Author: Jeff Morgan (Page 202 of 260)

      NBA Jam heating up on the Wii

      January 11, 2010 /

      NBA Jam.There have been rumors floating around for a week or so that EA purchased the rights to one of my favorite childhood games, NBA Jam. Today that rumor was confirmed via press release from EA. The game will be launched on the Wii later this year, compliments of EA Canada.

      Unfortunately there isn’t much news beyond that. The refresh will include some new game modes, new characters, and a new level of depth according to the press release. Personally, I never felt NBA Jam warranted much depth. You get in, play for 5-10 minutes, and boomshakalaka! What more could you want from an arcade basketball game?

      For those of you that like to keep up on your developer lore, one of the original series developers, Mark Turmell, currently has a position with EA in Orlando, so it’s not completely absurd to assume that he might help out on the project.

      Source: EA

      Development, EA, Nintendo Wii

      Target starts $99 ripoff servce

      January 9, 2010 /

      Target store.In an effort to completely ripoff unsuspecting and technologically challenged individuals, Target will be starting a console setup service. It only costs $99!

      Part of the cost is that the service is actually performed by a third party, Zip Installation, but it’s still an absurd purchase. For just $99 they will come and actually plug the console into the TV for you, with proper color matching and all. They’ll also configure the console (it comes “configured” out of the box), enable parental controls for you, set up and optimize your wireless router, register your online accounts, and set up your PC for media streaming.

      Never you mind that those things have clear walkthroughs included with every console, and that you might be increasing the cost of your console by up to 50%.

      Source: Kotaku

      Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox 360

      Mad Catz paid $300K, forfeited millions in initial Guitar Hero deal

      January 8, 2010 /

      Guitar Hero logo.It’s easy to think of Guitar Hero as a mint, a source of nearly endless money for everyone involved that’s just now starting to dry up. That’s not exactly the case.

      Darren Richardson, the president and CEO of peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz, told Kotaku today that his company paid $300,000 so it could back out of the original contract due to an ongoing lawsuit with Konami.

      “Guitar Hero was a game that we were actually involved with early on and pulled out because of a lawsuit with Konami,” Richardson said. “We were doing the Xbox SKU and that’s why there was only a Playstation 2 launch. That’s why. We were in there and we pulled out as a result of (the lawsuit) and (Red Octane and Harmonix) went forward and it turned out to be a success, a huge success.”

      Somehow Richardson has a sense of humor about the whole thing. “Everyone else made hundreds of millions and we paid money to not be a part of it,” he said. “It was brilliant. I come up with these strokes of genius from time to time. That was my best.”

      If only sarcasm could turn back time.

      Source: Kotaku

      Accessories, News

      Razer going after the console market

      January 8, 2010 /

      RZR_XboxControllerView7_WhtBrgIt was only a matter of time, really. PC peripheral manufacturer Razer has decided to enter the console market, starting with the Xbox 360. The company has preliminary approval from Microsoft to release a 360 controller and headset.

      The controller, called the Onza, will run $50 for the wired version, supposedly for a lag-free game experience (what wireless tech are you guys using again?), no word on a wireless version. It looks almost exactly like the Microsoft controller, except that the start and back buttons have been moved. Oh, there are also some pretty lights. Razer also boasts a new Hyperesponse technology, which means I dunno, it starts firing before you see your enemies?

      The headset will be wireless, featuring a 5.1 virtual surround system and the ability to chain-gang base stations for private team conversations. It’s like party chat! The headset also has some noise-canceling features, so you can really tune out that nagging girlfriend. The headset will run $130. Read more at Razer’s official press site.

      Accessories, Xbox 360

      Nyko Wand+ lets you ditch the Wii MotionPlus dongle

      January 7, 2010 /

      Nyko Wand+.Last year at CES, Nyko introduced the Wand, a Wiimote replacement with a feature called Trans-Port that allows the use of extra accessories with sound and vibration support. It’s a little gimmicky, but it also came out cheaper than a Wiimote if I remember correctly.

      This year Nyko added to the line with the Wand+, a model of the Wand that adds, you guessed it, a Wii MotionPlus. Now, it’s not really a Wii MotionPlus since that would involve some patent infringement and whatnot, but it does support full 1:1 motion control, so you can use it with any WMP-enabled game. The unit looks to be about the same size as the original Wiimote, sans the MotionPlus dongle, so you save a little cupboard space along with the cash. Yes, the Wand+ is cheaper than a Wiimote/WMP bundle at just $40.

      Accessories, Nintendo Wii

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