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3D Versus Body Motion: What Matters Most for Next Gen Gamers?

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:13:36 +0000

Accoding to NPD, a research firm, families are using video games big time. After sports games and action games (each holding approximately 20% of the market), family games represent 12%, the next largest category. Though the press would have you think otherwise, nearly 50% of games sold are rated “E” for everyone. And the game platforms are looking for new cool ways to exploit the growing gaming market.

This holiday, the three big industry platform giants—Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo—are going to battle it out with next generation systems, each targeting a wider consumer audience in its own unique way. For each, the ease of use, price, mobility, ability to download music and movies and play online, and, of course, a little bit of gamer’s luck will affect its ultimate success.

Kinect

Microsoft Kinect

$149, $399 for Elite Bundle that includes the requisite Xbox.

Expected release: November

What it is: Originally dubbed Project Natal, Kinect is an Xbox accessory that allows you to play video games without having to use any sort of input device or controller other than your own body. You can wave your hands and make things move around a virtual screen, or kick up your heels to play a rousing game of soccer. Microsoft emphasizes Kinect’s natural user interface: voice, touch, face recognition, motion sensors, video chat, and more. Having tested it, I can attest that a Kinect experience can leave you breathless, the same kind of breathless any good workout gives you.

Technology: A clever packaging of a traditional digital webcam with a second camera that senses depth plus four microphones to pick up voice. The Kinect sits next to your Xbox. The cameras pick up your body movements and the software has been taught more about degrees of body articulation than an Indian fakir. Kinect reacts to slight movements of arms, wrists, knees, neck, etc. with equal aplomb.

Games preview: Many of the games are what you’d expect to be playing with or without a controller: Kinectimals is like a cuter version of Nintendogs; Kinect Sports is like the Wii sports with soccer, bowling, and track and field games. There’s a go-kart racing game and plenty of jumping adventures in Kinect Adventures. My fave announcement is the Your Shape game from Ubisoft and Dance Central from Harmonix, letting me up my fitness unencumbered by dance pads or controllers.

Pros and cons: Kinect is sold separately but you’ll probably want the Ultimate Pack, which includes the new update of the Xbox 360 Live featuring more memory, USB, and HDMI, to name a few.

Sony Move PlayStation

Under $100 for the three components: the Move wand, the navigation controller, and the Eye camera.

Expected release: September

What it is: It looks like a karaoke mic but it’s an accessory for the PS3 that adds new dimensions of control to video games as you wave it like a baton. Much like the gyroscope/accelerometer in other motion-sensing devices and the Wii remotes, the stick can record your body positioning and relay that information to a webcam attached to the PS3. Think of the Move as a magic wand. Swing it like a baseball bat, golf club, or tennis racket and the movement is detected.

Technology: Unlike Kinect, where it’s your body or nothing, the Sony Move includes some buttons that can be used to enhance play. Gamers will enjoy having the buttons to add another dimension. Nongamers will continue to be confused. Some games require having two Moves in hand, like archery, for example. According to my colleagues in the know, the Sony Move is much more precise than the Kinect precisely because you’re holding something in your hand. Sony Move uses a Bluetooth controller to communicate between the wand and the camera.

Sony Move Archery

Games preview: Sony Move aims to satisfy both casual and hardcore gamers alike. Titles already confirmed are: Sorcery, SingStar Dance, Heroes on the Move (working title), SOCOM 4, Heavy Rain Move Edition, echochrome ii, EyePet, Sports Champions, Tumble, Beat, Time Crisis: Razing Storm, Toy Story 3, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.

Nintendo 3DS

Pricing still not available.

Expected release: March 2011

What it is: Due out after the others, the 3DS is similar to the current Nintendo DS but it’s 3D, and 3D that does not require the user to wear any special 3D glasses. The Nintendo Wii, the acknowledged granddaddy of motion-based gaming, captured the imagination of a new generation of young mobile gamers. Nintendo’s Wii sales have been ailing, and the earlier arrival of the Kinect and Sony Move will undoubtedly cause some defections.

Technology: The secret sauce behind Nintendo 3DS is a third camera that helps create the 3D image. Like the DS, it’s got dual screens, a 3.53-inch top screen and a 3.02-inch bottom touchscreen. The top screen is capable of showing 3D graphics; the bottom is a touchpad. A motion sensor, gyro sensor, and a slide pad that allows 360-degree input make it possible to play games or take a 3D photo. The 3DS comes with slots for 3DS and DS games, and an SD card slot, integrated Wi-Fi, and a rechargeable battery. The operative words here are mobile, connected, and 3D, and, knowing Nintendo, probably quite affordable.

Games preview: Here are some game trailers. The games looked a bit crude to me, but it’s pretty darn hard to simulate 3D on a 2D screen. Expect favorites like Mario and Nintendogs to resurface on 3D.

And the Winner Is

The kids I know say Nintendo’s 3DS is the freshest idea, one that most appeals to them. Frankly, the kids were less interested in the notion of full body motion control than I (in my inevitable quest to lose five pounds). Portability trumps motion control. Nintendo is promising 3D movie viewing too, and that’s adding to the ecstasy.

I, and the women I know, really like the Kinect idea and find a buttonless/controlless world really appealing. I mean, Kinect can even detect and correct an imprecise yoga down dog!
My gamer friends—they drool of the precision of Sony’s Move.

Where do you stand? Body, precision, or 3D?

Two New Games For Young Fliers

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:46:39 +0000

Flight Simulator the Microsoft game thats ultrarealistic controls and navigation path gave many armchair pilots a chance to take control of the wheel. Now the kids can get into the act with two games announced for the junior set. Heros in the Sky

MySims Sky Heroes: launching by this Sept
Most of you are familiar with The Sims, the closest thing to a do-it-yourself soap opera videogame. You may be less familiar with the junior version, My Sims. It’s a simpler, younger adventure that concentrates on cute Mii like characters. There have been racing version of My Sims and well as others.
. The newest My Sims addition is called SkyHeroes and it will be available by September. A better name would be My First Flight Simulator. Instead of just navigating aimlessly from point to point, your mission is to battle Morcubus and his drone army . They’ve got nefarious plans to take over the skyways! You earn your wings as your speed and reflexes are put to the test. Whimsy is pervasive as you can fly everything from a prop plane to a UFO. Available for Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox and Playstation.
Sky Captain by D3 Publishers, also jumps into the flight training craze with a much more structured adventure for young children where they can pilot anything from a plane to a UFO 40 different tasks from stunt flying to shooting targets. No killing, no crashing, and simple enough to pilot that even I managed. Sky Captain reports they’ll be available by this sumer.

It’s Summertime: Tech Things to Do (or Not) With the Kids

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:35:15 +0000

Whoever designed the three-month summer vacation must have received kickbacks from the electronics industry. Even the most well intentioned moms and dads need a break from lemonade stands, swim parties, and cookouts. Here are a handful of great ideas followed by a handful of fair warnings.

A Publishing System for Young Kids: Tikatok

The cofounder of this site was sitting in a bookstore with her kids when she realized that every book on the shelves was written by an adult. The epiphany? Create a site where kids can publish. Tikatok brings out the storyteller in every kid, allowing them to see the fruits of their labor shared with others on the web. Posting a story is free. Creating a book and selling it has varying costs depending on the size of the book. Story Sparks, an idea generator, helps those with writer’s block and it’s relatively easy to add artwork, too. (Average price for printed copies is around $20.)

A Stay-cationer’s Dream: Wii Sports Resort

Players participate in a virtual vacation on an island with 12 different activities. Basketball, table tennis, canoeing, archery—the games are eclectic and tons of family fun. Sports Resort is one of the first Wii games to use Motion Plus—Nintendo’s new accessory. It allows the game to track the motion of your forearm and wrist which makes table tennis and archery more realistic. But the new accessory adds to the price and doesn’t add anything new to older Wii games. ($49.99)

Summer of Apollo:

This one won’t cost you a dime. The moonwalk (no, not the Michael Jackson kind) has captured and re-captured the imagination of kids and adults everywhere. Earth.google.com/moon is a joint project of NASA and Google. You can zoom in and actually see the 1969 footprints from the first spacewalk and take an guided tour narrated by Apollo astronauts.

A Quirky Game for Teens: Little King’s Story

For the teens in the house, this quirky masterpiece mixes adventure, strategy, and a heavy dose of whimsy. The plot begins with a young king that inherits a mess of a kingdom. Done in something similar but not as irritating as anime style graphics, the game includes cultural references and clever innuendo as the king (you) assembles his motley crew of subjects. Be warned: there are scenes with drunken and crude behavior. Normally I’m no fan of the anime style nor lengthy multicharacter games, but this one seems to be the pacesetter. And if you don’t believe me, see what the gamers have to say. ($49.99)

And what should you be avoiding this summer?

E3 Report: The Battle for Your Inner Gamer

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:54:39 +0000

Let’s get the bias out in the open. I’m not a gamer, though I have a deep appreciation of the art of the game. If you think all gamers and their gaming machines are created equal, think again. At E3 Expo last week I got to evaluate the game milieus and the crowds they drew, allowing me a unique socio-psychological profile of game machines and the folks who love them.

First Up: Nintendo Wii

Species: Gamer Familia—Wii has the widest appeal to families, but hardcore gamers turn their noses skyward.

Characteristics: If President Obama was reincarnated as a game machine he’d be a Nintendo Wii. The Wii message is all about inclusivity. The company’s mission is to get everybody playing a game and everybody moving their bodies while they play. The success of the Wii and the Wii Fit are right on target with the mission. They have a diverse offering of software from a variety of publishers.

2009 Maturation: New hardware announcements at E3 included the Wii MotionPlus.

Slip your Wii Remote into this special jacket and you'll get increased precision allowing you to play new games.

By adding a sensitive gyroscope to the Wii Remote the company adds a more precise feel to the games. An archery game, for example, is sensitive to the tension of the bow, a ping-pong match really lets you control your force, spin, and speed. The Wii Fit, the balance board that brought women into the fold by appealing to gaming as a weight loss activity, also got some spruce up. Wii Fit Plus offers more exercise (think about directional hip shifting and more personalized fitness routines with more feedback).

More personalization for your special workout.

Super Mario was superstar. The red-shirted plumber is now featured in a multiplayer game, a new Olympic game. Also previewed was the Wii Vitality Sensor, a finger clip that measures pulse and galvanic skin response. No games were demoed for the vitality sensor, but you can just imagine Nintendo doing some cool things with biofeedback, relaxation, and meditation, can’t you?

Adding a new dimension to game play this peripheral will monitor pulse and other body functions.

Genus: Gamers in the audience were noticeably unmoved by the Wii’s E3 announcements. The appeal of the Wii is in its simplicity. (I’ve yet to see a game that wasn’t pretty intuitive.) And its diversity. From cooking up a virtual dish, playing in a virtual playground, getting a yoga workout, or solving a mystery, there are a more titles for the Wii than any other gaming system. And the offerings are equally divided for kids of all ages.

Next Up: SONY PlayStation 3 and PlayStation To Go

After Wii’s Success Nintendo Woos Us Again

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:20:23 +0000

In the old days (just last week), before Nintendo’s new portable game console, the DSi, was available, portable game consoles were for kids with good eyesight, fast reflexes, and too much time on their hands. The DSi, the next generation of Nintendo’s DS, is going to shake things up by changing the nature of the games we play as part of the mobile experience.

I’ve been scanning the reviews of the new DSi and becoming convinced that the techie crowd doesn’t understand that “something’s happening here.” Most reviews are using words like “evolutionary” and missing the point that when you put a camera, good microphone, and some great software in a portable game machine, it changes the nature of the game. I spoke with Warren Buckleitner, founder of Children’s Technology Review and the director of our Kids@Play Summit program. Warren calls the new DSi a “Digital Sandbox.”

By adding two (yes, two) digital cameras and a sensitive microphone, the DSi heralds another level of creativity and exploration. The two cameras (one faces inward so you can capture photos of yourself and one faces the outside world) come with software that lets you pull, yank, meld, and manipulate images using software special effects lenses. The sound and music tools let you use the DSi as an MP3 player, but, more importantly, lets you sample the sound of voices, birds chirping, and teachers lecturing, and then edit and manipulate them. The DSi, if used well, will unleash fantastic amounts of creativity.
To read more on why Warren thinks the DSi is magic in a kid’s hands, read his DSi impressions.

For a great synopsis of what’s new and different with more emphasis on the technical specs, I’ll point you towards John Davison’s review on WhatTheyPlay.com.