Here’s a friendly reminder that tickets for BlizzCon 2010 go on sale tonight at 7PM Pacific Time. If it’s anything like the past few years, tickets will sell out fast. If you’re on the fence, I suggest buying tickets anyway. You can always get rid of them later. Anyone planning on going?
For the last week, rumors have been swirling about Virgin’s return to the gaming world. Virgin Interactive was once a big player in the business, releasing several major titles in the ’90s. It didn’t keep pace with the rapidly changing market and quickly fell apart at the end of that decade. Fortunately Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, is a billionaire and can afford to fund another foray into gaming.
A lot has changed since Virgin Interactive was around. It will be interesting to see how Virgin Gaming will be different than its predecessor. It certainly has the opportunity to take advantage of a weak market and shake things up with a huge infusion of cash. I just wish it didn’t use that stupid countdown clock gimmick.
What do you expect from Virgin Gaming? Does the Virgin brand mean anything to you? Will the company focus on consoles, downloads, or social games? Any guesses as to what (specifically) the clock is counting down to?
I think I’m finally over my Scrabble phase (well…mostly). This weekend I want to jump back into the world of gamers’ games! I have Alan Wake
As always, I want to know what you’re playing this weekend!
Actor and nerd icon Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker, Cocknocker) has done a tremendous job voicing The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Arkham Asylum
This will be my last, there’s no question about that. But it’s the last hurrah.
As a huge mark for Hamill (see what I did there?) and Kevin Conroy, I’m sad that the duo won’t be sharing the screen again. They are absolutely brilliant together. Like most people that grew up on Star Wars, Hamill was pretty much the coolest person on Earth to me as a kid. When I grew up and found out he was a comic-book nerd, my respect for him increased tenfold. I’m sad that he won’t be back as The Joker. On the plus side, I’m looking forward to Arkham Asylum 2 more than ever!
I know a few of you are big fans of Batman: The Animated Series. Are you going to miss Hamill? What are some of your favorite moments of him as The Joker? Did you think he meant he was retiring as The Joker for good or just from the videogame series?
Here’s a video of the PC version of Mafia II
Mafia II will include NVIDIA PhysX technology in all platforms of the game. Particularly, the Windows PC version of Mafia II will feature a thorough integration of NVIDIA PhysX and 3D Vision technology into 2K Czech’s Illusion Engine. The integration of PhysX and NVIDIA APEX technology, including the APEX Clothing and Particle modules, enable the city and personalities of Empire Bay to truly come alive on Windows PC. With the implementation of NVIDIA APEX Particles, players are engulfed in lifelike explosions that are bigger and brighter, including weapon fragments, in-game debris and destructible environments that are amplified in both quantity and realism through the integration of APEX Particles.
Check out the clip and let me know what you think (please)! More specifically, is Nvidia PhysX enough to nudge you to play the PC version of the game?
Whether I’ve “known” you for a few weeks or few years, one thing we have in common is that we love to play games. You’re probably thinking, “Duh!”, but stay with me for a sec. One thing I don’t know about you is where you play games. Do you have your living room decked out with a crazy surround-sound system? Perhaps you prefer playing in bed while leaning on your favorite pillow. Maybe you’ve constructed an elaborate man/woman cave for gaming. Today I want to hear all about your gaming setup. So please take this poll and tell me about your rig!
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, Andy Pettitte rocking it at 37, WWE finally making Bryan Danielson interesting, or who should replace Simon Cowell on American Idol, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Whether I’ve “known” you for a few weeks or few years, one thing we have in common is that we love to play games. You’re probably thinking, “Duh!”, but stay with me for a sec. One thing I don’t know about you is where you play games. Do you have your living room decked out with a crazy surround-sound system? Perhaps you prefer playing in bed while leaning on your favorite pillow. Maybe you’ve constructed an elaborate man/woman cave for gaming. Today I want to hear all about your gaming setup. So please take this poll and tell me about your rig!
[poll id=”50″]
Double Helix and Square Enix kick off its Front Mission Evolved
Front Mission Evolved is set for a September 14, 2010 release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC (in stereoscopic 3D). I loved the old FM games, but I’m not too interested (yet) in seeing the FM world in an action setting. Are any of you interested in this game?
Google Android’s voice recognition is pretty outstanding. I’ve been loving it on the Evo 4G and I’m surprised that it works so well. The voice capabilities of the phone got me thinking — if voice recognition can be effective on a mobile phone with a 1GHz processor, then shouldn’t it just completely rock on a console with a multi-core CELL chip? Sure, games like Seaman and Hey You Pikachu were gimmicky, but I think the right developer could use today’s voice recognition and console power in a really fun way.
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, Crystal vs. Lee on American Idol, getting a job for Mike Brown, or American hockey teams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Google Android’s voice recognition is pretty outstanding. I’ve been loving it on the Evo 4G and I’m surprised that it works so well. The voice capabilities of the phone got me thinking — if voice recognition can be effective on a mobile phone with a 1GHz processor, then shouldn’t it just completely rock on a console with a multi-core CELL chip? Sure, games like Seaman and Hey You Pikachu were gimmicky, but I think the right developer could use today’s voice recognition and console power in a really fun way.
A real-time strategy game created with voice command in mind would be cool. Whether it’s like Pikmin or like StarCraft, voice could totally work for the genre. Personally, I’d love a strategy RPG (Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics) that used voice controls. The game I see in my head (I’d show it to you, but it would be messy getting in there) uses customary SRPG gameplay combined with several voice-specific twists.
Do you think voice-controlled games could be fun? Would you even want one? Or is it a matter of a developer creating a cool voice experience and making you want it? Do you see a genre that would work well with voice? Share your thoughts (please)!
Game Designer Paul Barnett (Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning by Mythic) was recently recently spotted purchasing a few iPads at an Apple Store. There’s nothing too unusual about that; Barnett is a cool guy and I expect him to have fine taste in consumer electronics. However, an industry source told me that the reason for his purchase is that Mythic is working on an MMO for iPad. I contacted EA for an official “no comment” and was told that there’s nothing like that in the works.
What do you ladies and gents think? Was he simply buying a bunch if iPads because they’re awesome? Or do Barnett and Mythic have something in the works that they’re not yet ready to talk about? Wouldn’t a Mythic iPad MMO totally rule?!?
I’ve been thinking a lot about how Google TV, the Chrome Store, and HTML5 can change gaming. Seeing a version of LEGO: Star Wars running on HTML5 and delivered through the Chrome Store made a lot of lights go off in my head (What? You don’t have lights in your head?!?). The next day, Google announced Google TV along with its launch partners. “A-ha!” I said to myself, “There’s the final piece of the puzzle!”
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, Lost vs. Sopranos finale, 24 ending tonight, or Cleveland firing Mike Brown, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how Google TV, the Chrome Store, and HTML5 can change gaming. Seeing a version of LEGO: Star Wars running on HTML5 and delivered through the Chrome Store made a lot of lights go off in my head (What? You don’t have lights in your head?!?). The next day, Google announced Google TV along with its launch partners. “A-ha!” I said to myself, “There’s the final piece of the puzzle!”
Picture this: playing complex HTML5 games on a Sony television with Google TV built in — no console required! Sure, a web game will never be as impressive as one running on a proper console, but for most people LEGO: Star Wars graphics are completely acceptable. You know the millions of people that are fiending on casual and social games? I can easily see them “graduating” to a more involved experience in HTML5 games. If Google want it, the company could become a big player in the home gaming space.
What do you guys and gals think? Do you see a future playing games without a box and with a service like Google TV? Do you think I’m giving Google too much credit here? I know several of you are still weeping over the Lost finale, but give the matter some thought and leave a comment. I’d love to chat about this with you!
