Ubisoft's Rocksmith Teaches You Guitar Through A Video Game Format

"Introducing the Rocksmith bundle! The bundle will include the game along with an Epiphone Les Paul Junior guitar and the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable™. Available at launch and priced at $199.99!"

So with this game, you can use any real guitar and just buy the game w/ special cable for only $80. Don't have a guitar? Just purchase the one that comes with a Les Paul Junior (its full size, just not full strength) for only $120 more! It seems that the game will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I LOVE THIS!!! This is exactly where Rock Band 3 wanted to go, but maybe bit off a bit more than it could chew, with the Pro Modes having to be compatible with the existing game format. This is where Guitar Hero players can go and put their skills to real-world use! I've been asking for this ever since the original GH from Harmonix. I just hope that the game is actually good.

I really hope that the future of video game developement becomes more open to the idea of learning real skills through fun interactive software. Its like that idea imploded in the '90s, save for maybe Leapfrog-type of stuff for the little ones.

Microsoft Delivers Kinect SDK For PC

"We've been waiting for confirmation on yesterday's rumor, about Microsoft's motion-sensing Xbox 360 peripheral coming to PCs, and now we have it. MS has just now released a software development kit (SDK) for Windows that will allow .Net developers to write Kinecting apps in C++, C#, or VB. We spoke with some developer representatives from the company to get the full details, including just what you can and can't do with this big bundle of libraries. Follow us after the break for all the info.

At this point the SDK is effectively a straight-port of the same libs that are currently available to Xbox 360 developers. Built on XNA, the Kinect library is standalone, so you won't necessarily need to rely on DirectX being present. The SDK gives full access to everything the peripheral has to offer, including both cameras (VGA and depth-sensing) and the full microphone array. The former can identify up to six individuals or track the full skeletons for two, while the latter can handle advanced echo-cancellation and even sound triangulation."

Click Here For The Complete Engadget Article

Cinema Turns Toward High Speed 3D For Greater Immersion

It was announced last month that Peter Jackson's upcoming 2-part telling of The Hobbit would be not only be shot in 3D and with Red's new Epic digital cameras, but would also include a feature that no other major studio production has offered in nearly a century, an increased frame rate. In this case, doubling it! 

Fellow director James Cameron has been championing higher frame rates since well before Avatar was released, and I could not help imaging "what if?", while watching Avatar for myself. Of course his comment about "fighting battles one at a time" is well understood. The movie was truly something no one had ever seen before. Still, the first thing I noticed during this epic was how even though it often gave off that "you are there" feeling, when the action got heavy or I was forced to change depths, I had to blink my eyes repeatedly in order to get them to refocus. This took me out of that feeling multiple times, and eventually I had to learn to just let it go. I do believe that this is the #1 cause of eyestrain in 3D cinema. While the jury's out on making 3D movies that every single person can enjoy the same, I do have a feeling that this will be a breakthrough that turns more than a few 3D doubters into converts. Cameron shot an action scene at 24 fps, 48 fps, and 60 fps and showed it off at CinemaCon in March in order to show the media and get people in the industry on board for the higher frame rates. Those who were shown this demonstration seem to be generally impressed.

more after the jump

Move Over Microsoft Avatars, Time For Surrogates?

Conceivably Tech published an article recently that exposes a patent from Microsoft filed on January 28, 2011. It seems as though the new software patent would bring object recognition and a real-time replica of the user via body scan, rather than the family-friendly Avatar to the table for gaming. What's not known is whether the patent is intended for the current version of Kinect or a future version. The abstract reads:

“A depth image of a scene may be received, observed, or captured by a device. The depth image may then be analyzed to determine whether the depth image includes a human target. For example, the depth image may include one or more targets including a human target and non-human targets. Each of the targets may be flood filled and compared to a pattern to determine whether the target may be a human target. If one or more of the targets in the depth image includes a human target, the human target may be scanned. A skeletal model of the human target may then be generated based on the scan.”

Article from Conceivably Tech and more petent images after the break

Microsoft Makes Exploring The Known Universe Easy With Kinect

This story from last month didn't seem to get much recognition so I thought I would mention it because I just can't stop thinking about its coolness. Engadget broke it last month HERE. "During their day two keynote at MIX11, Microsoft showed off its Worldwide Telescope project powered by Kinect. In collaboration with NASA, the Worldwide Telescope project allows you to explore high-resolution photos and 3D renders of space and beyond."

Sometimes Microsoft can really surprise me how far reaching they have become into technology and research well beyond Windows and even the Xbox brand. Video and quote from Engadget: