Archive for July 3rd, 2006
Gold’s Gym to Get Kilowatt Excercise Controllers
Gold’s Gym is going to start putting video games in their gyms. The famous work out centers will start sporting Kilowatt controller at some of their locations, according to the maker of the most innovative, yet inconvenient game controller in history.
“Hard core fitness facilities, like Gold’s Gym, YMCA, JCC, and others are now recognizing that innovative interactive workout products like Kilowatt are the future of the fitness industry,” said Greg Merril, President of Powergrid Fitness. “Powergrid’s technology is making being a couch potato a physically demanding sport.”
“Electronic entertainment is thought of as being one of the major contributors to this nations obesity epidemic. With ‘exertainment’ products like Kilowatt, electronic entertainment is now part of the solution.” Says Deana St.John, General Manager of the Charlottesville, VA based Gold’s Gym, who placed Kilowatt’s in her facility last month.
Merril says that the Kilowatt has been at YMCA’s and other smaller health clubs for the past two years, but these seems to be the biggest roll out of the device.
After checking out the device for a few months at my house I decided that while it was a fantastic idea, and really did give you a workout, its huge size made it virtually impossible for me to keep connected to my consoles.
While putting them in a gym solves that problem, I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be performing a couple dozen reps of GTA in a gym crowded with pec-bursting titans.
High Score: The Best of Kotaku
Wow. It’s hot out there. And it’s hot and muggy in the lazy world of gaming. With releases drying up under the blazing star you kids might’ve heard referred to as “the sun” at some point, people are getting all riled up. Here’s what gettin’ everyone all sweaty last week at Kotaku.
There has been a bit of a tizzy going on amongst the blogger crowd, with a 1UP contributor calling out Loco Roco’s character design as… maybe a bit racist. Maybe stereotypical is a better word. We take a look at the issue from two perspectives and watch the e-fists fly.
More potential bad news for Take-Two Interactive as someone on the executive team might be indicted on criminal charges related to the infamous “Hot Coffee” scandal. It’s only conjecture at this point from a Wedbush Morgan analyst, but the analyst in discussion ain’t no dummy. Further, actor Roger Hill filed a lawsuit against the company, demanding payment for the allegedly unauthorized use of his likeness in Rockstar’s homage to The Warriors. You’re really eating into the executive escort fund, Rog. Cut it out.
Microsoft shot down rumors that it would be updating the Xbox 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive, after Toshiba execs hinted a reformatting might be in the works. Speculation about a firm 360 price through the holidays is brewing as rumors abound of an external HD-DVD pack-in bundle.
Nintendo of Japan unveiled the latest marketing ploy designed to get more girls and DS Lite collectors to drop another 16,800 yen: Pink! As the proud owner of a pink GBA, I am so looking forward to this coming stateside.
World of Warcraft addicts now have something else to drop their cash on: character transfers! Blizzard made the transaction process live, meaning overcrowded realms, grouping with strangers, and splintered accounts are no longer an issue. Okay, realm population is still going to be an issue, but who cares? Let’s spend!
The PSP looks like it’ll get a huge boost to its library, to the tune of some 7,000 PSone titles. Sure, there are assuredly some regional duplicates in there and we’re still not clear how we’ll use the R2 and L2 (and R3 and L3…) buttons and we’ll wind up buying Tomb Raider for the third time, but we’re in total denial with this great news.
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Related: High Score: The Best of Kotaku
Related: High Score: The Best of Kotaku
Related: High Score: The Best of Kotaku
PC Gamer Duck-Taped to Ceiling
Either this guy is:
A). Worried about Carpel tunnel syndrome.
B). In trouble for cheating.
C). H4rdcor3.
D). Photoshopped in.
What do y’all think?
More Here [ETTF.NET]
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DS Lite Grand Prize Winner
We had a total of 6,050 entries in our Friday Nite Lite contests last month. From those entries we drew five winners and gave each a DS Lite and slew of games. Not content with that, Florian took it upon himself to drop by a retailer and pick up a black DS Lite to give away as a grand prize.
I used Random.Org to select the winner, number 4,276 a.k.a. James Hickman. He wins a Black DS Lite (from Ireland), DS Lite case, New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart DS, Super Princess Peach, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Brain Age, Electroplankton, Sudoku Gridmaster, Magnetica, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (GBA).
Now that’s a prize. Don’t be sad if you lost, I’ve managed to get some nice prizes from Microsoft and others to give away this month. I just need to figure out how to do it. I promise I’ll post something this week outlining what we’ll be doing for the month.
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Related: And the Winner Is…
Achtung! Free DoD: Source Weekend Incoming!
If you’ve yet to pick up Day of Defeat: Source, Valve’s throwing a slightly belated Independence Day bone your way with the upcoming free DoD: Source weekend.
Three days straight is about all I ever seem to play these team-based World War 2 games for, so this free weekend will completely obviate any need for me to ever buy the title. Thanks, Valve! For those of you with less fickle tastes, you’ll have three days between July 7th and July 10th to once again appraise whether or not this mod-gone-retail is worth 20 clams to you.
Day of Defeat: Source - Free Weekend [Steam]
Japan Now Hates Dragon Ball Z
Conventional wisdom says that any Gundam, Dragon Ball Z or Final Fantasy title will be a surefire hit in Japan. Screw conventional wisdom. While previous DBZ games have been monster sellers, the latest installment is anything but. Cho Dragon Ball Z (Super Drago Ball Z) boasts toonshaded graphics and was developed by ex-Capcom and Street Fighter II producer Noritaka Funamizu. The title dropped last Thursday for around 7,140 yen (US $63), the new DBZ was already hitting the Japanese bargain racks in both Akihabara and Den-Den Town. The game was marked down almost half-price to 3,980 yen (US $34) at some stores. Why? I talked to an insider who has worked on previously DBZ titles in Japan, and he seemed to think it had reached saturation. Comments were also made about the new game’s style of play being “heavy” and “sober” for fans of the series. Cue joke about Super Dragon Ball Z not being that super.
More Here [Akiba Blog]
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Getcher Comments Invites Here
If you don’t have a comments login (or have had an old one go south; it happens), head on over to our Live Campfire Chat Room where we’ll be giving comment invite codes away for the next few hours.
Let us know in the comments of this post when you’re up and running! If we break 100 comments I’ll take everyone out for ice cream. (I already made this promise to the readers of Gizmodo, but for you guys I really mean it.)
The Last Playable Space Invaders Cabinet In Japan
Kotakuite Justin reports that in honor of Japanese game game mag Famitsu’s 20th anniversary, the Bic Camera (recently converted from a Sofmap) in Tokyo’s Yurakucho neighborhood is currently displaying a comprehensive collection of vintage gaming machines from the last two decades. Justin writes:
Off to the side, with no more than a tiny sign crowning it’s well-kept cabinet, is an original Space Invaders unit, fully working and only 100 yen a play. Apparently it’s the only freely playable cabinet in Japan.
Not only that, there is also a stool! Because decades ago, people were enormous and needed huge arcade cabinets.
More Here [Flickr] Thanks, Justin!
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The Reason Why There Are No Lester Bangs of Video Games
It may have been a clueless, yet skilled writer who raised the question, but it took one of the top game journalists to really answer it: Why is there no Lester Bangs of video games?
Chuck Klosterman tackled the question for Esquire, showing both his panache for writing and total misunderstanding of game culture. Lucky for us we have Clive Thompson.
In an article for Wired, Thompson cuts through the bullshit and gets to the reasons. While he breaks down the reason behind the lack of any seminal gaming journalist out there into four sections, the whole thing can be summed up in his to-the-point conclusion:
With games, we’re in the realm of ludology. It’s an insanely rich field of human art and meaning, but it’s utterly neglected. It’s not taught in schools. It’s not written about in newspapers. So we’re just now scratching its surface. The game criticism of tomorrow won’t look anything like the stuff that Pauline Kael wrote. It’ll be some crazy, unruly spawn of sportswriting, gonzo journalism, analytic philosophy, memoir and investigative reporting. The Lester Bangs of gaming is going to be a philosopher of play.
And personally, I can’t wait to read him.
Don’t let this summary serve you, go read the entire article, it’s worth it.
Why aren’t there… [Collision Detection]
Jon Stewart and The Rock Have Sexy Doom Jaw Session
Look, we know many of you hate the YouTourette’s Syndrome which occasionally leaves Kotaku ejaculating random video game themed YouTube videos all over our front page. But it’s July 3rd and no one on the entire Internet seems to be working today, meaning there’s not a hell of a lot of news. And yet Kotaku’s bloggers must soldier on.
So enjoy this full-on Doom geek out session between Jon Stewart and The Rock. On the plus side, The Rock really seems to know and love the game, but on the negative, he brazenly lies to us about the quality of the Doom movie. Stewart should have shot him with that BFG.
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Japanese Game Exec’s Finger Exercises
Famicom taisou (”Nintendo gynamstics”)! That’s current Hudson Soft exec/human moscot Takahashi Meijin (”Famous Takahashi”) leading a round of Nintendo finger exercises. From the looks of the woman’s hair and Takahashi’s lack thereof, the clip looks to date from the 1980’s when he was the country’s most famous gamer. Check out Takahashi Meijin’s 16 button presses per second at the end.
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Related: The Last Playable Space Invaders Cabinet In Japan
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Get Your Art in Bob Ross Game
Bob Ross Interactive is holding a contest to get a gamer’s art into the upcoming Bob Ross video game. The contest starts on July 4 and will only accept work created using Bob Ross’s patented wet-on-wet technique and Bob Ross “approved” materials. Hmmm, wonder if that includes qualudes.
Hit the jump for the official rules.
• Only landscape and seascape paintings completed using the Bob Ross Wet-on-Wet Technique® and Bob Ross® approved painting materials will be accepted.
• Submission must be the entrant’s own original work (following the instructions from Bob’s books and DVDs is encouraged)
• Entrants cannot be affiliated with Bob Ross Incorporated, AGFRAG Entertainment Group or Bob Ross Interactive LLC. Bob Ross Certified Instructors® are not eligible to enter their paintings, but are encouraged to involve their students in this contest.
• Entrants can submit up to three (3) paintings.
• Entrants must be 18 years or older to enter.
• Each entrant will be required to assign all copyrights for submitted work to Bob Ross Interactive LLC.
• Each entrant will be required to authorize use of his or her name, brief biographical information and images for publicity and/or for publication to Bob Ross Interactive LLC, AGFRAG Entertainment Group and/or Bob Ross Incorporated.
• Contest entrants (residing in United States and Canada) are eligible for free shipping on the discounted ‘Bob Ross Master Kit with Extras’ Special Offer seen on bobross.com website. Call toll free 1-800-262-7677, mention code 1BRG and provide date/title of your submission when placing your order. (Cannot be combined with other discounts or special offers. Good one-time only. Not retroactive. UPS-ground shipping. Expires 9/10/06.)
• Entries may be received any time after July 4, 2006, but must be received or postmarked no later than midnight of September 15, 2006.
• The selection of the winning entries will take place at a reasonable time after the closing date of the contest. Judges will be Certified Bob Ross Instructors® chosen by Bob Ross Interactive LLC from a list recommended by Bob Ross Incorporated. Judges will serve without compensation.
• Entries failing to comply with any of these guidelines shall be disqualified from the contest. No guarantee is made that persons submitting disqualified entries will be notified in time to permit resubmittal.
• Bob Ross Interactive LLC reserves the right to change these rules at any time without advance notice. Changes will be posted on www.agfrag.com and www.bobross.com.
Bob Ross Video Game Art Contest Details [Nintendo Gal]
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Powerglove Version 2.0
This had never, ever occurred to me before seeing this bit of wishful thinking Nintendo fan art: the Wii’s motion sensor technology would actually make an updated Powerglove usable. Some ‘wouldn’t-it-be-awesome’ concept art from zaiten over on the Zogdog forums.
Wii - Peripheral CONCEPTUAL AD, Power glove reborn. [Zogdog.com] (via Go Nintendo)
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Yell Better With Gears of War
While Gears of War designer dude CliffyB doesn’t seem like a screamer, that doesn’t mean he isn’t keen on making you one. The game takes advantage of the 360’s mic support so that players can shout commands and keep in constant contact, along with a voice recognition system and real-time lip syncing. That means, it will appear as though in-game characters are actually hollering. NOW THAT IS A REALLY COOL FEATURE!
(Blog screaming.)
More Here [Flicker Gaming]
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And the Winner Is…
To be honest I emailed the winner of our last Friday Nite Lites contest on Saturday to let him know he had won. Andrew Gent is one of the lucky/intelligent few he submitted the correct answer of 27.93462. He should be getting his DS Lite and loot in the near future. Don’t fret, we still have our grand prize to give away today. If you entered any of June’s contests you are automatically in the running. Check back later today to see who gets the Black DS Lite and such.
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Sega, Ubisoft want a PS3 price drop in 2007
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business
Two big-time publishers have shown caution regarding the PlayStation 3’s price relative to its (non-) competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Ubisoft President Yves Guillemot told Bloomberg that, while the PS3 will sell out its first shipments, the price of Sony’s console must go down in 2007 to stay competitive. Sega of America exective Scott Steinberg echoed similar sentiments, telling GameDaily that “for a lot of families [the launch price is] too expensive.” We have no doubt that early adopters will secure a successful PlayStation 3 launch in all regions (Sony is more than sure of that), but beyond the launch window is still a mystery.
Ubisoft is bringing the possibly exclusive Assassin’s Creed to the PS3, while Sega has reaffirmed their commitment to the PS3 version of Virtua Fighter 5.
Read - Sega’s Scott Steinberg Talks Next-Gen
Read - PS3 price must drop in 2007, says Ubisoft boss
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Sight Unseen, The Best 360 Games Of Late 2006!
British Gaming Blog is pretty optimistic about the rest of this year in 360 gaming. I mean, why not be? While Live Arcade might expel new games only after months of constipation, the 360 line-up for the rest of the year looks pretty good, and the BGB have posted their full-on geek-out pics of what the best games for the rest of the year are going to be… sight unseen!
It’s a pretty good list, including titles such as Just Cause, Dead Reckoning, Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War. However, the second you put a fuckin’ Sonic game on a top 10 list, you’ve really just blown your street cred… it’s like calling pot ‘marijuana cigarettes’ during a drug deal while waggling around air quotes.
But I’d never heard of Stranglehold… a video-game sequel to Hard Boiled! I’m sure the level of my expectations when confronted with that concept practically guarantee the game’s abysmal quality, but as Kotaku’s own J.M. Barrie, I’d like to encourage everyone in the comments to clap their hands three times and shout out: “I believe in you, Stranglehold!”
The 360’s Blindingly Bright Future [British Gaming Blog]
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Video games are a part of prisoner rehabilitation
Filed under: Culture, Business
The issue of video games in prisons has resurfaced; this time the publicity surrounds a private prison in Florida purchasing two PlayStation 2 systems (with inmate commissary, not with tax dollars) as part of an attempt to relax prisoners. This comes after recent debates over the right of prisoners to play video games, with Missouri first removing violent games after a blunder that resulted in prisoners shooting virtual cops in GTA, and then banning the use of games outright after a new Governor took office. Currently the overwhelming majority of prisons in the U.S.A. do not allow prisoners access to games.
Hernando County Jail Assistant Warden Russell Washburn told the St. Petersburg Times:
“I’d rather them be thinking about race cars than how I’m mad at someone… I don’t want it portrayed that all they do is sit around and play PlayStation. I would agree that’s not right if that’s all you do. But this is just part of the rehabilitation. You can’t throw them into a place and not give them anything to do and expect no problems. … This is not a warehouse.“
We’ve previously reported on the positive aspects of allowing prisoners to play video games as part of the rehabilitation process: Oregon’s game-friendly jails (1, 2) show how video games can help calm prisoners and reduce violent behavior inside prisons. Shouldn’t that be all we need to know? If video games make the jobs of prison staff easier and potentially reduces the rate of prison suicides, then arguments of principle like Maj. Robert Lucas’, an administrator with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, statement that jail is “not fun and games” should be irrelevant.
I have an inkling that the real reason the “video games in prison” issue has been susceptible to such unwarranted attention (and sensational reporting) is due to inherent controversies with video games themselves. Why is the overall topic of entertainment in prisons being ignored? No one seems to have a problem with prisoners watching TV or DVDs, so it’s reasonable to suggest that this particular problem has nothing to do with prisoner rehabilitation. Instead, this entire “controversy” shows all the hallmarks of being a thinly veiled extension of the ongoing resistance to video game media by out of touch (and/or vote grabbing) political figures.
[Thanks, Babylonian]
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The Playable Space Invaders Carpet
A Polish artist created this Carpet Invaders art installation from 2004. Old geometric designs of Persian rugs are mashed with Space Invaders‘ blocky graphics. The interactive piece ran through a PS2, and an overhead projected beamed the game onto the floor down below. The installation was injected the installation with some pretentious meaning, but the work’s coolness speaks for itself.
More Here [Aeropause]
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Downgrade that 2.50 or 2.60 PSP to 1.5ohyeah
Stream of consciousness video game blogging: Ron Gilbert leads to ScummVM leads to PSP firmware ’sploits. Kicking a 2.50 or 2.60 might get you lots of fancy things like RSS support, but you lose a lot of great homebrew. Two hackers, Hitchhikr and Dark_Alex, have managed to discover an exploit and create a downgrader, respectively. The downgrade process is a little tricky; you’ll need a buddy with 1.50 and you’ll need to make sure you aren’t packing a TA-082 model PSP (lest you brick your PSP). Pspupdates.qj.net has a handy guide for getting you back down to 1.50 full of the usual warnings that, yes, this could brick your PSP. Caveats aside, how many of you are planning to drop down to 1.50?
[Via Engadget]
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