This might just be the most genius marketing scheme ever devised! The YouTube videos along with the website and the twitter account all have you thinking that this actually occurred!!! However, it is for a video game!!! This is all part of a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming Activision title, Singularity.

The game is developed by Raven Software and revolves around a top-secret Russian project that would allow a person to bend space and time.

Check out the MIR-12 website, their YouTube account and the twitter account, it is so intelligently set up, it totally had me fooled!!!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re into hardcore or casual.  I’m talking about gaming of course.  2009 has already brought some smash hit technology, thanks to CES, but what about for gaming?

The future of gaming is here people!  Thanks to the awesome people at Game Daily, we are able to take a peek at what the best of the gaming franchise has to offer.  They have compiled a list of awesome new hardware to add to your gaming collection.  I must admit, some are a bit too pricey for my blood, but I may look into the Nyko Wii Wand, because it looks hardcore!  The new “Wand” will use this thing called Trans-Port Technology, which sends commands and vibration through the bottom of the control.  This way you can add a pistol grip to the bottom for an even cooler experience for shooters.  This is just one example, I’m sure there will be a wide array of awesomeness to come from this.

The 3D Gamer Glasses are none other than the Nvidia GEForce 3D Vision.  They’re battery operated and play your video games in awesome 3D by using an infrared light that works for the TV and for PC.  I don’t know how it works, but I DO know that I may be willing to shell out the $199 to play all my games in 3D.  Depending if I win the lottery or not.

Now we come to the Coup Di Gras.  The Emperor “Scorpion” gaming station brought to you by Canada’s finest, NQ, includes a tilting chair, a 3 monitor-holding-stand, adjustable air lighting, adjustable air flow, a HEPA air filter—this thing does more than my car!  It costs more too!  This baby comes at a whopping $40,000!!!   

There’s a handful of these awesome gaming technologies that you should definitely check out at the Game Daily Gallery.  You guys think they’re worth it?

PS3 and Xbox 360 predicted price drops by the end of the year. The PS3 will drop down to $299.00 by April, and the XBOX is predicted to drop to $249.00 by the end of E3 in June.

The bigger news to me is that Nintendo just applied for a patent for a new AI in game help system which will point out boss’s weak points, and even can tell you which path to take. This may not be made with Gamers in mind, but it’s supposed to keep people from getting too frustrated and quitting a game. It could be intended to keep little kids begging their parents for new games, but I don’t know for sure. Makes beating a game a lot easier and quicker… which would make people want to buy one a lot sooner too.

Of all the (alleged) retarded people that govern masses of other people, Congressman Joe Baca is trying to pull one bonehead move. You know those Surgeon General Warning labels they put on Cigarettes trying to get you to stop smoking because they cause lung cancer, gum disease, yellow teeth, etc… Well the California Congressman is trying to put one of those Surgeon General warning labels on video games.

Baca and co-sponser R. Wolf are proposing to add one of these labels on all video games rated “T” for Teen and “M” for Mature, in what they like to call “The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009” or as I like to call, the “ruin gaming for the unfortunate teens who rely on their parents to get video games for them” act.

The label is set to read:

“WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”

I believe that even more aggressive behavior may result from putting such labels on video games. Then again, it may not make much of a difference. I usually read the Surgeon General warning on beer as I wait in line to buy it, and then just run along my merry way. This might impact sales though, and in this economy, I think that would be a big no-no. Any opinions?

Microsoft’s President of Entertainment and Devices division, Robbie Bach, went on the record to shoot down all hopes of a Blu-Ray player being added to XBOX 360. It looks like The XBOX loses this one against the PS3. Then again, he has three very solid reasons as to why they decided not to go ahead with developing this hardware upgrade.

“Robbie Bach: A lot of reasons. It’s not a feature we get a ton of requests for. We really don’t. When you ask people the list of things they want to see us spending time creating in Xbox, Blu-ray is way, way down on the list.

The second thing is, from a technical perspective, it doesn’t help us in the core of what Xbox does, which is in gaming. We can’t have publishers produce games on Blu-ray disc. Because then they won’t play on the 28 million Xboxes we’ve already shipped. So it doesn’t help us in the core gaming space.

The third thing, and this maps to all three of those, is that it costs a lot of money. And so the scenario is, OK, let me get this straight: I’m going to add something to the product that’s going to raise the cost, which means the price goes up, consumers aren’t asking for it, and by the way, my game developers can’t use it.”

The man has a good point, we remember the XBOX HD-DVD add on that failed, so why would they add a Blu-Ray player that no one is asking for? I’m okay with my XBOX’s hardware as is. I don’t need to see extra sharp movies that make it look like the whole background is shot using a green screen. I like to play, and play often. If I want to watch a movie, I’ll stream it from my computer onnto the XBOX via Network. Besides, the way XBOX is being set up, you can just download HD videos or movies via software (Netflix) and just watch them that way.

Konami has revealed via press release that the latest MGS title will make its presence known on the iPhone and iPod Touch as Metal Gear Solid Touch. 

Taking place in the MGS4 universe, MGST promises eight “touch shooting” levels when it arrives supposedly in Spring 2009.

As for Xbox 360 owners who had hoped beyond hope that the tease dropped a few weeks back was what everybody thought it was, will have to wait for another day to celebrate the potential platform crossover.

Details on several upcoming Activision/Blizzard titles were announced today during a joint event with in-game advertiser Massive Inc.

MTV reports that Call of Duty 6 has officially been titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and is slated to arrive in fall 2009.

Additionally, an in-game shot of Guitar Hero 5 was shown in a demonstration displaying a “Burger King ad to the right of the note highway.”

Wow, what a surprise to find out that these titles were in the works, I never would’ve guessed.

Microsoft has announced that on Black Friday–perhaps the biggest shopping day of the year–sales of their Xbox 360 console tripled that of Sony’s PS3.

Microsoft noted that November 28th was a “historic Black Friday for Xbox 360,” with an estimated 25% jump in hardware sales over Black Friday 2007 (citing U.S. retailer reports.)

Microsoft VP Don Mattrick spoke on the apparent good news for his company:

“Record Black Friday sales in the U.S., coupled with our existing global install base of 25 million and an online community of more than 14 million Xbox Live members, have laid the groundwork for continued global sales momentum in 2009.”

Harry Potter will become the next blockbuster franchise for the LEGO video game series according to a report from CVG, citing anonymous sources.

The game would most likely be worked for release alongside next summer’s Potter film: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Any confirmed info that comes across will be posted.

Source

Variety reports that EA has shut down its mysterious Blueprint Division though not the projects that were being worked on. One of these ‘projects’ that will be allocated elsewhere is the previously unannounced Boom Blox 2. (working title)

Apparently, work is already underway on the sequel to the spring’s innovative Wii puzzle game that received critical acclaim and generated decent revenue after being briefly considered a sales flop.

No word yet if Steven Spielberg will be involved; more info on the upcoming title as it comes.