Facebook Gets “Connect” Vitamin Water

Joining rapper 50 Cent and useless rich person Paris Hilton, Facebook has inspired a flavor of Glaceau’s Vitamin Water. The “Connect” flavor features “8 key nutrients plus caffeine” to help you stay healthy and awake while reading other people’s Facebook profiles. It’s a little ridiculous, but you should click on this story just to see the full photo of the bottle.

I actually like Vitamin Water, but if I want caffeine, I’ll brew up some coffee. Even if it becomes the preferred drink of the digerati, I don’t think I’ll be buying Connect Vitamin Water. How about you?

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Coffee Talk #61: Most Wanted Games of 2010 #1 Heavy Rain

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, whether the Palm Pre can make it big in 2010, all these people from Alabama finally leaving LA, or Gilbert Arenas vs. Plaxico Burress in a shooting contest, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of people would have figured that Final Fantasy XIII would have been my most-wanted game of 2010. That would have been a perfectly reasonable guess and I was definitely tempted to give it the top spot. To be totally honest, I actually want Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain more than FFXIII.

I’m a big fan of Quantic Dream’s previous games. The company excels at interactive storytelling. Its last game, Indigo Prophecy, was brilliant. The game combined deep storytelling, outstanding acting, and fantastic music to create a unique mood. The downer was it was ugly as crap, looking like a game from the previous generation. Judging from the released videos and screens, Heavy Rain will not have this problem. I’m hoping that it will combine all the aspects of Quantic Dream’s previous games with bleeding-edge visuals.

Before I ask for your top pick for 2010, I have to note that there were a bunch of games that were so close to making the cut. God of War III, Pokemon Soul Silver (and Heart Gold), Super Street Fighter IV, Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2, 3D Dot Game Heroes, and The Last Guardian were all considered. This year is going to be so awesome for games!!!

Now, what’s your most wanted game of 2010?

Dragon Age: Is Duncan Still Alive? (Plus, a Poll!)

IGN recently conducted a fantastic interview with BioWare online produce Fernando Melo on Dragon Age: Awakenings. Aside from providing outstanding information on the expansion pack, Melo hinted that Duncan, the Grey Warden that recruited your character in Origins, is still alive. Melo said:

We also kind of hinted at it in the trailer — you do run into the actual ogre that killed the king and potentially killed your mentor as well.

Potentially killed, eh? Of course he’s still alive! This is a classic case of “if you didn’t find a corpse, then he’s not dead”. Duncan’s voice actor sounds old and wizened in Origins, but I’ve always thought that he’d make an awesome heel. I can’t wait for his full heel turn where he leads the darkspawn in Dragon Age: Duncan’s Revenge!

Let me know what you think and please leave an answer in this poll.

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Nippon Ichi’s Three Goals

Nippon Ichi Software, the developer and publisher of the excellent Disgaea series, has three goals for three of its upcoming games. The company is probably my favorite “small” developer/publisher in the business. I love its quirky and addictive games, so I hope the company can meet these three goals:

  1. One is aiming to sell a million copies.
  2. One is aiming to reach number 1 in Gemaga’s reader satisfaction ranking.
  3. One is aiming for a perfect score from the games press.

Prinny 4 life!!!

Source via Andriasang

Five Screens from Dragon Age: Awakening Expansion

Here are five screens from the upcoming Dragon Age: Awakening expansion pack. Highlights include a shot of The Architect and a spectral dragon. The new dragon looks totally cool. Based purely on looks, The Architect looks like a tool. There’s nothing menacing about a grinning undead dude. Hopefully his deeds are more dastardly.

Palm Pre and Pixi Head to Verizon, WebOS Gets 3D Gaming

Palm raised its WebOS game at CES 2010 through a hardware refresh and the introduction of 3D gaming. First up is the hardware; Verizon is getting the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus on January 25. These are enhanced versions of phones that were previously available on Sprint. Additions to the Pre Plus include an improved keyboard, a better slider mechanism, and an upgrade of memory to 16GB.

After dragging its feet on the WebOS SDK, Palm has finally released tools that allow game publishers to offer titles for the Pixi and Pre. The announced games include:

  • Need for Speed Undercover (EA Mobile)
  • The Sims 3 (EA Mobile)
  • Monopoly (EA Mobile)
  • Tetris (EA Mobile)
  • Sudoku (EA Mobile)
  • Scrabble (EA Mobile)
  • Asphalt 5: Elite Racing (Gameloft)
  • Let’s Golf! (Gameloft)
  • The Oregon trail (Gameloft)
  • Brain Challenge (Gameloft)
  • Glyder 2 (Glu Mobile)
  • X-Plane (Laminar Research)

It will be interesting to see how the mobile OS race turns out. Obviously Apple’s iPhone OS is the consumer leader and nobody is going to catch it. The business scene is dominated by RIM’s BlackBerry OS, but more and more consumers are turning to BlackBerry phones. Google’s Android is poised for huge growth in 2010. While Palm generated a ton of buzz at CES 2009, the execution has been middling. Perhaps getting on America’s largest network and offering better gaming options will give it a boost.

I know some of you use the Pre. Does 3D gaming on WebOS give you more faith in the platform? With the addition of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to Verizon, are any of you interested going with WebOS?

Amazon’s Kindle DX Global Version Shipping January 19

Amazon has announced that the international version of its Kindle DX e-reader is available for pre-order and will ship on January 19, 2010. This version uses GSM instead of the original’s CDMA for communications. Going GSM allows it to be used in more places around the world. The cost is $489. Here’s a link to the product page of the Kindle DX Global Version.

Does anyone else think of WWE’s Degeneration X when you see the words “Kindle DX” or is that just me? Adding to the DX connection is the “Whispernet” network, which is the delivery system the Kindle uses. Longtime WCW fans will remember Whisper as the Nitro Girl that went on to marry Shawn Michaels. Okay…maybe that’s a stretch.

Anyone out there use a Kindle? I had one for a few weeks and loved it, but I had to send it back. It’s a fun device that actually got me to read books that didn’t involve DC or Marvel characters.

Coffee Talk #60: Most Wanted Games of 2010 #2 FFXIII

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, Gilbert Arenas getting the banhammer from David Stern, your favorite sandwich, or CES 2010, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The second game of my “most wanted” of 2010 list if Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that knows me or reads my stuff. RPGs — especially Japanese ones — are my favorite kinds of games. Square Enix is one of my favorite developers. With games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Crisis Core, FFIV, FFV, and FFX being among my all-time favorites, of course I can’t wait for FFXIII!

I’m really hoping that this is a return to glory for the series. I loved FFX. FFXI wasn’t my thing. FFXII was disappointing, especially because I’m a big Matsuno fan and wanted him to do well on the “big” series. My friends that aren’t Wired’s Chris Kohler are digging the Japanese version of FFXIII. I’m sure I’ll love it too. The only downside is that BioWare totally screwed my March 2010 by announcing that the Dragon Age: Origins expansion will be released that month.

On a related note, does anyone else consider the Xbox 360 version to be the “fake” version? I don’t have a good or real reason for viewing things that way, but the PS3 version of FFXIII is the only “real” one in my head. *shrug*

Now for the fun part! What’s #2 on your most-wanted list?

Sony Electronics at CES 2010: Bravia, Vaio, Bloggie, and More!

Considering that it’s the biggest consumer electronics company in the world, CES is a huge show for Sony. Here are four videos on four of its upcoming products, including a new 3D Bravia television, the Dash Internet tablet, the woefully named Bloggie video camera, and the sexy refresh to the Vaio Z laptop line. Watch, learn, be dazzled, and — if you’re so inclined — comment.

Microsoft Xbox at CES 2010: Game Room and AT&T U-Verse

Microsoft unveiled some new information on its Xbox console during the company’s CES 2010 keynote. For gamers that love the classics, the Xbox Live Game Room feature sounds like a great addition. Microsoft marketer Major Nelson described it in his blog:

Later this Spring, ‘Game Room’ will come to Xbox Live. This is a destination for the classic arcade games. You can buy once and play on both your Xbox 360 and Windows PC. A new game will be released every week. You’ll be able to invite friends through Xbox Live and share your custom arcade and show off your personal collection.

In news that’s incredibly exciting for only a portion of Xbox 360 owners, the company announced that connectivity with AT&T’s U-Verse is on the way. For those of you not familiar with U-Verse, it’s an AT&T television offering that competes with cable and satellite. Gamers will be able to use the Xbox 360 systems as set-top boxes that can control and record U-Verse programming.

From what I’ve heard, AT&T provides fairly capable boxes for U-Verse customers; supposedly they’re on par with TiVo and way better than what most cable operators provide. With that in mind, I’m not sure what the point is. Sure, you’d have one less box in the living room, but it also adds more stress your Xbox 360. While reliability has improved, I don’t know about adding more to my 360’s workload.

Let me know what you think of Game Room and U-Verse connectivity for Xbox 360 (please)!

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