Nintendo 3DS launch games unveiled

A combination of official announcements and leaks has brought further details about the games available for the Nintendo 3DS, which launches this weekend in Japan and next month in other markets.

There’ll be five games preloaded on the console, which look to be mini-games designed mainly to show off the technology. The line-up includes a table game that’s a cross between pool and minigolf; a fishing game; and a “graffiti” tool that converts your artwork into 3D images.

There’s also a “game” in which you use the 3DS camera to photograph a card or cards featuring a Nintendo characters, with the console screen appearing to show the characters appearing on your table; a separate game does the same with the Mii caricature system first seen on the Wii. I can’t see these being fun for more than a few seconds.

Nintendo will also have three full-blown games for sale: flying game Pilotwings Resort, a submarine strategy game Steel Diver, and a 3D version of the Nintendogs series.

There will be a further 13 third-party games, which are mainly 3D-enhanced versions of existing franchised, including Lego Star Wars, Street Fighter, The Sims, Pro Evolution Soccer and Madden NFL football.

As for backwards compatibility, the 3DS should play all existing DS games except for those that need the Game Boy Advance slot. With that in mind, several retailers are offering some decent trade in deals in the $50-$150 discount range for previous DS models.

It’s also emerged that there’ll be a physical “3D slider” on the console that will allow users to quickly adjust the intensity of the 3D effect, from maximum right down to completely off.



Follow Up: Steam Punk Han Solo and Jabba

Bjorn Hurri, a graphic artist who created a series of Steam Punk styled Star Wars characters that we featured last month has come out with some additional renderings. While it’s very disturbing to see Jabba as a human, I feel the characteristics of  the Hutt gangster carried over well, and Han Solo now has some very nice mutton chops.

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Detroit to Get RoboCop Statue. City’s Pigeons Crap Themselves.

What’s the next best thing to a real super-human cyborg cop? A huge statue of one! And thanks to the mighty power of the Internet, that’s exactly what Detroit may be getting.

On Monday, February 7th, a genius in Massachusetts tweeted this message to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing:

Here’s the mayor’s response:

That’s when the Internet let out a collective ‘squee’ and said, “I’d buy that for a dollar!” And within a Jarvik heartbeat, the idea of a RoboCop statue blew up faster than a car in a Michael Bay film.

Only six days after creating the website detroitneedsrobocop.com, a group of local artists and fans of the 1987 cult classic exceeded their fund-raising goal of $50,000 to build a larger-than-life sculpture of the crime-fighting mega-cop. Over 2,300 people have already given and the number is growing every day.

Of course, there’s been some debate about the artistic merits of a RoboCop statue. Would such a monument to a movie portraying Detroit as a crime-ridden hellhole hurt the city’s image? Or would it be a fun way to bring more attention to a resilient city on the rebound? And can the city even handle the ensuing hordes of geeks that are sure to descend upon this altar of awesome? Only time will tell.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to come face to face with RoboCop in Detroit, that dream may soon become a reality. If only they could get the statue to shoot people in the crotch and shout, “Your move, creep!” then the fantasy would be complete.

Personally, I’ve been pushing for a Mr. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man statue in New York City for years now. Let’s get on this, Internets!



I’m a Zombie, Baby [Video]

Ain’t nobody perfect, but as far as zombie love songs go, this one might be.

Anyone else catch a Gym Class Heroes vibe from this? It’s just so catchy.

A Love Song For Jabba The Hutt

Artist Dimitris Samaras, aka JimSam-X, has taken the now internationalized geek sex symbol of Leia in her gold bikini and thrown in the otherworldly cartoon curves of Jessica Rabbit in his piece “A Love Song For Jabba The Hutt”

[Via How To Carve Roast Unicorn]

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Download Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

It’s here folks! Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is now available for download via Windows Update or direct download. Hit up this page for all the details about the update, and this link for all the download options.

Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level. It provides ongoing improvements to the Windows operating system (including previous updates delivered over Windows Update and incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback) and makes it easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.

[Windows 7 / Windows Sever 2008 R2 SP1]

How Far Is the Moon from Earth? [Video]

Further than you’d think, apparently. Given a basketball (to represent Earth) and a tennis ball (the Moon), most people guess within an arm’s length, which in reality is close enough to send Luna plummeting into the Pacific. Others take a few steps back, which is warmer but still close enough to put some cataclysmic stress on the Equator.

In truth, the distance from the Earth to the Moon at this scale is roughly 17.5 feet, which from Mars looks a little something like this:

The Most Awesome Super Mario Bros. Tattoo of All Time [Picture]

mario-tattoo

Sorry geeks, I haven’t found a version with a higher resolution, but by the look of it, this could quite possibly be the most awesome-looking Super Mario Bros. Tattoo of all time!

[Via]

Jury selection attorneys turn to Facebook

Every now and again you’ll hear how some idiot misused the Internet while on jury service: either tweeting away on a phone when they were meant to be paying attention to proceedings, researching the case against a judge’s orders, or even posting their opinion on the defendant’s guilt before deliberations begin.

Now, though, the lawyers are turning the tables. The Wall Street Journal reports that some US lawyers are searching Facebook for details about potential jurors ahead of a trial.

While some countries simply select a jury at random and only excuse members if they have a direct link to the case, the US uses a jury selection process. This involves lawyers questioning a pool of potential jurors, with each side having the right to reject a certain number with (in most cases) no reason required. The idea is to allow both sides the opportunity to eliminate jurors who might be particularly biased against their case.

The Facebook research doesn’t seem to be as much about bias as looking for particular personality types. For example, if a potential juror comes across online as an aggressive personality with strong opinions, they could dominate the jury deliberations. That might make the outcome more unpredictable, which makes the person a bad pick for a side that feels confident it has the evidence on its side.

There are some more specific reasons for concern. A defense lawyer might look out for somebody who notes on their profile that they are a keen fan of crime procedural shows such as CSI: such jurors may place too much weight on the reliability of DNA evidence (and the fact that it does a much more reliable job of discounting a link than it does proving one.)

While the time limitations don’t appear a problem (one law firm provides attorneys with iPads for some quick research once they meet the juror pool), there are problems when users have some or all of their details set to private. That’s led to one lawyer suggesting a solution which frankly sounds like a contradiction of the whole purpose of an independent jury: he wants to give jurors free WiFi in the court building in return for adding his law firm as a Facebook friend.