News Stories

"The Hidden" – a Nintendo 3DS augmented reality ghost-hunting game

11.3.2011

Experience the world of augmented reality like never before as you utilize the Nintendo 3DS camera to help you scan, detect and hunt ghosts.

 

[Press Release]

Majesco Entertainment Embarks on a Paranormal Adventure with The Hidden, Available Now on Nintendo 3DS!

Utilize the Nintendo 3DS camera to scan, detect and hunt ghosts day or night in real-world locations!

Edison, New Jersey – November 3, 2011 – Majesco Entertainment (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, announced today that The Hidden, an augmented reality (AR) ghost hunting adventure for the portable Nintendo 3DS™ system, is available now.  Developed by 1st Playable Productions, The Hidden turns your handheld device into a portal to the astral plane and allows you to investigate real-world environments with the Nintendo 3DS camera in order to search, capture and destroy supernatural entities as a paranormal investigator.

“The new genre of augmented reality is an exciting direction for video games because it combines the real and virtual worlds in an unprecedented way,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO, Majesco Entertainment. “The Hidden is all about bridging worlds which conceptually is a great fit for the ghost hunting theme. Gamers everywhere will get a thrill out of discovering what’s truly hidden in some of their favorite real-world spots.”

Experience the world of augmented reality like never before as you utilize the Nintendo 3DS camera to help you scan, detect and hunt ghosts. As a member of the elite squad known as the Ghostly Entity Investigation and Strike Team, (G.E.I.S.T.), you must work with your team to destroy evil spirits and neutralize mysterious outbreaks that pose threats to all mankind.  To find every ghost in the game, players must also bring their Nintendo 3DS with them to new locations and investigate the world around them in twelve exhilarating missions.

Additional features of The Hidden include:

  • Prepare to battle powerful bosses using your full arsenal of acquired tech. With unique strategies required for each enemy, you will soon find that some become long-running nemeses.
  • Perfect the tracking process to catch the stealthiest spirits, banish stubborn creatures that can’t be destroyed, and take down the malevolent entity behind it all.
  • Engage in different activities including:

o   “Scanner”: Scan your current area using the Nintendo 3DS camera and Wi-Fi hotspots.

o   “Tracker”: Hunt for ghosts and pull them out of their world and into ours.

o   “Shooter”: Hunt and shoot ghosts using the latest in paranormal weapons tech.

o   “Wormhole”: Navigate through tunnels of another dimension while battling ghosts.

o   “Stealth”: Avoid being detected by entities that are too great in number or extremely tough to handle with your equipment.

  • Take photos of entities with the Nintendo 3DS camera and keep a log of your discoveries while using your map to keep track of where you’ve been.

Rated E10+, The Hidden, for Nintendo 3DS™ is now available for the suggested retail price of $29.99.  To watch the launch trailer and find out more, please visithttp://www.HuntTheHidden.com/.

From an email press release

Nintendo 'holds back' finished games until after Christmas in wake of disastrous 3DS launch

11.2.2011

[Daily Mail]

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that the company was ‘holding back’ some finished games for its 3DS console, which has been blighted by poor sales since launch. 

Putting off game launches until after Christmas – typically the big sales period for video games -is a highly unconventional move for a games company.

Iwata also admitted that the software for the launch period was an error – and that some players find the console’s glasses-free 3D indigestible.

‘Of course, not 100 players out of 100 will say that 3D is wonderful. But we have confidence in Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 3D and we believe that majority of people will realize how 3D viewing can be used in video games.  …

Nintendo chopped its forecast for sales of 3DS software by 30 per cent to 50 million units for the year to March, but left its 3DS hardware forecast at 16 million units for the year, a target fund managers said might be hard to achieve.

Read the full story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2056488/Nintendo-holds-finished-games-Christmas-wake-disastrous-3DS-launch.html

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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