Remember Project Fiona, a Windows-based gaming tablet that debuted as a concept at CES 2012? Well after over a year of crowd-sourced development and refinement, Razer has introduced the retail incarnation of the Project Fiona concept, and it’s called the Edge.

Meet the best product at CES 2013: Razer Edge.

Simply put, the Razer Edge is a pure gaming tablet. But it’s not that simple. With the right accessories, the Edge transforms from a tablet to a gaming machine to a desktop. Picture the Microsoft Surface Pro but instead of being designed for productivity, it’s a portable gaming rig.

Razer is calling it “The Most Powerful Tablet In The World”, they maybe right. The Razer Edge boasts  Intel Core i7(or i5)  Dual core w/ Hyper Threading Base 1.9GHz / Turbo 3.0GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GT 640M LE graphics with its 2GB DDR3 video memory, 128 or 256GB SSD and a 10.1″ 10-point capacitive touch screen with a maximum resolution of 1366×768.

But it’s the Edge’s versatility that makes it stand apart. The company listened to its fans and made the gaming controls a dockable accessory. Not playing Borderlands 2? Pop the tablet out and play some Angry Birds on Windows 8 or watch a video. Need to do some work or simply play a game with a mouse and keyboard? Drop the Edge into the optional tabletop dock and it transforms into a desktop computer capable of running a monitor (just like the Surface Pro). There is one big drawback, though: Due to the processing power that high-end PC games demand, the Razer Edge will only get about an hour of battery life while gaming. Razer will sell a $69 extended battery, which snaps into either the keyboard dock or game controller and doubles the battery life, but even then you’re only looking at about two hours of game time.

Razer dominated CES 2013 with this crazy powerful device, the idea is a winner. Razer assured us last year that the device would retail for under a $1000, what is really happening is that the device is retailing for $1 less at $999. It’s kinda worth it. Would you buy one?

CES is wrapping up. We will bring you all that happened in gaming throughout CES right here on Technesstivity. Mad Catz, famous for manufacturing gaming accessories for gaming consoles and PC, is entering the tablet and smartphone market. Mad Catz has produced the R.A.T.M mouse, F.R.E.Q.M headset, M.O.U.S.9 wireless mouse, and C.T.R.L.R wireless gamepad, all of which can be used with PCs, Macs, smart TVs, smartphones, and tablets via Bluetooth, USB, or wireless dongles.

The M.O.U.S.9 wireless mouse and the R.A.T.M mouse.

These are gaming mice primarily made for smartphones and tablets and anything in between. The R.A.T.M and M.O.U.S.9 are compact variations of the company’s acclaimed R.A.T.7 and R.A.T.9 gaming mice, which feature customizable ergonomic grips and weight systems. Mad Catz is trying to bridge this gap by making an entire line of peripherals that will work with anything that has Bluetooth capabilities through what is being called GameSmart Technology. Both the R.A.T.M. and M.O.U.S.9 boast a battery life of up to year, according to Mad Catz.

F.R.E.Q.M gaming headset.

The F.R.E.Q.M. is a compact, fold-up wired headset with an inline microphone for smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It features 40mm drivers and dual in-line audio controllers, which will let you answer calls on your phone, or mute your mic on your computer. This will run you about $150.

Mad Catz C.T.R.L.R., console-style controller.

The last piece is the C.T.R.L., which looks very similar to an Xbox controller. The big noticeable difference is that it has media buttons, otherwise it’s layout is very similar to the Xbox controller. It seems as though these will be up for sale quite soon as there are already “buy” buttons up here.

As part of its GameSmart marketing, Mad Catz is providing mobile game developers with the tools necessary to provide integrated support for the devices within their apps, mostly to ensure developer support for integration into mobile games. These devices are likely going start a trend, with manufacturers like, Logitech and Razer following suit, maybe then you can get one, until then these would drop the hammer on your wallet.

The Consumer Electronics Show, is the biggest technology event of the year, much like E3 but for most things but gaming. That said CES has also seen a few big reveals for the gaming industry in the past such as the original Xbox, Razer’s Switchblade and a host of others. CES 2013 will begin officially on Tues. January 8th and will run till the 11th, however press events begin today. CES is very famous for gaming devices and hardware and we will be watching all the big names like Sony, LG, Samsung, Nvidia and many others right here on Technesstivity.

The first major reveal of CES; Nvidia has introduced an Android-based gaming handheld titled Project Shield.

The system uses the company’s new Tegra 4 processor and is housed within a controller with a flip-up screen, complete with its own integrated sound system and the complete array of controls you’d find on a traditional console controller. It features a HDMI port for video output, micro-USB for accessories and docks, and a microSD port for expandable storage. While the exact specs are still forthcoming, Project Shield has a 5-inch 720p HD display.

The system, Nvidia says, is “pure Android,” which gives it unhindered access to the standard Android interfaced, as well as apps and games from the Google Play store. It will also be able to play games installed on your gaming PC at home via remote access including Steam platform games and will play any PC game from anywhere within the same local Wi-Fi network. It’s slated for a Q2 release.

Here’s a demo video of Project Shield

Technesstivity will cover all gaming-related news from CES 2013 so stay tuned.

Video: Android Central

Bomb the presses—it’s official: Activision announced yesterday that Call of Duty: Black Ops II has crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide retail sales according to Chart-Track retail customer sell-through information and internal company estimates.  Illustrating the strong appeal of interactive entertainment to audiences worldwide, it achieved this milestone in just 15 days after its launch on November 13, 2012.  Last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 reached $1 billion in retail sales in 16 days. The box office record set for feature films in 2009 by “Avatar” was $1 billion in 17 days.

“Entertainment franchises that captivate audiences for as long as Call of Duty has, on the scale that Call of Duty has, are very rare things. And it takes a lot of brilliant people working across different disciplines to make it happen. It is incredibly humbling and gratifying to be a part of.”

Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing

Black Ops 2 earned $500 million in the first 24 hours. Since its release, Activision reported that gamers have logged more than 150 million hours playing the game on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, including one zealous soldier who kept his guns a-blazin’ for 135 hours straight.

“The release of Call of Duty has been one of the most significant entertainment events of  the last six years,” said Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, comparing it to ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Star Wars,’ the most successful movie franchises of all time. The games have grossed more in a shorter period of time. .

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 is available for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.

Microsoft is reportedly planning to release its next console in time for the 2013 holiday season. According to a new rumor via Bloomberg, people “familiar with the company’s plans” say the new system is aiming to take advantage of Thanksgiving and Christmas sales. The sources chose to remain anonymous “because the product road map is confidential.” Microsoft Xbox spokesman David Dennis declined to comment to Bloomberg.

Earlier this year, a leaked 56-page document detailed the Xbox 720. Code-named “Durango”, the next-generation console is said to offer features such as a Blu-ray drive and the next version of Kinect, with a retail price reportedly being set at $299. The road-map also suggests an all new immersive display experience.

Microsoft recently went on a domain name shopping spree, snapping up a whole bunch of Xbox-related URLs. One of them, and the one that immediately catches the eye, is Xbox8.com. Could this mean that the next Xbox could be called the Xbox Infinity? It’s just speculation at the moment, but it’s possible! Furthermore, Microsoft recently filed a patent about projecting augmented reality 3D images onto the walls of the room you’re gaming in, to more fully immerse you in the experience. The code-name for this project is ‘Fortaleza’ and has Kinect at its heart. It is all supposed to work with WiFi enabled Fortaleza glasses much like Google’s Project Glass glasses.

Microsoft isn’t trying very hard to hide its tracks, a leaked document, a leaked developer kit, new domains, new job adverts and a security beef-up at Redmond, WA. Being slightly obvious, these things create anticipation which will go a long way in sales predictions upon launch. Now, will we see something at E3 2013 or at a separate event like Xbox 360 in 2005?

Master Chief Returns

Highly anticipated video game title “Halo 4″ launched the previous Tuesday, November 6th. Microsoft has announced that “Halo 4″  had sales of $220 million in its first 24 hours of its release that day. That was higher than previous “Halo” games,
which set entertainment launch records. It was also a bigger hit than the biggest movie opening in the U.S., “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″. Halo 4 sales went on to reach $300 million in global sales in the first week.

“We’re thrilled that ‘Halo 4′ has emerged as the biggest U.S. entertainment launch of the year,” Microsoft Studios Corporate Vice President, Phil Spencer said. The previous installment “Halo: Reach,” the fourth game in the series, was launched in September 2010 and raked in US$200-million in global sales on launch-day.

Halo 4′s projected sales are set to be undercut following this week’s Activision launch of Call Of Duty: Black Ops II.

The Halo 4 numbers pale in comparison to COD’s previous installment, Modern Warfare 3, which generated $400 million in the same time-frame, making it the most successful video game launch of all time. The same game went on to gross $1 billion in 16 days, beating the record set by James Cameron’s blockbuster movie, Avatar. With analysts claiming that Black Ops 2 will most likely sell between 6.5 million and 7.2 million units in the US and UK within its first 24 hours, many believe that COD: Black Ops 2 will be as profitable as its predecessor — if not more so.

Most gamers are making choices between Halo 4 and Call Of Duty: Black Ops II for those that cannot get both. With no official word from Activision on the matter, we are expecting to see some interesting results regarding current “Halo 4″ sales and “Call Of Duty: Black Ops II” sales in its first week.

Toy Headquarters T*HQ, now known simply as THQ,  is likely facing a sale or bankruptcy, following continued poor financial results.

THQ’s financial report, along with the news that release dates for South Park, Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 had all been pushed back. South Park is the biggest hit, now pushed back to ‘fiscal year 2014′. The company’s next move was to hire Centreview Partners to find “strategic and financing alternatives” for the company – a term associated with the search for a sale. Following second quarter financial losses of $21 million on Monday, the firm refused to take calls from investors on the advice of Centreview.

On Centreview’s hiring, a THQ statement explained that the accountants would “assist the company in evaluating strategic and financing alternatives intended to improve THQ’s overall liquidity, including raising additional capital, preserve the company’s ability to bring the best possible games to market during the most advantageous release windows and to help address the $100 million 5% convertible senior notes due August 2014.”

“Should its financial position continue to deteriorate, we expect THQ to raise financing through an equity sale that could lead to dilution of existing shareholders,” commented Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter in a note to investors. “We do not believe THQ is investable for most institutions.”, He added.

Pachter believes that, unless revenues begin to grow THQ is unlikely to return to profitability despite, their recent layoffs and their  streamlined release slate. Chief Executive Officer of THQ had this to say, ”I firmly believe releasing our fourth quarter titles without extra time for polish in the current environment would lead to underperformance that could in turn lead to future additional capital shortfalls. But extending development schedules in order to make the best possible titles also has financial implications. Yet there can be no doubt which path has the greatest chance of leading to the long-term success of the company. We must follow the course that generates the highest quality games, and will establish THQ as a mark of quality for the consumer”.

What’s your take on THQ’s situation? Was its slate of software up to scratch or could more have been done to help avoid losses? Let us know below.

Source:

The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and since then, 70 million Xbox 360 units have been sold worldwide.  The figure comes by way of Microsoft’s earnings report for the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year and represents a jump of 20 million units since Microsoft reported console sales of 50 million last year. This figure is up by nearly three million units since last April, when the global total rung up at 67.2 million

Quoting from Joystiq.com, ” Conceptualizing that many Xboxes is kind of hard to do, so let’s put that figure into a ridiculous, arbitrary context. An Olympic-sized swimming pool , for instance, holds about 424,935 Xboxes, assuming a pool volume of 88,528 cubic feet and Non-S model 360s. In order to hold all the Xboxes sold in the world so far, it would require 165 Olympic sized swimming pools, with that 165th pool having a tiny little bit of space left over for some controllers and a copy of Condemned: Criminal Origins.”

By comparison Nintendo has sold a massive 96.56 million Wii consoles as of June 2012, whilst Sony sits in third place with 63.9 million PS3s sold as of March 2012.

Earlier last week, Microsoft announced new bundles and a price cut for Xbox 360 as well as a price for the Surface tablet with Windows RT and the launch of Xbox Music.

Trip Hawkins EA Founder and former Digital Chocolate CEO

Trip Hawkins believes that consoles will be an item for enthusiasts and hobbyists, those who normally represent a small fraction of a larger market. In an interview with IGN, the Electronic Arts founder and former Digital Chocolate CEO said consoles are shrinking as gaming becomes a mass market endeavor.

Hawkins believes that as more convenient ways of gaming interfaces are developed, the console experience will be just for those who extremely love it, saying, “The console market is always going to be with us, because there’s always going to be a hardcore segment, a segment that likes innovation. But it’s going to become a smaller market, and it’s going to be more like a hobby market. You look at airplanes. Most of us just want to be a passenger, but there’s a hobby market for people who are really into aviation and want to take flying lessons and maybe someday have their own airplane. I think that’s what’s happening to the console market.”

“But there are billions of people now playing games. The gaming industry is finally becoming mass-market. It’s across two billion PCs and four billion mobile phones, and within a few years a billion tablets. In terms of total audience size, we’re getting into really big numbers.”

One of the big advantages that Hawkins sees with new platforms is that their browser and cloud-based offerings let people play the same games wherever and when they have free time. Further saying “It was more natural to use a mouse because of how it conforms to the human hand-eye tracking system than it was to expect that we would all just type on keyboards.”.

“In the old days I’d go down to the basement to play Grand Theft Auto,” Hawkins said. “But the Facebook gamer is able to play at work, at home, in a hotel on a PC. They can get access to a browser just about anywhere. People are thinking about convenience first.”

Ouya is adding to its numbers as the company approaches its March launch of its “game-changer” console.  The company announced last Friday that it has appointed a chairman of the board, as well as key lead roles in its software and engineering teams.

Roy Bahat will serve as Chairman. Additionally, the company has filled out key technology roles, with EA, Trion, and Pivotal Labs alumnus Steve Chamberlin leading software engineering and Sony Pictures’ Raffi Bagdasarian driving software product development. Roy Bahat served for five years as President of IGN Entertainment, the global leader in video games media.  He is also a lecturer at UC Berkeley, where he teaches media. Roy holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar.

New Head of Engineering Steve Chamberlin, has acquired a lot of experience doing similar things at Trion Worlds where he helped to develop RIFT and at EA where he created many games  the Playstation, XBox, and other systems. Stating on his blog ”I know what a pain it is to deal with the balky dev kits, tools, and mind-numbing technical requirements. I’m thrilled to be introducing a new kind of video game console that will open up the TV platform like never before.”

Seasoned media executive Raffi Bagdasarian joins OUYA to drive software product development including platform services and user experience. Raffi recently served as Vice President, Product Development at Sony Pictures Television’s Digital Networks Group, where he oversaw the publishing of media experiences to millions of engaged users on such platforms as Xbox Live, PlayStation 3, Roku, iOS, and Android. In reply to a tweet made on Twitter.com by new Chairman Roy Bahat; “Also pumped that @Chamberlin_S and @raffibag have joined@playouya – boom. @juhrman will be a recruiter in her next life.”  Raffi replies “@roybahat @Chamberlin_S @playouya @juhrman You’re pumped??? I’M PUMPED!”

A lot of positivity in the Ouya camp right now it is worth mentioning that  more than 1,000 developers have inquired about working on Ouya since the end of the Kickstarter campaign last month, and it has received formal applications from more than 50 distributors interested in releasing the console internationally.