Hasta La Gadget!

Foot-based controllers are nothing new; perhaps the most famous example would be the dance pads for Dance Dance Revolution games. Some of you may also remember Nintendo’s Power Pad, which was introduced back in the late 80s. But the soon to be released Stinky controller has one simple but very significant advantage over its predecessors: it’s much smaller.

Invented by Stelulu Technologies, the Stinky is basically a directional pad for your feet. DDR pads have nine sections, but the Stinky should be more useful even if it only has four buttons because all of those buttons are within reach of your foot. It will come with a Windows program so you can configure its keys. Speaking of which, the Stinky’s buttons are Cherry MX switches, the kind used in mechanical keyboards. You’ll also be able to adjust the tension on the buttons with different removable springs.

Even if hardcore gamers are not as stoked by the Stinky, I’m sure that many disabled gamers will consider getting it as an alternative controller. As mentioned in the video the Stinky will be available July 2013 for $119 (USD), but Stelulu will also set up a Kickstarter soon where backers can snag one for as low as $89. Head to Stinky’s website for more info on the controller.

[via DVICE]

This year’s Battlefield series entry — Battlefield 4 — is headed to PCs this fall. The game wasn’t given other platforms, but logic dictates it’ll arrive on the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 successor. Apparently, since only Sony’s next-gen console is a known quantity and Microsoft’s staying mum, EA isn’t sharing other platforms yet (but hey, it’s probably PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox). The game’s being built on the latest iteration of DICE’s Frostbite engine, though no other details were given about the engine just yet.

Like previous Battlefield entries, EA-owned Swedish game studio DICE is at the helm, and Battlefield 4 remains planted in current times (unlike the pseudo-future of Call of Duty‘s latest entry, Black Ops 2). A beta for the game will go live some time this fall, and folks who bought last year’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter are automatically part of said beta. We’ll have more info as EA offers it up, but color us not surprised if Battlefield 4 makes a reprise appearance at Microsoft’s still undated Xbox 360 successor unveiling.

Update: EA also released a 17-minute gameplay demo of the game’s prologue section, played on a PC. It features a squad of four soldiers on the run from Russian spec-ops militants in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. You’ll find it just beyond the break.

Update 2: Per a listing on EA’s digital store, Battlefield 4 is headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in addition to the PC. PlayStation 4 is curiously missing, as is mention of Microsoft’s next-gen game console.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

Comments

Gearbox is looking to increase the level cap in Borderlands 2 from 50 to 61. The new level cap is set to go live on April 2nd for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 gamers alike. Those of you who have purchased the Borderlands 2 Season Pass will be able to get to the new level cap for free, while the regular Borderlands 2 gamers will have to shell out $4.99 to take advantage of it.

There will also be a new mode added onto Borderlands 2 called “Ultimate Vault Hunter’s Mode”. It will be available for free for all players. To access the mode, you’ll have to beat “True Vault Hunter Mode” and be at least level 50. A new weapon tier will also be added to the game. The new weapon tier, called Pearlescent, should be familiar to those of you who’ve played the original Borderlands. It is set to be the rarest loot in Borderlands 2.

Gearbox is also looking to bring a new, playable character to Borderlands 2. The character, Krieg, is a new, psycho Vault Hunter that will bring a new level of bloodiness to the game. He will have 3 skill trees: Bloodlust, Mania, and Hellborn. His action skill is Blood Axe Rampage, a skill that regenerates his health when he’s murdering an enemy. His Bloodlust skill tree focuses on dealing damage, his Mania skill tree focuses on taking damage, and his Hellborn skill tree focuses on elemental damage.

The Krieg DLC is set to launch sometime late in May for $9.99. Unfortunately, the Krieg DLC isn’t available in the Borderlands 2 Season Pass because its not part of the main campaign. Speaking of main campaign DLCs, the fourth Borderlands 2 DLC, speculated to be called “Bunkers & Badasses”, is set to be released sometime in June. The new DLC is being developed by Gearbox itself instead of by 3rd party developers.

[via IGN]

Borderlands 2 to bring new character and higher level cap is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Blizzard Entertainment has been creating quite a stir in the gaming community lately as they not only announced its Diablo III will be headed to consoles, specifically the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 at this point, and today, they’re announcing they’re going to be releasing a free-to-play game.

The game is called Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and will be shown at a PAX East panel sometime this weekend. Hearthstone will be an online free-to-play collectible card game, similar to Magic: The Gathering, and will be made available on the PC and Mac in beta form this summer. Shortly after its initial beta release, it will be made available for the iPad. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The 7th Guest: 3 Heading To PC, Mac and Mobile To Give You Nightmares Again, Microsoft Integrating Skype Into Voice, Video Communications Across All Products,

A new analysis performed by The NPD Group shows that the United States has hit an impressive milestone. There are currently over 500 million internet-connected devices all across the nation. These devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, video-game consoles, HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, and more. The NPD Group says that the main driver for this number is the increase in smartphone and tablet ownership.

The analysis shows that since 3 months ago, over 9 million more people made the change from regular cell phones to smartphones. It also showed that 18 million more consumers have purchased a tablet device. The number of connected devices per U.S. Internet household has grown from 5.3 internet devices per home to 5.7 internet devices. The study also shows that unsurprisingly, most of those devices are Apple or Samsung branded devices.

Smartphone adoption rose up 5% since 3 months ago, and tablet adoption rose up about 18%. The PC still remains the most commonly used internet-connected device in households, with over 93% of households owning at least one PC, a number that hasn’t changed in the past 3 months. John Buffone, director of devices at NPD Connected Intelligence, stated, “It’s hard to believe that tablets and smartphones are still somewhat in their infancy. But as we have seen in just the past few months, there is significant potential for this market to develop further.”

Consumers are adapting to mobile devices at a rapid pace, especially with the help of Android and its low-budget tablets. Android tablet sales are forecasted to dominate the tablet market this year thanks to the cheap options offered, such as Amazon’s line-up of Kindle Fires, Google’s high-end, yet affordable Nexus 7, and HP’s upcoming Slate 7. The IDC predicts that over 190 million tablets will be shipped worldwide this year.

[via NPD]

Over 500m devices connected to internet in U.S. is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.