trackandfield
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Nike used 3D printing and Olympic sprinters to design its new track shoe
When Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce competes in the women's 100m and 4x100m relay at the Olympics this month, she'll do so wearing what Nike claims is one of its most advanced track and field shoes yet. The 29-year-old Jamaican, who is favored for gold in Rio, actually helped Nike design her new spikes, the Zoom Superfly Elite. In the years leading up to the 2016 summer games, she worked with Nike's Sport Research Lab to figure out the ideal performance for a sprinter silhouette. Among other experiments, she test-3D-printed prototypes of the spikes, which were tailor-made based on captured data that measured her speed on the track and, most importantly, off the blocks.
Google's Olympic doodles get interactive with button-mashing hurdles
Google has already churned out quite a few of its trademark doodles for the Olympics, but it's upped its game considerably today for its depiction of the hurdles. Pressing that red play button on the search engine's front page will let you test your Track & Field skills (and your keyboard's sturdiness) in an interactive event -- one where you can, naturally, also share your results on Google+ when you're finished. Hit the source link below to give it a go yourself.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius will race in the London Olympic games
Four years ago, double amputee Oscar Pistorius -- aka the Blade Runner -- was battling bureaucracy (and his own ability) for the chance to compete in the Beijing Olympics. He might not have made the cut for China, but this time around he's secured his ticket to London. The South African athlete was already penned in for the 4 x 400 meters relay, and will now also compete in the singles 400 meters -- said to be his favorite distance. The South African Olympic committee made a last-minute decision to include Pistorius in the team, making him the first amputee track athlete to compete in the full Olympic games. An amazing achievement in its own right, but a race victory on top of the bureaucratic one would surely be the ultimate finish.
South Korea will be first to OTA 3DTV this month
South Korea will beat Australia to free OTA 3DTV broadcasts as several broadcasters will try out the technology starting with KBS May 19 during the 2010 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting. We're not sure if that's soccer, a (potentially rigged) Starcraft match or what (it's a track meet), but it will be broadcast live in 3D, while SBS will air World Cup 2010 action in June. If you happen to be in Seoul and own a 3DTV then channel no. 66 is the one to watch for, but even if you don't, roll by Cheonggyecheon Stream Square and peep the action on a 600-inch 3D screen. 3ality Digital, who has handled so many sporting events stateside is participating, we're just hoping Fox (home of the 2011 Super Bowl) is paying attention.
New International Track & Espionage
Okay, as if the inclusion of Pyramid Head in the game could be topped, Konami has gone ahead and included their resident neck-snapper, Solid Snake. What we found to be particularly cool about all of this is how he even dons his sweet facemask seen at the beginning of Metal Gear Solid during the water events. Now, before you go screaming unfair advantage, keep in mind the man is going up against a very large penguin. They're bred for swimming. So we think a little slack should be given.Check out the other screens of Snake in action in our gallery below.%Gallery-6247%
New International Date & Details
A press release for New International Track & Field just burst through the tape and into our inboxes, complete with news of a U.S. release window and fresh details.Apparently, the game will be launching stateside this summer, with more than 15 characters available from the start. A further two are unlockable (and our money would be on Snake making his second non-Metal Gear Solid appearance of 2008), and there'll be 20 events to keep us distracted and our touchscreens gouged.Also worth mentioning is the "Voice Boost" feature, which will allow players to bellow into the DS microphone to give their character a performance boost by cheering them on. We saw this idea used (briefly) in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (one could psyche up the crowd by clapping near the microphone), but it seems like it could be a more significant feature here. "The louder you are," declares Konami's press release, "the bigger the boost!" That could get annoying.%Gallery-6247%[Via press release]
And it's Pyramid Head from Belmont by a length
Look at Frogger's expression here -- he simply can't believe that he's part of a 100m sprint with super-deformed versions of Pyramid Head and Simon Belmont. Nor can we, actually. The cast of characters in Konami's New International Track & Field is even more unusual and eclectic than that of the DS's other mascot/athletics mash-up.As well as Frogger, Pyramid Head, and Simon Belmont, these 28 new screens feature Pentarou, a penguin whose most notable appearances came in the Parodius series of games, and Evil Rose, a fighter from the mediocre Xbox 360 'rassler Rumble Roses XX. The events appear to be just as diverse, including as they do the likes of "Belmont's Challenge," which looks like a kind of vampire-themed take on archery.%Gallery-6247%[Via press release]
Poll results: New games in old franchises
Last week, we asked you which of the many upcoming DS sequels to NES-era classics turned your heart to a heart-shaped powerup. No surprises here: the overwhelming majority of you picked Konami and WayForward's Contra 4, which we've been hyping into the stratosphere ourselves. If you voted for Contra 4, CONSIDER YOURSELF A HERO.Of course, all of these games look unfathomably awesome, and are all winners. But in the other regard of receiving votes from DS Fanboy readers, Super Dodge Ball DS is more of a winner than Arkanoid DS, International Track & Field, and The Legend of Kage 2, in that order. The important thing is that you guys cared enough about these games to click on a button within a blog post.
Poll: New games in old franchises
The DS is seeing an unparalleled boom in surprise sequels to venerable franchises. That leaves retrogamers and other sensible people in a dangerous financial situation. With many of these games currently yet to be confirmed for US release, we face the possibility of expensive imports, or letting them pass us by.Even if everything on this list comes out stateside, picking them all will make for a costly exercise and a terrible poll. So we're asking you to choose: given the opportunity to pick up only one new DS game based on an 8-bit series, which would you choose? A WINNER IS WHICH RETRO SEQUEL International Track & Field Super Dodge Ball DS Arkanoid DS The Legend of Kage 2 Contra 4 Free polls from Pollhost.com
Online done right: International Track & Field
When Konami announced that its rumored remake would be for Track & Field, we had to excuse ourselves and spend some alone time in our cars, sobbing, coming to terms with the fact that we'll never receive another Boot Camp or Rocket Knight Adventures title. Our whimpering quieted a bit when we heard that the Olympic-themed game would have guest appearances from other Konami franchises like Silent Hill, and we might have even smiled a little when we saw that Sparkster was on the roster.The most promising thing we've read in previews for New International Track & Field, however, is its commitment to providing a robust online experience. Players will be able to battle against up to three opponents, enter custom tournaments and official competitions, and grab downloadable content, all with Nintendo's WiFi Connection service. There will also be leaderboards and an in-game ticker tape that updates you on the progress of your friends and rivals. Developers, take note: This is how you add online support to your DS games. %Gallery-6247%[Via IGN]
Track & Field screens cross the finishing line
Without starting a riot, we'd like to point out that our love of games extends to those titles that don't grace Nintendo platforms. For example, Silent Hill. The franchise is one we absolutely love and will play every installment in. That's why the inclusion of Pyramid Head (in the screen to your right, far left) has us thinking there might be some charm to this title yet. Screens including the big guy (although he's quite short in the screen there) can be found here.Courtesy of Joystiq, we've got some more screens (better ones, actually) in our gallery below. Also, there's the first teaser trailer for the game past the break. %Gallery-6247%
LGC07: New Track & Field on DS celebrates 25 years of competition
The Konami press conference at the Leipzig Games Conference has elucidated an impressive feature list for the recently revealed DS title New International Track & Field. The game is a celebration of 25 years since the first version was released as an arcade game. Not only will the new version include over 20 different athletic events, but there will be unlockable Konami characters to play as. The first two such characters to be announced are Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 and Sparkster from Rocket Knight Adventures.All the new characters for the game are being designed by Udon Entertainment and the final title will include extensive online features, including 4-player matches either locally or via Wi-Fi, downloadable content, online rankings, leader boards and detailed player profiles. The game will also include a ticker "news feed," which promises to update anyone playing online whenever any world records are broken via a news ticker across the screen.We've embedded an ad for the game after the break. If you're sitting in a quiet office, note that it's filled with grunting and screeching.%Gallery-6233%
New Track & Field spotted for DS
While strolling through the event halls of the Leipzig Games Convention, the folks at 1UP snapped some pictures of a display for New International Track & Field, an apparent DS sequel to everybody's favorite foray into athletic verisimilitude. Judging by the images, the game is developed by Super Rub 'a' Dub's Sumo Digital and is likely to be announced by Konami later this week, potentially for additional platforms. We'll let you know what to expect (aside from a heavy presence of tracks and fields) as soon as an announcement is made.
Konami to reveal New Track & Field for DS
Looks like those rumors from this morning are true: Konami is ready to present a remake for the DS. The folks at 1UP managed to check out the hall where Konami has set up shot. Without any kind of security to stop them from entering, 1UP just walked around and took a couple of pictures, revealing the game we see above. There's another picture past the post break.
Track & Field dashes to the XBLA
Today's XBLA offering is none other than Konami's athletic button masher Track & Field which is an updated version of the 1983 classic you've come to know and love. This Track & Field remake is available for 400 Microsoft points and features four player competition over Xbox Live or locally, six classic events, original or updated graphics options and the standard leaderboard / achievement offerings. It's time to stretch your hands and tape up your thumbs, because we've got some Track & Field controller abuse about to go down.
This Wednesday: Track and Field high jumps onto XBLA
This Wednesday, you can relive your glory days of high school track and field athletics with Konami's Xbox Live Arcade offering of ... Track & Field. Mash buttons for that 100 meter dash record; hit the button at the right time for the long jump; or press the button in time to jump those hurdles. It's all the glory of your youth – minus the awkward dates and unfortunate facial blemishes – for the low asking price of 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Invite your old high school buddies along for the ride with 4-person Xbox Live multiplayer support and determine, once and for all, who the best athlete is. %Gallery-5610%
Track & Field leaps into Live Arcade
We just got the release informing us that this week's Xbox Live Arcade title will be the 1983 classic, Track & Field. As a retro title, it will run you (Nyuk!) 400 Microsoft Points, and will feature all the XBLA standards, like Achievements Leaderboards, and also has 4 player local and online multiplayer over Xbox Live, which is a nice touch. The main menu, pictured above, looks pretty snazzy, with a familiar red, white and blue motif. While it's not a twofer, it's still a nice retro title for the week.
