Gaming - Page 1138

There are many music games on the market today with offerings like Rock Band and Guitar Hero at the top of the market. There are other smaller and lesser-known music games though and some of them have some awesome controllers. Power Gig is a music game that works sort of like Guitar Hero in that you have a wireless guitar controller to play with, but Power Gig uses a real six-string guitar.

The gaming world has many iconic characters that have been part of some of the most important video games around. A few of these iconic characters include fan favorites like Pac-Man and Mario. Nintendo has been celebrating the 25th birthday of Mario all year long and has offered some cool facts about the game and is offering up some cool new bundles of hardware for Mario fans.

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The latest hardware bundles include special edition glossy red Wii and DSi XL game systems. The red Wii bundle includes a glossy red console, the new Super Mario Bros. Wii game, a red Wii Remote Plus controller with built-in Motion Plus capability, a red nunchuk, and the Wii sports game that typically comes with the Wii. The coolest part is that the special edition console has a price that is affordable at $199.99 while supplies last.

The red DSi XL bundle has Super Mario Bros. themed graphics, includes Mario Kart DS game and a pre-loaded Brain Age Express title. The DSi XL bundle will also be offered only while supplies last and will sell for $179.99. Nintendo has also unveiled a new FlingSmash bundle that has a game with pinball action and the new Wii Remote Plus controller inside for $49.99.

Popular gaming brand SteelSeries has saddled up with GUNNAR Optiks to release a range of gaming glasses.

First off Blizzard flexed muscle by banning roughly 5000 players for using hacks in Starcraft II. Now they've taken it a step further by filing a lawsuit against three programmers, accusing them of creating and selling hacks for Starcraft II - which is a direct violation of the EULA, Battle.net terms of use and copyright law.

There is certainly no shortage of Wii controllers on the market today. Most of the accessories that we see for the Wii tend to be holders that you put your Wii remote into to allow control of games with more realism. Some controllers out there have all of the hardware needed for controlling games and interacting with the Wii on the inside though like the new Shinobii ping-pong controller.

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The Shinobii controller is called the TT Champion Bat. I had no idea that the real name for a ping-pong paddle was a bat. The controller is sized and designed to look just like a real ping-pong paddle and is designed so the player doesn't need to put a Wii Remote into the controller to play. The hardware for interaction with the Wii and MotionPlus compatible game sis all integrated into the paddle.

The TT Champion Bat XtraMotion technology inside allows the player to control the paddle movement, torque, spin control, and more directly from the paddle. Power for the controller comes from a rechargeable battery. Shinobii will offer the controller in the EU and America "soon" for $69.99. That is a lot of money for a Wii controller, but serious Wii ping-pong fans might not be able to resist.

SteelSeries has been making gaming peripherals for a long time now. The company bought the rights to one of the coolest gaming keyboards on the market that has interchangeable keysets a while back. SteelSeries is supporting that keyboard with new keysets that are specifically made for certain game titles like the Medal of Honor game from EA that is coming soon. EA has announced a keyset for the Shift along with several other peripherals.

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The MoH keypad for the Shift keyboard will sell for $24.99 alone or with a bundle including the keyset and the Shift keyboard for $99. If interchangeable keysets isn't your bag, a special version of the 6Gv2 keyboard with MoH images printed on it will be available for $99.99 as well. If you like your current keyboard and mouse, but want some MoH bling there will be a version of the QcK mouse pad with artwork from the game for $14.99.

A special edition of the Xai gaming mouse with imagery will be offered for $89.99 with all the features of the standard Xai mouse in tow. The final MoH gear from SteelSeries includes a couple different sets of headphones .The 5Hv2 headphones are designed to be travel friendly and can be broken down into three pieces and have a retractable mic. The 5xb headphones are specifically aimed at Xbox 360 gamers. Both of the special edition headphones will launch in January at undisclosed prices. All of the other gear will land along with the game launch.

For a long time if you were a gamer in the US and you had a Wii you could only get white controllers and consoles. The color options are a bit better today with a black console available and you can get official controllers in blue or pink colors as well as aftermarket controllers with different colors. A new controller is up for pre-order at Toys R Us for the Wii that is the coolest one I have ever seen.

There are many categories of video games that spawn some very hard core gamers. There are hard core MMO gamers, hard core FPS gamers, and hard core flight simulation fans. Perhaps the group that has the most expensive hobby are the flight sim fans where controllers and systems can run hundreds of dollars each.

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Thrustmaster has launched what may be the coolest flight simulation controller ever called the HOTAS Warthog. The Warthog is an exact replica of the joystick and throttle from the A-10C fighter jet. The joystick has a heavy metal base and uses construction that is mostly metal. The base can be removed and the joystick can be placed into a cockpit. The controller uses magnetic sensors for accuracy and has 19 action buttons with a 4-way POV switch.

The buttons on the joystick take the exact same pressure to operate as the buttons on a real airplane. The throttle is a dual throttle system and also uses magnetic sensor tech. The throttles have a push and pull system with detents for idle and afterburner. The detents can be disengaged as well for aircraft without afterburners. The throttle has 17 action buttons and its own POV controller. A control panel is also built onto the throttle with multiple toggles and the whole works is backlit. Warthog will ship this month for $499.99.

There are gamers all around the world who are waiting to get their hands on the new Playstation Move controller system. Many of those gamers will certainly be looking to play some of the shooting games that are offered for the console and will want a gun accessory to make those games more realistic. The official Sony Shooting Attachment accessory is set to launch this month along with an exclusive PS3 game for use with the accessory or without.

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Sony announced today that the retro looking Shooting Accessory pistol accessory will land in the US on October 19. That is the same day that the PS3 exclusive shooting game called The Shoot will hit store shelves as well. The Shoot will cast the player as an action-movie hero that has to go through five different movie sets blasting away at enemies.

There are as many choices for a mouse pad for gamers as there are other gaming peripherals. Some gamers like rough textured cloth pads and others like really smooth, low friction plastic surfaces that let the mouse glide around without much resistance or noise. If you are the type of gamer that likes a mouse pad that glides easily around a surface Razer's new Ironclad may be just for you.

The mobile gaming market has several players and for years the players were the console companies like Nintendo and Sony. With the iPhone and iPod touch becoming more popular, those devices are now taking some of the market from the console makers. The clear leader in mobile gaming has been the Nintendo DS for a long time.

You're sitting there, quietly playing a game... your spare controller is sitting on the table in front of you... you walk around a corner and expect zombies on the screen - KABOOM, you wonder where it came from, where is that sound???

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Oh - it was your FREAKING PLAYSTATION CONTROLLER EXPLODING.

Sony today has issued a consumer warning to anyone who currently uses an unofficial PlayStation 3 controller.

Obviously, in an effort to stop the world's first PS3 modchip, the "PS Jailbreak" from working - Sony unleashed the firmware update 3.50 which renders any third party USB peripheral unworkable.

Also, the company warns consumers that "any unofficial controller may explode!".

The official Sony statement reads:

Counterfeit PlayStation Wireless Controllers, which are practically identical in appearance to genuine PlayStation 3 Wireless Controllers, have been discovered in the market. SCEA advises consumers to be cautious when buying PlayStation 3 Wireless Controllers from uncertain sources as the quality, reliability and safety of counterfeit products is uncertain, and in some cases, may be dangerous. It is possible that some counterfeit product may ignite or explode, resulting in injury or damage to the user, your PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, or other property. Moreover, SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates.

SCE and its affiliated companies disclaim all liability for any loss or damage suffered by you or any third party through the use of counterfeit or unlicensed products.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support.

The official update has been to mostly negative reaction - some users are even reporting 75% of USB devices now don't work. Other users have also said that their PS2 to PS3 controller adapters have stopped working and also legitimate products like the Splitfish FragFX now don't work...

Looks like it's not all fireworks in Sony land today!

Gamers often prefer to play with headphones even if they are alone in the house and can use any speakers they want. Often headphones allow you to hear more nuances of the sound like that enemy creeping up behind you before you see them. While many of the new headsets that have been launching over the last few months have had virtual surround tech inside. Tt eSports has unveiled a cool new headset that uses stereo sound.

OnLive has been available for a while now and is an interesting way to get your video games. The idea is that you can play all sorts of video games without having to go to the store and make a purchase. The streaming service has a monthly fee to be a member and then you still have to purchase the video games as well. Since launch, you have had to have your machine connected to a wired web connection to play.

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OnLive has announced that it has a new Wi-Fi Beta service now available that lets users wanting to play some games on a notebook use a wireless connection. According to the company all you need to do is launch OnLive and the user will get a prompt for Wi-Fi Beta that they can select if they are using WiFi when the app is launched.

The only catch is that your wireless connection has to offer at least 3Mbps connection speed. One nice thing is that if your web connection drops the game will save your place for up to five minutes and allow you to resume when the connection comes back online. OnLive states that it will continue to make improvements and enhancements to the service.

In a surprising move, Internode has called a "cease fire" between gamers and the publishers of the Call of Duty franchise by setting up a deal with GameServers.com that will secure local services for the newest CoD venture, Black Ops (available in November).

If you remember, the last Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 2 broke sales records, won an arm full of awards and gave gamers world wide wet dreams for months. But, for PC gamers - it was a change. Dedicated servers, which have been a staple of PC multiplayer gaming since the 90's was absent, instead a peer to peer network (where one players internet connection is the "host" and the others are "guests") was included.

The result was obviously heard world wide, where premier gaming network games.on.net and Internode have gone into partnership with GameServers.com

With Black Ops, Treyarch have confirmed the existence of dedicated servers, with Internode securing the GameServers.com deal last week.

The ISP issued a statement last week, "games.on.net and Internode are proud to partner with GameServers.com, exclusively offering Australian servers for 2010′s biggest game, Call of Duty: Black Ops". "By hosting these servers directly within Internode's award-winning, high-performance network, Aussie gamers can rest assured their Black Ops experience will have the lowest possible latency, and the smoothest connection available."

Internode customers will have unmetered access to the servers (as they do with current games.on.net servers), but of course other ISP's customers are still able to access them.

Included in the deal is the ability to rent local servers directly from GameServers.com and have them hosted by Internode.

Server Administrator for games.on.net Matt Lyons said: "This partnership between games.on.net and GameServers.com is a win for everybody, especially the Australian gaming public. By working with GameServers.com we are able to provide Call of Duty: Black Ops servers free to the public and accessible Australia-wide. This will ensure rock solid performance for both GameServers.com and Internode customers."

As a PC gamer, sorely hurt by no dedicated servers - this is good news. Hopefully it's a change for the better and something that becomes useful even for the console crowd. We may have 1TB plans and 24mbit ADSL now, but without great local servers and support from ISP's like Internode, it's all not worth it for gamers.

P.S - I hope you enjoy my mad MS paint skills. Comment on how much you love them below.

One of the reasons I steer clear of shooters on the console is that I am a mouse and keyboard man. I prefer shooters on my PC, but there are some PC games that are best suited to a gamepad or a joystick. Any gamer who has tried to play a racing sim or a flight sim will tell you the mouse and keyboard are not best for those types of games.

Fans of Xbox Live are soon going to have to dig a little deeper into their pockets to continue playing online. Starting November 1st, Xbox live is getting its first price increase in its eight year history.

Years back when Sony launched the PS3 one executive made the prediction that the PS4 would probably not have a physical drive for disc games like the current PS3. After the massive fail that was the PSP Go and its download only catalog Sony has rightfully rethought the download only market.

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Sony's Kaz Hirai has stated that the PS4 will have an optical drive and support physical media. He told MCV, "We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn't as robust as one would hope." Hirai continued saying, "There's always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium. To think everything will be downloaded in two years, three years or even ten years from now is taking it a little bit to the extreme."

The PS4 isn't expected until 2016 and a lot can change in that time. Last year nearly half of all video games sold were download titles. The download market is growing, but many gamers will still want support for physical media. I know I am glad that the future console won't be download only.

Both AMD and Intel have been talking about new CPU/GPU combination processors for a long time. When we first heard of the combination processors chipmakers were predicting that they would be the end of the discrete GPU. Whether that will play out remains to be seen, but I doubt it. We would have expected the first CPU/GPU hybrid to come from Intel or AMD, but Microsoft has beaten both to the punch.

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Microsoft's Xbox 360 team unveiled the new SoC that will power the coming slim Xbox 360 250GB gaming console. The SoC is built by Global Foundries on the 45nm process and combines the GPU and the CPU onto one chip. The goal Microsoft had in mind was making the construction of the gaming console cheaper in an effort to eek all the profit it could out of the console.

Benefits for the gamer looking to buy a new Xbox 360 is that the SoC is more power efficient and more importantly allows that massive power brick the Xbox 360 uses to go on a diet. Less power needed will also mean the console should run cooler, which is a big deal if you cram your console into an entertainment center. Microsoft apparently had to add in a system that reduced the performance of the SoC to keep the new console inline performance wise with older systems. The new SoC uses 60% less power than the original console that debuted back in 2005.