rock em sock em robots
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Tomy BattroBorg 20 throws motion-controlled punches, rocks 'em and socks 'em Wii-style (video)
The last time we saw someone move the game on for Rock'em Sock'em Robots, it was a motion-controlled experiment that was unlikely to see the light of day. Tomy must have been frustrated enough waiting for the practical reality to take matters into its own hands, as it's just unveiled the BattroBorg 20, a fighting robot that... lets you take matters into your own hands. The toy uses a Wii-style nunchuk motion controller that translates the player's own thrusts into the plastic robot's punches. Each robot can tell if it's been decked, although it takes just five punches to win by TKO -- these aren't exactly Queensbury rules. At an estimated $50 for each robot and matching controller on the July 14th release date, the BattroBorg isn't the cheapest way to relive the glory days of pint-sized fisticuffs, but it's certainly the most involving.
THQ and Mattel enter game deal, includes Masters of the Universe rights
THQ will target kids with a new multi-year, multiplatform "alliance" with Mattel -- that's for sure. What we're not so sure about is whether those targets are intended to be kids of the 80s or their kids of today. A news announcement reads like a who's who of garage-sale name drops: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Masters of the Universe, and even Polly Pocket (who's apparently still going strong these days). While the deal with Mattel encompasses games that could appear on any platform imaginable, THQ did specifically note the potential in re-introducing the toy maker's brands through the uDraw GameTablet for Wii. "As we have shown with the combination of uDraw and Pictionary, there is enormous potential for the strategic relationship between THQ and Mattel," said Martin Good, executive veep of THQ's Kids, Family and Casual Games division. The brilliant part about all this is that when you hand over THQ's Tablet and a copy of the He-Man: By the Power of Grayscale drawing game to the GameStop clerk, you simply say, "It's for my kid" -- and he sort of has to believe you. [Image source: Madman Entertainment; credit: Mattel]
Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots goes motion-controlled for TI design challenge
Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots have already seen some new life in an augmented reality demo, and they've now gotten yet another taste of the future -- Zachery Shivers and Anne Flinchbaugh have created a motion-controlled version of the game as part of Texas Instruments' Co-op Design Challenge. As you can probably imagine, that requires plenty of servos and circuit boards underneath the ring, but the key ingredient is TI's accelerometer-equipped Chronos watch, which lets you translate your actual punches into rock 'em sock 'em punches. Check it out in action in the video after the break, and hit up the source link below for the complete details on building your own.
Qualcomm demos augmented reality and peer-to-peer tech, tries to punch cellular gaming's block off (video)
It's just a tablecloth and a piece of paper, until you pull out a Nexus One, at which point it magically becomes an arena where toy robots fire off punches. Augmented reality isn't anything new, of course, but Qualcomm seems determined to bring it to cell phones in a big way -- launching an AR game studio, sponsoring a $200,000 developer challenge, and announcing a free software development kit (which will see open beta this fall) all on the same day. The company partnered with Mattel to build the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots proof-of-concept you see above using that very SDK, and you'll find a hilarious video of grown men pretending to have the time of their lives with it right after the break. However, augmented reality is only half of Qualcomm's mobile gaming plan -- a rep told Pocket-lint games like Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots are only financially viable if they can work across platforms. To that end, the company also demonstrated a simple three-player peer-to-peer title, but with -- get this -- a Nexus One (over Bluetooth), a Nokia N900 (over WiFi) and a Dell Latitude laptop all playing the same synchronous game. To commemorate this mishmash of awesome, the company funded another video; listen to an individual with a ludicrously bad accent give you the play-by-play after the break. Oh, and find some press releases, too.
