The Office for National Statistics has refreshed its hypothetical shopping basket again.
Alongside the addition of liquid soap, cereal bars and garlic bread (it’s the future!) comes the arrival of the more gadgety Blu-ray player!
If you’re not sure what all this is about the ONS updates this rather huge ‘basket’ to reflect the average urban consumer’s spending habits.
This is then used to calculate the consumer prices index (CPI), which the Bank of England is furiously trying to keep below 3 per cent according to The Guardian.
Now that Blu-ray players are pretty affordable, with even top notch gear falling in the sub-£200 zone the HD tech now sits in the country’s basket in order to “capture price changes in this new expanding technology”.
Also joining the gadgety invasion are video game accessories thanks to the extra cash being spent by gamers on the likes of Wii Fit, GuitarHero, Rock Band and Singstar.
The ONS calls this a “relatively new market” – just wait til Xbox 360’s Project Natal and the PlayStation 3’s Move busts out!
Gone are disposable cameras thanks to “decreasing expenditure as digital compact cameras and mobile phone photography become increasingly popular”.
Do you think that this represents the average shopper?
Sony has been showing off its Nintendo Wii baiting motion controller. They’ve also officially named it: PlayStation Move.
Sony created a bit of a stir at the PlayStation presentation held at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco.
The naming of the Move may have lost a number of people money if they’d been betting on Sony naming the motion controller Arc.
The PlayStation Move requires the use of a wand-like device a bit like a rounded Wiimote, with Sony’s Eye camera used as the sensor to track your movements – Sony are bragging that it’s the ‘most precise’ and ultra-sensory device of its kind.
The good thing is that the Move can be integrated into more established PS3 titles – games of choice for underling this was big-hitters SOCOM 4: US Navy Seals and Little Big Planet. LBP was shown using The Move Subcontroller (see gallery) as well as the main Move.
At the presentation Sony broke out a number of Move games which by all accounts looked pretty Wii-ey with the likes of ‘Sports Champions’ a sports compilation pack which includes such mini-games as archery, tablet tennis, and Gladiator Arena (duel fighting).
The PS3 Move will come in three bundles; the first packing the PS3 Move control for those who already own the Eye cam, or you can buy the Move with the Eye cam and a PS3 console. I reckon that the most popular will probably be the third option: The Move motion control with the camera and a game which Sony is saying will cost under $100 (£66).
No news regarding an official UK price but there is a rumbling that the August 2010 launch will be a global affair.
Have a gawp at the PlayStation Move and the PlayStation Move support controller in action below
Nintendo has just trademarked the title “Zii” in Japan which is to be used for computer games and electronic devices, according to the paperwork released today.
The company actually filed for the trademark on October 30, but this was only just released on the trademark database.
This means that Nintendo has protected the word [...]
I’ve just been pointed in the direction of Very.co.uk.
‘Very’ is a new online department store from Shop Direct and it’s offering Gadgety News readers a great discount of £10 off your first order of £40 or more when you open a credit account.
All you have to do to claim your discount is simply [...]
Don’t you just love leaked info?
Well, thanks to MCV the above news was gathered via a tricky tipster who said that the information was apparently the result of behind-closed-door meetings right here in the UK between Microsoft and third party developers.
Microsoft will be manufacturing 5 million Natals for a worldwide launch in November 2010 [...]
Since Wii Fit arrived there has been the question: “Does it really work?”
There has been plenty of opinions but now the NHS has stepped in.
The National Health Service is quite happy to give Nintendo Wii Fit Plus its official backing.
The NHS say that there’s plenty many benefits to be gained from the balance board game [...]
Shigeru Miyamoto, the dude responsible for game greats Mario and Donkey Kong says that the Nintendo Wii 2 will be smaller and cheaper – who am I to argue with that?
He also says that the console will move into “other aspects of daily life” – so do we take it that Nintendo will be branching [...]
Whilst the news of a Wii price cut was still warm in our ears it seems that Nintendo has something else up their collective sleeve.
According to Yoichi Wada, head honcho over at Square Enix, Nintendo will be rolling out the successor to the Wii by the year 2011.
And what sort of features will the new [...]
You peoples that catch-up with GadgetyNews right here will remember that dual panel laptop by Asus that was rumoured to become their EeeReader.
In June Asus vice chairman, Jonathan Tsang did say that the company had an Asus eBook device, as well as a games machine “better than the Wii” all ready to go – but [...]
Nintendo is about to bring you another reason to buy their family friendly Wii.
The Nintendo Wii movie store is heading worldwide by the sounds of things and that will bring you the Hollywood greats right to your Wiimote!
Japan has the Wii movie service in place and the PS3 (via PlayStation Store) is already [...]
It sounds like Microsoft isn’t settling for just bringing its gesture recognition Natal stuff to the Xbox – the Big M has its beadey little eyes on Windows, according to a very good source: That source happens to be a certain Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates.
Gates spoke to CNET News and talked about a world where [...]
Looking for a Lightsaber for your Wii that’s officially licensed?
According to Kotaku that will happen fairly soon!
I’m not sure if the quality will be any different to the ones you’re swinging about already but at least there looks to be a Blaster as well
Pencilled to be arriving in the Autumn, the official Star Wars [...]
Microsoft’s Project Natal may be the latest in motion detection going by the buzz at E3, but Sony’s adventure into motion detection, or Motion Control has been demo’d live on stage in a more complete and working state than Natal.
In a recent interview, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s new CEO and president, Andrew House, has described it as [...]
An Asus top dog has let slip some pretty interesting gadgety news in a recent interview – one tasty nibble is that Asus has its own eBook ready to ship!
In an interview with the New York Times, Asus vice chairman, Jonathan Tsang, said that the company had an Asus eBook device, as well as [...]
As news of Project Natal is still ringing in our ears, Ubisoft plans to bring camera-based body scanning to the Wii for the holidays – just when most are concerned about getting their ‘beach bodies’ out.
The ‘Your Shape’ game is more like a personal trainer without the hourly fees.
Ok – so I wouldn’t call it [...]
Nintendo have announced the KURO Wii – Kuro meaning black in Japanese of course.
This is great as white doesn’t exactly match my decor being an old goth
As well as giving the console the noir touch, the Wiimote, nunchuck and a classic controller will also be available in black.
Nintendo have also taken [...]
First things first – I looooove the idea of gesture controls for my media player!
Project Natal is a bar that sits above or below your TV, much like the Wii’s sensor bar.
But instead of sensing controllers, this thing has a camera, sensors and a microphone inside that lets it get an accurate sense of where [...]
Yessirreee!
Time to dust off those old Nintendo controllers and prepare to hook them up to your Wii (ma’am)
With Komodo’s Retro gaming adapter you can play those up-to-the-minute games but relive those halcyon days of the NES.
You’ll be able to connect your NES, SNES or N64 controllers to Nintendo’s latest.
Shaped like a small N64 [...]
THQ has sent off a golden Nintendo Wii to Buckingham Palace so that Queen Liz can get her game on!
Word is that the gift is a promo stunt for their upcoming Big Family Games.
“BIG Family Games is the ultimate Wii game to get all family members, from grandparents to young children, playing together. The Royal [...]
We’ve already seen John Lennon and George Harrison’s guitars for the upcoming Beatles-themed version of Rock Band and I think everyone has been expecting Paul McCartney’s little Höfner violin bass to turn up.
Now it has
Kotaku’s got the goods in pictorial form and here is the wireless bass controller.
I’m pretty darned sure that the tremelo arm never [...]
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