Xbox 360 to Feature Fonix Voice Technology

Xbox key feature in the online play is the voice to voice technology, being able to talk to your teammates and enemies at any point of the game. It's what makes the online play even more interesting. Well now think about giving voice commands during single player mode. Xbox 360 just got more real.
"Microsoft is pleased to continue its relationship with Fonix for Xbox 360," said Brian Schmidt, program manager, Audio and Voice Technologies, Microsoft. "By incorporating Fonix's speech recognition technology into our Xbox 360 development kit, game developers can give players a fun and natural way of interacting with their games."
Read More

Marketing: Product placement in hot new videos

Advertisement has now hit the gaming industry. They went through years of marketing research to finally figure out that marketing different companies through their games can be a huge income success.


Nielsen already has paper diaries in the homes of some gamers to document their game-playing. Now, in conjunction with Activision and Jeep, Nielsen has embedded an electronic marker in each Jeep image included in Tony Hawk's Underground 2. Each time a Jeep vehicle is used or appears on the game screen, the electronic tag sends a signal over the Internet to Nielsen, which tracks the hits.

Read More

Can't wait? Get sneak peek of new video games

Year after year new systems come out. originally starting with Atari then Nintendo and their famous game Mario Bros. Each year seems to be better then the next. Graphics improve, game play improves, and much more.

The first look at next-generation game consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 created big buzz in the video-game world earlier this month.
Read More

Japan State Bans 'Grand Theft Auto' Sales

Grand theft auto has always been a huge success with every release. However each release follows controversy on what influences it has on kids. Grand Theft Auto is based on a hatemonger per say or a "delivery boy" running around the city doing jobs for gangs, mafia, and similar groups. You can run over predestinations, police, and kill pretty much anyone you want in the game and that is where the controversy plays in. Japan is taking charge and will try and ban sales of Grand Theft Auto.


TOKYO -- A state in Japan has decided to ban a U.S. video game from being sold or rented to minors, after officials deemed it harmful and capable of inciting violence.
Read More

Gaming Drive-Thru: What do you want from the big three?

Ok boys and girls. I won’t lie to you. I am bored out of my mind. It is almost 3am as I sit here at my desk pondering what Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have in store for us gamers in 2006. So let’s put it this way. You are at the drive-thru window of gaming. You look up at the large menu screen, but the screen is blank. It is pretty much “what you want”. So now is the time to order what you want. Tell the game companies what you want from then for the hard earned money that you will eventually spend on them in the coming years. So let me go down this list of what I want to order from the big three. Will my order be screwed up? Will I be able to super size? Is this the cheesiest comparison you have ever head to read in your life?

Sony:

Ok Sony, I want a system that will not have graphics with a jaggy look. I want a system that has a controller that is identical to the Playstation 2 controller. It worked on the first 2 systems, why change it. I want a system that will play DVD’s and come with a remote. I know I wont get this because Sony has to make money with the little things. I want a built in hard drive so I don’t have to keep shelling out $30+ for a memory card. I want my online gaming out of the box. I want to continue with mostly free online gaming as well. If the games are worth it, I’ll pay what I have to though. I want you to keep the USB ports because I want to use my own keyboards instead of the junky 3rd party ones that look generic. I want a Sony system that finally has 4 ports for controllers. I want to have a system that will give me drop dead gorgeous versions of Grand Theft Auto, SIREN (yes, I love that game), Kill Zone, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and Castlevania. I want all this and I want it to come at a price that I will not have to mortgage the house just to buy.

Microsoft:

I want my next Xbox to not be the size of a VCR made in 1980. I want my hard drive to stay in the system. I want online gaming out of the box as well. I want controllers that feel better in my hand. The first Xbox controller felt like you were holding a trashcan lid. It was just too damn big. I want Xbox Live to care over. I want to have better headphones that don’t sound like your talking underwater. I want monster versions of games Halo, Mech Assault, and Fable. I want a “Rare” game that does not take 20 years to make. How long does it take to make Perfect Dark and Conker? The Xbox was awesome, and I would not change as much as I wish Sony to do. Just give me what I want at a fair price and I will be happy.

Nintendo:

Since the Nintendo 64, they have not been able to bounce back. Nintendo, I want you to give us online gaming. You whored us up with the GameCube. Learn from your mistakes and give it to us. I want online gaming out of the box. I want a system that is innovative. I want a controller that will re-define the industry. I want a game medium that holds more then a small mini-disc. I want to see killer versions of Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Resident Evil, Animal Crossing, Metroid, and other great Nintendo products. I want to see a better marketing play. I want to see a system that is geared towards adults as well as kids. I want to have a system that interacts with the Nintendo DS. I want you to release a system with a great game lineup. I want you to listen to the older gamers and give us what we want as well. I want a game based on Reggie Fils-Aime. I want Nintendo to do what they did back in the NES days and start a revolution all over again. I want my Nintendo of old back!

So who knows, will each company get my friggin order right? Or will I have to go back inside and cuss someone out? Only time will tell. E3 will soon be upon us, and all three companies will show their hand.

I want to know what you guys want. Go to the forum and tell me what you all want. The most original stuff I read, I will post on my next editorial with your names on them.

~By Sean Poster - nlgaming.com

Getting Up Receives Authentic Talent (PS2)

The artists will be supplying their signature tags and art to the game, while six famous artists -- Cope 2, FUTURA, OBEY: Shepard Fairey, Seen, Smith and T-kid -- will be acting as mentors to the game's main character Trane. The artists will teach new abilities and techniques to become the best in the city.

"In order to provide players with a true and authentic interpretation of writer's lifestyle, we have gathered some of the most acclaimed artists from all over the world to participate in this project," said Marc Ecko, Executive Creative Director for Getting Up. "Outside of being a riveting game, Getting Up chronicles the expression, creativity, and passion that drives a writer to put his life out there in the name of the most powerful art movement in recent history. As someone whose career was deeply inspired by the legends who set this global phenomenon in motion in the early 80s, I am honored to bring it full circle by working with them on this groundbreaking project."

Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure is being developed by The Collective and is due out this September.

By Eduardo Vasconcellos | May 27, 2005
at http://www.gamespy.com