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Elephantine BlackBerry Bold promo kit arrives for Rogers
We understand the need to catch eyes these days, and while Rogers will certainly not be the first nor last to promote a new piece of kit with an obscenely large version of said kit, this one just takes brobdingnagian marketing to a new plateau. The absolutely gigantic Rogers Bold launch kit includes a plethora of Bold flyers, informational pamphlets and all sorts of other goodies that'll be handed out to prospective buyers shortly. The real question is: who gets to take this thing home once the buzz dies down?[Thanks, Michael]
$2,000 Giant Twist Freedom DX electric bicycle gets pedaled on video
For those balking at the $2,000 price tag, you should really take a look at the competition before scrunching your nose up and walking away. That being said, two large is still a lot to drop on something that could still require at least some bodily exertion, but a recent video review over at Popular Mechanics could help you determine whether this particular bike is worth you while. The Giant Twist Freedom DX can roll up to 75 miles on a mixture of battery and human-powered pedaling, and the motor touts three different modes (Eco, Normal and Sport) to satisfy your mood / riding requirements. Nah, Ironman participants won't want anything to do with this heap, but those looking for a greener (and oftentimes quicker) way to commute in the city may find lots to love. The video, as promised, is waiting in the read link.[Via Digg]
China puts in policy to discourage foreign MMOs
China has always been a market that businesses have stumbled over each other to secure. Students of history might remember how Coca-Cola was one of the first companies to recognize the fact that a country with a billion people is a country with a billion potential customers, and was literally right on the heels of President Carter when negotiations relaxed the restriction of foreign goods in 1979. So too are MMO makers starting to realize the enormous potential of an increasingly connected Chinese mainland. Sure, World of Warcraft's 10 million subscribers seems good now, but what happens when a game comes along that captures the attention of the Chinese market, estimated to grow to 59 million in 2008?Unfortunately for developers in the U.S., Korea, and elsewhere looking to cash in on this burgeoning market, recent regulations imposed by the Chinese government will allow domestic Chinese gaming companies to effectively postpone the release of foreign-developed games indefinitely by submitting a complaint to GAPP, China's censorship agency. Curious that they'd run a protectionist racket on an industry that they recently likened to "spiritual opium," but the Communist government didn't take power in order to be a bedrock of consistency.The political science major in me is actually excited by this prospect, because it means that MMOs are likely about to enter into the field of political discourse. Just as they do with farm goods and automobiles, it might not be too much of a stretch to imagine U.S. politicians publicly wrangling with Chinese officials to allow American MMOs unrestricted access to the Chinese population. In the next few years, it's possible your Congressman will talk, at length about World of Warcraft or Warhammer Online in front of one of the chambers of Congress. And this time they'll actually be speaking in favor of the game industry. What a thought!
Kogoro Kurata working on a giant, bone crushing mech?
Gulp, this is not going to end well. That mechanized hand is just a piece of Kogoro Kurata's latest "secret" creation. Just imagine a massive, bus crushing hand fitted to a fully functional, giant mech and you'll understand our concern. Please Kogoro-san, we beg you on behalf of the children: don't finish it!
DIY Xbox 360 controller only slightly bigger than the 'Duke'
This controller is just a couple of millimeters larger than the Xbox's original controller, so if you're looking for a throwback to that, or something that can double as the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey, then look no further. Sibling site Xbox 360 Fanboy has posted a link to instructables.com, where you can learn how to make one of your very own to hold and to love, and to use as a bed.When we say massive, we really mean massive. There is no doubt that they could have also housed a couple of 360s inside this thing, hooked it up to two TVs, and made a Gears of War/Halo 2 gaming machine all in one.. A controller at each corner of the box, embedded plasma screens, surround sou ... okay, granted that's taking it a bit too far.In a day and age of miniaturization, it's nice to see someone maximizing things. We'd really like to see a DS Lite this big, aw yeah.
Megaginormous NES replica dwarfs competition
One serious Nintendo fan attempts to prove that size does matter by building a large-scale Nintendo Entertainment System. The massive wooden replica is eight feet wide, three feet high, three feet deep, and weighs over 400 pounds ... and that's without a game cart or controller. With those specs, it clocks in only slightly larger than the original Xbox, or the 360's power brick. A mysterious crafstman, who posts on NESforums.net as Nationalgamedepot, originally built the NES as a bed but now plans on using it as an entertainment center. Hopefully he'll take orders, because this looks spiffy. Plus, if you get yourself a giant NES controller, you've got a complete set. Miniaturization be damned.[Thanks, Dignan17]
RIM goes big when others go small
This is what our friends north of the border get for using some second-rate market research firm. Yes, this is a giant, fully-functional BlackBerry 7520 in Nextel's store on the Vegas Strip; we're told the device is a bit uncomfortable in the pocket, but offers over 40 days of talk time and 1.5TB of internal flash to store contact information for everyone in the civilized world. If you're tall enough to reach the PTT button and establish a conversation, we imagine the speakerphone could be heard from Mandalay Bay.[Thanks, Dave M]
