ces-2009 posts

Sony Online Entertainment held its annual CES press event this week and during the invite only event the MMO game publisher announced plans to work with Brady Games to publish a new hardcover book to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their flagship game Everquest.

During the event the cover for the hardcover book was displayed in public for the first time which features art from Donato Giancola. The final book will feature behind-the-scenes artwork on the development of the MMO franchise, interviews with the key people behind the game (including Sony Online head John Smedley who is standing to the right of the book cover image) and more. Brady Games is taking pre-orders for the book which will cost $49.99 and will be released later this year. This is just the start of celebrations that Sony Online will hold around the country this year for Everquest's 10th anniversary.

Server-side software is becoming more of a buzz word now in PC applications, as is "cloud computing" but PC processor maker AMD wants to see PC games and other media join in that streaming method. During CES this week AMD announced a plan with a software company called OTOY (pronounced O-Toy) to create a new super computer that could make this possible.

The computer effort is called the AMD Fusion Render Cloud and AMD claims this will be the fastest super computer ever made with a goal to break the one petaFLOPS barrier in processing power. AMD say the computer will "enable content providers to deliver video games, PC applications and other graphically-intensive applications through the Internet "cloud" to virtually any type of mobile device with a web browser without making the device rapidly deplete battery life or struggle to process the content."

In a CES address can can been seen at this web site, AMD showed a notebook computer that ran Mercenaries 2 with the game being streamed to the notebook via a web browser rather than stored on the hard drive. The game's publisher Electronic Arts seemed to embrace this new way of distributing games; At the moment, AMD plans to hae their Fusion Render Cloud project up and running by the second half of 2009.

Dell made some noise last year about perhaps transferring most of their gaming oriented PC business to their Alienware division but at CES this year Dell launched a new gaming PC that's all about having AMD inside. The Dell XPS 625 desktop PC supports the so called AMD Dragon platform.

That means the PC has the newly released AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor alongside two ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics cards in CrossFire mode. AMD's own OverDrive program also allows for overcloking the processor as well. Pricing for the new XPS 625 PC starts at $999 and it's available now on Dell's web site.

We have already told you that Nvidia has released new drivers that support these new products but now the company has made the official announcement on the new GeForce GTX 295 and 285 graphics cards. The 295 model combines two GTX 200 GPUs on one card while the 285 is a single GPU solution which Nvidia claims has 30 percent more performance than other single GPU solutions.

If you want to spend $499 on a new graphics card then you are in luck as the GTX 295 is now available for sale via several companies for that price. The 285 model will go on sale in about a week, on January 15 in fact, for $399.

These trailers for Dark Void, shown at CES 2009, demonstrate different gameplay aspects from the sci-fi themed action adventure game. In Dark Void, players take the role of a cargo pilot trapped in the Bermuda Triangle and must battle against an alien race called the Archon to escape. The video above shows off vertical combat, the game's main feature. The other videos show combat against UFO's and sabotaging massive structures.

Download HD Dark Void Vertical Combat Video (49 MB)
Download HD Dark Void UFO Video (101 MB)
Download HD Dark Void Sabotage Video (103 MB)

A while back Mad Catz bought out the UK based gaming PC controller company Saitek which was best known for their highly advanced flight stick controllers. Mad Catz has continued using the Saitek name for a number of its products and during the Consumer Electronics Show this week they announced a new PC addition to the line-up; the Saitek Cyborg X flight stick.

The new product celebrates the 10th anniversary of Saitek's flight stick brand (hence the "X" in the product name) . It contains a trigger and 11 programmable buttons. Parts of the Cybord X can be folded and detached when not in use which can save space when storing the product. The Cyborg X is expected to ship sometime this quarter for $49.99.

While the Cyborg X is made specifically for PC gaming, Mad Catz has also announced their Saitek Aviator Flight Stick for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are also compatible with the PC.

If you want full 3D action for a ton of current PC games and don't feel funny about wearing some glasses to get the effect, then Nvidia has the new product for you. Officially announced today as part of the Consumer Electronics Show, the graphics chip maker announced the GeForce 3D Vision, a set of special glasses that enables people to see PC games in 3D if you have the correct GeForce GPU in your rig along with the right monitor.

Monitors from Samsung and Viewsonic support 3D game viewing through the new product along with Mitsubish HDTVs and DepthQ HD 3D projectors. A list of PC games that support the GeForce 3D Vision is available at Nvidia's web site. You can purchase the product now at Nvidia's web site and at select online retailers for $199. You can also purchase the product with a Samsung monitor for $598.

Since we are a PC gaming web site we would be remiss if we didn't report that Microsoft's next major Windows OS revamp, Windows 7, is finally going public. Currently available in beta form for a select few (or if you know where to look on the Internet) Microsoft used its CES keynote address on Wednesday night to announce that the beta will be freely available to download for anyone to install and use on Friday.

While Microsoft has yet to lock in an official release date for the final version of Windows 7 it's clear that they would like it to be ready by the holiday season of 2009. There was nothing in the CES keynote about Microsoft's Games For Windows or how Microsoft's program to promote and market PC gaming will work with the new Windows release.

The news on the HP Firebird gaming PC was leaked out last week but this week HP and its subsidary Voodoo PC made the news official this week. The slimmed down and powered down gaming PC product will be made available for purchase online later this week with the starting price of $1,799.

However, many people (including some of our comments at Big Download) have questions whether the new HP Firebird is indeed a bargain at its price with some saying they could make a PC using the same or better componants for less. On his official blog site, Voodoo PC owner Radul Sood says HP worked with Nvidia to create new video cards that are smaller but have comparible perfomance to their larger counterparts. Creative Labs was also asked to make a smaller version of its X-FI sound card for the system.

That and other changes make the Firebird unique, according to Sood. He states, "You're going to hear a lot about the HP Firebird with VoodooDNA, because I truly believe it breaks new ground for the performance PC industry. It's the first of its kind, not only for HP, but for all of our partners." He adds, "Sure there will be people who say things like 'I can build one for less' – but they simply cannot. You will not be able to build a PC that offers a balance of performance, silence, size, scalability, reliability, and efficiency for less."

The Consumer Electronics Show is supposed to be all about the positives; new products, parties, big display booths, etc. PC periheral company. However, some major companies are tempering their announcements with bad news due to the current economic crisis. Logitech is a perfect example of this new theme.

This morning the peripheral maker announced a number of gaming PC products they were showing at CES including the G19 keyboard with a color LCD screen for game and PC stats and even video and pictures. It's due out in March for $199.99. The company also announced the the G35 headset with features like "voice morphing" to make you sound like a "cyborg, giant, mutant, space squirrel, troll and alien". It's also due in March for $129.99. Finally there's the G9x mouse, a revamped version of the earlier G9 mouse that increases its maximum DPI to 5000. It's due in April for $99.99. All of the new products join the previously launched G13 gameboard.

However, the company also announced late on Monday that it has pulled its previous predictions for 2009 sales due to the current economic situation. Logitech also announced plans to restructure the company which unfortunately includes reducing its work force by 15 percent. The company has over 7,000 workers worldwide.