Hasta La Gadget!

Coverage of Eedoo’s eBox has thus far largely focused on the China-only game console’s similarity to Microsoft’s Kinect. Perhaps seeking to shift in perception, the system this week was reintroduced to the world as the Apple-esque iSec — that’s short for “Sports Entertainment Center,” highlighting its exercise-centric approach to gaming, with martial arts, skateboarding, and good old-fashioned monster fighting titles having already been demoed. The console will also support wireless controllers of some sort, for those sick of all of that pesky exercise. After an initial delay, the iSec is set to hit China at some point in the second half of this year, though the company has no international sales plan — at least until they move one million units domestically. At the moment, the iSec doesn’t have much official competition, since the Wii, Xbox, and PS3 aren’t legally available in China, though we’re told that they’re also not too hard to get your hands on — for those who are still using their hands for stuff.

Lenovo-funded eBox gaming console renamed iSec, still can’t shake Kinect comparisons originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a “good news, bad news” kind of a day in Super Mario land, as Nintendo’s announcement of a Wii successor has been followed up with the delivery of the company’s financial results for fiscal year 2010, which don’t make for happy reading. Nintendo’s net sales of $12.4 billion for the period ending on March 31st 2011 was 29 percent less than it tallied during the previous year, while its $825 million of net profit was also a staggering 66 percent lower than it earned last year. The 3DS has sold well so far, reaching 3.61 million transactions worldwide, but the Wii is down to 15 million global sales, which marks a 25 percent contraction from its FY2009 total of 20 million. So the impetus for a hardware refresh of the Wii is clearly there, now it’s just a matter of waiting for E3 to find out exactly how Nintendo plans to go about it.

Nintendo sells 3.61 million 3DS handhelds, but sees 2010 net profit decline by 66 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As diligent as we are about keeping you abreast of absolutely every awesome new gadget that hits the market, every once in a while even we miss a real gem. Case in point: Arcade Forge’s SLG 3000 scanline generator, which gives your seemingly flawless HD display a throwback makeover. As the name suggests, the rather diminutive board acts as a middle man between your VGA compatible device and your TV, bringing back the sweet imperfections that marked early console gaming. The thing enlists a series of DIP switches and a potentiometer for setting scanlines and resolution to your specifications. You can land one of your own at the source link for €50. In the meantime, though, we suggest you check out the video after the break to see why we couldn’t bear to let this one get away — even if it is a few months old.

Continue reading SLG 3000 scanline generator brings grimy gaming to modern displays (video)

SLG 3000 scanline generator brings grimy gaming to modern displays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s plenty of folks that will sell you a so-called “consolized” Neo Geo MVS arcade system, but you won’t find many quite as impressive as this bit of kit from Analogue Interactive. Crafted from 100 percent real walnut, the console boasts a seamless design without any visible screws or nails, all the audio / video outputs you could want (for a Neo Geo, that is), and even some working dust flaps. Of course, it does come at a bit of a premium price — but $649 is actually the exact same price that SNK’s original Neo Geo AES home console sold for back in the day, and it was only made out of plastic. Check out the gallery below for a closer look, and hit up the source link below to get your order in if you like what you see — the first units are expected to ship early next month.

Analogue Interactive crafts a Neo Geo MVS from walnut, yours for $649 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you haven’t already seen our demo of the 3DS’ rather impressive bag of augmented reality tricks, then let us take this opportunity to show you — once again — why we’re excited about the thing’s AR capabilities. The folks over at software development firm Refactr have done some tinkering and found that all you need to make your very own 3DS AR card is a white board, some dry erase markers, and a projector. By tracing the outlines of that mysterious question mark card on to a shiny white surface, they found that conjuring the device’s AR interface is actually quite simple, and mostly a matter of contrast. Going big, in this case anyway, not only makes for a good time — as evidenced by the video below — but it should also put to rest any questions about whether or not these things are sprinkled with pixie dust, Juju powder, or some other magical substance.

Continue reading Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video)

Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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