Classic Console USB Controllers brings back yesteryear’s memories

retronicThere are some things in life that cannot be taken away from you, and those include fond memories of your far younger days, when you were carefree and had stuff like video games to play with instead of enjoying your time in the great outdoors. Well, those classic consoles like the NES, SNES and SEGA MegaDrive were certainly entertaining, and don’t you wish that you could get a feel of how those controllers felt in your hand once again? You can do so with the Classic Console USB Controllers which will retail anywhere from $14.99 to $19.99, where you can pick from the Atari, Gamecube, Genesis 6-button, N64, NES, or SNES controllers.

These controllers will be compatible with Windows and Mac OS, so it ought to cover a whole lot of area when it comes to games that you want to play with. I suppose booting up an old school MAME emulator might be one of the best options here, although the legality of the ROMs that run on your computer would definitely be up to debate. The original connectors on these controllers have been replaced with USB cables, which means there is no need for pesky driver installation and the ilk. Not only that, the buttons are also fully configurable, where all of it is tethered via a 2 meter long cord.
[ Classic Console USB Controllers brings back yesteryear’s memories copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Super Angry Birds USB controller puts the sling back in your shot (video)

Super Angry Birds USB controller puts the sling in your shot video

Yeah. We know. There are pretty much as many ways to play Angry Birds, as there are people who play it. That’s a lot. However, the Super Angry Birds controller you see above speaks to us. Why? Because it’s not just a sling shot, or a fudged use of existing technology. That wooden “sling” hides one of those motorized faders you see in big music studio desks. Using some coding magic (i.e. a force curve stored in a table), the creators were able to give it a realistic resistance feeling, sans elastic. The rest of the hardware is programmed in Max / MSP and Arduino, with a “Music and Motors” microcontroller. It’s not just the sling part, either, with angle and special power triggering available from the same device. A pretty neat solution, we think. Now, we wonder if we could scale this thing up?

Continue reading Super Angry Birds USB controller puts the sling back in your shot (video)

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Super Angry Birds USB controller puts the sling back in your shot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: best Mac gamepad?

Ask Engadget best Mac gamepad

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from is from Jaime, who’s really just showing off about their new Retina MBP. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I recently bought a Retina MacBook Pro and started playing a bunch of games from Steam. I’m wondering if there’s a gamepad I could use to play Portal or Left4Dead on a Mac, I grew up with a NES, so there’s something about the form that feels natural to me. Thanks!”

Okay, so for those of us who do tire of W-A-S-D, what’s the best solution to game on a Mac? Is there a perfect device on the market, or should we all just hack an Xbox 360 controller to do the same job? It’s a fun week, spread some fun in the comments.

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Ask Engadget: best Mac gamepad? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 22:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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