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Not only is the boomerang design gone, but a new design is in, and this design has people moving (literally).

Logo handmade by Bannister

Column by Scott Green

Man…

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stuntman David Blaine failed to break the world record for holding his breath underwater on Monday, falling nearly two minutes short of the record.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stuntman David Blaine failed to break the world record for holding his breath underwater on Monday, falling nearly two minutes short of the record.

Did anybody attending tonight’s Raw even know ECW had a PPV in California (Heat Wave 2000)? Probably not, so it’s no wonder Dreamer got a dark match pop at best. Charlie Haas is a damn good wrestler, yet they thought so much of him he was introduced during a commercial break. And I suppose it’s asking too much to debut Beth Phoenix’s character as a female wrestler who just wants to kick someone’s ass; instead you just know she’s gonna be Mickie’s ex-girlfriend or some garbage like that…

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3

Immediately following the Sony keynote, we pushed and shoved our way to a quick and dirty session with the new PS3 controller. Warhawk was the only playable demo touting six-axis sensing functionality; so naturally, our destination was the setup featuring that game.

At first grip, the PS3 controller was light — too light. It felt cheap, like one of those third party knockoffs. But obviously Sony has a different perception about the new weight. If indeed developers embrace the motion technology, then a lighter controller will be easier on the wrists.

Of course, our hands were all too familiar with the controller’s curves, having held this same design since 1998 — heck, it’s virtually the same controller we’ve clutched since the PlayStation debuted in 1995. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Wrong. Microsoft came correct this (next) generation. Sony has done nothing, in terms of physical design, to match that.

In practice, the sensing system felt tacked on, at least, tacked on to this Warhawk demo. The sensitivity certainly needed tweaking (it was overly sensitive), as did the response time. But those factors can be fixed — and will be fixed. More awkward was our newfound thumb dilemma. Our thumbs didn’t rest well on the analogue sticks and we found ourselves searching for a spot to put them. As seen here, they ended up in the air. (In other words, we are not flashing our ‘two thumbs up’ approval sign.)

Despite these negative reactions, we believe the sensing system, once adopted and tuned by developers, has the potential to attract consumers. There’s a natural inclination, especially with first time gamers, to twist a controller in an effort to manipulate on-screen action. And of course, the added functionality is a perfect fit for flight-based games or racing titles, but how will it enhance other genres? How will it innovate?

Still, bigger issues loom. We can’t help but feel this was a last ditch effort to thwart Nintendo’s Wii premiere. And in that vein, Sony’s added technology felt rushed. Here’s to hoping we haven’t seen the absolute final design of the new PlayStation 3 controller … however farfetched that hope may be.

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If you saw the May 8 edition of WWE Raw, we encourage you to vote in today’s new Torch Instant Poll, including your 0-10 score for the event and your choice as MVP for the show based on the 20 candidates listed. Click to vote or see results: …

Stuntman David Blaine has failed to break the world record for holding his breath underwater, falling nearly two minutes short of the record.

The Windows Live Messenger, previously available by invitation only (sort of), is open to the public starting at 9 pm PST tonight (Monday). It is available for Windows PCs only, must be downloaded with IE (no Firefox), and is available at ideas.live.com.
Karin Muskopf, the product manager for MSN and Windows Live Messenger, gave […]

Filed under: Interviews

On the flight to Los Angeles, Joystiq blogger Chris Grant and I decided to hold a little impromptu Flight 899 pre-E3 focus group to the pass the time on enroute. After Professor Grant  lectured a captive audience on the perils of sexual objectification and the senior citizen cross-appeal of genteel titles such as Brain Age for the DS, I turned to random Gamer X, age 18, for input  from the gaming industry’s traditional demographic. True to form, Gamer X (pictured above, slackjawed) said he prefers games with “hot girls,” “big t-ts” and “killing.” His favorite gaming moment of all time is “flying up really high in Battlefield: 1942 and bailing out so that the parachute guy [craps] himself…[sound effect provided].” Gamer X is entering the Marines and a few months and he thinks his FPS expertise will serve him well on the real battlefield, which he assumes is similar to a video game.

Moral of the story: Reach out all you want, but the core audience wants what it wants.

Update: I should have noted that when I told Gamer X the Nintendo Revolution had be re-named the Nintendo Wii, he gave me a quizzical look and said “You mean like wee-wee?” Obviously, the “focus group” in the title was a jest, but I’m willing to bet this guy represents a wide swath. His stereotypical love of sex, violence and low humor was such a humorous counterweight to Chris’ high-minded hopes for the industry, I had to post it.

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Ellis D. Tripp writes to tell us BBC News is reporting that mega-retailer, Wal-Mart, is now fighting it out with a man who claims to have invented the ’smiley face’ logo, and has been marketing it since the ’70s. From the article: “Until now the smiley face had been considered in the public domain in the US, and therefore free for anyone to use. Wal-Mart spokesman John Smiley told the Los Angeles Times that it had not moved to register the trademark until Mr Loufrani had threatened to do so.”

The fight over the “12th Man” is
over and both Texas A&M University and the Seattle Seahawks will be
able to use the phrase.