Console video games are expected to be a $40 billion business by 2010.

The average Playstation 2 game costs $8 million to develop, while PS3 games cost $15-20 million.

[Source: Slate]

In comparison, movie ticket sales generated $9.16 billion in 2006, and DVD sales generated a total of $18 billion, a number that is expected to flatten in coming years.
[Source: The Numbers, and Business Week]

The Radisson in Berlin is home to this enormous acquarium.

The curvaceous “Marilyn Monroe” building designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong will be built in Mississaugua, Ontario, Canada. [via Neatorama]

Also, an interesting interview with Ma (VIDEO).

Ironic Sans asks, “Why not build a building the shape of Godzilla?”

The Financial Times reports that United Kingdom-based Plastic Logic has secured $100 million dollars to produce semiconductors out of plastic instead of silicon. This could lead to an era of cheap electronics that are integrated into clothing, product packaging etc., as well has flexible e-books with a battery life that lasts for over a thousand pages. Its first products will be light, flexible displays no thicker than a credit card.

Thanks to Gizmag for the following collection of photos of possible future products.

I once read that roasted coffee beans oxidize and become stale only seven days after roasting. Ground coffee oxidizes after only three days. So, bottom line is that most of us drink stale coffee, even if you use an airtight container. Meanwhile, green unroasted coffee beans stay fresh for up to a year. Home roasting is one solution for fresh coffee, but the conditions for optimal coffee roasting are extremely precise, and it’s easy to burn the coffee beans etc., and many are willing to sacrifice some taste for the convenience of store bought coffee.

Starbucks has done a good job of educating coffee consumers of the benefit of quality coffee, but the experience could certainly be improved. In the era of “you,” I believe there’s an opportunity to create a chain of Fire Roasted Coffee houses (the domain firecoffee.com was available at the time of this writing), where consumers can select among a variety of green coffee beans in canisters (so they could select Kona beans, or Columbian beans, or Kenyan beans, for example), and then select the type of fire roasting they want (ie french roasted, vanilla roasted, orange roasted etc.). During the roasting, consumers can watch the expert fire roasters, or meet with people, or read, or browse music or book selections. There could also be online ordering, so you can custom order your coffee from home and pick it up or have it delivered in time for optimal freshness and taste.

I love brick oven pizza, and believe a brick oven creates not only superior pizza, but also can dramatically improve the ambiance of a restaurant. A coffee house with a brick fire oven for coffee roasting would achieve a similar kind of experience, and also better tasting, fresher coffee to either consume at the shop or to take home.

[UPDATE: A variation of this, a more earth friendly approach: Solar roasted coffee]

Welcome readers referred by Cool Site of the Day! Cool Site of the Day, the original website directory, has been featuring one cool website a day since August, 1994! Considering there are millions of websites, this is quite an honor. If you like SHARKRIDE!, please be sure rate it highly at the cool site website.

The North Face has launched the Boa trail running shoe that has an innovative laceless system. As runners know, fiddling with laces on a long run can be a real drag. Thin steel cables connect to a tension dial on the back of the shoe. In addition, the system micro adjusts with foot movement to eliminate pressure points. The laceless Boa shoes retail for $130.
[thanks, signal vs. noise]

This amazing 400 bed resort and hotel concept designed by the Atkins Architecture Group is set in Songjiang, China. The building is integrated into the natural environment of a water-filled quarry. [via the cool hunter]

Check out this video of a Nike Pro advertisement, a custom box with a Nike Pro t-shirt inside that fills with smoke, clears, and then fills with smoke again, which represents the the key benefit of Nike Pro apparel: that it whisks aways sweat. Cool!