Hasta La Gadget!

The Classic White PlayStation 3 was originally released in Japan and a little later in Canada, but eager PlayStation fans in the US can now get in on the action because Sony has launched a new bundle that comes with a Classic White PlayStation 3, a 500GB hard drive, and one year of PlayStation Plus, specifically for US gamers.

The bundle will be priced at $299 and will become available starting on January 27. The new console is Sony’s third redesign of the PlayStation 3, and the second redesign of the slim model. While it unfortunately comes with the old-school top-mounted disc drive, the console sports the largest HDD capacity on any PS3.

Sadly, the bundle doesn’t include any games — just the big hard drive and the PlayStation Plus subscription, which will allow you to get a whole bunch of free content anyway. PlayStation Plus provides subscribers with all sorts of discounts, demos, cloud storage, and games, including LittleBigPlanet 2, inFAMOUS 2, and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

Sony also says the 500GB hard drive is large enough to store quite a bit of data, including either 3,750 games, 297 movies, 198,437 songs, or 80,000 photos. And of course, the bundle wouldn’t be complete without a matching white DualShock 3 wireless controller. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled come January 27 in order to get your hands on the new bundle.

Classic White PlayStation 3 bundle hits the US on January 27 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s really no surprise that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console is still selling well. It’s already been the best-selling console every month for the past 24 months now, according to the NPD Group. In fact, in December alone, Microsoft sold 1.4 million Xbox 360 consoles, further proving the company’s dominant position in the gaming world.

As for the newest console in the ongoing console wars, Nintendo’s Wii U, the NPD Group reports that the company sold nearly 890,000 units in the US after its first 41 days on the market, with 460,000 consoles sold in December, which is actually less than the 475,000 that were sold of the original Wii.

However, Nintendo notes that the Wii U has generated $30 million more than the original Wii at the same point in its lifecycle, which sold more units but also cost less. When it comes to Nintendo’s other consoles on the market, the 3DS was on top with sales of 1.25 million in December, while the standard DS shipped 470,000 units.

NPD data also showed that in December, the Xbox 360 held seven of the top ten console game titles, which consist of Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, Just Dance 4, NBA 2K13, Far Cry 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Madden NFL 13. Microsoft expects 2013 to be another big year for their current console, and has more offerings planned for it later this year. This also may be the year that the company unveils a new brand-new console at E3 2013, but that’s certainly still up in the air at this point.

Xbox 360 best-selling console for two straight years is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Turtle Beach has made a big appearance here at CES 2013 by announcing several new headsets that are both wireless and wired. The company announced a new headset specifically for Xbox 360 gamers, as well as an exclusive option for PlayStation 3 gamers as well. They also announced the SEVEN series for consoles, PCs, and mobile platforms that include “tournament-grade” quality and functionality. We ended up stopping by the company’s booth and getting some hands-on time with the new products.

The Ear Force XP510 for Xbox 360 and the Ear Force PX51 for PlayStation 3 are both wireless headsets that cater specifically to their respective gaming consoles. Both headsets feature Turtle Beach’s proprietary digital signal processor, Dolby surround sound, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 15-hour rechargeable battery. Pricing is set at $289 for the XP510 and $269 for the PX51. We should expect both headsets to become available sometime in Q1 2013.

The company also announced their new SEVEN series, consisting of headsets built specifically for gaming consoles (Ear Force XP SEVEN), PC gaming (Ear Force Z SEVEN), and mobile platforms (Ear Force M SEVEN). These are priced at $279, $249, and $149, respectively. What’s unique about the SEVEN series is that they include interchangeable cable kits, and feature a removable boom microphone and in-line microphone for increased flexibility for different gaming styles. These headsets will be available sometime in Q1 2013, while the TM1 audio mixer ($249), which allows greater control when team chatting, is available starting today.

In related Turtle Beach news, the company also upgraded its PX21 headset and released the PX22 ($79) by offering amplified audio, bass and treble boosts, and a “4-pole connector” for compatibility with mobile devices. The company also released two more PC-gaming headsets — the Z300 and Z22. Turtle Beach claims the Z300 as the only Bluetooth-enabled PC headset capable of answering calls or streaming music through a mobile device, and the Z22 is the first PC headset that features the company’s Chat Boost, as well as Bass and Treble Boost. All three of these headsets will be available sometime in Q2 2013.

Turtle Beach PX51, XP510, SEVEN series hands-on is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This afternoon we’ve not only seen none other than Major Nelson give a detail-less update on when the Xbox 720 would be revealed (with a countdown meter aiming at E3 2013), we’ve got a real live tip on chip production. This tip comes from the folks at SemiAccurate, a blog whose name playfully dismisses the fact that they’re not always right with their own tips. The information they’ve got keeps with the possibility that the Xbox 720 will be revealed this year by noting chip production (processors, that is) as officially “taped out” for the console’s innards.

When they (and we) say “taped out”, it refers the final design being completed and sent off to production for a bit of electronics, especially in regards to circuits. Here this refers to the so-called “Oban chip” that will be powering the Xbox 720 when it’s released either late 2013 or early 2014. The tip here made December 31st, 2012 (earlier this week) the date when the chip was ready to roll.

As Microsoft has made more than just a tiny suggestion that they’ll make a massive appearance at E3 2013 with Major Nelson’s countdown timer, it shouldn’t sound all that far-fetched that the next-generation console would be in production today. This also comes soon after the folks at Sony ended production of the last-generation PlayStation 2, possibly in preparation for the manufacturing of the next-generation PlayStation 4 (the PlayStation 3 being the unit on the market right this minute.)

So the war is on – in the tips and rumor mills, at least. Do you feel as though it’s time for Microsoft, Sony, or both companies to bring on a new gaming console for the public? Or do you believe that the fervor we’re seeing is merely a reaction to the continued barrage of updates from mobile companies more than willing to take bites of the gaming market while Microsoft and Sony take a dive? Let us know!

[Concept Art via Yanko Design]

Xbox 720 processor production tipped with launch window in tow is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The OUYA seems like a pretty awesome gaming console, and the company finally started shipping out dev units a few days ago, but a new gaming console concept has hit Kickstarter in the form of just a mere flash drive. It’s called the GameStick, and it consists of a tiny HDMI dongle-based game console and an accompanying controller that offers portability, and of course, a huge selection of games.

The console uses Android as the basis for the software, so the console boasts an open platform that more game developers can join in on easily, and the team behind GameStick has made it really easy to play the console. You simply plug it into the HDMI port of your HDTV, grab the controller, and start playing games.

So far, GameStick works on roughly 200 titles that are in the Google Play store, but the team is working with over 250 developers, including Madfinger, Hutch, and Disney to bring GameStick gamers an even greater selection of games. The company boasts that since most of the games come from Google Play, you won’t be spending any more money on games than what you have to in order to play them on the big screen.

The company only has a working prototype of the GameStick so far, but they’re 90% of the way to getting the final pre-production samples made, and expect them to be done in 5-6 weeks. The team expects to have final units shipped out to customers starting in April at a cost $79 each — that includes the dongle and the gaming controller.

GameStick portable gaming console takes on OUYA is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.