Best New Toys and Games

While I can't deny that the Virtuix Omni looks pretty awesome, it's not exactly perfect. Using it requires special anti-friction shoes, and learning the ropes is challenging, at best. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce The Virtualizer: a virtual reality platform you can use in your socks.

More and more kids are forfeiting active play for sedentary play, like playing video games. More and more we're seeing overweight and obese kids, and that's partly due to the increase in inactivity. VIGATAR is a machine that will allow kids (and adults) to play video games while still being active. It is an exercise machine that doubles as a video game controller.

“Pursue the silent-0dB gaming environment,” exclaims the marketing banner. Indeed, Palit's looking to provide all the performance of Nvidia's relatively powerful GeForce GTX 750 family graphics chips with none of the fan noise attached to most implementations.

To celebrate the release of The Last of Us Remastered, Naughty Dog has made an exciting announcement. For one night only, they'll be putting on a theatrical production of the game, at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. If you haven't played the game, it could be the next best thing to doing so.

Although I enjoy traditional gaming controllers, they aren't so great for immersion. There's no sense that you're actually in the game; you aren't really physically interacting with anything. That's what the folks behind the ATOC Gaming Gun are trying to address - and they're doing a very good job.

When the PlayStation 4 first launched, it was considered by many to be a gimmick at best. Sony's looking to change that. Now that it's cleared out some of its more unscrupulous users, it plans to release a free update this summer called "Set Maker." It'll let people host their own talk shows.

Razer - one of the most widely-known manufacturers of gaming peripherals in the world - had a very exciting announcement to make at this year's Evolution Championship Series: it's released the next iteration of the Atrox Arcade Stick. It looks awesome. 

What do you get when you combine stage opera, metal, and a video game? You get a little project called Karmaflow - at once both a brilliant musical puzzle/platformer and a touring rock show. Intrigued? I know I certainly am.

It's no doubt that the summer of 2014 will be remembered as the 'Summer of Soccer.' One has only to look at the viewing audience to get a sense of its immense popularity. The coverage of this year's FIFA World Cup continues to break records in the United States alone - both on television and online.

Though the SwRing was invented by Emory Clark more than 30 years ago, it is new to some parents and their autistic children. It’s similar to a tire swing in that it swings while spinning in small circles while rotating in larger ones. The SwRing is built as tough and long-lasting as playground equipment, but is safe enough for children as young as 18 months. Kids can climb on, sit in, or stand on SwRings, but it’s more than child’s play. SwRing is fun for all but therapeutic for children with autism and recently won a 2014 Family Choice Award for children’s products.