Entertainment Electronics Blog

Elecom has released another set of keyboards with the TK-U01MAL series. Both are available in USB with a 3m long cord, and are available in black to match your PS3 and in white to match your Wii. Since these two keyboards are primarily made to be used with the two gamimg devices, they can also “stand-up” so that they take up as little space as gamers aren’t slobs and can be Ikea-net if they put their mind to it. Till now, nothing on pricing or whether the Elecom TK-U01MAL series keyboard will be available in the States.

But you can always import, if only you wish.

Finally comes Sony’s PS3 Slim: slick, black, with 120GB hard drive and for $299. This slimmer console is 36 per cent lighter and 33 per cent smaller and will consume around 30 per cent less energy. Uhm… It’s quite slimmer indeed. And because of its slimmer price, the current $399 PS3 model, with an 80-gigabyte drive is expected to cut price imminently. Now, it seems that getting slim is actually a good idea.

It’s reported that the new PlayStation 3 will become available in stores from September 1, 2009. Here are some pictures:

By using the PlayStation eye and microphone, Sony is going to detect and record your emotions, including laughter, anger, excitement, sadness, joy, and even boredom.

According to the patent filing, this technology identifies emotions by reading facial expressions, as well as group behavior such as two players high-fiving each other. As you watch a program or play a game, the PlayStation 3, hooked up to a camera and microphone, would analyze your face, body language and any sounds you make or actions you perform. This gets turned into metadata which is then sent back home to see how well a piece of media is being received.

It’s true that they could get more accurate reviews and data on the way people react to games or movies, but I don’t think it’s really needed. I think sales figures and gaming review sites already do a good enough job. On the other hand, I’m still wandering if it could detect players’ laughter at its ridiculous idea.

The sequel to the best selling first person action game in history, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2: Call of Duty 4 is coming soon in November. Rumors have been spread over and over around the November release, saying that together with it will come the new developed accessories we still don’t know clear. Moreover, Mad Catz, leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, has announced that they have partnered with Activision and Infinity Ward to develop a range of controllers and accessories. The release goes on to state that the company will develop accessories for all platforms currently announced for the title, which include Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 systems.

“Mad Catz’s innovation and fresh approach from Day 1 has been great,” said Vince Zampella, CEO of Infinity Ward. “Their team has really poured their hearts into the new line of accessories for Modern Warfare 2 and we can’t wait for our fans to have a chance to play for themselves this November.”

What indeed is Mad Catz building, the coolest ever in existence or the opposite? We can make a guess.Will they be new types of night-vision goggles, turbo controllers, or even a “special” keyboard and mouse for the game? Well, whatever, the answer is coming out soon.

John Carmak, influential game desiner and technical director of id software, has predicted that Sony will be the first to make a move into the next generation of gaming hardware, probably to prevent “the same kind of 360 lag from happening to them again”.

“The whole jockeying for who’s going to release the first next-gen console is very interesting and pretty divorced from the technical side of things,” Carmack told CD-Action, as spotted by Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry.

“Whether Sony wants to jump the gun to prevent the same sort of 360 lag from happening to them again seems likely.

“As developers, we would really like to see this generation stretch as long as possible. We’d like to see it be quite a few more years before the next-gen consoles comes out, but I suspect one will end up shipping something earlier rather than later.”

One of the main reasons behind the success of Microsoft Xbox 360 is its release one year ahead of Sony PlayStation 3 as well as considerably lower pricing. Sony might want to release its PlayStation 4 ahead of its arch-rival. But anyway, I hope this generation could last a long time. I hate they force me to buy these new stuff.

Wedding is always something romantic and dreamful. Some women may have planned their own weddings since a little girl, as Monica (in Friends). People all have their own perfect wedding models, with their dreamed Mr. or Mrs. Right. Today, let’s share some special wedding pictures of those frenzied video game fans. 

Katamari Damacy Wedding

I suppose, it wold be more fantastic if the bride should have worn velcro and had the groom roll her around, picking up debris.

To see more pics: http://www.ksweddings.com/aidra_ernest/

Halo Wedding

Officiated by the Master Chief himself!

Wii Wedding

So cute and delicious!! With the mouth watering, I even cannot make up my mind to take a little piece of it!

In an exclusive interview with Play, Tecmo Koei president Kenji Matsubara revealed that the Ninja Gaiden series could be adapted to work with Sony’s motion control technology sometime in the future.

“I’m very interested in the new motion-control technology announced at E3, but we really need to know how responsive it is,” said Matsubara. “I’m sure that for casual games these motion controls will be very popular, but for action games like Ninja Gaiden we need quick responses and if you’re swinging your arms around like you’re using a sword you will soon be tired.”

He makes motion tech sound like something he wants to work up to: “Maybe we have to change the playing style and check the technology to see how quick it can be,” he said. “So, at first it will be casual games and then maybe hardcore games and we have to prepare for that and provide the games to satisfy that playing style.”

Since Nintendo’s Wii games, Motion-control gaming is getting more and more popular. Videogame publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has even committed itself to releasing titles for both Sony’s and Microsoft’s recently demoed motion-controlled gaming peripherals. Though no juicy details of any Project Natal or Motion Control videogames has been revealed yet, it’s widely expected both peripherals will appear towards the end of next year. We’d have to keep our patience. And here’s a picture about PS3 SIXAXIS Wireless Controller, which adds motion control, and actually the controller can sense six different movements.

With the release of The Beatles: Rock Band coming up next month, the instrument controllers have been players’ major concern: what instrument controllers will work with the game, and what other games will work with the new Beatles-themed guitars and drums. In fact, this has always been a question for players. To that end, Harmonix has compiled a detailed chart informing visitors which instruments are compatible with which titles.

That image above is just for Xbox 360 guitars. The full chart features all platforms and both types of controller. You can pop over to this website to see the thing in full: http://www.rockband.com/compatibility

According to the chart, Beatles will work with every instrument in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band line for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. For those players eager to save dollars and storage space, you can relieve now, as the regular instruments controllers are also compatible.

Electronic Arts Inc. has unveiled the UK cover athletes for EA SPORTS’ FIFA 10. Chelsea FC midfielder Frank Lampard and Arsenal’s rising star, Theo Walcott, join Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney as the faces of FIFA 10 in the UK.

“FIFA is definitely the best football game on the market, and I am delighted to be featured on the cover again,” said Manchester United and England striker, Wayne Rooney. “I play the game regularly online and against a lot of the lads at the club and I’m looking forward to the 360 degree control as it will make FIFA even more realistic than any other football game out there. “

“I’m really pleased to be part of the EA Sports FIFA franchise. Being on the cover of this great football video game with such a long history is really special for me, “said Lampard.

“To join the likes of Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard on the cover of FIFA is a huge honour for me,” said Theo Walcott. “FIFA is the game of choice in the Arsenal dressing room so I’ll have to keep on top of my game to make sure I’m the best FIFA 10 player at the club.”

FIFA 10 will be the first-ever football game to exhibit ‘true’ 360-degree dribbling action. 70% of total development time was apparently devoted to refining and improving the series’ gameplay. The rest 30% was spend on innovating and adding brand-new features to the game. Therefore, players certainly have a good reason to expect its coming. And FIFA 10 will be available in stores worldwide from October 2 on PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, PC platform and NDS. For Nintendo DS owners, R4 DS cards no doubt are perfect preparation for this upcoming exciting game!

R4 DS Revolution Card

Taylor Swift will soon be playing in a living room near you. Swift will be making her video game debut this November in “Band Hero.” Due for release in November from Activision for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS Lite, “Band Hero” is being developed by NeverSoft, makers of the latest “Guitar Hero” games.

Her songs “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me” from her double-platinum album Fearless will be in the game, along with “Picture to Burn” from her self-titled debut record, which has gone quadruple-platinum.

“Anything that encourages people to pick up an instrument and play, I’m fully behind,” she said in a statement. “And I’m really excited about ‘Band Hero,’ because not only are fans getting to play my songs, but I’m actually in the game.”

“There are so many awesome things that go into being in ‘Band Hero,’ like getting to customize my band to look like my touring band, and it’s so cool for people to feel like they are experiencing one of my concerts,” Swift said. “This is one of the closest things out there to going to see me perform!”

Band Hero will use guitar and drum controllers as the Guitar Hero games do. Among the other music acts already announced to be in the game: the Jackson 5, No Doubt, Lily Allen and The All-American Rejects.