George
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LEGO Life of George game combines iPhone and real LEGOs
It was only a matter of time before toy companies began to develop interactive toys that use the iPhone and iPad. Earlier this week, Disney unveiled Appmates, a series of physical toy cars that you can drive on the screen of the iPad. And today, Lego unveiled its new Life of George game that includes an EyeCue-enabled iOS app. The iOS app contains George's photos and it's your job to recreate these photographs using the game's 144 Legos and gaming mat. When you are done, you use the camera to take a photo of your model. Points will be awarded for the building speed and accuracy of the model. The game includes 12 levels of various difficulty. Each level has ten photographs, letting you build up to 120 different models. There is also a two-player mode and a creation mode that lets you design models using your own photos. The Life of George will hit retail shelves on October 1st with a price tag of US$30. [Via Engadget] Show full PR text LEGO GROUP UNVEILS FIRST FULLY INTEGRATED DIGITAL-TO-PHYSICAL GAMING EXPERIENCE - Combining physical building with a digital gaming application, LEGO® Life of George invites builders to test building skills in a race against time- BILLUND, Denmark, September 29, 2011 – The LEGO Group today announced LEGO® Life of George, its first product to combine digital and physical play for a hands-on LEGO gaming experience. Featuring patent-pending brick recognition software, powered by EyeCue, the game challenges players to build models, and place them on a play mat that acts as a "green screen" to capture the image and receive a score based on accuracy and speed. Beginning October 1, 2011, players can purchase the LEGO Life of George set for $29.99 from LEGO Stores and shop.lego.com and download the free Apple iOS compatible gaming application. LEGO Life of George is a 12-level game that can be played in novice or expert mode. Each level showcases an adventure from George, around whom the game revolves, and is comprised of models of varying difficulty based on the number of bricks needed and the building techniques required to replicate them. Builders are challenged to physically recreate the virtual models from George's photo album using the LEGO bricks included with the game; once they have successfully completed all 10 models the next level will be unlocked. In addition to Game Mode which can be played alone or against one competitor in a pass-and-play format, a Creation Mode called "My Life" enables users to design and capture their own models in the app's virtual scrapbook. "We understand consumers' powerful connection to casual gaming, and we have seen how successfully the LEGO brand can translate to a virtual experience, so we pursued development of a fun way to combine both physical and virtual play into one product," says Paal Smith-Meyer, head of new business at LEGO Group. "Life of George is a result of our desire to provide an innovative way for existing and new fans to play with LEGO bricks and interact with the brand." Who is George? George is a software engineer by day and adventurer by night. His main hobbies are travel, photography and numbers, and has a fun storyline for players to follow and engage with via his Facebook page, I Am George. Fans can expect to see updates and photography from George on his travels as well as hints to new game levels and app updates through his posts.
Life of George melds Lego bricks with iOS for 'digital-to-physical' gameplay, captures our hearts
There isn't much that can't be done with some Mindstorming and plenty of Legos, so color us intrigued by the Lego Group's new game, Life of George. Using a free EyeCue-enabled iOS app, players are tasked with recreating George's photographs using 144 included Lego bricks on a specialized "green screen-like" gaming mat. Once the model is complete, you'll take a photo with your iDevice to be scored based on your building speed and accuracy to the original picture. The $30 kit promises 12 levels featuring 10 photos each, and varying difficulty levels. For added replay value, there's a two player game and a creation mode which lets you create playable models out of your own snapshots. To sweeten this story even more, you'll also be able to keep up with George at his eponymously titled Facebook page, I am George. If the Lego-builder inside of you is itching to snag one, it'll be available from Lego on October 1st. In the meantime, you'll find more details in the PR after the break.
60 year-old remote-controlled robot made from scrap parts makes a dramatic, beautiful comeback
This is George. He's a six-foot tall robot handmade from the aluminum scraps of a crashed bomber in 1950. George is remote controlled, and was built by Tony Sale, the same man who recently resurrected the nearly forgotten robotic darling from the storage shed where he's spent the last 45 years or so. Some oil and batteries were all it took to get George up and walking again, and he'll now have a permanent home at the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England. And that's the next museum we'll be visiting, because we cannot get enough of this giant. Tear-inducing video is after the break. [Image Credit: Geoff Robinson, Daily Mail]
Rumor: Marketers head for the hills, a fond farewell to Kaplan and Harrison
It's a wild week in the world of Nintendo's upper management in marketing ... we think. Recently, Nintendo's marketing department was told they'd need to ship off to either New York or San Francisco from their current homes in Redmond. According to Game Informer, as astounding 90% decided to remain in the area and take severance pay. What's even more shocking are that Beth Llewelyn (senior director of public relations), Perrin Kaplan (vice president of marketing and corporate affairs) and George Harrison (senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications) are among the dearly departed. From Nintendo, we mean.Those are some big names dropping from Nintendo's ivory towers, and we've got to sad we're sad to see them go. George was always a nice, candid fellow, and who can forget drunk Perrin (pictured above)? Now that was a classic. We would like to reiterate that Game Informer's claim has not yet been corroborated, so we'll post an update with confirmation or denial when we get it.[Thanks, Jensonb!]
George iPod Tabletop Radio with Detachable Remote
Okay Apple fans, prepare yourself for the avalanche of new iPod accessories that will be revealed at Macworld. This iPod docking speaker and radio system has an interesting feature which sets it apart from the rest: a detachable remote that duplicates iPod functionality. With the remote you can leave the tabletop unit on the the other side of the room (where it will presumably sound better), and yet still access your iPod music with the familiar interface as well as tune radio stations. The main downsides are the price (~$550) and the rather silly name: George. Nonetheless, check out the somewhat over the top video on the Chestnut Hill Sound site, and check out the unit itself next week at Macworld.[Via electronista]
Chestnut Hill Sound set to launch "George" iPod sound system
It may not extend its reach into as many rooms as some iPod sound systems, but Chestnut Hill Sound's upcoming "George" unit looks to at least one up Apple's own Hi-Fi in the functionality (and price) department. Set to come in at a cool $550 next month, George will handle both iPod playback and AM/FM radio duties, each controllable though the detachable wireless remote, which has its own LCD display and range of controls (check it out up close after the break). What's more, the system uses the ZigBee wireless protocol (good for up to 25 feet), which would seem to open up some home automation possibilities, although Chestnut Hill only goes so far as to hint at it, mentioning that George "improves and expands to fit your life." Maybe they'll be willing to spill a few more details when George makes its official debut later this month at CES.[Via Crave]
Japanese hardware sales, 16 October - 22 October: Nintendo All Hallows Eve Edition
Satoru Iwata (dressed as a vampire): DS Lite perform amazing feat in global market! More hundred thousand units in time of week! Much party enjoyment, everyone, so scary is coming! George Harrison (dressed as Link): Ugh, these tights are starting to chafe. Perrin, wanna trade costumes?Perrin Kaplan (dressed as a slutty cat): Um ... no. But you should ask around, really. Has anyone seen Matt? He looks so damn good in that costume ....Matt Cassamassina (dressed as Mega Man, special guest to the event): Perrin. Storage closet. Now.Perrin: Rawr.Iwata: They are doing the fun, yes?George: Uh, yeah. Where's Miyamoto-san, by the way?Iwata: There. (points)George: The dinette set?Shigeru Miyamoto (dressed as a dinette set): Ah! You see, this is the inspiration for my next masterpiece. Get ready for the next generation of fun!George: Sunnuva bitch. Miyamoto, stop doing shrooms, and...ah! Finally, someone normal. But why aren't you dressed up, Reggie?Reggie Fils-Aime: What do you mean?George: It's Halloween. You need a costume. You're just dressed normally.Reggie: This is my costume.George: ...Reggie: Bitch.George: ...Reggie: Now get me a sandwich.George: Friggin' ... fine ....- DS Lite: 116,941 12,454 (11.92%) - PS2: 22,380 2,347 (9.50%) - PSP: 20,271 1,332 (6.17%) - GBA SP: 2,421122 (5.31%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,660 54 (3.15%) - Xbox 360: 1,287 456 (26.16%) - Gamecube: 638 15 (2.30%) - DS Phat: 130 143 (52.38%) - GBA: 37 25 (67.57%) - Xbox: 6 3 (100.00%)[Source: Media Create]
Brain Age sells 4 million worldwide
Nintendo recently sent out a press release where they went over the latest numbers for their popular brain-trainer DS title Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. In revealing the numbers for the three major regions of North and South America, Europe, and Japan, Nintendo stated they have sold over 4 million units worldwide. 600,000 of the units were sold in the Americas, 500,000 total in Europe, and an insane 3 million units have been sold in Japan."Brain Age is so easy to pick up and play, regardless of your experience level," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "You can play it for 10 minutes or an hour and keep yourself feeling sharp. As a baby boomer, it's like a treadmill for my mind."[Source: Nintendo Press Release]
Get ready for a Rampage
Prepare to wave your tiny reptilian arms and munch a few hapless civilians, party people -- the unofficial word is that Midway is going to inject new life into the long-lived Rampage franchise. GameSpot's rumor crew reports that Rampage: Total Destruction is showing up on pre-order lists at CD Universe and GameFly for both the Wii and the DS, and while Midway reps wouldn't officially talk about the game, GameSpot's source "close to the publisher" indicated that an announcement was imminent. Of course, there is one tiny problem. Rampage was fabulous in the arcade. Since hitting the consoles, however, it's been about as exciting as Friday nights at grandma's house. But maybe a little Wiimote action is just what this franchise needs. Get a few friends together, make some popcorn, thrust your grasping fist through the front of the MGM Grand... and here's hoping for throaty, animalistic roars churning through the speaker!
Capcom uses dead for Resident Evil DS Italy release
I'll be honest and say that I am an enormous fan of zombie movies and games. George Romero's films, excluding his latest, are some of my favorite movies to this day and the Resident Evil titles have always held a warm place in my heart. Ross Miller over at Joystiq posts about Capcom, in collaboration with Starcom, and their employment of undead appendages to advertise the release of Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.This campaign, which uses zombie hands bearing the phrase "questa mano é un biglietto da visita. Il resto del corpo ti sta cercando." That translates into the English phrase, "This hand is a business card. The rest of the body is trying to find you." The grave plots boldly display a sign, which reads "gli zombie sono in citta!" This translates into "the zombies are in the city!"[Via Joystiq]
