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Apple is getting ready to launch a portable gaming device this year. Many of you already own it. It's called the iPhone. The Register is running a rumor piece that posits that the iPhone 3G will be announced before WWDC, opening up space in the keynote for Jobs to introduce an entirely new device. This theory is based mostly on reports that inventory of current model iPhones is low. Surely this means that Apple will be announcing the iPhone 3G soon? Think of all the lost sales! Apple has thought of the lost sales, I'm sure — sales they'll quickly make up next month if they have ample iPhone 3G stock on the shelves waiting to be slurped by shoppers. No one is going to not buy an iPhone today who wouldn't also buy a better model in a month from now (or at least not enough people to matter). Remember, WWDC is less than a month away. The next part of the rumor follows: What would Apple announce at WWDC that would supplant the announcement of the iPhone 3G?  read more »

"Think about the amount of graphical horsepower in your bottom-end machine these days — it's totally suitable for delivering a rich game experience," explains Mark Frohnmayer, co-founder of indie developer Garage Games. That's what they're counting on with "Instant Action," a web-based multiplayer gaming portal that offers casual gamers more than just simple puzzle games. Even lowly office computers, built to browse the web and munge a few spreadsheets, now have enough power to play 3D games — first-person shooters, racers, even flight simulators — that would have been state-of-the-art just a few years ago. "I think Nintendo demonstrated very well that cutting-edge hardware wasn't required for delivering really awesome game experiences," Frohnmayer continues. And because Garage Games was founded to provide the inexpensive tools and support for indie developers — including the "Torque" game engine, built on work started when many of the Garage Games founders created Tribes 2 at the legendary but scuttled game company Dynamix — the company has a lot of experience squeezing good graphics out of "baseline" PC hardware. But it's not the graphics which are most compelling about Instant Action; they are good enough to serve the gameplay, and that is that. Instead, Garage Games has built an entire social gaming platform, complete with friends lists, leaderboards (soon), simple team functions, and all the other accoutrements of a modern games delivery platform right inside the browser. If digital download services like Valve's Steam are the iTunes of the PC gaming world, then Instant Action could be the first YouTube. Players can ever cut-and-paste a simple hyperlink to be sent to their friends. Anyone who clicks the link won't just be taken to InstantAction.com; they'll be added automatically to the ongoing multiplayer match in which their friend is playing. Unlike YouTube, however, Instant Action isn't a place to discover loads of user-generated or indie content...yet. Of the current games, all are funded in part by Garage Games. Specifics on each development deal varies, but General Manager Andy Yang explained that Garage Games is letting these hired guns retain the IP to their games, which is laudable. While the games currently available show polish — I've enjoyed quite a few sessions of the simple FPS sports shooter, Rokkitball — Yang acknowledged that the current Beta phase of Instant Action is in some ways measuring time, adding new features and stability, while waiting for the platform's first smash hit. Like Fallen Empire: Legions, perhaps, the next game to be launched on Instant Action, currently in closed beta. A sort of "Tribes Lite," the first-person team combat game keeps the jetpacks and skiing (now "skating") from Dynamix's classic Tribes and Tribes 2, but leaves most of the tactical gameplay features behind in favor of quick matches. As a Tribes snob, I'll never be happy until someone creates a full-blown, triple-A update to my most beloved game of all time. Bearing that unhealthy bias in mind, I've found Legions to be an engaging way to wile away a few minutes here and there. It's certainly the most involved web-based game I've ever downloaded in a couple of minutes and played. But when I'm at my Windows gaming rig, I could also be playing other PC games. It's when I'm on the road with my Mac — no Parallels or VMWare to be found — that I often wish I could kill a few minutes cursing at the inequities of hotel Wi-Fi as a cover for my poor aiming skills. Good news, then, that Instant Action should also be available on OS X in "four to six weeks," give or take. The Torque engine, which currently powers all the Instant Action games (although other engines can and will be supported), already runs on OS X. And most of the games available for the Windows version of Instant Action are almost ported to OS X. (Even though Instant Action is web-based, the engines still run as executables in the background; you can't make these sorts of 3D games with Javascript or Flash yet.) Instant Action is currently in invite-queued beta, although more slots will be opening soon. Legions will be moving out of lockdown in the next few weeks. Like all Instant Action games so far, the basic games are free to play, with optional skins, widgets, avatars, and guaranteed server slots costing extra.  read more »

Dennis Fong's new startup, Raptr, is a sort of applications-based social network for hard-core gamers.

(Credit: Raptr)

SAN FRANCISCO--Dennis Fong is someone who has a lot of street cred in the world of video games. A former world champion in games like Quake and Doom, he's also the founder of XFire, a company that enabled easy instant messaging among gamers that he later sold to Viacom for oodles of money.

Now, he's got a new start-up, known as Raptr, and it seems to have some very influential people rather excited.  read more »

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January 17, 2008 The iWear VR920 video visor from Vuzix (formerly Icuiti) promises an "as if you were there" virtual world experience, incorporating 3D technology, head tracking, microphone and audio in a wearable display equivalent to a 62-inch screen viewed at a distance of 9 feet. The company has also announced an upcoming gaming version (the AV920-C) will be added to the iWear range that connects to Xbox360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii and others for single and multiplayer video games, allowing users to select their half or quadrant and view it on their personal big-screen instead of splitting a single TV video screen 2, 3 or 4 ways. ..
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Microsoft has sold 18m units of its Xbox 360 console worldwide, compared to sales of 10.5 million for the PS3. Although it should be noted that the PS3 has been around for a year less than the 360 and is showing signs of catching up faster than expected. The figures came from John Schappert, Microsofts corporate vice president of LIVE software and services, speaking at last weeks Games Developer Conference. Heres what he had to say to Eurogamer about Xbox 360 sales, Xbox LIVE and the possibility of a Blu-ray add-on drive, now that HD DVD is dead . Xbox 360 sales I think that we've sold 18 million, the last time I've checked.  read more »

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The House of Mouse is going to cater to the female segment of the population with its new cell phone service, and this time in Japan. As we all know, Walt Disney’s revolves mostly around children with its expansive library of lovable characters, nefarious villains, and superbly orchestrated soundtracks. This time round though, Disney has set its sights on adult women in Japan with this new Disney Mobile service that will roll out on March 1st. Going into this venture together with Softbank Mobile, Disney Mobile’s content consists of (not a comprehensive list, mind you) ring tones, videos and games that hope to reach out to female Disney fans who are currently in their 20s and 30s. In addition, users have the option to customize phone screens and emails with Disney-theme graphics.  read more »