Hasta La Gadget!

Dolby’s Axon surround sound technology isn’t exactly new (it’s already used on a number of PC titles), but to date, it has yet to make a stand in the online console and Mac gaming sectors. All that changes today at GDC, with the aural company introducing an Axon software development kit that will make it possible for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and OS X titles to integrate the technology. According to the company, this here solution provides improved audio chain processing (noise suppression and echo suppression), surround sound voice chat over stereo headsets, 5.1 playback and support for any stereo headset. We’re told that the ports should be available for devs starting in April, though only time will tell how long it takes for your Xbox Live experience to go from haunting to all-encompassing.

Continue reading Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers

Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dreamcast? GameCube? Xbox? They’re cute and endearing to look back on now, because they really never stood a chance. Sony practically redefined what it meant to be dominant in a console generation with the PlayStation 2, which was launched on March 4, 2000 in Japan (the US got it that October), went on to sell over 140 million units, and is still going strong. It’s strange to think that for what many people was their first DVD player turned out to be powerful enough to bring us the cinematic experiences of Shadow of the Colossus, God of War II and Final Fantasy XII, and enough of a kicker to make it into the latest round of Madden releases. Of course, its foray into online gaming took a second fiddle to Microsoft’s Xbox, and many of Sony’s high-minded, living room-invasion promises of the console (remember that FireWire port? The hard drive slot?) never really panned out. Still, we’d say it’s been a pretty good 10 years for this thing. Feeling extra-nostalgic? Check out Sony’s own timeline of PlayStation it pumped out for the 15 year anniversary of the brand last year. Brings a tear to our eye every time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sony’s PlayStation 2 celebrates 10 years as a fallen, bygone generation of consoles looks on in envy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In one of those fun, yet uncomfortable, instances where real life and video games interact, Fox News has uncovered a dusty (and old, very old) PlayStation controller during a raid of an Afghanistani farmhouse, which doubled up as a munitions depository. Lying there, in among rockets, grenades, plastic explosives and tank shells, was this humble blue-hued PlayStation appendage, which we’re told can be rewired to act as a remote detonator. Should you question just how seriously the US government is taking this growing tide of console-aided terrorism, below you’ll find a press release (seriously, a state-issued press release) detailing the detainment of four men in connection with the illegal transportation of digital cameras and PlayStation 2s to a “terrorist entity” in Paraguay. If convicted of the most egregious charge, they face 20 years in prison… for contraband consoles. Face, meet palm.

Continue reading If you throw away your console, the terrorists have won

If you throw away your console, the terrorists have won originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our favorite pseudonym company out there, Sand Dollar Enterprise, is back with a pair of new filings with the FCC pointing to a refresh of the PlayStation 3 Slim hardware. We don’t know specifically what has been overhauled inside, though the two new SKUs, CECH-2101A and CECH-2101B, mimic the coding scheme of the current hardware, which is CECH-2001A and B. The alphabetical differentiation relates to different hard drive sizes inside, with 120GB and 250GB options available today and likely to be replicated in the forthcoming consoles. Looking at the FCC’s radio testing, we find the same 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR transceivers as are in the current Slim, leading us to believe the changes are elsewhere or, as PS3 News suggests, maybe Sony has just found new manufacturers for the same chips and had to run them through the validation committee again. It’s just that the latter is far less exciting than the idea of Sony starting up an upgrades war with some tasty springtime spec bump.

Sony slips two new PS3 Slim models through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shoulder buttons? Never heard of ’em. Give us all our buttons in a nice rainbow-shaped array and a big stick for our southpaw and leave us well enough alone. Hori, the company behind the most righteous Tekken 6 arcade controller, is back with a Street Fighter-inspired effort for the true enthusiasts out there. This new deck is a direct copy of the Sanwa arcade cabinets housing Street Fight IV, meaning you can finally take your epic fighting skills home without fearing the misshapen things other people call controllers. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX will be shipping by the end of March, and you can hit the Joystiq link below to find out how to import one for yourself.

Hori Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX has a name to match its size, price originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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