Gamers who are looking for a unique perspective into their video gaming habits will definitely get a kick out of Emotiv Systems' Emotiv EPOC neuroheadset. This unique gaming accessory allows you to control in-game characters using the neuron signals transmitted by your brain. Other details about this neat gadget can be found in the full article after the jump.

Intel might have missed out on the current gen consoles, thus allowing IBM to lend its hand to the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. No doubt, IBM has proven itself to be more than capable of moving mountains - or at least map interstellar space with the help of eight PS3 units. But will this faze Intel? Not by a long shot. They approached video games console makers and presented their microchips that could be incorporated into future consoles. Read more for details from Intel's chief tech officer. Hint: it's about motion-sensing and markets.

A recently conducted study by the Kelley Fay Group, sponsored by Jack Morton Worldwide, pranced into the business world of marketing and the facets of business to business (BtoB) and business to consumer (BtoC) conversations. Top in the list of the study's findings is that "word of mouth" marketing is the topmost influence on business buying decisions.

 

In fact according to the study, when one business executive shares marketing relevant information with another executive, such a means has been far more effective for the business ranks than any other communication channel available to them.

The report found that 50% of business executives claimed they would more likely by a product or service based on word of mouth, while around 49% will just pass the word on to others. According to them, person-to-person information sharing has twice more influence than that of advertising.

Click on Full Article for more findings and suggestions of the study.

 

Given that the 2007 Online Game Development Conference (OGDC) is just a few more days away, we'll be updating the previously reported speaker list with a fresh new 8-pack. This latest announcement includes the presence of industry bigwigs like GameSpy director Todd Northcutt, as well as PopCap Games business development director James Gwertzman. Here's the full list:

• JJ Richards - GM, Xbox Live, Microsoft
• Charles Merrin - Vice President, RealArcade, RealNetworks, Inc.
• Brett Close - President & CEO, 38 Studios
• Todd Northcutt - Director, GameSpy Technology, GameSpy / IGN Entertainment
• Tom DuBois - Producer, Global Online Studio, Electronic Arts
• James Gwertzman - Director of Business Development, PopCap Games
• Victor Wachter - Online Community Relations Manager, Cryptic Studios
• Craig T. Dalrymple - Community Relations Manager, EverQuest II, Sony Online Entertainment
  

Also confirmed to be arriving at the event are groups like IBM, Nvidia, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios, Cartoon Network, K2 Network, Multiverse, DigiPen, Pearl Research, Fox Interactive Media, Gas Powered Games, Midway Studios, WildTangent, High Voltage Software, Flagship Studios, and Ensemble Studios.

Keep posted in case more information on additional speakers is announced, as this year's OGDC goes down this May 10 to 11, at at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle.

Flashback: The Quest for Identity, created by Delphine Software, was released in 1992 for the Super NES, IBM PC, among many others. It was one of those cinematic platformer games that has an appealing, yet simple, storyline. Basically, you'll have to help out a man with no memory to navigate through the hazards of Titan and Earth. Indeed, this is a classic side scrolling platform-puzzler.

So why the sudden trip down memory lane? In Eric Viennot's blog, he divulges that he is working on a Wii title with the Flashback designer himself, Paul Cuisset. Reading through his blog entry, there was no mention of the game's title, genre, or storyline. But with Cuisset on board, people are already getting excited about this development.

Let's see if the tandem of Eric Viennot and Paul Cuisset could concoct something as great as Flashback. We'll let you know about any developments as soon as more info comes our way. For now, check out Viennot's blog by clicking on our read link below.

The triumvirate of next-generation consoles are all out. The war is now on. And IBM Corporation is sitting comfortably on its fortune at the backstage. As all of you might be aware, it was this company who developed the Power chip that powers Xbox 360 and Wii, as well as the Cell chip found inside the PlayStation 3.

The videogame deals earned IBM up to US$ 2.9 billion last year and US$ 2.5 billion in 2004. At the end of 2006, which by the way is just few days away, the company is expected to see about US$ 3.7 billion in sales of chips and associated design services. Aside from the actual sales, IBM has formed a new "technology collaboration solutions" unit that is expected to post US$ 4 billion in revenue this year.

This is actually a glaring contrast to status of the company before the deals. Prior to 2004, IBM was struggling to attract enough outside chip-making work to cover the enormous cost of manufacturing. As a result, their hardware division suffered a lost of US$ 252 million in 2003. The head of the said division, William Zeitler, couldn't hide his astonishment:

I think of this at the same stage of development that outsourcing was in the early '90s. There were a lot of people skeptical and now it represents a large part of IBM's portfolio. We had exactly the right proposition at exactly the right time. Ten years ago it would have been inconceivable that all the game processors would have used IBM product. Nobody would have thought of it because all we had was standard things.

Now that they've conquered the videogame market, IBM is looking on new prospects. They reported that possible future application of the chip includes computers for medical imaging, defense and complex simulations. Currently, IBM is expecting to ink a deal with companies like Mercury Computing Systems and Toshiba.

Remember our coverage of the East Fishkill area? The one where we told you guys that most of Sony's and Microsoft's console chips come from the area? Well here's another East Fishkill related post.

In order to highlight the deep science behind the latest video games and to encourage middle school students to pursue careers in math and science, IBM will distribute an education package, including print, video and other multi-media materials, to members of IBM’s On Demand Community, IBM’s global volunteer initiative with nearly 80,000 employees and retirees.

Educational sessions at East Fishkill will be led Dr. Michael Nelson, IBM’s director of Internet Technology and Strategy. He says:

The introduction of next generation systems from the leaders in video gaming offers a unique opportunity to reinforce the importance of math and science education at the earliest possible age, Kids love gaming, and math and science make games possible.

As much as this sounds like IBM is doing something that is completely selfless, the truth is that they're helping themselves out by helping everyone out. IBM is after all the company that's set to gain the most from this next-gen console war since all three consoles use chips from them. Getting kids into the maths and sciences is IBM's way of ensuring that in the future there will be capable people out there for them to employ.

Helping yourself by helping others, hey, if Oprah can make millions out of doing that, why can't IBM?

It doesn't matter if Sony's PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, or Nintendo's Wii will be the top seller. IBM will win this console war. There really isn't a huge conspiracy behind this. Like any other war the guys who are selling the guns win. In the console war's case, it's microprocessors, not guns.

All three units use IBM microprocessors.

What's amusing about this is that as recently as 2004, IBM was struggling to attract work outside of chip-making just to cover the enormous cost of manufacturing. Now due to the game-deals they have with the big three, IBM is expected to see a whopping $3.7 billion in sales of chips and associated design services this year.

All the expected bling won't just come from the chips. Using the model IBM used for their consulting work for the big three, IBM formed a new technology-collaboration solutions unit that's expected to post US$ 4 billion in revenue this year. Internal projections call for that division to earn around US$ 10 billion by 2010 and US$ 20 billion by 2015.

Given IBM's tough competition in the PC world in the form of Intel, what IBM did is a smart sidestep. IBM's Bernie Meyerson had this to say: "Most folks are not aware, that gaming chips drive the frontiers of the industry, not general-purpose computing."

No matter how much one will argue based on previous statements by Nintendo, the Wii is in-fact a Nintendo Gamecube redesigned! I've been told this several times by a friend of mine who just detests this poor little console, but I'm still a firm believer in the new design and controller. I'm in it for the gameplay, not the graphics (like many of the Wii enthusiasts are).

Well, it seems that the "Wii's brains" have finally been uncovered from an IBM datasheet which discussed, in essence, displayed that the Wii's broadway CPU is only a redesign of the Gamecube's Gekko CPU in a smaller package and faster performance. In the past there were several rumors that the Wii would be able to compete with Sony and Microsoft's next generation consoles in terms of graphics, but with the recent screenshots (I'm looking at you Farcry!), it is anything but that. Here's what Ars Tech had to say on the situation -

A poster at the Ace's Hardware message board has dug up a new IBM datasheet for the 750CL, which is a new derivative of the IBM 750 (a.k.a. the G3). Based on the information revealed in the datasheet, the 750CL is basically just a 90nm die shrink of the Gekko hardware that's intended to run at up to 900MHz. IBM almost certainly would not go to the trouble of launching an updated version of Gekko on a new process, unless what many have said all along is in fact true: Broadway is a faster, lower-power version of the GameCube's Gekko hardware.

Many have argued the Wii as being a peripheral, or another version coming up later in the life, but to be politically correct - it is just a redesigned Gamecube like the DS Lite is a redesigned version of the phat DS. However, the new controller, interface, downloadable content, Nintendo WiFi Connection, and more features - it is definitely a new console in my eyes!

Most of the microprocessor chips that power Sony's PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Nintendo's Wii are being made not in Asia but in a factory in East Fishkill NY. The factory is surrounded by woods, 70 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.

The IBM factory offers a view of the kind of manufacturing that the US still excels at: that is, automated production of advanced technology requiring only an apt (as opposed to a lot) number of highly skilled workers. The modern Factory.

The factory is an important part of a business-government effort to create a thriving industrial cluster in upstate New York, that is based on microelectronics and nanotechnology.

The microprocessors made for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are shipped to Asia, where contract assemblers, mostly in China, put together the video game consoles. Many of those consoles end up on the American market.

The technological cluster is attracting engineers and managers from partner companies to work at the area. In fact, Takayuki Kurihara, a 32-year-old software engineer for Tokyo Electron, moved to Fishkill in 2002. Here's what Kurihara had to say: "What I.B.M. is doing here is very high-tech, and this factory is in the spotlight in my industry in Japan, many people want to come here."

It's good to see that the console demand is generating jobs and business.

Thanks to badam for the tip.