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Last Updated: Jul 3, 2008 - 10:42:42 AM |
How far will you go to play your favorite video game on your cell
phone? Sometimes it's too far, points out Renay San Miguel. With the
advent of motion-based gaming, don't be surprised to see people
wriggling their bodies in public while using their iPhones as steering
wheels while playing Polarbit's "Raging Thunder," he says.
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I am an unrepentant gaming enthusiast, and there are lengths I will go
for my hobby that might puzzle normal people with normal lives. I'll
stand in the rain outside a Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) Latest News about Best
Buy for a Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii on launch day; I'll surf
the Web at all hours for the latest gaming reviews or demos; I'll
scream creative obscenities -- if I do say so myself -- at hordes of
Covenant aliens and grotesque Flood monsters who keep me from advancing
to the next level of "Halo 3."
I tend to draw the line at bizarre behavior in public for my gaming.
However, if the wildest dreams of several technology companies are soon
realized, you're liable to soon see people doing strange things on city
streets with their cell phones, such as pretending to fish or bowl. Or
you'll watch young, well-dressed professionals using their Apple
(Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple iPhones as steering wheels. Or
you may find yourself on a plane, sitting next to someone who is
operating under the delusion that his Nintendo DS handheld game player
is really a Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Do you ring the flight attendant? Do you dial 911? Or do you simply sit
back and become entertained by those who are entertaining themselves
with the next new thing in gaming?
Games on Devices That Make You Move
Motion-control gaming, interactive gaming, movement-based gaming ...
whatever you want to call it, this latest trend is obviously inspired
by the phenomenal success of Nintendo's Wii gaming console. Since its
launch in November 2006, the gaming world has welcomed those who want
to play tennis, bowl or box in the privacy of their living rooms simply
by waving the wand-like Wiimote control at their TV set -- as long as
the long, thin black bar that is the Nintendo motion-sensing device is
taped to the top of that TV.
A chance to completely immerse themselves in a video game for those who
were previously intimidated by endless combinations of buttons and
triggers on PlayStation and Xbox controllers has resulted in worldwide
sales of 25 million Wiis, according to Nintendo -- not to mention
now-famous media reports of senior citizens setting up Wii bowling
tournaments in the rec rooms of their retirement centers.
The new concept in gaming is now to put you in the game by any means
necessary. Since the Wii magic is limited to your home entertainment
center, why not become involved in the games with the handheld device
of your choice? Thanks to components called "accelerometers," which can
sense changes in movement -- Nintendo Wiimotes have them too -- now
cell phones can provide you with one more way to distract you from work
and/or family.
Calling Motion-Based Gaming on Phones
Sony Ericsson's F305 is the latest example of accelerometer-induced
gaming madness. The phone will come preloaded with three games:
Bowling, Bass Tournament and Jockey with dozens more available via a
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The F305 becomes available this fall -- no price details yet -- and, in
my opinion, comes with a fatal flaw: You'll have a 2-inch screen on the
phone, but it will be a little hard to view your progress when you're
waving the phone around away from your eyes while pretending to throw a
strike or hook that virtual 15-pound largemouth bass. Don't get too
nervous in the clutch; sweaty hands could mean airborne phones and
little pieces of accelerometer scattered all over the pavement.
Developers have also started to take advantage of the accelerometer in
Apple's iPhone. Polarbit's "Raging Thunder" puts you in a driving game
with the iPhone as your steering wheel. Apple's recent Worldwide
Developers Conference, which saw the premiere of the new 3G Latest News
about 3G iPhone, featured a demonstration of another driving game,
"CroMan Rally."
Pickin' and Grinnin' on Your DS
It's not accelerometer technology but good old-fashioned touchscreen
magic that powers the new "Guitar Hero: On Tour" for the Nintendo DS.
Plug in the guitar grip controller with the four-color "fret" buttons
into the DS, and strum the screen with your guitar pick-like stylus,
and suddenly you're Eric "Slowhand" Clapton on your handheld gaming
device. Again, there's the challenge of holding the gaming device and
playing it in a new way while also trying to look at a screen that is,
shall we say, a tad smaller than your 46-inch HDTV at home.
And while the DS's headphones guarantee no noise to bother anyone
sitting next to me in the coach section on that long flight from
Seattle to New York, there's the obvious distraction of writhing in
seat 42D, Carlos Santana-style, while navigating "Black Magic Woman" at
expert level.
Gaming's Future Set in Motion
Of course, developers are no doubt already coming up with more ideas
for handheld, motion-based games than you can shake a phone at. Come to
think of it, shaking a phone or other accelerometer-enabled device
could indeed be a new way to score points in a game -- not to mention
scaring away fellow commuters on a subway train.
That could lead to some necessary rules of etiquette for both gamers
and passersby: If you're watching someone play a motion-based game, try
not to laugh or point too much. Also, if you're playing these games in
public, try to keep the creative obscenities to a minimum
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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