Nick Venable and I have just started a gaming community for Guild Wars, based on Grupthink technology. If you are a Guild Wars fan and have been looking for a place to throw out your Guild Wars 2 suggestions, check out the Guild Wars Feedback Community! The Grupthink platform allows us to have productive, free-form discussion, without the noise and redundancy typical of forums. I think this platform finally gives gamers the voice they have wanted and needed.

Visit the Guild Wars Feedback Community…

Grupthink is a project I co-founded in 2006 and we are just now making the platform available to other organizations looking to establish feedback communities of their own.

Guild Wars Feedback Community

I am particularly interested in the PC compatibility, since I’ve always thought that PC gaming could be improved if both hands weren’t chained to the desk mouse and keyboard. A trackball controller would seem to be a cure for that.

In addition, I see some advantages in the Paradox’s PC compatibility that might not be obvious. First of all, I presume that PC gamers will be more welcoming to an innovative design like the Paradox than their PlayStation-owning counterparts. Secondly, a hand-held trackball controller could be exactly what some PC owners need, given the current push towards “PCs as home media centers”. I’ll explain this point in a later post.

The Paradox controller is now available for pre-order, exclusively through bodieLobus’ promotional website BuyReflex.com.

I’ll leave you with these promotional images sent to Trackballer.com from Bodielobus:

The Magic XFPS is an adapter that plugs into the controller port on the Xbox 360 console. It accepts a keyboard and mouse (or trackball mouse, of course) through two USB or PS2 ports.

Developer Team Xtender has announced Dec 19th as the official release date for the XFPS 360, with a retail price of $80 USD .

You can learn more about the people behind the Xfps at their official site:

http://www.teamxtender.com/

…Nintendo breaks with more than 20 years of video game history by abandoning the traditional controller held with two hands and introducing an all-new freehand-style unit held with one hand.

The intuitive, pioneering interface allows players to run, jump, spin, slide, shoot, steer, accelerate, bank, dive, kick, throw and score in a way never experienced in the history of gaming.

“The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today,” explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president. “This is an extremely exciting innovation – one that will thrill current players and entice new ones.”

When picked up and pointed at the screen, the controller gives a lightning-quick element of interaction, sensing motion, depth, positioning and targeting dictated by movement of the controller itself.

The controller also allows for a variety of expansions, including a “nunchuk” style analog unit offering the enhanced game-play control hard-core gamers demand.

 Read article at Nintendo.com:

Ypsilanti, MI :: September 16, 2005 :: White Fusion, LLC announces the change of its name to bodielobus, LLC. The new name, pronounced bo-D-low-bus, is the only identity change, as the company logo and other trademarks and trademark images will remain unchanged.

An updated launch timeframe has been announced for REFLEX Control on the PlayStation2, which is now Spring of ’06. Bodielobus also is releasing the following new concept artwork images of the upcoming REFLEX Control PS2 controller, which are available at bodielobus.com.

Bodielobus.com will be the new home for all details regarding White Fusion products and will be the source of forthcoming news of the titles supporting REFLEX Control for the coming year. Expect these announcements around Christmas 2005, while other announcements of future products are anticipated to be made around mid-year 2006.

REFLEX Control™ combines the speed, precision, and natural control of a mouse with the handheld comfort and compact, ergonomic design of a console controller. By integrating a thumb operated trackball into a standard console controller, White Fusion has developed a system of providing the same intuitive interaction of a PC control system in a form factor that is familiar to generations of console video game players.

Background – REFLEX Control™ has been gaining developer awareness and interest since Oct. 2003. Bodielobus’s public fan base has grown exponentially since the launch of its Unit B in Jan. 2005.

About – Bodielobus designs and develops hardware control concepts employing a hybrid theory to produce advancements at once both simple and remarkable. Bodielobus is driven to produce solutions that will benefit both gamers and developers.

This announcement relates to products intended for launch by Bodielobus. The product names, prices and availability are subject to change without notice.

The event features over 70 state-of-the-art gaming stations with the newest screen technologies, competitions every hour, a huge assortment of prizes, and the celebrated GameRiot Girls. In a raging party environment, GameRiot also features the hottest DJ tracks, surprise celebrity appearances, and lots of cool giveaways. It has hosted the premieres of some of the best selling video games.

GameRiot has appeared in over 60 cities, with over 333,000 attendees to date.
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For more information, go to http://www.gameriot.com
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WHITE FUSION, LLC is not affiliated with GameRiot in any way.

REFLEX Control™ combines the speed, precision, and natural control of a mouse with the handheld comfort and compact, ergonomic design of a console controller. By integrating a thumb operated trackball into a standard console controller, White Fusion has developed a system of providing
the same intuitive interaction of a PC control system in a form factor that is familiar to generations of console video game players.

This first generation REFLEX Control™ enabled controller is intended for release in Fall of 2005.

Background – REFLEX Control™ has been gaining developer awareness and interest since Oct. 2003. White Fusion’s public fan base has grown exponentially since the launch of its Unit B in Jan. 2005.

About – White Fusion designs and develops hardware control concepts employing a hybrid theory to produce advancements at once both simple and remarkable. White Fusion is driven to produce solutions that will benefit both gamers and developers.

This announcement relates to products intended for launch by White Fusion. The product names, prices and availability are subject to change without notice.

Copyright (c) 2003-2005 White Fusion, LLC. The WHITEFUSION and REFLEX Control logos are trademarks of White Fusion, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their companies.
[END]

White Fusion, LLC to release details of first planned REFLEX Control controller Thursday, 31 MAR 2005 at 2100hrs ET on their website – whitefusion.com