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The best podcasting gear for beginners
Starting a podcast is easy. Making one that actually sounds good is another story entirely. We can't help much with the bigger problems facing would-be podcasters — finding a good topic and getting people to listen — but we can point you to the best gear to get started. With a few smart purchases, you too can sound like a podcast pro.
Adobe's Project Awesome Audio cleans up recordings with a single click
Adobe likes to show off crazy tools it has been working on in a special portion of its MAX conference each year. The not-quite-ready features are known as "sneaks," and while not all of them make it into Creative Cloud apps, some of them do. Adobe is holding its annual design gathering this week, and as you might expect, it has a new batch of "sneaks" to show off. The company wouldn't give us the full details on all of them, but it did give Engadget a preview of one: Project Awesome Audio.
Adobe’s new all-in-one video-editing tool will work across devices
Adobe is working on a new video-editing product called Project Rush that brings three tools -- Premiere Pro, Audition and After Effects -- together in one place. With Project Rush, you'll be able to edit the color of your videos, improve the sound quality, build a title sequence, add some stock footage and publish it to whatever platform you'd like without having to leave Rush. You'll also be able to do this on multiple devices as Rush will work on both desktop and mobile, and all projects are automatically synced to the cloud, so you can always pick up where you left off. When you're done editing, you can create a thumbnail, decide where to publish the video -- be it YouTube, Facebook, Facebook Stories, Instagram, Instagram Stories Vimeo, Twitter or Snapchat -- and schedule it, all from one screen.
At the CES 'Shark Tank' open call, the optimism is infectious
"I just want to do the royalty, because I develop formulas for cancer. So, I want to use Michael's money to help heal the world," a gray-haired man in a kung-fu uniform explained, his face perfectly serene as he explained his purported friendship with Michael Jackson. In a different setting, the situation might have been seemed bizarre, but three hours into open auditions for ABC's reality show Shark Tank at this year's Consumer Electronic Show, it was par for course.
iPhone video lands actor on Star Trek
cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com The iPhone is sometimes compared to a Star Trek communicator, so it's pretty cool that an actor from Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, used it to get a part on the upcoming J.J. Abrams Trek sequel. When Cumberbatch couldn't make it to the audition, he used his iPhone to record a reading and sent it along, according to the New York Times (subscription required). Macworld Australia speculates he'll play Khan, but so far all we know is Abrams was blown away by the iPhone-recorded audition, calling it "...one of the most compelling audition readings I'd ever seen."
Author Ryu Murakami releasing new book solely for iPad
Like me, maybe you're not big into Japanese literature other than some graphic novels. When I read this story, I had no idea who Ryu Murakami was until I read that his list of works includes Audition. Audition, in case you don't know, was adapted to film by Takashi Miike; it's one of the most uncomfortable and graphic horror movies that I've ever seen, ... but I digress. Murakami's latest work, titled A Singing Whale, is set to make its debut solely on the iPad; it will involve no other publishers at all. It will appear on the Japanese App Store at around US $17, and thirty percent of that purchase price will go to Apple. The rest will go to Murakami, composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the software company that is making the book. You may be asking why a composer is included in this list. This deal isn't about Murakami sticking it to publishers (or, at least, it's not all about that). Like a few of the other titles that we've already seen on the App Store (like Alice in Wonderland, for example), this title will have a multimedia aspect to it. So, it's not necessarily something that could even work with traditional publication. I just hope that A Singing Whale isn't in the same vein as Audition, or that multimedia experience will be very, very nightmare inducing. Just thinking about it makes my Achilles tendon hurt.
Pioneer announces CD ripping, Internet radio playing, DLNA sporting iPod docks
Up until this point, when Pioneer and iPhone were uttered in the same sentence (or the same Engadget post) it's been in the guise of some sort of integration with an existing product (such as a car stereo or home theater hardware). This time around, however, the consumer electronics company is debuting a line of a/v docks that, truth be told, don't look nearly as boring as most do to these jaded blogsters. All of the kit included herein feature 2.1 speakers, HDMI, component video, and composite video out, and Bluetooth audio streaming. Of all of these, the HTD Series (XW-NAV1K-K) is the "jack of all trades," featuring a DVD/CD player, FM tuner, USB connectivity for external storage, CD-to-MP3 ripping, and "scaling of DVD video to 1080p near HD resolution" via HDMI. Available in June with an MSRP of $299. For someone with simpler needs (and greater means) the Audition Series (XW-NAS3/-K) "unparalleled reproduction of compressed audio files" come April, for an MSRP of $449. Last but not least, the Duo Series systems sport dual docking ports for two different iPods or iPhones and a Double Shuffle feature for continuous playback of music between the two docked players. The XW-NAC1-K ($349) is a more modest device, while the XW-NAC3-K ($449) adds a number of features to the basic dock, including DLNA 1.5 home network support, vTuner Internet Radio, external storage support via USB, and more. Both these bad boys will be available in May. PR after the break.
Rock Band 2 patched on 360, PS3 update going through cert
Ludomusicians, rejoice! The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 2 received a massive title update earlier today, adding a whole slew of oft-requested features to Harmonix's beefy music platform. The most notable of these additions is that the game now supports wireless microphones, such as those used with Lips. Other changes include improved hammer-ons and pull-offs, background downloading for music store purchases and the "Audition Mode," which allows Rock Band Network users to test out their homebrewed Rock Band tracks. In a Rock Band forum thread, Harmonix's Sean Baptiste explained the PS3 version of the update is currently working its way through Sony's certification process. We've yet to hear mention of a Wii version of the patch. C'mon, Harmonix! Waggle-rockers need love too! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Massively.com giveaways: Nexon Currency Cards
We hope you enjoyed yesterday's NCsoft giveaways. Today we're doing a potpourri of giveaways from some Titans of the MMO game industry. Titan Tuesday kicks off with an import from the nation of South Korea that's become a huge winner in the North American market: Nexon. This innovative company has been kind enough to send us 10 currency cards to customize your MapleStory avatar, tweak your Audition singing experience, or up your Combat Arms ante. Nexon currency cards are good with any of the company's games. The games themselves are free to play, you see, something you might already know from our lengthy look at MapleStory earlier this year. We've been sent 5 $10 cards and 5 $25 cards, for a total retail value of $175. If you win, you'll randomly be assigned one of the cards. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. MapleStory is very well known for its holiday events, so we want to know what your favorite holiday is! Let us know and you might just win a currency card. You'll need to comment before 7:00 AM EST Thursday, November 6th. You can only enter once per person, and after the contest closes we'll ship out these fantastic prizes to 10 randomly-selected winners. Give us at least a week to ship out this massive pile of swag, though. To win you must be age 18 or up and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). For full eligibility details, we suggest you read our official rules. Good luck!
Mythos lives!
These have been some turbulent times for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. Following the closing of Flagship Studios, recent news revealed Namco-Bandai Games as Hellgate: London's saviors, while the fate of Mythos remained uncertain, but grim. However just over a week later, the Hellgate: London page at Namco-Bandai has already disappeared. In another turn of events, Gamasutra reports that Korea's T3 Entertainment, perhaps best-known for their online music game Audition, is seeking programmers for its new development studio in San Francisco: "T3 Entertainment is searching for creative minds to passionately continue development of Hellgate: London and Mythos, along with other new games, which are being published by HanbitSoft Inc." This may put to rest the dispute over IP which HanbitSoft was engaged in with Flagship Studios, as T3 Entertainment is HanbitSoft's largest stockholder. With any luck, the opening of a North American studio signifies a healthier future for both Mythos and Hellgate: London. We'll keep you posted, once more details become available.
Why you should care about Korea
As closely as we watch the MMO scene here at Massively, all too often we neglect to look at the bigger picture. In the shadow of AAA titles developed in the US, there is an entire nation of MMO-players that all to often get ignored by the gaming press of the west. South Korea probably has the most enthusiastic population of online gamers in the world. The way they do MMOs is, most likely, going to dictate the future of the genre on a worldwide basis. Concepts like RMT, microtransactions, and the tenacious need to pay only when the mood takes the player are already being reflected in popular games here in the states. Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield tackles this nation of gamers head-on, in an impassioned editorial meant to explain why we should all be paying closer attention to this fascinating country.Sheffield notes that Korea is actually a country where non-MMO developers have to compete for staffing resources, so prevalent is the desire to work on Massive games in the country. This is a also a nation almost purely of PC players - many Koreans like to mix their work and play by earning some extra cash from RMT. As long as Koreans see gameplaying as something that can be a lucrative passtime, "for fun" console gaming will never take the place of more serious MMO titles. Check out the piece, to gain the perspective the veteran journalist displays here: "Aside from World of Warcraft, they've taken a genre we invented, and perfected it to the point where an online dance game like T3 Entertainment's Audition has tens of millions of subscribers worldwide."
The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.
An ION 08 interview with Nexon America's Min Kim [Updated]
In a recent interview at Ten Ton Hammer, Nexon America's Min Kim spoke out about some of the company's plans for upcoming games, including their online FPS entitled Combat Arms which will be entering closed beta next week. He also talks a bit about another upcoming MMO title being produced by their Vancouver studio, but details are still not available.In addition, Min Kim speaks at great length about some of the existing titles they have have available in Korea, that they're hoping to port to the North American audience, including the wildly-popular Korean title KartRider. To garner interest with North American players, Min Kim realizes that the audiences are different, and social competition is where it's at. No other information was said about KartRider's introduction to North America, but he says more details will be available soon.Update: Though we initially listed both Audition and KartRider as games Nexon was looking to bring to North America, Audition has been available to North American audiences for some time now, complete with a catalog of familiar songs!
Nexon's Min Kim on the importance of Target to free to play gaming
Today Gamasutra has up a massive interview with Min Kim, public face for the Korean gaming powerhouse Nexon. Kim has spoken on numerous occasions at various industry events on overcoming challenges for free to play gaming. Those challenges have translated into huge opportunities, with games like MapleStory, Kart Rider, Mabinogi, and Audition earning Nexon big money. According to Kim, the microtransaction business model the company uses across its titles is responsible for that success. Many other MMO developers have attempted to emulate that success, but their entrenched position 'since the late 90s', has made that difficult.Some of Kim's most interesting statements surround their interactions with brick-and-mortar retail outlets. "We didn't really take off until we got the cards into Target and Best Buy and 7-Eleven. Over 50 percent of our player base doesn't have access to plastic, between 13 and 17. They just couldn't pay, so we'd effectively lose more than half our business. So that payment side is, I think, one of the biggest battles that people will fight." He goes on to discuss the possibility of Nexon games on the Xbox 360, the role of games in South Korea, and the misconceptions Western developers have when entering the free-to-play marketplace.
Mabinogi in open beta in March; Euros and Ozzies left out
Nexon, maker of Maple Story and other, weirder MMOs, has announced that their intriguing title Mabinogi will hit North America with an open beta on March 5th. However, this is for residents of North America only; gamers in Europe and Australia will be s.o.l. [note: adult language] until such time as Nexon feels they're ready to hit the rest of the world.There's apparently more to Mabinogi than previously suspected -- more than just aging the character over weeks, time is a much more involved element to the game. The storyline itself will evolve over generations, and a character's diet also affects its appearance. I'm all crazygonuts excited to play this, so expect a First Impressions from me shortly after launch!And make sure you check out the videos on their website -- they're short tutorials on how to get around and do things in the world, presented by a girl and her sheep. While a little broad in its humor, it's still cute and has some good tips in between the silliness.
Audition Online dev talks bringing something to the Wii
It's no surprise to anyone that Korea is one of the largest games markets around. Nintendo just found out that the region is worth the effort, as they officially opened up shop there during July of last year. It wasn't without its bumps, but the ride itself has been an overall pleasant one for Nintendo.Now, the Korean developers behind Audition Online are in talks with Nintendo to bring something to the Wii. Yoo-Ra Kim, CMO and director of T3 Entertainment, commented "Luckily, yesterday, I met a Nintendo guy from here. He was interested in one of our titles, and next year, we're going to have a meeting. Soon, I can show you another Nintendo version!" Kim also goes on to say "We are very flexible, so unless they suggest too tough of conditions, we'd really love to do it. Some of our titles really fit for the Nintendo Wii. They really fit."While we'd like to see Audition Online retooled for the Wii (gotta love those rhythm games), we're not quite sure that's the case here. Instead, we're of the mind that T3 could be looking to bring something new to the console.See also: Nintendo Korea site goes live[Via Nintendic]
Nexon counting down to Mabinogi English beta
Nexon, the operators behind online games MapleStory, Audition, and KartRider, are counting down to the English closed beta of their new 3D Online MMO adventure game, Mabinogi (named after the Welsh pre-Christian prose), developed by Nexon's devCat studio. Featuring Cel-shaded, 3D, anime-styled graphics, the game service is currently available in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China.
7-Eleven sells Nexon Game Cards
Worlds in Motion reports that you can now buy game cards for MapleStory and other Nexon games at your local 7-Eleven convenience store. The game cards -- which cost $10 or $25 -- can be used to purchase in-game items.At first, this struck us as bizarre, but it actually makes some sense. A 7-Eleven representative is quoted in the Worlds in Motion article saying that the cards are perfect for the "tweens and teens" who enjoy MapleStory -- a demographic that also happens to frequent 7-Eleven. The representative calls it "the Slurpee-beverage crowd."It's a strange world. Next thing you know we'll be buying EQ2 game-time cards at the gasoline pump!
Korea gets ready for some portable Audition
Are you ready to dance dance? Yet another music title is about to take over the Korean PSP market today: Audition Portable is a handheld version of a popular online dancing game, where players must hit a series of buttons that appear on screen to perform their moves. The PSP version will feature over 100 songs and a variety of network features, such as 6-player multiplayer, online ranking modes, and post-release downloadable content, such as new songs, maps and dance motions. Furthermore, you can connect the game to your PC and transfer songs, background images, and more to your computer. Certainly sounds like a title that utilizes the PSP in every single way imaginable, no?We don't know if Audition Portable will tear up the Korean sales charts like DJ Max Portable did. However, considering its unique charm and extensive features list, we see this garnering the attention of hardcore PSP importers everywhere (even if the characters do creep us out). Check out a video of the PC edition, after the cut.[Via Gaming Today]
Final Fantasy IV: Vocalist wanted
The official website for the recently revealed DS remake of Final Fantasy IV is now online. There's the usual logo and intro music by Nobuo Uematsu. If you're in Japan this summer, you can audition for the chance to sing the game's vocal track. You need to be over eighteen and have a voice that can make a grown man weep like a baby. Any Fanboy readers feel like heading along?[Thanks, Zshadow; via Exophase]
