The Geek Church

This past Sunday, President Obama made time in his busy schedule to serve as a key-note speaker at a graduation ceremony for Hampton University. Of course, he gave a speech to congratulate the college graduates on their accomplishment, encourage them about their potential and inspire them to embrace their future with passion and vision. However, his commencement address to the students took a very bizarre turn when he chose to identify certain game consoles and mobile tech products as detriments of our society.

In his speech, Obama specifically mentioned the X-Box, Playstation, iPod and iPad and described them as devices that devalue and weaken the power of information. According to the U.S. President, information is supposed to be a tool of empowerment for people in our society, especially the nation’s youth. Furthermore, his argument is that personal electronic devices of entertainment only turn knowledge into a distraction or diversion. Apparently, Obama believes that the impact of these game consoles and mobile tech products is a threat to the future of this generation’s youth, our country’s future and even our system of democracy. You might be interested to know that the President previously bashed the X-Box last year during a speech to the NAACP as well. In that speech, he argued that parents have to be involved in their children’s education and must remove the game console as a distraction.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that Obama also admitted his own lack of knowledge and experience with these devices since he has never used them. Personally, I find it amusing that the U.S. President is openly criticizing products of entertainment, communication and internet access even though he’s never tried them before. This argument in his speech about the devaluing of information in society seems to be a basic ploy to score public relation points with parents and graduating students who shun these devices. Politicians are certainly known for targeting popular products in our culture for open contempt to gain public favor during their speeches. Sadly, this commonly leads to poorly-conceived arguments and statements that only come back to hurt the reputation of these politicians after public and media reactions have fully set in. Indeed, this may also apply to Obama’s attack on game consoles and mobile tech products as well.

At least his recent statement didn’t include the Wii. Nintendo, you can still breathe easy for now but watch your back.

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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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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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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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Good day to you, customers and fans of PlayStation Network!  Yes, it is actually a good day for those of you who own Sony’s game console.  Whether you were personally affected by it or only read about it in the last couple of days, it seems that the crisis of Error 8001050F is now over.

The latest reports from Sony indicate that this problem which prevented PS3 users worldwide from logging into their online accounts and playing online game has been resolved.  Apparently, the problem started with the console clock of the older PS3 models.  It was a leap year this past February and the console clock is set automatically to switch over to the next calender date by day.  Instead of adjusting them to read the following day as March 1 after February 28, the console clocks thought the next day was February 29.  As a result, this confused the PlayStation Network servers and caused the consoles themselves to lock out.

Since then, Sony has been quick to reassure their customers that the problem is completely solved now with no significant, lasting damage to the consoles.  However, Sony did inform gamers that there may be some minor issues left over from the crisis such as strange glitches and loss of trophy and save data.  Thus, customers now find their online service and consoles functioning properly again.

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Yesterday, a new crisis of global proportions began to sweep over the earth, resulting in confusion and frustration for a number of people.  Experts on the problem are currently scrabbling to find a solution and bring relief and satisfaction to those who have been afflicted.  The actual problem itself may surprise you.  However, it truly is global and the search for a cure remains unsuccessful at this time.

Of course, you’re probably have some obvious questions right now.  What is the crisis?  Who has been afflicted by it? Why hasn’t an answer for this crisis been found yet?  Currently, there’s only enough information to answer your first two questions unfortunately.

Folks, this crisis does have a name.  It’s called Error 8001050F.  That’s what PlayStation Network is calling it.  That’s right, folks, I said “PlayStation”.  So, of course, the afflicted people are gamers, the loyal customers of PlayStation who rely on their latest console, the PS3 for regular entertainment and communication with online friends.

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Okay, today is the day that the new Sony PSP, the PSP Go is hitting the shelves. Yes, with its sliding screen and other cool stuff, I’m sure some of you have already been and gone to the store to get one.

What is not true is this bizzare ad campaign.

More on this after the jump.

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I hope that a lot of my readers are video game fanatics, and have at least heard of the Dead Space video game. The game may not have been the next Doom, but it apparently deserved a sequel: Dead Space Extraction.

Actually, this one’s a prequel. While the first Dead Space was made for the PS3, this one is exclusively for the Wii. It takes advantage of the Wii’s motion-controller so you can shoot a lot of violent aliens in this violent M-rated game.

Yes, I’ve spoken about violent video games before, and this would be one of them. I still haven’t changed my mind about them, and if you would like more information, go ahead and click here.