Tinternet treats: 09:12:08

I spent most of yesterday clearing out the remaining crap from my old house before we officially moved in with our friends in fabulous Clovelly, as such there were no treats for you yesterday. But today, Tuesday’s treats were a bit hard to come by, I have to admit. First up we have a gaming helmet that lets you experience blows to the head while playing WWE or some other boxing/wrestling related game. Second is news that Vodafone is allowing customers to recharge their phones through PayPal – very handy. Third, news that PlayStation Home is a mere 9 days away – close your mouth, your drooling over your keyboard. Finally, there’s no stopping those guys and gals from Nintendo as they announce 800,000 Wiis sold in the US last week. Exactly one more week left in Australia before I head back to Europe…more posts to come on that.

Engadget:
TN Games HTX Helmet lets you feel those headshots
Lifehacker:
Vodafone Allows PayPal For Prepaid Phone Recharge
Gizmodo:
PlayStation Home Coming in 9 Days?
Kotaku:
Nintendo Sold 800K Wiis In The US Last Week

Rockin' in the real world

I’m a gamer and as such, I’m pro-gaming across the board. So, I was thrilled to see some new research out of the UK that shows that playing games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero has encouraged up to 2.5 million kids to learn to play real musical instruments. You constantly hear the doom and gloom merchants bashing gaming on the head for distracting kids from other activities, but here we have a story about gaming encouraging kids to take up music for real. The research, conducted by UK charity Youth Music, shows that this relatively new genre of game is the inspiration behind this revived interest in musical instruments.

In addition, guitar stores around the country have reported increased sales of instruments featured in the game and music teachers have reported an increased number of requests for lessons. In an interesting twist, many of the kids are asking to learn what we would now deem rock-classics such as numbers by Alice Copper and Birmingham’s finest, Black Sabbath, because they are featured in the games. With Wii now in on the act, the number of kids looking to take-up musical instruments for real will surely increase, especially on the back of the success already had by the guys and gals at Xbox 360.

MyTake – Yet another reason why gaming is good and actually enhances and enriches lives. We constantly hear about the shrinking number of kids taking up the more traditional pastimes and hobbies, yet despite all efforts by society to reverse this, it’s gaming that actually gets the job done in the end. Look at the impact of other games such as the Brain Training products from Nintendo, the Viva Piñata from Xbox 360, yet more examples of the positive impact gaming can have on our kids. I guess for some people, the world is still flat and that’ll never change….shame, they’ll never get to enjoy the delights of Pro Evolution Soccer!

Tinternet treats: 02:12:08

A bit late with this today, but I think I’ve just made it for the morning. Today’s offerings will appeal to the big kid in all of us and the serious sports fan and beer drinker. So, first up we have the evolution of the Nurf atomizer gun from bb gadgets, perhaps you’ll learn how to make your own. Second, we have the ezGear Wii Music pack featuring a veritable smorgasbord of instruments for the serious Wii Musician…no didgeridoo though. Third, Engadget brings probably the best home bar invention the world has ever seen – a beer dispenser with an inbuilt TV, perfect for State of Origin or the FA CUP. Last is news from Lifehacker that Joost is now streaming TV, movies and music videos to your iphone…I guess I’ll have to get an iphone then. Enjoy and happy Tuesday.

bb gadgets:
A NERF gun’s revolution
Gizmodo:
ezGear Wii MusicPack Rocks Entire Orchestra of Wiimote Peripherals
Engadget:
Micro Matic v-POD weds beer dispenser and LCD TV
Lifehacker:
Joost Streams TV, Movies to Your iPhone

More A-Grade gamers

I was in a pub at the weekend and they had an old school games machine that had the likes of PacMan and Space Invaders on it. Naturally I went and had a go, as did my mate that I would never have picked as a gamer, let alone someone that’s in to classic games. The embarrassing thing was that he was bloody awesome at it – way better than me – even though (as he confessed) it had been a long time since he played.

He is, of course, yet another victim of the “I’m too old to play video games” culture that has kept many adults away from a whole host of games consoles for decades. Which brings me to the point of this post –another attempt to get people to think about gaming in a different way.

New findings discussed at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston (the home of my favourite beer, Sam Adams) looked at the effect that playing video games has on people. We’ve already heard about the recovery of rehab patients using the Wii, or surgeons improving their hand-eve coordination, but according to psychologist Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University, games are “powerful educational tools and have many effects we might not have expected they could."

MyTake – Surprise, surprise, yet another academic that thinks gaming is a good thing. We have to get over our pre-conceptions about gaming and jump-in. I went to a conference a while back where someone described Facebook as a giant game and I reckon they’re right, the only difference between this and gaming on a console is the negative connotations placed on console gaming by technophobes that refuse to embrace new technology (and probably think that the internet is a bad thing). Jump-in, experience it because in the next two years gaming, social networking, TV, entertainment is all going to be the same thing.

Wii’ve made a right mess!

The Wii strikes again, this time it’s the rest of your living room that’s taking a beating. You may remember a while ago that people were reporting that they were getting a bit too exciting when the console first came out, flinging their wiimotes at their TVs, causing a bit of damage.

Now, with the launch of Wii Fit we have a whole new range of Wii-related damages to contend with. According to a new survey out of the UK, British women using Wii Fit to work out have caused an estimated $41 million in collective damages to their living rooms – ouch and thank god for Ikea.

Sales of the latest Wii hit are going through the roof and according to the survey, it set to continue, with 86 per cent of those polled saying they either already owned Wii Fit or were planning to get it.

MyTake – There’s something quite special about the Wii. In no other situation can four adults prance around in a living room, pretend to play tennis while quaffing wine - I just described a Sunday night I enjoyed round a friend’s house a few weeks back. Said friends, Sandra and Greg, will also probably buy Wii Fit and why shouldn’t they? It’s fun, you get a workout and you’re distracted while you do it. Wii continues to establish itself as the favourite lounge room console with the mainstream crowd, mainly because they probably don’t even view it as gaming. Note to Sandra – don’t destroy the living room!

Who said games weren’t for adults

A company that makes pole dancing equipment is set to produce a game for the Wii. The company called Peekaboo is apparently in talks to produce a game for “that meets mainstream demand for the fun and fitness benefits of pole dancing.”

The company is already a fair way down the track when it comes to taking pole dancing into the home with a range of products called “Electra”, which (you’ve guessed it) are inspired and endorsed by former Playboy model Carmen Electra, though she will apparently not be involved with the Wii game….shame, I'm sure the kids would have had a lot of fun.

According to the company, they are aiming to follow in the tracks of Guitar Hero and carve out a niche in the gaming industry. More interestingly, the company suggested that men would also be a target with the statement "Men and women of all shapes and sizes will be encouraged to work on improving their skills”.

MyTake – It’s a craze that is catching on all over the world, you only have to go down your local gym and you’ll be able to sign-up to a pole dancing class. Bringing it to the Wii is either a genius idea or monumental waste of time and money – do people really want to pole dance in their living room? The cross over between physical activity and gaming seems to be centred on the Wii, which is essentially what is setting it apart from the pack.

Wii wanna play too

I 've been a bit slow on the uptake on this on - but better late than never. Apparently, Microsoft is developing its own version of the Wiimote controller for the Xbox 360. It's just rumour and speculation at the moment - but it's exciting to think that the console that was supposed to be lagging miles behind in this generation race is now influencing the likes of Microsoft. But - should we really been surprised? Out of all the consoles, they have the most experience and despite the technical leaps made by Xbox and Playstation, Wii is the console of choice.

Back to the Xbox 360 Wiimote, the aim to go bigger and better with reports that features could include an analog stick, a microphone, four face buttons and there is even talk of some kind of inclusion of the Xbox Live Vision Cam.

MyTake - Every now and then, something truly awesome happens in the gaming industry - the Dance Mat, the EyeToy - that changes he way we game. The Wiimote did just hat and more. Admittedly, Microsoft have very rarely been the innovative first to market type, but when they do get on board, take-up is pretty certain to be phenomenal

They tried to make me go to Wiihab….

There appears to be no stopping the juggernaut that is the Nintendo Wii – gaming machine, fitness machine, training machine for surgeons and now….rehab machine. The Wii’s popularity continues to extend at a scorching pace with its latest accolade being in the field of rehab therapy for patients recovering from stokes, broken bones surgery and even combat injuries.

According to the experts, some traditional therapy exercises can be repetitive dull and painful. Playing on the Wii engrosses the patient to the point where they can become totally oblivious to the exercise they are actually doing while playing.

Dr Osborn of Southern Illinois Healthcare, one of the hospitals using the Wii as part of its rehab therapy said. "In the Wii system, because it's kind of a game format, it does create this kind of inner competitiveness. Even though you may be boxing or playing tennis against some figure on the screen, it's amazing how many of our patients want to beat their opponent …. When people can refocus their attention from the tediousness of the physical task, oftentimes they do much better."

MyTake – Score for the Wii, the world is clearly loving this machine. When it launched it had its critics and while it’s not a giant leap forward, I’d say it’s probably a giant leap side wards in thinking – its taken gaming in a whole new direction and this is what innovation is about. There’s something ever so slightly fitting in the fact you wave the wiimote around like a wand…… something magical you might say.

Wii T in your home

Hugely respected as a director and as a producer, Steven Spielberg now brings us another Wii-son to get into gaming with the release of BOOM BLOX, a game he developed in partnership with EA's Casual Entertainment Label for the Wii platform.



Spielberg said - "I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids,"


"BOOM BLOX features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together."


Check out http://www.boomblox.ea.com/


MyTake - Gaming is good and gaming with your kids is even better. Spielberg’s involvement in developing a game follows similar moves by Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, who is developing for the Xbox 360 platform. Gaming is another way of storytelling, offering a different canvas and some would say a more challenging one. When names like Jackson and Spielberg are getting involved it's a huge validation for the industry.

Wii have the skills

Gamers have been saying it for years and now the rest of the world will have to pay attention - Gaming is good for you. A US case study has revealed that playing games on consoles such as Nintendo Wii can actually improve a surgeon's performance in the operating theatre. The case study by the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Team shows that the fine hand control required to play certain games acts as a warm up and hones scalpel skills. Those that played showed nearly 50% higher on tool control and overall performance than other trainees.