At last years E3, we got the first announcement of Sonys version of motion control gaming.  Not much was shown outside of some tech demos and an odd looking wand with a glowing ball on top of it.  Well at this weeks game developers conference, Sony debuted the full working version of what they are calling Playstation Move.

Now at first glance, most will say “Hey that looks like a black Wiimote and nunchuck” and to that I’d say you are pretty close. Sony didn’t really step too far away from their original design, perhaps hoping it would be recognizable to the Wii crowd of casual gamers. The Playstation Move controllers operate on the standard rechargeable battery that other PS3 controllers have, with one controller being your wand while the other will have a joystick and d-pad for controlling movement of a character on the screen. Instead of a sensor bar like the Wii uses, Sony will require you to have the PS3 eye camera that will track your movements on the screen. The Playstation Move will be sold by itself, bundled with the PS3 eye and even bundled with the eye and PS3 system….so there will be many options for you to purchase this new device.

Maybe it’s me, but this has really no interest to me. I like the concept and enjoy seeing technology moving along, but I play video games so I don’t have to be active. After trying Punch-Out with the wiimote and nunchuck to simulate real boxing I was bored/tired of it within a few rounds, so I don’t know how long I’d want to play a full game with this thing. All the major companies are supporting this device, so we’ll either get some high quality new games for the PS3 or we will get tons of shit games like how we see with the Wii. Tiger Woods would be the only interesting game to play on the PS3 with this new device, but that’s just me. You can read a whole lot more about this device over at Kotaku as they are actually at GDC (where were you on that one Max, why didn’t I get to go).

Friendly reminder to watch SNL this weekend as funny man Zach Galifianakis is hosting. I know you are probably still laughing from last weeks J.Lo hosted episode, so keep the laughter going this Saturday as well.

This past weekend, Shinto Gangu, the home base shop of Japanese designer toy company, RealxHead, played host to an outrageous plethora of collaborations and mashups between RealxHead and another really cool Japanese company, SkullToys.  The results are really impressive and, naturally, were only made in limited quantities available only to those in attendance.  Therefore, you’ll have to be pretty lucky to get your hands on one of these guys outside of Japan.  However, based upon the fact that the results of this collaboration were so cool, maybe we’ll actually see one of these figures mass produced.  Who knows?

More pics after the jump! (more…)

Attention New Mexico Nerds! Our friends @ Oh Baby So Tasty, are hosting Cool Kids Never Die, an art/ plush/custom toy show, this Saturday, February 20th @ Studio Broadway in Albuquerque.

Featuring an assortment of awesome pieces, it’s really cool to see this kind of thing going down Southwest style. So if you live in the Albuquerque, N.M. area, or even if you don’t, this is a show to definitely check out.

Get all the info on Oh Baby So Tasty and Cool Kids Never Die here.

Now for me it will be none as I think the last baseball game I played was the fantastic slugfest. But if you are a baseball fan, there are some great options out there. Both MLB 10 and 2K Sports Major League Baseball 2K10 are both scheduled to be released on March 2nd and both games look great. But 2K10 is offering their fans quite the incentive to buy and play their game. 2K sports will be holding a contest that will reward the first person to pitch a perfect game, by May 2nd, $1,000,000. Yeah One Million bucks if you can pitch a perfect game in 2K10 Baseball. The rules aren’t fully available on their website on what you would have to do to do this, but I assume you would have to play against the computer on a certain difficulty setting and obviously record it for proof.

Now that is a nice incentive to buy 2K10, but in the past years MLB baseball from Sony has been stepping up their game in presentation and gameplay where 2K is no longer the king of the hill as both games have been getting similar scores in reviews. Below is a new video detailing the level of effort put into making MLB10 appear as close to watching a broadcast of the game as possible. It is quite impressive the way each player has their distinct mannerisms as well as how fluid routine plays look.

So, yes, this is a very cool looking custom MOTUC figure by He-Mike of the He-Man.org forums.  The level of qulality and attention to detail in He-Mike’s work never ceases to amaze me, and this figure is no exception. But, do you know where it’s from?

During the height of the original Masters of the Universe line, the Monogram model company made these snap together model kits based on popular vehicles from the line that were aimed at a slightly older demographic.  I never had any of these.  I do however, clearly remember standing in the toy isle and trying to figure out a. why there were new versions of some of these vehicles and b. who the heck was that guy on the box who was driving the Roton?

Obviously, like a lot of MOTU stuff from those days, the identity of the guy in the box art was never dealt with.  These days, most people just see him as a cool character design that would have made a great figure.  That’s where He-Mike and his version of this guy for the MOTUC line comes in.

His recipe for the custom was:

Head: MOTUC Faker, DCSH Azreal, Apoxie Sculpt
Cape: Modified DCSH Steel
Body: MOTUC Triklops
Boots: MOTUC Zodak, MOTUC Stratos
Staff: MOTUC Zodak

More pics after the jump. (more…)

Sony and DC have once again added another hero to the mix for DC Universe Online. That hero would be Zatanna. For those not familiar with Zatanna she is one of the world’s most powerful magic users, born of a long line of magicians who use magic against the dark forces of evil. She inherited her ability to cast spells from her magician father and mysterious mother, the mystical Sindella. She is a loyal and long-time member of the Justice League of America, and often works alongside the most powerful magic users on Earth, including Doctor Fate, Madame Xanadu, and Captain Marvel. Zatanna casts spells by speaking her magic incantations backwards. Her powers are virtually limitless, from summoning shackles to healing others to teleporting from place to place. However, Zatanna is wary of overusing her magic and limits herself to defensive and non-lethal spells. So she will be a great asset to your team by being a primary magic caster, of course if you create your character to be magic heavy there wouldn’t be a reason to have her with you. That’s what will make DC Universe online so fun, the ability to play through pretty much however you want. DC Universe online is schedule to be released at some point this year for the PS3.

After many rumors of an early March to late April release, Sony has confirmed the date of March 16th for when we will get our hands on God of War III. God of War III is the most highly anticipated game for me on the PS3 this year. The previous God of War installments on the PS2 (and now available on one disc on the PS3, buy online at gamestop) were in my opinion the best games on the previous Sony system. For those not familiar, God of War is the story of Kratos who has been screwed over by Zeus and other gods, so he seeks out his revenge. You do battle in fantastic settings from ancient Greece along with fighting many monsters from Greek mythology in standard beat-em-up style gameplay. There is a demo available for God of War III on the blu-ray copy of District 9, but I would assume it will be available within the next month on the PSN. Until then enjoy the below video from E3 discussing the game and showing the full demo being played through.

Sony announced today that their new motion controller will launch in Japan this fall. With no official name for the motion controller or what games will use the new controller, it’s interesting that this news would come without any additional support information. There have been rumors of the motion controller supporting a new version of Resident Evil 5 and many FPS games so those could be interesting to try. The tech demo for this new controller that was shown at E3 was very impressive, so it’ll be interesting to see what Sony can come up with. Of course this only semi-appeals to me as my laziness would not want me to be moving around all the time while playing a game.

Talking this week with Nintendo Weekly, Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo of America President) stated that the new Zelda game that was announced at E3 last year would not be out till it is perfect.

“Right now, it’s still in development. But the key message that Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Aonuma is telling us is that it really has to be perfect when it launches,” he said. “That really is what the Zelda fan is expecting.”

With this statement, us Zelda fans will have to make due with Spirit Tracks for the DS until the new Wii title is available. With Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid M scheduled to still come out this year, not having a Zelda title isn’t that bad. It will definitely allow time to get through these other highly anticipated Wii games before having to start a new adventure in Hyrule.

Just a reminder that tonight is going to be a huge night in the MOTU world and the art world at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles.  Their Masters of the Universe-themed “Under the Influence” show opening is tonight from 7-10 and this mind blowing piece by Nerd City favorite Meggs is another example of the works that will also be on display.

Not to be forgotten is the fact that Mattel has not only embraced the show, but will also be contributing to this evening’s opening by unveiling one of this year’s SDCC exclusive figures there.

Over the last few days, many previews have been popping up all over the net of pieces for the show that I have not yet covered on this blog.  After the jump, there are a few more of my favorites. (more…)

Check it! Very good friend of Nerd City and insanely talented guy, Adriean Koleric, aka Item, has contributed some amazing designs to the upcoming Star Wars Galaxy 5 Trading Cards from Topps.  You’ve got to love Item’s approach to these designs, which incorporate his now iconic blend of Star Wars characters with super sharp design and fashion imagery. What is really additionally impressive, though, is the decision that he made to give each piece the look of slightly weathered street art, which adds an interesting organic element to the overall feel.  Well played, sir.

From Item:

I was lucky enough to be invited through the almighty Sucklord to contribute to the upcoming Starwars Galaxy 5 line of cards via TOPPS. The task was to customize 56 blank cards to how I see fit.

I opted to go with a gel transfer approach to try and mimic the feel of a sticker or gig poser you’d see on any street corner. Weathered…..peeled…..etc. More images can be checked out over here.

Release date is February 2010.

More pics/links after the jump. (more…)

Now we know there is really only one podcast you should be listening too, but if you are looking for a fantastic podcast being played as one giant mixtape then The Beat Bee Sessions is for you. This podcast features resident NerdCity favorite Jim Mahfood, aka Food One, just playing fantastic and classic hip hop hits along side his partner Jane Dope. As Food one describes it:

The Beat Bee, mysterious cosmic funkanaut of the the intergalactic
spaceways, delivers his magic Mixtapes throughout the universe to
spread the love and joy of real music! He has chosen Food One and Jane
Dope to broadcast his funky signals on planet Earth…and so, we
proudly bring you the first volume of the Beat Bee Sessions…an
all-new, weekly podcast guaranteed to clean the cobwebs out ‘yo
mind.

I was not able to find this on iTunes yet but you can download or stream the podcast right HERE.

Tonight promises to be a great time at the Rotofugi Gallery!  This show is being curated by Chicago’s Black Market Caviar!

From Rotofugi:

Black Market Caviar Showcase w/ DJ Sean Doe Opening

Rotofugi Gallery, 1955 W Chicago Ave, Chicago…tonight, Friday, December 4, from 7 pm until 10pm.

Every now and then you just gotta let go. This month we did just that and turned the Rotofugi Gallery reigns over to the good folks at Black Market Caviar, a new screenprinting and clothing boutique that just happens to be moving in a few doors down from us on Chicago Avenue (1945 W Chicago). Join us tonight for the opening of the show the BMC guest curated…Marco Hafid and the crew at BMC did a great job curating a diverse and thought provoking show for us…then pop down the street to BMC and check out the new digs as they’re having their grand opening tonight as well (open until 10pm).

The talented and friendliest guy you’ll ever meet DJ Sean Doe will be spinning all night at Rotofugi and the snacky treats are on us!

For a few pics of stuff in the show, go to the Rotofugi update.

For more info about Black Market Caviar, check out their site here.

Masterenglish has done it again with another brilliant MOTUC custom figure.   Lately, he’s been using his unparalleled skill for customizing these guys to bring us some really cool original characters, and War-Wolf is no exception.  The inclusion of a wolf/werewolf character in the MOTU makes so much sense that it always puzzled me that Mattel never included such a figure in the original line.  Masterenglish has put a particularly interesting spin on his MOTU wolf character.

From Masterenglish:

Here is the second in my ‘Four Hordesmen of the Apocolypse’ series. As you guys probably remember, I did a custom Infector a little while back. Unbeknownst to me, he was PESTILENCE, the first of the four part figure series. Here we have WAR, and soon to come, FAMINE & DEATH. Still not sure how I’m gonna do FAMINE.

More pics after the jump.

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