What can I say? Is this Sony’s attempt to merge HDTV and the AIBO and hope that it catches on like Nintendogs? We’ll see, but the interactive nature is interesting. The real question is whether or not they have incorporated the AI from the AIBO in the software. If it could develop and learn, this concept could have some merit. Nothing like giving your kids a chance to have a pet that can’t make a mess to see if they will get bored or not.

But no matter how cute or intelligently programmed such a virtual pet is, it can’t curl up on your lap on a cold winter’s night. Though I love my LCD TV, it’s not the same. And though pets aren’t inexpensive, the cost of a PS3, HD display, an EYE camera, and this software can go pretty far to adopting and taking care of a little critter from your local animal shelter.

Still, if you aren’t sure that your kids are quite ready for the responsibility of a pet and you already have the hardware, this might be an opportunity to test the waters. (My daughter really thinks that the reason cats have tails if for her to be able to grab them. I hope that she doesn’t have to learn that lesson the hard way.) Also, if you’re child has pet alergies, (my son appears to be allergic to dog and cat dander), This could give everybody a little pet fix without the Benadryl.

Yet again, this could just be a “gateway pet.” You be the judge!

I had to jump on here and post this quickly.  It’s a commercial for the upcoming Viva Pinata game.  For those of you who aren’t in the know Viva Pinata is a strategy game in which you try to raise Pinata shaped animals and a garden for them to live in.  It’s a fun game and the sequel looks to be just a s good as the original.  If you’ve never seen any of the Halo 3 promotional videos you may want to watch this one first.

For the 17% of you Canadian men who game in the nude, PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DRAPES ARE CLOSED!

Kotaku brings us news from a Microsoft survey in which the results show that gaming in the nude, while not commonplace, is at least happening!  Now I’ve played my DS in the car, at the doctors, etc but never buck naked.  I’m curious to find out what kind of games they are playing.  I wonder if it’s a paticular genre that is best played in your birthday suit?

Pic from dbking’s Photostream, licensed under Creative Commons.

This weekend we celebrated my son’s fifth birthday and he and I spent some father-son bonding time with Mario Kart: Double Dash. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, this is a Gamecube title that has been available for a few years. If you have a Wii and you’ve been having trouble tracking down Mario Kart Wii, this could give you a great option for half the price!

Having said that, it plays beautifully on the Wii as well as the original Gamecube and, like many of the Gamecube games, it is capable of displaying at 480p if you have your console connected to an HD television via component cables. Honestly, it looks beautiful and the control is spot on. Yet, what makes this title a real family winner is the two-player options.

My son’s first exposure to this title was at a kiosk while we were at a local GameStop. As with most Mario games, he was drawn to the colorful graphics and humorous sound effects. However, as much as he seemed to enjoy the visuals, he wasn’t quite understanding the racing mechanic itself and when he finally crossed the finish line in eighth place, he seemed discouraged to see that his characters looked sad.

Rather than race head-to-head with him, I chose the 2-player option that allows him to control the second character on my kart. We were able to race as a team against the other characters and while I controlled the vehicle itself, he was in charge of the power-ups. This meant that when we’d pick up a speed boost, he’d ask me when it would help and then press the button. And when we’d pick up a banana peel or other trap/attack device, we’d coordinate on where to use it.

I found this experience far more enjoyable than playing the game against him and I felt that it instilled a sense of cooperation within him while providing a sense of accomplishment when we won the tournament.

Keep in mind that you can play up to four players with this title (4-player split screen or two 2-player teams) on a single machine and it has support for network play using the broadband adapter on the Gamecube. This has some great potential for a family or a small group of kids playing together. I don’t have a problem with competition, but in this case, we enjoyed cooperation and competition together.

I heartily recommend it and as an adult I can say that it’s as much fun for me as it is for my son!

According The Onion Liberty City’s crime problem is attributed to the lax policing of the LCPD.

“Many blame the LCPD directly for the increase in criminal activity, citing the department’s lax procedure for arresting criminals, which involves taking 10 percent of the suspect’s money, confiscating his weapons, and simply releasing him from custody later that day. Outraged citizens say this is not enough, especially in a city where assault rifles can be found on factory roofs and grenade caches are located under the globe at the old World’s Fair site.”

This is a travesty and concerns me for other large metroploitian cities such as Los Santos and Vice City.  This article doesn’t even mention the fact that there are no young people in Liberty City.  WHERE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN?  I smell a conspiracy.

Kotaku has a great clip of Craig Ferguson’s (of Late Late Show and Drew Carey fame) having a very intelligent monologue discussing some of the various topics surrounding the GTA ’scandal’  Well worth sharing and very funny.  Like all good comedians, he makes us realize the absurdity in the common.