Digital Technology for Digital Living.
February 22, 2008
Classic Nintendo Themed TV Remote
Need some help rounding out your classic Nintendo collection?
Old NES somewhere in the basement… CHECK. Purchased every Classic Console game on the Nintendo Wii… CHECK. But do you have a cool universal TV remote that looks just like a NES controller? No? ThinkGeek.com does and it’s ready for immediate delivery via winged turtle shell.
This NES style remote controls most TVs allowing critical gaming functions like power on/off, changing the channel and even volume adjustment. Now you can amaze your friends by pretending to play classic NES games while watching old Thundercats re-runs.
These controllers are limited editions from Japan. Once they are gone, they are gone.
The Nintendo Controller Universal Remote works with the following brands of TVs:
Sony- Panasonic
- Sharp
- Sylvania
- Sanyo
- Aiwa
- Hitachi
- Philips
- NEC
- JVC
- Toshiba
- Mitsubishi
- Fujitsu
By the way, this remote does not control cable boxes, DVD players or anything else. Strictly TV sets. Also the Nintendo Controller Universal Remote may not work if your TV is super ancient.
You can pick up the Nintendo Controller Universal Remote for $12.99 from ThinkGeek.com.
methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
November 17, 2007
Formula Dremel Challenge
Formula Dremel Challenge
Hobby Car enthusiasts from around the UK battle it out to win tickets to the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, hosted by Chris Barrie.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General, Games
September 27, 2007
Halo 3 Sales Smash Records
Microsoft is reporting that sales for its much hyped game, Halo 3, generated $170 million during the first 20 hours of its release. Not only does this top the $125 million sales record set by Halo 2, but it also surpasses the opening-day US box office record of $59.8 million set by Sony’s “Spider-Man 3″ in May. In fact, Halo 3 made more money in 24 hours than Spider-Man 3 made during its three-day opening-weekend ($151 million).
So far, more than 1 million players have logged on the play the networked Xbox Live version of Halo 3.
The game is expected to give a huge boost to the Xbox 360. Lately, the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii has been a thorn in the side of both Microsoft and Sony.
You can read our review of Halo 3 here.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
September 25, 2007
Halo 3 Sickness Feared
The 3rd and final edition in the Halo video game trilogy got released Monday night at midnight. Microsoft expects to sell an estimated 4 million copies of Halo 3 (read MethodShop.com review) in the U.S. during the next 30 days according to Gamesindustry.biz. Think 4 million seems a lot for a video game? Keep in mind that “Halo” (2001) and “Halo 2″ (2004) sold 14.5 million copies worldwide.
But because there is so much anticipation and hype around Halo 3, corporate employers and school systems are fearing that their staff and students will spontaneously be calling in sick this week.
Here are a couple quotes I found on USA Today.com:
“I’ve already talked to my teachers and got my assignments for Tuesday. I don’t plan on going to class,” says Dane Mitchell, 20, a Cincinnati State and Community College sophomore. “I’m going to pick up the game at midnight from GameStop, go to a friend’s house, and play it for 36 hours,” he says.
Like Mitchell, Neil Godwin, 21, of Milford, Ohio, reserved his copy more than a year ago. He’s taking a vacation day Tuesday from his job as a Kroger computer help desk analyst to play Halo 3 all day with his brother.
Corporate sponsors are also helping fuel the hype around Halo 3. Even if the last video game you played was Pong in the 1980’s, Microsoft still wants you to know about Halo 3. Everyone from Burger King, NASCAR, Pontiac and even Mountain Dew have promotional deals with Microsoft for Halo 3 that rival such theatrical franchises as Harry Potter. Last night I even saw a ‘limited edition’ Halo 3 Mountain Dew 12-pack labeled as “Game Fuel.” I guess there’s probably enough sugar and caffeine in a 12-pack of Mountain Dew to even keep a Polar Bear up all night.
Beyond the corporate sponsors, promotional advertising blitz and the Internet buzz, Halo 3 is special to gamers because it’s the final chapter in the Halo series. It’s the last time fans will get to see their beloved Master Chief in action. Halo 3 is equivalent of how important “Return of the Jedi” or “The Return of the King” was Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fans. It’s the end of a saga.
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August 22, 2007
Largest Hand in the World
Lui Hua can’t play the Nintendo Wii or Guitar Hero. He wants to but he physically can’t…. at least not yet. Why? Hua suffers from a rare condition known as macrodactyly. When he was hospitalized in Shanghai last month, his left thumb measured 10.2 inches and his index finger measured close to 12.
From The Shanghai Daily:
“It was the biggest hand in the world,” said Chen Zuliang, a hospital official. “Liu’s fingers stopped growing in recent years so plastic surgery was at last possible to correct the malformation.”
On July 20 surgeons undertook a seven-hour operation to reduce the size of Liu’s fingers and thumb. Doctors removed 11 pounds of flesh and bone in the procedure. A second surgery is scheduled to take place. Enlarged limbs can be caused by a number of medical conditions. Lymphedema is perhaps the most common cause and results in some extraordinarily enlarged limbs.
BeSocial: methodshop | digg story | flickr
methodshop | Comments (0) | Games, Geek
August 18, 2007
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs in Second Life
A virtual Philharmonic Hall in Second Life will host a live performance by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance will be hosted in Second Life a massive online universe.
Principal conductor Vasily Petrenko will conduct Ravel’s Sheherazade and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, as well as world premieres by composers Kenneth Hesketh and John McCabe.
After the performance Petrenko, Hesketh and soloist Kate Royal will answer questions about the performance in the virtual Grand Foyer Bar in Second Life.
There are a limited number of spaces at the virtual event and the orchestra is asking people to register for a chance to win a free ticket. The performance will take place on 14 September.
Reference for posting: http://www.vnunet.com
AndyD | Comments (0) | Games
MTV invests $500m into games
MTV Networks has announced that they will invest $500 million in games over the next two years. A large amount of their games are published through MTV games who is working with Harmonix in the process of preparing the eagerly awaited title ‘Rock Band’ for a Christmas release. Harmonix are the developers behind the popular Guitar Hero series and they were just one of a number of accusations that MTVN had picked up recently.
MTV Networks chairman and CEO Judy McGrath, commented on the investment: “Gaming is a focal point of our vertical entertainment strategy to super serve our loyal and passionate audiences with engaging experiences, and the success of all our properties, everything from AddictingGames to the virtual games on Nicktropolis to the award-winning ‘Rock Band’, really has put us in a leadership position. As we continue to take our brands narrow and deep to serve our targeted audiences, we are investing over $500 million in the next few years towards building our games business, worldwide, across all of the brands.”
Reference for posting: http://gamesnews.virgin.net
AndyD | Comments (0) | Games
August 11, 2007
Halo 3 xbox 360
To celebrate the release of the third game in the popular Halo Franchise, Microsoft are releasing a special edition Xbox 360. It shares it’s style with the Masterchief, the main character from the Halo games but unfortunately is not going to be bundled with a version of Halo3.
Features
* Halo 3 Special Edition Console
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wireless Controller
* Halo 3 Special Edition 20GB Hard Drive
* Halo 3 Special Edition Wired Headset
* Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics and Theme (Exclusive download via Xbox LIVE)
* Component HD AV Cable
* Ethernet Cable
* HDMI Port
* Play & Charge Kit
* Xbox LIVE Silver Membership
* One-month Lbox LIVE Gold Membership
In other Halo3 news, the game has sold more than a million copies already, months before its release through pre orders.
AndyD | Comments (1) | Console, Games
May 22, 2007
Mario Brothers USB Mouse
Are you stuck in the past? Still listening to Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth on cassette and trying to beat your high score on Donkey Kong? These stylish Mario Brothers and Golden Star mice I found on GetUSB.info might get you that retro mojo you need to actually do it!
Both offer a retro 8-bit appeal and feature the original mechanical mouse ball mechanism that you probably forgot existed. Push one of these beauties across your desk and imagine that you are playing Super Mario Brothers… rather than filling out those boring TPS reports.
[Via GetUSB.info]
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
May 18, 2007
Nintendo Wii Outselling Sony PS3
Yesterday, the NPD Group released video game hardware sales data for April. Nintendo’s Wii and DS consoles were again the big winners, as both platforms dominated all competitors. This marks the 4th month in a row that Nintendo has nabbed the top spots with its respective systems on the hardware sales charts.
The Nintendo DS was the overall best-selling system of April with approximately 471,000 units sold — more than twice that of the Sony PSP, which only managed to sell 182,000 units.
Despite being in limited supply, the Nintendo Wii was the best-selling console for the month. More than 360,000 new consumers purchased Nintendo’s home console in April. The second best-selling home system was the Sony PlayStation 2 with 193,000 units sold. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 managed 174,000 units sold and Sony convinced only 82,000 people to purchase a PlayStation 3 for the month, lower than all analyst estimates.
Nintendo was also the #1 software publisher for the month, releasing the top 4 best-selling games — Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl for DS, and Super Paper Mario and Wii Play for Wii. The Pokemon titles sold a combined 1.7 million games in about a week.
According to VG Chartz, the Nintendo Wii has sold 2.5m consoles in Japan, 2.8m in the US and 1.79m in the rest of the world since its official launch late last year.
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May 16, 2007
Human Joysticks - NewsBreaker Live
Tired of the boring movie trivia slide shows that theaters play before the movie? How about an interactive game that the entire theater can play at the same time?
MSNBC.com has this live video game experience called NewsBreaker Live that has entire theaters acting like Human Joysticks.
NewsBreaker Live is modeled after the classic video games like BrickBreaker and Arkanoid. The game combines live msnbc.com RSS newsfeeds, the movement of the audience as a human joystick, and the big screen as a game board. Groundbreaking motion-sensor technology dubbed “CrowdGaming” tracks the entire audience’s collective movement (watch video clip). Audience members control the game by moving in sync to smash up msnbc.com’s colorful brick spectrum of news with a bouncing ball and paddle.
As far as I know, this is the first in-theater, audience participatory video game. And honestly, I think it’s pretty cool. Way better than being forced to stare at slides of movie trivia and ads for local used car dealerships. You can play an online version of NewsBreaker Live at newsbreakergame.com.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
May 14, 2007
Nintendo Wii Owners Making CelebriMiis
One of the new features of the Nintendo Wii, is the ability to create avatars (a virtual representation of a person) using the platform’s “Mii Channel.” The avatars can be used in various Nintendo games and even shared with other players. But creative Nintendo Wii users aren’t just creating Miis of themselves. They’ve started making avatars that resemble famous people. Wii users have dubbed the celebrity avatars “CelebriMiis.”
Many Mii creators share their CelebriMii techniques online so others can duplicate the effect and use their avatars in games and Mii parades.
The image below is Hiro Nakamura from the NBC TV series Heroes.
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May 01, 2007
How Does Duck Hunt Work?
If you grew up during the 1980’s, then perhaps you might remember playing an 8-bit shooter called Duck Hunt. Released for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1985, Duck Hunt was one of the first games to use the “NES Zapper” or light gun.
At the time, my little brother and I didn’t care how the gun worked, we just didn’t want the dog to laugh at us. Sometimes we would hold the light gun against the glass of the TV and try to cheat. 20 years later I’m more interested in learning how the game worked than preventing the dog from laughing at me.
So how does the light gun work? How exactly does Duck Hunt know what you were pointing at when you pull the trigger? According to an article on The Straight Dope, the gun isn’t shooting the TV, it’s the other way around. When you pull the light gun trigger, the entire screen blackens briefly and a white duck flashes on the screen where the duck(s) are located. If the photo sensor in the light gun detects a quick flash from dark to light, then you have a dead duck (and a non-laughing dog). Basically the TV shoots a light pulse and the “gun detects it, not the other way around.”
Finding a working NES, light gun and original Duck Hunt cartridge can be a little tricky and require some time searching around on eBay. If you’re looking for a quick fix, you can play an online Shockwave version of Duck Hunt here. You’ll have to settle for a mouse instead of a light gun, but you’ll probably have fun anyway.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
April 11, 2007
Follow Matt Lauer Web Game
In 1998, the “Today” show started sending co-host Matt Lauer to far off locations like Mt. Everest and Machu Picchu, for a feature on the show called Where in the World Is Matt Lauer? But this week, American broadcasting network NBC decided to send Matt Lauer somewhere he’d never been before… a microsite. In a clever mashup of entertainment and promotion, Matt Lauer now has his own interactive Flash gaming site (followmatt.com). I blog for a site called Brand Appeal and thought this Matt Lauer microsite deserved a closer look.
Using a fun object-based interface, the site encourages users to explore Matt’s possessions on his desk. You can watch clips on his video iPod, check out his car keys (sponsored by by Hyundai), download themed ringtones from his mobile phone, and see all of the places Matt has traveled to by opening up his passport. Visitors can even use his digital camera to upload a brief video clip explaining why they deserve a vacation. Apparently the best sob story wins a free vacation.
By far, the best part of the microsite is the “Where’s Matt?” game. It’s like an interactive version of the children’s book “Where’s Waldo?” Matt randomly gets inserted into different exotic locations and you have to find him. Do it fast enough and you’ll get your name listed in the top 10. When I last played the game someone named “Imus Sucks” was in 10th place. Obviously a reference to the radio host who recently made racist comments about the Reuters University women’s basketball team. Imus does suck by the way.
Overall, the online experience is great. However, the execution of this site’s design feels a little disjointed. Several components of the site launch in separate windows making the experience feel less contained. Even though I feel a more controlled experience for visitors is needed (like on my blog called Brand Appeal), the site really does a nice job of pushing Matt Lauer’s celebrity brand and attracting more interest in the Today show. Don’t give a crap about a free vacation or ring tones? Me either. But at the very least check out the “Where’s Matt?” game and try to get your name in the top 10. I did. Just once.
by CAM
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Games
