When you’ve the creator of two memorable games attending a gaming event, you just know that that event will be something BIG. Case in point: Fumito Ueda, creator of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has joined the roster of the speakers for the Nordic Game 2008 special event.

Ueda will be one of over 100 speakers at the stated event, all of whom are high profile people in the video game industry. He will be discussing creative innovation and new game niches as part of the Disruptive Design Session in this year’s Game Creation and Technology.

The Nordic Game 2008 event will be held from Might 14 to 15 at the Malmo Convention Center in Malmo, Sweden. If you’d like more details on this event (such as a comprehensive list of speakers), feel free to click on the source link below.

source pc.qj.net

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Ask various parties about the recent circumstances in the game with respect to E3 and the ESA. Chances are you’ll get different responses about Activision’s departure from the ESA and the decision of certain publishers not to attend this year’s show.

On one hand, director Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade said that E3 had turned from an industry boon into a “sort of pissing contest” where one-upmanship seems to be the goal. Furthermore, the uncertainty that now plagues E3 has affected publisher’s views of the ESA as well.

On the other hand, companies like Capcom, Take-Two and Electronic Arts and are still very much supportive of both the ESA and E3. Jeff Brown of EA believes that the event will have no problem drawing a crowd this year. Ben Feder of Take-Two thinks that ESA President Mike Gallagher “has done an outstanding job.” Capcom mentioned that it has “No plans to drop out, no issue with Mike [Gallagher], no comment.”

For its part, NCsoft stated that it opted to not attend the event because of timing issues, and not because of conflict with E3. Finally, Atlus commented on how “the nature of the show changed when they changed it from a consumer show to an invite-only press show.” It also said, however, that that wasn’t the reason for it’s decision not to exhibit this year – it just chose not to.

source pc.qj.net

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Aside from the new Steam client that was just unleashed a couple of days ago, more goodies have followed its release. These goodies take the particular shape of updates for Audiosurf.

We got details on the update for Audiosurf itself, containing a lot of new features and repairs. Along with this, the all-new Audiosurf FM update has just been released.

Here are some of the notable changes for Audiosurf:

New Features:

• Comments tab on every song’s scoreboard
• Customized player news on the song loading screen (when friends last played, songs you’re champion of, etc…)
• Command interface for 3rd party mod apps (extensions)
• New hover car for Eraser Elite
• Added Vegas ability: generate a random powerup each 60 seconds
• You can play freeride as a music visualizer on your desktop while other applications are running, and it will automatically advance to the next song in your current folder or current m3u playlist
• Improved Strategy Guide look
• Eraser Elite now has 8 rows of tiles (like Pusher Elite)
• Score browser now refreshes popular songs when you first open it
• Added blending to top and bottom black frame in gameplay
• Add a graphic to display your chain reaction multiplier at the bottom of the screen
• Longer-lasting fireworks on enhanced detail
• Maximum song length extended to 60 minutes
• Made additional texture mods possible (tiles, tileflyups, cliff)
• If you put a traffic.png file in the textures folder it will be used for traffic instead of blocks
• Going back in song browser remembers mousewheel scroll position
• Sound effect theme is saved between play sessions
• Checkbox added to stop being shown character videos
• Added OK button to the loading/news page. Gives you more time to read the news on the loading page if you want it
• No longer automatically goes fullscreen when maximizing
• X360 controller can now pause/resume play with the Begin button

Fixes:

• Restored view track shapes and report button on scoreboard
• Fixed unknown song text showing over strategy guide
• Chosen fullscreen resolution is now remembered between sessions
• Fixed Pusher Elite bonus text from 25 to 100 on loading screen
• Moved the “Drill” away from the track (would sometimes overlap)
• Fixed “Next Song” button when used with Recently Played Songs list
• Fixed Resizing window could make the track temporarily disappear
• Fixed being able to click buttons on the scoreboard screen before getting there
• Block captures that force an early match collection are no longer lost
• Greatly reduced delay after resuming from a pause
• Fixed menu background animation getting stuck
• Personal ideal is now stored correctly when playing from an m3u playlist
• Playlist files (m3u) now correctly ignore all comments and http paths
• Adjusted mouse sensitivity scaler
• Restored single-cursor on menu screens

As for the Audiosurf FM update, it’s now available on the web. You can get the software by simply running Steam. According to the creator, Dylan Fitterer, the FM update enables users to “ride their music.”

Much of things found in this particular has been requested by requests and feedbacks from concerned communities. Thus, the FM update is packed with yummy features such as last.fm audioscrobbling, running Audiosurf as a music visualizer, scoreboard comments, and a whole lot more.

Also, developers can tinker with the program since the FM update has a new Mod interface. Some of the things found in it are the Shuffle Play, an MSN Messenger status writer, and a menu that can automatically set Audiosurf with any song via Windows Explorer.

If you guys want to know more about the FM update for Audiosurf, feel free to visit the link below below. Do check up on QJ.NET for more updates.

source pc.qj.net

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Watching a soccer game and actually playing a soccer game are two different things. Fortunately, EA Sports‘ UEFA Euro 2008 (PC, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360) grants players to do both. In this case, though, the watching must come first, as Electronic Arts has presented two new videos: Portugal vs. Spain and the Battle of the Nations Trailer.

In the Spain vs. Portugal video, EA Sports teaches viewers on the command inputs for performing goal celebrations in the game. Most of the stated celebrations are pleasing, too, with various soccer players playing to the adulation of the crowd.

EA Sports’ Battle of the Nations trailer, on the other hand, focuses less on gameplay demonstrations and more on gameplay mechanics. Basically, playing certain game modes in UEFA Euro 2008 yields points which go to countries of the players’ choice. At the end of a certain period, these are accumulated and the ranking of each country is determined.

As with all videos, moving photos are worth a thousand words, so check these EA Sports videos out for a superior idea of what we’re talking about:

source pc.qj.net

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It’s the job of doctors and other medical practitioners to save people’s lives, but what happens when they aren’t physically present? In that case, you put a telemedicine system to work. At least, that’s the idea of Cambridge University professor Dr. George R. Whitesides.

Whitesides collaborated with his colleagues in the United Says and Brazil to design a simple, inexpensive telemedicine system using mobile phones. His prototype system makes use of cell phone cameras and paper-based diagnostic tests that change color when exposed to certain disease markers.

To demonstrate the system, Whitesides and co. used paper-test strips to collect and characterize artificial urine samples. They then took pictures of the color-changing test-strips with a mobile phone camera and remotely transmitted them to an off-site expert. The said expert then measured glucose and protein levels for diagnosis.

Whitesides and his fellow researchers have stated that their system may also be used for detecting disease in plants and livestock, as well as for testing food and water quality. What remains to be done is to further develop and mass-produce tests like these.

source mobile.qj.net

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It might look like a champagne cork but that one up there is Two Face’s coin. Yes, Two Face. A few weeks after giving you more evidence that the Riddler and the Catwoman will be joining the fun for Traveller’s Tales’ Lego Batman: The Videogame (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, DS, Personal computer), we bring you the bipolar villain in all his Lego glory.

Lego Batman: The Videogame has 18 different levels covering three story arcs. So we should expect more villains to come. Who could it be next time? Mister Freeze? Or maybe the Batman Achilles’ Heel, Bane? More importantly, how will they appear in Lego form?

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As early as February’s GDC 2008, we already knew that Valve Corporation won’t be releasing a PlayStation 3 version for the upcoming zombie shooter game Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, Computer). But at least Valve is open to the possibility of a PS3 port. Clarifying their position, Valve’s Doug Lombardi shares more of his insights.

Lombardi, the marketing man for Valve Corporation, tells us that it is only natural to create as many versions of a successful video game, citing Half-Life as an example. That is why a PS3 port is possible.

But Valve has maintained in the past that a third celebration developer may be involved if a PS3 port does happen. Why? Lombardi explains:

We’re only 150 people, so there’s only so many things we have the ability to do. But it’s one of those things with partners, wanting to take on that investment and risk. I think until L4D is proven, you’ll probably just see what we make in that franchise.

And before anything else, there’s a huge clincher here. A PlayStation 3 port solely rests on the success of Left 4 Dead. That’s a massive if. Lombardi believes Left 4 Dead “doesn’t have that guaranteed appeal yet,” owing to the fact that this is a new IP. More updates here at QJ.NET as we get them.

Buy: [ Left 4 Dead (PC) ]

Buy: [ Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) ]

source pc.qj.net

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Courtesy of IBC Channel 13 with support from Japan.

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Midway Games recently posted this year’s first quarter results, and while they’re still losing quite a bit of money, things are pretty much picking up in the horizon. Let’s check out and see just what’s up with the company that brought us the Mortal Kombat series, financial-wise, and what it believes will be the aces up its sleeve come the following quarters.

So, just how much did Midway make, as well as how much got away from them? The first quarter results revealed that the company received sales above guidance at US 29.9 million, with losses up to US 34 million. The losses may seem like a lot, compared to the US 19.8 million loss the year before – but when you also figure out that last year also had them only gaining US 11.1 million, it’s definitely a step up.

Well, those are the numbers for this first quarter. But what does Midway plan to do for the next quarters? Interim president and CEO Matt Booty revealed that the company is looking forward to releasing quite a lot of exclusive titles, but a big part of their strategy also involves cashing in on the casual market with games specifically catered for that audience. This, he explains, will “put Midway back on the path to profitability.”

Definitely good news, then. Updates as we get them, and you can check out more info in the via link below.

source pc.qj.net

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Research in Motion’s upcoming BlackBerry 9000 might be a little bit too high-priced for you, but there may be something that would make the device become an option if you have any plans of getting a new BlackBerry.

According to the stolen shots of a conceptual sketch of what seems to be the BlackBerry “Niagara” – and some rumors that accompany them – RIM is going to launch a BlackBerry 9000 without 3G.

A BlackBerry 9000 without 3G means a cheaper BlackBerry, of course. However, what are the other features that are removed from the Niagara? We can’t tell from the conceptual sketches yet, not even the images can confirm that 3G is not included with the Niagara. But it is assumed to have pretty much the same specs as the original version of the BlackBerry 9000.

So what does this mean for the consumer? If this Niagara does exclude 3G from its features, it’s going to be a viable option for those who do live outside 3G coverage. More details as they come!

Picture courtesy of Boy Genius Report.

source mobile.qj.net

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