A patent application filed by Apple in September 2006 has recently been published, revealing multi-touch technology aimed specifically at handling multitasking in gaming environments.
If it sounds wordy and confusing, it’s because it’s a patent. The technology described allows users to access a secondary application on a device without needing a second screen or overlay. If the user is tapping the screen, they’re using the one interface, but if they’re pressing down, they’re accessing the other.
This would normally be a fairly unremarkable patent, except that the wording describes its usage as being specifically for “a game or gaming application.” Our educated guess is that this patent is talking about games on the iPhone and iPod Touch, especially considering the patent references the secondary application as a “media-player,” and makes at least one reference to the gaming application possibly being a “music-based game.” Of course, it could also be something entirely different, or an out-of-date idea, given that the patent application is over a year old. Still, at least we know that Apple’s thinking about it.
It’s Fancast time! This week the gang talks about Call of Duty 4 versus Halo 3 shenanigans, Crysis shenanigans, and Too Human shenanigans. Really, as Fancasts go, this one is positively full of shenanigans. We also take time to discuss XBLA news and the latest trailer for Viking. We’ve also got plenty of Fanmail about missing 360s, Falcon replacements, downloadable games, and what movies would make good games. Don’t forget we’ve got our enhanced Fancast on offer too, but unfortunately, you’ll still have to download it manually. With any luck, we’ll have a separate RSS feed for our enhanced podcast soon.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3). [RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [AAC] Download the enhanced AAC directly. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
While all three current-gen consoles are selling pretty well at their current prices, their MSRPs apparently aren’t low enough for Amazon. The popular retail site is offering the opportunity to get a Wii for $79, an Xbox 360 Arcade for $99, or a 40GB PS3 for $139.
Before you go running off to make your order, there is a catch. Only the system that gets the most votes in the first round of Amazon’s “Customers Vote” promotion will be offered at the reduced price. What’s more, the offer will only be extended to 1,000 randomly-selected voters who picked the most popular choice. This last wrinkle could lead to some interesting strategic votes, as some voters might pick their second-choice system if they don’t think their favorite has a chance to win. Is there a game theory expert in the house? (Update: Apparently, those who vote for the losing systems still have a chance to get their choice at a smaller discount. See this page for more details. Thanks Roger).
You may remember that last year Amazon offered a $100 Xbox 360 as part of a similar voting promotion, and the system won handily against some admittedly weak competition. Will Microsoft’s console reign supreme now that its up against its peers? We’ll find out on Nov. 22, when first round voting concludes.
The hotly anticipated first Blizzard podcast — creatively named BlizzCast — has just gone live. Available as a manageable 24 MB MP3 download, Blizzard’s first attempt at podcasting contains an interview with art director (and L70TC frontman) Samwise Didier and forum regular Drysc interviewing lead developer Jeff Kaplan. Blizzard’s official BlizzCast page explains that this series of podcasts will be a behind the scenes peek behind Blizzard’s game development process.
Although most people have been looking forward to the information about Patch 2.4, as Eliah wrote earlier, the interview with Samwise turned out to be more entertaining. In order to fully appreciate the interview, however, listeners should visit the podcast’s official page, which contains the transcript of the podcast as well as illustrations and screenshots (future BlizzCasts will be video podcasts). With all the hype surrounding the BlizzCast — mostly caused by Blizzard hinting at more information on the forums — Blizzard’s first attempt at podcasting seems to fall far short of expectations. The interview with Tigole is a brief eight minutes (compared to Samwise’s 12) and most of the information he mentions has already been revealed. In fact, one of the details Kaplan mentions — the improvements to raid ready checks — is already in the game from last Tuesday’s Patch 2.3.2.
It’s frequently fitting that we begin Zero Punctuation related stories with a disclaimer, so here we go. If you a) loveMass Effect or b) have no sense of humor, you’d best turn around right now. This week, as you may have guessed, Yahtzee takes on BioWare’s latest opus, Mass Effect. To put it succinctly, Mass Effect joins the likes of Guitar Hero III andJericho. In other words, he’s not a fan. His major beefs are the game’s heavy amount of text and some less than great combat. You can find the video embedded after the break. It is, as usual, not safe for work.
Rare’s Christmas image is definitely intriguing — why would pinatas need copies of their own game? Note the KI3 – as in Killer Instinct 3 — stocking. Don’t get your hopes up for any announcement, we suspect that stocking is empty and dangling close enough to the fire to soon be up in flames. Check out the highlights for today (note: breaking news will highlighted in bold):
According to MCV, “senior industry sources” have intimated that the UK release of Grand Theft Auto IVwill not be in March as previously expected, but rather on April 25. Naturally, Rockstar refused to comment on the speculation when contacted by MCV. Assuming the sources are correct, this would put GTAIV’s release in the very last week of the second fiscal quarter for the game’s publisher Take Two. This lines up well with previous statements from Take Two head Strauss Zelnick, who noted last month that the release would be, “sometime between the beginning of February and the end of April.” It’s also worth noting that an April 25 release in the UK would likely put the title on US shores somewhat earlier. Don’t expect Take Two or Rockstar to talk anytime soon either, as one source expects them to wait until “two or three weeks before release” to divulge more information.
It’s time for some posturing as Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard engage in a third-party publisher arms race, with EA’s UK boss Keith Ramsdale firing a warning shot across AB’s nose (not up it, mind you). MCV reports in its headline (without mentioning it in the article) that Ramsdale said, “Bring ‘em on.”
The piece itself is far more diplomatic in its use of quotes, with Ramsdale saying things like “good luck” and “look forward to the competition.” The gem quote is, “We’re always at our best when we have a clearly defined competitor.” Has EA really had a clearly defined competitor within reasonable memory? Well, they do now.
Golly gee willickers there’s a lot of games out this week. First of all, we should mention that Turokis officially out this week (though it was released early in some areas; we saw it at Blockbuster yesterday). The star of the show this week is probably Devil May Cry 4 though, what with its demon slaying antics and longstanding pedigree. But wait, what’s this? There’s more? Yes, it seems the post-holiday dearth has finally ended (for the moment anyway), as this week sees three more titles as well. All told we have:
Devil May Cry 4
Turok
Culdcept Saga
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore
See, there’s something for everybody (even gamers dying for a CCG / Monopoly hybrid). Not bad. Not bad at all.
We’d be surprised if anyone saw “Mortal Kombat movie” in the headline and decided to keep reading, regardless, we will continue on, if only for our own amusement. Entertainment news site Moviehole recently had the … opportunity, we guess, to sit down with the director of the third chapter in the esteemed Mortal Kombat film franchise, a grown man who goes by the name of ‘mink’. Yes, if there were anyone we could trust to revitalize this already sterling series of movies, a man with a penchant for weasels and poor capitalization skills would be first on our list.
mink mentioned that the film (which is still in pre-production) will not actually be a sequel, but instead, a “re-envisioning of the Mortal Kombat franchise from top to bottom.” He also promises that the film will be an “A plus plus” title to try and “capture the magic of the first film.” We’re not convinced — between Christopher Lambert’s oddly effeminate portrayal of Raiden and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s frequent, impassioned delivery of “YOUR SOUL … IS MINE,” we don’t think that kind of lightning is capable of striking twice.
The hotly anticipated first Blizzard podcast — creatively named 
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