Gigaom: OoVoo wants to bring TV viewing, gaming & dating to video chat »
Topic: OoVoo, a group video-chat program, is thinking of expanding its uses to dating and gaming for online groups. Since many people use two screens nowadays, OoVoo could provide services to cover both screens at once.
(http://gigaom.com/video/oovoo-tv-games-dating/) Janko Roettgers. August 21, 2012.
“A number of users filmed their TV screen with their phone or laptop to give friends access to shows like Mad Men when DISH dropped the show due to a retransmisson fee dispute earlier this summer, Samit said.OoVoo wants to officially add this kind of content, as well as games and dating services, later this year through collaborations with third-party providers.”
Ars Technica: Nintendo Power's last issue coming in December (update: Nintendo confirms) »
Topic: Nintendo Power, a gaming magazine a lot of us grew up with, is closing. It certainly is related to the declining magazine subscribers, but the relationship between Nintendo and Future Publishing is unclear.
(http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/08/source-nintendo-power-magazine-to-cease-publication/) Kyle Orland. August 22, 2012.
“But our source says that Nintendo, which was always “difficult to work with,” was uninterested in renewing that contract or in taking part in a number of digital initiatives that Future saw as necessary for the long-term health of the brand. He added that Nintendo doesn’t seem interested in taking over direct control of the magazine again.”
Forbes: Blizzard Is Making Every 'World Of Warcraft' Race, Including Pandarens, Playable For Everyone »
Topic: Despite experiencing significant drops in the number of users playing WoW, Blizzard pushes a new system that allows anyone on any expansion play any of the races of WoW. Keeping in mind that the first 20 levels of WoW can be played for free, this might be great.
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/08/18/blizzard-is-making-every-world-of-warcraft-race-including-pandarens-playable-for-everyone/) Erik Kain. August 18, 2012.
“This includes the enigmatic pandaren, who will become available for play when Mists of Pandaria is released on Tuesday, September 25. We want the entire World of Warcraft community to be able to embrace their inner goblin, blood elf, worgen, draenei, or pandaren from the moment they step foot into the world of Azeroth.”
Personal Opinion: Blizzard is really good at keeping WoW alive o__O. It’s impressive to see some of the changes from expansion to expansion. It’s sometimes more than just the usual “increase levels, add new classes, new quests, new items, new characters/race, etc.” This is definitely one of WoW’s more brilliant moves.
Forbes: 'Mind-Control' Gaming Devices Leak Brain Data That Help Researchers Guess Users' Secrets »
Topic: Although current research has developed headsets that detect EEG (electroencephalography, or electrical brain signal) to allow hand-less interaction between the user and the computer, some researchers presented the threat of a subconcious security/privacy breach with this same technology at a Usenix security conference last month.
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/08/16/mind-control-gaming-devices-leak-brain-data-that-help-researchers-guess-users-secrets/) Andy Greenberg. August 16, 2012.
Research Paper included.
“When shown a collection of locations on maps that included one of their home, the headset-wearers’ brains emitted tell-tale hints that allowed the experimenters to determine their home’s general location with 60% accuracy on the first try among a collection of ten choices.”
Personal Opinion: Holy shi*. This is.. o__O I’m at a loss for words. This is like Inception almost. Just imagine the implications of this, not for just cyberthreats, but what if these devices were used in courts? (This would be much more sensitive than “lie-detectors” I suppose.) Currently, this is a hit-and-miss technique (you have to “show the answer” before you know that it was the answer), but still. Mindblowing.
Wired: Go to GameStop, Buy DLC, Start the Download Immediately »
Topic: Downloadable Content (DLC) historically has not been the most profitable avenue for console games, but GameStop has implemented a new system to make this process faster and more enjoyable.
(http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/08/gamestop-dlc/). Chris Kohler. August 16, 2012.
“Once the new system is in place, gamers will receive an email with a link less than a minute after buying the content at GameStop. By pulling out their smartphones in the store and clicking through, they’ll be able to tell their consoles to begin downloading the content while they’re still at the shopping mall.”
Gamerant: World of Warcraft Wisdom - Real ID and The Social Realm »
Topic: There’s a stigma of internet ID’s is that internet friends are “fake” and “surface-level,” but an blogger strongly disagrees with this in regards with WoW.
(http://gamerant.com/world-warcraft-wisdom-real-id-social-realm-sherm-95975/) Mark Sherman. July 24, 2012.
“When my wife went in for surgery a while back, my mail in Azeroth was full of messages wishing her well. Note, that she does not play (I tried, she just couldn’t get the hang of the controls), but these friends were there in thought. She has not met them, though from time to time if I am on Ventrillo, she will say hello.”
Gigaom: Mobile second - Gaming startup blends old-school approach with a nod to iOS »
Topic: Eric Hautemont, the maker of Days of Wonder, a boardgame that later became an iOS game, reveals his thoughts about why boardgames are not irrelevant in today’s digital-gaming market.
(http://gigaom.com/2012/08/12/mobile-second-gaming-startup-blends-old-school-approach-with-a-nod-to-ios/) Eliza Kern. August 12, 2012.
“For a board game to work, the rules must be simple to understand but difficult to master — there’s no digital scorekeeper to track complicated scoring rules. And unlike iPhone games you can play casually in line at the supermarket, board games require full, devoted attention from a group of people for an entire game.”
Personal Opinion: That’s pretty interesting o__O I wasn’t expecting someone to think that board games were even viable nowadays, but I suppose that makes sense. A lot of digital games I see are just like “LOL. We can do /anything/ we want.”
Newsrama: PAX Hands-On with DC's INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US »
Topic: The new DC-based fighting game Injustice spices up the fighting game genre with changes from the traditional Mortal Kombat-like system with elements like changing/interactive stages and introductions.
(http://www.newsarama.com/games/pax-2012-injustice-gods-among-us-dc-heroes.html) Seth Robison. September 4, 2012.
“As mentioned above, Nightwing primarily uses his paired escrima sticks, but with a push of a button he combines them into a staff that gives his an entirely new moveset. However, that same button press won’t have the same ‘toggle’ effect for every character. The Flash’s extra power is instead a special meter that when full lets him speed himself up (in practice: slow down his opponent). Cyborg’s meter allows him to ‘self repair,’ Wonder Woman’s let’s her temporarily use an Amazon sword and shield instead of her lasso, Harley Quinn can use it pull a random item (like a bundle of dynamite) out of a gift box and so on.”
