Robots: amazing video of ASIMO running

I saw ASIMO 2 or 3 years ago, at a science center in the Old Port of Montreal. Let me tell you that seeing a human-like robot move around like a small child is very impressive. It feels bizarre, scary, and exciting all at the time. This clip will show you exactly what I mean.

Last I saw ASIMO, it did not run, but could walk, climb stairs, and do other balancing act. I'm sure Isaac Asimov would have been interested in ASIMO as well. Enjoy!

Gaming: Computer Games Magazine to Launch New Publication

It looks like we'll soon be getting a new gaming magazine dedicated to MMORPG. Indeed, the folks behind Computer Games magazine will soon release MASSIVE Magazine. Personally I'm very much for this, and will certainly check out the first issue.

From the media kit they offer, it seems they know pretty well their audience and have done their homework. SO far so good.

About MASSIVE Magazine:
MASSIVE Magazine is the ultimate guide to the world of massively multiplayer online games. It covers the games and culture with a progressive and breezy editorial style produced by the top writers in the industry. Issues of MASSIVE will include features on the games, their communities, guilds, profiles of top players, and other features that will make the magazine a part of the MMO world.

Plan of Action:
Aggressive promotion campaign scheduled at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and all other retailers.
Included DVD with demos
Rate base: 100,000 on newsstands
Bigger size: 9"x—10.875"
Newsstand price $5.99-compared to similar publications which are $9.99-this will be a great deal!
Plan to go quarterly starting January 1, 2007

Our Readers are Your Customers:
Reach over 5,000,000 gamers
Typically male
Average age is 26 years old
Average gamer plays 22 hours per week
source: www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_demographics.html

Congrats to Nick Yee (from the Daedalus Project) by the way, for being quoted as a source - that's what good research is for.

Over the last few years I've slowly reduced my number of magazine subscriptions from about 7 to currently 2 (well actually 3 if you count E:ON). And with all the blogs, gaming sites, web 2.0 sites and others that I read daily, it would have been impossible to read all of them had I kept all my subscriptions. Now, with a magazine geared towards MMORPGs, I'm glad I didn't.

Gaming: Will Wright and Spore - The future of gaming content?

Now I know this is over a year old, but I think it's still a great presentation with some great ideas as to where content will be coming from. As games become more complex, creating content becomes a very expensive proposition, which small developer studio have great difficulty putting out. This is an idea, a great one at that, and it shows that we may not have seen the end of innovation in gaming.


After viewing the presentation, head over to GameSpy, Wired, and IGN for some additional information.