Keep Your Eyes On The Road And Stay Connected

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Automaker Ford is looking to integrate Facebook with its popular voice-controlled SYNC software currently featured in the newer models. This function will allow users to look up an event location, see who’s attending, and even check-in to the event upon arrival. Currently, Ford SYNC AppLink allows drivers to connect to apps like Pandora, iHeartRadio and a Twitter-based app Orangatame OpenBeak. Users can control and navigate these app simply by using their voice.

IPhone 5 Mock Up Very Convincing

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Italian designer Federico Ciccarese has created a great mock up of a iPhone 5. It’s form features a flat “retina” display, a tapered off design at the top and bottom and a slightly curved back; we already want one!

 

Source: Mashable

The Amazing Spider-Man Will Feature Stan Lee

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Stan Lee, known as “Mr. Marvel” for his role in creating many of the most memorable heroes for Marvel Comics, has made several cameo appearances in Marvel movies. However, he recently confirmed that he will actually be a character in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man.

“I’m going to be a playable character!” chirped Lee enthusiastically. “[In the new Spider-Man game] done by Activision. I’m going to be in that game!”

Source: Addict of Fiction

Adidas Sues THQ Over Exercise Software

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THQ has been sued by sports-wear company Adidas. They allege in the lawsuit that THQ’s failed to provide the miCoach software product, causing $10.6 million in damages.

The software was meant to be a digital exercise-measurement system similar to the Nike+ products and the agreement was reached in December 2010 to produce a product by January 2012. However, THQ’s financial difficulties led to layoffs in the miCoach software division and they were unable to finish the game.

Adidas says that not only is THQ unable to finish the product on time, but they are refusing to turn over publishing materials to an alternative developer of Adidas’ choosing. Adidas is, consequently, also seeking an injunction requiring that THQ not sell or transfer the rights to the miCoach-related game.

FCC Looking Into Mobile Lock-Down In San Francisco

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The FCC has stepped into the fray of government authorities looking to shut down mobile services in the interest of public safety. This follows the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shutdown of mobile cellphone service to prevent protests against a police action.

“Any interruption of wireless services raises serious legal and policy issues, and must meet a very high bar,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “The FCC, as the agency with oversight of our communications networks, is committed to preserving their availability and openness, and to harnessing communications technologies to protect the public.”

“The same wireless network that police see as a tool for rioters to coordinate is the same wireless network used by peaceful protesters to exercise our fundamental freedoms,” said Harold Feld, the legal director for Public Knowledge. “More than that, in any event, the network will be necessary for people in the area to call for help or to let family members know they are not harmed.”

“What BART did clearly violated the First Amendment . . . But we need a court to say so, not the FCC,” said Larry Downes, TechFreedom’s senior adjunct fellow, and Berin Szoka, TechFreedom’s founder and president. “The state did not order the shutdown of the network, nor does the state run the network. BART simply turned off equipment it doesn’t own—a likely violation of its contractual obligations to the carriers. But BART did nothing that violated FCC rules governing network operators. To declare the local government an ‘agent’ of the carriers would set an extremely dangerous precedent for an agency with a long track record of regulatory creep.”

Source: AdWeek

CityVille Designer Goes Idle

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Idle Games announced that it has hired Michael McCormick away from Zynga. The Electronic Arts, Backbone Entertainment, Playfirst and HumaNature Studios veteran of 20 years also happened to be the CityVille lead designer.

“When we started Idle Games our core mission was to make wholly original and truly social games driven by creativity and fun, limited only by our imaginations,” said Jeffrey Hyman, Idle Games CEO and co-founder. “Michael embodies these values and has a proven track record of innovation and success. Really, he’s quite a god in the gaming industry. The perfect fit for Idle Worship.”

“I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the industry’s biggest players on the frontiers of emerging genres and platforms,” McCormick said. “To say that Idle Games is doing new things in the social space is an understatement, and I couldn’t be more excited to join the team.”

Fruit Ninja Kinect Reaches One Million Downloads

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Halfbrick has announced that Fruit Ninja Kinect has exceeded the one million downloads milestone on Xbox Live Arcade. The $10 game comes with many Kinect bundles and was the top title for XBLA’s Summer of Arcade series.

“Hitting 1 million downloads for XBLA is an awesome achievement,” said Phil Larsen, chief marketing officer at Halfbrick. “It’s a milestone that proves how with the right team and vision, a mobile game can be expanded into a much bigger franchise across new platforms and markets and be wildly successful!”

Skylanders Licensing Blitz Coming

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150 licensing executives recently attended an event held by Activision to try and secure licensing rights for Skylanders. While they’ve already signed Penguin Children’s Books, who will release five Skylanders books this year – including a sticker book, a novel and an e-book –  they’ll try to expand out into things like plush toys, lunch boxes, clothes, back packs and more.

“That deal is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Skylanders’ VP of consumer marketing John Coyne. “We have just held a licensing conference in the U.K., with 150 people attending. I’ve worked on a number of these IPs for the likes of Mattel and Spin Master in previous roles, and you can sense things are going well when people approach you about licensing opportunities, rather than you having to approach them. That’s what we’re seeing here.”

“Lunch boxes, apparel, back packs, publishing, other toy areas – these are all things that are currently in the works,” he added. “Hopefully Skylanders will be everywhere. It tends to go that way. Once kids get into something, they really get into it. You see that on a number of movie properties and TV shows. It becomes a lifestyle thing for them. Skylanders is following that curve.”

Skylanders was a toy phenomenon this past holiday season, and retailers want items that keep people coming back. “Coming from the toy industry, I never underestimate the importance and power of retail,” Coyne added. “That hands-on experience, to be able to see something and interact with it at retail, was something we knew was going to be important from the start. Kids are going back to stores week-in week-out looking for new Skylanders, which is a great thing for retail.”

Source: MCV

Game Of Thrones MMO Planned

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Bigpoint has announced that they have licensed Game of Thrones to become a browser-based MMO. The game will be developed by Artplant, who also created Battlestar Galactica Online.

“We intend to build a game that resonates intimately with its diehard community of followers, while also creating an authentic gaming experience that attracts newcomers to the franchise,” Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz said in a press release. “The excitement of online games is that, over time, their collective input will help shape the game’s destiny; we’re eager to see how the story unfolds.”

This game is completely separate from and should not be confused with the Game of Thrones RPG that will be published by Atlus.

Source: www.gameofthronesmmo.com