the Fender Mustang, the keyboard has a MIDI out port allowing you to use it as a real keyboard with MIDI software sequencers and hardware devices.  It’s also been confirmed that it can be used to play the lead guitar and bass in the game.  (Note: A RB3 + keyboard bundle will sell for $129.99.)

So, if you’re one of those people who has been playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band games for years now but you’ve been craving a more realistic experience, all signs point to Rock Band 3 on delivering and satisfying your quench for a new challenge.  Or if you’re the casual type RB3 has some good news for you, too.  Three-part vocal harmonies have been ported from The Beatles: Rock Band, bringing the grand total of potential simultaneous players to seven: guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and three vocalists on mics (or however you decide to divvy it up).  Also, every game mode support player drop in/ drop out, meaning players can come and go as they please, new instruments can join and difficulty level can be changed on the fly.  House parties are about to get a whole lot more fun.

Rock Band 3 is expected to release this holiday season for all major consoles.  Look in the gallery below for some in-game screenshots.  After the break catch the newly release game trailer and an image of the Fender Squier Stratocaster.

[Via Engadget; Joystiq]

Continue reading More Rock Band 3 details: new guitars, cymbals expansion kit, MIDI adapter & keyboard priced →

Classic Dreamcast titles are headed to Xbox 360, Playstation 3 this fall

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What comes to mind when you think back to the Dreamcast, the console that officially marked the end of SEGA’s run as a hardware maker?  For me, it’s two games and an essential accessory (at the time): Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, and the Visual Memory Unit (or VMU).  Though the VMU will never see the light of day again, something entirely different can now be said about the former two games.  Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi have been named the first two games (with many classic Dreamcast titles to follow) that will make their way to modern consoles.  Ported Dreamcast games will boast “high resolution visuals and surround sound” and support online leader boards and achievement and trophy integration.  Look for the games to hit Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this fall.  Stills in the gallery below, PR after the break.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Classic Dreamcast titles are headed to Xbox 360, Playstation 3 this fall →

iPad finds a home in Macintosh Classic & clamshell iBook

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Let’s travel back in time, shall we?  The year is 1984 and the Macintosh Classic is all the rage.  9” (512×342) display, 8 MHz Motorola 68000 processor, 1MB of memory, no HDD, $999.  Flash forward to 2010 and you’ve got the $499 iPad.  Leave it to a mac enthusiast and do-it-yourself guru to gut the Mac Classic and shove an iPad inside it.  Which happens to fit almost perfectly where the original display would sit.

And let’s do it one last time.  The year is 1999 and the iBook classic reinvents the laptop scene with a clamshell design.  12” (800×600) display, 300 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32 MB of memory, 3.2GB HDD, $1599.  Now it’s 2010, so why not remove the display and place a brand new iPad inside.  And while you’re at it, take out the janky old keyboard and install a current Apple keyboard in its place.

Ah, the awesome-ness that results when retro and modern unite.  Hit up the source links for more images and peek after the break for a video tour of the Mac Classic + iPad.

[Via Hirac; AppleNoir] Continue reading iPad finds a home in Macintosh Classic & clamshell iBook →

Rock Band 3 keyboard revealed, plus new game mode and partial tracklist

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USA Today got the scoop on the latest peripheral to join the Rock Band party.  In addition to guitar, bass, drums, and mic, Rock Band 3 will support “a 25-key, fully functioning MIDI keyboard.”  RB3 project director Daniel Sussman on the keyboard: “We’re actually utilizing the full two-octave range that the keyboard controller has.  Everything that you are playing, whether you are playing on easy or expert, is accurate musical information.  The track looks like a real keyboard track, and you are playing notes on the keyboard that if you were to step away from the game and were to play on a real piano, they would be the right notes.”  For those of you wondering about the keytar rumors from a while back, it’s been confirmed that the keyboard is designed to use on a lap or strapped over a shoulder.  Watch the video embedded above to learn more about how the keyboard will work in-game.

Also announced was a new Pro Mode which makes the guitar, drums, and keyboard experiences more realistic.  For example, “More realistic music notations replace the standard color-coded notes during gameplay. For guitar, numbers flow down the screen along six guitar strings, telling you where to place your hands on the neck and when to strum.”  In fact, two new guitars are currently being developed that include actual strings where you need to strum.  Game developer Harmonix is working on a six-string Fender Squier Stratocaster and third party peripheral maker Mad Catz is making a Fender Mustang Pro.  Harmonix’s John Drake on the more realistic guitar: “It can tell where your fingers are based on technology in the neck and the bridge of the guitar.  No buttons.  While you’re playing it, it feels exactly like playing a real guitar.”  The drums will get three new cymbals and gameplay forces you to play the correct cymbal at the right time.  Says Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos: “If you are someone who is looking for a deeper challenge either because you are an expert player looking for the next level of challenge or because you actually have musical aspirations, there is the Pro game play (mode), which is really going to start to close the gap between simulated music and real musicmaking.”

Rock Band 3 will release for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii this holiday season.  Look after the break for a partial tracklist organized by decade (the disc will contain 83 new songs in total).

[Via USA Today, here & here] Continue reading Rock Band 3 keyboard revealed, plus new game mode and partial tracklist →

Google makes homepage customizable with background images

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You may have noticed the addition of a new link in the bottom left-hand corner of Google’s homepage.  Last week Google introduced the ability to customize the background of its homepage, “making your search experience more relevant, useful and fun through personalization.”  Put another way, they must have picked up on the success of competitor Bing’s background offerings and decided to give its users a similar option.  You can set your background image from your computer, your own Picasa Web Album, or a public gallery hosted by Picasa after logging into your Google account.  Now that the feature has rolled out internationally, Google feels the need to “inspire” its users to personalize by featuring a selection of well-known artists, sculptors and photographers on all Google homepages for the next 24 hours.  The collection includes works from Dale Chihuly, Jeff Koons, Tom Otterness, Polly Apfelbaum, Kengo Kuma (隈研吾), Kwon, Ki-soo (권기수) and Tord Boontje, and photos from Yann Arthus-Bertrand and National Geographic.  Inspired yet?

Update: Google took down the featured images earlier than expected.  Hello good ol’ minimalism.

[Via GoogleBlog, here & here]

Console Font forms alphabet & number set out of video game lore

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Designer Varun Vachhar has created Console Font, a new font style that derives its shape from video game systems.  You’ll quickly notice that his alphabet/number set is inspired by classic oldies like the Atari 2600 controller, failed machines like the Nokia N-Gage, and modern systems like the Wii and the forthcoming Playstation Move.  He promises to make the font a free download at some point.  Look in the gallery below and see if you can decipher some words.

[Via Engadget; ConsoleFont]

PS3 goes 3D today

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It’s been a long time coming but it’s finally here: 3D gaming on Playstation 3.  Four games will get the stereoscopic 3D treatment and they are WipEout HD, SuperStardust HD, PAIN, and a demo of MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.  Not to far in the distance is The Fight: Lights Out, another 3D-supported game that will take advantage of Playstation Move motion controls.  Thanks to a firmware update in April, your PS3 should be ready to play these 3D offerings.  Besides installing the lastest update, all that’s required to run these games is a 3D TV.  And wouldn’t you know, Sony just announced a slew of 3D-capable BRAVIA sets that come packaged with a Playstation Network voucher to download these four games at no additional cost.

[Via PlaystationBlog]