GeekSugar

Do You Turn Off Your Gaming Consoles?

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:22:29 PDT

A new study shows that 68 percent of the consumed US game console energy happened while in idle mode in 2010, meaning players simply walked away from the console instead of powering down after a session. While this may be more convenient for you, it's costing you an arm and a leg in energy costs; $1.24 billion total nationwide.

Even better than powering down your consoles? Unplugging them altogether to save even more dough when not at home.

Are you guilty of leaving your gaming console on instead of powering down?

Source: Flickr user PseudoGil

Are These Tech Trends Overhyped?

GeekSugar — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:30:06 PST

Recently, VentureBeat identified five overhyped tech trends of 2011, effectively predicting their demise. From the surge of tablets to Internet TV, here's what they had to say.

Do you agree? Click through and share your thoughts on whether or not these trends and products are here to stay.

The Fight: Lights Out Delivers a Calorie-Burning Knockout

Michele Foley — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:47:22 PDT

I was pretty excited when PlayStation announced the release of its new motion controller, the PlayStation Move, for the PS3. It's Sony's chance to compete against the fitness- and family-friendly Wii, without sacrificing its audience of hardcore gamers. Being an avid Wii player, I was excited to attend a preview party for The Fight: Lights Out ($37), Sony's fighting game that uses the PlayStation Move motion controller.

Going into the event I was a little intimidated: I was one of the few gals there, and on top of that, had never used the PlayStation Move motion controller. I was also meeting Danny Trejo, the actor I only know through some pretty scary roles. Danny is the voice of the trainer in the video game and is a total sweetheart IRL.

To see why I think the game makes a fun workout,

The Fight: Lights Out is super fun to play and not for the faint of heart. Mimicking what it's like to be in an underground fight club; it's gritty and bloody, just a straight up street brawl. While you can choose to play the computer, I opted for the multiplayer option and challenged other attendees in the room.

After playing three rounds, my heart was pumping, and I was even sweating a little. Because the game works with the Sony PlayStation Eye camera, it's able to sense the height of the user, making for more exact movements while you play. As you duck, punch, and move around the game area, it translates to the moves your player makes. The motion recognition allowed me to do all sorts of moves, including some pretty dirty ones - think headbutts and hammer blows.

For fitness, I definitely prefer The Fight over fitness specific video games like Wii Fit or Your Shape, because it doesn't feel like a workout; it just feels like fun. At the beginning of the game, you put in all your stats, and at the end of each fighting round, you're told the amount of calories you burned. On average, I burned about 30 calories per round - not bad for five or so minutes worth of fighting. After a few good hours of fighting that night, I went home with some pretty worked arms. Overall, it was a good excuse to skip the gym that night!

Photo courtesy of Angelica Realce

PlayStation Move Launches on Sunday: You Buyin'?

GeekSugar — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:00:29 PDT

Sony announced earlier today that the PlayStation Move controller system will finally be made available to the masses this Sunday, Sept. 19, but you can actually purchase it now on Amazon in a starter bundle for $99.

The controller, which was first announced back in March, is used much like the Wii controllers, but with the addition of a camera to track your movements. In order to get the most from your PlayStation experience, you're going to want the Move Controller ($50), the PlayStation Eye camera ($40), and the Navigation Controller ($30), which is optional, but can really bump up your gameplay if you do happen to splurge.

With the Xbox Kinect hogging the limelight this Summer, it's nice to see the Move make it to the shelves for PlayStation 3 owners out there. So tell me gamers - are you buyin' the PlayStation Move controller system?

Reader Redux: What Are Your Favorite PS3 Games?

Geek Community — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:30:23 PDT

Last week, one reader asked the community to share their favorite PS3 games to help her stock up her supply of games. Here's what you had to say:

"Uncharted and Uncharted 2, 3D Dot Game Heroes and a game I imported from Japan called Hakuna Matata, now available here as Afrika. It is a great non-violent game that you take photos of African wildlife." - AlisonMcg67
"Red Dead Redemption. SO MUCH FUN!!!" - lilegwene
"Valkyria Chronicles is a definite should-not-miss for the PS3." - Sasseefrass
"Modnation Racers is a really good game. If you like Mario Kart then you'll definitely love this game. If Mario Kart and Little Big Planet had a baby, it would be exactly this game." - Kat Maribao
"Final Fantasy XIII and Heavenly Sword." - smeeker

Is your favorite game missing from the list? Add it in comments below!

What Are Your Favorite PS3 Games?

GeekSugar — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:00:27 PDT

Time to help a reader out! Bethinabox needs help deciding which games to purchase for a new PS3. She posted the following question in our Ask a Geek Girl group:

I'm thinking of getting a PS3 in the next couple of months. Partly because I want a shiny new gaming system, partly for the Blu-Ray capabilities without buying a dedicated Blu-Ray player. But I don't know what games are good. I know I want to get LittleBigPlanet and Mini Ninjas, but what else is good? Something with a good storyline is a must, because I get bored really easily.

Suggestions? Advice? Games you're currently lusting after? Share your picks!

Bigger Hard Drives and a New Controller For the PlayStation 3

GeekSugar — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:30:40 PDT

Sony's PlayStation 3 is getting another update, and it's in the form of a bigger hard drive and comes boxed with the Playstation Move controller. The first new model - which is available now - contains a 160GB hard drive and retails for $300, the same as the current 120GB model. The second will be hitting stores on September 19 and feature 320GB of storage space and include the Move wireless motion-sensor control and Eye camera as part of the Champions bundle. The Champions bundle also includes a copy of Sports Champions, and will retail for $400. Upon availability of the 320GB model, Sony will phase out its current 250GB model.

Sports Champions is being likened to Nintendo's Wii Sports, but does only come with the high-priced $400 PS3, making it a tough competitor for Nintendo's Wii, priced at $200 - a much more comfortable price for a casual gamer.

Netflix Ditching the Disc on PS3s

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:30:25 PDT

It was a big deal when Netflix announced that you would be able to stream your instant queue over your PS3 (and Xbox, and Wii, and iPad, and soon your iPhone), and soon you'll be able to check out your movies without popping in that Netflix disc. During its quarterly earnings call yesterday, Netflix announced that it would be launching dedicated software for the PS3 in the next few months. What does this mean for you? Well, you won't have to hunt down that red DVD anymore, and your instant queue, streaming options, and any Netflix enhancements will update automatically right in your console.

But that's not all the Netflix news. Find out what else it's announced after the jump.

Get Your Game On: July Releases

GeekSugar — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:30:19 PDT

It's true that when Summer hits, there's also a dry spell in the gaming industry. But look on the bright side - once the drought is over, you have so many awesome titles and new accessories to look forward to! You should be outside enjoying the weather anyway. Here are a few games that may keep you occupied this month.

Get Your Game On: June Releases

GeekSugar — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:47:45 PDT

Although a plump little plumber took over much of my game time over the past few weeks, I'm ready for a change of pace. And with this year's E3 on the horizon (along with plenty of gaming announcements), I'm even more excited for June to commence! Pass the time with a few of these games that are sure to keep you occupied all Summer long.