Electronic Theatre Preview: A Game of Thrones
Focus Home Interactive recently confirmed the European release of A Game of Thrones, a new role-playing game (RPG) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC based on the series by George R.R. Martin, which was recently adapted into a television (TV) series by HBO. In A Game of Thrones, players will enter the shoes as one of two playable characters, travelling through mythical locations from Westeros on their quest.
As was the case with the original novels, the stories of our two heroes are told in alternation with each character getting the main role in his chapter, until their paths first cross at the corner of a common quest. The 
details on how this event takes place are still kept under wraps at present, though it’s been suggested that fans of the novels or the TV series might well be able to have a good guess at the fated meeting.
The team behind A Game of Thrones are promising an epic thirty hour adventure, beginning with choosing the class of your characters. Players must find their own unique fighting style, reaching a good balance between your strengths and weaknesses as you encounter epic battles. Rewards for your victories come quickly, but in addition you can buy or loot new equipment and weapons to fit your approach of the fights. as would be expected from an RPG videogame players will gain experience to improve their skills, or learn new ones. those which have been shown 
so far include the ability to slow the time down during battle and an enhancement of your charisma to allow for pursuing of in-game characters.
Utilising Unreal Engine 3, A Game of Thrones is being developed by Cyanide for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, the team responsible for many underrated releases including the Blood Bowl titles and the intriguing upcoming Of Orcs and Men. Electronic Theatre will keep you updated with all the latest details on A Game of Thrones as it approaches it’s Q2 2012 release date.
Electronic Theatre Preview: A Game of Thrones
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Categories: iPod, iPhone, Xbox 360 Tags: playable characters, playstation 3, role playing game, westeros, wraps
The i in Christmas is not what it used to be… – Ab Originals found on the web
As Black Friday and the holiday season approaches, Apple appears to be the consumer electronics brand to beat. a recent Nielsen survey shows kids’ holiday gaming and electronics appetites are whet by a number of top-selling Apple devices – with the iPad leading the pack.
Consistent with U.S. kids’ 2010 wish lists, the Apple iPad is the most desired consumer electronic among kids ages 6-12 for holiday 2011. In fact, the iPad increases its stronghold, with nearly half (44%) of kids expressing interest in the product, up from 31percent in 2010. two other popular Apple devices – iPod Touch (30%) and iPhone (27%) – round out kids’ top three, with computers and other tablet brands each appealing to a quarter of younger consumers.
Many kids will also ask for gaming devices this year, with two products that offer unique gaming technologies – Nintendo 3DS (25%) and Kinect for Xbox 360 (23%) – leading the way. Given the 3DS’ spring 2011 release date and the surge in Kinect interest versus last year (up from 14%), parents can expect both devices to be frequently requested this holiday season. Beyond these, older Nintendo DS models continue to resonate with young gamers (22%), while the PlayStation 3 (17%) and Xbox 360 (16%) edge out the Nintendo Wii (11%) as the most desired gaming consoles.
Among consumers ages 13 and older, appeal for the iPad (24%) has also broadened relative to last year (18%), and exceeds that of computers (18%), 2010’s top item. Further, it appears the iPad has successfully paved the way for other tablet offerings, as a notable 17 percent of adults/teens also express interest in non-Apple tablets.
E-Readers (18%) also exhibit heightened appeal among teens and adults compared to last year (15%), while gaming devices on the whole are somewhat less likely to be of interest to the 13+ crowd. the exception is Kinect for Xbox 360, which appeals to 12 percent of those ages 13+, compared to eight percent in 2010; though, notably, last year’s data was collected prior to the product’s well-supported, large-scale launch on November 4, 2010.
With so many products to choose from across both existing and emerging technologies, electronics are well-positioned to find their way onto shoppers’ lists again this season – and parents will clearly have some tough decisions to make as they weigh kids’ wants against their holiday budgets.[PN1]
More insights on gamers, console dynamics, and allocations of time and money within gaming and the broader entertainment category will be featured in the third annual Nielsen 360° Gaming Report: U.S. Market, available in January. Additionally, an overview of key findings from the 2010 version of the report can now be downloaded here[PN2].
Survey conducted among a general population sample of n=3,000 in the United States, October 2011.
The i in Christmas is not what it used to be… – Ab Originals found on the web
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Categories: Technology Tags: kids ages, playstation 3
PS4 Release date in 2012
While the PlayStation 3 is just now hitting the steps, and the best days are still ahead, Sony is not one for complacency, and with intense competition in the world of video games today, plans for the future version of the PlayStation 4 is already set in motion. in fact, not only the PlayStation 4 to get this treatment, but even the PlayStation and PlayStation June 5 in the early stages of planning and design labs at Sony R & D.
Although we have not seen what the PS3 can be completely done when really put to the test (in fact, Sony states that the game currently on the market are not even close to pushing the system to its full potential ), the mind is still more powerful console gamers who are on the horizon should be concerned about
it will leave a hole burning in their pockets, but the giddy possibilities that this new giant of the console will be able to shoot. Imagine the material on this case, it would be crazy!
Everyone wants answers to questions …
Therefore, the question on everyone’s mind is, when the PlayStation 4 will be released ?!?!? While Sony has not released official information on the upcoming launch systems, the release date is attached is generally accepted as the end of 2012, which will follow the trend of previous generations of Sony console. The first PlayStation was first published in late 1994 in Japan and 1995 for the rest of the world. PlayStation 2 in stores in 2000, gave a shelf life retail PS1 six years from the Japanese launch. Similarly, the PlayStation 3 was released in 2006, six years after the release of the PS2. following this trend has been established that Sony will give us a late 2012 release for the PS4.
Other rumors recently that confirms this. At the conference last year’s Game Developer in Germany, CEO of Crytek announced that its next generation of business development of their graphics engine, CryEngine3, released in 2012, at the same time with the PlayStation 4. Although he said he had no concrete information that the PS4 will be released at that time, even if it did, it would not be free to share this information, he thought it would be an output window of the new system.
Business Sales (Or how to get a PS4 fast by not buying the PS3)
There is a possibility that the way the PlayStation 3 tickets in the current console war may also specify the date of publication PS4, for several reasons. If the system continues to flounder in the third place in the console wars, failed to generate income originally planned, Sony may be much more willing to cut their losses and rush PS4 on the market sooner rather than later, possibly as early as late 2011.
If the PS3 fails to make ground on the Wii and Xbox 360, Sony is also trying to convince them to jump the gun on the war in next-generation consoles and get their system to the first door. both the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2, which dominate their generation console wars, came on the market at the same time or earlier than their competitors. this is a PlayStation was launched after the Sega Saturn, and long before the Nintendo 64, while the PlayStation 2 was released before both the Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.
Sony can get a head start on the competition and give developers time to build their skills to develop games for consoles, so that even more powerful consoles come after the game was released on an older system as good technically , provides no real incentive for players to move to a new console.
The same effect has been working against the PlayStation 3 to a certain extent, as if it is considered much more powerful than the Xbox 360, head 360 has received an early years allowed the developers to respond more quickly to maximize the potential of the system, so a game that rivaled the games on the PS3 when it was released. Just as the life of the system will expire we can see the PlayStation 3 came out with a game that well overshadow what the 360 can do graphically.
How Sony plans to play the hand they are the cause of much speculation. What we know is that the PlayStation 4 will come sooner than we might think, and will be games to a new level.
Let us know what you think. Will we see a PlayStation 4 within the next 2-3 years, or the release of more? Feel free to comment below. You can also join our forum to express your opinion on the PlayStation all.
Update – October 2011The developer of the franchise has not been mapped, one of the most successful launch of the Playstation 3, made the announcement today in which they stated “the Playstation 3 can not support more unexplored installments “. Ads in the details about the plan developer must improve the franchise, but the current technical capabilities Playstation 3 will not be able to support the plan. this is a surprise announcement of the industry, with many experts say Playstation 3 has not been pushed to the limit of reality suddenly silenced by this information. What does this mean for me or you? Published for Playstation 4 will come sooner than most people expect.
Update – September 2011In an interview with the Director of Global Operations of Sony, Eurogamer has discovered that Sony is willing to discuss next-gen consoles, only they do not feel there is a need. in the interview, Shuhei Yoshida went on to explain why Sony did not rush to pump an announcement about the next-gen console from Sony.
Is essentially game developers, while they still can improve their products by using the Playstation 3, Sony does not see the need to develop and release a Playstation 4. Ubisoft and several other companies have expressed concern that the limitations of existing hardware in the PS3, with the main issues that Ram, which reduces the quality of games they can grow, but industry experts say an update simple level RAM can extend the life of the Xbox360 and PS3 a few years, but this is not something we expect to see.
This generation of consoles has seen some real innovative titles hit home consoles, games like LA Noire, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mass Effect shows that the current generation of consoles still has what it takes to provide an experience great game, but is it the best we could get? It is inevitable that Sony will release a next-gen console, the Wii-U is one year, the Xbox 720 the following year, Sony has been around a long time and is worth about 60 billion, making it prudent to wait for them to bring something to the table that can compete with Nintendo and Microsoft.
Sony does not remain one of the most respectable in the world by the short straw, they know what sells and they know how to draw. we know that the PlayStation 4 has been developing for some time now and he said that developers already have access to SDK tools used to create a new title. Just because water has entered details about the PS4 have not yet, do not assume they do not exist. With all the information gathered here and PS4 fan site, it was confirmed that the Playstation 4 is coming, it’s just a matter of time …
Update – July 2011A recent article on Digitimes (An information technology resources are very respectable) stated that Sony has filed for a new component component developer Taiwan. this is the same developer has indicated that new components can be used for style Kinect motion sensor for the Playstation 4. The article suggests that Foxxconn and Pegatron Technology will be used to create new parts for Sony, the two companies involved in the manufacture of the Playstation 3.
The article also said they would begin production later this year in hopes the launch of 2012, some have speculated that some 20 million Playstation 4 will be ready for launch.
Sony has not yet made an official comment, watch this space!
Updated – E3 2011Players eagerly await the announcement of the Playstation 4 disappointed when SCEE boss Andrew House issued a statement in an interview with Eurogamer
“in terms of Sony, we’re very comfortable with the PS3 and how emerging markets’
Although they made it clear they have no intention of Playstation 4 announcement about when they show their new 3D capabilities as well as NGP/PSP2 now officially called the Playstation Vita. They waited seven years after the release of the handheld PSP announced the next generation, we can expect the same length of time to make an official announcement of the Playstation 4, stay tuned!
Update – may 2011 – according to a recent article on Eurogamer, Sony has confirmed that they are directed to an undisclosed financial research and development projects for the “Platform of the Future”. in the build up to E3, rumors about the project Café suggest Nintendo will announce Wii-2 and the developers said they had received a prototype device that the development of new Microsoft products. Everyone expects Xbox720 and Wii-2 announcement, we can expect that Sony has something big to announce.
A quote from Sony Financial General ManagerKato said: “For the PS3 still has an electrical life of the product, but this is an enterprise platform, so for the platform of the future – if we introduce what product I can not discuss it – but our development work is already underway, so the costs incurred in there. ”
Update – June 2010 – in an interview with GameSpot at E3 this year, Activision COO Thomas Tippl do the update, if the light is still rather vague, the release of the future of the PS4 is. when asked when he intends to publish the next generation of consoles, Tippl said they probably will not see release in the next 2-3 years, as Activision do not yet have information on any new console. With the development time for next gen games are 2-3 years on average, it is logical that if the new console will come with third-party games at launch (almost certain), there will be a minimum of 2 years from the first time a set of third-party tools, the development in hand them to the point where the output of the console. in the meantime all we can do is speculate and continue to wait.
Update – July 2009 – in a recent interview, Doom and Quake creator John Carmack speculates that Sony may try to be the first to the dance floor with their new console before Microsoft launched its console Next. As mentioned above, there are a lot of thought into this line of thought. On the other hand, Sony has long maintained that they have a long term plan for the PS3, and with lower production costs of the new PS3 Slim models, and increased sales of the new version, the PS3 can not into itself. whether Sony will try to start before Microsoft (with all accounts will actually Nintendo will launch the first, but they are not considered direct competition to the other like Sony and Microsoft are to each other) remains to be seen . let us know what you think.
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Categories: Technology Tags: horizon, playstation 3
Exploiting Kinect's potential
[1] While conceived as a device meant to expand the reach of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming platform by allowing people to play video games without the need for controllers, the Kinect has always been destined for a broader future.
Last November, when the Kinect array of microphones, sensors and cameras was on the cusp of hitting the game console, I chatted with the folks behind the technology about that future. Inspired by their unusual technology and motivated to sell it to the world, they aimed for great things.
On the surface, the Kinect is much like the Wii and PlayStation 3 Move, allowing gamers to play with natural motions, but the technology behind Microsoft’s device is very different.
where the other two devices track movement of a physical controller, Kinect tracks a body in motion.
It then uses algorithms to build a virtual skeletal system of the player.
This visual tracking is augmented by microphones and software that can pinpoint where people are standing and track their movement, carefully picking out what they say and interpreting it.
The relatively inexpensive technology was destined for cellphones, computers, cars, the military, healthcare and academics, I was told at the time.
The first small steps toward that future are now beginning to come true.
Earlier this year, Microsoft opened up the device and its development software to hobbyists and academics, supporting a surprisingly eclectic use of the Kinect. The results included applications for healthcare, education and art.
now Microsoft is unveiling the next step in the expanded use of Kinect technology, a commercial programme that will open the hardware and software to developers for use in businesses.
More than 200 businesses and 20 brands worldwide have already joined the pilot programme, which officially launches early next year.
Among the companies already signed up are car manufacturer Toyota and global marketing firm Razorfish.
“We’ve had a skunk-works team working with some of these partners for a while,” said David Dennis, group programme manager of Microsoft’s Xbox team. “Today we’re lifting the veil of secrecy off of that programme.”
The pilot programme had Microsoft prototyping new concepts with businesses. The end result will be programs that use the familiar Kinect array in retail stores, car dealerships, banks and other public locations.
Mr Dennis said companies will be able to purchase the Kinect in bulk from Microsoft and that the only difference between the Kinect they will be using and the one used with an Xbox 360 is that the commercial ones won’t have the Xbox 360 logo on them. They’ll just say Kinect.
He did acknowledge that while the Kinect being sold as part of this programme is the same as the retail Kinect, the retail Kinect has changed slightly since its launch, as some of the parts have been tweaked to “wring costs savings” out of the device in mass production.
The expectation is that the device could be sold to large companies in the “tens of thousands”, Mr Dennis said.
Mr Dennis said Kinect could be seen as a device that could give a business an edge over competitors, so many pilot programme businesses don’t want to talk about their plans until they’re ready to roll it out. A lot of announcements are expected at next year’s Consumer Electronics Show, he said.
Toyota declined to discuss its intentions with the device.
Razorfish has plans around the technology that seem to centre on making it easier for potential customers to interact with displays, or tracking their use of marketing kiosks.
“We are pretty excited about the commercial programme around Kinect,” said Jonathan Hull, vice-president of emerging technology at Razorfish. “We do a lot of custom digital experiences for our clients.
We’re looking at Kinect to be one of the pillars. we are really happy to see official support for commercial applications with our clients.”
Mr Hull said they’re already looking at creating kiosks that would allow people to have their bodies scanned and then try on digital clothes and accessories in real time. The live feed from Kinect would allow customers to see themselves wearing and moving in the clothing and accessories. It would also allow for very precise measurements, which could be stored and used from home to order clothing that customers could be sure would fit.
In other applications, as with banks or other kiosks, the Kinect would simply be the way customers would interact with the information presented on a screen. So, for instance, a person could just wave his or her hand at the screen to turn pages or scroll through information.
“Ubiquity is so important with this,” Mr Hull said. “The fact you don’t have a controller, don’t have to physically touch something is important.”
A Delta Airline kiosk recently installed at New York’s Madison Square Garden uses the Kinect to track what a person is doing to gauge how people are using the information and reacting to it.
While this next step in Kinect technology usage is very heavily market-driven, it opens the door for getting the hardware into a lot of locations quickly.
Mr Dennis declined to talk about future steps for spreading Kinect technology to other sectors, but this fits in with the plan Microsoft talked to me about a year ago.
The next steps would likely include taking that technology out of the familiar Kinect array and putting it into things like cars, phones and other consumer electronics.
• Brian Crecente is managing editor of Kotaku.com, a video-game website owned by Gawker Media.
Related Websites
Categories: Technology Tags: body in motion, last november, playstation 3
Exploiting Kinect's potential
While conceived as a device meant to expand the reach of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming platform by allowing people to play video games without the need for controllers, the Kinect has always been destined for a broader future.
last November, when the Kinect array of microphones, sensors and cameras was on the cusp of hitting the game console, I chatted with the folks behind the technology about that future. Inspired by their unusual technology and motivated to sell it to the world, they aimed for great things.
On the surface, the Kinect is much like the Wii and PlayStation 3 move, allowing gamers to play with natural motions, but the technology behind Microsoft’s device is very different.
where the other two devices track movement of a physical controller, Kinect tracks a body in motion.
It then uses algorithms to build a virtual skeletal system of the player.
this visual tracking is augmented by microphones and software that can pinpoint where people are standing and track their movement, carefully picking out what they say and interpreting it.
The relatively inexpensive technology was destined for cellphones, computers, cars, the military, healthcare and academics, I was told at the time.
The first small steps toward that future are now beginning to come true.
Earlier this year, Microsoft opened up the device and its development software to hobbyists and academics, supporting a surprisingly eclectic use of the Kinect. The results included applications for healthcare, education and art.
now Microsoft is unveiling the next step in the expanded use of Kinect technology, a commercial programme that will open the hardware and software to developers for use in businesses.
more than 200 businesses and 20 brands worldwide have already joined the pilot programme, which officially launches early next year.
Among the companies already signed up are car manufacturer Toyota and global marketing firm Razorfish.
“We’ve had a skunk-works team working with some of these partners for a while,” said David Dennis, group programme manager of Microsoft’s Xbox team. “Today we’re lifting the veil of secrecy off of that programme.”
The pilot programme had Microsoft prototyping new concepts with businesses. The end result will be programs that use the familiar Kinect array in retail stores, car dealerships, banks and other public locations.
mr Dennis said companies will be able to purchase the Kinect in bulk from Microsoft and that the only difference between the Kinect they will be using and the one used with an Xbox 360 is that the commercial ones won’t have the Xbox 360 logo on them. They’ll just say Kinect.
he did acknowledge that while the Kinect being sold as part of this programme is the same as the retail Kinect, the retail Kinect has changed slightly since its launch, as some of the parts have been tweaked to “wring costs savings” out of the device in mass production.
The expectation is that the device could be sold to large companies in the “tens of thousands”, mr Dennis said.
mr Dennis said Kinect could be seen as a device that could give a business an edge over competitors, so many pilot programme businesses don’t want to talk about their plans until they’re ready to roll it out. A lot of announcements are expected at next year’s Consumer Electronics show, he said.
Toyota declined to discuss its intentions with the device.
Razorfish has plans around the technology that seem to centre on making it easier for potential customers to interact with displays, or tracking their use of marketing kiosks.
“We are pretty excited about the commercial programme around Kinect,” said Jonathan Hull, vice-president of emerging technology at Razorfish. “We do a lot of custom digital experiences for our clients.
We’re looking at Kinect to be one of the pillars. We are really happy to see official support for commercial applications with our clients.”
mr Hull said they’re already looking at creating kiosks that would allow people to have their bodies scanned and then try on digital clothes and accessories in real time. The live feed from Kinect would allow customers to see themselves wearing and moving in the clothing and accessories. It would also allow for very precise measurements, which could be stored and used from home to order clothing that customers could be sure would fit.
In other applications, as with banks or other kiosks, the Kinect would simply be the way customers would interact with the information presented on a screen. so, for instance, a person could just wave his or her hand at the screen to turn pages or scroll through information.
“Ubiquity is so important with this,” mr Hull said. “The fact you don’t have a controller, don’t have to physically touch something is important.”
A Delta Airline kiosk recently installed at new York’s Madison Square Garden uses the Kinect to track what a person is doing to gauge how people are using the information and reacting to it.
While this next step in Kinect technology usage is very heavily market-driven, it opens the door for getting the hardware into a lot of locations quickly.
mr Dennis declined to talk about future steps for spreading Kinect technology to other sectors, but this fits in with the plan Microsoft talked to me about a year ago.
The next steps would likely include taking that technology out of the familiar Kinect array and putting it into things like cars, phones and other consumer electronics.
• Brian Crecente is managing editor of Kotaku.com, a video-game website owned by Gawker Media.
Related Websites
Categories: Technology Tags: array, playstation 3, sensors, Xbox
