Gaming

A mere two-plus months since we were let in on plans for a Gizmondo app store, our favorite (well, second favorite) character in this epic tale of doomed handheld game systems and fiery car wrecks is back with yet another chapter, this one in the form of a Socratic dialog between Carl Freer and journalist Hans Sandberg. Apparently, the global economic downturn has made otherwise cautious investors even more cautious, prompting Freer & Co. to comb the streets of Shenzhen’s Special Economic Zone in search of a new manufacturer — a move which further complicated things by necessitating a major hardware redesign. The goal? Nothing less than a truly renegade, “truly wireless pocket PC, one that also happens to have a gaming engine,” with current plans calling for both a Windows CE and an Android version. The present status of this tragic farce? No new Gizmondos for 2008, we’re afraid. But we’re guessing that you weren’t really holding your breath anyways.

Think that bundled Rock Band / High School Musical Sing It! mic is totally weak sauce? Ready to drop $79.99 in order to prove it? If so, have a gander at Logitech’s latest, the Cordless Vantage Microphone. Crafted to work with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 consoles, this AA (x2) powered device comes with a USB receiver and stand and supports a handful of titles including Boogie, American Idol Encore and the games we mentioned at the top. It’ll be available this December, just in time for you to succumb to high prices for the sake of having something to shove under the tree.

You know how it goes with Sony and PS3-related peripherals. A big introduction, followed by a slight delay, followed by a longer delay, followed by a little something to take the sting off. Here we have word from Noam Rimon, senior development manager at SCEA R&D, that the news-blasting (and uncomfortably named) Life with PlayStation will once again be delayed. According to Noam, Sony is “still pushing some paperwork” on the service, though he gave no expected time frame for the actual launch. Nevertheless, he softened the blow by announcing once and for all that it will indeed be free (and accessible directly from the XMB) whenever it finally goes live. Gotta take the good with the bad, we guess.

Japan’s Nikkei is reporting what we’ve been hearing Stateside for weeks: Xbox 360 price cuts across the board. Expected to go official sometime later today, the Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade will drop to just ¥19,800 or about $182 (tax inclusive, presumably) in hopes of boosting sales. The new pricing represents a near 30% drop from its previous ¥27,800 (about $256) price and undercuts the Wii sold locally for ¥25,000. Nikkei’s sources also claim that Microsoft will cut the prices on all three Xbox 360 models without going into specifics. If true then this bodes well for the US price cuts expected on September 7th.

Update: It’s official. Microsoft also announced a new ¥29,800 (about $277) price for the Xbox 360 with 60GB hard disk while the top-end Elite will now sell for ¥39,800 (about $369). The new prices go into effect on September 11th.

You know how it goes with Sony and PS3-related peripherals. A big introduction, followed by a slight delay, followed by a longer delay, followed by a little something to take the sting off. Here we have word from Noam Rimon, senior development manager at SCEA R&D, that the news-blasting (and uncomfortably named) Life with PlayStation will once again be delayed. According to Noam, Sony is “still pushing some paperwork” on the service, though he gave no expected time frame for the actual launch. Nevertheless, he softened the blow by announcing once and for all that it will indeed be free (and accessible directly from the XMB) whenever it finally goes live. Gotta take the good with the bad, we guess.

For better or worse, it looks like the so-called iControlPad is edging closer to reality — or at least something really similar. According to a new image (and our limited Spanish translation skills), Belkin is actually looking to produce an App Store gaming controller, though we’re still not entirely convinced that what we’re seeing is legitimate. Whatever the case, the JoyPod would somehow, someway provide users who purchased Super Monkey Ball to play it using a bona fide game pad, though we can’t figure out if the iPod touch / iPhone slips in behind the controller or if it just morphs to fit the JoyPod’s space constraints. Guess we’ll see (or not) soon enough.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Remember that fad where everyone had dining room tables of their favorite Disney character? Or the age in the 70s where tables were shaped like lava lamps? No? At any rate, the modders over at SCAD Inc. have spent all summer crafting a fully-functional Super Nintendo controller-table, which reminds us an awful lot of the fully-functional NES controller-table we saw in May of this year. So, which geek is gonna take on the N64 controller table? Or better yet, the Virtual Boy?

Be honest here, GoLive2’s Stix didn’t stand a chance at being taken seriously, and even when one reviewer attempted to have fun with the unashamed Wiimote knockoff, he failed epically. The Stix 200 looks strikingly like Nintendo’s accelerometer-packin’ controller, though this 2D-only rip was seen as “a set of slightly unresponsive, highly inconvenient arrow keys” rather than an exciting new controller. The PC games that can be played with the device are equally dreadful, and while the 3D-capable Stix 400 might be able to make up for some of the 200’s shortcomings, we can’t wholeheartedly say it’s even worth the effort to check out after reading this review.

[Thanks, Robert]

Although netbooks seem to be all the rage right now, there’s still a lot of demand out there for laptops that are only able to be labeled as such due to their design. Take a look at Paul’s question as he attempts to locate the best desktop replacement on the market today.

“I am currently looking to replace my desktop PC with a high spec laptop. Portability isn’t a concern as it will spend most of its life on a desk. Here are a couple of things I am looking for: biggest screen possible, plenty of HDD space, plenty of RAM, and plenty of GHzs. Cheaper is better, but my budget is up to around $3,000.”

This fellow didn’t specifically mention gaming as a concern, but we’ll go ahead and assume he’s not buying a 9 pound laptop to tinker on Minesweeper all day. So, what’s the preferred laptop that weighs more than some mini-towers? And what’s a question that’s been on your mind?

Love your Wii but tiring of your standard control options? Looking for something that involves less arm swinging, feels a little bit more like an Xbox or PS3 experience, and loses that Classic Controller cable? Well the folks from Nyko are here for you, and they want to hold you all night long… and they brought the Wing. What’s the Wing you ask? It’s essentially a standard gamepad on highly concentrated crack-cocaine. The wireless controller features two analog sticks and a plethora of buttons (both up front and around the back), and can run for around 30 hours on a pair of AAA batteries. No word on price or release date, but if you notice a sudden crime wave and rash of unexplained fires, the Wing is probably out.