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'OlliOlli World' turns skateboarding into a meditative adventure
Roll7's OlliOlli World lands this winter on Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. After playing a demo, we spoke with studio co-founder Simon Bennett about his aims for the game.
Razor's e-skates are equal parts Heelys and hoverboard
As a cranky, childless adult in her late thirties I've largely missed the boat on personal transportation trends like Razor scooters, Heelys and hoverboards. This year Razor manages to combine all of those things into its new Turbo Jetts e-skates: It's the sort of thing that your inner child will love, even as your adult self screams, "Get off my lawn!"
IRL: A closer look at Boosted Boards' Dual+ electric skateboard
My younger, street-skating self would've scoffed at the idea of an electric skateboard, at least one that wasn't built for tricks while in transit. But having spent less time doing slappies and ollies in recent years, taking to the streets on an electric version finally seemed a viable alternative. For those who aren't planning stunts along the way, or perhaps have less experience skating, there's something to be said for an electric that focuses on cruising and getting you from A to B at a controllable pace. So when I was offered the chance to test one of Boosted Boards' Dual+ 38-inch setups, I decided it was time to take one for a spin. Starting at $999, they're clearly a luxury item, and it's not every day you get to take one for an extended test-drive. Sure, winter and its bone-chilling cold were rapidly descending on New York City when it arrived, but that never used to stop me back in the day. I did get to ride it in the warm Las Vegas sun during CES, but I never managed to use it as a commuting alternative with the weather in decline. The time I managed to spend on the board, though, was definitely worth it.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: floating skate ramp, foldable electric bicycle and a 3D-printed sneaker
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The Earth is a mysterious place. Scientists recently discovered a small, rough diamond that reveals the existence of an ocean of water more than 250 miles below the Earth's surface. But that's not all: A German company has figured out how to produce super-strong spider silk from genetically modified E. Coli bacteria. Electric vehicles have been picking up steam around the world. Case in point: Norway is set to become the first country in the world with one electric vehicle on the road for every 100 cars.
ZBoard electric skateboard sneakers-on (video)
We spotted the dudes behind the ZBoard at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this week, but we weren't content to just ride the electric skateboard up and down the halls of Pier 94. We asked them to take a walk with us to Washington Square Park so we could take the board for a spin in a more realistic setting -- also, any excuse to skip out of work a bit earlier to go skating in the park on a sunny Friday afternoon is hard to turn down. We initially asked them to meet us at one of New York City's many skate parks, but they balked at the suggestion -- after all, it's more of a commuting board than anything else. It's big and fairly heavy, so attempting to go vert with the thing is pretty much out -- grinding and kickflips are likely off the table, too. Co-creator Geoff Larson told us he managed to get the thing up on two wheels, but that's about the limit of trickery at the moment -- we're sure that'll change pretty quickly, as soon as more boards make their way into the hands of the public. In the meantime, the ZBoard is all about getting around, giving you about 10 miles on a single charge. Larson added that one skater said he planned to use his ZBoard to make the long trip to the skatepark and back, carrying his manual board along for the ride. Join us after the break for some sneakers-on impressions.%Gallery-156205%
DARwIn-OP learns to skate, contemplates NHL career (video)
On the list of dangerous humanoid bots DARwIn is easily topped by the bow-happy iCub. Still -- we don't trust this thing one iota. While we haven't seen it pick up any weaponry just yet, our friends to the north are teaching it one of man's most notoriously violent sports: hockey. Researchers at the University of Manitoba have managed to train the former RoboCup star to stay upright while shuffling about on skates. Smacking a puck into a goal, on the other hand, has proven somewhat trickier. Eventually Jennifer, as the autonomous hockey-bot has been dubbed, managed to get the hang of it, but we don't think the Flyers or Rangers will be offering her the big bucks just yet. And, honestly, before this little guy gets too good and turns into a bully on the ice, we'd get it to switch games -- curling suddenly seems like a perfectly acceptable past time. Check out the video after the break.
Solar-powered rollerblading robot carries you to work on a chariot of humiliation (video)
Bob Schneevis is at it again. The man who turned George W. Bush into a robotic Roman warrior has now developed something he calls the Solar Electric Robot Chariot. Showcased at this year's Maker Faire Bay Area, Schneevis' single-motor, bot-drawn carriage features a set of battery-juicing solar panels and an array of cameras that control its chauffeur's mechanized movements. The bot, meanwhile, glides around on a pair of rollerblades and is designed to move its legs in the same way humans do -- with the only difference being that humans don't rollerblade anymore. Skate past the break to see the chariot coast around a parking lot with Mitchell Goosen-like grace.
Riccitiello: Skateboarding genre is dead, but music games will survive
EA CEO John Riccitiello has bad news for fans of skateboarding games: The genre is dead. Action sports games still have a place in players' consoles, he says, but "for the level of excitement out there, skateboarding seems to have run its course as the representative example in that broader genre." Too bad, Tony Hawk players -- the competitor of the company that makes your games says they're not exciting. Though in his defense, EA's own Skate 3 wasn't that exciting either. But there's good news, according to Riccitiello, for another flagging genre. Music games can possibly make a comeback, the CEO says, though even he isn't sure how. "I think the music genre is going to recover ... It could be based on some new innovation. Maybe it all becomes dance-based." Oh, that's rich, Riccitiello -- a super-popular dance game based on some kind of innovative technology? If only that "falling knife" Harmonix made something like that.
Skate 3 'Maloof Money Cup' DLC available on June 8
EA Black Box has announced the first downloadable content pack for Skate 3, which rolled into stores on May 11th. Dubbed "The Maloof Money Cup 2010 NYC Pack," the download will launch on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network next week, on June 8th, for 400 MS Points or $5. It'll add 100 Gamerscore points, five new Trophies and -- oh! -- new things for you to do if you're playing to have fun. Taking a few steps away from the game's Port Carverton playground, the Maloof Money Cup event has you competing in Flushing Meadows, New York, where "the site of the 1964 World's Fair has been converted into one gnarly skate mecca." Said gnarly skate mecca adds new challenges and includes a new, custom-built street park in which impressive skating can net you heaps of cash. And that could only lead to even more fame, fortune and a lucrative sponsorship with McDonalds. I'm Maloofin' it.
Skate 3: Good times with product placement
Self-identification through product choice is a mainstay of the skateboarding scene, from t-shirts to shoes to skate decks to the soundtracks on skate videos. It's all part of the culture, so it's only fitting that a skateboarding game – say, Skate 3 – shares in that. To celebrate this common thread, let's play spot the product placement after the break!
Tony Hawk Ride dated, priced, limited edition'd in UK
Activision has made the first official announcement regarding the price of Tony Hawk Ride. In the UK, a set containing the game and board will cost £99.99 ($169) upon its November 20 release. The only information we have for a North American price to compare is the $120 at which GameStop currently lists the game. Apparently, the game is called Tony Hawk Ride because you'll need to start riding in friends' cars after you sell your own for peripheral money.UK retailer GAME will offer an exclusive limited edition of Ride (Xbox 360/PS3/Wii), featuring the red-and-black hawk artwork seen above, for the same price. It also has the game's logo on it so you don't confuse it with a real skateboard. That would be embarrassing.
Skate footage impresses, asks Tony who?
There is some in-game footage of EA's upcoming Skate game up on YouTube, and it looks pretty flippin' sick. Sick in the good sense of the word, you know, to show how hip we are. It's being played on an Xbox 360, and you can color us extremely impressed.The game looks a lot more realistic and graphically intense than anything from the Tony Hawk camp. With eight games under their belt now, that franchise is looking tired (although we love the "Nail the Trick" feature in Tony Hawk's Project 8). Skate looks poised to blow them out of the water and take skating games in a new direction: realism.[Thanks, al52025]
Next-gen Tony Hawk footage leaked
If the folks at Gaming Age are to be believed, this footage was swiped from an early build of a next-generation Tony Hawk game. There's nothing in the video that points towards this being Downhill Jam (confirmed for the Wii last month), but footage this early is unlikely to be tied down to a specific platform yet. It appears to be an animation test, showing a skater flail his arms about while attempting to maintain his balance. It looks good (if it's real), though expect next-gen naysayers to complain that "It's still just a guy on a skateboard. What's so next-gen about that?"[Via Gaming Age]
What would Brian Boitano do? Skate in high definition.
Because skaters and gymnasts are what high definition has been missing of course. Well, actually they kind of are, the Hilton Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular will be the first broadcast of a gymnastics or skating event (I'm assuming they are excluding the Olympics).Boitano, Elvis Stojko, gymnasts Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson and others will be featured in the two hour special to air on NBC Sunday.
