Peripherals - Page 22

The well-known brand of arcade sticks and accessories, Mad Catz, is facing some severe financial struggles which may result in closure, GameSpot says.

Failing to meet a monthly fail-safe target as set by it's credit lender, Wells Fargo, Mad Catz warned its investors of an unclear future. Wells Fargo waived this violation on June 23, opening a new agreement which will be upheld until July 31, 2016. Reportedly losing money over the last three years, Mad Catz stated that it will need "significant contributions from anticipated sales of products related to the Rock Band 4 video game" in order to continue operating.

With Rock Band 4 set to be the make or break for Mad Catz, the stakes are high but the hopes are not, with it explained that all of this uncertainty raises "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." Speaking to Game Informer, Mad Catz announced a $20 million loan initially, set for a possible increase to $35 million from September, all to ensure a smooth Rock Band 4 launch.

Featuring a 32-bit ARM based CPU coupled with 512kb of flash memory, EASARS' RGB mechanical keyboard packs a 1,000 Hz polling rate, a gold-plated USB connection, no ghosting and a 16 million color RGB LED backlight.

In addition to these features are mechanical switches rated at 50 million clicks, however, there is no mention if these keys are Cherry or another brand. Self-claimed as a lightweight design, this keyboard offers a tenkeyless design - doing away with the numpad for a smaller package.

Keys can be remapped in EASARS' 'flare' software, also controlled through the profile switch on the keyboard - enabling you to scroll through five pre-set profiles in total.

E3 2015 - Gaming peripheral and hardware company Razer has introduced the Razer Mamba, the most advanced gaming mouse in the world.

The mouse has a new 5G laser sensor that can track up to 16,000 DPI, and is being promoted by Razer as the most precise laser sensor in the world. In addition, the Razer Mamba has the Adjustable Click Force Technology, so each individual player can adjust the level of click force needed on the left and right mouse buttons.

The Razer Mamba will be available during Q3 with a $149.99 MSRP.

E3 2015 - Microsoft has just announced the new Elite Controller for the Xbox One, a new modular, remapable, customizable controller that Microsoft has slapped a $150 price on. At the end of the day, it's a normal Xbox One controller, but with some serious tweaks.

The Elite Controller features a 3.5mm jack in place of the proprietary input, with beautiful curves, tweaks and more. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that the new Elite Controller is "an elite controller for the elite gamer". Gamers can tweak and customize the controller as they want, sporting a hairless trigger that locks, providing gamers with more precise control in shooters on the Xbox One. Not only that, but there's a textured rolling pad in place of the D-pad, and bumpers.

But, if you didn't like the fact that the textured rolling pad replaced the D-pad, you can remove it and install the D-pad thanks to the customizability of the Elite Controller. The stainless steel paddle buttons are completely removable, with gamers having full control of the thumbstick sensitivity, where they can tweak the minimum and maximum levels of the top triggers to their liking.

Computex 2015 - One of the devices I wanted to use at Computex 2015 the most was the just-announced Lapdog, an accessory for your lap that houses a Corsair keyboard and mouse.

Underneath Lapdog is a considerable amount of padding and foam that makes it comfortable to sit on your legs, but I did find a few issues with this prototype - keep in mind, this isn't the final design. There's no room for your wrists on both sides (keyboard and mouse) and there's no vertical wiggle room for the mouse.

The top of the Lapdog houses a bunch of the cabling from the mouse and keyboard, which is something Corsair will be fixing in the new prototype. But, how did it feel to game on it? In a word: awesome. I was able to sit back on the couch and play Grand Theft Auto V on a 65-inch 4K TV without a problem, where I was far more comfortable than sitting at my desk.

After teasing the Steam Controller for the last couple of years, with a few different iterations, Valve has finally introduced the Steam Controller. The company will be pushing out a very limited quantity of these drives on October 16 for those who pre-order now. The full release of the Steam Controller is November 10.

The video above is a good way of showing off what to expect from the Steam Controller, where Valve promises that it will be a blend of the traditional controller, and the prevision of a mouse. The front of the Steam Controller has two large circular control areas, and an analogue control stick. It also features twin haptic feedback reactors, too. Round back, we have trigger buttons with both analogue pull and a digital switch.

Valve is selling the Steam Controller for $49, with the promise of up to 80 hours of gameplay from a pair of AA batteries, and a 5-meter range from your PC.

Computex 2015 - After first reporting about the G.SKILL Ripjaws gaming keyboards, TweakTown got up close and personal with the new gaming peripherals.

Here is the G.SKILL Ripjaws KM780 RGB up close:

The keyboard has two different light colors, and the keyboard has been designed with durability and practicality in mind while providing an enhanced gaming experience.

Computex 2015 - We broke news recently of ASUS releasing a new Republic Of Gamers (ROG) series of keyboards and mice and now we've headed down on the ground in Taipei to check them out.

Pictured here is the Spatha wireless and wired gaming mouse designed with MMO games in mind, the Gladius gaming mouse and the Sica compact mouse designed for both left and right handed gamers.

ASUS does something a little different from the rest, allowing you to take a look inside its mouse to see exactly how it works alongside providing a few Omron mouse switch examples for inspection.

Computex 2015 - G.SKILL has launched its Ripjaws line of gaming peripherals, which includes a mechanical keyboard, gaming mouse, and 7.1 surround sound headset.

The Ripjaws KM780 RGB and KM780 MX mechanical gaming keyboards are designed to withstand continued gaming, and have onboard memory so customized keyboard settings can be saved. Up to three independent modes of settings can be saved on the keyboard, with Mode hotkeys allowing for easy switching between profiles. Each hotkey allows for independent lighting patterns, macro setup, timer setting, key delay and repeat rate, polling rate, and other settings.

The MX780 RGB gaming mouse is designed for right-handed or left-handed gamers, powered by a 32-bit ARM processor - and an Avago laser sensor. The 8200 dpi mouse with eight fully programmable buttons supports a 1000Hz polling rate, and can support up to five individual profiles.

Patriot has launched its Viper line of gaming peripherals, featuring two mice, a gaming headset and a mechanical keyboard.

The V760 Viper keyboard features full spectrum LED, anti-ghosting and a 16.8 million color rate, while providing customization for each gamer. In addition, Patriot included six programmable macro keys and 12 multimedia keys that can be customized for your RPG and FPS gaming needs.

The V530 is a mid-range gaming mouse that offers up to 5000 DPI with optical lens, and could make for a perfect backup gaming mouse. Meanwhile, the V560 mouse supports 8200 DPI and is a weighted mouse that utilizes ceramic foot pads for better gliding.

Computex 2015 - Corsair continues its huge Computex 2015 push with the new STRAFE mechanical gaming keyboard, which offers up gamers "unmatched lighting customization" and Cherry MX switches that are found in Corsair's RGB keyboards.

With the STRAFE, Corsair says that it "has created the most advanced mono-backlit mechanical gaming keyboard available" with a sleek new industrial design, Corsair will make the STRAFE available later this month with an MSRP of $109.99. The STRAFE features beautiful red backlighting, with an unlimited number of lighting configurations and effects. Here's a full list of what to expect with STRAFE:

Computex 2015 - Corsair just took the wraps off of its new Bulldog DIY PC, but what better way to use it in your living room than with a portable gaming control center? Enter the Lapdog.

Corsair's new Lapdog is a portable mouse and keyboard that "brings the precision of desktop gaming to the living room", offering up a large mouse mat and keyboard dock that is compatible with Corsair's mechanical gaming keyboards. It's all a wired system so you don't run into battery problems, with a large 7x11 inch mouse mat area and keyboard dock.

There's also a powered USB hub for your keyboard, mouse, headset, game controllers and USB flash drivers. Underneath the Lapdog is a memory foam cushion for ultra comfort when using the Lapdog in your living room. All of this will be offered to consumers for $89 as a standalone unit, or $199 with a keyboard.

Computex 2015 - ASUS has added two more peripherals to its growing list of Republic of Gamers products with the new ROG Spatha and ROG Claymore.

The ASUS ROG Claymore is a new Cherry MX based keyboard with RGB switches which are individually customized backlit keys, offering 16.8 million colors. ASUS has provided N-key rollover, and a passthrough USB 3.1 port. There's also a detachable macro keyboard which allows for a fully custom setup.

Moving onto the ASUS ROG Spatha is an MMO mouse with 12 buttons and wired/wireless modes with a magnesium alloy chassis. We have an 8200DPI laser sensor with 30g acceleration and a 2000Hz polling rate. It features an exclusive customizable socket design which looks super slick, and customizable 16.8 million color light effects.

After the RazerStore grand opening in the Syntrend Mall in Taipei was shut down due to overcrowding and safety concerns, Razer announced a change in their give away policy for upcoming days, stating that members of the public should come dressed in Razer promotional gear or products in order to win further free things.

A person with information on the matter and who was present on the initial release day spoke to us about their account of what happened, claiming that the reason Razer changed up this policy was not only to entice users to proudly display their Razer logo to the rest of the audience, but because many of the over-crowding issues derived from non-gamers and people not interested in the company, but random members of the public of whom wished to score a free treat.

Due to this being no where near part of their target audience, after the shut down Razer re-focused their plan and announced that "the Razer community team on location plans to issue swag on a discretionary basis, honoring fans who come equipped with Razer gear, such as Razer Kraken headphones, shirts, bags and the likes" as seen in the latest issued press release.

Thanks to Razer's massive fan-base, hundreds of fans flocked to the opening of the RazerStore in the Syntrend Mall in Taipei, Taiwan. Due to so many people turning up, the mall management ordered Razer to suspend its launch activities including give-aways of promotional materials and some peripherals.

In order to appease fans, Razer has offered free Nabu X wearables to the first 250 attendees of each day on the 16th and 17th of May, announcing that the store will be open at normal business hours from 11am until 10pm on these days.

In the future fans can also enter in the running to win special promotional bags if they attend this event wearing Razer merchandising or products on their person while special events are taking place.

You're probably pretty confused by the title, but that's ok. There's three main ways of holding a computer mouse - these being the palm, claw and fingertip grips.

In this very useful graphic released by the French ASUS Republic of Gamers, you can help identify exactly what type of grip style suits you best.

Why does it matter? Many different mice are made for certain grip styles and hand sizes. If you're looking at a fingertip or claw grip, something like the smaller-sized SteelSeries Kinzu would suit you better than Logitech's good old faithful MX518 which is more suitable for a palm grip.

Considered the 'king of keys' when it comes to mechanical offerings, Cherry have just announced the release of their new MX Board 6.0, featuring their latest and most refined switches - self-named as RealKey Technology.

Including 100% N-key rollover, this RealKey Technology utilizes high bandwidth USB 3.0 connections to reduce keyboard latency, making key presses register quicker - don't be fooled however, this will not make you better at any computer game.

This keyboard is aimed at professional typists, software developers and gamers alike, providing a standard 102-keyset, macros and a red backlight. The MX Board 6.0 features a metal frame and a magnetically-attached wrist-rest.

CES 2015 - Min-Liang Tan, Razer's CEO has spoken up. According to him "we fucked up. I fucked up. The codes we sent out for the CES Appreciation Sale were reversed - i.e. the Blade codes were for peripherals and the Peripherals codes were for the Blades."

If you're still wanting to purchase an in-stock item for yourself, the big wig recommends that you "flip the codes (if you had noted them down before the sale started" and go for your life.

However many end users aren't satisfied, commenting on Razer's share of Tan's post - "[I] Waited 3 days resulting with lack of sleep. Both insider and store crashed, stock run out of within minutes, mixed up codes, page did not load, server's wasn't able to handle load of customers. In short, big blunder... It's nice to acknowledge the mistake hopefully the remedial will make it up to the disappointed fans and customers. Hopefully this don't happen with the remedial, I don't wanna wait for 3 days again with minimal sleep and ended up with nothing. Or else it might be time to consider switching products. Sadly but true and I'm sure I'm not the only person with this mindset right now. I still have faith in Razer I hope you guys will be able to make it up to the fans."

CES 2015 - Sixense is one of the companies in the industry that I'm most excited to see succeed, they worked with Razer on the Hydra motion controller, something I used when I played HLVR with the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra. But Sixense have been working on the STEM system for quite a while now, and we're beginning to see them get closer to the finish line.

We met up with the great guys at Sixense, including Amir Rubin who is such a great guy and super intelligent. He walked me through the changes that the STEM system is still going through, improving each month with its internal component slowly getting smaller and smaller, as well as more efficient.

You don't know how much fun it is using the STEM system, shooting guns like they're right there in the VR world, or using a lightsaber. Totally, totally fun.

CES 2015 - Rapoo sub-brand VPRO has used CES 2015 as their launching platform for their new mechanical keyboard offerings - the V700 and V800.

Unfortunately there is no mention in their recently issued press release if they are Cherry MX mechanical switches or not, but either way these new products are worth a look at. Set for shipment in Spring 2015, the V700 keyboard claims 50 g of operating force and 2mm of key travel distance needed to function - this seems to hint that something like Cherry MX Black keys are being used within.

Alongside this key configuration, the V700 offers 106 out of 108 of the keys as fully programmable through their 32-bit ARM core processor labeled as their "VPOWER3 Gaming Chip." Expect this board to last an extended 60 million keystrokes and feature no backlighting options.