Hasta La Gadget!

We don’t have the foggiest idea whether Tron: Legacy will serve to reboot Disney’s venerable light cycling franchise, but it’s certainly got peripheral vendors in high gear — you’ll be able to hack the ENCOM Digitizing Molecular Laser with a genuine Tron keyboard and mouse or toss virtual light discs with an Tron-themed Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii controller this holiday season. Gaming favorite Razer crafted this $130 laser-etched keyboard with swappable numpad and programmable macros; it will ship alongside a $100, 5600dpi laser mouse in October, and PDP will provide the console controllers for $50 at an unspecified date. We were bummed to hear that the Xbox 360 and PS3 pads are wired, but in retrospect that might be a good thing — by comparison, Razer’s detachable keypad is just begging to be thrown at an MCP-generated foe. See all the new Tron toys lit up in a video after the break. (Caution: video loads automatically.)

Continue reading Tron gaming peripherals soothe your nostalgia with calming blue light (video)

Tron gaming peripherals soothe your nostalgia with calming blue light (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forget the Wiimote, PlayStation Move and Kinect; here’s a controller that actually makes you feel the games. At E3 earlier this week, startup firm ForceTek was seen demoing its XIO Virtual Gaming System — a rather fancy name for a force-feedback arm exoskeleton that “provides a controlled resistance” to your arm and wrist movement. The rig sure looks like a great addition for action games — imagine feeling a virtual basketball bouncing, or your virtual machine gun recoiling, or even the reaction force from a virtual punch. Want it now? Try next year, when the XIO will apparently ship at a “competitive” price comparable to that of a guitar for Guitar Hero. See the controller in action after the break, and try not to wince.

Continue reading ForceTek XIO: the gaming controller that hurts you, not the TV (video)

ForceTek XIO: the gaming controller that hurts you, not the TV (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, we’ve no qualms with keyboards — Elton John is permanently embedded in our playlists, it’ll be the first instrument we teach our robotic children, and it’s easily the most underrated part of Justin Bieber’s spectacularness. But there’s no arguing that having a keytar peripheral is far, far more awesome in the grand scheme of things. According to the same mole on ArsTechnica that has correctly nailed a new PS3 bundle, the PSP go and Xbox 360 price cuts, Rock Band 3 will feature a new keytar peripheral, which will undoubtedly destroy our productivity for an indefinite amount of time. We’re also told that Mad Catz will be taking over the production of RB hardware, leaving Harmonix only responsible for touching up the software. There’s still no indication of when this mythical device will be hitting your local Game Stop, but it’s certainly safe to slide your pre-order alert system to Orange.

Rock Band 3 purportedly gaining keytar peripheral, infinite amounts of our love originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 gamers may have had a solid year head start, but PlayStation 3 loyalists will soon be able to join the programmable / rapid fire party, too. BGRMods has announced that its much-hyped IntensaFIRE controller mod is finally coming to Sony’s latest console, bringing with it fewer installation steps and an equal amount of tinkering possibilities. This new board requires no glue and no solder; users simply “click” it into place and enjoy the spoils of having rapid-fire potential at their fingertips. Purportedly, the mod is useful in “all PlayStation games,” and it’ll begin shipping out on May 21st for those who just can’t game without a macro. We’re told that the $69.95 device will also be making its public debut at E3, so you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be hitting the show floor in hopes of snagging a bit of hands-on time come June.

[Thanks, Kristofer B]

IntensaFIRE click-on mod bringing programmable / rapid fire modes to PS3 controller originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 22:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh sure, we’ve seen something similar from PRS, but the reviews on the Guitarbud were — how do you say? — less than stellar. For those looking high and low for a decent alternative, IK Multimedia has outed the equally seductive AmpliTube iRig, a software / hardware tandem that enables axe slingers to jack their guitar or bass into an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and tweak their sound with a variety of amps and effects (up to 10 stomps, 5 amps, 5 cabinets and 2 microphones). The dongle also has a headphone jack for keeping your wailing to yourself (read: it’s mom and neighbor approved), and if you’re sporting a jailbroken device, you could also record your newest masterpiece while this hums along in the background. It’s a beautiful thought, no? It’s up for pre-order right now at $39.99, and you can peek a video of the solution in action just after the break.

Continue reading AmpliTube iRig brings axe slingers closer to their iPhone, creative side (video)

AmpliTube iRig brings axe slingers closer to their iPhone, creative side (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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