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Conceptual YABO robot longs to be your friend
C'mon, who couldn't adore someone, er, something with a face like that? Pictured to the right is YABO, a conceptual robot that was apparently designed for "lonely, unmarried persons." If brought to reality, it would sport a myriad sensors including one for hearing, feeling and infrared, while also featuring a built-in camera, internal speaker, wheels and an LCD display. YABO can communicate with its (presumably single) owner by rotating and changing the color of its face, or it can just snap back responses if it's feeling talkative. Moreover, the bot could reportedly disable unused devices and adjust the temperature to save energy while you're out trying to find an actual human to love. Sounds like a real winner to us.
Study says social games make people more social
Our good friends at Joystiq reported on a study earlier from Nottingham Trent University (it's in England) about MMO gamers and their social behaviors. And supposedly-- are you sitting for this one?-- massively multiplayer online games actually help people meet others and make friends. Go figure!They surveyed 1,000 gamers (which is not a huge sample, actually), and found that almost half had actually met another player in real life, and one in ten developed "physical relationships" with someone they'd met in a game. 40% of people discussed sensitive issues with online friends rather than real-life ones, and 30% of players were attracted to another player. 80% of players also played not only with online friends, but with real-life friends and family as well. And according to the study, women were more likely to both be attracted to other players, and to eventually date them, and while women play for "therapeutic refreshment," men play for "curiosity, astonishment, and interest."50% of respondents said World of Warcraft was their game of choice, so while the study was actually about MMO players, it's not a stretch to say it's just about WoW players (and pretty hardcore players, too-- average play time per week was 22.85 hours!). Like I said, 1,000 people is a pretty small sample, but apparently a journal approved it-- the study will be published in CyberPsychology and Behavior.
Nintendo learns to play nice with third party developers
The Wii is ushering in a new era for Nintendo, not just technologically, but also in their business relationships with third party developers. Not only is Nintendo poised to smash their "kiddie" image (Resident Evil 4 helped on the Gamecube, but it in no way compares to Manhunt 2 for Wii), but it's looking like third party developers won't have to justify their love for Nintendo anymore. The company is opening up and letting them learn how to use their Wiimote for the most pleasurable experience possible.The NY Times explores Nintendo's sudden outreach using Namco Bandai as an example, saying that the "usually aloof executives" came to the publisher a year ago with an "appeal for their support." Namco Bandai's COO, Shin Unozawa says, "I had not seen that attitude from them before ... Nintendo was suddenly reaching out to independent developers."We've seen some arrogant statements from American Nintendo execs, but the Wii seems to be Nintendo's contrition machine. Despite being more open to publishers, Nintendo refused to comment on their new approach to the NY Times. Although the Wii is selling incredibly well, the games haven't broken out of the gimmicky mold yet. When Metroid and Mario Galaxy hit later this year, we'll get the first real dose of what a game designed for the Wii can offer, instead of the Gamecube techno-ports we've had so far. And by next year, we may begin seeing solid titles from third party developers. Here's to hoping Nintendo learned from their past mistakes and makes the Wii what the Gamecube could have been with support form third party publishers.
Wii Warm Up: Friend or foe?
With the possibilities of cooperative gameplay in some surprising titles, we reflected on the lack of decent co-op found in gaming today. Certainly, executing a flawless plan with a buddy in, say, Gears of War (sorry, we couldn't think of a decent example on the Wii) is gaming nirvana, but far more commonly implemented competitive modes give a lasting edge to games for years; just take a look at the brilliant Super Smash Bros. Melee, or, you know, any popular FPS in the last decade. With that in mind, where would you rather your game go: co-op or competitive? Where should gaming companies focus, and is there any demand for strange hybrids of the two, such as the compelling The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures?
Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 9 - Apr. 15: 433420-302039 Edition
"You n00b sunnuva bitch," said the legendary knight 3494-5541-9771. "Pwnage ... is inevitable.""Hah!" said his adversary, 7111-9463-2931. "If you wish to grok your princess once more, you'll taste the fury of my skillz!" He raised his arms high in the air. "363171-765491, I summon thee from the shades of hell! Rise forth and rock this bitch!"The ground shook, and from a spewing chasm came the beast, hideous and deformed. 3494-5541-9771 stood his ground. No creature would keep him from his princess. He dodged a 7612-8113-4353-1919 and drew his 1913-1564-8328, shining in the darkness. With one deft blow he severed the 363171-765491's head, and leapt toward 7111-9463-2931."Boom--" shouted 7111-9463-2931, raising his staff. The two collided--"HEADSHOTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!"And all was silent. 3494-5541-9771 had won. He sheathed his 1913-1564-8328 and approached his beautiful princess, 654232-918811. Her eyes fluttered open."Did you ... did you pwn him?""I did, fair princess.""Well done, knight. And now, your just reward..."She slowly began to disrobe..."Wait," she said suddenly. "Do I have your Friend Code?""What? I don't need your friend co--""Sorry, sweetie," said 654232-918811, donning her gown once more. "No code, no multiplayer." She walked away."I ... but ... FRAK!"(Seriously, Nintendo. This crap is ridiculous.)- DS Lite: 133,325 22,480 (20.28%) - Wii: 75,759 23,176 (44.08%) - PSP: 24,850 6,653 (21.12%) - PS2: 12,872 1,362 (9.57%) - PS3: 11,948 2,572 (17.71%) - Xbox 360: 2,900 63 (2.13%) - GBA SP: 654 179 (21.49%) - Game Boy Micro: 617 105 (20.51%) - Gamecube: 167 88 (34.51%) - DS Phat: 146 56 (62.22%) - GBA: 26 14 (116.67%) [Source: Media Create]
And now, the good news
Friend codes, shmf ... shmiend ... point is, whatever. A minor inconvenience, we say! Hah! Bearer of good fortunes, Matt C. has this to say in his holy scripture mailbag feature, revealing "[Online is] coming, guys - Pokemon Battle Revolution kicks it off in the near future, but in the next six months you're going to start seeing a wave of third party games that take Wii online, too. Developers have had the online SDK for months now and the next wave of titles will incorporate it."Goodness me, we're excited. The longer the developers have had the development kits, the better chances of getting some decent multiplayer going on. Even if these titles suck, the more online experience Nintendo has before Brawl (and possibly Prime?), the better. Friend codes be damned, I'll enter a million digits if it means kicking the crap out of all of you with Icarus. Oh yeah. Wii Game Night is so going down.
Breakfast Topic: Recruiting regrets
I've never recruited anyone to the game (I have helped convince a friend to play, actually, but the truth is that he didn't need much convincing), so I've never imagined a situation like the one that faces Aerna: she and another friend recruited a third friend to play WoW with them, but now he's become nothing but an annoyance. He begs for powerleveling, doesn't know how to play his class, and generally makes a mess of things, forcing her to run away from him to play Horde (so it's not a complete loss..).So what can she do? I'm trying to figure out why they're friends in the first place-- can it really be true that someone you like hanging out with in RL can turn into a menace inside Azeroth? It could be that he just needs some guidance on ingame etiquette and strategy. On the other hand, I can definitely see how two people who don't have much in common (co-workers, maybe) might find their relationship pushed to the limit when brought to the world of Azeroth. Have you ever recruited someone to play the game that actually ruined the experience for you?
Echo Robotics kicks out matchmaker bears for the socially impaired
Alright fellas, you've got just over a fortnight remaining before what could possibly be your one and only shot (at least for this year) at hooking up with your dream gal, but if all the singles still in the pool end up toting one of Echo Robotics' latest creations, the hard work will already be done. In what looks to be the next step in finding true companionship for the socially impaired, the Echo team has unveiled a prototype bear which "serves as a nucleation point for conversation," and gives off your choice of signal when you've just brushed by your (potential) soulmate. Essentially, you program your "interests" into the Echo via Bluetooth, and when coming into range of another Echo (which can be housed in any "skin" or stuffed animal) with similar interests (hobbies, work, alma mater, etc.), it will start acting up by waving to alert you to start breakin' that ice. Of course, these little guys are only effective when being carried around by perfect strangers you come near, but the idea is intriguing nonetheless. So if you're interested in carrying around a conversation starter with you at all times, and want to bring back the Tamagotchi craze in a whole new light, be sure to click on through for the prototype in action.[Via RobbotGossip]
WoW Insider Best of 2006: Friend, Enemy, and Instance
All this week, we're announcing our picks (from your nominations) for the best of the year in Azeroth. Lots of great stuff happened in the World of Warcraft this year, and we've sifted through all of it to come up with the stuff we'll remember for a long time.Yesterday, we announced the awards for Server, Class, and Guild of the Year, and today we're proud to tell you our picks for Friend of the Year, Enemy of the Year, and Instance of the Year. Next year, we'll have all new foes (are you prepared?) and friends, not to mention tons of new instances. But before all the changes come, we're looking back at two NPCs that helped and hurt us this year, and the swirly portal we most enjoyed walking through. The winners are right after the break below.And don't forget to come back all this week-- we've still got Player of the Year and Best and Worst Blizzard Move of the Year to announce, so stay tuned.
More support for the Wii single friend code system
Based on a report by UK Channel 4's tele-text service, Gamecentral, the single friend code system that works differently than the DS per-game code and has been speculated to be the way Nintendo is going on the Wii is getting some support. Gamecentral is backing up these claims, citing that players can look forward to having one individual friend code and not be forced to remember codes or look them up on a per-game basis.
Friend code complications ahead [Update 1]
Blogger Mike Zornek has hit the nail on the head when it comes to friend codes and upgrading to the DS Lite once it hits a local retailer near you. Since your Wi-Fi ID is dependant upon the combination of hardware and cartridge, popping in Mario Kart or Animal Crossing: Wild World for some WiFi action won't will only allow you to connect to your existing list of friends after some tweaking and transferral between your original DS and the new one. Thankfully we all have wonderful sites like DS-Play to help make the transition easier.[Thanks Mike!][Update 1: Oops! We totally forgot that you can transfer your Wi-Fi ID to your new DS via the Wi-Fi settings menu. Just don't sell your old DS before doing so! Thanks to our invaluable readers for rightly reprimanding us!]
