Explore the world with updated apps for iPhone: Check in with Latitude and use Places in 30 languages

"We’re happy to announce updates for two iPhone apps that help you connect the people you care about with the places you love: Google Latitude with check-ins and Google Places in 30 languages.

Check in with Google Latitude for iPhone
After adding check-ins to Google Latitude for Android-powered devices, we’re happy to announce that you can now start checking in at places with the updated Latitude app for iPhone.

With Google Latitude, you can see where your Latitude friends are on a map and choose to continuously share where you are. Now, you can also choose to check in at specific places, such as your favorite restaurant or a park, to add more context to your location. You'll be able to not only let friends know that you’re just around the corner but also let them know the actual coffee shop that you’re at in case they want to join you. If Latitude is set to continuously update your location, you’ll also be automatically checked out when you leave. This way, friends aren’t left guessing if you’re still there or not before heading over to join you for a latte.

Tap the “Check in” button to start checking in at nearby places. Keep checking in every time you visit your favorite places to start gaining special status there. You’ll not only progress to become a Regular, VIP, and then Guru at your favorite places, but if you’re near Austin, Texas, gaining status lets you unlock check-in offers at over 60 places.

Just like with sharing your location, you can control your Latitude check-in privacy. Checking in is 100% opt-in, and you can choose to share any check-in with your friends on Latitude, publicly on the web and your Google profile, or just yourself.

To start checking in with Latitude on your iPhone, update the Latitude app from the App Store. The app requires iOS 4 and above, and it's available for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, and iPod touch (3rd/4th generation). However, background location updating is only available on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 3G.

Google Places in 30 languages
Best ever! Me gusta! Mi piace! Ich liebe es! Wherever you are and whatever language you speak, we want to give you the best personalized place recommendations when you use Google Places with Hotpot. Update the Google Places app from the App Store to rate on the go and get personalized recommendations for places in 30 languages.

You’ll also have one more way to personalize your experience: saved places. Sign in with your Google Account using the info icon in the top left corner. Then, tap the new “Saved” icon on the app’s main screen to see all the places that you’ve saved or starred from the app, google.com/hotpot or maps.google.com.

Updates will appear in the App Store in supported countries throughout today. Get the latest version of Google Places from the App Store and start discovering great new places wherever you are!

Posted by Greg Blevins, Software Engineer, Google Maps for mobile team

Road Blaster drives recklessly to iOS, available now for a buck

Revolutionary Concepts' cleaned-up iPhone/iPad port of the FMV car game Road Blaster may not have hit its original September 2010 release date, but that hardly matters now, because it's available now. Similar to Cobra Command, this is an updated version of a Data East arcade game, featuring vehicular mayhem rendered in traditional 2D animation.

If you'd like to take this insane, animated destructive driving adventure with you anywhere, you can do so right now for just 99 cents. After the "launch period," it's going back up to $2.99, so you should road blast over to the App Store if you're interested. Or drift past the break for some footage.

Source: Road Blaster (iTunes)
Via:Joystiq

THQ and Mattel enter game deal, includes Masters of the Universe rights

THQ will target kids with a new multi-year, multiplatform "alliance" with Mattel -- that's for sure. What we're not so sure about is whether those targets are intended to be kids of the 80s or their kids of today. A news announcement reads like a who's who of garage-sale name drops: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Masters of the Universe, and even Polly Pocket (who's apparently still going strong these days).

While the deal with Mattel encompasses games that could appear on any platform imaginable, THQ did specifically note the potential in re-introducing the toy maker's brands through the uDraw GameTablet for Wii. "As we have shown with the combination of uDraw and Pictionary, there is enormous potential for the strategic relationship between THQ and Mattel," said Martin Good, executive veep of THQ's Kids, Family and Casual Games division.

The brilliant part about all this is that when you hand over THQ's Tablet and a copy of the He-Man: By the Power of Grayscale drawing game to the GameStop clerk, you simply say, "It's for my kid" -- and he sort of has to believe you.
[Image source: Madman Entertainment; credit: Mattel]
Source: THQ
Via:Joystiq

Red Dead and Limbo lead nominees for 2011 GDC Awards

It's almost time once again for the industry's premier awards show that doesn't feature regular appearances by Jersey Shore cast members: the 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The event's organizers have released the mercifully Mountain Dew-based-category-free list of nominees, which includes a number of potential merits for Limbo, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Check out the full list of nominees after the jump and discuss your favorites in the comments! (Oh, that's your pick for Best Visual Arts? Well, we can't say we agree with you, there.)

2011 GDCA Nominees

Best Game Design

• Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Innovation

• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Kirby's Epic Yarn (Good-Feel & HAL Laboratory)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Dance Central (Harmonix)

Best Technology

• Starcraft II (Blizzard)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)

Best Handheld Game

• God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Ready At Dawn/SCE Santa Monica)
• Cut the Rope (ZeptoLab)
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Kojima Productions)
• Game Dev Story (Kairosoft)
• Dragon Quest IX (Level 5)

Best Audio

• Limbo (Playdead)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Halo: Reach (Bungie)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DICE)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)

Best Downloadable Game

• Costume Quest (Double Fine)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)

Best Writing

• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Costume Quest (Double Fine)
• Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian)

Best Debut Game

• Limbo (Playdead)
• Darksiders (Vigil Games)
• Minecraft (Mojang)
• Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment)
• Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)

Best Visual Arts

• God of War III (SCE Santa Monica)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)

Game of the Year

• Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar San Diego)
• Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch)
• Limbo (Playdead)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)

iOS art game iCarus out now, free for one week

Hey, do you feel like getting super bummed out? Don't feel weird about it -- we all get in those moods, sometimes. Usually we just curl up on the couch with our coffee-flavored ice cream and pop in A Walk to Remember, but if you're looking for something a little more non-dairy, you may want to check out indie developer Sir Realism's new iOS title, iCarus. (Not to be confused with iCarly, though we doubt anyone reading this particular blog would make that mistake.)

The game could safely be labeled as "artsy," featuring absolutely zero text and a highly interpretable storyline about a father grieving the death of his son. If that sounds up your alley, you can download iCarus from the App Store for free -- but only until January 19. Check out a trailer after the jump if you need more convincing!

• Via: GameSetWatch
• Source: iTunes

Crytek seeking iOS developers, tries not to mention it's for games

Crytek, a developer that's built a reputation for creating game engines that make even the highest-end PC gaming rigs weep, is making a move into ... mobile development? In a job posting on Develop, the company has put the word out that it's looking for people with experience making iOS apps, specifically candidates who've shipped at least one product on the App Store.

You've probably noticed that we haven't mentioned games yet, and there's a reason: In its posting, Crytek is pretty careful not to use any language that would suggest that successful applicants will go on to create games for iPhone, IPad or iPod touch. Well, except for one line near the end of the "requirements" section: "Passion for video games."

The fact that we haven't heard any rumblings regarding iOS games from Crytek before, and that it's just now sounding the call for applications, leads us to believe that any mobile projects the company has -- games or otherwise -- must be pretty early in development. That, or it's just really taking its time coming up with the absolute best way to bring your iPhone's PowerVR GPU to its knees.
Via:Joystiq
Source: Develop

Goo'd deal: Word of Goo for iPad is now half-price

World of Goo, 2D Boy's sticky-stretchy indie puzzle platformer, has been available on iPad for a month, and to celebrate the occasion the game is now $4.99 for a limited time. At half off, it's an absolute steal for an outstanding game we included in our 2010 iOS buyer's guide.
Source: 2D Boy, World of Goo [App Store]

Sierra On-Line games playable on iPad via web app (for now)

It's almost certainly a matter of time before the subject of this post is struck down with an Activision-branded cease and desist, so listen up: Using a bit of sorcery, Sarien.net has made its catalog of Sierra On-Line adventure games (including hits like Space Quest, King's Quest and Leisure Suit Larry) playable on the iPad. To access the games, just visit Sarien's website, pick your game and bookmark it. It's alarmingly easy.

Again, we can't imagine Activision smiles upon any of its IPs being distributed so freely and simply, so the games probably won't be available for long. We suggest you get to perp-busting/galaxy-saving/womanizing at your earliest convenience.

• Via: Touch Arcade
• Source: Sarien

FIFA Interactive World Cup Enters The Guinness World Records

FIFA Interactive World Cup celebrates a record breaking year

The FIFA President had the pleasure of welcoming a special guest to the Home of FIFA this week when Nenad Stojkovic, FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion 2010, joined Joseph S. Blatter to celebrate the tournament’s entry into the latest version of the Guinness Book of Records. 

The FIFA Interactive World Cup is now officially the largest gaming tournament in the world, with 775,000 competitors taking part in the 2010 edition of the event. This event climaxed in Barcelona in May 2010 when Nenad was crowned champion after defeating all challengers at the Grand Final.

“The FIFA Interactive World Cup is of great importance to FIFA’s portfolio of events” said Mr Blatter, “the tournament gives us the opportunity to engage with a wider target audience through a platform which is of high relevance to the next generations of football fans”.

These words were echoed by the Chief Editor of the Guinness World Records, Gaz Deaves, who congratulated FIFA and its Partners EA SPORTS™ and Sony Playstation, saying “The strength of the FIFA Interactive World Cup is a hugely impressive achievement and its 775,000 participants are a testament not only to the popularity of sports videogames but also to the incredible effort it takes to organise the biggest gaming tournament in the world. We are pleased to award this record to FIFA and look forward to seeing it broken in 2011.”

This year’s edition of the FIFA Interactive World Cup now promises to be larger than ever, breaking its own record for the number of competitors. The tournament has a new format this year, with six online seasons making the event more accessible than ever. For general information on the event please check out the following link:http://www.fifa.com/interactiveworldcup/news/newsid=1324520/index.html

FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion Nenad has also committed himself to helping to improve the skills of fellow players all over the world. Every Friday a selection of Nenad’s favourite tips and tricks will be hosted on the FIFA Interactive World Cup section of fifa.com - www.fifa.com/FIWC

Razer Switchblade impressions: It's a 7" gaming PC with an LCD keyboard

Razer may be best known for its well-regarded line of angular, extreme gaming peripherals for the core PC gaming set – think mice, keyboards, mouse pads and yes, motion controllers – but the San Diego-based company is looking to branch out into an area you may not have expected: efficient (and graphically anemic) netbook computers.

While it's an unusual move for the peripheral maker, it's not a departure from their core competency. Gaming laptops may have whittled down the bulk required for a high-end gaming experience but they're still far from portable. Inversely, netbooks are steadily becoming increasingly capable laptop replacements, but fall short when performing the most demanding tasks ... like video gaming.

So Razer's been working behind-the-scenes for some years, having hired many of the people from portable computing pioneers OQO, waiting for the intersection of minimum specs necessary for an acceptable, low-end gaming experience. And now, at CES 2011, it's finally ready to share the fruit of its labors: the Switchblade, a "concept design" with no price, no launch window, and no guarantee we'll ever see it on store shelves. But that doesn't mean it's vaporware; Razer didn't spend time and money on a flashy (and functional!) prototype with no intent on productizing it. It's just not clear what the final product will look like.

But we do know what the Switchblade looks like. We had a chance to play with it at Razer's CES booth and came away very impressed with what we saw. In short the Switchblade is a netbook running Windows 7 on Intel hardware. Up top is a 1024x600 7" multitouch display; on the bottom is a pretty fancy keyboard featuring an LCD screen covered in a touchscreen layer and transparent keyboard keys. That keyboard offers two significant features: 1) the ability to create custom, game-specific controls and 2) the transfer of UI elements from the already small screen to the far more functional keyboard.

While in Windows, a slick UI skin occupies the top screen and a traditional QWERTY keyboard layout takes up the bottom "screen" – boot up a game (we were shown Warcraft 3) and you get those game-specific keys. Sometimes those are parts of the game's UI, other times it could be a stylized keyboard, with a Warcraft-y alphabet.

The diminutive Switchblade doesn't offer much in the way of physical connectivity – along the right side, you'll find a small AC port, and a mini-HDMI output. On the left side you'll find a single USB 2.0 port (for hooking up a Razer mouse, no doubt). As far as invisible ports go, the Switchblade packs Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and though the unit we saw didn't have it, Razer is hoping to add 3G to the mix as well. The prospect of effortlessly bringing your WoW experience on the go, anywhere cellular data is available, is certainly thrilling to both WoW players and Razer execs.

And that's the pitch for the Switchblade. When asked (repeatedly) about the cost or release date, a Razer rep told us that they were targeting a netbook price range since, simply, that's the competition. They can't price it much higher and can't afford to price it much lower, so we imagine a target tag of rougly $300 to $500. As for when we'll see it on store shelves, he was much cagier. This unit is a prototype and even the name "Switchblade" is a codename (you can tell since it doesn't follow Razer's increasingly goofy "deadly predators" naming convention). Razer will undoubtedly have more to share at E3, but we're guessing a 2011 launch is out of the question. But until things are a little more official, we can all imagine a future where miniature gaming PCs abound ... and where MMO junkies leave their gaming caves.
Source:Joystiq

Gameloft boss defends company's clones

Cloning is a hot-button topic, the ethics of which continue to be explored by legislatures, theologians and George Lucas. In the games world, one company is at the forefront of the science: Gameloft. Its experiments -- including the recent Shadow Guardian, a facsimile of Uncharted 2 -- have been praised by some and reviled by others. Gameloft CEO Michel Guillemot says that's okay (and the sales numbers would agree).

"The video game industry has always played around a limited number of themes," Guillemot proposed in an interview with IGN. "There is maybe one new idea a year." He further addressed Gameloft's detractors by saying, "The damaging thing is if you do a bad expression of a good idea." Hmmm ... We wonder if Guillemot was thinking about Capcom's MaXplosion when he said that.

Source: IGN

Twisted Pixel CEO: We won't pursue legal action over Capcom's MaXplosion

Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford says his comparatively tiny team won't be suing mega-publisher Capcom for its blatant attempt to rip off the studio's Splosion Man with iOS clone MaXplosion (pictured). "We're definitely not going to pursue legal action," Wilford told Joystiq. "While I think the similarities are pretty nauseating, we're too small to take on a company like Capcom. That, and we owe them one for inventing Mega Man, so we'll let them slide."

"We just need to keep our heads down making the next thing so that Capcom has something to steal next year," he chided, while adding that he hopes Capcom is "not counting on the fact that indies can't fight back." "We'll just have to make our own mobile game," he challenged. "We'll let you know when we have something on the mobile front to talk about, but now we have added incentive!"

Wilford also tweeted that the "best part" is that Twisted Pixel had originally pitched Splosion Man to Capcom, but the publisher passed on it. Speaking of Twitter, he said "the amount of support we've seen in the last 12 hours on Twitter and over email has been awesome, and I think that's better than [winning] a stupid lawsuit or anything like that."

A Capcom Mobile representative told us that a statement from the company on the matter would hopefully be released later today. Wildford's full response is posted after the break.

Twisted Pixel CEO Michael Wilford:

"We're definitely not going to pursue legal action. While I think the similarities are pretty nauseating, we're too small to take on a company like Capcom. That, and we owe them one for inventing Mega Man, so we'll let them slide. I just hope they're not counting on the fact that indies can't fight back.

"In general, anything that would take our focus off of making games would be a bad decision, I think. We just need to keep our heads down making the next thing so that Capcom has something to steal next year. But I have to say, the amount of support we've seen in the last 12 hours on Twitter and over email has been awesome, and I think that's better than wining [sic] a stupid lawsuit or anything like that.

"We'll just have to make our own mobile game and I'm hopeful that Capcom will see that robbing our shit wasn't worth it in the long run. We'll let you know when we have something on the mobile front to talk about, but now we have added incentive!"

Alleged 3DS, PlayStation Phone disassembled

Not one but two ritualistic device dismantlings have been exacted in recent days, an alleged 3DS and PlayStation Phone the sacrificial lambs. Spilled across a TVGZone forum thread are the guts of an apparent 3DS, posted by a Taiwanese tinkerer who claims to have obtained the stolen unit (not unlike the one supposedly lifted from an assembly line earlier this month) and promptly taken the tools to it. The de-casing has revealed only a typical arrangement of circuitry and plastic bits, leaving us to wonder if the plundering of this poor portable was in vain.

As it we hadn't seen enough already, TGbus, which had apparently tired of displaying its alleged "Xperia Play" PlayStation phone alongside its comprehensive collection of the world's handheld devices, broke out a set of Torx bits and proceeded to tear the thing down. The meticulous disassembly, however, failed to uncover what some might have hoped would be an intact, teensy-weensy PlayStation system -- just more circuitry (including what's suspected to be a Qualcomm MSM7x30 chipset) and plastic bits, it seems.

Are you finished yet, you monsters?

Verizon iPhone has devs, analysts excited by increased audience

As expected, Verizon announced today that it would become the second US company to carry Apple's iPhone on its service, finally offering an alternative to AT&T, which up until now has had an iron grip on the popular device. Game developers are thrilled at the prospect of a whole new audience for a platform so friendly to mobile games, with some analysts and devs predicting mobile gaming revenue could double as soon as the end of this year.

Of course, devs are aware that there could be some issues, both with bringing scads of new customers onto the platform as well as transferring some customers from AT&T over to Verizon. But on the whole, they're giddy with optimism -- analysts are saying that as many as 13 million new iPhones could be sold on the Verizon service, and each one of those is a potential new customer for iOS developers.

Resident Evil Mercenaries Vs. gets competitive on iPhone

The 3DS isn't the only handheld on which you'll be able to play a game based on Resident Evil's Mercenaries mode. During a Capcom Mobile event, Touch Arcade got a look at Resident Evil Mercenaries Vs., a multiplayer-focused game for iOS.

Up to four players, alone or in teams, compete to earn points by shooting one another, while also dealing with roaming zombies. Players in trouble can summon AI helpers "like the creepy chainsaw guy with the burlap sack on his head from Resident Evil 4." Players can choose to play online or locally via Bluetooth.

TouchArcade noted some issues in the early version, including a "horribly laggy experience" in local multiplayer, and a disappointingly small character selection. You can see the current pre-release version in action after the break.
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EJy_9ItPcOY?fs=1" width="480" frameborder="0" height="295"></iframe>

Fable Coin Golf, Game Room coming to Windows Phone 7

After dropping details on Avatar Kinect and the crazy amount of Kinects sold in its first 60 days on shelves, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer moved onto another recent Microsoft product launch: Windows Phone 7. While the Crackdown and Halo brands already have some presence on the platform, Ballmer took the opportunity to reveal that another major Microsoft Game Studios brand is making the leap to the small screen. Fable Coin Golf brings everything you know and love about Fable to your phone ... specifically, the coin golf part.

Alright, so we didn't see what Fable Coin Golf is exactly, but Ballmer did reveal that all the gold earned in Fable Coin Golf (presumably earned playing golf?) will be sent straight to your Fable 3 character on the Xbox 360, ala Fable Pub Games and Fable 2, for the old-timers in the house. During a montage that followed the reveal, we also spotted the retro-themed Game Room service, specifically arcade classic Centipede. We'll try to dig up more on the service's mobile offering during CES this week. For now, make your best guess as to what precisely Fable Coin Golf is.

Pro Evo Soccer 2011 coming soon to Windows Phone 7

Paul Briden

Konami reveal PES 2011 is under development for Windows Phones and will be available shortly

Published on Jan 11, 2011

Konami has officially announced a handheld edition of Pro Evo Soccer 2011 has been developed for Windows Phone 7 and will launch soon.

In the press release Konami says PES 2011 will offer "the most advanced team and player AI in a mobile game."

The mobile version will include a new 'true flow' system, allowing players to configure their player control, either with AI support or on-screen buttons designed to replicate console joypads.

The game will include official tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and will feature online leaderboards where players can compete with friends or against the world for the top spot. The Windows Mobile 7 version will also allow gamers to unlock Xbox Live achievements.

A price or an exact release date has yet to be announced.

PacMap lets you chomp around your city as Pac-Man

Cities are boring. Architecture? Good food spots? Stuff to do? Who cares -- unless it's absolutely necessary for us to leave the comfort and security of our private basement apartment, we're just not gonna do it. That could change, though, thanks to PacMap, a new Android app that jazzes up those boring city grids with a meta-game featuring power pellets, ghosts and Puck-Man Pac-Man himself.

Sure, you could just litter power pellets around your city, dress up as Pac-Man and maybe have a few of your friends cosplay as ghosts and run around, but that's an awful lot of work. Also, you'd essentially be eating food off the ground. Hit the jump to check out PacMap in action.

Wesley Snipes bringing 'Julius Styles' to iOS this June

Let's role play for a second. You're Wesley Snipes, renowned action star, currently serving a sentence for tax evasion. You decide to create a new video game based on your action hero creation, Julius Styles (no relation), an amalgam of your lead characters in Murder at 1600, Passenger 57 and Art of War. This game will be accompanied by a movie following your release in 2013.

The game, entitled Julius Styles: The International, will feature a blend of action and puzzles and will debut on iOS this June, with XBLA, PSN and Android versions to follow. But who will develop this game? Who will tame this wild meerkat of an idea? And then it hits you. Lapland Studio, creators of WiiWare sensation Lead the Meerkats. Yes. It's all falling into place.

Modder changes iPhone tilt controls to joystick controls

We've seen modders and peripheral manufacturers alike try to make gaming on the iPhone's glossy, contextless touch screen a bit more tangible, but we've never seen anything quite like this. Shane Wighton of Mechanically Inclined has managed to turn an ordinary Arduino, a webcam, some motors and a metal frame into a ... well, we're not sure if there's a name for it yet, because "Remote Gyroscopic Movement Controller Suspension System" seems just a tad wordy.

The device allows you to tilt your iPhone with precision using a remote controller, which would hypothetically not only change your strategy when you're desperately grasping for that high score in Tilt to Live, but also change the title of the game entirely. Again, we'd need to workshop a new title, as Remote Gyroscopic Movement etc. to Live doesn't exactly drip right off the tongue. Wighton hopes to program the machine to play the game by itself, which we think we can all agree is terrifying. Until then, check out a video of this clever, verbose mod after the jump.