(via Sifteo)
Remember dominos? Little rectangular playing pieces with fixed numbers of dots that you then match to get rid of all your pieces? The same game over and over, with the same pieces that keep the game the same? Remember? Yes, that can get boring pretty quick, especially in the age of endless electronic mind distraction. That’s why over a year ago, MIT released the first iteration of a game that takes the rectangular pieces and adds an endless possibility of new dimensions.
These new Sifteo Cubes have taken on a classy white shell. The 1.5-inch TFT LCD screen has now been equipped with a capacitance touch sensor instead of the previous button screen. Inside, a three-axis motion sensor allows for games that involve tilting and movement of the cubes. At the core, of the Sifteos is an ST Micro 32-bit ARM processor.
This version of the Sifteo Cubes includes a base station with speaker that serves as the middleman between the cubes and your PC so the computer is no longer needed to play, as was the case with the earlier cubes. The base station connects to a PC via built in USB and you can transfer downloaded games to and from the PC and the base station (unclear whether they kept their 2.4 GHz dongle wireless form of communication). Sifteos is looking to release a new version of its SDK in October for developers to make their own games.
For $130 you get 3 cubes plus a base station with AAA batteries to power them and 4 new preloaded games. Individual cubes will sell for $30 with a new maximum of 12 cubes supported. The old cubes will not be supported by the new set up, but Sifteo Cubes is offering a $50 voucher towards a new set plus Sifteo just landed contracts to makes Nickelodeon games as well as Mutant Ninja Turtles so fun new games will justify a new set. The cubes will be available in online stores and retail shops in November of this year.
Cabe
