Price, Adoption Standing In The Way Of 3D Gaming, Says id President

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While certain people think the future is now for stereoscopic 3D in televisions, id Software president Todd Hollenshead is still skeptical. While he liked Avatar, he thinks there are still some hurdles for the technology to leap.

“I know the stuff in your living room is different. You can get higher quality glasses that fit. But you still gotta sit in your living room wearing these glasses. And then if you’re playing games and move your head then it can get out of phase, which is a major issue, said Hollenshead. “And, also, the TVs are f***ing expensive. Is there enough content to justify ”

“At the very uber end of the videophiles, those guys are going to adopt that. But that’s not going to be wide enough adoption to create substantial change within the gaming market. It has to be more pervasive and more widely adopted before it makes sense for videogame development companies to invest,” he said. “You may have one or two that are like, oh, we’re going to fly the banner of this and we’re going to make our name on this one thing. But to have really meaningful differences is going to require some more time. The price is going to have to come down and you’re going to have to have more widespread adoption.”

Source: Eurogamer

Capcom Wants To Avoid Future Controversies

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Capcom took a lot of flack for its depiction of black Africans in early promotional material for Resident Evil 5. However, the company indicates that it is taking steps to address racially sensitive issues by leveraging its personnel outside of Japan.

“Since the RE5 controversy, we have become much more aware of how important it is that we are part of the asset creation process early on so that we are able to have a say in the end product,” says Capcom senior PR manager Melody Pfeiffer. “We are also designing a lot of our own assets from this side of the pond, so that we are able to make strategic pieces of content that make sense for our market.

“We are working really closely with our producers in Japan to construct these materials for the West and they are open more then ever to hearing our thoughts and ideas for assets, she added.

Source: Gamasutra

Young Men Have Positive Outlook On Lives – Study

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Giant Realm released the results of the Giant Realm GuyPulse Series, a quarterly report. Examining the habits of over 850 men between the ages of 18-34, the study showed that generation Y is pleased with their lives and careers despite diminished job prospects.

“Young men are a resilient group, optimistic and fairly positive of their current state,” said James Green, President of Giant Realm. “They have good jobs, they re motivated, they’re social, they re spending money and they influence their family and friends. The fact that young men see themselves as being in a good place is good news for advertisers who target this important group to promote the products guys love.”

Nearly 60 percent of men ages 18-34 are asked by friends and family about video game recommendations and over 75 percent say they are asked for movie recommendations. Young men are a particularly good source for movie info, since roughly 25 percent definitely see movies during opening weekend for what they most want to see and 40 percent say they might go.

iMac Touch: Newest Thing From Apple?

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Apple has patented an idea that combines functions of a desktop computer with touchscreen interface. Images in the patent show a monitor on a swivel base that can be rotated and used as a touch screen.

“Imagine having an iMac on your desktop one minute and a gigantic iPad the next,” writes Jack Purcher. “Imagine playing iGames on this dream machine – Wow! Imagine reading a double-page book on this – Unbelievable! Apple takes the mystery out of how OS X could finally co-exist with iOS on a Mac and you’ve got to see this one to believe it.”

While some might be excited by the the possibilities of an iMac with iPad capabilities, there’s no guarantee this product will ever come to market.

Source: Patently Apple

Digital Chocolate Puts Hit Out On Zynga Over Mafia Wars

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Digital Chocolate is suing social game maker Zynga. The casual gaming company led by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins contends they have the rights to the Mafia Wars name, not Zynga.

We are surprised and disappointed by Digital Chocolate s lawsuit, said Zynga in a statement. The timing of the action appears to be opportunistic, and we plan to defend ourselves vigorously.

Mafia Wars is one of the largest Facebook titles, claiming over 27.8 million monthly active users on the social network.

Source: VentureBeat  {link no longer active}

Microsoft Contemplating Windows Phone 7 To Console Gaming

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Microsoft has said they are working on phone-to-console gaming for Windows Phone 7. They are also looking into the potential of cross platform play between the PC and phone “using the Xbox Live infrastructure.”

“So initially we’re turn by turn-based,” the rep said, referring to the phone-to-phone multiplayer capabilities on day one. “We are working on real-time phone-to-console, likely initially through Wi-Fi — again, operator networks are sensitive to that. That’s not on day one; day one will be turn-by-turn as well as companion-type gaming where you play a level on the phone and it may unlock a level or a weapon or some special achievement on the console game. But, uh yeah — absolutely working on phone-to-console real-time. That is something we’re working on and expect to have in the near future.”

Source: Joystiq

EA Taking Medal Of Honor Criticism In Stride

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The inclusion of the Taliban in the upcoming Medal of Honor has drawn criticism from some quarters. EA Games president Frank Gibeau indicates, however, that the company won’t bow to outside pressure on the issue.

“We respect the media s views, but at the same time [these reports] don’t compromise our creative vision and what we want to do. There’s a lot of furore around games that take creative risks like games that let you play terrorists in airports mowing down civilians,” said Gibeau, referring to Modern Warfare 2. “At EA we passionately believe games are an artform, and I don t know why films and books set in Afghanistan don t get flack, yet [games] do. Whether it s Red Badge Of Courage or The Hurt Locker, the media of its time can be a platform for the people who wish to tell their stories. Games are becoming that platform.”

“Games have been set in Afghanistan before. We anticipated this [controversy] when we decided on the concept of the game this is about being a special forces solider,” he added. “What’s really important for us is that we partnered with the U.S. military, and the Medal of Honor Society as well. We’ve gone out of our way to produce the best story for the game. That s always been a Medal of Honor concept we put you in the boots of a solider, whether it’s in the Pacific, Europe, Afghanistan; it s always been the story of the solider.”

The Medal Of Honor reboot is being co-developed by Swedish Studio DICE and Los Angeles-based Danger Close. Gibeau says the two groups are enthusiastic about the project and very proud of what they are creating, despite the flak. “The development teams care very much about what they re building, and of course a bit of criticism from the media causes some to get demoralised, but at the end of the day we’re proud of what we re doing. Bringing Medal of Honor back was no small feat.”

Source: Develop

Toshiba Reportedly Working On Glasses-Free 3D TV

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Reports from the Yomiuri Shimbun say that Toshiba will launch the first 3D TVs that work without 3D glasses later in 2010. Three models of this television will release before Christmas.

The television apparently works by emitting rays of light from various angles so viewers can see stereoscopic 3D images without the need for glasses “People can enjoy images in three dimensions from various positions and suffer less stress,” reads the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Source: Breitbart.com {link no longer active}