Nintendo made a tease of an announcement today that it will release a new handheld called the Nintendo 3DS.
The only information in its paragraph-long press release aside from its name is that it is planned to be fully backwards compatible with all DS and DSi games, will launch in Japan within the next fiscal year and more details on the console are set to be released at E3 beginning June 15.
That miniscule amount of information hasn't (and won't) stop media mongers from speculating exactly what the Nintendo 3DS will be. Is it just another upgrade to the DS? An entirely new handheld plateform? Will it even play games in 3D?
We have seen videos across the internet about 3D motion via head-tracking a la some sort of camera.
Arcs Technica posted a video showcasing how the 3DS could function by using the DSi camera as the unit for head tracking:
When Steve Jobs announced the new iPad touch-screen tablet device today, it came as a shock to no one.
After weeks of speculation Jobs, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc., revealed the device that looks like an overgrown iPod Touch or iPhone and pretty much is.
The iPad will feature a 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS touch screen display, Wi-Fi (and 3G on some versions) internet access, 10 hours of battery life and all of the other snazzy features you would come to expect from Apple in a 0.5-inch thick and 1.5-pound package.
Pricing for the device ranges from $499 to $829 for 16 GB to 64 GB storage versions of Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi/3G versions of the new iPad.
Amongst Apple's glorification of the device is a photo of gaming on the device.
With access to thousands of apps already available in Apple's arsenal - many including video games - the new iPad could certainly be considered a potential threat in the handheld gaming market.
The iPad's 9.7 inch screen blows the Sony Playstation Portable-3000's 4.3-inch screen and Nintendo DSi's two 3.25-inch to make the new Apple gadget the largest screen of any handheld device on the market.
Certainly a large screen and multi-touch capabilities would allow for customizable controls for any game developed for the tablet or enhance the already existing library of video game titles.
The X-factor will be the iPad's 1GHz Apple A4 processor and graphics capability. Although Apple is calling the A4 "revolutionary" and "energy saving" it might not pump out the necessary juice to compete with Nintendo and Sony if Apple wanted to position the iPad in direct competition with the next generation of handheld devices from both companies.
Also, the iPad is slated to display only up to 720p HD visuals at 30 frames-per-second. Once again, that is ahead of the curve, but maybe not far enough when the handheld gaming standard is likely to reach 1080p at 60 frames-per-second in the near future.
Nevertheless, the iPad will certainly become another huge seller for Apple and technology phenomenon and possibly a formidable adversary if Apple decides to take its current gaming library in a new gear.
A surprising story out of Japan today as cnn.com reported a 27-year old Tokyo man has married a video game character.
You read that correctly, a grown - or allegedly grown - man has married his virtually girlfriend from the Nintendo DS dating game "Love Plus."
The man who understandably only gave the name "Sal 9000" married Nene Anegasaki this past week in front of a collection of friends and broadcast on the internet for everyone to see.
According to the CNN report, Sal 9000 understands his marriage is not legally binding - however - he said a living, breathing girlfriend is no longer a necessity:
She doesn't get angry if I'm late in replying to her. Well, she gets angry, but she forgives me quickly.
The CNN video is below:
The game as interactive simulation where virtual girlfriends interact with players communicating primarily through speaking to the DS although the game eventually prompts users to "kiss" the screen. That's not to mention the possibility of the game's other potentionally freaky features.
Sorry English speaking gamers, the game is a Japanese-only title thus far.
Sal said he has even taken Nene with him on vacation to Disneyland and Guam:
If addiction is playing this every single day, then you might call me addicted
Another video report on Sal 9000 and his new bride:
Nevertheless, if this Japanese man doesn't signify the decline of physical communication as a result of the digital revolution, I don't know what is.
What do you think? Can you replace human interaction with a video game? What video game character would you date?
