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Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker approved by vacationing Billy Corgan
We don't know a single soul who hasn't wanted to hear Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness from start-to-finish whilst swimming off the coast of Phuket, but seriously, who's going to tune in on a $40 waterproof Bluetooth speaker ball? Then again, maybe Billy's secretly more concerned with his choice of swimwear and lack of sunscreen than the clarity of Iha's riffs.
Digitally Assisted Billiards makes everyone a pool shark
There's cheating, and then there's out-thinking the room. Georgia Tech's own Justin Needham and Matthew Straub are clearly headed for great things, as their Digitally Assisted Billiards is reason enough to give these guys a degree in our eyes. Using an array of low-end kit -- just an eBox 2300 embedded computer, Logitech webcam, 4- x 3-foot mirror, a VGA projector, pool table and a few extenders -- the two were able to concoct a system for visually displaying the expected trajectory of all possible shots based on the location of the balls still on the slate. For a much better idea of what we're hinting at, check the demonstration video after the break.[Via Hack-A-Day]
Unrest among sports: Snowboard Riot and Pool Revolution
Hudson's Snowboard Riot has what we think is a much cooler name for its Japanese release: Board Warriors. Famitsu has new screens of the game, one of three contemporaneous online WiiWare games from Hudson, and it looks -- kinda like Mario Kart on a snowboard! Well, in that it's a multiplayer race with wacky items. If you think items are ridiculous, the game also features an item-free "Stoic Mode" (we think that's the translation) in both online and offline play. Snowboard Riot BOARD WARRIORS is expected in Japan next month. In other Hudson WiiWare news, the company sent a press release containing a bunch of new screens of Pool Revolution: Cue Sports, which we're just going to call CUE WARRIORS. %Gallery-36618%%Gallery-39000%
VC Tuesday: Pre-blast processing
The Japanese Virtual Console releases this week are all relatively obscure. The most recognizable name in the lineup is Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and even that is the Master System version. These Master System Sonic games, by the way, aren't just ports of the Genesis games. They're basically original Sonic games from back when it was possible for those to be good!The other games are a very early (the arcade version predates Super Mario Bros.) sidescrolling platformer-RPG and an upgraded Qix game. Dragon Buster (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Volfied (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Just one WiiWare release, and it's Hudson's online pool game. Hopefully it isn't terrible, because Wi-Fi pool with four players sounds like an awesome deal for five bucks. Cue Sports Wi-Fi Taisen Billiards (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
New Hudson WiiWare games feature pool, snowboarding, and team toilet repair
With Alien Crush Returns debuting in Europe today, Hudson has wasted no time announcing three new WiiWare games for the PAL Wii Shop. They range from pretty basic stuff to whaaaaat? They all sound like they could potentially be fun.On the 'basic' end of things: Snooker Vs. Billiards Cue Sports, a pool game with online play for 1-4 players. It allows for either motion- or button-based play, which is a nice touch. It'll be out (probably) at the end of this month.Slightly less normal is Snowboard Riot, due out in January, a snowboarding game with combat -- sort of like Road Rash falling down a mountain. It also supports online play for up to four players, and even allows the Balance Board.And then there's Pit Crew Panic. We'd seen the title before, but we couldn't have guessed the content of the game. Sure, it is a game about a racing pit crew fixing cars quickly, but it's also a game about a pit crew fixing cakes quickly. And toilets. And flower beds. Wow!
Flickr Find: TUAW is the word
Rob H. was playing Wurdle on his iPhone when he came across what we'll appropriately call a bug -- apparently the program doesn't actually recognize us as a word (maybe it needs the accent mark over the U?). But we appreciate him trying anyway. Maybe we'll contact the SOWPODS people and see if we can't work this thing out.And by the way, this is the perfect time to show you one of the new features here on TUAW -- over on the sidebar just above the Featured Galleries, you'll find our TUAW Flickr pool. This is a set of images on Flickr that you, our terrific readers, can add to: just put the "tuaw" tag on your Flickr photos or screenshots, and they'll be put right into the pool and appear here on the page.So you can share great TUAW-related stuff like this, or anything else all the Mac folks reading the site might enjoy.
Warhammer Online director expects three million subscribers
Warhammer Online Creative Director Paul Barnett said in an interview that he's (literally) betting that WAR will achieve one million subscribers within a year and three million at its peak. Apparently there's an office betting pool at Mythic about this subject. If Barnett's right, he stands to win ... wait for it ... $26. Wow. Enjoy your large pizza, man!It's an ambitious bet. Even Barnett himself described it as "bullish." Time will tell if another word -- similar to that one but with a relocated "i" and an added "t" -- will be more appropriate. If all 1.5 million shipped retail boxes sell and there's close to 100% player retention after the first month (that last bit is very unlikely), the game will quickly be halfway to the end goal. But we know from past experience that significant attrition can be a problem.The interview is full of other cocky statements, about World of Warcraft and other topics. If you're interested, grab yourself a grain of salt and start reading!
VC Friday: Explosive [Update 1]
Clicky clicky for more images We believe the technical term for this is "a no-brainer." Bomberman Blast -- WiiWare -- 1,000 Wii Points Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint -- WiiWare -- 1,500 Wii Points Midnight Pool -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii Points Sorry, Plättchen Twist 'n' Paint, but if you're going to turn up at this party with absolutely no footage to show us and a price tag of 1,500 Wii Points, then you'll be spending the rest of the night alone -- we prefer our thrills cheap. And although we wouldn't usually be so dismissive, Midnight Pool, is it okay with you if we spend the evening just whispering sweet nothings in the ear of Bomberman Blast? It is? Great, punch bowl's over there, go nuts with Plättchen.[Update: Plättchen footage has just entered the building -- hit the break!]%Gallery-18349%
RealMotion Pool Cue to help Wii pool sharks sink the stripes
Two things: first off, craptastic pool cue Wiimote accessories are already widely available, and secondly, couldn't you just duct tape a controller to your favorite real cue and achieve almost the same thing? Terrible ideas aside, RealMotion has just revealed that it will be shipping a RealMotion Pool Cue companion accessory for its upcoming title, American Pool Deluxe. Reportedly, the unit is a "meticulously crafted cue built specifically to take advantage of the Wii remote's accelerometer technology for real precision and fun," but we'll have to envision it until the company gets smart enough to distribute a photo. Or is it really that embarrassing?[Via IGN]
VC Monday Madness: Break In and Star Parodier
With the Wii bursting at the seams with content this week, we've got two new Virtual Console games, imports, to check out. Up on the block is Break In and Star Parodier, both for the Turbografx16 (Star Parodier is a CD-ROM title, though). Hit up the video above to check out some footage and commentary, then head past the break for a little more.
Brunswick Billiards gets its own Berkline home theater chairs
Nothing chases a good flick like a few games of pool, and that's exactly why Brunswick Billiards has teamed up with Berkline to introduce a few new offerings. The famed home theater seating company has agreed to create a fresh line of Brunswick-exclusive home theater chairs which will include two contemporary models and a single traditional model. Eight different types of leather will be available, and a few subtleties include a taller back, cup holders, lighted bases and power recline options. The luxurious seats will start at $1,249 apiece and should be ready to hit game rooms / HTs in "early summer."
Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool
Here's a novel idea: rather than stressing over the choice between solar or hydroelectric power sources to keep that green data center running, just build the thing near a community pool. Apparently that's exactly what's happening in Uitikon, Switzerland, as an IBM-built center erected for GIB-Services AG is using its excess heat to warm a local swimming pool. Put simply, the warmth emitted by the computers will be piped through a heat exchanger to boost the temperature of water used in the neighboring pool, and while the town had to cover some of the equipment costs to make it come together, it'll reap the oh-so-steamy benefits for free.[Via FashionFunky, thanks Yash]
Gameloft phoning in more WiiWare ports
Well, actually, they're remaking cell phone games, but the title kinda works. We actually approve of the population of the WiiWare service with new games from anybody. Mobile developer Gameloft has announced three more WiiWare games in addition to Block Breaker Deluxe. TV Show King is actually an original made-for-WiiWare quiz show game. Midnight Pool and Midnight Bowling are, well, pool and bowling games that use motion controls. Gameloft intends to release games in Japan, Europe, and the U.S.TV Show King sounds like a great idea to us -- a trivia game with a low barrier to entry (price). We could totally see ourselves downloading something like that while bored some night or in preparation for a party or something. [Via Siliconera]
Break In rated for VC, isn't as exciting as it sounds
The latest future Virtual Console game to show up on the ESRB is a Turbografx-16 title by the name of Break In. Sounds exciting, right? This game was published by Alien Crush/Devil's Crush publisher Naxat Soft in 1989, and it never made it out of Japan. This ESRB rating means that it's going to be released in the U.S. for the first time.Unfortunately, the awesome title of Break In has been squandered on a pool game. We were pretty disappointed, after seeing a game called Break In and imagining some kind of unknown police-style brawler or something, to find it was some pool thing.
iRobot intros the Verro 100 and 500 poolbots
The folks at iRobot updated the Verro pool-cleaning robots much to the chagrin of our pool boy, Philip, who's getting his walking papers next week. The new 100 and 500 models join the current 300 and 600 to cover a wide array of price ranges, and probably meet most -- if not all -- of your exacting standards for water-body cleanliness. The 100 comes in at the low-end of the spectrum at $399, though it will navigate and clean any flat-bottomed pool you throw its way; the Rolls-Royce of poolbots, the 500, will do floors and walls alike for $999. Of course, you won't know anything about that -- you'll be busy lounging, working on your tan, and trying to figure out whether you want the Bentley Brooklands or Azure (hint: the Azure!).
WRUP: Minnesota Fats edition
With only one game releasing this week, many of you might be looking to it for something new to play. Or, maybe many of you are still playing Metroid Prime 3. We'll only know if you bother to tell us.So, what are you playing? As for us, well, we've only been able to scratch the surface of Metroid Prime 3. Maybe if we didn't have to blog all of the time, we might get a chance to give it a play through ...
Wii Finglonger invented
Good news, everyone! The Nintendo Wii has made 30th century technology available-- today! This attachment for the Wiimote approximates Professor Hubert Farnsworth's brilliant hypothetical invention, the Finglonger. The Finglonger allows you to operate equipment over great distances.Hey ... it also looks kind of similar to a pool cue, now that we look at it! We wonder if it could also be used for that?
Heiron & Smith's Executive pool table sports LCD, PS2
While we've seen some fine marriages between game room entertainment and over the top electronic heaven, Heiron & Smith's flagship pool table just entered a league of its own. The aptly-dubbed Executive measures eight- x four-feet, sports Australian molded cushion rubber, Italian slate, handmade pocket nets, and some of the finest cloth England had to offer. The good stuff, however, consists of a side-mounted LCD TV, stereo with flat-panel speakers, neatly adorned PlayStation 2, racks for your books, games, and other media, and of course, a mirrored indention to stock the sauce. Unfortunately, it'll take a phone call to figure out how many thousands this thing will set you back, and unless you live Down Under (or own a barge), you won't be acquiring one anyway.[Via TechDigest]
Cellphone float keeps your mobile's head above water
Inflatable gizmos meant to save your dog's life and wake you from your bubble bath slumber have been around for some time, but this creation has probably been avoided due to the intrinsic probability of failure. Granted, the inflatable cellphone float would make for a great gift, but in reality, even the most diminutive of cannonballs will have this thing inverted in no time. Of course, for those just looking to float down the lazy river (yet still be attached to world), we could see it coming in handy, but there's no bundled guarantee that it's flip-proof. Still, this thing might not be a bad pickup for just R6.08 ($0.86), but we'll be sticking with the waterproof handset when it counts.[Via Textually]
Girls don't go wild: Pocket Pool loses license
Pocket Pool is a hilarious game where porn stars and billiards collide. The game, which is rated M for "partial nudity" and "sexual themes," was originally supposed to feature the Girls Gone Wild license. Looks like it's no more. "While I can confirm that the Girls Gone Wild license was in consideration for Pocket Pool, an agreement was not formally signed," an Eidos representative told GameSpot.Surely, this is a monumental loss for the gaming community. Or not. I'm sure whoever wants to purchase this doesn't need a Girls Gone Wild license to pick it up.
