Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

No BlizzCon in 2012

The good news is that Blizzard will be holding the Battle.net World Championships in Asia at the end of 2012. The bad news is that Blizzcon is on hold until 2013. In a recent press release to promote the the Battle.net World Championships, this little line was slipped in:

In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

BlizzCon is an awesome event full of passionate fans, great panels, and cool products. I’m bummed that it won’t be happening this year (especially since I skipped BlizzCon 2011). That said, I’m excited about possibly trekking to Asia for the Battle.net World Championships.

Any of you bummed about BlizzCon 2012 not happening?

Line 6 Mobile Keys MIDI Keyboard Controllers for iPad

Here’s another CES 2012 video for you. This time Line 6 mobile products manager Chris Grigg talks about the company’s two MIDI keyboard controllers specifically designed for iPad: the Mobile Keys 25 and Mobile Keys 49. Companies like Line 6 and M-Audio have been brilliant at helping musicians and song writers exploit technology to bolster creativity. Fair play to those guys and gals.

2012 Interactive Achievement Awards Nominees

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences recently announced the nominees for the 15th annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The awards ceremony takes place at the annual DICE Summit in February. Being a huge fan of the AIAS and the IAAs, of course I’ll be on hand. For now, please check out the list of nominees, let me know which games you think should win, and what you think of the nominees in general.

Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Bastion
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Supergiant Games

L.A. Noire
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Team Bondi

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Toys for Bob

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Action Game of the Year
Battlefield 3
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: DICE

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games

Dead Space 2
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: Visceral

Gears of War 3
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Epic Games

Saints Row: The Third
Publisher: THQ Inc.
Developer: Volition INC.

Adventure Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Rocksteady Studios

L.A. Noire
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Team Bondi

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Dark Souls
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: From Software

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Eidos Montreal

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: BioWare Austin

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Publisher: Atari
Developer: CD Projekt

Mobile Game of the Year
Contre Jour
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: Chillingo

Dead Space
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: EA Mobile

Infinity Blade II
Publisher: Epic Games
Developer: Chair Entertainment

Tentacles
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Press Play

The Dark Meadow
Publisher: Phosphor Games Studio
Developer: Phosphor Games Studio

Handheld Game of the Year
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Publisher: Capcom U.S. A.
Developer: Capcom

Kirby Mass Attack
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Hal Laboratory

Mario Kart 7
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Level 5

Super Mario 3D Land
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Downloadable Game of the Year
Bastion
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Supergiant Games

Drawn: Trail of Shadows
Publisher: Big Fish Games
Developer: Big Fish Games

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Fuel Cell

Ms. Splosion Man
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games

Orcs Must Die!
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Robot Entertainment

QuakeCon 2012 Set for August 2-5

Bethesda Softworks and id Software have announced the official dates for QuakeCon 2012: August 2 – 5. Like last year’s QuakeCon, the event will take place at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. It’s a marvelous time for gamers, especially those that are into first-person shooters and want to hear the brilliant words of John Carmack.

I’d like to go, but August is too far ahead for me to be planning anything. Who knows what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be working. Any of you interested in attending? You down for some QuakeCon 2012 excitement?

PSA: Dead Island, Amazon Videogame Lightning Deals

Amazon is having videogame lightning deals all day today. The 24-hour deal is Dead Island. Other games will be rolling out throughout the day until 8PM PST. It looks like the last game will be The Black Eyes Peas Experience. Try to contain your excitement.

If you happen to pick anything, please leave a comment and let me know!

Coffee Talk #445: Solar Flares, Super Powers, and You

Radiation from the largest solar flare in six years will be hitting planet Earth today. This, of course, means that many of us will be getting new super powers. Some of the effects will be immediate, while others will see their powers manifest over,,,

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, RIM’s new CEO, Mitt Romney’s tax returns, or the third Olsen sister, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Radiation from the largest solar flare in six years will be hitting planet Earth today. This, of course, means that many of us will be getting new super powers. Some of the effects will be immediate, while others will see their powers manifest over a longer period of time. Since a number of us are about to become Übermensch, I thought it would be a great time to discuss the superhero powers of your dreams.

As for me, I’m going to go with Wonder Man’s ionic powers. The dude is pretty much immortal and invulnerable since he’s made of ionic energy. Not having to eat, drink, or breathe is handy too — super useful for apocalyptic events and alien invasions. And to be completely honest, this choice is mostly derived from picking up Peter David’s underrated My Fair Super Hero from the discount rack at the comic-book store recently.

Now it’s your turn! As your body is bombarded with an unusually high amount of solar radiation today, what kind of super powers are you hoping to get?

Razer Project Fiona Video Interview

Here’s a video interview I whipped up for Padvance on Razer’s Project Fiona Windows gaming tablet. As I mentioned before, it was one of the most talked about products of CES 2012. In this video, product evangelist Hilmar Hahn gives an overview of Project Fiona and shares Razer’s future plans with the product. Check it out and let me know what you think (please!).

Coffee Talk #444: Your (Initial) Super Bowl XLVI Prediction

The teams for Super Bowl XLVI are set! It’s that classic East Coast battle of the New England Patriots taking on the New York (Football) Giants. While the AFC and NFC Championship games are still fresh on your minds, I wanted to hear your initial picks for the Super Bowl. Who are you picking? What’s your spread? Who’s…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Red Sox pursuit of Roy Oswalt, watching Moneyball over and over again, or wishing you were on an airplane, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The teams for Super Bowl XLVI are set! It’s that classic East Coast battle of the New England Patriots taking on the New York (Football) Giants. While the AFC and NFC Championship games are still fresh on your minds, I wanted to hear your initial picks for the Super Bowl. Who are you picking? What’s your spread? Who’s going to have a break-out game? Who’s going to choke?

Of course this topic will be revisited in early February, but I wanted to get your gut feelings after yesterday’s games. So have at it (please)!

Coffee Talk #443: Paying For an American Made Console

Last night my friend Paul and I were talking about Jon Stewart’s hilarious and sad rant about Apple and Foxconn. It got us thinking about the possibility of American-made consoles. Initially I was dreaming about Microsoft, being an American company and all, pricing the next Xbox a little higher than the competition…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verve’s El Salvador Los Toreros Bourbon, the sad fall of Kodak, or people Tebowing in front of abortion clinics (see Tosh.0), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Last night my friend Paul and I were talking about Jon Stewart’s hilarious and sad rant about Apple and Foxconn. It got us thinking about the possibility of American-made consoles. Initially I was dreaming about Microsoft, being an American company and all, pricing the next Xbox a little higher than the competition but using American factories to assemble it. Paul thought that was too unrealistic, so he proposed Microsoft releasing two versions of the Xbox 720 (or whatever it will be called): one made in America and one made in China/Mexico/insert-cheap-labor-country-here. That’s when things got more interesting.

It’s still unrealistic given how publicly-traded companies work, but let’s play this game for a bit. Would you pay extra for an American-made videogame-console? How much extra, if anything, would you pay for a console that supports American factory workers? It’s totally cool if your answer is $0; I’m sure that most U.S. Americans don’t care, but I’m curious to see if some of you do and how much more you’d be willing to spend. Kindly vote in the poll and expand on your answer in the comments section.

[poll id=”143″]

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After being away from home for almost two weeks, I’ve been reunited with my precious consoles. This weekend I plan on playing some Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD. I’m a pretty big mark for Oddworld Inhabitants and really want to see how this remake fares. I’m also addicted to Run Roo Run! by 5th Cell. The game is a simple platformer that’s structured like Angry Birds. It’s cute and charming, which is no surprise coming from the creators of Scribblenauts.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?