Hasta La Gadget!

OUYA vowed a steady stream of updates to its inaugural console on the road to a June retail launch, and it just released one of the more important examples. Among other fixes, the inconspicuously titled 1.0.193 firmware upgrade lets customers change their credit card info after they’ve created an account — rather vital to anyone who has to swap cards in the wake of identity theft, or who just wants to gift an account to a friend. While few owners beyond the earliest adopters will fully appreciate the change, it’s good to know that there shouldn’t be a payment panic when OUYA units arrive in force.

Filed under: Gaming

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Via: Joystiq

Source: OUYA

We like pinball. We like classic NES games. Accordingly, it doesn’t take much deduction to know that we really, really like Skit-B Pinball’s Duck Hunt pinball machine. It has a fully mechanical, themed pinball machine below, but there’s also a PC up top that replicates the images and sounds of Nintendo’s light gun video game in sync with the analog action. The conversion of a Williams Valiant took about a year of off-hours work to finish, and it shows — the attention to detail is what we’d expect if Gunpei Yokoi had put all his energy into pinball instead. Our only lament is that the Duck Hunt machine is a side project, and it likely won’t escape into the wild. At least there’s a video (after the break) to sate our curiosity.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: Arcade Heroes, Destructoid

Source: Skit-B Pinball

Many game developers will tell you that the PlayStation 3’s Cell processor was a real bear to support. What they can’t tell you: the PlayStation 4’s lead architect, Mark Cerny, was already thinking of a solution as far back as 2007. He just revealed to Gamasutra that he’d been researching x86-based processors for the PS4 merely a year after the PS3 launch, knowing that there were “some issues” with realizing the Cell’s potential. The new console’s unified memory and eight-core CPU were the ultimate results of Cerny’s talks with game creators shortly after he took the reins in 2008. We’ve already seen the shift in attitudes through a very developer-centric PlayStation Meeting, but Cerny wants to underscore just how different the PS4’s holiday launch should be versus what we remember from 2006 — even the first wave of PS4 games should benefit from a healthy toolset, he says. We’ll know his long-term planning paid off if the initial PS4 library shows the level of refinement that took years to manifest on the PS3.

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

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Via: Eurogamer

Source: Gamasutra

Hyperkin has developed a reputation for modern takes on legendary game consoles that are often better than the real thing. If true, its just-unveiled Retron 5 is a nostalgia singularity. The hardware emulator can use its namesake five cartridge slots to play original games from no less than nine vintage consoles, including the Genesis (Megadrive), NES (Famicom), SNES (Super Famicom) and GameBoys from the original through to the GameBoy Advance. It keeps going: there’s a custom Bluetooth controller that can handle every system, mix-and-match original controller support, save states and upscaling for both video (to 720p, through HDMI) as well as audio. While we’ll have to see just how well the Retron 5 works whenever it exists as more than a conceptual graphic, that opportunity may come quickly when Hyperkin is tentatively shooting for a July release at less than $100. About all that’s left for a follow-up Retron are Jaguar and Turbografx 16 slots — pretty please?

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: Slashdot

Source: Hyperkin

A Minecraft world really comes alive with internet-based multiplayer, but the requirement for a dedicated host creates its fair share of problems for both casual gamers and parents worried about where their kids will play. Mojang is currently testing a subscription service, Minecraft Realms, that could put at least some minds at ease. Along with providing a consistent world, it will give the host strict control over who gets in; long-term plans should also include profiles with trustworthy mods already installed. The developer hopes to launch betas for both desktops and mobile devices around May, with rates between $10 to $15 per month to keep a world going, but only the owner would shoulder the full costs. We imagine that there will be at least a few takers, both among families and those who want to safeguard their elaborate masterworks.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software

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Via: The Verge

Source: GamesIndustry International