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Push-up bars for the Wii Balance Board? Now that sounds like a fantastic idea — just the thing broad-shouldered individuals need to play Wii Fit without backstrain. Too bad this particular set of bars isn’t worth the plastic it’s printed from. The latest and greatest from the minds in the chintzy plastic peripheral industry, the $25 CTA Digital Wii Push Up Bar is held in place by only your weight and a few foam strips without reinforcement of any kind, meaning it could detach itself with any significant exertion. The only good that comes out of all this is an embarrassing video demonstration after the break, which features a pair of smiling humans pretending to have fun with the contraption. QVC, eat your heart out.

Continue reading Wii Fit push up bars make sense, but this one isn’t worth dollars

Wii Fit push up bars make sense, but this one isn’t worth dollars originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The cosmos must clearly have approved of Microsoft’s actions over this past month, as today we’re hearing the Xbox 360 broke out of its competitive sales funk to claim the title of “month’s best-selling console” … for the first time in two years. Redmond’s own Aaron Greenberg describes it as the best February in the console’s history, with 422,000 units sold outshining the consistently popular Wii (397,900) and the resurgent PS3 (360,100 consoles shifted, which was a 30 percent improvement year-on-year). In spite of the happy campers in Redmond and Tokyo, the overall numbers for the games industry were down 15 percent on 2009’s revenues, indicating our collective gaming appetite is starting to dry up. Good thing we’ve got all those motion-sensing accessories coming up to reignite our fire.

NPD: Xbox 360 wins US sales war in a downbeat February originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On November 19, 2006, Nintendo launched its fifth home console to the world. The Nintendo Wii was both ridiculed and praised for its unique controller system — the Wiimote — which detects movements in three dimensions.

Three and a half years later, the Wii has dominated the market, shattered sales records, and put its two main rivals, Microsoft and Sony, on the defensive. Both companies are responding with motion-based controllers of their own, though.

Microsoft has generated some big buzz with the revelation of Project Natal, a new camera-based system that requires no controller, just the movement of your body to function. And yesterday, Sony officially announced PlayStation Move, a controller setup that utilizes a camera and a remote-like controller to interact with the screen.

Here’s the question we have for all of you gamers. Which next-generation controller system excites you more: Microsoft’s Natal or Sony’s Move?

Our poll for this week’s Web Faceoff ends on Sunday, March 14, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Let us know your choice, and don’t forget to leave your opinion in the comments!

What excites you more: Microsoft’s Project Natal or Sony’s PlayStation Move?polls

PlayStation Move in Action

Project Natal Announcement

Tags: microsoft, Natal, Nintendo, playstation, playstation move, project natal, sony, Wii, wiimote

If you’re a gamer, you might have heard about yesterday’s news about the PlayStation Move, Sony’s answer to the Wii Remote and Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal motion controller. In a demonstration yesterday, the company showed off the device, which utilizes remote-like controllers and the PlayStation Eye camera to capture your movements and turn them into actions on the screen.

We’ve seen plenty of screenshots and heard a lot about the controller’s capabilities, but we wanted to find out for ourselves whether it really could make the PlayStation more competitive with its counterparts. That’s why I decided to take the system for a test drive here at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California.

Did it live up to expectations? Could it challenge Nintendo and Microsoft in gaming? I’ve got some thoughts on the matter:

PlayStation Move: Sony Played It Safe

First, a little bit about the PlayStation Move: It’s a two-part control system. First are the handheld controllers, which act essentially as Wiimotes. The main controller comes with a lighted color ball on the top though — this is an essential component for the second part of the Move: the PlayStation Eye camera, which tracks your movements on screen. Combined, you get a controller system.

When I held the remote-like device in my hands and actually got to play with it, I immediately became aware of two things: its accuracy and its augmented reality features. It feels just a little more precise than a Wiimote with the MotionPlus controller. Because it uses the camera rather than the sensor bar that the Wii utilizes, it can more accurately catch your motions. It also translates them onto the screen with your face on the TV.

I was impressed with the augmented reality aspect of the PlayStation Move more, though. The lighted ball on my controller turned first into a paintbrush, and then a fly swatter. It didn’t have the lag that a lot of other systems deal with, which made the experience enjoyable.

Is it that much better than the Wii, though? To be honest, I think the answer to that question depends on how developers use the PlayStation Eye camera to enhance their games. If they focus on the controllers, then it’s just a fancy Wiimote. If it focuses on bringing you into the game via the camera, then there are some real possibilities.

In the end though, Microsoft’s Project Natal is still going to garner the attention and the hype, as it is a bolder step into motion control. Sony essentially played it safe with the Move, while Microsoft’s implementing an all-or-nothing strategy with Natal.

Here is me in action with the PlayStation Move:

PlayStation Move Demo Video

Tags: games, gaming, microsoft, Natal, Nintendo, playstation, playstation move, project natal, sony, video games, Wii, xbox

The first Lady Gaga song pack for the Rock Band music video game is coming next week. It will include the songs “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Monster” and “Poker Face.” You’ll be able to buy each song for $2 or all of them for $6.99.

Yes, “Paparazzi” and “LoveGame” are missing from the list, but this might be just the beginning of Rock Band’s Gaga content. Gaga is a hit in geek culture. She’s a spokeswoman for Polaroid. One hundred thousand Facebook users rallied to create and celebrate National Lady Gaga day. Twenty-five percent of Vevo’s 35 million visitors only watch Gaga videos. And her “Bad Romance” music video (which has almost 143 million views on YouTube) is loaded with gadgets like iPods, laptops, and Wii remotes.

Rock Band and Lady Gaga are already in the zeitgeist together. Last year, South Park ran a scene with Cartman performing Gaga’s “Poker Face” on Rock Band with his friends and it became a viral YouTube video. We’ve embedded it below. Have fun, and get this: This South Park version will be available for Rock Band, too!

You’ll be able to start bluffin’ with your muffin’ (or at least your suite of fake musical instruments) on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii on Tuesday, March 16, and on the Sony PlayStation 3 the following Thursday, March 18.

South Park Does Lady Gaga in Rock Band

Reviews: Facebook, YouTube

Tags: celebrities, electronic arts, harmonix, Lady Gaga, music, playstation 3, PS3, rock band, South Park, video, video games, Wii, Xbox 360

By and large, EA Sports’ Season Opener event here at GDC was underwhelming, but one glimmer of newness did manage to shine through. Nearly a year after Active hit stores (video after the break) and encouraged Wii gamers to drop those unwanted pounds before hitting the soft sand in the summer, the company has announced that Active 2.0 (a working title) is currently in development for Wii, PS3, iPod touch and iPhone. We’re told that a “new suite of fitness products” will be launching in the fall, with the Active 2.0 program delivering “true fitness results by featuring an innovative wireless control system powered by new leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor to capture intensity and a new online hub to track and share workout data.” Outside of that, details are nonexistent (like how exactly the iPod / iPhone components will factor into this equation), though we get the feeling that Xbox 360 owners may be left out of the party. Here’s hoping we’re wrong.

Continue reading EA Sports introduces Active 2.0 at GDC, complete with sensors galore

EA Sports introduces Active 2.0 at GDC, complete with sensors galore originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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