Hasta La Gadget!

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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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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Slowly, ever so slowly we’re beginning to learn about the internal differences between Sony’s new PS3 Slim and its chubby ancestry. We already knew that it supported BraviaLink while talk of “faster gaming” was introduced (suspiciously) yesterday; something that remains very much in doubt until we can confirm. Now we hear that the fatboy gone slim supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream output to your receiver. Hear that audio nerds? Bitstream. See the HDMI chip on previous generations of the PS3 didn’t support bitstream output of the new(ish) high def codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. As such, the PS3 had to decode it internally before sending it over to your receiver via LPCM. A process that could garble the lossless audio depending on your setup. Even though the vast majority of people will never notice the difference (or even care), PS3 Slim owners can still kick back in smug satisfaction each time the TrueHD or DTS-HD MA indicators light-up on their receivers.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

PS3 Slim bitsreams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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