At its Leipzig Games Convention press conference today, Sony unveiled a wireless keypad peripheral that attaches to the top of the PlayStation 3 controller (presumably into the mini-USB port). The keypad also features a "touchpad mode" for mouse input. Pricing was not revealed, but the device will be released in 8 different languages.
It's worth noting that MadCatz released an attachable thumbpad for PS3 in April 2007.
Update: Added official keypad images (see gallery below). Does this thing double as a codpiece?
PlayStation.Blog clarifies that the Wireless Kepad includes a mode that turns the key area into a touchpad, allowing users to control an on-screen cursor with their fingertips, tapping to activate a link. The keypad also features two short-cut buttons, enabling quick access to the XMB's "Friends" icon and the "Message Box." The pad also can be paired with other Bluetooth devices (e.g., a smart phone) and will be released in late November.
SCE London was on hand at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival to show off two new EyeToy games that take advantage of a newfound ability to track specific colors and – as excited as we are about EyeToy: Pom-Pom Party (we don't know what it is) – it's EyeToy: Hero that we're really here to talk about. You see, the first-person game not only comes with a "real toy sword," it promises 1:1 swordplay with that sword by tracking its fluorescent-green foam.
You can use the sword to block enemy attacks, light your way in dark areas, and of course to attack. You'll even have to hide your sword behind your back in those dark areas if you want to avoid detection. Clever! The technology may sound like magic, but it's not without its limitations. Compared to Nintendo's new Wii MotionPlus upgrade, the 1:1 EyeToy tech is limited to two dimensions, has difficulty picking up subtle movements, and probably won't work in the dim light of your parent's basement. You can hit up some more pics and a full rundown of the presentation by clicking on that Source link.
There's a part of us that wants to compare The Ant Commandos' Illuminated Drumsticks to one of those ridiculously absurd Wiimote attachments; however, there's something stopping us. It's just ... it's just ... these are drumsticks that glow when you hit them on the drum pad. Come on, that's awesome!
At $20 the price is a bit silly, but then again, so is the whole concept. We're sure that under the right chemical conditioning these things will add a whole new level of glee to drumming. There's a horrible video after the break to see how it works.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently had a little chit-chat with the Wall Street Journal, letting it know that his company's plethora of purchasable peripherals polluting shelves could possibly slow down. The WSJ points out that Nintendo recently unveiled the Wii Motion Plus and Wii Speak to go with its other pieces of plastic, ready to fill a landfill near you, like Wii Fit, Wii Zapper and the Wii Wheel. Iwata states that the accessories the company originally had planned for the Wii are all out now, but that doesn't mean it's going to stop ... it just currently doesn't have plans to release many more.
Iwata also covers some other items briefly, saying that the company plans to offer the Wii Motion Plus "for as little as possible." Considering it'll be necessary for games like Wii Sports Resort and the absurd amount of money the company is currently making, that seems like a reasonable thing to do.
Are you one of the dozens and dozens of British citizens that wants a Wii Balance Board to play games like Skate It! or Rayman: Raving Rabbids TV Party, but also doesn't want to pay extra for the included Wii Fit game? Well you're in luck! According to a recent Amazon listing, the Njoy G-Board Balance Board will only set you back £64.99 -- a full five pounds less than the £69.99 Wii Fit package. And who needs Wii Fit's virtual personal trainer when you can look down at the G-Board's stylish LCD weight display to see just how unfit you really are?
Seriously, the one advantage Njoy's Board might have over the Wii Fit bundle is availability -- as of this writing, the game's short supply has inflated the package price to £102.99 and up on Amazon's marketplace. Penny-pinching balancers can look for their G-Board's on Sept. 12.
In an effort to create more realistic fake instruments, Logitech is partnering with Activision on a line of "premium" peripherals for the latter's upcomingGuitar Hero World Tour. Multiple products are in development, although Logitech would not comment on exactly what they are, confirming only that the first of them will hit this year. Given that it already has the market cornered on USB microphones (nearly every music game's mic is made by Logitech) we're guessing all educated-like that guitars and drums are the core of the lineup. Also, while this news is obviously geared toward hyping World Tour, we're looking into potential Rock Band compatibility for the products.
The peripherals are being designed to work with every platform Guitar Hero World Tour is launching on, specifically PS3, 360, Wii, and PS2. Logitech gaming devices VP Bruce Lancaster likens this move to the one the company made with steering wheels for Gran Turismo, saying, "A few years ago, Logitech refined the consumer steering wheel market with high-end controllers that enhance racing games. Now we are looking forward to elevating the market for premium music-based video game controllers in a similar fashion." Here's hoping that one of the "premium" drumkit features is a steel kick pedal like the one used by our house band, the Blueberry Muffintops. What would you like to see?
Now that E3 is over and the secret's out, middleware maker and Wii MotionPlus co-developer AiLive is openly touting what its LiveMove 2 toolset is capable of when paired with Nintendo's upcoming add-on. The above video is meant to encourage developers to adopt LiveMove 2 for creating their MotionPlus-enabled games (they can use all the help they can get, considering they didn't find out about the Wii remote upgrade until we did) but, more than anything, it's encouraging us to dream of a 1:1 lightsaber fighting game.
We bring that up because a good chunk of the video is devoted to showing one of AiLive's staff playing around with a "laser sword," demonstrating how it captures every subtle movement of the remote – the footage even shows how an on-screen "dummy" can be clocked with the sword's hilt. Impressive stuff, and we desperately hope LucasArts is taking notice.
In a lengthy interview with GameDaily BIZ, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos offered his thoughts on air drumming – the preferred form of percussive input in Nintendo's Wii Music, skillfully demonstrated above by a professional – and explained why Harmonix felt the need for an actual drum peripheral on the Wii. After considering using the Wiimote in an air drumming capacity, Rigopulos says, "We backed away from it because we found that the tactile element of actually hitting a surface when you're drumming is a fairly critical part to the visceral feel of actually playing drums." So, with air drumming, you're missing "a critical element ... in the experience."
Not much of a surprise coming from the head of a company currently shipping a giant, plastic drum kit, sure, but we were surprised to learn air drumming was ever even under consideration at Chez Harmonix.
During E3 we spoke with third-party peripheral manufacturer Nyko about its line of FrontMan guitars and which games the different versions were compatible with. We did a quick and dirty post on what we were told during the E3 madness, but Nyko just sent over the chart above, which, admittedly, is much easier to understand.
You make your way down the hallway in City 17, and push open the door into the bright sunlight reflected off of concrete. A Combine soldier stands before you, so you life your semiautomatic weapon, and as you pull the trigger and fire, the gun recoils in your hand. Another Combine stands across the viaduct, and when he fires at you, you feel the bullet strike you from the left, so you turn, and feel the gun jump in your hand again as you take him out.
That's the ideal experience with Novint's Falcon controller. The controller itself is about an eight inch orb that sits on your table, with a three-inch sphere sitting on the end of three arms coming off of it -- like a Soviet satellite sticking out of the globe. The idea is that you push the little sphere around to move your cursor, and the three arms provide resistance against whatever you bump up against. We got to use the controller at E3, and the verdict is that while it does provide a nice experience, the costs might be a little overwhelming for most players. More after the jump.
In Eguchi's own words, Nintendo is "looking at whether or not it will be an attachment or built in," so a MotionPlus Wiimote is far from confirmed. Still, we certainly hope Nintendo never ceases production of the attachment altogether -- forcing a populous that scrambled to acquire the Wii's elusive controller last year to chase after a new Wiimote SKU could lead to an unforeseen, if not slightly ironic, revolution against the prosperous company.
Want a Zapper-type gun shell for your Wiimote but don't want to overpay for what basically amounts to a handle? Well ... you're basically out of luck. But if you want to overpay somewhat less than the usual too-high price, Amazon.com is offering CTA Digital's Wii Magnum Gun, a Perfect Shot ripoff, for $8.99 as their Deal of the Day.
If you're concerned about the quality of this plastic gun shell versus other plastic gun shells, just remember: seriously, it's a piece of plastic, and probably does just as good a job of being that as any other piece of plastic. Don't think our dismissal of their complexity means we don't recommend a gun shell; anything that gets you playing Ghost Squad is a good thing.
When (and we're talking hypotheticals) you're in a Capcom meeting room and there just happens to be a gigantic replica Bionic Commando arm lying about (with working claw), what else is there to do but put it on and crush Yoon's head? Jem Alexander had to face that tough choice in real life, and he kept a cool enough head to make the smart move.
Apparently, Bionic Commando producer (and voice of Phoenix Wright!) Ben Judd constructed this arm in his spare time ... when not working on Bionic Commando. It's amazing work (even if it doesn't shoot a grappling hook).
Plastic instrument rivalry news now, with Stephen Totilo of MTV Multiplayer confirming that the upcoming Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero: World Tourwill happily work with non-Guitar Hero peripherals – including those from Harmonix's first Rock Band game. The fate of Rock Band 2's instruments has yet to be decided – they haven't become available for testing just yet.
We're happy to see Activision tear down this wailing wall, even though we'll have to tweak our peripheral compatibility matrix for the umpteenth time. We're not quite sure how many an "ump" is, but we're thinking it's somewhere in the region of 119.
Nintendo has announced Wii Sports Resort, a sequel of sorts to the most popular title on the best selling console system this generation. It will include the previously announced Wii Motion Plus controller, and allow players to experience a fun "day at the beach" -- there will be a frisbee game, as well as a jetskiing experience, and a... sword dueling game?
Nintendo plans to replicate the success of Wii Sports and Wii Play, and throw in a new accessory with the pack as well. The game is set for a release in spring of next year.
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