A press release from Susan Lusty, the PR from Valcon Games, describes a new game and peripheral for the DS system called Easy Piano. Check it out for yourself.

Easy Piano is a new piano music product that anyone, as young as 6 and as old at 100+, would enjoy playing and/or learning how to play the piano.   With an 13-note, full-octave external keyboard peripheral (see photo), Easy Piano makes it easy to learn the piano or simply have fun playing quick “Guitar Hero”-like games.  With schools cutting music programs right and left, this is a great introduction to music for any age child 6+, and it is working with a mode they they can relate to, are drawn to and understand.

A picture can’t do it justice.  It is very addictive to play and the external keyboard helps a lot.

Valcon Games is bringing this product to North America in early 2010.

Here is a video to highlight some of the features of the game:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Recently provided via Siliconera and Joystiq, Sony has filed a patent for a system that can detect laughter, yawning, or tears. Kinda scary when you think about it. Where is all this metadata going and for what?

Article provided from tech.yahoo.com:

” “Dead Space” giving you the creeps? Bored by the latest version of “Madden”? Chortling your way (or not) through “The Hangover”? A proposed “laughter detection” system devised by Sony would feel your fright, sadness, or delight, and pass your emotions on to your PS3. Cool, or creepy?Siliconera (by way of Joystiq and others) unearthed Sony’s patent application for a laughter, sadness, and/or boredom detector, which would use a microphone and video cam mounted on your TV to scrutinize your expression and listen to your voice, then pass your “metadata” onto a gaming console (such as the PS3, which is depicted in the patent filing).

And as Siliconera notes, Sony’s proposed “laughter detection” system wouldn’t be limited to games; theoretically, it could work with TV shows and movies as well, perhaps to gauge whether you’re enjoying (or bored stiff by) the latest “Transformers” epic. Come to think of it … advertising firms testing their latest commercials would probably love this thing, too.”

-Asura

Recently, Penny-Arcade and Flash-Fire Communications announced the upcoming PAX 10 games to be shown at this years convention.  And once again, there looks to be a lot of gems.

SEATTLE – July 16, 2009 - After sifting through over 150 submissions from a gaggle of gameplay types and a plethora of platforms, a panel of game industry experts have selected the ten best submissions to be recognized as The PAX 10.

Penny Arcade was pleased to announce today that The PAX 10 for 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

• CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360)

• Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC)

• Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch)

• Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii)

• Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC)

• Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC)

• Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC)

• Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC)

• Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360)

• What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)

Now in its second year, The PAX 10 is a games showcase open to independent developers worldwide. Winners of The PAX 10 are invited to display their efforts at the sixth annual PAX gaming festival to be held Sept. 4 – 6 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. PAX’s Exhibit Hall will feature The PAX 10 booth alongside over 70 other exhibitors – including top publishers like Microsoft, Nintendo and Ubisoft – allowing those publishers, attendees and media to view their breakout potential.

“The judges were absolutely blown away by the polished and robust experiences offered by the 2009 submissions,” said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. “We’re impressed yet again by the amazing games that indie developers are creating and know that, when you stop by The PAX 10 booth at the show, you will be, too.”

Famous for creating Sim City, The Sims, and of course his most recent hit Spore, Will Wright decides to step out of the video game limelight and thus, EA. He declared he’s leaving to concentrate his efforts to further development his think-tank “Stupid Fun Stuff”. Started in 2001 he aims to “develop new forms of entertainment including movies, toys, and, yes, video games.”

“The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change,” he said in a statement. “Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms.”- Will Wright

Even though he would no longer be apart of EA and the Sims games he’s created, he would still have an influential voice in both.

Source: news.yahoo.com

What are things looking like on the horizon for technology and gadgets? They are getting smaller and sleeker. User generated content galore is being rapid fired out the digital mouths of people’s blogs on such a frequent basis that its hard to keep up with your friend’s millionth Twitter. Companies are cashing in with partnerships to create a more appealing  and broader aspect of their services (examples:  Youtube, which is owned by Google, is set to partner with Universal Music Group to create a hub to view professionally produced music videos and Microsoft partnering with Amazon to sell once exclusive digital content on the Xbox 360 and Microsoft’s own site. ) Now more than ever before, our interfaces and modules on blogs, profiles and games are customizable to be almost whatever we want. And “going green” is a long coming trend that should have influenced our technology and way of living long before this recession even started, yet here we are finally coming to terms that “infinite growth and resources” was just another term for “accident waiting to happen”. And boy, did shit hit the fan.

So, in today’s information generation, our inventions reflect these ideals to create the next “big thing” in gadgets and digital services. What is the next thing to make millions of dollars for some small company of people, some of whom didn’t bother to graduate college (believe me it has happened, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs anyone?); What is the next thing to help us socialize with even more irrelevant banter online? How can we recycle the resources we already have to help keep our planet green? Will ANY of this be affordable? Here are some interesting examples of whats beginning to take place:

AT&T $50 Netbooks [link]
Source: Yahoo News via ConsumerReports.org

What’s the catch behind $50 netbooks?  You have to buy Verizon’s data plan contract for about $200-250. Almost like a cellphone plan, eh? This is still being tested, but chances are you will hear more about them as time goes on. Bits of conversation heard from executives behind the project may very well indicate that they are interested in providing downloadable network services, such as e-books. Which leads to the next gadget…

Amazon’s Kindle 2 [link]

After the release of the Kindle not too long ago by Amazon, the Kindle 2 has several updated features over it’s predecessor. Not only is it as thin as a regular magazine, it’s light too. Only 10.3 ounces. It reads like real paper, holds up to 1,500 books and has no monthly fees. You can even view newspapers and blogs on it. If you are a bookworm and have your home so stocked to the brim with towers of books that they might be life threatening in an earthquake, this might be a godsend.

OQO 2+ [link]
Source: Webtechgeek.com via Associated Press

Sometimes things are not small enough. With a screen diagonal of only 5″ you can bet the rest of it is small too. Just like those keypads. If the picture tells anything, it’s that you have to be double jointed to use the thing. But fear not, because what it has in size, it makes up for in battery life it seems. With it’s cool little OLED screen not only is it beautifully colored, ultra thin, and uses only a small amount of energy, it’s also only a cool $1,500! Methinks we better wait until OLEDs are ready for the public market where they will be more affordable.

Musicovery: Interactive webRadio [link]

A simple music interface to let you roll with whatever mood you feel like. Just click and play! By choosing mood and beat preferences, it calculates what to be played and who is similar to your music tastes. Easy to use, it also one of the few sites to cater toward gaming consoles where it features a mode to be able to be used on your Wii and PS3 internet browsers. One of the best things about it is that you can listen to music you wouldn’t normally listen to and find artists you’ve never heard of in other genres by your mood or tempo alone.

OP-1: The mini synth/controller [link]
Source: Musicradar.com

If you’ve ever seen a sampler keyboard from the early ninties, this is definitely a contemporary nod to the controllers origins. In standalone mode, it offers eight synth models and eight samplers, plus effects and other sounds. It has a built-in mike and speaker and you can record mp3s. It can connect to your computer through a usb 2.0 port and you can hook up a mike and headphones. And apparently, it can let you beat down through a built-in FM radio…

Easybloom [link]
Source: Casasugar.com

Instead of paying money on courses and/or books or let’s say maybe having years of gardening experience, here’s the casual gardener’s (and “black thumb’s”) answer to hours of prep work. For only $60, the Easybloom can measure temperature, sunlight and water/soil saturation and use it to see which plants out of it’s 5,000 plus plant database can grow in that area by hooking it up to a PC or Mac. It may be a lifesaver in some respects, but in others, it clearly lacks. For one, it does not measure soil pH, and two, it does not take into effect seasonal changes. While it may be an awesome idea for indoor potted plants (which stay for the most part in a static state in a home) where one reading is enough, $60 seems a heavy price to pay just to see what your temperature is when your thermostat already has the answer right next to you.

MIT’s gardening robots [link]

On the same note, MIT’s robotics undergrads created some robots to be able to garden for you. While still limited to only a few functions (watering plants and picking fruit), we are well on our way of getting rid of our farm laborers. Seriously though, I don’t see these coming to our farmlands anytime soon. The basic function of picking fruit is still one of the most changeling things these $3,000 dollar prototypes have trouble doing. It is hard for a logical machine to harvest something from nature that grows so chaotically on a vine. So, yes, jobs like these will still need to be done by human hands. But expect more research to be done on the subject.

The Tesla Roadster [link]
Source: Gizmondo.com

An electric car able to achieve a 279 miles on one charge alone! That’s amazing! Where do I get one? If the US car companies hadn’t killed the electric car years ago, sold us models that were inferior, gas guzzling giants,maybe we would have these by now. AND maybe they wouldn’t be asking for bailout money to help them repair their own brought-on problem.

Gocycle Bike [link]
Source: Gizmondo.com

What could be better than a regular bike? Why a electric AND folding one of course! Only catch, it’s being sold in the UK for somewhere between $900-$2,500. The delivery location indicates the cost of the bike. Basically, you can only afford it if you are a trendy, “green” yuppie. Until its an affordable price for the middle and lower class, don’t expect to see many of these around. You can get a regular bike for a cheaper price if you shop around. Still, the idea is intriguing.

Polaroid Pogo Instant Digital Camera [link]
Source: Webtechgeek.com via Associated Press

After discounting the iconic Polaroid camera people have known since the seventies, Polaroid came out with the digital version. A little bit bigger than a regular sized digital camera, it prints photos in your hand using zinc free paper and inks. A portable printer in your hand!

Infrared See-Through Filter PF [link]
Source: Webtechgeeks.com via Kaya-Optics.com

You know those X-ray specks that appear in novelty catalogs that people wanted so much and then they get, and it turns out to be a scam? Well, boys and girls, you too can be a peeping tom with your new Polaroid camera (or just about any camera). I’m sure this will have multiple security uses in the government, but as such it has undying potential in the public market, which is sure to get it banned. It really works, see for yourself.

-Asura

While I wasn’t there for the inception of PAX, I have gone for the past few years. From humble beginnings, PAX has grown, yet each year has brought an awesome experience no matter the size. The PAX 10 and the good natured “nerdosity” of everyone there being what I remember most fondly.

The days leading to PAX weekend moved very fast and then suddenly it was upon me. My friends and I were excited heading up I-5 Friday morning. Everything was at a fever pitch as soon as noon hit, when members of the press were let in two hours early to the Exhibition Hall. With me being the only one of the writers lucky enough to get a press badge here at Blinky’s, I felt a little intimidated by the huge walls and booths that littered the Hall’s floor. While it certainly had a steady flow of people through the walkways (PAX staff, Exhibitors and Press), it was excessively roomy and quiet. And the perfect time to ask questions and demo games that were just sitting there, waiting to be played.

The Xbox 360 booth offered demos of games ranging from Viva Pinata: TIP and Infinite Undiscovery, to latest and future releases of their arcade games. Viva 2 picks up were the other left off, with an increase in Pinatas, plants to grow, accessories , minigames, functional co-op play, and now with downloadable cards.

Nintendo offered prominently the new Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wario Land: Shake It and Wii Music (which, I must say, got kinda old after a few days walking by the booth and hearing nothing but poor renditions of the Zelda and Mario theme). Later, they offered me and my friends Wii-mote mint gum tins as swag for playing their games. I must say that the new Wario game for the Wii is gorgeous. Not only does it have beautiful 2D animations but the controls are intuitive and the gameplay is fun. And of course, our anti-hero, Wario, is as greedy and smelling of garlic as ever. I would recommend this game to any Wii owner.

I did a demo of Hudson’s Deca Sports, Bomberman Blast, and Fishing Master World Tour. They also had Alien Crush Returns. All of them were rather amusing and entertaining. Deca Sports had a good line up of games that you don’t see on Wii Sports. Curling (which was surprisingly fun), archery, ice skating, and badminton to name a few. If you like Wii Sports, this is a great addition to your collection. Fishing Master had many places to fish around the world from the Amazon to Tokyo Bay with about as many fish and sea life to catch as well. Apart from the cheesy story, it is a relatively deep fishing game and one of the better ones out there to try. Bomberman featured classic Bomberman action with an online twist. The Wii version will have online 8-player multiplayer and the ability to play as your Mii with numerous battlefields and options.

The PAX 10 was amazing this year. Audio Surf and Schizoid along with The Maw were my personal favorites but, don’t let that discount all the rest. Here’s a list of descriptions for each from a previous article. With Audio Surf, players hook in their MP3 player and the game generates a racing/obstacle course according to the beat of the song playing. It has a neon, vector style reminiscent of Rez. Schizoid is a co-op game where you and your friend play different colored galactic bugs while helping eachother and eating enemies at the same time as solving puzzles. Teamwork is a must in this game. The Maw is a 3D platformer with a cute but hungry, giant, alien pet that you can control with your main characters leash. The humor throughout makes for a entertaining and pleasing game.

As the days wore on, the lines appeared…, from Blizzard’s Starcraft II to the new 4 player co-op zombie extravaganza Left 4 Dead. Fallout 3 had their retro Streamliner trailer hooked up outside their booth which was probably one of the coolest booth setups yet. They also had their demo on Saturday which filled up every seat and they still had people waiting to take a peak outside but were not able to get in. Free swag was passed out by everyone imaginable at this convention, and much of it (as it turns out) is worth a lot to the people who sell on ebay.

Be that as it may, I think the gossip heard around the Con for a couple years now may be too accurate to admit: We have a new E3 on our hands. PA has already admitted that PAX has already grown so large, that in about a couple of years, there will be an East Coast US PAX, separated from it’s originator here on the West Coast. What will happen to an already bulging convention? Only time (and Gabe and Tycho) can tell.

-Asura

I recieved another press release via Flash Fire Communications today in an email. Let’s hear it for the winners of PAX 10!

PAX 10 INDEPENDENT GAMES SHOWCASE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Top submissions to be displayed at Penny Arcade Expo Aug. 29 – 31

SEATTLE – July 9, 2008 – After sifting through over 80 submissions from a wealth of genres and gameplay hybrids from ‘exploratory puzzle’ to tactical to rhythm/action, The PAX 10 panel of industry experts selected the ten best submissions in terms of gameplay and “fun factor” for inclusion in The PAX 10. Penny Arcade was pleased to announce today The PAX 10 winners to be displayed at the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle Aug. 29-31, 2008.

The PAX 10 are (in alphabetical order):

• The Amazing Brain Train by Grubby Games (puzzle/strategy)
• Audio Surf by Dylan Fitterer (rhythm/action)
• Chronotron by Scarybug Games (puzzle/platformer)
• Impulse by a team of Rochester Institute of Technology students (puzzle)
• The Maw by Twisted Pixel Games (action/adventure)
• Polarity by a team of Carnegie Mellon University students (platformer/puzzle)
• Project Aftermath by Games Faction (tactical/action)
• Schizoid by Torpex Games (action/strategy)
• Strange Attractors 2 by Ominous Development (puzzle/strategy)
• Sushi Bar Samurai by Molly Rocket (exploratory puzzle)

Announced earlier this year in cooperation with the DigiPen Institute of Technology, The PAX 10 is a games showcase open to independent developers worldwide. The winners will be shown in the PAX Exhibit Hall alongside over 70 other exhibitors – including top publishers like Activision, EA and Ubisoft – allowing those publishers, attendees and media to view their home-grown potential. Attendees will have the opportunity to vote on the exhibited games, honoring one of The PAX 10 with the “Audience Choice Award,” to be announced on www.penny-arcade.com following this year’s expo.

“The variety and caliber of the titles blew us away,” says Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. “Narrowing down the group was a challenging process for the judges, but we’re incredibly proud to have these ten games as our kickoff showcase and can’t wait to see them on the show floor.”

I recently received an email from the communications people over at PAX. Here is what it reads, enjoy the details.

PENNY ARCADE REVEALS PAX 2008 EXHIBITORS AND FIRST PROGRAMMING DETAILS

Headliners include Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Activision and Ubisoft

SEATTLE – June 26, 2008 – The organizers of the fifth annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) today announced key details of the upcoming gaming festival, to be held Aug. 29-31, 2008 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.

This year’s exhibit floor will offer PAX attendees hands-on time with highly anticipated games and products from more exhibitors than ever, including Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Activision and Ubisoft (see below for a complete exhibitor list). In addition to seeing a massive number of pre-release games on its show floor, attendees can expect a bevy of panels, the Omegathon gaming competition, tournaments, and more. First details of PAX 2008 programming include:

• The ECTO-1, of Ghostbusters fame, will be on display for all three days of PAX
• The PAX 10 independent games showcase, to thrill and delight you
• Two nights of music that will almost certainly change your life

“We nearly doubled our exhibition hall and added another 80,000 square feet of content overall, so the show is going to be pretty amazing this year,” says Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo. “You should come. I think you would like it.”

Complete List of PAX 2008 Exhibitors:

- 1up.com
- 2K Games
- Activision
- Antec, Inc.
- Astro Gaming
-The Behemoth
- Bethesda
- Bioware
- Blizzard
- Brawndo
- Bungie
- CCP/Whitewolf
- CDV
- clubNAMCO.com
- Cogswell Polytechnical College
- Cryptic Studios
- D3P
- Destineer
- Dolby
- EA Mythic
- ECA (Entertainment Consumer’s Association)
- Electronic Arts
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Flying Frog Productions
- Flying Lab Software
- Foundation 9 Entertainment
- Game Publishers Association
- Gamecock
- GameTrailers
- Garage Games
- Guildhall at SMU
- Harmonix
- Hothead Games
- Hudson
- Indiecade
- Intel
- ITT Tech
- Klei Entertainment
- Media-blasters NYC
- Mega64
- Meteor Games
- Microsoft XNA
- Microsoft
- Midway
- Namco Bandai
- NCsoft
- Nintendo
- Nokia
- Patriot Memory
- Pegasus Publishing
- Pink Godzilla
- Plantronics
- Privateer Press
- Razer
- Rockstar
- Roosterteeth.com
- Sierra/Vivendi
- Sony
- SouthPeak Games
- Stardock
- Sumo Lounge
- Telltale
- THQ
- Tinderbox Entertainment
- Tritton Technologies
- Turbine
- Ubisoft
- Udon Entertainment / Oni Press
- Upper Deck
- Vivox
- Wizards of the Coast
- Zenimax

For those of you who are fans of the Persona series, this should be right up your alley. Although the prices seem to vary from about $58-78 US dollars depending on the figure, these are still top notch quality as the pictures show. Just one more figure to add to your already bloated computer desk collection.

From left to right are Elizabeth and Aya, and are 22cm (8.6 inches) and 25cm (9.8 inches) tall respectively. Images are from Kotaku.

Ever since the 360 got it’s exclusive Halo song on Guitar Hero, people have been wondering if there would be any feedback from the PS3. Here it is my friends, be prepared to swing around that dang guitar to decapitate those Medusas with bloody vengeance. I give you, “The End Begins (To Rock)”

Click here to view the embedded video.