We just gave the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset, our Best of CES award. Guess who else is experimenting with virtual reality? Valve Software. At the 2013 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, the same renowned video game publisher that's hard at work on the Steambox...
Serving up a side of Oculus with your Steambox?
The recent spate of shootings, particularly the one in Newtown, CT, have sparked a wave of debate that tends to focus on both gun control and violent media, mostly video games. Now, in an uneasy confluence of the two, the National Rifle...
As predicted by our friends at Polygon, Disney today announced Disney Infinity, a new platform of interconnected video games that will leverage the company's most famous characters from films past and present. Collectible action figures will also see integration with the game, allowing players to unlock new environments ("Play Sets" as Disney calls them) and earn new characters. It's a formula...
Nintendo's humble Wii may now play second fiddle to the recently-launched Wii U, but that isn't stopping Amazon from bringing its Instant Video platform to the older console. The new Wii Channel just launched in the Wii Shop, costs nothing to download, and lets users rent or purchase a wide variety of content from Amazon's impressive library. Furthermore, Amazon Prime subscribers can access a fairly large catalog of free movies and shows — in short, it behaves exactly like Amazon Instant Video does on every other platform that it is available for. Of course, this version comes with the notable caveat of being standard definition only, thanks to the Wii's limited and aging hardware. Despite its limitations, the Wii can now run three of the biggest streaming video services available; Netflix and Hulu Plus have both been available for...
Works just as you'd expect, just in SD
Microsoft didn't have a booth or even an official press event at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, but that didn't stop the company from jumping on stage twice. CEO Steve Ballmer joined Qualcomm for its bizarre opening keynote, and more importantly Microsoft’s Chief Technology Strategy Officer, Eric Rudder, joined the Samsung keynote to showcase the IllumiRoom technology. Based on a...
Redmond's fascination with augmented reality continues
Hasbro is shaking things up with one its most popular board games, Monopoly. On Facebook, Hasbro is asking the public to vote on a brand new piece — the choices are a moustached robot, a diamond ring, a cat, a helicopter, and a guitar — to replace one of the classics. Jalopnik has taken the opportunity to defend the car token, of course, which has gone through several transformations and...
As Vice President Joe Biden meets with members of the video game industry, he's trying to reassure them that they're only one part of a wide initiative to curb gun violence — and perhaps unintentionally revealing how muddled the debate around games and violence actually is. In a statement recorded below, Biden spent a full quarter of his time listing the other sectors he was in talks with, from gun safety advocates to mental health experts to the Rotary Club. "I want you to know you have not been singled out for help," he said.
Besides a somewhat odd statement advocating guns that would...
In November, we learned that Microsoft was planning to build original games for tablets and mobile phones, spreading the Xbox brand further than ever before, with a new UK studio called Lift London. Now, however, Microsoft VP Phil Harrison has clarified the studio's mission: to build games for the cloud itself. "I wanted to create from scratch a 21st century studio. Not a studio that would make retail products; a studio that would make games for the cloud, putting together the most incredible talent ever seen in a start-up," he told reporters during a London press conference. Though Harrison says the company will continue to support...
CD Projekt RED — the studio behind The Witcher series — has released a stunning teaser trailer for its upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077. The developer is basing the RPG off the popular Cyberpunk pen-and-paper series, with the game depicting a future society capable of equipping body augmentations. The video does a great job of setting the tone and giving gamers an idea of what to expect: it’s futuristic, dark, and violent.
The developers...
The minds behind 'The Witcher' tackle another RPG
Following the announcement of its new gaming tablet, the Razer Edge, Razer is closing out CES this year with a sale on its popular gaming peripherals. All of the company's mice, keyboards, controllers, headsets, mouse pads, and other assorted accessories are currently 50 percent off, and even...
US sales figures for the Wii U's first full month are in, and the news is mixed for Nintendo. While the new console has brought in more money than the original Wii did in its launch period, only 460,000 units were sold compared to 475,000 original...
Chalk it up to the conflicts of being a giant media company. CNET made Dish Network's acclaimed but controversial Hopper with Sling DVR a finalist in its "Best of CES" awards. But CNET's parent company CBS objected, because it's suing Dish over the commercial-skipping feature...
One of the most popular features of the original Wii was the Virtual Console, allowing gamers to download classic games across Nintendo’s expansive catalogue. The gaming company has now confirmed to Polygon that the development of a Virtual Console for the Wii U is also underway. A Nintendo...
CES has never been much of a video game show — you'll want to go to the Electronic Entertainment Expo for that — but that didn't stop Nvidia, Valve, and Razer from stealing the show with exciting, controversial new game systems. Find all the best gaming announcements from CES 2013 in this StoryStream.
Design student Juan David Gómez has created an amazing 8-bit remake of one of the most iconic scenes in Tarantino's popular film Kill Bill. The short game, 88 Madness, is set in the Tokyo nightclub, where you can play as Beatrix Kiddo and fight...
Two days ago, my esteemed colleague Vlad Savov told you why Nvidia's Project Shield will fail. It's a thought-provoking piece, and one you should read.
I just happen to disagree with practically every point he makes.
Project Shield is a strange beast, to be sure, a device that feels a little...
GameStick, the portable Android gaming console that runs on a stick, has been pulled from Kickstarter. Anyone attempting to access the project page...
At Samsung's CES keynote today, Microsoft showed a video of Illumiroom, a technology that the company says will "expand interaction to any surface in your home." In other words, it projects imagery...
Ready to have a beloved childhood icon voted off stage like an unloved American Idol contestant? That's what's about to happen to the quintessential family board game, Monopoly. After years of refreshing coffers by rolling out dozens of variant editions based on different US cities, Star Wars, SpongeBob, and even Zynga games, Hasbro is now...
There’s not long to go until EA’s SimCity reboot is released, and the company has released the intro video that gamers will see every time they start up the game. The video takes a closer look at the vibrant cities that players will be able to create while showing off the bells and whistles...
Peripheral manufacturer Snakebyte is showing off its take on an Android-powered portable console, the Unu. Unlike Nvidia's Project Shield and Archos' GamePad, the Unu doesn't have physical controls mounted onto the device, instead it's going to be a four-piece solution that Snakebyte says will replace your tablet, portable console, and media streamer. For "around $199-$249," you'll get an Android tablet, a Bluetooth gamepad, a TV dock, and a gesture remote.
Included software will let you map touchscreen points to a wireless controller
Unfortunately, we'll have to take Unu's word for that: the company isn't ready to show off any final...
A small town in Connecticut announced last week that it would be hosting a program that allowed people to hand in violent video games — along with similar media — in exchange for gift certificates, but the community behind the scheme has now abruptly cancelled the plan. Dick Fortunato, a member of the Southington community, says that the program was designed simply to raise "strong awareness" and "promote discussion" of the issue, and that those goals had been reached. Fortunato may have...
In an interview with Polygon's Christopher Grant, Valve product designer Greg Coomer elaborates on the rationale behind Steam's push into the living room, first with Big Picture and now with the Steam Box. Gamers on Valve's platform wanted to play...
Nintendo has managed to sell 10 million 3DS units in its native homeland of Japan. The latest issue of Japanese gaming issue Famitsu shows that as of January 6th, Nintendo has sold a total of 10,068,192 units. The portable handheld may not be...
Lego Mindstorms build-your-own-robot kits have been with us since 1998, back when programming them required a computer with a serial port. The new Linux-based Lego Mindstorms EV3, however, doesn't even need a computer: you can set up basic routines right on the programmable Lego brick itself, and / or remote control a robot from an Android or iOS smartphone. For many buyers willing to spend $349.99, though, the best part will probably be this:...
No matter how many million first person shooters developers crank out for iOS, the platform’s touch-based controls mean the games will never control as well as their console counterparts. Here at CES, mobile accessory maker Zagg is unveiling the best-looking solution to the problem we’ve seen so far — the Caliber Advantage. Its dual analog sticks give gamers the same kind of precision as something like the PlayStation Vita or 3DS. And to...
