Third Party Game Accessories Rumored to be Coming to Apple

With the release of 3.0 for the I-Phone and I-pod touch Apple has started to mention third party game accessories. Now I'm not exactly sure what these could be, but man would it be sweet if we could get some kind of controller add-on to the system. I think that would definitely help out first person shooters, well actually with almost every title it could probably help out a bit. Though I don't know, it might start feeling Wii-mote like.

Also there's no guarantee of who is going to have this accessory, which I'm imagining in my head, which would have creating games for it a huge risk. Which brings up an interesting point. Why would you change the way that you create games to center around a third-party accessory, wouldn't it be better to just focus on the native features, and not worry about how many people will be able to play this because they may or may not have the add-on.

I guess we'll see when I'm sure some of the third party controller makers for the consoles start throwing their weight around on the accessory market for Apple's systems.

Harmonix to Release 2 Vans Warped Tour Packs

Harmonix has released a newsletter disclosing the release of 2 song packs that will be available for Rock Band (1 and 2) coming June 23rd and 30th. Here are some of the bands they have listed "Devil Wears Prada, Underoath, Bad Religion, Chiodos, A Day to Remember, Thrice and more!". I have to say that its been a while since I've been really excited for a song pack coming out for Rock Band. If they release a song from one of my favorite bands, Alexisonfire, I'm going to have to blow the dust off my instruments, which are currently in a box in the office, and rock out until I can't rock any more.

This in my opinion is a really good move on Harmonix's part. They've been given a good variety of bands, most of which I hope will give the thumbs up to putting their music on Rock Band, and they've also got a big name tour that's been around for a bit. I'll have to have my 360 on watching for the actual tracklist on the 23rd and the 30th. Until then, however, I'll be forced to keep my fingers and toes crossed.

For a Limited Time Only XBOX Live Gold $1 for a Month

In the latest attempt to try to convince gamers that having a Gold Account on XBOX Live is the thing to do, Microsoft is now, for a limited time, offering a month of Gold for $1. That's right a single George, now of course you'll have to put in your credit card information, and as soon as a month is up (which I'm assuming they'll take 30 days, not 31 days), you'll be charged the regular monthly fee. Have no fear, though, you'll have the option to opt out after that month. The tricky thing, if it was me, would be remembering when that month is up.

I've always been a bit hazy over exactly what is so awesome while being a Gold member, but then again I think I've been a Silver member for about 1 or 3 months out of the years I've owned a 360. I think it's worth checking out, I just wish that this deal would happen when all the new features discussed at E3 were coming out, that would be awesome, and maybe that will happen.

Sony Talks Go! Functionality, Believes Whole World are Morons

So the question had to be asked, now that the PSP Go! will have the ability to slide open to reveal controls to play games, will the PSP Go! still have functionality when its slide closed. Of course Sony came right out and said well of course, but what functionality they talk about makes me just shake my head in amazement. Have we become that stupid to not see that this is all a cop out.

Here's what you can do when the device is closed. You can watch a movie, listen to a song, use Skype, and other applications off the XMB. Now of course you'll have to start up whatever you're going to do before closing it. To that I say, "ok, so basically what you're telling me is the functionality will be the same as if I were to select something on my PSP, currently, and then put the PSP down so that I'm not touching the controls".

I'm just saying, I hope that people realize that this isn't all that AWESOME, but it is quite a fast one they are trying to pull on us, the consumer. Oh and one more thing that you can look forward to with the PSP Go!, the battery life, which should be amazing now that the UMD is gone, well that's going to be exactly the same as if you were playing your original PSP. Thanks Sony *insert mocking grin*

President Obama Lists Video Games as a Health Concern

In a recent appearance by President Obama some concern appeared in the gaming community, as the president listed video games as a possible threat to the health of America. Here's a little piece of the speech:

The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so that we can avoid illness and disease in the first place. That starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. It means quitting smoking, going in for that mammogram or colon cancer screening. It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.

Now before everyone goes crazy I think what he's trying to get at here is a bigger issue, and that's parents not truly taking the time to raise their children and making sure they stay active. I think he wants the parents not to allow the kids to be raised on simply TV and video games. This to me makes sense. I think there are those out there who will see this and think, "holy crap, the president wants to get rid of video games", but I don't think he is trying to make them disappear completely. I think he's just suggesting that if they are part of one's lives that it doesn't keep them from doing other things that can enhance their health and overall well being.