Gifts for the INTELLIGENT DESIGNER

We asked a few really smart makers of fashion, hardware, software and electronics to tell us what is on their wish list this holiday season (we like to call them intelligent designers) and boy did they come up with some good ones! Check out the dozens of ideas and gifts they put together that may just help you figure out what to give that special intelligent designer.

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Electronics [SHOW]

Panama Ho
More and more info coming out on Yahoo´s big Panama release. From a Bloomberg roundup: Yahoo! Inc., the second most-used Internet search engine, released new advertising software to all U.S. customers in a push to close the gap with Google Inc. Clients can sign up for a new account... [SHOW]

MLB The Show Coming to PS3 This Spring

Sony today confirmed that MLB 07 The SHow will be hitting the Playstation 2, Playstation Portable and Playstation 3 in spring 2007.

New features include a Road to The Show mode, which will allow gamers to create a rookie and try to play him up through the ranks to the Big Leagues, a new Adaptive Pitching Intelligence, a Pitch Command System, an Umpire Personalities feature. Whoa, whoa, whoa, umpires don´t have personalities. That´s crazy talk.

The game will also include Online League Play, letting gamers set up leagues with up to 30 teams and run the league with full statistics, point benefits and full customization.

"In 2006, the MLB franchise was the best-selling baseball videogame on the market across all gaming platforms, and dominated the PlayStation platforms. This year, MLB 07 The Show looks to continue its reign as the most valuable player in the category by delivering unsurpassed realism," said Scott Rohde, director, sports product development, SCEA. "We are committed to continually looking for ways to add new and improved gameplay features in order to provide fans with the closest experience to actually playing in the Big Leagues."

Hit the jump for the full release and all of the details. Brian Crecente

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc. (SCEA) officially announced today that MLB 07 The Show(TM) will
be available in Spring 2007, exclusively for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM))
computer entertainment system, PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system
and PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system. Building on
the history of the MLB(R) franchise, as the longest running officially
licensed baseball videogame on the PlayStation(R) platforms and already widely
considered the most authentic baseball videogame available, MLB 07 The Show is
set to deliver all-new features and continue its reign as the market leader.
As the only first party videogame officially licensed by Major League
Baseball Properties (MLBP), Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) and
the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), MLB 07 The Show will
unveil new core features across all three PlayStation platforms. The
innovative Road to The Show mode will enable fans to play solely as a
custom-created rookie on both offense and defense while attempting to rise
through the ranks and make a starting line-up in the Big Leagues.
Adding to its already robust online feature set, the MLB franchise will
now include Online League Play, which gives gamers the ability to set up
leagues with up to 30 teams, complete statistical tracking, point benefits and
full customization, while the My Sliders feature allows users to create their
perfect game settings and upload them to the MLB 07 The Show server for others
to try out.
For fans attempting to master the timeless art of pitching, MLB 07 The
Show introduces some innovative new features such as Adaptive Pitching
Intelligence (API), which allows users to either shake off the catcher, or
trust the calls he makes which are based on batter tendencies and the
pitcher´s strengths. Additionally, the Pitch Command System (PCS) delivers
authenticity and strategy to pitch selection by offering players a
predetermined pitch comfort level based on a best to worst pitch scenario.
Providing an even more authentic feel to the game, the new Umpire
Personalities feature provides a new challenge to pitchers as each umpire has
their own version of the strike zone, unique tendencies and animations.
"In 2006, the MLB franchise was the best-selling baseball videogame on the
market across all gaming platforms, and dominated the PlayStation platforms.
This year, MLB 07 The Show looks to continue its reign as the most valuable
player in the category by delivering unsurpassed realism," said Scott Rohde,
director, sports product development, SCEA. "We are committed to continually
looking for ways to add new and improved gameplay features in order to provide
fans with the closest experience to actually playing in the Big Leagues."
As developers begin to harness the power and potential found within PS3,
MLB 07 The Show showcases its abilities with additional innovative features
such as crowd interaction, which can be seen like never before with a vast
array of new ambient elements including fans reaching for foul balls, the
seventh inning stretch, the wave, standing ovations and much more. Also
making the game more realistic, gamers will now be able to detail the
different pitch grips and arm angles that a pitcher has when throwing each
pitch. Scouting these details in Replay Mode shows players what to look for in
release point and pitch arm angle from 15 different pitches. These new
subtleties deliver an unrivaled virtual experience on PS3.
Returning key features for the MLB franchise include the popular Career
and Season Modes, Career Spotlight and Exhibition Mode. In addition, MLB 07
The Show provides fans with the features they expect in an unrivaled
simulation, such as advanced batting and base running controls, interactive
hot and cold zones, player-scaled strike zones, release point pitching and the
most comprehensive commentary ever produced for a sports video game, featuring
the three-man booth of Rex Huddler, Matt Vasgerian and Dave Campbell.
Along with all the key franchise features, returning gameplay favorites
for PlayStation 2 include Rivalry Mode, which allows fans to set-up, track and
maintain heated rivalries, King of the Diamond Mode, the classic playground
duel where a pitcher and batter from opposing teams will square off
head-to-head, Franchise mode, where players take control of the entire team,
the Home Run Derby and EyeToy(TM) functionality. MLB 07 The Show for the PSP
system continues to be a fan favorite with its core features and ability to
play anytime, anywhere, on the go. Plus, sports fanatics can utilize the PSP
system´s online news service to get the latest MLB news feeds online or save
them to the Memory Stick Duo(TM) and review them offline at their convenience.
The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating for MLB
07 The Show is "RP" for "Rating Pending." For more information about the ESRB
visit www.esrb.org .

Baseballmlb 07 the showPs2PS3PSPSports [SHOW]

UK´s Console Champ: The Wii

The fastest selling game machine in the UK is the Nintendo Wii. Since its launch last week, over 100,000 units have been sold, crowing it the console Wii-nner. Compare that to 52,000 GameCubes and 70,000 Xbox 360s moved in the first launch week. Software also did quite well. In short: People love the Wii, it´s selling a lot, blah, blah, blah. Brian Ashcraft

Wii Big Hit In UK [Games Industry]

BusinessGamecubeNintendoUkWiiXbox 360 [SHOW]