Brain-reading headset to sell for $299

Brain Wave-Reading Video Game Headset to Go on Sale Later This Year
Hands cramping up from too many video games?
How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems Inc. plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that.

The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.

The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.

Emotiv plans to work with IBM Corp. to explore applications beyond video gaming. The "brain computer interface" technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact, said Paul Ledak, vice president of IBM's Digital Convergence business.

Source: AP News

Taiwan market: Nokia launches SNAP Mobile via cooperation with CHT and Gamania

6 Dec, 2007

Nokia, on December 6, formally launched SNAP (Scalable Network Applications Package) Mobile in Taiwan through partnership with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Gamania Digital Entertainment.
Under the partnership CHT will provide access to its 3G mobile infrastructure while Gamania offers games developed for the platform, according to industry sources.
Nokia's SNAP Mobile is an open platform for the development of mobile connected multi-player games based on the Java MIDP (Mobile Information Device Profile) 2.0 standard. All handsets that support Java MIDP 2.0 should be able to play such games, the sources indicated.
In addition to Taiwan, Nokia has launched SNAP in the US, Europe, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the company's SNAP Mobile and games global sales director, Antoine Doumenc.

Mobile games market to reach US$10 billion by 2009, says Juniper Research

9 Nov, 2007

The increasing popularity of casual gaming, combined with a steadily increasing variety of gaming-friendly handsets offering high quality 3D graphics aimed at core gamers, will help to push end-user generated revenues from mobile games to nearly US$10 billion by 2009, according to a new report by Juniper Research.
In total, more than 460 million mobile users are expected to download games by 2009, representing more than a double increase on the current number. Much of this growth is expected in emerging markets such as the Indian sub-continent, where the number of users will rise from 10 million in 2007 to nearly 40 million in 2009, stated Juniper Research.
According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, "Game downloads have already overtaken those of ringtones in a number of Western European markets, while mobile handsets are now the de facto games console in many developing countries."
However, the Juniper Research report cautioned that the high cost of browsing and downloading services and content combined with opaque pricing structures were continuing to act as a disincentive to service adoption. It also welcomed the fact that there were an increasing number of products targeting female gamers, although added that more needed to be done to widen the mobile gaming demographic.
"Essentially, the proportion of leading titles focusing on action and adventure has not altered discernibly over the past two years," said Holden. "While these are popular within the traditional gaming demographic, there is a major opportunity to attract casual gamers by enhancing a portfolio mix with more titles from alternative genres."
China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile games throughout the period covered by the report, with revenues rising from nearly US$2.7 billion in 2007 to US$5.7 billion by 2012. Global revenues from in-game advertising will rise from just US$90 million in 2007 to more than US$1.2 billion in 2012. Operators and publishers should expand the number of games they offer on a free trial basis: with the entry price barrier removed, a greater number of consumers may play the game and ultimately convert to being paid customers, according to Juniper Research.