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Legend Silicon, Intel push USB dongles for laptop HDTV viewing in China
With the 2008 Olympic Games right around the corner, Intel is tag-teaming it with Legend Silicon in order to promote HDTV viewing on portable devices -- laptops, most notably. The pair has seemingly convinced Lenovo, HP, ASUS, Sony, Samsung and Toshiba (among others) to offer up their machines with a DTTB USB dongle in the coming days, enabling Chinese citizens to watch HD on-the-go right out of the box. If you couldn't surmise, DTTB is yet another Chinese broadcast standard, and while we wouldn't bet the farm on it, the nation's government is hoping to offer up multiple high-def programs via DTTB by 2010. Who would've guessed -- the Olympics catapulting HD programming in China?
Joystiq hands-on: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii/DS)
Smash Bros. isn't the only place the mascot exchange program is thriving. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games pits Nintendo and Sega characters against each other in Summer Games challenges. Bowser, Peach, Tails, Robotnik, and others compete in triple-jump, swimming relays, velodrome races, and dozens of other contests.I recently sampled the DS and WIi versions of the game. Sega mentioned that the IOC helped make sure that the stadiums and other settings accurately reflect the 2008 Beijing games. But another license requirement pitches the title at kids; other than real-world-based measurements of distance and time, don't expect accuracy within the events. Instead, Mario and Sonic plays like another mini-game buffet.A few modes -- especially with four players and user-created tournaments -- are interesting, but the majority seem suited to a younger crowd. Gaming families may enjoy the humor, variety, and simple style. But sports enthusiasts should wait for a more realistic game.%Gallery-4863%%Gallery-4864%
Samsung intros 18K Golden Edition E848 handset
Releasing gizmos to commemorate the 2008 Olympics in Beijing is becoming somewhat of a recurring theme, and the Samsung Anycall 18K Golden Edition E848 is keepin' the trend alive. Reportedly, the handset features an 18K golden reflective surface to compliment the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games logo imprinted on the back. Additionally, it boasts a 2.2-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD, integrated media player, support for H.263 / MP3 / AAC / WMA / MPEG4 formats, quad-band connectivity, 70MB of internal memory, a microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth 2.0, A2DP, USB 2.0 and a talk time of around five hours. Mum's the word on an actual release date, but you can purportedly expect it to ring up for HK$2,780 ($359) whenever it lands. Check out a couple more shots after the jump.
Mario & Sonic Olympic events revealed
Mario and Sonic will soon put their bitter 16-bit rivalry aside, sharing screen time in Sega and Nintendo's 'Bizarro World' collabo, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. With the release for the Wii just a couple of months away, Sega has released details concerning the game's 20 authentic Olympic events, as detailed below: Fencing - Individual epée Archery Shooting - Skeet Gymnastics - Trampoline Gymnastics - Vault Field - High Jump Field - Pole Vault Field - Long Jump Field - Triple Jump Field - Javelin Throw Field - Hammer Throw Rowing - Single Sculls Table Tennis - Singles Aquatics - 100m Freestyle Aquatics - 4x100m Freestyle Track - 110m and 400m Hurdles Track - 4x100m Relay Track -100m and 400m In addition, Sega has revealed that the game will include 16 different characters, 8 from Mario's universe, and 8 from Sonic's, and like in Mario Kart, the characters will each be broken up into different classes, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, Knuckles and Bowser will be part of the Power class, making them ideal for events requiring the kind of strength that only a anthropomorphic lizard and echidna can muster. As always, Mario will be balanced all around, as will Sonic's Amy, while Sonic himself will obviously dominate the Speed class alongside our dark horse prediction, Yoshi.
Sega expects Olympic sales from Mario & Sonic
When Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was first announced earlier this year, those of us who grew up during the 16-bit console wars were both shocked and titillated by the premise of playing a video game starring the former arch-rivals. Surely the universe had gone topsy turvy, as not since comic book's Deathmate had the world seen such a prodigious crossover. Wacky or not, however, Sega Sammy expects big things from the forthcoming title, with the company anticipating sales of 4 million units. If accurate, this would equal nearly 20 percent of the sales of all games sold by Sega Sammy over the previous fiscal year. The prediction was made by the firm's corporate director Masanao Maeda, who interestingly did not elaborate on when he believes the games will reach this prestigious milestone. Realistic? Given the amount of namedropping associated with this title, and that its development at Sega is being overseen by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, all signs points to 'possibly.' Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games hurdles to retail for both the Wii and Nintendo DS this Christmas.
2008 Olympics inspired phone ready to scare children
At first glance, we're not sure whether CECT designed its cell phone around an Olympic mascot or some sort of cellular voodoo doll. Apparently inspired by 2008 Beijing Olympics mascot Fuwa Huanhuan, the kid-friendly candybar rocks a 1.5 inch screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD expandable memory with a 256MB card, media player, and the requisite assortment of Olympic ringtones, wallpaper, and screen savers. The device will be a Chinese market exclusive, so we can see it being branded as an Olympic collectible and ending up on eBay for enormous amounts of money -- or peanuts. Hard to say.[Via Newlaunches]
NBC to shoot 3600 hours of 2008 Olympics, many in HD
If you thought 416 hours of Winter Olympic Games coverage was a bit much, the 3,600 hours (that's 150 days worth, folks) that NBC-Universal will be recording next year will seem like overkill in its finest form. Sure enough, it will supposedly be covering every facet of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing from August 8 - 24, 2008, and a variety of networks including NBC, USA, MSNBC, and CNBC will be carrying its programming. Notably, it will be displaying Olympics in HD on Universal-HD, NBC HD, and USA HD, and while the exact amount of HD coverage wasn't stated, even a fraction of the 3,600 hour total would be mighty impressive.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games screens
Everyone's eager to see what Sonic and Mario's first collaboration will look like, right? Well, here it is! The DS version, anyway. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games looks pretty okay! We don't really know what else to say about it. It's in 3D, and includes, at the very least, long jump, archery, hammer throw, and some kind of track event.Sonic and Tails are participating in the manner of the ancient Olympians-- nude. We don't know if they've covered themselves in olive oil as the Greeks did, and we hope we never find out. We hope nobody ever finds out.%Gallery-4700%
'The big three' ARE coming in 2007 (to Japan)
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo confirmed that they do in fact plan to release Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl by the end of this year, as well as pretty much every Nintendo game announced for the Wii. This corroborates an IGN report to the same effect, and is also totally, totally rad. Here's the full list of Nintendo's planned 2007 releases. Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race is slated for June 28, and the rest are all "2007": Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race Wii Health Pack Disaster: Day of Crisis Mario Party 8 Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Wii Music Super Mario Galaxy Super Smash Bros. Brawl Battalion Wars II Forever Blue Mario Strikers Charged Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Keep checking with us for news of the inevitable delays of about half of these. Seriously, that's a lot of first-party Nintendo games for just half a year or so. Aw, we just made ourselves sad with our own skepticism. Still, if half of this stuff does get released in Japan this year, it'll be great news and do a pretty good job of ending any drought that may or may not be happening.Update: fixed some italics and formatting.
Lenovo's Olympics-inspired laptops revealed
Yeah, you may have thought those Santa Rosa, er, Centrino Pro-based ThinkPads were hot stuff, but they ain't got nuthin' on the future eBay value of the svelte new Olympic-inspired iteration. Shortly after Lenovo unveiled its 2008 Beijing Olympic torch design, the firm has already thrown down snapshots of its Olympic laptop, which certainly looks dashing in its own right. The stunning red and black case design is accented with a motif similar to that found on the torch, and the spiral designs actually seep beyond the external casing right onto the palm rests and around the LCD's bezel. Unfortunately, not much is know about the internal hardware that these presumably finely trained machines will sport, but early details suggests a 12.1-inch XGA display and Intel's L2400 Core 2 Duo processor will be in the mix. Additionally, mum's the word on pricing and availability, but you can rest assured that this bad boy will be one hot commodity whenever it lands in limited quantities. Click on through for a few more glamor shots.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Nintendo and Sega execs talk about Sonic and Mario at the Olympics
In the spirit of Sonic and Mario uniting for a friendly sporting exhibition, N'Gai Croal brought Nintendo of America Vice President Perrin Kaplan and Sega of America President Simon Jeffery together, ushering in a new age of Sega and Nintendo Doing Stuff Together. In addition to the quite promising info that Shigeru Miyamoto is involved in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games "more ... than sort of the average game," there are some hilarious quotes from Kaplan, who seems to be euphoric in the extreme over the Sega-Nintendo collaboration. On why Mario gets top billing in the title: "He's Italian, he's really sexy, and he can get more women than Sonic." Depressingly, we have evidence to the contrary of that last point (said evidence is a Sonic 360/PS3 spoiler, so be warned ... in fact, be warned in general).
Sonic & Mario finally team up for a game
Once embittered rivals, Mario and Sonic were at each others' necks during the 16-bit console wars, both of them vying for the Top Mascot prize that awaited the victor at the end of the battle. Tensions eventually eased between the two combatants and their respective companies, and after years of respectful neutrality, Nintendo and Sega are making their friendship official with a game that joins both franchises.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games will be released during the holiday season this year for the Nintendo DS and the Wii. Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Tails, and the rest of the extended casts will be competing in events set in arenas modeled after the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.Hisao Oguchi, Sega Corp.'s President and CEO, had nothing but praise for the project: "For the first time, two of the world's greatest games' characters come together to compete in the world's greatest sporting event and we couldn't be more excited." While we can't imagine anyone from the Mario troupe besting Sonic at the 100m run, the blue hedgehog might have trouble with swimming competitions if he has to stop and replenish his air supply with bubbles too much.This might not receive the same fanfare as a Sonic appearance on Super Smash Bros. Brawl would, but maybe this is just a hint of what's to come from Nintendo and Sega? There's not much at the video game's official site yet, but head over there to check out forum discussions and sign up for email updates.
