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).

Nerds worldwide are still waiting to hear how Amazon.com is going to handle a recent graphic novel pricing snafu that could cost the internet giant thousands of dollars and formally-dedicated consumers.

Blamed on a computer glitch, the mistake resulted in normally-expensive hardcover comic omnibus’ being sold for as low as $8. Originally reported on Bleeding Cool, Nerds from all over the world flocked to the mistake, buying multiple copies of each mislabeled book, skewing Amazon’s bestseller list for the better of two days. Now, Nerds want to know what will happen with their orders, as reports have surfaced of multiple cancellations and modifications.

Direct Youtube Link

The question is “what should be done?”. Should Amazon be punished for their mistake? Is it the Nerds, who technically have done nothing wrong, that should suffer?

Normally, this sort of thing could easily be ignored, but the sheer number of dollars involved, and the whole live-by-the-internet/die-by-the-internet thing makes this story of particular interest to us here @ Nerd City. Stay tuned for more updates as this clash of Nerd-ery continues.

Valve has announced today that they will officially be bringing their very popular service, Steam, to the Mac platform next month. For those not familiar Steam is the one stop place for all new, and some old, PC games. Steam allows a direct download of games directly to a customers account allowing them to load the games up on any PC that has steam installed. Steam also will constantly keep the software up to date and over all is just an easier way to get and play your computer games. Pricing of games vary from publisher to publisher and there is no offiical date on when this will go out live in April. But the good news is that if anyone owns a Mac and has been wanting a fast easy way to play Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, Half-Life or many other games, you will now be able to starting next month. Full Press release after the jump.

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Today’s the day, people.  Whoever you are, wherever you are, head out to your local comic shop and pick up the print edition Colt Noble and the Megalords one-shot from Image comics!

From Image:

64 PAGES,FC, $5.99

Hack/Slash creator TIM SEELEY brings his acclaimed web comic to the printed page! Welcome to Planet Solus: a world of magic, monsters and high technology! It’s also home to Prince Jaysen, an average 15-year-old with hormones afire! Jaysen finds the mystical figure of action, an artifact that allows him to transform into COLT NOBLE, PALADIN OF POWER, just as his father, the King is taken hostage by a rag tag crew of would be evil overlords! Will he use the powerful body to save his world from the forces of darkness, or will he just try to get laid? It’s Space opera meets teen sex comedy! This collection contains the entire story, sketches, and pin ups, PLUS a PRINT EXCLUSIVE tale featuring the origin of the ANIMALIENS!

You can check out the main comic in web comic form right here at Nerd City!

You can also get a preview of the Animaliens backup story here courtesy of Newsarama!

Also if you’re in the Chicagoland area, you might want to head out to Challengers on Western tonight for Colt Noble release party with signing by the one and only Tim Seeley and special appearances by the Nerd City crew.  Details here.

Wait, did I say cancer?  While we still don’t exactly know what’s going down in San Francisco tomorrow, curing cancer is at the low end of the probability meter.  Several sources have spilled the beans that the much talked about, but never seen, tablet will be making it’s grand entrance to the delight of fan boys everywhere.  You’ve already read my predictions/wishes for the thing (You haven’t?  Well you better click here and get caught up, you slacker!)  The big hubub starts at 10am Pacific Time…so that’s like noon Central.  I think.  Yeah…I’m right.  Noon Central.  I’ll be following the live stream from Gizmodo (here).  They always do a great job with quick auto refreshes and plenty of pretty pictures.  They usually start when they arrive on site and have a good time with some pre-game hijinx.  If Giz isn’t to your taste (zing!), below is a list of other sites live blogging the event.  Where’s Nerd City’s live blog you ask?  Well, I thought about ripping the best info from all of these sites and saying I was there, but I’d rather just give you kind folk the goods in one long article where I get to voice some opinion.  Whether it’s the second coming of Jesus or just another Fleshlight, come back shortly after the event to get my take.

Other liveblog events for tomorrow (from sites I visit on a regular basis):

Ars Technica

AppleInsider

MacRumors

SlashGear

9 to 5 Mac

IGN

Engadget

Happy Friday Nerd City! I want you guys to know I love the big beers, massive hop monsters, imperial stouts, bourbon barrel aged ales, love them more then my X-box 360. They are great to drink for all their complexities but some times a nice low alcohol beer is a nice change of pace. In Germany they call them “session beers”, meaning you can have more then one with out getting knocked out by the ABV. Session beers are best enjoyed over good conversation with friends, such as who is the best captain of the Enterprise? (Jean-Luc Picard). Bell’s released a beer this past fall called Oarsman. Bell’s using an old German brewing technique that imparts a soft tartness with a low ABV created something unique with Oarsman. Oarsman is 4% ABV and is refreshing and crisp. The tartness does not dominate the beer like a lambic, it’s in the background adding another dimension to the beer. “Oarsman grew out of a desire to explore the tradition of session beers, trading intensity for finesse while still creating a worthwhile experience for the taster” Bell’s website, currently Oarsman is only on draft but look for the bottles this spring. Till next time, Cheers!

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.

Do you like video games and DJing? Well look no further than this DIY Midi Board that will give you all the synthesizer and break control you will need. This cool looking Midi Board is set to look just like the classic arcade controller (minus joystick) that we have all come to love. To learn more about this product check out DJ Tech Tools for the full information and if you are interested in pre-ordering their next batch, you can check out the store here. For more information you can always check out the official site at DJ Tech Tools.

Thanks to Kotaku via Game Set Watch for the heads up.

So, what makes this image particularly interesting is that it’s not an actual photograph of a custom figure, but rather a really well done mockup made in Photoshop.  The base for this concept is the NECA Snout Spout staction with a few additional modifications.  What I find really cool about this (other than the really admirable Photoshop skills) is that the ultimate goal is to use this file, along with others, to produce this custom on a 3-D printer!

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that, although I understand the general idea of what a 3-D printer obviously means, I haven’t the slightest idea how one works.  So, here’s the wiki.

It’s generally the same principal as those personalized mini statues that you can have made of your World of Warcraft character, straight out of the game.  I’m really fascinated by this technology and very much looking forward to see how it continues to integrate itself into the world of custom figures/statues.

The design upgrades on this Trooper are particularly cool, as well. One of the unique things about the idea of the Horde Troopers is that they open the door for the potential use of a very mecha-influenced aesthetic.  Neo has no doubt employed that sensibility here, along with a dash of ED-209, if I’m not mistaken.

Watch this space for future developments on this project.

I’m really digging the limited edition movie-themed art prints that our friends at Mondo have been putting out lately, and the two latest ones are no exception.  It’s super cool to see talented artists like Todd Slater and Mike Budai take on subjects like Office Space and The Neverending Story.

From Mondo:

Office Space

Back with a beautiful addition to the poster series is Austin’s own, Todd Slater. Not only did Todd capture Milton’s likeness only minutes after he set fire to Inotech, but he did it completely out of office supplies!

Poster by Todd Slater. 18″x24″ screen print. Signed and numbered by the artist. Printed by D&L Screen Printing with metallic inks on black art paper. Edition of 200.

From Mondo:

The Neverending Story

Mike Budai makes his feature debut with this gorgeous screen print for THE NEVERENDING STORY.

Poster by Mike Budai. 12″x24″ screen print. Signed and numbered by the artist. Edition of 95.

Get your prints here.

54 years ago, Dr. Emmett Brown invented time travel with after gettting a vision of what is now know as the flux capacitor. Our friends over at Wired have detailed his great findings, which you can read all about here. Thank you Dr. Brown for your excellence in science.

Looks like we are starting to see who will be available as the first set of DLC for the recently released Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. It was announced that Carnage would be one of the first characters available for download and according to the developers, don’t expect a Spider-Man or Venom clone. Carnage will be sort of a hybrid of the two, having Spidey’s speed but Venoms brute strength. No word on when he will be available for the PS3 or Xbox 360 and if he will be part of a pack, but it is nice to see them getting a good start on character choice….even though he is technically dead during the whole Civil War story (but really, what’s so civil about war anyway?)

Check out this amazing custom by the always awesome Mark Nagata of Max Toy company!  I so love the design of this guy (courtesy of Rumble Monsters) and really dig the way that Mark’s technique and color choice gave a certain gritty edge to what is otherwise and exceptionally clean looking figure.

Images from xphillips1’s Flickr.

In yet another awesome junk food/video game team-up (See KFC/Guitar Hero, Mountain Dew Game Fuel), Doritos is currently accepting submissions for their Unlock XBox contest. Basically, you video tape your two minute pitch for an XBox Live game, and if the judges like your idea, Doritos will help create the game, and internet voters will pick the grand prize winner. This is a super rad idea for a contest, and what’s great is that you don’t need to know anything about the technical side of game design to win. So if you have an idea for a video game (and who doesn’t), you have to check it out. So get cracking, because pitches are due Oct 4th. Also, no extra points will be awarded for cool ranch residue on submissions. Just so you know.

Get all the details here.

Against seemingly insurmountable technical difficulty-related odds, Nerd City pushes forward with its 57th Episode!  Recorded in the secret underground bunker known as “Nerd City South”, the guys welcome international celebrities Megan Johnston-Spencer and Bob Egan as they discuss Classic NES games and District 9.  Oh yeah, Gregory Spines makes his triumphant return as well.

Pics and links after the jump…

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