Hasta La Gadget!

In the market for a serious portable gaming machine? While you might have your eyes set on Nvidia’s upcoming Project Shield, here’s a very capable system you can buy right now. The JXD S7300 HD Gamepad2 is a power-packed portable that’s ideal for playing both retro emulated games and today’s latest Android titles.

The just-released Android 4.1.1-based handheld offers dual, true analog sticks, a real D-pad, dual shoulder buttons, Start, Select and ABXY face buttons, so it’s perfect for controlling just about any game you can throw at it. It’s got an ample 7-inch 1024×600 display, which also supports 5-finger multitouch. It’s also got the requisite 3-axis motion sensors for games that depend on those controls. It includes software for mapping buttons and joysticks to your Android touchscreen games as well. Dimensions for the handheld are 9.5″(W) x 4.77″(H) x 0.56″(D) – about the size (but not the thickness) of the Wii U GamePad, and it weighs 0.90 pounds – about mid-way between the weight of an iPad Mini and an iPad 4.

It comes pre-loaded with full-speed emulators for the original Sony PlayStation, Neo-Geo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, NES (Famicom), Super Nintendo (Super Famicom), Sega Genesis (Mega Drive), and Capcom CPS1/CPS2 systems. But since it’s running Android, it’s easy to add more emulators, like MAME4droid. It even comes with Superuser pre-installed, so you can root the system in seconds and install pretty much anything you want on it.

Under the hood is an Amlogic MX dual-core chipset (Cortex A9 CPU, ARM mali400 GPU), running at 1.5GHz, and 1GB of system RAM. Connectivity is 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and “external connection to Ethernet and 3G” whatever that means – presumably via its USB 2.0 port. It’s unclear if it supports Bluetooth though. And while it can’t wirelessly send content to your HDTV, it does have an HDMI output, so you can mirror its display to your big screen in full 1080p resolution. It’s even got a small 0.3MP user-facing camera for video chats, and true stereo speakers. You can check out all the detailed system info below (the 976×600 screen resolution reported is because AnTuTu doesn’t take into account the height of the title bar.)

Here’s a video showing the system emulating the N64 classic Super Mario 64 at a buttery-smooth frame rate:

And if you’d like to play something more modern, how about Shadowgun – with physical joysticks and buttons?

The guys over at WillGoo are now stocking the JXD S7300, where it sells for $165.99(USD), or you can grab a bundle with a 32GB SD card for $186.99. Currently, the white model is sold out, but you can still get one in black (though it has a textured finish unlike the white one.) You can also pick up a pair of them for just $299.99, which might be cool since the system supports local Wi-Fi multiplayer.

Seems like this thing is pretty loaded for the price, never mind the fact that it works as a full Android Jelly Bean device, complete with web browsing, media playback, apps, etc. If you decide to buy one, there’s already a good discussion board for the JXD S7300 going on over at Dingoonity, so you can find out the scoop from others who have purchased or who are interested in the handheld.

Nintendo has promised a new Zelda title, specially written for the Wii U, though eager gamers will have to wait until after the Wii U version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has been released. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is due this fall, and will see all-new graphics thanks to the extra visual grunt the Wii U puts under your TV. However, it’s the brand new Zelda game that has enthusiasts really keen.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that the new Zelda was still too early in the production process to be previewed in today’s webcast, and so there was no footage from the game. Speaking of the ethos of the title, however, there were suggestions that it would support a multiplayer mode, as well as free-form roaming around the landscape rather than necessarily completing challenges in order.

However, the chief exec was a little more talkative about The Wind Waker HD, which will see more than just a graphics update. In addition to the new visuals, Nintendo will “tune up” the game’s experience all-round, it says, as well as introduce Miiverse support.

Finally, there’ll be explicit GamePad support, allowing players to pull the title off the TV and play it solely on the Wii U’s tablet-style controller.

The new Legend of Zelda game isn’t the only classic to be resurrected for the Wii U. Nintendo also confirmed today that it would be releasing a new Yoshi game, the first in many years, for the motion-gaming console, putting the character in a 3D environment. Meanwhile, there’ll also be a new Mario Kart.

Nintendo: Zelda for Wii U coming, plus Wind Waker HD this fall is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the folks at Microsoft have revealed a feature that should very well have been part of the ecosystem all along: the Xbox Live account migration tool. This process allows you to port your Xbox Live account from place to place with minimal hassle – that’s country-to-country, mind you. The pieces of this puzzle you can always take with you are different from those that cannot move region to region – this being the reason why the tool has taken so long to develop.

What you’re able to bring with you region to region is your Xbox LIVE profile, this including gamerscore and unlocked achievements galore. You can bring along time you’ve got left on your Gold membership as well as any Microsoft Points you’ve got saved up. The rest is really up to the region you’re headed to. The following items may not (and most likely wont) be able to move with you:

1. Some services you use now might not be available in your new region. To find info about services, like TV providers, available in a specific region, visit the Xbox.com website for that region. (To find that other region’s website, click the name of your current region at the bottom of any Xbox.com page.)

2. Xbox Music subscriptions can’t be moved. If you have a current Xbox Music subscription, it will be cancelled as part of the move. Any subscription time remaining can’t be refunded.

3. Some content may be blocked in the new region because of legal obligations or regional restrictions. Before you change your region, make sure you’ve downloaded any purchased content you want to keep, like movies or music. Content purchases aren’t refundable.

This information comes from Microsoft itself, and a full Region Change Overview can be found as well if you’ve got some really, really specific questions or concerns. Some of the odd rules here include a limit of 1 region change every 3 months and the fact that you can change a child’s account’s region with a parent’s account staying in the original region so long as the parent signs region change agreements on the child’s behalf.

You’ll be agreeing to a statement such as this: “Clicking ‘I Accept’ means that you have read and understood the effect of moving your account, including the pre-requisites and restrictions, as listed on the Region Change Support Page and have read and agree to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Privacy Statement” and it’ll all be really, really simple from top to bottom to get from one place to another. If you’ve got lots of purchased content, you might want to think twice about moving.

This tool is live for all right this minute, so if you’re about to hit the runway, get prepped at once! Head over to Account Migration at the Xbox LIVE webspace and make it happen! Also have a peek at the timeline below to keep up to date on recent Xbox Live goings-on here on SlashGear.

[via Major Nelson]

Xbox Live account migration tool nutshells the process is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nintendo plans to merge its handheld and console gaming units into one division to create next generation hardware “that will turn heads,” according to Nikkei. It’s reporting that the gaming outfit is feeling the heat from tablet and smartphone gaming (and likely upstart outfits like Ouya, too) so is looking to speed up the development cycle and increase product interoperability. That’s why it’s allegedly bringing the brain power from all its divisions together to inaugurate the unified division by February 16th of this year — transferring in 130 console and 150 handheld engineers, to start. Nikkei said it’ll house the new team in a $340 million facility next to its Kyoto HQ that’ll be completed by the end of the year, seeing it as “a hotbed of new ideas.” All this comes on the heels of tepid launches of the Wii U console and Nintendo 3DS gamepad — making a shakeup none too shocking, if true.

Update: We contacted Nintendo, who confirmed by email that the report is, indeed, accurate.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: IGN

Source: Nikkei (subscription)

The Android-powered game controller that arrived to take on OUYA we mentioned last week, has apparently been pulled from the Kickstarter campaign. The project received some much deserved attention and reached the $100,000 goal in the first 30 hours, but now they’re having a few setbacks.

According to an email being sent out by the Kickstarter support, the GameStick campaign has been completely removed. Their Kickstarter page is no longer accessible for users and those who’ve helped fund the project are being greeted with a message stating it “is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and currently unavailable.”

IP disputes are nothing new in the world of Android. Just ask those folks from Samsung, HTC, and many many others. The Kickstarter email goes as far as to say if they aren’t able to repost in the next 30 days the project could be canceled altogether. For those hopeful for a $79 Android gaming console don’t worry though, as we have good news.

Our friends from Android Community received word that the project is experiencing a very small hiccup, and will be back shortly. The folks behind the GameStick, PlayJam, have apparently confirmed the product isn’t experiencing a IP dispute and instead a small part of their demo video is the cause. PlayJam is currently editing that out as we speak and should be back shortly. Have no fear folks, the project should be returning soon.

Update: And it’s back. That didn’t take long. The IP dispute has apparently been cleared and the project is back. Move along folks.

GameStick Kickstarter removed for IP dispute – will return soon [Update] is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.