sega

This week in tech news, even hackers don't think you should hack Sega! Plus, the end of unlimited data at Verizon, the Lytro camera wows us, and ISPs go antipiracy on us.

On June 23, 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog arrived in North America to jump-start sales of Sega's Genesis video game console. The blue blur would eventually become a major hit for Sega, inspiring 130 releases across multiple consoles and selling more than 70 million games worldwide.

Where did it all begin? Well, every company needs a mascot.

Two decades ago, the future was slightly dim for Sega. Nintendo's 8-bit NES console had gobbled up market share around the world, and Super Mario 3 took the market by storm. Sega desperately needed a fresh face to drive game sales for its 16-bit Sega Genesis console, which had hit the market years before the Super NES (also, the Genesis is more powerful than the SNES).

According to 1UP, Sega's president at the time, Hayao Nakayama, challenged the company to create a mascot that could rival Mario in popularity. He wanted to beat Nintendo. Sega's AM8 research and development team created several character designs, but a spiky hedgehog (code-named Mr. Needlemouse) became the frontrunner, eventually helping the company grow to achieve billions in sales. You can read more about how Sonic was created at 1UP.

Sonic's 20th anniversary is an enormous milestone for Sega, and on November 24 the company will fly a 48-feet tall, 60-feet long, and 26-feet wide helium balloon version of the character during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan. In 1993, the hedgehog was the first video game character ever to be featured in the highly popular parade, and it accidentally broke an off-duty policeman's shoulder. Perhaps Sonic thought he saw Dr. Robotnik. … Read more

It's both a fun game and a sad commentary on the state of our existence! On today's show, the average user is caught in the crossfire of the hacker wars, but dammit, even LulzSec agrees that Sega is off limits. Speaking of which, Donald might have been right about Bitcorn, rather than Bitcoin. Ouch. And how to restore the memories of really, really stoned rats. Poor little rats. --Molly

The hacking free-for-all continued this week as Sega apparently became the latest victim of a network breach and none other than hacking group LulzSec offered to help the game company by taking down the responsible parties.

The blog PlayStation LifeStyle posted yesterday what it said was a letter sent by Sega to users of its Sega Pass service, informing them that "unauthorized entry was gained" to the Sega Pass database and that the company is investigating.

"We have identified that a subset of Sega Pass members' e-mail addresses, dates of birth, and encrypted passwords were obtained," … Read more

Ever since Sony sent Aibo to the great cyber-kennel in the sky, I've been longing for a new robot dog. Activision and Sega seem to be trying to take pity on people like me with Wappy, a frisky little artificial friend that links to a Nintendo DS.

One of several intriguing new high-tech toys shown at this year's Toy Fair in New York, Wappy's personality evolves as it interacts with its owner, much like the Tamagotchi digital pet of yore.

Wappy is both a video game and a simple robot toy that can sing and dance. They're synced so Wappy is the same dog on-screen and in robot form. The latter was apparently made by Sega, creator of the iDog.

Just like the Nintendogs game, users can play with and train the virtual Wappy on the DS when they're away from home, and then play with the robot when they get back. The goal of the game is to raise Wappy from a puppy, teaching it new tricks and caring for it.

Little Wappy is a far cry from the intelligent, charming Aibo, but I'll take what I can get. It's slated to come out this fall.

… Read more

Crave veers toward several drool-worthy--and a couple cringe-worthy--topics this week. In fact, we can't seem to shake the curse of our food-friendly moniker as we check out eye-catching cereal boxes that light up on store shelves, a bus stop decked out to look like a toaster oven (complete with a people-warming electric heater), and an AT-AT that some intrepid soul turned into an ice cream truck piloted by Darth Vader himself.

Also, a ridiculous business offer leads to robot dinosaurs, and a game bows to mind control. Teetering on the edge of acceptability is a gaming urinal by Sega, with the boys finding it more relevant than Jasmine. What's not to crave? Whiskey in a can and BK's new jalapeno and cheddar BK Stuffed Steakhouse burger--ick.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

Oh, don't tell me you've never thought about it.

There you are in the restroom. And, just for a fleeting moment, you wish there would be something more you could do than stare at an ad. Or at the graffiti that says Josh loves Ginny. Or Jimmy.

You'd love to be able do something a little more interactive. Sega understands the warmth and depth of your emotions. This is why the company has announced Toylets, video games controlled by your urine stream.

The games are for those who cannot live without being a first-person shooter.

Toylets, according to Japan's Akihabara News, are truly repositories of both pleasure and pressure.

To prevent fulmination during urination, a pressure sensor is slipped inside the toilet bowl. You, the gamer, must focus and direct your urine at that sensor. The display on an LCD screen above the toilet grades your efforts.

To keep it exciting, there are four games, each with its own intellectual stream.… Read more

Natali is back from her burrito-tour of San Francisco and hops back into the studio for the last Natali Thursday of 2010! Today's headlines include a video game controlled by your urine, a porn company making your Microsoft Kinect 3D sex simulation dreams come true, the most successful pickup lines according to geographic location, and we reveal the most irritating word of the year!

Sega finally unveils a video game that non-gamers like myself can enjoy, because the objective is to pee all over the game. Sega Toys is testing a new minigame in Japan called Toirrettsu that comes with a sensor that can measure the speed of urination and score games accordingly.

Japan hopes that the game will encourage people to take better aim in the bathroom, but Jeff tells us that America already has its own version of the pissing match.

You've been waiting for it since the day Microsoft unveiled the Kinect motion control accessory, and we've finally arrived: after two months, adult software vendor ThriXXX released a statement today describing forthcoming Kinect-powered software that will use gestures, spoken commands, and objects in a sexual gaming environment. This segment of the show is worth watching the video for Natali's gestures alone!

According to a survey from online dating site Badoo, the secret of international dating is to spout localized pick-up lines.

The site's "Compliment Success Index" analyzed over 200,000 online conversations in 11 languages to determine the best opening line for women from different countries. So the next time you're in a United Nations Security Council caucus, be sure to compliment that Portuguese woman on her perfect ears!

For years, Shenmue fans have been waiting to hear that a third installment in the cult-classic will finally be made available. And now, the chances of that happening seem greater than ever.

Speaking to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu in an interview yesterday, which was translated by IGN, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki said he wants "to make [Shenmue] 3 with the same volume as in the past."

He went on to say that he has heard loud and clear from fans that they want to see a third installment in the franchise, mentioning "petitions signed by tens of … Read more