 Epic Vice President Mark Rein has spoek out about how he see equipment like the ipad, iphone and other such smart phones and devices as the consoles of the future.
Mark Rein
“I'm a big proponent of AAA games. Triple-A isn't going away, it's going everywhere, these are the consoles of the future, if devices like the iPad could double their power we'd be able to play Gears of War on them”
“I'd rather sell 10 million games at $25 and have a chance to sell DLC than 5 million at $50 on a disc that gets traded around”
He also mentioned that the studio has been playing around with the new iPhone 4 and that the possibility of have a game such as gears on it some day soon is not out of the realm of possibility.
Online retailer ShopTo has set a tentative pre-order price for Microsoft’s new motion sensing camera Kinect at £129.99, Microsoft have said that they are not quite ready to reveal the exact price point for the peripheral yet but from what we can understand some where around the £100 price tag is a good guess. Kinect is currently slated for a November 19th world wide launch.
Specifications for Microsoft’s up coming motion control sensing camera Kinect have hit the net today, apart for the obvious 360 that is required you will all so have to make sure that you have at least 175MB of storage available for drives and other software the equipment need to run as well as a free USB port. Kinect Technical Specifications
Sensor
Colour and depth-sensing lenses
Voice microphone array
Tilt motor for sensor adjustment
Field of View
Horizontal field of view: 57 degrees
Vertical field of view: 43 degrees
Physical tilt range: 27 degrees
Depth sensor range: 1.2m - 3.5m
Data Streams
320x240 16-bit depth @ 30 frames/sec
640x480 32-bit colour@ 30 frames/sec
16-bit audio @ 16 kHz
Skeletal Tracking System
Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players
Tracks 20 joints per active player
Ability to map active players to Xbox LIVE Avatars
Audio System
Xbox LIVE party chat and in-game voice chat (requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership)
Echo cancellation system enhances voice input
Speech recognition in multiple languages
In a recent interview with MTV Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard has talked about how before the studio settled on Halo Reach they went thought a number of other possible ideas, including waking Master Chief up from cryo-sleep and presumably landing on that strange planet you see at the end of the game on legendary difficulty setting, he then went on to talking about how Reach is its own game and time line and all though having played the previous Halo titles will give you a more complete understanding and fuller view of the game world that it is not necessary and that he hopes many non Halo players will pick up Reach to then go on and play the original Halo trilogy afterwards.
Just like its big brother (although the PSP was out before the PS3) the PSP is all so set to get a new firmware update today to coincide with the release of Playstation Plus, Sony all so mentioned that firmware update 6.30 for the PSP would all so bring along other features although they have not release any information about them at this point.
 Sony have just release information regarding an up coming firmware update for the PS3 (firmware update 3.40), chief amongst the update is the reconfiguring of the system to support the Playstation Plus software for Sony’s paid subscription service that launches today, so one can only figure that the update will be rolled out today.
PlayStation Plus: PlayStation Network users will be able to purchase membership to PlayStation Plus; a new subscription service on the PlayStation Network that provides you with new options to expand and enhance your gaming experience and enable you to gain an exclusive set of features and content. Friendly reminder, all of you PlayStation Network users will continue to have free access to PlayStation Network's unmatched and expanding suite of new and exclusive features while PlayStation Plus subscribers will gain access to an exclusive and expanding set of gaming features, content and functionality.
Photo Gallery: A new network based photo sharing feature is now available on the Photo Gallery. The enhancement allows you to upload, browse and comment on photos on Facebook and Picasa Web Album. You can also opt to share your photos between your PlayStation Network friends as well as print photos from Photo Gallery.
Video Editor & Uploader: Video Editor and Uploader is a new function found on the XrossMediaBar (XMB), which enables you to edit, save and upload video files stored on the PS3 system to sites such as Facebook or YouTube.
Five Star Rating Support: Users can rate the PlayStation Store content they have purchased with one to five star ratings.
Power Save Settings: The default setting for PS3 System Auto-Off will be set at 2 hours, providing you with additional power save options and further improving power save features on the PS3 system.
In addition to the latest features introduced in PS3 system software update (v3.40), a separate, new PlayStation Network application on Facebook.com will be made available. This builds upon what was previously launched with Trophies and the ability to publish purchases from the PlayStation Store. Now you can further integrate your PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts with this new application. The application allows you to display your PlayStation Network profile on your Facebook account, find out which of your Facebook friends have a PSN account and send them a PlayStation Network friend request, view your PSN friends' online status and add the PlayStation Network application tab to your Facebook user profile.
UK PS3 owners have the option of two PSN Plus subscription packages: 12 months for £39.99 or 90 days for £11.99.
So how many of you out there are opting for the paid service let us know in the comments bar below.
 Activision Blizzard is the latest publisher to join trade association, TIGA's campaign to secure tax relief for UK game developers.
Last week the Coalition Government revealed that it had scrapped Labour’s plans for the UK games tax relief, claiming that the move was “poorly targeted.”
However, Activision Blizzard, which has two UK based studios; Bizarre Creations and FreeStyleGames, says that British game developers are now left in a "real disadvantage" compared to other countries.
Activision's executive Vice President, George Rose said:
"At Activision Blizzard we are extremely supportive of TIGA's campaign to secure Games Tax Relief for the UK development community. The UK has one of the most talented and creative workforces anywhere in the industry”.
"The introduction of Games Tax Relief in the UK will be a game changer. It will make the UK a significantly more attractive place to invest in games development. Games Tax Relief will lead to increased investment, more job creation and power economic growth."
"However, if Games Tax Relief is not introduced then the UK will remain at a real disadvantage in comparison to other territories as a location for inward investment. Without Games Tax Relief the UK games industry will not fulfil its potential."
Originally both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats went on record to support the initiative, after Labour announced it's plans in the Budget back in March to offer the tax breaks.
What is perhaps today’s coolest news article, Marvel have announced that they will be releasing a series of costumes to LittleBIGPlanet.
Five different costume packs will be released every fortnight from July 7th onwards, with each pack containing five costumes from heroes like Captain America, Iron Man and Wolverine to villains such as Doctor Octopus, Magneto and Venom. Marvel also announced that a Marvel Level Kit will also be released, which includes four levels, pitting Sackboy and pals against the might of Magneto. Marvel-themed music, objects, materials and stickers will also be included in the level kit.
To find out the full list of Marvel costumes, hit the link below.
 It’s all very well and good for Sony to be talking about the possibilities of 3D gaming, but what they haven’t done is tell consumers about the lengths they’ll have to go to in order to play games in 3D.
3D televisions can cost up to, and beyond £2,000 with an extra pair of glasses costing £100 each, so presumably you’ll want at least three extra pairs. It certainly is a considerable amount of money to drop, but Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios Vice President, Scott Rhode said that the company is not concerned about the cost, but in fact a strategy.
"The best thing I can relate this to is the Blu-ray launch,” said Rhode. “I think this is like a rewind for me, a lot of the same questions, where people were saying, "I've got a huge DVD collection; why would I upgrade to a new type of media?" And someone has to push it out there to show it's a superior technology and to show that it can achieve widespread adoption over time."
"It also goes back to the promise that [SCEA CEO] Jack [Tretton] made a few years ago about a future proof box, and the fact that 3D TVs are taking hold globally, not just from Sony, but from other manufacturers, and here we are sitting here basically saying, 'I told you so’”
"So, it's a distinct strategy that we've chosen to take to be on the bleeding edge and drive the market into these new experiences. So we're not worried about quick adoption rate. We're driving people to adopt period."
We fully respect Sony in their attempt to make 3D gaming the next ‘big thing’, but for the amount of money that you’re looking to spent you could easily get a decent second-hand car.
New footage shown on the Japanese television show ’The Pokemon Show’ has revealed that the new Black and White games will feature 3-on-3 battles.
Also shown in the footage where three new Pokemon: Ononokusu, Doryuuzu, Desukaan, Denchura and Moguryu. Ononokusu appears to be a mantis Pokemon, Doryuuzu is a mole with a massive claw on its tail, Desukaan looks like a coffin with ghostly arms and Denchura appears to be a tarantula. Moguryu is also a mole and, apparently, is a pre-evolution of Doryuuzu. The Pokemon Show also revealed the Japanese release date for the new adventure games as September 18th. No European or American release date has been announced.
In other Pokemon news, players can now take advantage of a new Wi-Fi event for Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeratGold and SoulSilver where you’ll be able to download Jirachi between June 26th to July 16th. For HG and SS users, you’ll also get the Night’s Sky Edge Pokewalker route. Poketastic!
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