Gizmodo: sonic

Roxio CinemaNow Brings Streaming Movies to the Wii (in Japan)

Dan Nosowitz — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:30:00 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Well, it's Japan-only for now, but the Wii is finally starting to compete with the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the only category in which it's in third place: Media center functionality. CinemaNow, apparently, is the guinea pig of choice.

Sonic (makers of Roxio) are bringing CinemaNow to the Wii. CinemaNow, in case you've forgotten, offers streaming movies (a catalog of about 14,000), short films, and concerts for rent or purchase. They haven't gotten much of a foothold here in the States despite being around since 1999, even after being bought by Blockbuster a few years back. They've got a decent catalog, especially for new releases, and have partnered with all kinds of software, so the Wii should be no problem for them.

It might be more of a toe in the water than a real balls-out jump, but we're glad Nintendo is open to expanding the Wii's media capabilities. Remember, it's Japan-only for now, but we wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of integration appear Stateside. Press release to follow. [CinemaNow]

Fujisoft Teams with Sonic Solutions to Deliver Hollywood Hits to

Nintendo Wii Game Console

Roxio CinemaNow Begins Streaming Movies from Paramount Pictures

Novato, California (June 25, 2009) - Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), today announced that it is partnering with Fujisoft Incorporated to deliver premium entertainment to the Nintendo Wii game console. Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow® will be providing Hollywood content, beginning with new releases and catalog titles from Paramount Pictures, for Fujisoft's video-on-demand service in Japan, called "Minna no Theater Wii" (Everyone's Theater Wii). The companies will continue to work together in order to expand the range of entertainment available for virtually instant streaming to the TV via the popular game console.

"Sonic is a key content partner, enabling us to greatly enrich the video entertainment options available to Wii customers," said Minoru Yoshida, Executive Managing Director, Fujisoft. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with Sonic and providing consumers trouble-free access to more great Hollywood entertainment at home."

"Increasingly, consumers are looking to access and enjoy movies via their connected entertainment devices, whether at home or on-the-go," said Alex Carloss, Executive Vice President, Digital Distribution, Paramount Digital Entertainment. "Therefore we are delighted to become the first major studio offering video-on-demand through the Nintendo Wii."

Roxio CinemaNow offers a broad selection of regularly updated premium video entertainment for rental or purchase, including new releases from major Hollywood studios often on the same day the DVD is available in stores. CinemaNow's cloud-based media services power devices from multiple manufacturers, forming a connected ecosystem that consumers can use to seamlessly choose, move and view video entertainment.

"Fujisoft is a renowned technology thought leader and major supplier of embedded software for everything from mobile devices to digital home electronics, so we are extremely pleased to be collaborating with them to bring Hollywood movies to the Wii," said Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy, Sonic Solutions. "Thanks to this new relationship with Fujisoft, consumers now have another convenient way to access high-quality entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow."

Premium entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow is currently available on a range of devices including Blu-ray Disc players from LG Electronics, Dell PCs, and Archos portable media players. As well as being available on a range of consumer electronics, Roxio CinemaNow is currently powering internet movie delivery for Blockbuster and is instantly accessible through Bestbuy.com.

Old Feuds Reunite Between Nintendo and Sega

Mark Wilson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:20:00 EDT

In an intense moment of jealousy over Sonic's intense speed and superb hair stability, Mario lets fists fly. Or something like that. [E3@Giz]

Dr. Who Sonic and Laser Screwdrivers Are Really Vibrators In Disguise

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:30:00 EDT

I mean, come on. Look at these two. Dr. Who Sonic vs Laser Screwdrivers? Dr. Who? When was the last time you travelled back in time? Hello? How hard is to actually go to an online sex-shop and anonymously order the real thing? They come in the same brown cardboard UPS package, do we really have to pretend this is a collector's item? Look at them again, up close, read the specs, and then you tell me:

The Battle Sonic vs. Laser Screwdrivers measure 7.5" long. The "Toclafane Target" is 4" X 4.25" X 2" and the batteries are not included. [Think Geek]

Olympic Gold Medalist Would Like to Thank the Wii

Mark Wilson — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:15:00 EDT

That Nintendo Wii, what will it think up next? It's made us smarter and fitter and stronger and just so much better. Oh, and have you heard? Now it's creating OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS. Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima just took the gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, and instead of thanking God or his trainers in typical fashion, he gave another performance enhancer a shout-out:

See, Mario does the breaststroke. And thus, it's perfect mental training for envisioning the actual Olympic hall.

Yes, that's the power of the Nintendo Wii when it's running Sega's Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Flailing the Wiimote around in jack-off motion really can make you the athlete you'd always dreamed of being.

To Kitajima's credit, he did say that quote above jokingly. Then again, he did say it. [Hochi Yomiuri via Kotaku]

Revive Those Repressed Sega Genesis Memories With 16-bit Blaze Portable Game Player

Jack Loftus — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT

If you weren't lucky enough to have an SNES back in the '90s, and were instead stuck with a Sega Megadrive (Genesis), the Blaze 16-bit handheld will bring a flood of those memories back to the surface and them some. The controller setup is even the same, complete with the Start button switching that made fighters like Street Fighter 2 impossible to play. Blaze is a fraction of the size of the original Genesis, and comes preloaded with 20 games. Some of them are actually pretty good.

The Blaze is loaded with Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe, Shinobi, Ecco the Dolphin, Alex Kidd - Enchanted Castle, Alien Storm Altered Beast, Arrow Flash, Crackdown, Decap Attack, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Ecco Junior, Flicky, Gain Ground, Jewel Master, Kid Chameleon, Sonic Spinball and Shadow Dancer. I said some. [Crowded Brain]

Mega Sonic Scatter-Cat Blasts Dogs and Cats Off Your Lawn, But Not Those Damn Teenagers

matt buchanan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Squirrels. They're rats with fluffier tails, and the little bastards used to steal the peaches off of my grandma's trees while our brilliant but useless dog watched. Sonic repellents are nothing new (for animals or people), but the Mega Sonic Scatter-Cat adds a mega-dose of cheap toy cheesiness, making noise assaults on furry pests mildly more entertaining. Plus, laser sight! And it's only like $20. I'd pay an extra 10 bucks for a youngster setting. [Maplin via Crave]

Original Sonic the Hedgehog Now Available for the iPod

Adam Frucci — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:30:22 EST

Just in case you haven't had a chance to play the original Sonic the Hedgehog on your Wii or Xbox 360 lately, now there's yet another platform that's offering the classic platformer for sale: the iPod. Yep, for $4.99 you can now download the classic Sonic the "I remember this being better" Hedgehog for all of your awkward, click-wheel-controlled gaming needs. Huzzah! [I4U]

Tec Toy Puts a Sega Genesis in Your Pocket, Cheer in Your Soul

Haroon Malik — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:45:00 EST

The Sega Genesis may well be the greatest gaming platform, ever. Who cares about online gaming, does anything beat a session of Sonic 2? Tec Toy knows the Genesis console rocked, so they are shrinking it and making it kinda pocket-sized.

The device, packed with retro gaming orgasmic material, will retail for around $100, but will only be available to those lucky Brazilians. The 20 games that are loaded on it will include Alex Kidd, Golden Axe, Ecco and obligatory Sonic titles (among others). It is not all good news though; there is no way to add new titles, $100 is a little steep and you could probably get an emulator to carry out a similar task. What the hell, these novelty devices cannot but help to put a smile on our faces, and a little cheer in our cynical souls. We'll look past the non-rechargeable 3 x AAA batteries included and dream of all the good times, when we were 3"0' tall and battling a blue superhero hedgehog through the Green Metropolis. A blue superhero hedgehog...how high were they? [Retro to Go]

DARPA Developing Sonic Cloaking Device

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:50:38 EST

DARPA, the governmental department that researches crazy things that may eventually make it into the military, is currently working on an "ultrasonic curtain". In layman's terms, it's a sonic cloaking device designed to lower noise levels by at least 30db in military vehicles.

Seen in their prototype vehicle to the left, DARPA plans to give this technology to eccentric billionaires everywhere so they can escort their lady-friends back home in an emergency. Possibly even while running over civil emergency vehicles and driving on top of buildings, instead of around them. – Jason Chen

Darpa's Ultrasonic Cloaking Device [Wired]

Coleco's Sonic Handheld Plays Sega Games

Jason Chen — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:00:26 EST

Coleco owners have a certain fondness for the ColecoVision console of the 80s, despite the fact that it eventually went under. That makes us fairly intrigued when we see that Target is accepting pre-orders for a Coleco Sonic Handheld, a small PSP-like device that plays Sega games. SEGA!

All the games are built in, so there's no need for swapping carts in and out. That also means that what you get is what you get. Forever. Take a look after the jump to see the full list of Sega games.

Sonic Drift 2

Sonic Triple Trouble

Alex Kidd in High Tech World

Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Altered Beast

Assault City

Astro Warrior

Aztec Adventure

Bomber Raid

Columns

Ecco II: The Tides of Time

Fantasy Zone

Fantasy Zone: The Maze

Global Defense

Kung Fu Kid

The Ninja

Penguin Land

Quartet

Snail Maze

Super Columns

– Jason Chen

Product Page [Target via Joystiq]

Universal Sonic Toothbrush Turns Any Toothbrush Sonic

Jason Chen — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 21:30:10 EDT

As much as we love our Sonicare toothbrushes, we know that $100 may be a bit much for some people to spend on a toothbrush (it's totally worth it though). For those folks, there's the Universal Sonic Toothbrush that turns any old toothbrush into an automatic vibrating one.

All you have to do is stick in your brush, put in an AA battery, flick the switch, and you're brushing at 40,000 vibrations a minute. And it only costs $49.95, half the price of a "real" sonic toothbrush. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Solutions]

Police to Use Sonic Blasters - Next: Giggle Guns and Silly Spray?

johnb — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:09:52 EDT

A new model of the Sonic Blaster device used around the Green Zones of both Iraq and the Republican National Convention is out and can pound out sound waves and, purportedly, undistorted human speech, for over one mile. The original model is sort of a psychological weapon, distracting the enemy into oblivion. This version, however, works more like some crazy lady screaming at a trash can on Broadway—you just have to stay away.

On Thursday, August 4th, we put the magnetic acoustic device (I'm not sure it has a name yet, so this one will have to do for now) to the test on one of our ranges... Using a variety of sounds from human voice to music to sound effects (screams, shouts, gunfire, sirens, and the like), we succeeded in listening to the sounds from the transmitter located one statue mile in the distance!

L.A. Cops' Super Sonic Blaster [DefenseTech]