Vision-Camera
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Burt Reynolds to promote 'You're in the Movies'
As an antithesis to the apathy and snarkasm us bloggers are wont to project, Microsoft has employed Mr. Burt Reynolds to act as a promoter for its upcoming camera-based casuals trap, You're in the Movies. Reynolds will front a series of TV and magazine spots for the game, using "his long and illustrious career as a part of the tinsel town A-list" to explain how jumping into "a magical world of cinema and hilarious improvisations" could possibly be a good idea. "It's great to be able to share some of my experience with everyone about what it takes to be a movie star," says Reynolds out of his own volition and completely detached from any marketing prompts. "You're in the Movies on Xbox 360 allows everyone to have a piece of the action and have a fun time with their friends and family, starring in their own features, from the comfort of their own homes." Expect him to say similar things in the first commercial, which will premiere on VH1 on November 17, 2008.You're in the Movies will be available in a $70 Vision Camera bundle this holiday.
Viva Killer Instinct, special cards include nostalgia
There's nothing better than a Rare treat, is there? Rare has released three special cards to be scanned into Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise that promise "a suitable Pinata approximation of whatever is pictured." The three items pictured? Killer Instinct characters Fulgore, B. Orchid and Tusk. To access the KI pinatas, print out the cards and hold them up to your vision camera.Let's not jump the gun and think this means a new KI is on the way, kids. Rare has mentioned they don't want to go to the IP Well before -- so, I guess that means they're filthy, filthy teases. Gallery: Viva Pinata TIP Killer Instinct cards
Live Vision bundle clearance priced to $49
If you're in the market for a 12 month Xbox Live subscription, then we recommend searching retailers for the Xbox Live Vision bundle because it has been clearance priced to $49 from its original $79 price tag. The bundle - which comes with 12 months of Xbox Live, Vision camera, wired headset, two XBLA games and 200 Microsoft points - has been spotted at retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City and Gamestop at a low clearance price of $49. We can only speculate that the savings is due to the bundle being discontinued thanks to a newer, hipper and snazzier Live chatpad / PGR4 bundle. May the savings-force be with you![Via Slickdeals]
You're in the Movies bundled with Vision for $60
Release details were lacking when, during their E3 conference, Microsoft announced their Vision enabled B movie creation game You're in the Movies. But now, thanks to some Joystiq detective work, we know that the game will in fact be bundled with the Xbox 360's Vision camera peripheral for a B movie price of $60. That said, MS hasn't revealed any details for obtaining the game outside the Vision bundle or whether or not the $40 stand-alone Vision camera will still be available this Fall. Patience as we figure out this You're in the Movies distribution confusion
Michigan kids exposed to nudity via XBL Vision Cam
*Sigh* Here we go again, the latest overblown news story to come out of the mass media regarding video games. This time it regards a pair of kids who were playing online (its unknown what game, as all the article says is: "while playing a game on X-Box Live, a video game that allows you to play against people anywhere in the world." Now whether of not "X-Box Live" is a video game in and of itself isn't really the issue here, the fact the the article mentions receiving pictures is. Because that setting can be disabled. While the education of parents as to the extent of their own ability to filter their children's content is a problem, some of the statements made in the news article are downright silly. Things like: "Jennifer (the mother) now fears the safety of her children" do much more harm than good. So for all readers out there who could find a moment to educate those folks who aren't quite so up speed, it would benefit us all.
Win Pac-Man, Live subscriptions and Vision cams
To celebrate the continued success of the Xbox Live Arcade (and because they received free goodies from Microsoft), Eurogamer is having a fun little giveaway. European residents can enter the giveaway by answering a rather easy Pac-Man related question over on their site to win prizes galore. What prizes you ask. Well, good question. They're giving away five 12-Month XBL Vision Gold Packs, five XBLA retro tshirts, and fifteen codes to download the new Pac-Man Championship Edition game off the Arcade. So, head on over to their site and enter the giveaway before June 13th. Remember, you must be a European resident, North Americans need not apply.[Thanks, eLiNeS]
The amazing invisible gamer
Perhaps you spotted this on Joystiq, but we had to post it here. It's been some time since we've seen any Vision Camera shenanigans. This video, however, is special. It's not a video of some jackass on Command & Conquer 3, oh no, this video is not of this world. Gasp as his couch defies the laws of our universe. Feel your mind become one with another dimension as you stare through a man's solid flesh.If you prefer to preserve the illusion, read no further. It turns out that the Vision camera used in this video was suffering from a case of burn in. It seems the camera has captured the couch in the background for so long that it is permanently within the frame. As it stands, the video teaches us two things. One, be careful using your Vision cam for prolonged amounts of time. Two, if you're not worried about your Vision's well-being, this should make for an interesting party trick.
Vision shenanigans: R6 Vegas baby
You find the damnedest things cruising Flickr. Today we found this picture taken from Rainbow Six Vegas created by frasermoo. Yes, that is the face of an infant. The face of an infant mounted onto a lethal terrorist killing machine to be specific. While we can't argue the hilarity of such a juxtaposition, we do have to question the logistics of such an endeavor. What had to be done to keep this child still enough to capture his face this accurately? What nefarious harnesses were put to use for the sole sake of creating a humorous avatar? Hopefully, this baby has a penchant for sitting perfectly still and looking cute all the time.Any Vegas players spot any other freaky avatars out there?
Raving Rabbids will utilize Vision camera on Xbox 360
One of the waggle-free ports of Rayman: Raving Rabbids might not be entirely worthless, at least if you happen to own an Xbox 360 Vision camera. IGN notes that aside from "graphical tweaks" and two new mini-games, the Xbox 360 version will incorporate gesture-based gameplay for 37 of the 70-odd mini-games. It's almost a perfect match, really. Raving Rabbids requires some sort of unique input to rise above its mini-game miasma, and the Vision camera needs more games to take meaningful advantage of it. Whether or not the pairing is strong enough to push a great, built-for-Wii experience to the other side remains to be seen. The high-def bunnies arrive this March.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
A long distance Xbox 360 Vision X-mas
Over at the Gamerscore Blog Chris posted an account of his first Christmas spent with his family using the Xbox 360 Vision camera. Since moving to Washington our friend Chris hasn't had much interaction with his family and this was his first holiday season without them. What else could he do except purchase his family a Vision camera, get one for himself, and open presents via Xbox Live. Technology bringing together a family, now that's priceless. Have you used your Vision camera to talk with family that lives far away, or newly found friends, or to do some video conferencing? Bringing people together this holiday season, the Vision camera saves the day!
Vegas, face mapping, and you: a video
We recently brought you Major Nelson's Vegas face mapping results, but those were merely pictures. Today we bring you the holy grail of face mapping evidence: video. It seems that the overall goal of face mapping, however, is not to map normal faces. If our previous commenters are to be believed, Vegas players have been trying all kinds of head gear, from sun glasses to Spiderman masks. It's fitting, then, that this video features a woman using the face mapping feature to give Xbox Live a permanent raspberry. Check out the video and tell us what creative things you've done with your Vegas avatar.
Vision Gold pack for $59 (again)
The kooky guys and gals at Stootsi are at it again, offering an Xbox 360 Vision camera -- with a year of Xbox Live Gold and other goodies -- for the low, low price of $54.99. Add $5.00 shipping and you've got a vision cam for only $59.99, a full $20.00 off the full retail price. We'd tell you to hurry because these sales are limited to 24 hours, but it seems like Stootsi is content to offer this deal every other week, so it will likely pop up again. Still it's a great deal and easily worth the money. Go grab yourself a camera if you're so inclined. Hey, it's the only way you're going to get your Oakleys into a game of Vegas, right?
Vegas face mapping: Larry, meet Larry
Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, recently posted the results of his Rainbow Six Vegas facial mapping on his Flickr site. How does it look? Pretty good actually. We mocked up his in game avatar next to his real life mug in the image above. Vegas fans out there may be wondering how Major Nelson came by those cool shades and hat in Vegas. Does he have access to special content because he works for Microsoft? Nope, he was actually wearing those things when he captured his face with the Vision camera. Knowing this, we can only imagine the lengths that some people might go to in order to really customize their character. You want pink and blue camouflage face paint (you know, for sneaking around a cotton candy machine)? Just paint yourself up and take a picture! In theory, you could add anything to your face before you take the picture: tattoos, fake scars, crazy contact lenses, the possibilities are endless.Now that you've seen the results, will you try anything special to customize your character?
2nd chance, Vision Gold pack for $59
It's official, the people at Stootsi.com are nuts about the Xbox 360. We've covered them selling wireless controls and Live headsets, and the Live Vision Gold bundle in the past. Now they're doing it again. The Live Vision Camera deal apparently sold so fast that Stootsi decided to offer it a second time for all the people who missed out. They are currently selling the Xbox Live Vision Camera Gold bundle for $54.99 plus $5 shipping. So, you can grab this for $59.99, $20 off the retail price. Just for a moment, let's peruse the contents of this pack: Vision Camera Live Headset 1 Year of Xbox Live Gold 200 MS Points Two Live Arcade games (Totem Ball and Robotron 2084) That's a lot of stuff for not a lot of scratch. If you've got the cash and you don't have a Vision cam, this is a hell of a deal. Anybody plan on getting it? You've got just over 22 hours to pick one up.[Thanks, get over it]
Texas Hold 'em to get Vision upgrade?
Sharp-eyed 360 Fanboy reader, Gregg Smith, noticed something after this morning's fall update. If you list your Xbox Live Arcade games by category, there is a section for Vision Camera enabled games. In that category, Texas Hold 'em -- or as I call it, Texas Hold Them -- is listed as Vision enabled. Granted, I don't play Hold 'em very much, so I fired it up just to be sure. Lo and behold, there is no Vision support. Does this mean that Hold 'em will have an upgrade in the near future, or did someone at 360 HQ make a mistake?
Xbox Live update: possible pr0n expansion?
So, Xbox Live is down. We all know that. We've been told that it's not going to be the fall dashboard update. Naturally, this has led many to speculate as to what the update actually is. Xbox.com simply states that we should expect some new My Xbox features. The last set of features delivered included things like the ability to check your Live messages from a computer, and send them as well. Considering the release of the Live Vision camera (finally got one myself), many are speculating that the new update will allow Live members to open picture messages from a PC.Let's think about this. Before the PC entered the equation, pictures were bound to the 360, but should they be accessible on a PC, they could be saved, altered, redistributed, you name it. If the word in your mind right now isn't "porn" ... well, you're probably more well adjusted than I am, but I digress. Hell, just playing the Phantasy Star Universe beta last night, I saw several offers to the tune of "I'LL SEND U A PIC FOR $." Sure, technologically, it's nothing new, but you don't even have to leave the couch for crying out loud. Long story short, if the new features turn out to include PC based picture messaging, it will be interesting to say the least. Scary? Titillating? What do you think?
Major Nelson demos Vision camera
Rather than just a standard pod blogcast this week, Major Nelson has instead posted a video podcast. Big deal, you say. But wait, there's more! This video podcast is all about the new Vision camera, which comes out tomorrow (assuming you couldn't snag one early from Toys R Us). The video -- weighing in at over twenty minutes long -- outlines all the super nifty great features of the peripheral. And, did we hear that Rainbow Six: Vegas will feature face mapping? We're pretty sure we did.Those of you interested in the camera (vibration functions and all) should definitely check it out.
Good vibes from the Vision Cam
CheapAssGamer veteran kjauburn snagged one of those premature Vision Cameras at Toys R Us and posted his review. Despite having no interactive game to try out, he has a fairly positive run down of the features, including one (dual) shocking capability you may have overlooked:One interesting or disturbing item to note is you can vibrate the other individual's controller with the trigger buttons. Use your imagination...Owing my utter naivety, I'm throwing this one to our readership and the third party accessory manufacturers.
Leipzig Games Convention roundup
In case you've missed it, or if your slavish devotion prevents you from checking other websites, below is a roundup of Microsoft related news from the Leipzig Games Convention. GC is a pretty big deal in Europe so, there's plenty of stuff to see. Microsoft unveils new peripherals, Vision Camera Settlers of Catan on Live Arcade? Wha? Long promised Lost Planet multiplayer vids Sweet videos of HL2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. Microsoft nabs FIFA and Pro Evo 6 exclusivity A healthy selection indeed. May they help our American friends make it through a tedious workday, and our European friends settle in for the evening.[Via Joystiq]
Vision camera? Don't forget your free game
Maybe Uno isn't your thing. Texas Hold 'em just doesn't do it for you. Would you rather control a weird totem pole thing by waving your arms and looking like a jackass? Really? Then TotemBall is for you! TotemBall (see video above) lets players guide their character through levels using gestures in conjunction with the Live Vision camera. It should be noted that our own Ken Weeks had some trouble controlling the game in the bad lighting conditions of E3. Hopefully the final version will provide us with a tighter experience -- and another reason to be excited about the Vision camera. The game should be available for download on September 19th, Vision's official launch date. Also, if you haven't picked one up already, the camera will be available in two packages: Standard Kit ($39.99): - Xbox Live Vision Camera - Xbox Live Headset - Xbox Live Gold 1 Month Trial - UNO (code for download) and TotemBall (on Sept. 19) Gold Kit ($79.99): - Xbox Live Vision Camera - Xbox Live Headset - Xbox Live Gold One Year Subscription - UNO (code for download) and TotemBall (on Sept. 19) and third game (TBD) - 200 MS Points [Thanks, Rivithed]
