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Ces

editorial

Why Isn't CES Filling E3's Gaping, Festering Hole?

I'm by no means an E3 or CES (Consumer Electronics Show) veteran, having attended both shows only twice (and the "classic" E3 only once). But compared to foreign events like Leipzig's Games Convention, Berlin's IFA (tech show that rivals CES) or Tokyo's TGS, the two American shows had/have a distinct identity from their overseas counterparts. Maybe it's the attendance of people with similar values to my own (aka sucking both gasoline and fast food with no abandon), but this similarity, however trivial it may be, has made me wonder why CES isn't filling in the gaps of E3. While I'd never expect developers to attend in mass (and frankly, there isn't room), why don't Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo use the CES stage as a launching ground for their next year of products? More »

nec

Yet Another Curved Gaming Display

We've seen this. There is also this. Have a look at NEC's CRVD-42DWX+. The 2880x900 panel sports a contrast ratio of 10000:1 and should give Alienware some healthy competition. No word on pricing or pricing. As with the Alienware one, hopefully they'll fix the contrast line between displays. Not so sexy. The curve sure is, though.
NEC's Curved Display [Engadget]

ces

Rock Real Guitar on Rock Band

Rock Band gets slightly realer. Ediface from peripheral maker SoundTech is a guitar attachment that lets players jam out to Rock Band/Guitar Hero with an actual guitar. Here's how it works: The Windows XP and Mac compatible peripheral measures the notes being played on the guitar. After Ediface detects the real notes, it turns the sound into MIDI. With the above device, it then switches in any other alternative instrumentation much like a synthesizer. For RB/GH support, program in corresponding colors for notes — the first five frets of the top string, for example. The company is even making adaptors available for all major platforms. So there ya go!
Real Guitar Hero [Gizmodo]

ces

iPhone's Impact on Mobile Gaming? "Negative"

The iPhone is a smash hit. People who were never into high-end electronics are picking them up. Great news for Apple, crap news for the rest of the industry. Says EA mobile division VP Travis Boatman:

...it's a replacement for someone who had a Razr before. They still want their content but there's no distribution platform in place so there's a negative impact on the industry... These devices are capable and powerful. They'll be great in the long term but it will take some time as people adapt to devices.

Not only that, it will take developers time to adapt as well. Since Apple hasn't let users download anything they want, the mobile game industry fears iPhone owners might be giving up on mobile gaming. We're pretty sure though the iPhone has nothing to do with that.
iPhone Hurt Mobile Gaming [PC World via Pocket Gamer] [Pic]

kotaku stalku

Peeing Next to Bill Gates

So Bill Gates gave his last keynote. End of an era! But what about the man? Some of you would like to know more. We've run loads of creepy KotakuStalku posts, but this has to be one of the creepier. (Oh goodie!) France's most famous blogger Loic Le Meur dishes to Shiny Shiny's Kat about the time he took a whiz next to Microsoft honcho Bill Gates at another conference. Le Meur says:

You know what I'll tell you. I will look like I'm full of shit if I tell you... I went to the bathroom, and the person next to me was Bill Gates. So, I had more than eye contact. Well, no contact. No, no, there wasn't any contact, right. But, you know, it's kind of a weird situation. You're kinda like, 'I know this guy.' There was no bodyguard or nothing there... That's a true story.

True or not, we take this as startling evidence that Bill Gates is in fact human.
Peeing Next to Bill Gates [Shiny Shiny] [Pic]

ces

Wii60 Made Real, Expensive, Fugly

Ack! Dubbed the "ITC One," that monstrosity contains, are you ready, a Wii, an Xbox 360, an HD DVD player, an HDD recorder, a sound processor, an iPod dock, amps and a whole lotta tackiness. Price: US$25,000. For that, you'd think maker Se2 Labs would've thrown in a PlayStation 3. Company CEO Michael Pyle tells game site Siliconera: "The PlayStation 3 is not as user friendly and it doesn't have access to a Windows Media Center." The head-scratching doesn't stop there: Se2 Labs didn't make it possible to remove the Wii and expose the GameCube ports. According to Se2, most consumers don't care about BC anyhoo. Kooky, huh? Makes about as much sense as, well, creating the ITC One.
Se2 Labs [Siliconera] [Pic]

ces

PSP GPS Peripheral Coming to North America?

That Japan only GPS add-on for the PSP doesn't look so Japan only anymore. Sony's CES page lists the GPS system, leading most to believe the peripheral, already out in Japan, will get a Western release. Here's how the Sony site describes it:


Explore the world with GPS on your PSP. Utlizing the GPS peripheral and the latest mapping software on UMD, your PSP will provide 2D/3D locations, driving directions, POI's, and even downloadable city guides. With an easy search feature and customizable settings, GPS on PSP is the easiest way to navigate new areas and cities.

Nice that Sony seems to be bringing its Japan only stuff to everyone else. Who's interested in picking this up?
Sony's CES Page [Sony via PSP Fanboy]

ces

MGM, Disney, ABC All Coming to XBL

As announced at Bill Gates' keynote, MGM is bringing its classic library of films that include The Terminator, Rocky, The Usual Suspects, Platoon, Rain Man and Silence of the Lambs. MGM's sister company United Artists will also make select films available as well. The on demand service will offer many of these films in HD as well.

Also, the Disney Channel and ABC also will be bringing programming for direct Xbox 360 download. The deal with Disney-ABC Television will make 500 hours of standard def and high def content available to LIVE users. Shows and movies will be available from the ABC Television Network, ABC Family, the Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Specific programs include Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. What's more, current will be available a day after they air on television, and older shows will be available for download as well.

Hit the jump for press release reading fun.

More »

ces08

Liveblogging Bill Gates' CES Keynote

Touch down in Las Vegas and a full sprint up the escalator of one of the city's most confusing hotels later and Kotaku is in the house. CES 2008 is about to kick off proper tomorrow, but Microsoft bigwig Bill Gates is just about to take the stage in the Venetian's Palazzo Ballroom to deliver his final CES keynote. Gary Shapiro just left the stage to give Bill some extra space, but not before heaping kudos on the man and refreshing the crowd's memory on exactly who Gates is. Mr. Gates has finally taken the stage. He looks dapper in lavender and black, not unlike an Advent calendar worth a few billion dollars. Bill chats up Sync, Vista and integration across platforms, even mentioning video games in his intro. For the rest of the keynote, make the break.

More »

Kotaku CES: Getting restless? Check out our gadget-obsessed brother site Gizmodo's coverage of the CES 2008 show. Or if you want to skip the tech and just follow the gaming announcements make sure to check out Mike McWhertor's Kotaku coverage starting Sunday evening. It will be fun, promises. [Gizmodo]

microsoft

Microsoft's CES Schedule

For those of you attending CES with a hankering for all the Microsoft you can handle, you can now take a look at exactly what they are offering. Along with the Bill Gates helmed keynote speech, a variety of Microsoft related activities will be going on in conference rooms and at the MS booth itself. A total of thirteen panels and conferences will be held covering such subjects as Game Power: Entertainment as Franchise, Hollywood and the Digital Consumer: How Technology, Content and Services Establish the Next Level of Consumer Entertainment Experience and A Tale of Two Supply Chains: Halo 3 and Zune.

Check out all the listings after the jump to start making your schedule now.

More »

lazy sundays

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Having stayed up way past my 8 PM bed time last night curled up with a cup of chamomile, my wooby and a copy of Team Fortress 2, and now suffering for it, I may have to restrict myself from too much gaming this weekend. It was a bit of a bender, you see. Oh, sure, there'll be some Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and more The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass happening, but I've gotta do my final prep for CES, which kicks off on Sunday night with Bill Gates keynote. Priorities, people. Someone's gotta liveblog this thing!

Other than driving to Vegas and maybe partaking in a multi-blog blackjack tournament to the death, my weekend is looking pretty Team Fortress-y. What about you? What are you playing this weekend?


chairs

Gaming Chairs Evolve: Witness The Gaming Ottoman

One thing that the Consumer Electronics Show isn't lacking are adequate gaming chairs, the kind that gently caress ones bowels with a precisely placed subwoofer in an effort to "get you in the game." This year's CES will be no different, I'm sure, but it will bring at least one gaming chair advancement to the gadget-loving public's attention: the gaming ottoman. Known as the Boompod from Boomchair, it appears to pivot, in an attempt to appeal to the more animated, more spastic gamer seen in television commercials and print ads. Expect plenty of the annual gaming chair coverage you crave and have come to expect from Kotaku when we touch down at CES 08 next week. Rump-on impressions of the Boompod will be posted as soon as is humanly possible.

LumiSource Bringing Gaming Ottoman To CES [Gadget Lab]


tradeshows

CES 08 Just Bursting With Gaming!

The summer of gaming expos—E3, Tokyo Game Show, Games Convention, PAX and E For All—has finally wound down for the holidays. Don't fret, convention watchers—the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show is just around the corner, running January 7 to 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. While this year's CES had a respectable gaming presence, thanks mostly to Games For Windows and Xbox 360 showings on the floor, next year's tradeshow promises much more in the way of games. How much more? Just a guess, but I'll put it at about a 65% increase in floor space. More »

hd dvd

One Hi-Def Format to Rule Them All?

The 360 versus PS3 argument often comes down to the question of hi-def DVD format. With neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD taking a clear lead in the format wars and consumers confused over which side they should back, in rides the white knight, Warner Bros. Next week at CES they plan to announce the Total HD disc, which is media capable of playing both HD formats, allowing studios to release one version of their productions instead of having to make two versions or worse, completely snubbing one install base altogether. More »

sony

PSP 60GB HDD Version Imminent?

The above image, uncovered by our Gizmodo brothers, is from a Samsung presentation showcasing the company's 60GB 1.8-inch hard drives. While this isn't exactly confirmation that such a device currently exists, the continuing rumors and unlikely situation that such a slide would be shown without such a product in the works lead us (me) to believe we'll see an announcement soon. More »

ces

CES Getting Back into Gaming?

It looks like CES is the latest expo hoping to profit off of the demise of E3 as we know it. the Consumer Electronics Association, which runs the show, are forming an advisory committee to "solicit gaming industry feedback and explore the viability of a West Coast event in late spring 2007 focused on the gaming and entertainment marketplace. More »

fatal1ty

What it's Like to Play Fatal1ty

A writer over on Bona Fide Reviews walks readers through the dangers of making idle claims when you are about to take Fatal1ty head-on in a little Quake 4. John was the first guy picked in a raffle to play against the gamer at CES. Unfortunately, John made the mistake of saying that Fatal1ty wouldn t score a single point against him. More »