Wii Bluetooth and PS3 GameFlex™ first to arrive

With the CES show looming we’re wrapping up testing on Rock Band and Guitar Hero. We’ve had Max doing some videos on YouTube too. The first up are for the Wii and RockBand’s Beatles Wii game. The You Rock Guitar is wireless of course and playing some classics in Expert Mode. On one of the video it shows Max first playing the guitr as a digital guitar, playing a bit of “Blackbird” by the Beatles, then switching to game mode and a second later playing the video game, impressive to say the least.

Go To You Tube GameFlex™ demos

GameFlex™ Update – Video in Español

We’ve been making a lot of progress and having some real fun. For fall we are testing and completing code on the GameFlex cartridges for the Wii for both RockBand and Guitar Hero. Then we will finish the one for the PS3. BTW the new PS3 looks quite cool. We had tremendous response to the GameFlex this last week at Danny Johnsons, Orange County fan party. Here is a shot of EXPERT mode player Omar Ramirez rocking out with the You Rock Guitar and the Wii on RockBand. For fun we even had Omar put up a little video on our YouTube channel en Español about the guitar. All the folks were a lot of fun at this event and we had never been surrounded by so many guys who could play all the songs and freaking expert mode!

Check out the video with Omar in Spanish

Gamer Focus

The You Rock Guitar is the first instrument to truly bridge the worlds of gaming and real music playing, enabling you to use the guitar as a real instrument and as a more realistic guitar game controller.  The instrument (combined with a Game Flex Module) works with existing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.  There’s no additional functionality yet, but you will naturally develop finger picking techniques, speed, and accuracy.  So when you start using the guitar as a “real” instrument your speed on strumming and picking is light years ahead. You walk away with some real skill. And that’s just the beginning.

As game developers/publisher start to take advantage of the You Rock Guitar, there’s no limit to what kinds of innovation will be possible with the “in-game” play.  Both developers and gamers creativity will drive game development and a natural evolution between 100% game (role play) and 100% performance (music play) will start to emerge. The games appeal will broaden as more people of all ages & skill  relate to the more realistic and beneficial experience.

The best thing for now is that there are over 30 million of us out there who have loved playing RockBand or Guitar Hero and everyone asks the same question in one way or the other; “How do I take this up a level?”,  “How can I take this new-found love of Rock and Roll and turn it into playing real music?” And most importantly, how do I have fun and not look like a fool doing so?”

THE ANSWER?  THE YOU ROCK GUITAR

Microsoft pursues 3D camera technology in search of casual players

By NICK WINGFIELD (Wall Street Journal)

Microsoft Corp. is developing a new videocamera for the Xbox 360 console that will allow players to control games with the movement of their bodies, people familiar with the matter said, an effort to attract the casual players who have fueled Nintendo Co.’s recent success.

The Microsoft device is a twist on Nintendo’s blockbuster Wii game console, which allows users to swing a tennis racket or other equipment in games by holding a plastic wand in their hands.

Unlike the Wii, the Microsoft camera won’t require users to hold any hardware to control on-screen action, the people familiar with the matter said. The camera would sit near the television and capture when players move their hands, legs or head.

A spokesman for the Redmond, Wash., company declined to comment.
[xbox]

The camera represents another effort by the games industry to reach out to consumers with more intuitive playing methods than traditional game controllers, with their array of joysticks and buttons.

Microsoft’s camera uses 3-D technology, which gives players more accurate control over games than earlier game cameras did, the people said.

The potential move suggests Microsoft is stepping up efforts to gain ground on Nintendo, the leader in the market for the current generation of game consoles. A spokeswoman for Nintendo declined to comment.

Although Nintendo recently signaled that demand for its Wii may start to slow, it sold 601,000 Wii consoles in the U.S. in March, more machines than Microsoft and Sony Corp. combined, according to NPD Group, which tracks retail sales.

The Microsoft camera could be unveiled as early as the E3 videogame industry conference next month, though it likely won’t be released until next year, the people said.

Microsoft, which saw revenue in its games division fall 1.6% to $1.57 billion in the latest quarter, is likely to sell the camera first as an accessory and could ultimately bundle it with the Xbox 360, a person familiar with the company’s plans said. Pricing couldn’t be determined.

The camera is based on technology that Microsoft developed. Microsoft also recently acquired an Israeli start-up called 3DV Systems Ltd., which has developed a 3-D camera and holds related patents, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In an email, Zvika Klier, chief executive of 3DV Systems, said “unfortunately I can’t comment on the rumors surrounding this deal. …We will provide more information when we can.”