If Infinity Ward’s own Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for custom hardware, Mad Catz is ready to pick up the slack with no less than ten MW2-branded peripherals. The crown jewel to the set will be the Combat Controller, which will have a couple of extra buttons, but more importantly, is likely the controller Robert Bowling was tweeting about last month. Come this November, you’ll also be able to talk smack via a Throat Communicator on the 360 or a more mundane Bluetooth Headset on the PS3, add Skinz to your controllers and Microsoft console, and even your neglected PC can be enriched with an Elite Keyboard and Sniper Mouse combo.

Update: IGN has been first to preview the full plethora of goods, and we’ve got the video for you after the break (Thanks, quasar).

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Video: Mad Catz doles out Modern Warfare 2 controllers for young (and old) whippersnipers

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Video: Mad Catz doles out Modern Warfare 2 controllers for young (and old) whippersnipers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re wanting some quality analysis of what’s under the PlayStation 3 Slim‘s hood, you’re still gonna have to wait for that. However, if you’re the sort that just needs to see hardware broken down into as many simple pieces as possible, boy have we got some pictures for you.

Update: The results are in and well, there isn’t a lot of excitement to show for it except for maybe the large 17-blade fan that stretches 95mm in diameter. There’s also a video slideshow of the process, seen after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Read – Tech Powerup forum
Read – iFixit teardown
Read – Rapid Repair teardown

Continue reading PS3 Slim gets torn asunder

Filed under: Gaming

PS3 Slim gets torn asunder originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The single largest roadblock that prevents most people from picking up a PlayStation 3 is the price. Sony’s just taken that roadblock and shrunk it. You’re now $100 more likely to buy a PlayStation 3.

The Difference

The PlayStation 3 Slim is actually more similar to the current PlayStation 3 fat than you’d think. Sony has been slowly phasing out features in the PS3 for a while, dumping USB ports, dumping card readers and dumping the PlayStation 2 backward compatibility. So the step to a Slim, now, isn’t actually that steep, compared to what you’d get if you switched from a launch PS3.

What you do get with the Slim is a smaller size, a reduced power consumption rate and a lower price. The lower power usage partially comes from the 45nm manufacturing process, and provides a 34% decrease in power consumption. (It’s also 32% smaller and 36% lighter). And, the Slim adds the ability to bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, which only matters if you’re an audiophile with a modern sound system. You also get a new matte finish, which makes the console look less “premium”, but eliminates the crazy fingerprint and dust problem the original had. Overall, it’s a net gain in goodness.

The Experience

Because it’s basically the same console, the only differences you’re going to notice are audible ones. Like we said in our hands on, the disc drive in the PS3 Slim is louder than in the original PlayStation 3. Think of it like a laptop optical disc drive vs. a desktop optical disc drive. When you’re seeking around, it makes a louder grinding noise than its larger counterpart. This noise makes no difference in Blu-ray movie watching, since it’s all sequential, and is only occasionally encountered in games, especially since many game install bits and pieces to the hard drive.

Other than that, yeah, it plays the same PS3 games, and it watches the same Blu-ray movies.

The Takeaway

Think about the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 3 Slim like this. You have two wives (I don’t know, imagine you’re Bill Paxton). Ninety-five percent of the time, they both do pretty much the same things. One is slightly chubbier, the other is slightly svelter. The skinnier one is quieter most of the time, but can get yappy when she can’t find something. The thinner one also costs you a little less money, and…has a matted finish? This metaphor isn’t going anywhere good, but you get the point. They’re basically the same console, except now it’s thinner and cheaper.

So the only question now is whether or not you should buy a PlayStation 3 now, or wait until September for the PS3 Slim. Both options are $300, but if you want the ability to install Linux, you’ll have to get the PlayStation 3 fat. Then again, the three of you who want that probably already have a PS3.

By lowering the price and making a more economical console, Sony’s finally more or less evened the hardware landscape with Microsoft, and continued to ensure that the PS3 is still the best-value-for-your-money Blu-ray player. Now all that’s left is getting some more games on there. [Amazon]

Lighter, thinner, less power hungry


Way less fingerprinty


Matted finish and new “squarer” styling might appeal to some, repulse others


Needs a $24 stand to be stable in the vertical position


Continues the tradition of removing features (USB ports, backward compatibility, Linux support) in the PS3 to lower the price

It doesn’t take a whole lot of analysis to figure out that a $100 price cut will result in a boost in sales, but market research group NPD seems to think that the PS3’s new $299 price point could have a particularly big impact on Sony’s numbers once next month’s sales are tallied up. While it’s obviously not a sure thing, NPD expects sales of the PS3 to jump between 40% and 60% over the course of September, noting that “the USD 299 price point is important to getting to a point where the next segment of price-conscious consumers can jump into the market and it most certainly will re-energise sales of the platform.” It’s also quick to point out, however, that those sales might not be enough for Sony to take the lead in US console sales for the month, adding that “other systems might too take a price cut,” and that “content is still the key motivator of a hardware purchase decision.”

Update: Joystiq offers a clarification from the original quote that, historically, price cuts tend to lead to a 40 to 60 percent increase in sales over the previous, higher priced month. The group is not specifically predicting PS3’s sales, just pointing out what’s happened in the past — it’s a subtle but important difference.

[Via gamesindustry.biz]

Filed under: Gaming

NPD expects PS3 sales to jump 40-60% post-price cut originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like there might be a trend brewing among products with nondescript September release windows coming out in August instead — first with Apple, and now with Sony. Supply shortages or no, Amazon’s telling those who pre-ordered the PlayStation 3 Slim the first day it was announced should expect to have their consoles in-hand on Wednesday, August 26th, almost a whole week before the new month begins. Delivery estimates are subject to change, of course, but Amazon’s not one to typically screw around with shipping confirmations. Any other early adopters received confirmations lately?

[Thanks, Devin!]

Filed under: Gaming

PS3 Slim shipping on August 26th, says Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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