Just returned in from CES 08 last night. This year's show was light on games but that doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of cool stuff to see. Here's a glimpse:

　　01. The Dual View System from DLP Technologies. Back when I was a kid, Texas Instruments was known for cruddy calculators and a huge corporate campus in Dallas. Now, annoying commercials aside (why is that little girl standing with an elephant!?), DLP is doing cool stuff with game displays; case in point, the Dual View System. It's hard to explain without seeing it but essentially it allows two game images (running out of two separate game systems) to be superimposed on the same screen. Then, wearing special goggles (which felt more like sunglasses, really) one player can differentiate his or her game, and the other player, the other image. It's cool stuff and, while not necessarily technology I would personally use, you've got to admire the technical genius behind it.

　　02. The fact that I got to play Simbin's WTCC on a kick-ass PC, complete with a curved display monitor that's reminiscent of the old Sega arcade racing game Ferrari 355 Challenge and one of the nicest pedal-wheel combos I've ever tried. The manufacturer, ECCI, makes this Trackstar 6000 model wheel and pedal setup and the feel of the metal construction is excellent. I want.

　　03. One of our Las Vegas cab drivers who, immediately upon finding out that we worked in the videogame industry, asked us if we knew if anyone was making "erotic" videogames. Okay, that's not really cool. But it was creepy. As all hell.

　　04. LittleBigPlanet. Do I need to explain?

　　05. This guy:

　　I forget his name but he's the mascot for Sony's upcoming free-to-play online RPG-for-youngsters, Free Realms. Because nothing says "kids game" like a cross-dressing goblin.

　　06. Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. Because... well, because of this:

　　07. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Sorry, I can talk much about this game because of embargos but this one could be one to look out for later this year. Check back for more info on this game towards the end of the month.

　　08. The BMW Sauber F1 Pit Lane Park, which was located just outside the confinues of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For a Formula One geek like myself, this was a miniature slice of heaven--a theme park of sorts that let you get up close and personal with F1 car technology, check out what it's like to work in an F1 pit crew (you could even change a tire on an F1 model car), and even check out demonstration drives of Formula BMW cars, motorcycles, and even an all-too brief drive of BMW's F106 model, driven by Graham Rahal, son of legendary American driver, Bobby Rahal. For me, however, the pinnacle came when I ran into this guy:

　　That's Steve Matchett, one-third of Speed Channel's Formula One broadcasting team which, in my opinion, is the best play-by-play group working in sports today. Matchett is a former Formula One engineer and inarguably one of my heroes, both for his technical expertise and his skill at explaining the extremely compicated world of F1 tech in a way that even non-gearheads like myself can understand and enjoy. I ran into him completely by accident at the BMW event, and immediately forced my camera into the hands of a stranger (whom, in retrospect, I don't think spoke English) and insisted he take our picture. See that dorky looking smile on my face? That's called racing-nerd love.