A New DS And A Wii U Price Cut

BY

Nintendo today announced the Nintendo 2DS, a brand new portable system that releases on October 12 at an MSRP of $129.99. The system will be available in black-and-red and black-and-blue colors, and features a fully different form factor from Nintendo 3DS. The system doesn’t fold, making it look more like a Game Boy with two screens.

The Nintendo 2DS will be backwards compatible with over 2000 Nintendo DS games, and will be able to play all Nintendo 3DS games in 2D. It is also launching day and date with the new Pokemon X and Pokemon Y games that traditionally target a younger demographic.

Given the lower $129.99 price point (Nintendo 3DS retails for $159.99, and the Nintendo 3DS XL for $189.99), and taking into account the simultaneous Pokemon release, this looks like Nintendo’s attempt to aim squarely for the kids and family market.

Taking a look at their Nintendo 2DS promotional video featuring a parent and his child, it becomes apparent Nintendo is aiming for a more budget-mindful consumer. You can see their first video below, setting the stage for the Nintendo 2DS marketing efforts towards the “gamer family” demographic.

Nintendo also announced a price cut on their Wii U Deluxe Set bundle, which will now have an MSRP of $299.99. The company also announced a new bundle that will hit stores on September 20 and, instead of NintendoLand, will come with a digital version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and the book Hyrule Historia, and a custom-designed GamePad controller.

Samsung Tricks Out A Tablet For Kids

BY

When people pick up tablets, they usually consider them for practical purposes, like watching movies, playing games or doing stuff related to them.  Parents are especially interested in engaging with their kids through things like storybook apps or games for all ages.

Today, Samsung took the kid market to heart with the introduction of a new Galaxy Tab 3 Kids tablet. It will come pre-loaded with kid-friendly games and applications and a Kids’ Store where parents can buy additional programs, and parental control features.

The device also features a kid-friendly design, with bright, bold colors and a wide, durable build, so that it’s easy to grip and use. A C pen also comes within the case, so kids can draw with certain programs on the device.

The device will arrive in Korea next month, and other markets soon after.

Source: TechCrunch

This Week’s [a]list Jobs – August 28

BY

 “We need to rediscover our entrepreneurial instincts and use them to forge new sorts of careers.” And more awesome career advice from LinkedIn’s billionaire founder Reid Hoffman. 

This week’s [a]list jobs:

[a]list daily is now your source for the hottest job openings for senior management and marketing in games, entertainment and social media. Check here every Wednesday for the latest openings. To see last week’s [a]list jobs click here. 

A New Way To Connect With Ads

BY

For the longest time, outdoor advertising has followed a pretty common track, with very few changes to how things work. If the new iPhone works out the way rumors are rumbling, things could change.

Using Near Field Communication (NFC)-based technology, the new iPhone could possibly work with electronic billboards using information based inside the phone to cater to particular audiences. For instance, particular tweets or Facebook posts from the device could spell out a person’s interests, allowing electronic billboards to create an ad that best caters to them, even getting to the point of offering a coupon.

Apple hasn’t confirmed whether NFC-based technology would be in the new device, but we’re likely to learn more soon with the company’s upcoming announcements.

Source: Mashable

Xbox One’s Silver Lining

BY

Microsoft has been touting “cloud power” as one of the main features for its Xbox One game console — but what exactly does it mean? Today, the company released a new infographic, detailed in the link below, that explains what it’s all about.

By uploading data through the “cloud” servers, players are able to keep track of progress in certain games. Forza Motorsport 5, for instance, will allow you to challenge a network of opponents, including your friends— even if they aren’t online at the time.

The infographic also explains that 300,000 servers — the latest and most reliable cloud infrastructure to date — will be ready when the Xbox One launches this fall. Background downloading will also be available, so you can get right into playing your games, rather than waiting for them to finish loading up.

The Xbox One releases later this year.

Source: IGN

Rumor: Xbox One Launches November 8

BY

By announcing an official launch date of November 15 for the PlayStation 4, Sony fired the opening salvo in the next-gen console war. However, if things go according to play for Microsoft, it could have a one-week jump on the competition.

Various retailer sources indicated to Kotaku that Microsoft is looking to launch the Xbox One console on November 8, a full week ahead of the PlayStation 4. Now Kotaku says a source close to Microsoft said this won’t be the case, that the console will launch later in November. Microsoft would no doubt like an advantage over its competition since Sony “stole the show” a few months back at E3, and has a $100 price advantage as well.

Once Microsoft confirms the launch details for the system – as well as any possible bonus games included in the package (like Europe getting FIFA 14), we’ll have all the details here.

Source: Kotaku

Supercell Mulling Move To Android

BY

Supercell, a developer that has found massive success with its two iOS releases Clash of Clans and Hay Day, is considering making the move to Android very soon.

CEO Ilkka Paananen explained to FT.com that it’s considering the move, stating, “You can’t be global without being in Asia, and you can’t be big in Asia without being on Android. I guess that’s a long way of saying that we are very actively thinking about it.”

The developer, bringing in $2.4 million a day through its apps, currently ranks on the third and fourth positions for Apple’s top grossing list for game apps. Moving that business to Android would be very profitable, even if the company has to get used to a different kind of hardware.

Expect the move to happen soon.

Source: The Next Web

Maya Comes To Mobile

BY

Autodesk today introduced Autodesk Maya LT 2014, a new 3D modeling and animation tool tailored for independent and mobile game developers. Maya LT draws inspiration from the high-end Autodesk Maya software that’s commonly used in console and PC game development to bring an intuitive, affordable new toolset for the creation of professional-grade 3D mobile, PC and web-based game assets.

“We see indie game developers as a key part of the industry, driving innovative new production techniques and gameplay,” said Chris Bradshaw, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment.”The market is fiercely competitive, and Maya LT can provide indie developers and small studios with a powerful, yet simplified workflow for designing and animating remarkable 3D characters, environments and props – at a price that fits within even the most modest budget. It’s a practical solution that closely matches the needs of the mobile game development production cycle and helps developers rise above the noise and really shine.”

Maya LT includes support for the Unity 3D Engine and the Unreal® Engine through the FBX file format, and can import and export textures and objects in a variety of formats. Key features are lighting and texture baking, as well as animation tools like a skeleton generator and inverse kinematics..

Perhaps the most important feature is how Autodesk has priced the software. Autodesk Maya LT 2014 is now available for Mac and Windows at a starting price of $795 SRP per perpetual license. Term licenses will also be available as part of a monthly, quarterly or annual rental plan in the near future, starting at $50 SRP, $125 SRP and $400 SRP respectively.

ispot test 3

BY