Unlimited Mobile

Unity Engine is best known for supporting mobile and digital titles, but Unity Technologies CEO David Helgason sees his company’s engine as more flexible than that. Nintendo apparently does as well, partnering with Unity on a worldwide licensing agreement that offers first- and third-party Pro level engine access to Wii U developers. The partnership also grandfathers in the existing 1.2 million Unity licensees to the Wii U platform, which Helgason tells us is, “extremely easy” to port to — Unity’s calling the partnership an “excellent opportunity” to port existing Unity games from “thousands of studios currently developing mobile and social games.” The partnership’s effects aren’t immediate, however, as Unity Engine’s Wii U support won’t go live until 2013, which tells us that we won’t see any fruit from the collaboration until some point in 2013 at the earliest.

When pushed, Helgason wouldn’t out any potential games headed to the Wii U via Unity, nor would he offer up names of studios interested in working with Nintendo’s next console. It’s not hard to imagine big Unity games like Slender and Rochard ending up ported to the Wii U, of course, but it sounds like we’ll have to wait a bit longer before we hear which games will benefit from the partnership first.

Continue reading Unity and Nintendo partner to bring Unity Engine, and its 1.2 million devs, to Wii U

Filed under: Gaming

Unity and Nintendo partner to bring Unity Engine, and its 1.2 million devs, to Wii U originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s… a lifeguard? Aiming to keep a robotic eye out for distressed swimmers and dangerous marine life, Surf Life Saving Australia will soon deploy flying safety drones across beaches in Queensland, Australia. Starting off on a trial basis, the unmanned bots have a wingspan of one meter (about three feet) and will feature detachable safety buoys and alert sirens. While it could be the next thing in oceanside safety, we’d image that some folks won’t be too fond of being watched sans any say in the matter. That said, we’d be remiss not to mention to that SLS head Brett Williamson frankly stated to ABC that “at the end of the day this is about public safety.” Big brother conspiracy aside, we’re sure some folks could be swayed if these bad boys play Flight of the Valkyries while in formation.

[Image credit: Kim Powell]

Filed under: Science

UAV Lifeguards to patrol Australian beaches, Hasselhoff given notice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  ABC  | Email this | Comments

Over the summer, Microsoft took a break from showing off Windows 8 hybrids and turned its attention to unleashing a bunch of portable mice and keyboards. Turns out, Redmond wasn’t quite done refreshing its accessories collection: the company just announced the Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, a full-size desktop model meant to complement all those mobile products announced back in July. Like some of Microsoft’s older keyboards, it makes use of the company’s ergonomically friendly Comfort Curve layout. In this case, though, there’s a split space bar, whose left end can be programmed as a backspace key (Microsoft’s rationale is that your fingers are constantly near the space bar anyway). Additionally, there’s a padded palm rest, which you can detach if for some reason the extra cushioning isn’t doing anything for your wrists. And, being a Microsoft-made keyboard, you’ll find Windows hotkeys — specifically, keys that correspond to new features in Win 8, like the Charm Bar. Speaking of the sort, you can use the keyboard with Windows 7, 8 and Vista, meaning those of you still using XP are out of luck. It will be available “soon,” according to Microsoft, at which point it’ll sell for $60.

Continue reading Microsoft intros Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, left end of the space bar can be used as a backspace key

Filed under: Peripherals

Microsoft intros Sculpt Comfort Keyboard, left end of the space bar can be used as a backspace key originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments