Tech News and Reviews
Gaming
New Xbox 360 Arcade unit revealed by Amazon Germany?
Jul 15th
Looking for a new, slinky Xbox 360 but don’t have 250GB worth of stuff to archive on there? Sprechen Sie deutsch? Sehr gut! Amazon Germany has posted up what appears to be solid details about the cousin of the new Xbox 360 revealed at E3. Where that model has a 250GB HDD stuffed up inside, this one appears to have 4GB of some sort of flash memory and a price listed as €148.99 — about $190. It’s also listed as being a “bundle,” meaning it’s likely there’s a game, extra controller, or novelty hat included as well. And, the thing is said to be shipping on August 20, which just so happens to be when Gamescom 2010 takes over Cologne. Finally, Cologne just so happens to be in Germany. Another surprise unveiling and announcement of units shipping immediately? We wouldn’t bet against it — except for the “surprise” bit.
Nyko announces two silky new Raven PS3 controllers
Jul 6th
Silky isn’t typically an adjective we’d associate with game controllers, but that’s exactly how gaming accessory maker Nyko is describing the feel of their new Raven controller line for the PlayStation 3. The line includes a standard PS3 configuration as well as an Xbox 360 inspired “alternate” layout which flips the position of the left analog stick and d-pad for a more ergonomic feel. Both will connect wirelessly to your system via a USB dongle, and will cost $35 once they hit shelves later this summer. But will any game top the entertainment value of the Raven promo video? Check it after the break.
The new Xbox 360 is here — we go head-to-head with the 360 Original, PS3 Slim, and Wii
Jun 19th
Although we had a chance to play with the new Xbox 360 at E3, that was under Microsoft’s gentle supervision — now that the stealthbox is hitting stores and we’ve got a couple of our own to play with, we’re ready to dive deep and figure out what’s what. In person in the living room, the new 360 isn’t quite as small as you’d think — although it’s definitely thinner and narrower, Microsoft clearly had to jury-rig its big “lift off the old Xbox to reveal the new one” moment at E3, because the new unit is actually a bit deeper by about a half-inch. We’ll forgive them in interests of show business, but just know that you won’t be saving a ton of space with this new version. We also went head-to-head with the OG PS3 and the Slim, as well as the Wii — as you’d expect, the new Xbox 360 is much smaller than the original PS3, noticeably smaller than the Slim, and a hilariously gargantuan monster compared to the Wii. We just did a quick noise comparison video, and we’ve got some early notes, so check it out below!
P.S. Fun note: the older 360 pictured here RROD’d almost immediately after we unboxed the new unit. Karma!
Sony posts another huge annual loss, but PS3 sales are up
May 17th
Sony just posted its yearly results today, and while a ¥40.8 billion ($439 million) loss is never a good thing, it’s at least a marked improvement from last year’s staggering $1 billion drop into the red, which was the company’s first loss in 14 years. LCD TVs and cameras were Sony’s big electronics sellers, while PS3 sales went up to 13 million from 10.1 million last year — and hey, Sony’s console actually became profitable at the end of the year as production costs have gone down. Now for the bad news: PSP sales were down to 9.9m from 14.4 last year, with game sales dropping to 44.4m from 50.3m units, while PS2 hardware went down to 7.2m from 7.7m units and PS2 software fell sharply from 83.5m units to 35.7m units. That’s not completely unexpected, as the PS2 can’t last forever and the PSP is getting long in the tooth, but it means that Sony faces some serious pressure to hit its target of 15m PS3s sold this year to pick up the slack and help it hit its goal of posting a ¥50 billion ($541 million) profit next year. Let’s hope that Move controller lives up to the hype, right? Sony’s also counting on 3D to help it get there, and wonder of wonders, it also expects Sony Ericsson to hit profitability, so that X10 mini pro had better be a big improvement over the Xperia X10. We’ll see if Sir Howard can keep all these various ships going in the right direction while still keeping the rest of Sony’s diverse operations (like its profitable life insurance business) in line — it should be an interesting year.
Sony turns VAIO P into world’s most expensive PS3 keyboard
May 12th
Yesterday we told you what we thought about the new VAIO P, an $800 conversation piece of a netbook, and now Sony is giving potential owners something else to talk about. The little laptop has been granted “Remote Keyboard” functionality, turning it into a sort of giant economy sized version of the PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad, a device we weren’t particularly fond of when we first played with it way back in 2008. Like that device, the VAIO P has a battery life that’s too short and a keyboard that’s uncomfortable to use, but this new ability adds one more piece of function this very form-centric laptop desperately needs. The software isn’t officially available in the US yet, but we’re told the Japanese version at the source link will do you just fine if you’re one of the few, the proud, and the financially irresponsible rocking a VAIO P today.
Nintendo ships Wii Classic Controller Pro to sweaty-palmed Americans
Apr 22nd
Nothing like coming through on a promise, right? You bet. If you’ll recall, the Big N assured us all back in January that the jumbo-sized Wii Classic Controller Pro would begin shipping to America in April, and sure enough, that’s exactly what it has done. After giving the Japanese a few months head-start, both the white and black accessories are now shipping from none other than Amazon for the tidy sum of $19.99 apiece. And yes, gift wrapping is available for a nominal fee.
Nintendo 3DS may launch in October, say ‘UK industry sources’
Apr 22nd
How the mighty have fallen. Where just last year companies like Apple and Nintendo were renowned for their ability to keep completely silent about impending hardware, these days the thrill of exposure and some media pressure go a long, long way. Now, if Computer and Video Games‘ sources are to be believed, Nintendo’s had another leak: an October release date for its autostereoscopic 3DS handheld in the UK. That’s well within the original “before March 2011” timeframe, and apparently a surprise for game publishers currently planning software for Holiday 2010. Besides, since Europe typically gets Nintendo systems after the US and Japan, some lucky dogs might get the system even earlier — we’ll let you know when we see it ourselves at E3 this June.
PlayStation Move: everything you ever wanted to know
Mar 12th
Sony dropped a lot of knowledge on us yesterday, at long last replacing rampant speculation with some cold hard facts — and even a name! — for its new PlayStation motion controller. The PlayStation Move is being described as a “platform” and a “virtual console launch” by folks at Sony, and we think they mean it, so prepare for a motion-controlled ad war later this year, as Microsoft and Sony set themselves up for a real three-way fight with Nintendo for your physical living room activity of the gaming variety. While some of the high-level Wii-like functionalities might be obvious, follow us after the break as we walk through the nitty gritty of everything we know so far about Move.
Live from Sony’s ‘PlayStation Move’ motion controller event
Mar 11th
We just got underway at Sony’s PlayStation Move motion controller event. Sure, they haven’t called it “Move,” just yet, but we just saw the “Move” moniker on a demo screen at the side of the stage, so we’re feeling pretty confident at this point.
PlayStation Move motion controller launched at GDC, starter kit to be under $100 with game
Mar 11th
No surprise here: Sony just officially announced the PlayStation Move motion controller at GDC 2010, calling it the “next generation of motion gaming” because it’s so precise — latency is about the same as the DualShock 3. As expected, it uses the PlayStation Eye camera to track the controller, and Sony says it becomes an “extension of your body.” The plan is not only to engage casual gamers, but to use the precision of the controller to create “new experiences for core gamers” — many of the demo videos we saw involved using a controller video in each hand, and there were quote a few demos of action / RPG games. We also saw a demo of Move Party, which uses the camera to do augmented reality gaming and video chat. The demos are pretty impressive — Sony’s not kidding when it says the Move is incredibly precise. There’s also going to be a secondary “subcontroller” with an an analog stick for shooters — you can play all the way through SOCOM4 with just the Move and the sub-controller. (Yes, it’s just like the Wii Nunchuk, only wireless.)
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