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Zaprudering the iPhone: Updated Internet Videos at Apple
Over at Apple, several of the iPhone example videos have undergone an upgrade. During the past week or two, many of the videos went from a 2-D (straight on) look to a 3-D (iPhone tilted away) look. Today, the Internet videos went a bit further. Here are some of the changes between the old and the new videos: YouTube Widget. The standard set of widgets now includes a YouTube widget on the second row. Apple offers a new YouTube video QuickTour as well. YouTube Interaction. You seem to be able to select from "Featured", "Music Videos", "Bookmarks", "Search" and more as the main YouTube playlists. YouTube playback takes place automatically in landscape orientation. (Thanks Trey) Updated data. It's no longer 26 degrees in Aspen in December. The videos now show that it's late May and a balmy 63 degrees in San Francisco. The stock prices have also changed and reflect May 2007 rather than December 2006. New Yahoo! logos. The stocks and weather reports sport a distinctive Y! logo missing from earlier videos. Safari has a new "page" browse view. The end of the Safari quick tour shows a new way to browse through pages New Maps intro. You can now see the default Maps page before a location is entered. Email indicates "sent from my iPhone". The new tag appears to be added automatically to the text of your message as a default. Thanks Zack Kitzmiller
Image Gallery: YouTube on Apple TV
Now that YouTube has arrived on the Apple TV, an image gallery of all the new features seems only fitting. Apple has done quite a nice job with the debut of this custom YouTube UI, and it is surprisingly feature-packed. In terms of video quality, I can comfortably say that most videos that started out in a decent quality to begin with (TV show clips, CG videos from design students, etc.) look *worlds* better in YouTube on the Apple TV (re-encoded to H.264 from the original, mind you; Apple thankfully doesn't put up with the dreadful quality of Flash video) than YouTube online. If you can't get to an Apple TV to take a ride for yourself, check out our YouTube on Apple TV image gallery to get a decent idea of what's in store for this clever new Apple TV feature.%Gallery-4117%
Phantom Hourglass site opens, new videos inside
With less than two weeks before its Japanese release, Nintendo has opened the official website for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Treasures hidden within include several new videos that show off basic gameplay and Link's touchscreen control. To promote laziness (and so you don't have to sludge through squiggly Japanese menu screens) we've embedded the videos below. For an extra dose of Zelda fun, try playing all three at the same time![Via DS Fanboy]%Gallery-2856%
Battle mode power-ups revealed in new Guitar Hero III videos
When Neversoft took over the Guitar Hero franchise from Harmonix there were worries that the gameplay would change unrecognisably. While the interface of the game has remained largely the same (surely lumped into the "if it aint broke, don't fix it" category), there seem to be a couple of new features shown in this newest batch of Guitar Hero III vids.The video above, showing Living Colour's "Cult of Personality", gives us some insight into the new additions to the battle mode. It's fairly widely accepted that the multiplayer mode in Guitar Hero I was pretty bad, but Guitar Hero II more than made up for it with its co-op and battle modes. Even then the battle mode could at times feel like little more than comparing scores. With the inclusion of power-ups in Guitar Hero III we will be able to directly affect our opponent's guitar playing abilites by making their markers blink, their fret board tremble or even increasing the difficulty level temporarily. Sounds like a great update to us. Once all the songs are unlocked, multiplayer really is where it's at with the Guitar Hero series, so it's good to see Neversoft are doing their best to improve on it. As for the single player, there's not much there to improve. Unless, maybe, you included a couple of other instruments? Maybe a singer? Oh wait, nevermind. Be sure to watch the rest of the vids after the jump.
yFlicks: the 'iPhoto for your movies' is 40% off at MacZOT today only
Geeze, those MacZOT guys either have strangely coincidental timing, or I need to consider changing the locks on my house. This is either the second or third time that I discovered and thoroughly enjoyed an app, only to find it go on sale at MacZOT the next day (i.e. - I'm buying a license as I type this). The app in question is yFlicks, which we wrote about back in January (and I probably missed because of all the Macworld craziness). yFlicks is more or less a really cool 'iPhoto for your movies,' allowing you to organize and rate your movie files, as well as update the metadata associated with them. This is a great thing if, like me, you're switching from iPhoto to Aperture, because one drawback of the latter is that it doesn't import or organize movies shot with a digital camera.But yFlicks does some great stuff I've never seen in a full-on movie organizer before: it offers live video previews when you mouse over the thumbnail (so you don't have to open each movie just to get a look at it), complete support for the Apple Remote, a bookmarklet for downloading movies from popular communities like YouTube, Daily Motion and College Humor, and even a great temporary folder system that doesn't simply copy every movie into your movies folder when playing it, allowing you to pick and chose which movies you actually keep and catalog. The great thing about yFlicks is that the cleverness doesn't stop there; its developer, Peter Maurer - who Mat Lu pointed out in January has developed a ton of other great Mac apps, has sprinkled all sorts of handy magic throughout yFlicks, from a simple rotate button for movies that were shot with the camera rotated to Smart Folders for organizing your flicks and even one-click access to viewing your movie file in its location in the Finder. In fact, I'm so happy with yFlicks, I'm still buying it straight from Mr. Maurer. If you want to save some cash though, yFlicks is on a 40% sale today at MacZOT: its U.S. price is typically $20, but today-only it's just $11.95. That's a killer deal on one of the best darn movie organizing apps I've ever seen.Of course, before you decide, you can grab a demo from Many Tricks, Peter Maurer's software company, and take it for a spin before throwing down your cash.
Phantom Hourglass site opens with new videos
With less than two weeks to go before The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass' June 23rd release in Japan, Nintendo has launched an official site for the ARPG with several new videos. The clips mimic the commercials that've been advertising the handheld adventure in Japan, showing off Link's new touchscreen movement and controls. We know that you hate to pay long-distance fees for visiting sites outside of the country, so we went ahead and embedded the movies after the post break. Really, there's no need to thank us -- let's just say you owe us one. %Gallery-3279%
Finally! Shadowrun strategy videos added to Xbox Live
Well, no, there's still no fix to the extremely long waits some Shadowrun players are experiencing before getting into a game, but at least when they finally get into one now they can really make it count with four new strategy videos released on to Xbox Live Marketplace for 100 points ($1.25) a piece.The videos are broken up by maps and include, according to the blade description, "sniping points, teleport lines and routes to the artifact directly from designer Derek Carroll." We're sure they've got only the l33test of tips, but we're a little stunned that they've omitted the most important strategy for a good Shadowrun experience: Waiting for a price drop.
Rakuten exploits cameraphone craze for advertising purposes
Although this certainly won't go down as the first attempt to integrate cellphones into discrete marketing, Japan's largest online shopping mall operator is apparently taking advantage of the country's oh-so-superior handsets and offering up tantalizing "promotional videos" for consumers who snap pictures of ads. Rakuten is reportedly set to hand out thousands of pilot issues of a magazine, Zero90, in hopes that mobile-wielding readers will snap photos of certain articles in exchange for a free commercial intellectually stimulating media clip. While this sounds an awful lot like QR codes, the actual technology used in the pages isn't mentioned, but we do know that Japan-based Clementec is behind it -- and you thought print media had too many plugs as is.[Via Physorg]
Is the Apple TV a dud?
Of all the products Apple has been rolling out in the past few years, the Apple TV is easily one of the most debated. While I haven't seen any specific figures from Apple on how well or poorly the device is selling, Apple's first foray into the living room seems to be getting off to at least a decent start. Jobs made another uncharacteristic move in revealing upcoming plans to support YouTube next month. But could the Apple TV be a dud? CNN Money's Brent Schlender sure thinks so. In fact, Mr. Schlender goes so far as to take a jab at the Apple TV's development: "Apple TV is so Zune-like, you'd think Jobs was so busy with the iPhone that he outsourced the Apple TV project to the folks up in Redmond." He then follows with a list of the largest complaints against the device, which includes: No DVD drive The perceived requirement of an HDTV (though we know that to be not-quite-true) even though you can't buy full HD content from the iTunes Store The fact that you can't shop the iTS right from the Apple TV despite its internet connection The annoying conundrum with only being able to use images from one computer's photo library, even though most people's pictures are probably the one batch of HD-ready media that isn't rights-managed in any way and completely sharable over a network and amongst friends or even strangers Schlender is quick to point out, however, that the one other device everyone expected to be able to shop online via its wireless connection - Microsoft's Zune - can't do that either.
13 minute Ninja Gaiden speedrun: We are all inadequate
Not all speedruns are worth covering on Wii Fanboy, but when the game is Ninja Gaiden, we think everybody should know about it. We were happy the one time we made a run of Ninja Gaiden, and that took like a week. But not only did Tommy Montgomery complete Ninja Gaiden, but he did so in a record-setting 13:49. That's it. We quit gaming. You guys can go watch the video after the break, then download Ninja Gaiden on the Virtual Console and try it yourselves.Check the link for videos of other Ninja Gaiden speedruns too. We're just going to sit for a minute, and reevaluate our lives.
FFCC: The Crystal Bearers trailer finally revealed [update 1]
After weeks of teasing us with screen captures from its Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers trailer, Square Enix made the 55-second video public early this morning. Though a third of it is taken up by an animated, spinning crystal, the movie still manages to pack in plenty of airship shots, city scenes, and even a tender, tearful moment with the RPG's blonde-haired protagonist. Jump past the post break for the clip and some skydiving action.[Update 1: We mixed up our Ring of Fates with our Crystal Bearers, citing this trailer as belonging to The Ring Bearers. How embarassing.]
Extended Ring of Fates trailer
If previous Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates clips have left you wanting, look no further than the multiplayer ARPG's latest trailer from last week's Square Enix party. The four-minute video has everything you could ever ask for -- story cutscenes, cooperative puzzles, touchscreen elements, topless Selkies, hectic combat, boss fights, peanut butter jelly, and a baseball bat. Carry your bucket past the post break for the movie, but don't expect to get much use out of it.
Arena battles and "Must-See PvP"
Terra Nova has a good piece up asking a question I've been thinking about ever since I saw video of the WoW arena fights at WSVG: even if Blizzard (or anyone else) sets up the technology for us to watch professional arena fights live, are they really going to be "must see PvP"?Joshua from TN says yes-- he says he enjoys watching for tips, including how the players move, what targets they take, what strategies they employ, and so on. Personally, I have to disagree. I enjoy playing arena or fighting in the battlegrounds as much as the next guy, but when it comes to watching just the ingame fight, I just can't get into it. Part of it really is the presentation; WSVG could do a much better job explaining what's happening, just by showing the teams' makeup and their separate goals before they mix it up, and also by getting a new announcer ("It seems" like he repeats himself, and "that's going to be the case"). They do pull it off once-- in the China team vs. the Pandemic match (which I can't direct link to for some reason-- WSVG should fix that, too), the fight comes down to a mage vs. a warrior, and that fight is simple and easy enough to understand that the tension actually builds to an amazing victory. With the rest of the matches, though, things are too crazy and chaotic for anyone but a really knowledgeable viewer to keep it interesting.So even if the presentation was broadcast quality, I would think that the only people interested in watching these videos were the top arena players themselves. No one else would have the knowledge they need to catch every spell interrupt and every strategy choice. And the natural appeals of other sports, I think-- the glory of a football player making the play for his team-- don't apply here unless you show the actual people behind the keyboards, or at least show what that big Tauren warrior is doing when he goes for the priest instead of the mage. Will arena PvP ever be a really good spectator sport?
Impressive God of War: Chains of Olympus gameplay videos
We've already showed off screenshots of the upcoming PSP God of War, but what about it in motion? Does it live up to the PS2 series in looks and gameplay? You can judge for yourself, by watching the video above. Personally, watching it has made me somehow more excited for the game. It makes me think that God of War: Chains of Olympus, may cement Ready At Dawn as the PSP's premier developer. If the cliffhanger ending of the above video depresses you, than keep reading to see how the boss battle plays out. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain game I have to go pre-order.Boss video after the jump ...
See before you buy: Japan edition
We were happy when Nintendo of America finally put up some preview videos so people could at least get a look at Virtual Console games before throwing their Wii Points into a hole. Now, Nintendo of Japan has done the same! You'll be able to preview new Virtual Console games long before they come to the US. In many cases, you can just uselessly torture yourself by watching videos of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Mario's Super Picross that will never be released over here! And if there's anything we enjoy, it's uselessly torturing ourselves.[Thanks, creamsugar!]
The Ouendan experience
With only a week to go before its release in Japan, Nintendo has put up a suite of videos for Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. In addition to the traditional commercial spot and gameplay trailer, there are five "experience" clips showing people tapping and singing along with the rhythm title's songs. We would post videos of our own experiences with Ouendan, but they'd consist of us sobbing in a corner as we played through "Over the Distance," a heart-rending ghost love story that calls for you to reunite a restless spirit with his grieving girlfriend for one last goodbye. We haven't cried that much since the last time we saw Grave of the Fireflies. Oh the humanity! Bring a tissue when you saunter past the post break for the melancholic scene from the original Ouendan game.
Virtual Console videos let you at least see the game
One of the rightful complaints about the Wii's Virtual Console is the inability to demo games. A pretty shady practice to say the least given that XBLA lets you demo pretty much anything. Oh well, now you can at least see the game before you buy it. Nintendo has a website up now which shows a 30-second clip (technically 25, minus 5 seconds for the ESRB rating) of each VC title.Gamers who weren't around the first time these titles came out can at least see what they look like -- although it's still a poor substitute for a demo. Also, a 30-second clip of Zelda doesn't really give the title the oomph it deserves and some of the clips chosen just seem like awkward choices. Sure, they aren't demos, but at least they're something.[Via WiiFanboy]
See before you buy - Virtual video goodness
Making Virtual Console purchasing decisions just got that little bit easier thanks to the set of preview videos now available on the Wii's official website. These are just the thing for telling the good, the bad and the plain ol' ugly apart when choosing how to get your nostalgia fix.With the range of available titles getting ever wider, it's nice to at least get the chance to see the games in action before spending those hard-earned Wii Points. What do you think of the service? Anyone been sold on, or reconsidered, a download after seeing the video?If you're thinking of doing some virtual shopping, don't forget to check out our Monday roundups, for a critical take on the latest releases.[Via Infendo]
What's waiting in The Darkness? New multimedia info, that's what
Fancy some new details about The Darkness? Go on then, you've twisted my arm. If you've been keeping an eye on the Myspace page for the game then you'll probably already know this, but for those who haven't I'm here to relay Lord Sonatine's message. Here's the skinny: Release date: Confirmed for the 25th of June Demos: No cover discs. Expect to see a downloadable demo on the PLAYSTATION Store three weeks before release. Videos: Three in the works. One is ready and is working on being approved. Apparently we'll LOVE it. Two other videos, showing off multiplayer and 'supernatural elements' of the game, have started being produced. Pre-order: Doing so at EB or Gamestop will net you an in-game 2K Sports Darkling. Sounds great to me. It should be a couple of months filled with The Darkness, all the way up to release. Give in. The Darkness is coming, and it's bringing friends.[Thanks, Ben Furneaux]
Super Gumby Bros. Brawl trailer
They haven't yet invented a number that accurately estimates how many times we've watched the Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer that debuted at last year's E3 event. 15 bazillion? 32 robillion? 299 karmakarmakarmakarmakarma-chamelion? Nay, these numbers do not even begin to scratch the surface! Sgsugar's claymation remake of the trailer is more of a homemade project than a high-value production, but its stop-motion action is no less awesome. The misshapen models, amateurish sets, and inconsistent lighting only serve to increase the video's plasticine charm. Solid Snake's absence is disappointing but easily forgotten when the two-minute clip is filled with scenes like Pit firing an oversized arrow from his malformed bow or Wario's flatulent send-off. Jump past the post break for Sgsugar's clay-animated adaptation and Nintendo's original Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer.See also: Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets hand-drawn and hilarious
