Typically, when we’re talking about computer gamers, the gaming peripherals of choice are things like keyboards, mice, and game pads. The common link here is that all of these devices are controlled using hands. A company called Stinky Board is showing off its product in the works called the Stinky Footboard that get your feet into the gaming action.
The company says it has been developing the product for the last two years and it uses special technology for superfast and precise responses. The footboard has four programmable buttons, adjustable tension, and a “cross” shape that make it easy use and provide lots of capability. The controller can be used in any orientation and with one foot or two feet.
The Stinky Footboard has special return to neutral technology that allows the buttons to be activated easily and the board then snaps back into neutral position on its own. This allows you to activate a button quickly and have the board return to a neutral position according to the designer. The device is also designed to allow users to activate multiple buttons without having to lift the foot.
All the user needs to do is tilt the foot forward or backwards or roll it side to side the activate the customizable buttons. The controller also features user adjustable tension boxes allowing the user to adjust the responsiveness and stiffness of the footboard. The springs inside the footboard are also customizable and replaceable. The device ships with six pairs of springs including soft, medium, and hard versions allowing the user to customize the feel of the controller. At this point, you can’t actually buy the product, but it appears that the company plans to put it on Kickstarter when they are ready to raise money to bring the product to the real world.
When I got married, most wedding rings were pretty ordinary. Sure, they might have some extra diamonds here and there, or some sort of ornate engraving, but thanks to the wide-world of online customization, we have so many more choices these days. For example, here’s a wedding band that was made to look like a set of Xbox 360 controllers.
This ring was handcrafted by jewelry artist Brittany Foster, and is made from sterling silver with precious gems for the ABXY buttons, including ruby, emerald and sapphire stones. And there’s not just one controller on this ring – there are four, so its proud owner will be able to play a multiplayer game with the flick of their ring finger. Though you’d need some pretty tiny hands to actually be able to mash these jeweled buttons.
Check out more pictures of the Xbox 360 ring over on Custom Made. Brittany can make you a similar game controller ring for somewhere between $700 to $1000(USD). I want one that looks like a Kinect.
Thinking of rounding out your entertainment center’s arsenal with an Android-based game console? You’ve certainly got options: Ouya, GameStick and Project Shield are all vying for a spot on your couch. On the other hand, you might already have a perfectly serviceable Android device just waiting to be converted into a makeshift games console — that’s where Green Throttle Games comes in. By pairing a dual-stick gamepad with a console-like game launcher, Green Throttle aims to turn any Android device into a gaming platform. We spent some time with a developer build of the setup late last year, but today the company officially launched the Green Throttle Arena and its companion Atlas controller. We popped in to the firm’s Santa Clara office to see what changed.
While the Wii and Wii U are all about funky modern controllers, sometimes you just can’t beat a good old school gamepad or joystick to get your Virtual Console on. This third-party controller for Nintendo’s current-gen consoles looks like it fills the bill perfectly.
The Pro Controller U works with the Nintendo Wii, Wii U, and even Android devices as a bonus. It offers a built-in classic gamepad, complete with a proper D-Pad, surrounded by a pair of analog sticks, shoulder buttons and triggers for games that require them.
In addition, the Pro Controller U works as a Wii motion controller, and has built in speakers and vibration feedback as well. The wireless controller offers a rechargeable battery pack as well.
You can grab this all-in-one controller for your Wii and Wii U over at ThinkGeek for $39.99(USD). While it does sound pretty awesome, you might want to check out the decidedly mixed reviews of what looks to be the same unit over at GameStop, before you plunk down your hard-earned cash.
There’s been some debate over the state of the PlayStation 4’s hardware when Sony declined to display the console itself at its PlayStation Meeting. As we’re quickly learning, the company had good reason to keep the box under wraps: it’s not quite done yet. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kawano has revealed to 4Gamerthat even he hasn’t seen the finished system, and he only saw the DualShock 4 the day before it went on stage. We wouldn’t worry about the design’s progress just yet, but the news hints that Sony’s timing on pulling it all together is much tighter than it was for the PS3 — although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Whatever the PS4 looks like in the end, we know it won’t support the DualShock 3. Perpetual font of wisdom (and Worldwide Studios President) Shuhei Yoshida has warned that the PlayStation Move is the only controller making the leap to the next generation. That’s not entirely surprising given the changes in button layout and the addition of some Move technology — Sony likely wants to set some expectations, and our existing game library won’t play on the PS4 as-is. The cutoff may still be disappointing for anyone who invested in a full set of gamepads for LittleBigPlanet sessions and has to once more start from scratch.
It has been an eventful day for Sony, which just wrapped up its PlayStation 4 event a bit ago. Although it didn’t show off the game console, the company has released its specs, along with information about its Dualshock 4 controller and PlayStation 4 Eye camera. Check out a gallery of pics, as well as the specs and other details after the jump.
The PlayStation 4 is said to “center around” a custom GPU and (8) x86-64 cores on a custom chip. The GPU contains 18 compute units for a total generation of 1.84 Teraflops of power for simulation and graphics. There’s 8GB of GDDR5 memory offering 176 GB/second of bandwidth. Video compression and decompression is described as “always on” for seamless gaming.
The rundown of the specs looks as follows: x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU with 8 cores, as well as an AMD Radeon GPU. There’s a 6xCAV BD and an 8xCAV DVD drive, as well as one USB 3.0 port. There’s Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 2.1. Audio/video connectivity includes HDMI, analog A/V out, and optical digital output.
This is accompanied by the Dualshock 4 controller, which is an updated version of the Dualshock 3 that gamers have enjoyed for years. The Dualshock 4 features a new, sensitive six-axis sensor, plus the obvious and alluring touchpad on the front of the device. There’s a distinct tri-color LED bar on the top of the controller that illuminates with the gamer’s color, making it easier for players to locate and track their own controllers.
Finally, there’s the PlayStation 4 Eye camera system, which contains two wide-angle cameras capable of depth perception and 85-degree views. With these features, the Eye can perceive a gamer from both sides, and when combined with its four microphones, can detect the player’s voice. Even better, however, is its ability to identify the Dualshock’s LED light to identify each player and his or her position. The PS4 Eye is compatible with the Move motion controller.
Just finished watching Sony’s “see the future” of PlayStation event? We hope you didn’t blink, you might have missed a quick reveal of the next PlayStation Eye The optical sensor was overshadowed by the reveal of the DualShock 4, but it’s nothing to scoff at — the second generation Eye features two 1280 x 800 cameras, four microphones and an 85-degree field of view. Put together, the setup promises facial recognition, player positioning and depth sensing and enhanced PlayStation Move support. The Kinect-like camera is designed to work with Sony’s new controller standard too, recognizing each player by the color of the DualShock 4’s LED light bar. Sony says the Eye will allow the PS4 to use face login, and the collection of microphones might make voice control possible as well. No word yet if the new camera device will be a PS4 pack in or sold separately, but if you’re interested in mining press releases for details, you’ll find one after the break.
We had a hint or two about its imminent arrival, but Sony’s now made its next-generation DualShock 4 controller official at tonight’s PlayStation 4 event in NYC. The company’s Mark Cerny took to the stage to reveal the all-new companion, which has been redesigned and now features a more rounded form factor as well as what appears to be a slightly rubberized grip with “enhanced rumble capabilities.” There’s also a touchpad now (clearly taking a cue from the Vita), a headphone jack, the long-rumored share button, a light bar that, according to Cerny, will be utilized as a “more friendly way to identify players” and a stereo camera which is used to track the 3D position of the Move-compatible controller.
Not surprisingly, Sony’s touting the addition of the “Share” button as one of the biggest features of the DualShock 4, allowing players to easily send tidbits like video clips and screenshots to social sites such as Ustream, Facebook and, naturally, friends on the PlayStation Network. That’s all we know so far, but we‘re sure to hear more about the DualShock 4 as the night progresses — in the meantime, enjoy the gallery bellow and stay tuned to this post as we’ll be adding more details as they come in.
Check out our liveblog of Sony’s event to get the latest news as it happens!
Tonight is the big night for Sony, with a rather solid expectation of the PlayStation 4, a new set of controllers and functionality to with it, and a swath of new game announcements to boot. What we’re going to do for you here and now is make it all real simple in a guide that’ll get you pumped up and prepared for the event [6PM EST right here on SlashGear]. It all begins with what we’re expecting the actual console to present – and yes, we are expecting a new console.
PlayStation 4: a whole new machine
The next-generation console from Sony is being tipped to be a lot of different things, so before you jump in here, know this: the lot of these tips are rumors. Unless it’s written here specifically that we’ve got confirmation of anything, you’ll want to follow the link back to the post where we first encounter each bit of information. Take everything here with a salt block. Also remember that Sony has promised commitment to the PlayStation 3 through the year 2015.
With Microsoft’s own Xbox 720 hot on its heels, Sony will likely set a release date for sometime inside November. There you’ll find a remote control for TV-related content and a new set of wireless controllers as well. You can also expect pricing on the PlayStation 3 to be slashed almost immediately after the announcement of the PlayStation 4 as well as surprisingly low prices coming with the PS4 itself.
Concept PS4 via Yanko Design (designer: Joseph Dumary)
We’ve seen more than one PlayStation 4 controller leak with a rather similar-looking overall body to the classic PlayStation controller design. The big differences will be in touchpad controls not unlike what we’re using currently on the PS Vita which, also, has seen some price slashes as of late. This touchpad tip has come more than once.
Also take note that the PlayStation 2 is now no longer being manufactured. The code-name for the PlayStation 4 has been tipped as “Orbis” several times over the past few months and has been suggested to be working with an AMD processor. We’ve also seen a rather unbelievable tip for a Sony PlayStation EyePad for 3D control of the PlayStation 4 – not to mention the Dual-Shock/Move hybrid that, once you see, you’ll never be able to un-see.
Software Features
You’ll be seeing some backwards compatibility with the PlayStation 4 that’s entirely virtualized. In this case that means that you’ll be able to play PlayStation 3 games and legacy games galore, but they’ll all be downloaded from the cloud in one way or another. You can expect Gaikai technology to be in full effect for streaming content as Sony picked them up last year. PlayStation Home Arcade should give you some more clues on this futuristic universe – sort of like a microcosm.
The Sony Entertainment Network Online Store has been ramping up with games, movies, and more and will certainly be re-addressed at the event tonight. The PayPal bump for the PlayStation Store earlier this year also points toward larger anywhere-purchase strategies for Sony. There’s also a rumor of a Sony online TV service launching soon.
The one-owner-only rumor for games on the PlayStation 4 rages on – that one’s still a toss-up, mind you – see the discussion on this in the “Opinions” section below.
Games
You will be seeing Destiny on the PlayStation 4 after it hits the PlayStation 3. That’s all but confirmed by everyone and their mother now that a legal document was made public surrounding a case that involved Destiny content and the companies that will work with it. Have a peek at this Destiny trailer and freak out about it!
One game you can expect will not be optimized for PlayStation 4 is Grand Theft Auto V – its creators have specifically addressed the idea that they’re waiting for the PS4 release and have said no way! You can expect The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt though in all its REDengine3 glory.
The event starts at 6PM Eastern Time – that’s New York City time, if you did not know. If you’re living in Minnesota like your humble narrator, you’ll be tuning in at 5PM (CST), and if you’re in England, you’ll be tuning in at 11PM. Over in California you’ll be seeing this event at 3PM (PST). We’ll have the whole lot of announcements ready to rock as they pop up straight from Sony right here on SlashGear – don’t miss it!
Wearablemice have been done before, but Nick Mastandrea’sMycestro might be the best implementation of the form factor yet. Like other wearable mice, Mycestro – it’s pronounced “mice-tro”, get it? – is designed to be worn on your index finger. But instead of a small trackpad, Mycetro lets you control your cursor by waving your finger around.
If it seems like a stupid idea to you, temper your cynicism. Mycestro can be calibrated and it’s sensitive enough to read even small movements. You don’t have to emulate an orchestra conductor to move your cursor around. Aside from tracking motion, the Mycetro also has touch-sensitive left-, right- and middle-click buttons. You can swipe your thumb along those three buttons to scroll up or down.
Mycestro is also designed to activate only when your thumb is touching it, so you don’t have to worry about your cursor running wild while you move your hand about. That smart feature should also help conserve its battery, which lasts up to 8 hours and can be recharged via USB.
The Mycestro can also be used with devices that support Bluetooth 4.0. Here’s a brief demo of the Mycestro being used to control an Internet-connected TV:
Here Nick shows how it can be used to control Solidworks CAD software.
Pledge at least $79 (USD) on Kickstarter to reserve a Mycestro. It seems like a decent alternative to the traditional mouse, but I am curious if the Leap sensor – which is cheaper yet more versatile than the Mycestro – will render it obsolete. Then again it is more portable and has its touch-sensitive hardware going for it.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
