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Mario rides the hood of NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth
Mario can drive in pretty much whatever direction he wants in Mario Kart 8, but today he'll be practicing left turns on the hood of NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth's No. 20 car. Kenseth will be racing in the annual, 200-lap History 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a track with a disappointing lack of gravity-shifting sections. Really though, if we could at least throw some item boxes down, we'd have a pretty decent replica of Baby Park. If you're actually heading down to the Charlotte Motor Speedway instead of just tuning in from home, Nintendo will be there with MK8 kiosks for fans to test drive. Mario and Luigi will be around too, in case you'd like photographic evidence that the Bros. are real, just like Santa and everything else you've ever loved. Both the game and the Bros. will be present in the Fan Zone today and tomorrow. Best of luck to Kenseth today, but we think the competition's just lucky that Josh Wise isn't using his No. 98 car. Can you imagine coming up to his bumper and getting that unflinching Doge staredown? [Image: Nintendo]
Visualized: omg hi, Phil Parsons Racing's Dogecoin-sponsored entry, is much amaze
Josh Wise's NASCAR entry in the Aaron's 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway is wrapped and ready to race after raising more than $55,000 in Dogecoin, a Doge meme-inspired virtual currency. The NASCAR Ford Fusion started the season as a plain, black, sponsorless car, but some kindness from the subreddit /r/Dogecoin, miraculously transformed the car into Shiba Inu-bedecked masterpiece. Oh and don't worry if you miss the running of the race May 4th, Lionel Racing apparently makes official die-cast replicas in two different scales of every NASCAR entry.
MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR team up on 120 Sports, a 24-hour streaming video channel
Not to be outdone by the NFL, other major sports leagues in the US are combining efforts to launch a digital network of their own. Dubbed 120 Sports, the newly announced channel is a collaboration between the MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and Time Inc., with the general goal being to deliver video content to fans in a speedy manner and all day long. Unlike the NFL's Now network, 120 Sports' bread and butter will be two-minute segments, which it plans to use for news, highlights and analysis as well as original stories -- sorry, no live games (one day!). Along with being able to stream from the desktop site, there will also be apps for smartphones, tablets and more "connected devices." But here's the best news: Once 120 Sports launches this spring, you won't need a pay-TV subscription to access it.
NASCAR 14 developer lays off 12, cites 'restructuring'
Eutechnyx, the British developer behind NASCAR '14, has dismissed a dozen employees, according to a report by Develop. As Develop points out, this is the second such round of layoffs to hit Eutechnyx in the last 12 months. In June, "about 10" people were released across a number of different divisions. Later that month, Eutechnyx closed its London office. CEO Darren Jobling regrets having to let people go, but states that these dismissals are a necessary part of the studio's ongoing restructuring efforts. "On Friday, we made unfortunately 12 people redundant. It was part of restructuring at the company," Jobling told Develop. "We've made no bones about the fact we wanted to move away from being a work-for-hire developer on consoles to publishing our own titles, so it's highly regrettable that we did have to make 12 people redundant." If there's one silver lining to this story, it's that NASCAR fans need not fear for the sake of NASCAR '14. Eutechnyx had finished development on the racing game long before these layoffs struck, and NASCAR '14 is still slated to reach the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC today. [Image: Deep Silver]
Must See HDTV for the week of February 17th: Winter Olympics, Daytona 500 and Strider
This is the final week of the Winter Olympics, with the closing ceremonies scheduled for Sunday night. Bob Costas is back (with less creepy demon-possessed eye infection stare) plus plenty of action including bobsled, short-track speed skating, hockey finals and of course, curling. Game of Thrones season three will hit the shelves on Blu-ray, so whether you're looking for a recap or just getting your first look in 1080p, now is the time. Racing fans can also look forward to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, while gamers can enjoy a remake of the classic game Strider on current and next-gen systems this week -- although honestly, many of us are just trying to finish off House of Cards before the spoilers become impossible to avoid or filter out. Usually we don't point out the late-night weekly shows, but tonight Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight Show chair from Jay Leno. Check after the break for trailers plus our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
NASCAR '14 revs engines for online leagues, a series first
Just because the cars don't turn any direction but left in a real-life NASCAR race doesn't mean the NASCAR games can't change things up every now and again. NASCAR '14, developed by Eutechnyx, will be the first in the series to allow for players to form an online league. Up to 16 players can form a league and race through the Sprint Cup, according to Sports Illustrated's Extra Mustard. "Without question, this was the most requested feature," Eutechnyx Executive VP Ed Martin told Extra Mustard. "We expect hundreds of thousands of people to be running their own season." Unfortunately, none of those 16 people will be racing on next-gen consoles. Martin said there aren't enough consoles out in the wild yet to justify development costs. "The nail in the coffin was when a guy from Sony talked about Gran Turismo, and how their new game was launching on PS3. He said something like, 'Why would we put Gran Turismo on a console that has zero units in the market when there are 150 million PlayStation 3s out there?'" "It costs us about $6 million to develop a next-gen version of NASCAR. You have to sell an awful lot of copies in order to meet the development costs, on top of all the licensing," Martins noted. "We own the rights, and we absolutely have plans, but it won't be later this year."
Deep Silver publishing NASCAR 14 in early 2014, starts cover vote contest
Deep Silver will publish the next iteration of developer Eutechnyx's licensed racing game in early 2014, NASCAR 14. Coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will feature drop-in, drop-out online multiplayer races for up to 16 players as well as online league play with challenges, rankings and "dynamic statistics" support. Players can also play through the game's career mode, acquiring sponsorship and building their cars up to win races. NASCAR 14 is the first entry in the series published by Deep Silver, as Activision handled the distribution of the series since the 2011 release of NASCAR: The Game 2011, which followed EA's cancellation of the series in September 2009. Eutechnyx announced plans to self-publish the series in June, prior to Deep Silver picking up the game's publishing rights. Deep Silver launched a Facebook app to allow fans to vote on NASCAR 14's cover driver. The winning driver will be announced in early December.
The Weekly Roundup for 03.11.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 03.13.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The racing line: Exploring NASCAR's technological dichotomy
His car was sent spinning skyward. Two tires, an engine and a cloud of other components found their way through the safety fence, injuring 28 spectators who were sitting trackside. When all was still, Kyle Larson's blue and white #32 Chevrolet Camaro was nearly ripped in half. This incident, which took place in the Nationwide race the day before the Daytona 500, plus NASCAR's seemingly knee-jerk actions to try and remove user-submitted footage of the crash from YouTube, painted for many the picture of a sport woefully ignorant of the times. The truth, however, is rather different. The V8-powered machines that circle endlessly, fruitlessly on-track are built with a flagrant disregard for, and indeed a stubborn reluctance toward, modern technology. However, the organizing body that governs those cars and will host nearly 40 events spread over 10 months this year is anything but oblivious. In many ways NASCAR is the most technologically progressive motorsport body on the planet.
The Daily Roundup for 03.08.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Distro Issue 81: Exploring NASCAR's technological dichotomy
Despite adopting new hardware like the Gen-6 car, NASCAR has been reluctant to embrace the high tech when it comes to other facets of the sport. In the latest issue of our tablet mag, we visit Daytona to take a look at the split between history and progress that dominates the sport spawned by bootleggers. Before the checkered flag waves, Eyes-On has a glance at the Wacom Intuos5 touch, Brad Molen wraps up a month with the BlackBerry Z10 and IRL returns with a look at our personal wares. Buckle those seat belts, and head to the repository of your choosing to snag a copy for your slate. Distro Issue 81 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Toyota Racing Development puts Microsoft Surface in the NASCAR pit lane
If you've ever been in the cockpit of a race car you know that there's not a lot of room to maneuver in there -- even if you're hustling around one of the oversized sedans colloquially referred to as "stock cars." So, when Toyota Racing Development engineers developed a Windows 7 application called TRD Race Strategy for use among their NASCAR-affiliated teams, they had a bit of a problem. Even when it was installed on a slinky Ultrabook, drivers had to climb out of the car if they wanted to use the app to look at timing data and punch in handling issues. When you're wearing a six-point harness plus various connections for cooling, drinks and communications, getting in and out can be a bit of a hassle. Enter Windows 8 and a new generation of tablet PCs that, conveniently, drivers can hand in and out of the cockpit without even taking off the window nets. With some help from Microsoft, TRD has ported the app to Win 8 and RT and have begun using the Surface with Windows RT, allowing drivers to tap away at problem corners and analyze their lap times without unbuckling. Sadly, though, they're not allowed to see much else, as NASCAR bans nearly all forms of telemetry -- and, just about anything else resembling modern technology. RAB Racing, a Nationwide Series entrant, is the first team to deploy this system in the pits, but we'd expect to see this app making a trip to the Sprint Cup big leagues next year. First fuel injection, now tablets in NASCAR. What's next, independent rear suspension?
Buy Sonic & All-Stars at GameStop to snag the Danica Patrick 'Danicar'
You might want to consider trying out Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and not just because we think it "might be the best racer of its kind to come along in years." GameStop is now offering an exclusive, limited edition Hot Wheels car based on in-game (and real-life) NASCAR racer Danica Patrick for any PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii U purchases.The diecast "Danicar" is available while supplies last at retail GameStop locations and online.
Twitter airs first TV spot during NASCAR, implores racing fans to discover the magic of hashtags
Given #thescope with which Twitter has #invadedpopularculture, it may come as a shock to realize that the company hasn't really ventured too far into the world of television advertising -- but then, it seems that it's been doing a pretty good job getting enough #freeadvertising as is. Clearly the folks at Twitter saw an untapped resource in the form of the #NASCAR audience, using the weekend's race to launch its first TV #adcampaign, revolving around fittingly pithy spots capped off with the TWITTER.COM/#NASCAR URL, which redirects to a landing page for the weekend's festivities. Relive the #thrilloftherace with a slew of Twitter ads #afterthebreak.
Telestream announces Instant Replay system for NASCAR officials, gets the checkered HD flag
You may not love NASCAR or understand the sheer thrill of watching cars drive in circles for several hundred laps, but you've got to respect the technology. Today, Telesteam announced its Instant Replay system for NASCAR race officials. The multichannel video player, which will debut at the start of the 2012 race season, provides instant capture and display of up to 18 high-definition 720p camera feeds and will allow officials to quickly view detailed information about on-track aspects of the race. The system uses Telestream's Pipeline HD video capture system to simultaneously acquire multiple camera feeds in Apple ProRes 720p as well as other HD and SD formats before delivering them to shared storage. Once captured, the video streams can be viewed from different camera angles with quick locations being customized for each race. Telestream will be demoing the instant Replay system at the Sports Video Group's League Technology Summit in New York City this week, and to celebrate, the governor has mandated that all vehicles make only left turns through Sunday. Kidding.
Gran Turismo 5 officially getting update, DLC, and a price drop
The Official PlayStation Blog has official details on the official Gran Turismo 5 update, officially coming in the next few weeks. The new patch offers new official interior views for all of the cars in the game, reduced load times, adjustable weather conditions, the ability to save during an extended race, and updated photo and shuffle modes. The game will also now officially support the Logitech G25 and G27 racing wheels, and the patch even adds official (of course) versions of the 2011 Nascar racing cars. And perhaps most exciting, Polyphony Digital will be officially dropping a "full batch of downloadable content" for Gran Turismo 5 in the next few weeks, including new vehicles, new tracks, and "some additional surprises." Sony says you can watch the official website for more details. And what's more, the official price on the game is officially dropping, down to $39.99. Unofficially? With Forza Motorsport 4 due out next week, it sounds like Sony's aiming to do a little crowdpleasing among the Gran Turismo faithful.
Sprint's Fared Adib: we made a conscious decision to scale back bloatware on smartphones
If you've ever wondered what companies take your advice (read: complaints) to heart, here's yet another one that is: Sprint. Recently, HTC received oodles of praise from a minuscule-but-passionate group of folks who appreciate the company's stance on unlocking its bootloaders, and today we learned that folks at The Now Network made a similarly impressive change after hearing yet another enthusiastic sect... our readers. If you'll recall, Sprint's VP of Product Development Fared Adib appeared on the November 2010 episode of The Engadget Show, and it was during that appearance that he heard a rather shrill cry of users begging for a smaller amount of "bloatware," or at the very least, bloatware that users could customize or outright remove. For those unfamiliar with the term, it generally refers to applications that are preloaded onto devices from the carrier; by and large, these clutter up the application grid, and many power users aren't exactly enthralled by any carrier-imposed OS changes. In speaking at length today with Adib during a Sprint campus walkthrough, he confessed that he jetted back from NYC and immediately informed his team that the bloatware needed to go. To quote: "Ben, we've got to get rid of these preloaded apps on our devices. A lot of customers don't want this." You may have noticed a dearth of those very apps on the EVO 3D, and according to Fared, customer feedback on the newly cleaned slate has been overwhelmingly positive. We inquired on whether this approach would be pushed across the company's product spectrum, and he seemed eager to admit that it would. In fact, Sprint's taking quite the different approach internally than some folks may be used to. It's effectively trying to get out of the way in as many areas as possible, and in turn, litter your future phones with as little content as possible. In fact, he's pushing to make whatever programs Sprint does preload user-removable, and it's a mantra we can only hope other carriers latch onto. Nothing against NASCAR, of course, but having the ability to burn rubber in our own way is definitely preferred. P.S. - This slide was just one of many, and is definitely not a comprehensive view of partners and plans. We were specifically informed to not read into it as a solo slide.
LG Optimus Black vs. iPhone 4, others in stop-motion video
I've never been a big fan of the company's phones, but LG sure makes some great videos. Its latest is the Smartphone Championship Race, a stop-motion NASCAR-inspired film that pits the LG Optimus Black against the iPhone, Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc and Samsung's Galaxy S. The competitors' phones are called other names so that LG doesn't get sued (the iPhone 4 is called "Waffle's Ivan"). As the phones race around the track, the competitors are eliminated one-by-one because of the phones' flaws. One is eliminated when it crashes because it can't clear a 9.3 mm entrance. The iPhone 4 is the last one to be eliminated; it doesn't finish the race because its weight keeps it from making it to the other side when it jumps from a ramp. The video is pretty clever, and hey, if you can't make the best phone in the world, at least you can make some cool stop-motion action. [via MacNN]
World's largest HD screen makes its debut tonight during NASCAR All-Star race
Keep your (reasonably sized) HDTV tuned to Speed Network this evening to check out the world's largest HD screen for yourself, when it makes its debut during the festivities for the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race. According to a tweet by the Charlotte Motor Speedway the debut should happen at about 6:50 p.m., and the main event race is scheduled to start around 9 p.m. Panasonic and CMS partnered on the new screen and are paying for it by splitting advertising revenue including ads that will appear during the race and promotions like the History Channel's sponsorship of a NASCAR Nationwide race next week. We've already seen virtual racing on the screen when Dale Earnhardt Jr. played some iRacing on it but tonight is the first time the 16,000 square foot 720p LED screen will see real racing action.
