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Visua Mobile's old Apples collection
A couple of months ago I wound up in Paris and received a surprising direct message via Twitter from a young employee at Visua Mobile. Having nothing better to do in the City of Light, I wound up at their offices. I'm often suspect when a "mobile" development company rings me about their iPhone stable. Just like my tea, I prefer my developers steeped in Apple. Well, Visua Mobile is certainly made up of Apple fans. Just check out the gallery of their offices to see what I mean. Visua's raison d'etre would be iPhone apps. To my astonishment, none have been runaway hits. They are beautifully designed and generally work well (some 3.0 bugs crept up). Visua gained some noteriety around their app, Fracture, that would make the iPhone screen appear broken when pressed. But they make a host of already-approved apps, including Celebrity, which features a special magazine cover just for TUAW fans. %Gallery-67744%
Aspyr launches social networking site for Treasure World
Aspyr Media's innovative DS treasure hunt game Treasure World comes out this week, and to support it, the company has launched a site to allow players to find not just Wi-Fi-generated items, but each other as well.Club Treasure World allows players to show off their collections of items. Each item also has an associated sound, so players can set items down in specific configurations and create musical "Songscapes," which can also be shared on the site. Special awards and "treasure keys" will also be available through Club Treasure World. Most importantly, the site is a venue for the sharing of friend codes and a hub for item trading.Check out some new screens in our gallery. Treasure World is clearly kid-oriented, but the novelty factor of collecting unique items from different Wi-Fi signals seems like something that adults could find cool as well.%Gallery-67057%
TUAW First Look: Cellar puts your wine collection in your pocket
Beverage choice should be simple: coffee or tea to rev up, wine or beer to spin down (App Store links). Of course, when it comes to drink choices, there's definitely an app for that: from the makers of espresso-instructions app Barista, we now have the $0.99 Cellar (under App Store review and appearing momentarily). Cellar's slick UI and quick data entry make keeping track of your wine library almost as fun as actually drinking the wine you collect.When you start up Cellar, you face an empty winerack; you can add bottles one by one, entering both vintage details and customizing the look/label of the bottles with photos of the bottle labels. You can adjust the number of bottles of each kind of vino you have stored away, and then as you polish them off the 'empties' are stored in the Garage area of the app for reference or repurchase.Cellars isn't an industrial-strength wine database or collection manager (My Wine or Velvet Vine Wine Pro might be better choices there, or a general-purpose database like Bento), but it is a handy way to remember what you've bought and liked. I'd like to see future versions support importing label images from the photo library (for iPod touch users) or download them from online wine libraries. Update: Apparently the library-select feature is already in place for iPod touch users. Readers also suggest checking out Drync for higher-end wine cellar management.Cellar's $0.99 introductory price won't last for long. Check out the gallery for more Cellar shots.%Gallery-67042%
Guild Season 2 DVD preorder available now, out 5/19
The Guild's second season is now available for preorder on DVD, and apparently it's an Amazon Exclusive -- yes, the ever-more-corporate folks at The Guild are going with the big online retailer to distribute their second DVD collection. But we can't blame them too much -- surely it's a chance at a wider distribution, and probably less work for them in general. You can preorder the DVD set right now for just $12.99, and according to The Guild's site, the set will have commentary tracks, subtitles in English, and Behind the Scenes and Audition footage. If you're as much of a fan of the series as we are, it sounds well worth the purchase.Amazon has a release date of May 19th, and it also looks like they're doing a re-release of season one on the same day (though we're not sure if that new season one cover demotes new material or if it's the same version of the season one DVD they were selling before). And of course if you're not interested in picking up any extras, you can still just watch the episodes online at their site, or by downloading them in HD from Xbox Live for free.
No current plans to let you spend Achievement Points
Every now and then, I hear through the grapevine that in the future, we will be able to spend our Achievement Points on, most likely, novelty items. This rumor has been around since Achievements were announced, and has even been mentioned by a blue or two. Unfortunately, it seems that implementing this is far from being in the works. Bornakk has confirmed that Achievement Points are "simply a marker of progression in the game" and that there are no current plans to work in a way to spend them. How do you feel about this? Personally, I was hoping for the eventual vendor selling items like walking canes, pinwheel hats and walking-speed pogo sticks. Still, not being able to spend my points will not stop me from collecting them!
A frighteningly close look at KDDI au's Spring 2009 phone lineup
If you live anywhere but Japan and you're looking to put yourself through that seasonal ritual of torture by getting a good, hard look at everything Japanese carriers have that you can't, look no further. Engadget Mobile has assembled complete galleries and details on every one of KDDI au's new models presented as part of its Spring 2009 collection -- and yeah, needless to say, there are some whoppers in here. So have a look, read through, and cry softly to yourself for a while; don't worry, you're not the only one.
Paul Sams and his Blizzard collection
The Orange County Register was all over the place yesterday -- being the hometown newspaper of Blizzard's hometown, they posted all day about the release and what Blizzard was doing for it (they've got some really good coverage of the event in Anaheim, which our own Dan O'Halloran attended as well). But perhaps most interesting is this post about Blizzard COO Paul Sams -- we haven't heard a lot from him in press before, but apparently he's a bigger Blizzard fan than any of us, with a collection of Blizzard items that includes a mint Spectral Tiger Card, Blizzard skateboards (which are apparently a licensing deal that never went through, so you can't buy those anywhere), and the second Frostmourne ever made -- we assume the first one went to Arthas.And not all of it is Blizzard stuff -- he's got a first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, and lots of sports memorabilia, too (but let's be honest -- a signed jersey is nothing compared to a Frostmourne. It's real.). Sams also collected his wife from Blizzard, too, apparently, and he says he'd be happy spending his whole career with the company. Sounds awesome to have someone who's such a fanboy sitting in one of your top exec positions.Sams' favorite item, though, is probably the coolest: three drawings by the man Chris Metzen himself. That would be awesome to see. Check out all of Sams' collection in the OC Register's gallery.
Show and Tell: Epic
We're taking a little break from our regular format this week in order to do something very simple: make you jealous as hell. Reader John has some good stuff -- hardware, gear, extras -- but not so much that it's really notable. We do like the plush Kirby, though. No, what brings us here today, agape and agog, is his collection of DS games, which stood at 209 titles when he sent in these pictures, with more on the way.So today, John, we salute you, O Buyer of Games. And, uh, got anything we could borrow?%Gallery-33864% Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.
DS Daily: Checking in on your backlog
read up on this collection here As gamers, we're often hit with periods of time where a flood of great games release and there just isn't enough time to play them all (it's called the holiday season). As DS gamers, this period of time is called every day of our lives. With that in mind, it's inevitable that some games will have to be put on the back burner. Do you have any games that you've got sitting on the shelf, in need of completion? Have you been waiting for a special rainy day or other event to finally sink your teeth into a new game? What game(s) are you waiting to finish?
Pocketpedia takes your media collections onto your iPhone
While there are plenty of media collection/organizer applications for the Mac -- some well-known and glamorous, others quietly utilitarian and functional -- fans frequently swear by the merits of Bruji's 'Pedia suite for books, DVDs, music and games. Armed with a barcode scanner or your iSight, you can quickly and easily catalog all your media, manage your lending habits and wishlists, collect tips and walkthrough links for your games, export to a website, pull data from Amazon or other sources -- even browse your catalogs in the Finder via QuickLook. The individual organizer apps (Bookpedia, DVDpedia, etc.) are only $18US, and you can get the bundle of all four for $49 if you want.Now Bruji has taken the obvious and exciting next step with Pocketpedia for the iPhone and iPod touch [App Store link], allowing you to create collections on your device or sync up from your Mac and take your catalogs with you. Having your DVD rental wishlist with you at the store sounds like a great idea; plus, you can quickly access reviews online if you're having trouble deciding what to rent or buy. Pocketpedia is a free download from the App Store, and will work just fine in standalone mode if you don't have the Mac apps to sync with. If only it could do barcode scanning from the iPhone's camera... *sigh.*
Worn out pants collection to show mobile progression
Just as wallets leave impressions in rear pockets, cellphones can do the same for pockets in the front. One Aram Bartholl has decided to start a collection of battle-tested jeans that "show traces of mobile tech development in society." We've no idea if he's planning to tackle the whole thing on his own, but we'd suggest buying up old pants from around the globe in order to amass a sizable collection before death sooner. The image you see above shows what happens if you walk around for three solid years pocketing an original Nokia 6600. Anyone got any impressions (SFW, please) they'd like to share in comments below? [Via textually]
DS Daily: All good things
read up on this collection here The phrase "all good things must come to an end" doesn't always apply when it comes to gaming. Not all games have ends, precisely; games with certain types of multiplayer functions, or puzzle games and similar titles, could probably be played forever, provided you don't grow tired of them. But let's talk about those games that do have a definite ending. When you've saved the princess, completed all the side quests, killed the Weapons, stopped the apocalypse, and gotten the girl/boy/kingdom, what do you do? Sell it? Lend it to a friend? Keep it for later replay or collecting purposes?
Toasty! Midway announces Mortal Kombat: Kollection for PS2
Midway plans to eviscerate PlayStation 2 owners this September, bundling together the previous three Mortal Kombat titles as a single $30 box set. The compilation, dubbed the Mortal Kombat: Kollection, will include 3D fighters Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, as well as the under appreciated action game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. According to Midway, the set is designed to let players "refine their skills" prior to getting to clobber the Man of Steel this holiday. However, considering that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe plays more like Mortal Kombat 3 than any of the more recent 3D fighters, we're not exactly sure how many of those skills will actually make the transfer.
Check out new screens from Spectrobes
Game Watch uploaded a bunch of new screens from Disney's upcoming sequel, Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals. For those of you who either skipped the first game or find yourself just now getting interested in the whole thing, there's a short synopsis on the game's story, as well as a crash course on what it is you do in the game (see: collect creatures). So, head on over and check out the new screens. %Gallery-21682%
Collecting & Obsessing: Game & Watch
Throughout the 1980s, Nintendo's Game & Watch series of handhelds provided the soundtrack to innumerable school playgrounds across the globe. A pre-Game Boy attempt to capture the portable games market, Game & Watch titles were relatively cheap but sturdily built toys which came with a single game and, as the name suggests, a watch. For the best part of eleven years, Nintendo kept manufacturing these forerunners to its other handheld devices, only for the Game Boy and Tetris to emerge in 1989 and squash the whole enterprise flat.Nevertheless, the spirit of Game & Watch lives on through the hundreds of individuals who collect the games. For this one-off piece, DS Fanboy decided to interview two hardcore collectors in a bid to understand their love of Nintendo's first portable phenomenon.Both 35-year-old Michael Panayiotakis (founder of Mike's Nintendo Game & Watch forum and the author of a quite superb FAQ on the subject) and 38-year-old Andy Cole possess the kind of retrolicious Game & Watch collections that we would maim (and possibly kill) for. To find out what they love about this charming series, why they collect Game & Watch, and why they dedicate so much time and money to their hobby, hit the break for our full interview. Once you've done that, don't forget to browse our gallery for a pictorial history of the Game & Watch phenomenon!%Gallery-25216%
Sony Ericsson, Maria Sharapova release accessory line
Like a dagger through Motorola's heart, we're sure, Sony Ericsson's collaboration with tennis superstar Maria Sharapova is starting to pay dividends with the Maria Sharapova Design Collection of custom phone accessories. Launching in the third quarter, wares include the "Courtside Case," Excercise Case, Travel Wallet, and "Party Bag" -- at least three of which we weren't aware we needed -- but the custom branding should push at least a few of these out the door. One word of caution, though: Miss Sharapova assures us in the press materials that "I am looking forward to using the collection with my Sony Ericsson T303," and if her phone of choice is seriously an EDGE-less slider with a 160 x 128 display, we're forced to cast her good taste into serious doubt.[Via Engadget Spanish]
Spectrobes get into a rumble in new screens
While the adventuring portions of Spectrobes: Beyond the Portal may not stray far beyond the first game, the battle mode extends out into the (carefully moderated) world. The addition of an online battle mode is an exciting enough change, we think, for anyone interested in Spectrobes battles in the first place. The new screens show off some decently impressive 3D monster battles, with no Rallen in sight. Perhaps the Spectrobes have realized that they know how to fight and don't need some kid chaperoning them all the time. In any case, it looks like the new battle mode may differ from the normal offline battles. %Gallery-21682% [Via press release]
Vertu throws its own party with Constellation Rococo collection
You know how it goes -- when you're this high-end, don't even bother waiting for your bestest of friends to toss you a birthday party to celebrate ten years of mindless self indulgence. Instead, Vertu's doing the only thing it really can by cranking out a fashionable new collection to commemorate its decennial anniversary. The Constellation Rococo collection was reportedly inspired by "the eighteenth century French art, fashion and interior design movement by the same name," and if you're into floral patterns, bold colors and monogrammed Vs, you're sure to fall head over heels for this lot. Rest assured, however, that the epicurean handset maker won't be giving these away as gifts (or anything close to it) when they land this summer.
First VGA-graded games up for auction
What's VGA, you ask? No, it's not Spike's Video Game Awards. It's the Video Game Authority, a group that issues grades based on the condition of old video games, in a manner similar to action figures and trading cards. After paying a fee, gamers send in their beloved collectibles, which are graded and sealed in tamper-evident acrylic cases, marked with the official hologram of the organization. The first of these VGA-graded items are currently up for auction on eBay.Currently available are near-mint copies of Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and others, all in the 75-85 grade range. Final Fantasy is notably already up over $200, and Super Mario Bros. 3 isn't far behind. If nothing else, those NES games look damn sexy in those plastic cases. Read - First VGA Graded Games Hit eBay [GameSniped]Read - BigHedToyz [eBay]
Wii Warm Up: For recent lottery winners
You know, we at Wii Fanboy never really stop to thank our millionaire and billionaire readers. We appreciate the fact that you take the time every day to silently nod toward your butler. signaling him to load Wii Fanboy on your 24K gold laptop as you sit inside your jacuzzi full of $100 bills and rare, priceless rubies. We're thankful you come here each and every day!So, here's something for you. A fellow is selling his entire NES collection (739 games!) and, as of the time of this post, the highest bid is a little over 8 grand. What with you being a billionaire and all, though, we're sure you'll be fine.Given this is a morning topic of discussion and the possibility that you might be reading this and aren't filthy rich, we ask you: how many NES games do you own? Got rid of your NES long ago or did you hold onto it and cherish it like a good little gamer?[Via Go Nintendo]
