In an article on CNN about the future of 3D, DICE lets it be known they have plans for incorporating 3D into Battlefield: Bad Company 2. While no platform is mentioned, I think it is safe to assume the PS3 and PC is involved, as that is the only two platforms knowingly working on 3D. Microsoft’s intentions for 3D remain unclear.

Patrick Bach, senior producer at game developer DICE, said whether it is this technology or another, gaming is headed for 3-D soon. DICE and its owner, Electronic Arts, will be upgrading their new game, “Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” into a 3-D game with a patch.

“Special hardware will be a hurdle. But we want people to experience the game in 3-D,” Bach said. “We wouldn’t add this if it didn’t add to the game.”

Eisler said developers don’t have to do anything extra to make their games work in three dimensions. The “NVIDIA 3D Vision” process automatically transforms nearly 400 PC games into full stereoscopic 3-D right out of the box, without the need for special game patches, he said.

But he said many companies are going the extra step to make their titles look better in 3-D by adding such enhancements as out-of-screen effects and showing in-game movies and backgrounds in 3-D.

“In ‘Bad Company 2′, for example, they have rendered all their cut scenes in 3-D as well,” Eisler said. “They have done a stellar job with their game.”

Source

It has the best name for a video game in years and hell, the game isn’t so bad either, so if you happen to own a copy then you’ll be happy to know an expansion called The Swarm has just been released for Gratuitous Space Battles.

If you’ve never heard of GSB, then listen up. It’s an excellent strategy, management and simulation game all rolled into one package. You construct massive spaceships to your own specifications and engage in impressive, albeit gratuitous, space battles. Simple and straight-forward design, yet addictive to play.

What’s new in the expansion pack?

10 New ships. 4 Cruisers 3 Frigates and 3 fighters, all in a new graphical style by the same artist who did the original GSB artwork. The swarm ships are a blend of hotrod sports cars, egyptian pharoahs and samurai warriors. With feathers.

4 New ship equipment:  The swarm have disruptor beams, a slow firing beam laser that concentrates the power of several hardpoints together to generate an unusually destructive blast that tears through strong shields. This is a graphical effect, and the weapon will work in any turret. The Swarm also have ‘nest’ crew module for frigates, meaning you can cram more crew into a smaller space. They also have ’smart bombs’ which detonate all incoming (and outgoing) missiles within their radius, fighter fusion guns and micro-target boosters for fighters.

New ship bonuses. The swarm ships are built on the cheap. They fall to bits easily and aren’t very good at making shields or armor, but they do churn out those puppies at bargain prices. Swarm fleets will have large waves of ships, overwhelming the enemy by weight of numbers and speed.

2 New Scenarios. Two maps for you to fight against the swarm, and to use in online challenges. Specially designed space nebulae to show off the shiny new golden hues of the swarm!

Source

Originally posted here, on our gaming sister site GameAlmighty.com.

Being an invested spectator during the handling of the Nintendo DSi XL / 3DS affair over the past couple weeks has been one of the most fascinating, and confounding, situations I have seen in the nearly 20 years I have been watching the industry.

Now it’s not the first time there has been a bad hardware launch, this isn’t our first exposure to an information leak, and we’ve certainly seen more demonstrations of bad Public Relations decisions. The SEGA Dreamcast, PSP Go pictures, and caged nude dancers are three of the first examples that come quickly to my mind, while readers will no doubt be able to come up with even better ones of their own.

But this perfect storm is quite unique. Days before the launch of another very optional $100+ incremental hardware upgrade, Nintendo hastily shoots out a short, detail-light press release announcing their next big handheld which will be 3D-capable!?!

What was the response?

I had been expecting to write an article myself on the NDSi XL once I had made my purchase, but here is an excerpt from an email I wrote to one of the Staff here, Mike Siciliano:

I ended up waiting on my purchase of the NDSi XL. It is just a lot of money and frankly I am pissed at the constant baby steps of hardware improvements and releases Nintendo makes and insulted they would have the gall (sp?) to announce another major piece of hardware (an entire new platform!) just days before the XL release at retail. I almost feel like writing an article about that. Will it play NDS games? If so, and it’s not to far off, I am not going to play their game this time and I’ll just be frustrated, increasingly angry, and try to wait it out. In this economy gamers and parents of gamers don’t have money to throw around but many of them do have an almost religious loyalty to Nintendo that could very easily be taken advantage of.  Sometimes I wonder if they are just doing what they do, or doing what they think they can do?

I try to remain as objective as possible professionally, but in this personal email my frustration isn’t very well hidden as I start thinking more and more about Nintendo operating as a company trying to make their money selling hardware. I called my local GameSpot and it seems 12 other pre-orders had been canceled and the initial numbers of pre-orders were already lower than they expected. This, of course, is not scientific, but it shouldn’t be ignored if you believe that the buying audience was already restricted to very loyal Nintendo-philes. (Oh, were you supposing large print-dependent senior citizens had always been waiting, wallet-in-hand, for a larger screen before joining Nintendo’s “Touch Generation”?)

So why did they do this? Who decides to upstage themselves and distract from the slow bleed-out of hardware upgrades already in progress? Whoever it was seems to have placed a much higher value on being “first”, rather than trying to contain the possible financial repercussions or message control.

Read More

In the market for a new Audio/Visual receiver and want to make sure it will be future proof for at least a few years? Then look no further than the just announced Sony STR-DN1010, the company’s first 3D offering:

Featuring HDMI 1.4 3D pass-through technology, ample high-definition connectivity and compatibility with all of the latest Blu-ray Disc audio formats, the new STR-DN1010 AV receiver is designed to create a simple solution for controlling any high-definition or 3D capable home theater.

The 7.1 channel STR-DN1010 AV receiver (110 watts power per channel @8-Ohms, 1kHz, 1% THD) features full high-definition 1080/24p support and seven HD inputs in total (four HDMI and three component) allowing for connection to a wide variety of HD devices. The receiver’s HDMI 3D pass through technology supports 3D video from connected devices and passes them through to a 3D compatible high-definition television, while decoding high-resolution audio codecs.

The receiver also features an icon-driven menu system for simple device and content navigation and has the ability to upscale analog video sources to 1080p resolution via HDMI. The model also boasts a sleek piano black gloss design that matches Sony’s line of Blu-ray Disc players and televisions.

The STR-DN1010 is compatible with all advanced audio codecs, including Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio and features wireless 2nd zone capabilities through Sony’s S-AIR wireless technology. With the addition of an S-AIR transmitter (model EZW-T100) and separate S-AIR speakers (sold separately), the receiver can also drive wireless audio in up to 10 additional rooms.

The STR-DN1010 receiver also features a Digital Media Port (DMP) input for simple connection to external sources including an iPod and iPhone (compatible DMP accessories required and sold separately) and is compatible with both Deep Color and x.v.Color.

The STR-DN1010 AV receiver will be available this June for about $500.