One such an exciting product is the Nintendo Wii. This gaming console has surged [...]]]> Undoubtedly, the Internet offers a convenient way to shop for many of the modern and fantastic products we’ve seen or heard of. People can buy products in a matter of a few clicks, and hopefully save money as well.

One such an exciting product is the Nintendo Wii. This gaming console has surged ahead in popularity, compared to its Microsoft and Sony rivals, by offering a truly unique device. The Wii gaming device is based on a wireless remote control that uses Nintendo’s motion sensing technology. This controller offers players the ability to use it as they would use their hands in real life activities, such as: tennis, bowling, baseball, boxing, etc’. Coupled with the original Wii console, players can purchase a Wii Fit – fun for all the family balance board, which offers additional gaming and sporting interactivity.

A good price comparison website for purchasing the Wii console as well as cheap wii games is Savebuckets.co.uk. You could use the website to find the best price and save yourself having to shop around at multiple electronics stores.

Notably, the price comparison site offers a section called ‘My Price’ which allows users to stick to their budget. All that is required from the users is to provide their email address and the maximum amount that they are prepared to pay for a given product. The users will subsequently be notified by email when a store offers the exact or lower price to what they have specified.

Take note, anyone who likes to play MMO games. A 43 year old Japanese woman has been arrested because she “killed” her online virtual husband, while playing the MMO game Maple Story.

The woman told police officials that the two were suddenly “divorced”. However, she stated that she did not plot [...]]]>

Take note, anyone who likes to play MMO games. A 43 year old Japanese woman has been arrested because she “killed” her online virtual husband, while playing the MMO game Maple Story.

The woman told police officials that the two were suddenly “divorced”. However, she stated that she did not plot any real revenge on the 33-year old man playing her husband. The man complained to the police after trying to log in and discovering that the character was deleted.

Maple Story allows the players to customize their character, socialize, fight monsters, and even marry and divorce.

After the ‘divorce’, the woman logged into her virtual husband’s account and deleted the avatar.

The police arrested the woman for illegally accessing a computer and manipulating digital data. Although she has not been charged yet, she could face up to 5 years in prison or a $5000 fine if she is actually convicted.

A similar case took place in the Netherlands when 14 and 15 year old teens were convicted of virtual theft after coercing a 13-year old to give them a virtual armlet and mask in the game RuneScape.

The 2 teens were sentenced to community service by the Dutch court.

Whichever punishment is most appropriate, these cases present another example of how computers are becoming increasingly intertwined with our daily lives.

Is it possible that playing computer games can enhance the driving skills of people over 50? Allstate, a large Insurance company, is seeking an answer and, if true, the company could offer discounts to drivers who play computer games.

With a new pilot program called InSight, Allstate will offer specialized games to 100,00 [...]]]>

Is it possible that playing computer games can enhance the driving skills of people over 50? Allstate, a large Insurance company, is seeking an answer and, if true, the company could offer discounts to drivers who play computer games.

With a new pilot program called InSight, Allstate will offer specialized games to 100,00 customers ages 50-75 in Pennsylvania. The developer of the games, San Francisco based Posit Science will track the total number of hours played. The study group’s accident rates will then be compared to a control group of drivers who didn’t play the games. It is important to note that the games are not designed specifically for driving, but for reversing age-related cognitive decline and improvement of visual alertness.

For example, in a game named “Jewel Diver”, players have to track underwater jewels that appear on the screen for a moment and then become hidden behind a fish. Players have to click on where the swimming fish is. The level of difficulty increases when more fish are added.

Allstate recommends that study participants complete at least 10 hours of training. The Pennsylvania drivers receive the games for free and other states may be added later on.

According to a nine year study, although drivers at ages 50-60 have the lowest accident rates of all drivers, in the mid 60s this rate starts to climb again. If successful this new approach will save not just dollars but clearly lives as well.

Despite some lukewarm reviews of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, you have to admit, the virtual reality aspect of playing a video game with  a Wii saber is pretty darn neat. Frankly, these are no question the most unique and intriguing game controllers I have ever come across, and Star Wars really isn’t [...]]]>

Despite some lukewarm reviews of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, you have to admit, the virtual reality aspect of playing a video game with  a Wii saber is pretty darn neat. Frankly, these are no question the most unique and intriguing game controllers I have ever come across, and Star Wars really isn’t even my thing. I haven’t found them in any stores around here, but they are made by a company calling itself Thrustmaster (no comment), and are available from Amazon.com.

The sabers are designed to hold the wiimotes inside their handles, providing for a more authentic star wars experience. Also, they glow (either red or blue) when turned on. And yes, you will look fantastic wielding your Wii Sabre.

The Nintendo marketing genius must be making a killing off all of the wiimote accessories they get to peddle along with the actual games and the Nintendo Wii console.

Sony has some big news coming out today: The company will allow “dynamic” ads to be placed in PlayStation 3 games. The Wall Street Journal is calling it “a boost for what could become a significant new revenue source for games companies” while

Sony has some big news coming out today: The company will allow “dynamic” ads to be placed in PlayStation 3 games. The Wall Street Journal is calling it “a boost for what could become a significant new revenue source for games companies” while Forbes thinks Sony is “set to ignite the world of advertising in videogames…”

Interesting, since the Xbox 360 has been doing this for nearly two years now. At the time (back in 2006), the gaming industry seemed pretty excited at what looked like a new source of revenue. But not much followed in terms of details of how this was to be a game changer for advertising (lame pun intended).

Now we have Sony joining the party late (sound familiar?) and everyone appears to be excited again about the prospects of in-game advertising. Not surprisingly, Electronic Arts will be the first publisher to feature dynamic ads inside its PS3 games. Upcoming version of Madden NFL, Need for Speed, and NBA Live will be among the first to have changing billboards and specific soda cans used.

But some questions are still unanswered this time around. Just how much advertising will gamers tolerate after paying $50-$60 for the game in the first place? And some games, such as fantasy or role playing games, might not work well with Diet Coke and Mitsubishi. Ads in such games might seem a little weird and out of place.

Not much has been done in terms of market research on in-game ad tolerance levels. But then again, not much complaining has been done on the amount that has existed for the last two years. Whatever the case, here’s hoping ad agencies and publishers don’t abuse this new way of reaching their target audience. Of course, “abuse” is going to mean different things to different gamers.

*Update* Microsoft has a press release out which discusses positive results (both from the advertiser and consumer perspective) of market research on in-game advertising. Lots of good discussion here and here.

ExtremeTech has an article out today on “How To Fix PC Gaming Once and for All” that caught my eye. I may not exactly be a fan of PC gaming as it stands now, and although the author makes a lot of valid points (fix piracy problem, more PC gaming companies [...]]]>

ExtremeTech has an article out today on “How To Fix PC Gaming Once and for All” that caught my eye. I may not exactly be a fan of PC gaming as it stands now, and although the author makes a lot of valid points (fix piracy problem, more PC gaming companies should vocally advocate the platform, and stop being fanboys), one of his suggestions is simple ridiculous: “OEMs: Stop Using Intel Onboard Graphics.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard PC gaming advocates denounce Intel’s graphics chipsets. Truth be told, they are probably just about the worst chips for 3D games out there. But does that really mean there is no place in the PC market place for adequate 2D graphics chips?

This is asinine on so many levels that I don’t even know where to start, but I will anyway. First, it is ridiculous to think that even 10% of all PCs would get used for somewhat demanding 3D games if they had capable hardware. According to Gartner, by the end of this year the worldwide install base for PCs will 1.1 billion units. That would mean that at least one billion discreet graphics cards would have been sold to people/companies/organizations that they would never use.

If you account for the fact that a decent gaming graphics card costs at least $150 (probably $200 or more really) then that would be $150,000,000,000 (or more) that would have been wasted. To put that in perspective, that is $25 billion more than Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo, nVidia, Intel, AMD, and Comcast combined made in the last six years! Or said another way, we could fuel 61 million cars in the U.S. for an entire year. Saying every computer should have a capable 3D gaming video card in it is as ridiculous as saying every TV needs to have an Xbox 360/PS3/Wii built-in; it is just rhetoric.

Here is the other major problem, a $150 video card won’t be able to play any current games in three years. How many people keep their computers for three years or longer (outside of our techie circle obviously)? My parents have had the same computer for four years, and they have no plans on getting a new one any time soon. My not-even-three-years-old computer and GPU are much nicer than anything my parents, or my brother, or any of my in-laws, etc, would ever buy and even my machine chokes on any game released in the last year.

What about the power consumption on discreet graphics chips? With laptops outselling desktops, and everyone becoming so concerned with being “green” these days, does it make sense to put a power hog GPU in every computer? I like having as much battery life as possible. I also like having a quiet computer (I bought a special passively cooled graphics card in fact). Having a dedicated GPU works against both of these factors.

If you really want to fix PC gaming it needs to become more approachable. Here are my tips.

• PC gaming needs a unified platform; think Games for Windows Live and Steam together on steroids, in an “open” and extensible way. It should manage patches for every game you have installed, know what the recommended drivers are, and even update all of them for you. It should have a unified messaging/communication system. It should have all of the copy-protection mechanisms built into it.Basically it should be kind of like what Xbox Live is for the Xbox plus additional hardware management functions. It should make the PC less of a moving target platform-wise.
• Developers should put more time into optimizing the performance of their games. It is ridiculous how developers constantly put the onus on the player to upgrade (to hardware that doesn’t even exist yet, yes I’m looking at you Crytek).Think of how much more raw power you need in a gaming PC versus an Xbox 360 to get comparable performance. On consoles the developers are forced to do more with less. They can do better on PCs than they have been doing.
• There needs to be more games to fill the gap between 3D games like Crysis/CoD4/UT3 and Freecell or flash games. Current Intel 3D hardware could probably keep pace this segment of games. The XNA Game Creators Club may be able to do the trick. After playing the demo of The Dishwasher: Dead Samuri, I’d bet a lot of “casual” gamers would be enticed to buy it for $10-$15; I’d probably pay $30 or more even. It is that fun/cool/fresh.

• Get OEMs to position PC gaming machines in a much less hardcore way. Right now you have XPS, Alienware, Falcon Northwest, etc, all trying to position themselves as the fastest things out there, like a Ferrari maybe. How many Ferrari’s do you see around town? Yeah, not many.If people could get a $500 computer that couldn’t play games, or you could get it slightly upgraded in a simple easy-to-understand gaming package for $150-$200 more, I think you’d see more people upgrade. Every “gaming” PC package should include an Xbox/Games for Windows controller as well. Outside of first-person-shooters, most people like a dedicated gaming controller more; especially in the less hardcore segments.

Note: This article is cross-posted at PseudoSavant.

So Paul’s latest comparison between PC and console gaming has created quite the firestorm. His financial analysis shows that console gaming is, in fact, cheaper even if plenty of

So Paul’s latest comparison between PC and console gaming has created quite the firestorm. His financial analysis shows that console gaming is, in fact, cheaper even if plenty of commenters take issue with his assumptions.

But an important piece is missing from his analysis, which swings the vote even more so toward the console side: PC gaming is a huge hassle. This can’t easily be measured in dollars (hence the reason it’s left out of a financial analysis), but here’s my latest ridiculous example:

I play Crysis and think it’s both the most beautiful game I’ve seen plus one of the most fun games I’ve played in the last couple years (well worth the $45). Having said that, it’s still a love/hate relationship. You see, like many PC games, a patch was released a few months after the game was released. I didn’t find out about it until weeks after its release, of course, because no one told me. And I’m not actively browsing gaming sites daily in hopes for a patch release.

But it gets worse. I install the patch since it’s supposed to fix some bugs and better optimize the gaming experience. It seems to do so until about half way through the game. All of a sudden, it starts taking 5 minutes for any game saving (which you can do at anytime and which happens automatically at every checkpoint). The game become unplayable. Even not saving the game manually (just saving at the automatic checkpoints), I was waiting more than playing.

So that got old really fast, and I started browsing online game forums for clues. I found two forums with hundreds of gamers frustrated by this same issue. In fact, one of the forums is an official EA forum (publisher of the game) but has still seen no response by any moderators. After reading through the comments, I did find a solution. Here’s how it works:

The issue I was experiencing apparently had something to do with the new patch. The fix entails uninstalling the game, then reinstalling it, and finally downloading and using someone else’s saved games to pick up in the part of the game you left off. You can’t backup and use your saved games, you see, because they’re corrupted. And, of course, the most important part is that of NOT installing the patch that the publisher recommends for “better performance,” ironically.

So there you have it. A few hours of my life wasted on something that would have never happened with a console game. It’s 2008, why don’t PC games download and install patches automatically (when they become available) from within the game? Why is it acceptable for patches to break the game and the developer to simply ignore it?

At least this time I was able to find a solution to the problem. My previous gaming problem with Gears of War still has me with a $50 gaming paperweight. But I’ll say again what I said the first time around:

PC gaming is more fun for me. I enjoy being on the cutting (bleeding?) edge with the best possible graphics and games. I prefer the precision of the keyboard and mouse to the clunkiness of the console controller. But in terms of price and the “hassle” factor, it’s no wonder PC gaming has seen a decline in popularity recently. PC gaming is for fools, but I’m lovin’ it… when it works, that is.

Note: This article is cross-posted at Bob Caswell.com.

TechConsumer News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The goal is to provide a concise, compiled overview of the most intriguing stories from the last few days. Feel free to give [...]]]>

TechConsumer News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The goal is to provide a concise, compiled overview of the most intriguing stories from the last few days. Feel free to give us feedback or send us tips. If you like what you find, you can subscribe via email or RSS.

Here’s the latest in TechConsumer news:

Nintendo announced plans to ship a new exercise product called Wii Fit on May 19 (in the U.S., already out in Japan). It comes with a weight-and-motion sensing device called the Wii Balance Board and will sell for less than $100. It will measure your shifting weight and walk you through exercise routines.

According to Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo’s U.S. division, “Wii Fit is all about breaking the definition of videogaming, about something that keeps you and your family fit and engaged.” Nintendo has already sold 1.4 million copies of Wii Fit in Japan in just the past few months.

Amazon.com has followed other retailers and announced a preference for Blu-ray hardware. “The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. He continues:

“Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January. In order to best serve our customers, Amazon is recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format and will continue to carry the ‘Earth’s Largest Selection’ of Blu-ray products.” Also, for those with plenty of spare time, Wired explains the rather lengthly process of converting HD DVDs to Blu-ray.

Some top technology companies, including Intel, Microsoft, Dell, and Advanced Micro Devices, decided to form the PC Gaming Alliance, a group that plans to promote the PC as a gaming platform. Other PCGA members include Acer, Epic, Nvidia, and Razer USA. According to a press release, the alliance plans to “accelerate innovation, improve the gaming experience for consumers and serve as a collective source of market information and expertise on PC gaming.” But some are not very convinced that it will amount to much.