Hasta La Gadget!

With all the doom and gloom stories we’ve seen about PlayStation 3 getting beat by Nintendo Wii, it’s refreshing to have some good news for a change. For the first time in 16 months, Sony’s console managed to best its motion-controlled competitor, 146,948 to 99,335 this past March in Japan, according to gaming research group / Famitsu publisher Enterbrain. The sales are undoubtedly helped by PS3 heavy-hitters Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5 debuting last month, and at this point we don’t expect the trend to continue, but for now Sony, enjoy your victory and bask in the knowledge that you’re still totally kicking Xbox 360’s rear in your home country.

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PlayStation 3 overtakes Wii in Japan, now about twice in a blue moon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s just released the details for its upcoming PlayStation 3 2.70 firmware update, and while it’s nothing that’ll knock your socks off, they are some goodies here to look forward to. Additions include text chat for letting you make the best of that new Wireless Keypad — or some other physical / on-screen keyboard — with up to fifteen online friends and / or three chat rooms, in-game or out. Speaking of online friends, those can now be sorted by online status to see who most recently logged on, and the file attachment size cap has been upped from 1MB to 3MB. Additionally, you can now back up your PS Store video purchases to an external drive and restore later for playback, and similarly your PSP video purchases can now be transferred to PS3 for a larger-screen experience. No word on the release date for now, but in the meantime, check out video demonstration after the break.

Update: Well that was fast. Firmware’s available now, let us know what you think.

Continue reading PS3 2.70 firmware adds in-game text chat, video backup

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PS3 2.70 firmware adds in-game text chat, video backup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take it for what it’s worth, but Smarthouse has it on authority that Sony Computer Entertainment is gearing up to make a worldwide announcement tomorrow, and believe it or not, it could involve the PlayStation 3. Analysts (and patient consumers) have been anticipating a PS3 price drop ever since, oh, December 26th of last year, but we’ve seen absolutely zero evidence to make us believe that one is coming within the next 24 hours. And as Joystiq points out, each Sony region sets its own PS3 price independently. At any rate, we reckon a joint PS2 / PS3 price slashing could be on the table, but we’d highly recommend not getting your hopes up too high. Who knows — we could be getting all worked up over a new firmware that unlocks HD DVD support.

[Via Joystiq]

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Global Sony announcement rumored for tomorrow, unicorns practically a lock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m not sure who these “Beatles” are, but apparently a lot of people have taken to them. I think they might be new. Of course that hasn’t stopped them for getting their own video game. Harmonix and MTV have come together to bring the world a Beatles-centric version of Rock Band. The companies today doled out a few new details about the latest entry into the franchise, including a release date.

The Beatles: Rock Band will debut on September 9th (that’s 9/9/09, incidentally) on store shelves in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The game is being released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii. Accessories for the game include the guitar, bass, mic, and drums, with a limited number of instruments being modeled after the ones that John, Paul, George, and Ringo played.

The game will run $59.99, standalone guitars $99.99, and the Limited Edition Premium Bundle will cost your $249.99. No need to worry, though–the game is also compatible with all existing Rock Band instruments.

Just a few months ago, Mad Catz was known for making generic, mediocre console accessories to undercut companies like Sony and Nintendo. Then they announced their Street Fighter sticks and the gaming world went nuts.

While Matt Buchanan already reviewed Mad Catz’ SFIV FightPad, the company’s two arcade sticks for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, coinciding with the release of SFIV, have had more buzz than any gaming accessory in recent memory.

Street Fighter IV FightStick ($70)Mad Catz‘ SFIV FightStick was meant to “recreate” the arcade experience, but also offer programmable turbo along with two extra move-assignable buttons. It’s essentially a joystick that’s designed with the Street Fighter button layout and fancy artwork.

Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition ($150)
The Tournament Edition stick’s claim to fame is simple. It uses the exact Sanwa joystick and 30mm buttons found in the SFIV arcade cabinet, not a “recreation” like we see in the standard FightStick. The experience is promised to be 1:1 between home and arcades—though it also includes the turbo and assignable button add-on.

So could I tell a difference between the two? In one word, yes.

Honestly, I’m not skilled enough at Street Fighter to argue that a controller is getting in my way of beating Matt Buchanan. But blindfolded, I could discern the difference between the two controllers…beyond the Tournament Edition’s obvious heftier size.
The TE stick has an ever so slightly shorter range of motion than the SE stick (for pulling off quick maneuvers), but it’s also far smoother. Being picky, I noticed more mechanical scraping in the SE stick that wasn’t present in the TE, which rotated with with ease.

The SE’s buttons, while superficially similar, felt far more like plastic, with a hollow, high clicking that wasn’t as soft on the fingers. Whether or not you have ever heard of semi-legendary Sanwa components doesn’t really matter. You’ll feel the difference.

I can’t say I played any better on the $80 more expensive TE stick, but I did find myself preferring it during testing and unconsciously choosing it for casual play. Then again, if I’d never tasted the caviar-esque Tournament stick, I’d probably be fine with the decent steak-esque standard FightStick. Either stick is immeasurably superior to trying to play with the Xbox 360 controller’s gimpled D-pad.
But that doesn’t mean I’m completely happy with either controller because they both share the same ridiculous flaw—they are both horrid for chatting.

In order to fit an Xbox 360 headset into the FightSticks, you need to utilize a little cord/adapter that’s pretty identical to Rock Band’s guitar chatting solution.
Now I’m pretty good with plugging things in—it’s sort of a job requirement—but I had all sorts of chatting issues on both FightSticks with multiple 360 headsets and two different adapter cables. Sometimes people couldn’t hear me and sometimes I couldn’t hear them.

When we’re talking about a $150 joystick—a peripheral that approaches the cost of a full Xbox 360—I want my headset to connect perfectly every time. Even if Madcatz’ solution worked perfectly, which it doesn’t, it lacks any level of elegance. And it’s absurd considering that the FightStick TE is the size of a small child.

One other important caveat is that many FightStick SE ($70) buyers have complained of joysticks that stick and buttons that crack. I had no issues with my testing, but the problems are out there.

So what’s the point of this review? Both FightSticks have already been a wild success for Mad Catz, and hats off to them for filling a niche that has generally been left to scrounging for Japanese imports.

I guess that it comes down to this: as a gamer and a Street Fighter fan, I’m pleased with both FightSticks. But as a guy who’s seen what $150 can buy you in electronics today, I think we can do better. And wireless connectivity would be nice, too.

The $70 FightStick will satiate most players who want a simple 360/PS3 joystick

The $150 Tournament Edition really is a step up in feel and quality, just like an arcade

If you’re interested, both cases can be opened to swap/upgrade components

Both of these sticks are huge, so it’s a commitment

The poor headset connection option can be extremely annoying

At these prices, I really want something wireless