Gaming

The NES Controller Optical Mouse

The original NES controller is incredibly iconic, which is why it lends itself so well to being hacked and modded in any number of ways. Today’s entry in the NES controller mod-o-thon: the NES controller mouse. Sure, it doesn’t look like it’d be comfortable to keep your hand on all day, but come on! It’s…

PS3 firmware 1.9 (read about it here) is out in the US alongside PSP firmware 3.52. [qjnet] https://gizmodo.com/ps3-firmware-1-9-details-announced-best-update-yet-281234

Megaphone, Cellphone Gaming is Social

Without downloading any extra software or performing special networking, one design student came up with a viable social gaming concept for cellphones. A large screen projects a game in which people can join at any time by calling a number just above the screen. Then, using the standard touchpad (through key tones), users can control…

Xbox 360 Sales Down an Unexpected 61% Thanks to Wii, PS3, Faulty Hardware

In the Microsoft Earnings statement last week, the Entertainment and Devices Division revealed that they had a loss of $1.16 billion thanks to flagging Xbox sales. Instead of shipping 1.8 million Xbox 360s like they did in the fourth quarter of 2006, they shipped 700,000, which is a dramatic fall-off this early into a console’s…

Rock Band Pricing Revealed?

Just after we had a first look at the new drums from the upcoming game Rock Band, Amazon has priced the Xbox 360 bundle (so keep in mind, this isn’t necessarily final). For $200, you get the game, a mic, wired guitar and drumset. And hearts everywhere are broken. Most players will probably already own…

Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse Leaked?

Some Chinese site seems to have some leaked photos of Logitech’s upcoming G9 gaming mouse. If this is real, the upgrade to the G5 gaming mouse has interchangeable face plates, LEDs for resolution display and some modularization changes all over the place. Ugly photos aside, this one looks fairly convincing. [Everything USB]

Super Mario Bros. Subwoofer: OK, I Get It, You Like Video Games

This Super Mario Bros. subwoofer combines two good things to make an even better thing. If it was for sale and I didn’t care about my apartment looking like a virgintorium, I’d buy one. Unfortunately, it’s a homemade project and I’m not living above my parent’s garage. But if I was! What adventures I would…

Computer Can Now Win or Tie All Checkers Games

By analyzing all 5×10^20 (500 billion billion) possible checkers moves, computers can now beat or tie a human at checkers every single game. How’d they analyze so much data? By starting in 1989 and going until they were done. Let’s see them do this with Go. [Machinist]

AMD Quad Core Phenom Gaming System in the Flesh (and Blood)

Click to viewWe just got the chance to play around with AMD’s newest quad core system, the Phenom RD790 and a pair of ATI HD2900XT graphics processors. There’s a whole lot of cooling going on, thanks to John Woo’s new game Stranglehold. AMD is still mum on pricing and final specs, though they did reaffirm…

DIY Nintendo DS Lite RumblePak

If you like tinkering with the inner working of gadgets as well as the Nintendo DS Lite, have I got a sweet project for you. Instructables has instructions on how to make a homemade RumblePak for the DS Lite that fits nicely inside the GBA cartridge slot on the bottom of the device. It’s not…

Sega Dreamcast Guitar (Verdict: Pretty Much the Most Awesome Instrument Ever Crafted)

While it only has three strings and could use something stronger than a spit shine to clean it up, our unabated Dreamcast love completely blinds us to the Dreamcast guitar’s flaws. If someone could magically transform it into a wireless controller for Guitar Hero 3, it would probably be the greatest peripheral ever. At least…

Saitek’s Cyborg PC Controller Has Precision Snipe Mode

Although not officially announced at E3, Saitek’s latest Cyborg Rumble gamepad for the PC takes the best of the Xbox 360 controller and enhances it with some FPS-friendly features. First off, there’s a precision control toggle, which when activated, turns down the sensitivity on the sticks so you can go in for a headshot easier.…

Wii Handle Accelerates Swings to Superhuman Proportions

Here’s a seemingly stupid idea: a basket on a handle that is meant to hold a Wiimote. (Complete with mechanical triggers for A and B buttons.) But the extension cleanly increases the Wiimote’s velocity with every movement. Watch as the skinny kid in the video takes a giant swing in Wii Sports baseball. Could be…

Samsung Turns Clamshell Phone Into Joystick

Samsung came up with an unusual idea and decided to apply for a patent on it, using the upper half of an opened cellphone as a joystick for gaming on the go. Not a bad idea, since gaming is usually way too awkward on cellphones with their tiny controls and puny screens. Now there’s an…

Guitar Hero for Mini Mes

If your manhood is less than 2cm; (yeah, I went metric on you), chances are your hand span is not too great either. Help is not far, Frodo, as XFPS have entered the niche market with their super-tiny Guitar Hero controllers. Not only could this possibly be the cutest accessory to date that didn’t have…

Hands-on With the Darth Vader Star Wars PSP

Crecente got some hands on time with the Darth Vader PSP, and he says it’s definitely lighter, possibly firmer, and has a new UMD tray. The buttons and D-Pad were also tweaked and improved, which is one of the bigger complaints in the old design. [Kotaku] http://kotaku.com/gaming/hands-on/psp-star-wars-edition-278440.php

Sony Europe President: 60GB PS3 Getting the Axe in America [UPDATE: Not]

[UPDATE: Probably not true.]SCEE President David Reeves revealed in an interview that the 60GB PS3‘s long-overdue price cut is actually a fire sale, at least in America. When the last one is sold, it will be just that—the last one. It’s entirely possible we could see a “clarification” of the statement, but Reeves was pretty…

Commodore Gaming PCs Finally Coming Stateside

Remember those Commodore gaming PCs with custom Art we saw in Europe, last March? They’re finally coming stateside starting at $1700. https://gizmodo.com/commodore-lifts-the-curtain-on-its-gaming-pcs-244431 While the price for the entry level Commodore G has been determined, prices for the GS, GX, and XX models have yet to be announced. You can still expect quad-core Intel processors, Nvidia…

Ghetto Wii Wheel From Billet Mechanical Takes You Back to the ’80s

If you thought the plastic-looking Nintendo Wii Mario Kart wheel was a little too classy, Billet Mechanical has the wheel for you. First, it’s not even a wheel. It’s a Knight Rider-like half steering wheel that has grips on the two ends for gripping. It’s not like you’re doing hand over hand on regular wheels…

Avatar Machine Further Distances You From Reality

Do you play so many videogames that you feel weird walking around without being able to see yourself from a third-person perspective? If so, you need to uninstall World of Warcraft and reacquaint yourself with the sun and your peers. If that seems like too difficult a prospect to handle, you can always just get…