Motion tracking 3D cam for XBOX soon

In a attempt to overcome the Nintendo WII, Microsoft is believed to be developing a 3D camera for the Xbox 360 games console that will allow players to control games through their body movement.

Unlike the Nintendo's WII which requires a Wiimote to identify the player's movement, the Microsoft XBOX360 camera uses the movement of the player's head, arm and leg.
The accuracy is achieved by using a 3D Z-cam technology which Microsoft acquired Israeli start-up 3DV Systems in February. Sources say that this would be demonstrated in the E3 game industry conference this june and it would be on sales from next year.

Source: tgdaily

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WII top the November sales

The family-friendly Japanese game-maker managed to sell an astonishing 2.04 million Wii units in November, up from 981,000 last year.

Experts predicted that the Wii would sell around 1.4 million, a hugely respectable number in its own right, but over 2 million counts as remarkable. Remarkable enough to even beat the formerly chart-dominating Nintendo DS, which itself still sold 1.57 million units.November was kind to nearly everyone, pulling industry revenue up 10 points over last year for a performance NPD's Anita Frazier calls "blistering." NPD's been tenacious about $22 billion as the magic overall record-breaking number for 2008, and November's data falls right in line with that figure.The "recession proof" industry? And then some."One reason for the continued strength of the industry compared to other forms of entertainment comes from a number of sources," said Frazier. "Certainly, the expanded audience for gaming due to the availability of a wider variety of compelling content is a strong contributor.

Hardware

2.04m - Wii

1.57m - Nintendo DS

836k - Xbox 360

421k - PSP

378k - PlayStation 3

206k - PlayStation 2

Nintendo finally got the lead out and fixed its supply issues, or if you're slightly more cynical, decided the dollar was worth enough to open the stateside floodgates this holiday season. That the Wii beat the DS in unit sales is almost equally flooring.

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EA Wants People to be fit

Following in the footsteps of Nintendo's popular "Wii Fit," the video game publisher known for the "Madden" football games is jumping into fitness software targeted mostly at women.

Electronic Arts Inc. was set to announce Thursday a new line, EA Sports Active, that runs on the Nintendo Wii console and aims to complement, not compete with, Nintendo's "Wii Fit" exercise title.

Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, called the Active brand, whose first title, "Kickstart Fitness," launches next March, a "somewhat radical departure from the normal game experiences we provide customers."

EA's sports audience has been mostly young men, who have flocked to football, soccer, basketball and hockey titles to make the company the world's dominant player in sports video games.

But to stay competitive with rivals such as Activision Blizzard Inc., whose success with games like "World of Warcraft" and "Rock Band" seems to be weathering the recession, EA needs to continue to expand its audience.

The company's new brand seeks to take advantage of the popularity of the Nintendo console and of exercise games. While the "Wii Fit" is already enormously popular, Moore, a former physical-education teacher, said EA's sports software will run people through an exercise routine with a more Western approach than the Japanese company's product.

"Wii Fit" includes activities like running, skiing as well as yoga, and it emphasizes balance as well as fitness. EA's products will include exercises like running and lunges, as well as simulations of sports such as tennis.

The games use straps to attach the Wii's controller and "nunchuk" attachment to a player's body, so the fitness routines can be performed without holding the controls. EA also plans to include peripherals such as resistance bands. Titles in the line will cost about $60, the same as a regular video game.

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GTA 4 Fans Now has more to Achieve -Trophies

If it’s one thing Playstation 3 fans look forward to, it’s their trophy lists. With the recent added support for trophies, one list they have been certainly looking forward to is the GTA IV medal sheet. Take a look at the entire list.

Bronze
Off The Boat - You have completed the first mission.
One Hundred And Eighty - You scored 180 with 3 darts.
Pool Shark - You beat a friend at pool.
King of QUB3D - You beat the high score in QUB3D.
Finish Him - You completed 10 melee counters in 4 minutes.
Genetically Superior - You came first in 20 singleplayer street races.
Wheelie Rider - You completed a 500 foot wheelie on a motorbike.
Gobble Gobble - You got a turkey in 10-pin bowling.
Driving Mr. Bellic - You unlocked the special ability of Roman’s taxi.
Rolled Over - You managed 5 car rolls in a row from one crash.
Walk Free - You successfully lost a 4 star wanted rating.
Courier Service - You completed all 10 package delivery jobs.
Retail Therapy - You unlocked the special ability of buying guns from Little Jacob.
Chain Reaction - You exploded 10 vehicles in 10 seconds.
Lowest Point - You completed the mission “Roman’s Sorrow”.
Order Fulfilled - You completed all 10 Exotic Export orders.
Manhunt - You completed the most wanted side mission.
Cleaned The Mean Streets - You caught 20 criminals through the police computer.
Fed The Fish - You completed the mission “Uncle Vlad”.
It’ll Cost Ya - You made a taxi trip from one island to another without skipping.
Sightseer - You have taken all variations of the helicopter tours of Liberty City.
Warm Coffee - You were invited into your girlfriend’s house.
That’s How We Roll! - You unlocked the special ability of Brucie’s helicopter ride.
Half Million - You have amassed a fortune of $500,000.
Impossible Trinity - You completed the mission “Museum Piece”.
Full Exploration - You unlocked all the islands.
You Got The Message - You delivered all 30 cars ordered through text message.
Assassin’s Greed - You completed all 9 assassin missions.
Under The Radar - You flew under all the main bridges in the game.
Dial B For Bomb - You unlocked the special ability of Packie’s car bomb placement.
Gracefully Taken - You completed the mission “I’ll Take Her”.
No More Strangers - You’ve met all the random characters.
That Special Someone - You completed the mission “That Special Someone”.
Teamplayer - You killed 5 opposing team members.
Cut Your Teeth - You were successfully promoted up a rank in multiplayer.
Join The Midnight Club - You won a multiplayer race without damaging your vehicle too much.
Fly The Co-op - You completed “Deal Breaker”, “Hangman’s NOOSE” and “Bomb da Base II” in time.
Taking It For The Team - You were on the winning team in all multiplayer team games.
Top Of The Food Chain - You successfully killed 20 players with a pistol in a deathmatch.
Top The Midnight Club - You won 20 different multiplayer standard races.
Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic - You won in all variations of multiplayer games.
Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie - You killed a Rockstar in multiplayer.

Silver
One Man Army - You survived a 6 star wanted level for a full 5 minutes.
Dare Devil - You completed all the unique stunt jumps.
Endangered Species - You collected every hidden package in the game.
Liberty City (5) - Your friends all like you above 90%.
You Won! - You have completed the story.

Gold
Liberty City Minute - You finished the story in less than 30 hours.
Key To The City - You completed GTA IV to 100%.
Wanted - You achieved the highest personal rank possible in multiplayer.

Platinum
Taking A Liberty - Sorry for taking liberties with your time!

Source: PS3 Trophies

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Now WII uses ISO Loader to Run Backup games

Finally a hack is upon us, one that promises to run ISOs without a need to obtain legal original copies of the game. Developer Waninkoko has released a video that shows the application in action. The “work in progress” v0.1 backup ISO loader is demonstrated running The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from Wii Homebrew Channel. And yes there’s no modchip involved! The plan of action instead involves creating a legal backup (yeah right) of the title, then converting the ISO file via this app and burning it on a DVD. Thereafter, the user needs to copy the ISO loader onto Wii Homebrew channel and get cracking. To watch the Video Click Read More...

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