Hasta La Gadget!

As a child of the 80s, I spent plenty of time in the arcade playing video games and continued that practice as long as there were arcades in the mall. One of the things that used to irritate me more than anything was when my favorite fighting game had a damaged joystick. There’s nothing worse than a junky joystick when you’re playing a fighting game. I miss the days of brawny joysticks for gaming, and if you do too, Razer has got your back with its latest offering.

Razer has unveiled the Atrox arcade stick – made specifically for the Xbox 360 console. This is a big and beefy controller with an actual Sanwa Denshi arcade-quality joystick, along with 10 Sanwa arcade buttons. The coolest part about the controller is that Razer has designed it to support the modding community.

Razer offers a template to allow you to print out your own custom artwork for the lid, and the top opens to reveal a storage compartment underneath. Inside that compartment the controls is an interchangeable bat-shaped handle for the joystick, a screwdriver, and a storage compartment for its detachable 13-foot-long USB cable.

You can also mod the controller and it has a special honeycomb system inside designed to make it easy to screw in additional hardware or accessories. The Atrox controller will ship worldwide this June for $199.99(USD).

Look out, MadCatz — Razer’s ready to add an Xbox 360 arcade stick to its peripheral lineup. The $200 Atrox should please serious button mashers, thanks to Sanwa-sourced controls and completely customizable parts. A total of 10 buttons sit alongside the joystick, and you’ll find storage compartments for an additional stick and the bundled 13-foot detachable USB cable under the lid. Fighting game enthusiasts can pre-order the Atrox beginning on May 21st from Razer’s online store, with global availability set for June — Japan’s lucky shores will see it this month. There’s no word on variations for other systems, but that may be the price to pay for the integrated Xbox Live headset jack. Catch a render of its internals and a press release after the break.

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Razer

The Delta Six gaming controller first hit Kickstarter last fall, but the plug was pulled from the crowdfunding effort by its creator David Kotkin, as he reckoned it wasn’t on track to generate enough support. With hardware and software refinements made over the last few months, the peripheral has just been relisted on Kickstarter. In case you need a refresher, the peripheral puts a premium on realism and motion-enabled gaming. Thanks to accelerometers, gyroscopes and buttons in odd places, users can do things such as bring up in-game sights by looking down the plastic rifle’s barrel, or steady their shot by pulling the faux weapon close to their arm.

Now, the campaign is asking $159 for controllers with black or white paint jobs and orange tips, as a second look at production costs indicated the project’s original $89 price tag was too low. This time around, the funding goal has been locked in at $100,000, instead of a cool half a million. As for internals, the shooter is toting an Arduino, which opens up the hardware to software updates and customization. Not only will the blaster work with PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii U, but it’s set to boast compatibility with next-gen consoles through an update, to boot. If the Delta Six reaches it fundraising mark, it’ll ship out to supporters in December. Check out our hands on with the contraption or head past the break for Kotkin’s video pitch.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

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Source: Kickstarter

You may recall back in March when we first talked about the Stinky Gaming Footboard. This device is a video game controller that is specifically made to allow you to use your feet for control input. The project was originally seeking $75,000 via Kickstarter to go into production. The company’s Kickstarter campaign wrapped up yesterday and officially raised $79,562, so it’s definitely being made now.

The Stinky Footboard features four buttons with screens that allow the user to adjust the resistance and more. It’s definitely an interesting way to control your favorite games.

During the fundraising effort, a pledge of $89 was enough to get you one of the Stinky Footboards. Shipping is estimated for July 2013. It’s important to keep in mind that ship date is estimated, as production delays are very frequent with Kickstarter projects.

A new image discovered by users from both Twitter and Reddit suggest that the Xbox 720 may be released as the “Xbox Infinity”. The image shows off the Xbox Infinity logo and it’s followed by the tagline, “Infinite entertainment. Infinite possibilities.” which compliments Microsoft’s efforts to make the Xbox more than just a gaming console. However, of course the leaked image has been received with much criticism, especially from Forbes, whose Microsoft source sent them a differently-styled Xbox logo.

According to Forbes, the image they received from their source reinforces rumors that the new Xbox may just be called Xbox. It would follow Apple’s naming system for its latest iPads. It wouldn’t be too surprising for Microsoft to do this, however the name would be a bit bland. Whether the new Xbox is called the Xbox Infinity, or Xbox, many people are just hoping that Microsoft doesn’t follow through with the Xbox 720 name.

Another rumor floating around suggests that the new Xbox controller will feature a touch element to it that’s similar to that of the PlayStation 4′s controller, as well as the PlayStation Vita’s backside. The touch-area of the controller is said to compliment Microsoft’s Kinect, with Kinect games requiring players to both utilize the Kinect’s motion sensor bar as well as perform various gestures on the touch pad. It is also clickable, allowing you to use it as a directional control pad if you’d like.

Whatever the case may be, Microsoft isn’t confirming nor denying these rumors until its Xbox unveiling event set to take place on May 21st. One thing that we’re sure will be a feature on the next-gen Xbox is the much despised always-on internet requirement. The always-on feature for the next-gen Xbox was mentioned several times in interviews, as well as on Twitter in a controversial Twitter rant between Microsoft’s former Creative Director and another tweeter. When May 21st rolls around, be sure to check in with SlashGear, where we will bring you live coverage of Microsoft’s event.

[via Forbes]

Xbox 720 detail leaks suggest “Xbox Infinity” as new name is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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