The Geek Church

If you were to ask an adult gamer who grew up through various generations of console systems about Nintendo’s first true effort in 3D gaming, he’d probably say it was the Virtual Boy console. However, you might be interested to know that Nintendo developed a 3D device that predates the Virtual Boy, which was released over a decade ago in 1995. This device was actually made during the era of the original Famicom from Japan.

In those days, Nintendo created a 3D accessory that was compatible with the Famicom console. It was called the Famicom 3D. It consisted of a pair of LCD shutter glasses hooked up to the console and it would sync with both the left and right eye to make images on the screen a credible 3D gaming experience. However, only a few games were actually developed with Famicom 3D compatibility since the device never gained popularity in Japan.

As a result, Nintendo didn’t risk bringing this accessory to the United States after its unsuccessful run in the land of the rising sun. Furthermore, gamers who actually used the Famicom 3D complained about motion sickness and headaches, which served to make the product’s failure certain in the gaming world. Well, there’s your dose of gaming history for the day, dear readers. Let’s see if Nintendo has learned anything from the failure of the Famicom 3D and the Virtual Boy flop when they launch the upcoming 3DS in the near future.

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When using portable devices like an iPod or a smartphone to listen to music or watch videos, the headphone is the common tool of choice for ensuring sound quality. Headphones can also be used with large, electronic appliances such as television sets, stereo systems and computers. However, a headphone’s effectiveness in providing great sound quality to the user is limited since most headsets come with only two speakers (one for each ear). Thus, your sound experience with listening to music and watching videos is only as good as the quality of the headset you’re using and some brands do give poorer performance than others. So, a Canadian company called Psyko Audio has developed their own unique headset to resolve the problems people tend to have with regular headphones.

Instead of creating a headset for regular performance in sound quality, Psyko Audio sought to take the sound experience with headphones up to another level entirely. The concept behind their specially designed headset is to provide the user with real surround sound quality from the headphones themselves. In their unique design, this company deliberately ignored the conventional practice of only making two speakers for the ears alone. Instead, they developed a headset called the 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System, which actually uses five speakers that are located on top and along the headband. Then the sound is carried through tubes leading into the ear-cups, which spread the sound out over the front and back of your ears. Furthermore, this process of surround sound is also strongly supported by subwoofers built into the ear-cups.

Psyko Audio presented the 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System at the Gaming Expo during CES this past January. I was actually there at the time and had the opportunity to try out their special headphones for myself. It truly is a surround sound experience wearing the headset. The sound itself fills your ears in the headset, cutting off noise from the outside world around you and giving you unhindered performance quality with whatever you’re listening to. This headset is amazing and quite ingenious in its design and execution. The 5.1 PC Gaming Headset also comes with a detachable mic for gaming online and the whole set is available for $300 at websites such as Newegg and Tiger Direct. With the development of such effective headphones, I wonder what other products Psyko Audio plans to release in the near future.

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Ah, the internet, also called the information superhighway. It exists as a resource with a vast wealth of possible uses. With websites, search engines, streaming video, audio files, games and other applications, we can find the latest information, chat with friends, manage our bills and bank accounts and entertain ourselves from our PC. However, companies regularly take advantage of our online use through pop-up advertisements, commercials, surveys and chat forums to generate publicity for their products. Now Nintendo is using this strategy to promote their new DSi XL.

Recently, Nintendo started polls to get the feedback and opinions of social network users regarding their new handheld gaming system. The DSi XL itself was designed with a feature that allows players to make the game screen ninety-three percent larger. Apparently very excited about their new development, Nintendo came up with a idea of doing online polls. The polls can be found as an application on Facebook or on Nintendo’s Twitter page. Today, Nintendo also stated that it has a new focus on promoting social gaming with their handheld systems. According to them, the DSi XL’s larger screen will allow gamers to gather around a handheld unit and help each other when playing a game.

Furthermore, two new games focused on the social aspect have been scheduled for release on the same date with the DSi XL. The games are called America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking and WarioWare: D.I.Y. In the cooking game, chefs and chefs at heart can develop delicious recipes while the new Wario game will allow gamers to create their own mini-games. Sounds like Nintendo is using the concept of social networking to create a new game genre. But doesn’t social activity with gaming exist already since video games were first created?

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In the ever-changing world of gaming, online play has become a standard for the game experience. With an online account from a provider such as Microsoft or Sony and a reliable, internet connection, gamers now enjoy being able to play in the same game together and talk to each other during their online play. Of course, there is one more piece of equipment is required for online play. This device is the gamer’s headset. Normally, a specific headset is designed for either console gaming, PC gaming or both. But now there’s a new headset that covers gaming for multiple systems.

This new headset was created by Astro Gaming and they call it the A30 Cross-Gaming Headset. This device was specifically designed for versatility in using different kinds of gaming systems. The A30 is equipped with three different cable adapters that are compatible with game consoles, personal computers and handheld devices. Compatible systems include the X-Box 360, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC and the iPhone. This headset can also be used to answer calls on your phone.

Thus, adaptability is basically what the A30 offers to the gamer who doesn’t want to be confined to a specific system. The headset also has two microphones. One of the mics is a roll-one unit for games and Skype and the other is used to answer phone calls. The A30 is packing Dolby 5.1 sound and is available for $150.

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Hey, you’ve heard of virtual reality, haven’t you? The simulation for a real world environment generated by a computer. Yeah, that’s the virtual reality I’m talking about. The kind you can experience in a science center or at a technology convention, not exaggerated depictions seen in movies like The Lawnmower Man or The Matrix. Usually, the experience of virtual reality is made available to the common man through special glasses, computer screens and stereoscopic displays for visual effects and speakers and headphones for sensory effects. Sometimes, other devices such as a wired glove is also used for interaction with a simulated environment. But what about a giant hamster-like ball for humans to walk in for their virtual experience?

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For years, Nintendo has dominated the gaming market of wireless controllers with the Wii Remote for their console. Now Microsoft and Sony are both plotting to dethrone the Wii with new wireless controllers for their own gaming systems and convert Nintendo fans over to their side. Microsoft calls their master plan, Project Natal. However, Sony has already unveiled their concept for a new wireless controller this past Wednesday, hoping to take an early lead on toppling the Wii Remote’s popularity.

At the Game Developers Conference, Sony presented their new concept called the Move. This new wireless controller resembles a microphone but has a ball-shaped object on top of it that contains a LED inside. According to Sony, the Move is their next step in continuing the motion controller era that they believed started with their Eye Toy. Set to be released this fall, the Move will be available for about $100 or less and a PlayStation eye camera and a game will also be included with it. This wireless controller will also come with an accessory called an sub-controller, which seems to be PlayStation’s version of the Wii Nunchuk.

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Since its release quite a while ago, the Nintendo Wii has been offering gamers the chance to play with the use of full body motion to make gameplay more interactive. Some players also find the Wii very helpful for getting an actual workout to exercise and improve their own health. In recent years, we’ve seen fitness games and products released for the Nintendo console such as WiiFit and game developers like EA Sports have also joined the fitness gaming genre. Now EA is preparing to give us their latest fitness development.

Last year, EA Sports released a fitness game called Active, which included jumping, arm motion and cardio-style workouts for those gamers looking to get more exercise. Now EA offers a new follow-up called Active 2.0. At this time, it is still in development but upon its release in the fall, it will be compatible with the Wii, PS3, iPod and iPhone. The program for Active 2.0 promises to deliver “true fitness” through a new wireless control system using leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor and an online hub to track and share information from exercise.

However, available sources do not explain how the iPod and iPhone will be involved in the use of this new fitness gaming program. Furthermore, it is also interesting that Active 2.0 seems to have excluded the X-Box 360 as a game console for compatibility. Personally, I have to wonder how well EA Sports will do in keeping their promises concerning this new development. Unanswered questions about iPod and iPhone use and 360 compatibility could be just cause for reasonable doubt about the credibility of Active 2.0.

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Hello, gamers, if you’re a fan of sports games, celebrity athletes and the Nintendo Wii, then you’re reading the right article! EA Sports and Nintendo Wii’s Motion Plus have come together to offer you a new gaming experience in golfing. That being said, this game is, of course, starring golf superstar Tiger Woods.

Recently at this year’s Game Developers Conference, EA Sports unveiled a new game called Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 11. As the new sequel in this game series, Golf 11 is very similar to the last one, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 10, which came out last year and was well-received as an impressive and well-developed game. However, the new sequel will give players a unique game feature called “True View”.

True View is a new feature for the game camera that allows gamers to play from the golfer’s perspective when swinging the club. Once this new camera mode is activated, point the Wii remote downwards and the game camera lets you see through the eyes of your character. While looking downward at the ball, the player will aim at the “zero point” on the ground to drive, chip or putt. The Wii MotionPlus-enhanced Wii remote makes this possible by providing greater accuracy in the game movements. These movements are easily seen as they are shown on the game screen, precisely capturing your use of the golf club.

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Hey there, gamers, some of you have spent time playing music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band in the last several years. Of course, these games have been popular because they give you the chance to play along with and listen to many of the classic hits of your favorite musical artists. However, this gaming experience isn’t perfect. Gamers are basically playing through a simulation with large, plastic controllers designed to look like guitars. But this lacks authenticity for playing music during a game.

For those of you who want more realism in your music game experience, Seven45 Studios is ready to grant your wish. This company is a game developer that originated from a professional musical instruments manufacturer called First Act, who specializes in making instruments for newer musicians at the beginner’s level. Today, Seven45 Studios announced their new creation called Power Gig: Rise of the Six String. It is a music game that uses real guitars for gameplay.

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Hey video game enthusiasts, are you looking for a new gaming experience?  Would you enjoy playing in a 3D environment without being confined to a television set, desktop or laptop screen?  How about playing a shooter that keeps you out of your seat and allows you to play anywhere in a room?  How is this possible, you ask?

Microvision has your answer!  Meet the PicoP laser projector, a new projector equipped with a motion controller.  This projector actually allows you to play a shooting game by projecting a screen onto any wall you point it at. The result is true 3D game playing without the need for a TV or computer to provide a screen.  The projector is also designed to look as a rifle, which adds a touch of realism that gamers can appreciate when playing a shooter.

I think it’s pretty cool that Microvision actually made a laser projector that likes a gun and allows you to play a shooter without using a tv or computer.  Now you can really enjoy 3D gaming anywhere in a room by projecting the screen on any wall of your choice.  Check out this YouTube video demo of the action and fun you can have with the PicoP after the jump.  

Welcome to the new world of gaming!

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