The more traditional video games world has been growing progressively more social in recent years. The Nintendo Wii has turned gaming from a solitary activity to a family affair and Microsoft's Xbox Live has allowed gamers to connect with fellow joystick jockeys in ways that haven't been possible before.
Now Microsoft goes even more social with its new gaming device -- Kinect. Formerly known as Project Natal, Kinect is, at its core, a motion sensor camera that connects to the Xbox 360 and then lets your body act as the controller. At an over-the-top event, complete with Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, we saw some of the very first games for this device in action -- almost all of them catering to more than one player.
Kinect has a Wii Sports clone, Kinect Sports, a driving game called Kinect JoyRide and another game named Kinect Adventures, but the one that stands out the most is Kinectimals, an animal simulation game, where you adopt a virtual pet, teach it tricks using motion and voice commands, play games with it -- all using nothing more than this high powered camera. The animal reacts to your movement, and, in general, seems aware of your presence. For instance, if you hide from your virtual pet, it will come looking for you. It's like having a stuffed animal come to life.
kinectimals tiger
Speaking of stuffed animals, those will be integral to the game. You will be able to buy Kinectimals-branded stuffed animals in stores or online, and then scan them using Kinect, and they will magically appear onscreen. Think of it as a Neopets for Xbox 360. There will be 20 collectible animals in all, and you will also have the option to buy virtual items to care for your pet via the in-game store. You'll be able to set up play dates with friends pets online, and your pet will be rewarded with items for exploring the game's universe, unlocking new areas along the way.
The other interesting part of this is how Kinect will be used to navigate through the Xbox menu and other non-gaming apps on the device. Microsoft showed off how you can use voice commands to play a movie, chat with friends via video ad watch ESPN on demand, but we're curious to see how this will apply to the social networking apps on the device -- Facebook and Twitter. Specifically, Facebook games. Right now, there's still no word whether FarmVille or any other Facebook games will be playable on Microsoft's console at any point in the future, but mixing gesture and/or voice controls with tending to a virtual farm or building a virtual city could offer a unique twist to the social games we know and love.
From what we've seen so far, the console world doesn't exactly seem ready to embrace the millions of FarmVille players out there, but we're certainly seeing 'social' continue to be a bigger part of gaming whether it's on Facebook or an Xbox 360.
Monday, February 13, 2012
YoVille Group Buying: purchase YoCash items for YoCoins
We gave you a little preview of YoVille's new Group Buying feature already, and tonight they have rolled this new feature out live to the world. Group Buying allows you to opt in to receive YoCash items for YoCoins, and a discount of 50%. In order to get the discount, 100,000 people need to opt-in to this discount. If that many people sign up, you will receive an email letting you know that you're eligible to make a purchase at a discount. The available items in this first round of Group Buying are:
Enchanted Animated Fountain - 500 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Enchanted Hot Springs - 600 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Luxury Min Pin Plush - 400 coins, formerly 6 YoCash
Yolex - 500 coins, formerly 10 YoCash
Black Hobo Purse - 350 coins, formerly 7 YoCash
As of this writing, just over 58,000 people have already signed up for this offer. It will expire in 22 hours, so make sure to visit the promotion's page, sign up, and then share it to your wall to encourage your friends to join in.
Enchanted Animated Fountain - 500 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Enchanted Hot Springs - 600 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Luxury Min Pin Plush - 400 coins, formerly 6 YoCash
Yolex - 500 coins, formerly 10 YoCash
Black Hobo Purse - 350 coins, formerly 7 YoCash
As of this writing, just over 58,000 people have already signed up for this offer. It will expire in 22 hours, so make sure to visit the promotion's page, sign up, and then share it to your wall to encourage your friends to join in.
Show your support for South Africa in Island Paradise
Island Paradise is really going all out for the FIFA World Cup 2010. So far, the popular island farming game has released avatar costumes, a World Cup trophy, and flags to represent the different countries - and now they've added to this collection with a pair of items to honor South Africa. South Africa is where the World Cup is held this year, so it's only fair to show support to the nation for hosting the gigantic sporting event.
Available in the Island Shop are two new items for coins, a set of Djembe Drums, and a Zulu Shield. Djembe Drums are a very popular drum in Africa, intended to be played with the bare hands. You can have your own set in Island Paradise at level 10, for 1,500 coins. Zulu are the largest tribe in South Africa with 10-11 million people, and you can have a Zulu Shield for 5,000 coins (if you're level 13 or above).
Available in the Island Shop are two new items for coins, a set of Djembe Drums, and a Zulu Shield. Djembe Drums are a very popular drum in Africa, intended to be played with the bare hands. You can have your own set in Island Paradise at level 10, for 1,500 coins. Zulu are the largest tribe in South Africa with 10-11 million people, and you can have a Zulu Shield for 5,000 coins (if you're level 13 or above).
Wild Ones offers premium membership for monthly fee
Wild Ones premium membership
In a bold and surprising move, Playdom's popular social game Wild Ones has announced a premium subscription option. This new membership requires a monthly fee of 99 Facebook Credits (roughly $9.90 USD) and provides many benefits over being a free member. This is of course, completely optional, but does make a lot of sense if you're someone who has spent a little bit of real life cash in Wild Ones. Let's take a peek at the benefits:
Premium "Members Only" items - Can you imagine having exclusive items that your friends don't have?
50% experience to leveling - This is a huge benefit. If you can level up 50% faster for becoming a member, this is a huge incentive to join the membership fee.
Increased coin earnings - For anyone who is stuck slowly grinding away coins, this may be a way to get them quicker.
Buy premium items with coins - If this is what it sounds like, you would be able to buy items that are typically priced in Facebook Credits, for coins.
We're not sure what to think. On one hand, one thing that sets Facebook games apart from other forms of gaming entertainment is their free-to-play nature. While this is optional, this could definitely upset some folks because anyone who pays will have a substantially better gaming experience. We think $9.99 is quite the hefty price as well, especially when compared with large scale immersive MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. On the other hand, this could be a great option for traditional game players who would rather pay a flat fee to enjoy all the content rather than paying for items a little at a time.
In a bold and surprising move, Playdom's popular social game Wild Ones has announced a premium subscription option. This new membership requires a monthly fee of 99 Facebook Credits (roughly $9.90 USD) and provides many benefits over being a free member. This is of course, completely optional, but does make a lot of sense if you're someone who has spent a little bit of real life cash in Wild Ones. Let's take a peek at the benefits:
Premium "Members Only" items - Can you imagine having exclusive items that your friends don't have?
50% experience to leveling - This is a huge benefit. If you can level up 50% faster for becoming a member, this is a huge incentive to join the membership fee.
Increased coin earnings - For anyone who is stuck slowly grinding away coins, this may be a way to get them quicker.
Buy premium items with coins - If this is what it sounds like, you would be able to buy items that are typically priced in Facebook Credits, for coins.
We're not sure what to think. On one hand, one thing that sets Facebook games apart from other forms of gaming entertainment is their free-to-play nature. While this is optional, this could definitely upset some folks because anyone who pays will have a substantially better gaming experience. We think $9.99 is quite the hefty price as well, especially when compared with large scale immersive MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. On the other hand, this could be a great option for traditional game players who would rather pay a flat fee to enjoy all the content rather than paying for items a little at a time.
PetVille releases final four Space Struggle lost toys
Earlier this month, PetVille launched a new set of lost Space Struggle toys, beginning with the first four in the set. Tonight, the final four have been added to the game. These adorable space toys are quite clearly modeled after Star Wars - and the four latest released toys are mirror images of R2-D2, Yoda, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader.
These toys are found randomly in treasure chests that can be found in your neighbor's pet's homes. Once found, you are prompted to post a notice on your wall telling your friends that you found the toy. This means that in order to actually obtain these pets, you'll have to scour over your friend's wall postings to find a friend who has found and posted about the toy you're looking for. This Space Struggle set includes 8 lost toys in total, which can be used to decorate your pet's home.
These toys are found randomly in treasure chests that can be found in your neighbor's pet's homes. Once found, you are prompted to post a notice on your wall telling your friends that you found the toy. This means that in order to actually obtain these pets, you'll have to scour over your friend's wall postings to find a friend who has found and posted about the toy you're looking for. This Space Struggle set includes 8 lost toys in total, which can be used to decorate your pet's home.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
FarmVille Limited Edition Swiss Buildings: Swiss Manor & Large Chalet
farmville swiss manor
Two new limited edition Swiss themed buildings hit the market, the Swiss Manor and Large Chalet.
Both will be available in the FarmVille Market during the next 15 days.
farmville large chalet farmville swiss manor
Limited Edition Swiss Alps Buildings: (Released July 14th 2010)
Swiss Manor – 50 FV$
Large Chalet – 350,000 coins
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you purchase any of these buildings? Share your pics with editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
Two new limited edition Swiss themed buildings hit the market, the Swiss Manor and Large Chalet.
Both will be available in the FarmVille Market during the next 15 days.
farmville large chalet farmville swiss manor
Limited Edition Swiss Alps Buildings: (Released July 14th 2010)
Swiss Manor – 50 FV$
Large Chalet – 350,000 coins
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you purchase any of these buildings? Share your pics with editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
FarmVille's Mystery Game: Is it really better than a Mystery Box?
In this week's update, FarmVille released a new Mystery Game in the Market, calling it "better than a mystery box." (We'll see about that!) If you want to play the Mystery Game, head to the Market and look under the Decorations tab. For the next six days, you will be able to play the game ... provided you're willing to part with 20 Farm Cash.
farmville mystery game
If you decide to take the plunge, press 'Play,' and you'll be given access to a Pop the Balloons! game. The game itself is pretty simple, just aim using the mouse and then click once you've targeted your balloon.
farmville pop the balloon game
Once the balloon pops, you'll be rewarded with a mystery animal, which you will be able to find in your gift box. I played a single round of the Pop the Balloon! game and was rewarded with a handsome Black Stallion. If you want to try your luck again and throw another dart, you will have to pay an additional 20 Farm Cash.
Before you decide to go on a spending spree, take a gander at the six mystery animals inside:
From left to right, here's a list the mystery animals you can win from the game:
White Squirrel
White Porcupine
White Lion Cub
White Kangaroo
White Deer
Black Stallion
My personal take: While these animals are all lovely, none of them really strike me as a must-have on the farm. I question whether this new Mystery Game really is better than a Mystery Box, based on pricing alone. The game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, a Mystery Box generally costs 15 Farm Cash. If this game yielded more useful gifts -- like a Hot Rod vehicle or a bundle of Unwithers -- I could understand the motivation behind this new mystery item. Otherwise, it's just seems like a game within a game that you pay for the privilege to play.
FarmVille Mystery Box vs. Mystery Game
Mystery Box!Mystery Game!I like bothI don't like eitherI don't spend cash in FarmVille
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
farmville mystery game
If you decide to take the plunge, press 'Play,' and you'll be given access to a Pop the Balloons! game. The game itself is pretty simple, just aim using the mouse and then click once you've targeted your balloon.
farmville pop the balloon game
Once the balloon pops, you'll be rewarded with a mystery animal, which you will be able to find in your gift box. I played a single round of the Pop the Balloon! game and was rewarded with a handsome Black Stallion. If you want to try your luck again and throw another dart, you will have to pay an additional 20 Farm Cash.
Before you decide to go on a spending spree, take a gander at the six mystery animals inside:
From left to right, here's a list the mystery animals you can win from the game:
White Squirrel
White Porcupine
White Lion Cub
White Kangaroo
White Deer
Black Stallion
My personal take: While these animals are all lovely, none of them really strike me as a must-have on the farm. I question whether this new Mystery Game really is better than a Mystery Box, based on pricing alone. The game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, a Mystery Box generally costs 15 Farm Cash. If this game yielded more useful gifts -- like a Hot Rod vehicle or a bundle of Unwithers -- I could understand the motivation behind this new mystery item. Otherwise, it's just seems like a game within a game that you pay for the privilege to play.
FarmVille Mystery Box vs. Mystery Game
Mystery Box!Mystery Game!I like bothI don't like eitherI don't spend cash in FarmVille
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
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