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Feb 27

mLani introduces new “MoBi” FPS controller for PS3

There’s not exactly a wealth of information about this one just yet, but peripheral maker mLani (started by the former founder of SplitFish) looks to be doing its best to make PC gamers feel a bit more at home on the PS3 with this new FPS-minded controller which, coincidentally, looks to compete directly with some of SplitFish’s own offerings. Apparently, in addition to improving your aim in Killzone 2, this one can double as a mouse for your PC and, as you can see above, it’s also wireless, although it’s at least possible that the cable between the mouse and the Wiimote-esque controller has been conveniently omitted. No word on a price, but this one’s supposedly on track for a release in the next three months or so.

[Via DigitalBattle, thanks SK]

Update: Looks like mLani has just gotten official with the controller, which is now dubbed the “MoBi” and set for release in the third week of May. Still no indication of a price, but mLani did confirm that both the mouse and controller are indeed wireless, and that the mouse (2000 DPI, 500Hz) comes with its own PC software to allow for full customization. Head on past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading mLani introduces new “MoBi” FPS controller for PS3

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

mLani introduces new “MoBi” FPS controller for PS3 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 26

Wii Comes Up Big in March

Posted in: gaming, nintendo, ps3, Today's Chili, wii, xbox 360

This article was written on April 22, 2008 by CyberNet.

wii family fun-2.png About a month ago we took a look at how each of the consoles were still stacking up to each other in the U.S., and not surprisingly Nintendo was widely outselling the competition in both the handheld and console gaming markets. As March rolled on nothing much changed, except that Nintendo sold about 300,000 more Wii’s than the previous month:

Nintendo Wii – 721,000 units
Nintendo DS – 698,000 units
Sony PSP – 297,000 units
Microsoft Xbox 360 – 262,000 units
PlayStation 3 – 257,000 units
PlayStation 2 – 216,000 units

From what I hear the Wii consoles can still be quite a challenge to find stocked in stores, which means Nintendo has to be pulling in some good money. Last month the Wii didn’t have many of the top selling games which led many (including myself) to believe that consumers were content with having just the Wii Sports that the console ships with. Well, that may not be the case because Nintendo definitely knocked one out of the park with the Super Mash Brothers Brawl game:

[Wii] Super Smash Bros: Brawl – 2.7 million units
[Xbox 360] Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 – 752,300 units
[Xbox 360] Army of Two – 606,100 units
[Wii] Wii Play – 409,000 units
[PSP] God of War: Chains of Olympus – 301,600 units
[Wii] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – 264,000 units
[Xbox 360] MLB 2K8 – 237,100 units
[Xbox 360] Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – 237,000 units
[PS3] Army of Two – 224,900 units

And you know that April’s stats are going to be along the same lines because the long awaited Mario Kart for the Wii will be released on April 27th. Despite being released near the end of the month I think we can expect to see Mario Kart top the charts for April.

[via WinSuperSite]

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Feb 26

PlayStation Network snags 20M users, Xbox Live still way more profitable

Posted in: Microsoft, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, psp, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live, Xbox360, XboxLive

Sony announced a landmark this week for its PlayStation Network: 20 million users worldwide, as of February 20. According to the presser, that breaks down to 5 million in the first 14 months of service, 5 million more 8 months later, and an additional 10 million the 7 months after that. There’s quite a few caveats to consider here, as that includes PSP and PS3 users as well as anyone who wishes to use the official PS forums, whether or not they own one of the aforementioned consoles.

However, more interesting to us is a note about the service generating $180 million life to date in revenue. It’s a stark contrast to Xbox Live‘s reported $1 billion revenue since its 2002 launch, as of E3 2009. Based on figures from leaked to Seattle P-I this week, which said XBL had 10 million subscribers worldwide and a 56 percent Gold subscriptions rate in February 2008, we can do some fuzzy math. Assuming those Gold members paid the $50 annual subscription — or $4.16 monthly, the cheapest per month option — that amounts to $23.3 million for the month, not accounting for discounts or free Gold trials. Presuming no subscription growth for sake of argument — we know it’s growing — that’s $280 million annually, well over PSN’s life to date revenues. Say what you will about mean ol’ Microsoft charging for online play, the numbers seem to go in its favor.

[Via Joystiq]

Read – Leaked XBL data
Read – Comparing XBL vs. PSN
Read – Sony press release

Filed under: Gaming

PlayStation Network snags 20M users, Xbox Live still way more profitable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 25

PS3 price cut may be on the way very soon, says analyst

Posted in: playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, rumor, sony, Today's Chili

Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco, says that a major price cut on the Playstation 3 could be on the way in the near, near future (like, in the next few days). Hickey claims that the price slash needs to be at least $100 to get the retail juice moving again, and that, failing that, Sony should expect to see its sales on the console continue to decline. We’ve heard predictions of a coming price reduction already (sure, they were from Microsoft, but whatever), and this wouldn’t be a huge surprise, though we’ll just have to wait and see. Hickey also speculates that Sony could hack the Blu-ray out of the PS3 in order to make that price cut doable, but that seems slightly wild to us. Then again, stranger things have happened.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

PS3 price cut may be on the way very soon, says analyst originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 24

PlayStation-induced palm lesions identified by Swiss scientists

Posted in: gaming, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames

It’s no Wiiitis, but Swiss scientists have ID’d a new skin disorder they believe came from prolonged gaming sessions. Dubbed “PlayStation palmar hidradentitis,” the condition is marked by painful lumps that appear on the palms. This Dr. House diagnosis came from a 12-year old girl who visited Geneva hospital with hand lesions allegedly from hours-long gaming marathon, and that she fully recovered after a ten-day PlayStation hiatus. While being careful not to discredit the findings, Sony spokesman David Wilson chimed in to say they had never heard of a case like this, despite hundreds of millions consoles sold, and as with any leisure activity, “there are possible consequences of not following common sense, health advice and guidelines.” Hey, at least she didn’t break her arm.

Filed under: Gaming

PlayStation-induced palm lesions identified by Swiss scientists originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 24

Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightPad Review: I’m Going to Kill You So, So Bad

Posted in: gaming, Microsoft, playstation 3, ps3, review, sony, Today's Chili, top, xbox, xbox 360

Let’s get this much out of the way: Shoryuken for shoryuken, the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightPad is a vastly superior instrument of destruction compared to the standard Xbox 360 controller.

Price: $40

Verdict: In one sense, the verdict is that straightforward—the fantastic floating D-Pad and arcade-style six-button layout crush the regular Xbox 360 controller when it comes to fighting games. The FightPad makes my game so much better, so much more precise, I don’t think I could go back to using the old pad.

Here’s what I mean: With the old pad, on average, I would successfully execute Fei Long’s rising dragon kick (or insert any dragon punch-based maneuver) about 5-7 times out of 10 tries. With the FightPad, it’s like 9 times out of 10. Moves requiring 720-degree motions, like Zangief’s super, come off much easier as well, and exactly when I want it to (when someone’s up in my face—PILEDRIVER). Back, forward, back forward style specials, like with Honda or Blanka, aren’t noticeably easier to perform, though.

The shape and layout of the FightPad kinda reminds me of a Sega Genesis controller, and is for the most part, excellent, though if you have elven hands it might feel a little too big. For me, with medium mitts, it fits perfectly, no matter which way I hold it (I actually turn my right hand palm side down, so I can mash the buttons with my fingers whenever I play fighting games) and there’s some breathing room for gorilla-handed people too.

But there are some things you should know about that would be dealbreakers if beating people didn’t matter above all else. Numero uno, on the Xbox 360, this sucker is wired, which is lame balls for a $40 controller. It also feels very cheaply made, with glossy plastic Mad Catz found and melted down after it fell off a Christmas ornament truck. The rubber coating on the sides and back helps a little bit. Last, the sound quality coming through the headset on this thing is really terrible, like I was stranded on a desert island with a cellphone from 1987—it’s noticeably crappier than it is on the regular Xbox 360 controllers.

Those things said, if you wanna do better in Street Fighter IV—or any fighting game really, since it worked fantastically with Samurai Showdown II and SFIITHDR as well—and not have a real reason to curse at your controller when you get scrubbed, but don’t wanna (or can’t) drop the money on the outrageously awesome Tournament Edition FightStick, this is a reasonable alternative, if you can actually find it for the $40 MSRP.

P.S. If you wanna play Street Fighter IV with me, @reply me on Twitter and we’ll set something up later this week.

Feb 20

My Final Gadget Will and Testament

Posted in: Apple, feature, Gadgets, iPhone, macbook, macbook pro, Microsoft, nintendo, nintendo wii, playstation 3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, top, wii, xbox, xbox 360

I, Mark Wilson, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do declare this to be my last gadget Will.

While at the time of this writing, I am a spry (OK, a bit soft) 26-year-old man, I realize that I could, at any moment in time, die. In such an unfortunate circumstance, should the world ever recover from its loss, I’d like my most important possessions (my gadgets and digital media) to be well-tended pending their obsolescence (two or three months from now).

I will, give, and bequeath unto the persons named below, if he or she survives me, the Property described below:

My iPhone

Pending that my iPhone 3G was not crushed by whatever huge boulder must have smashed me, I would like to leave it to someone very special in my life. My wife Elizabeth, a long time iPhone hater, recently admitted that she was wrong in denouncing the phone and purchasing a Blackberry Pearl instead. I know she would really, really enjoy having my iPhone.

Too late, sweetie! Your penance were not adequate. My iPhone should go to an underprivileged child who is resourceful enough to pay a $100/month subscription even though they haven’t shoes on their feet. Actually, publicize the donation and guilt AT&T and/or Apple into picking up the tab. It’ll help if the child can’t read.

My Flickr Account

You can’t give thousands of pretentious sepia photos to just anyone. No, these all go to the Art Institute of Chicago. May they reconsider my genius when macro photography of mundane objects constitutes an artistic revolution, or when there’s finally a wing dedicated to LOLCatz.

My Plasma TV and Home Theater Accessories

The 46-inch Samsung plasma should be placed in my building’s workout room where, as of now, some devil has placed two crappy 13-inch LCDs under the guise that anyone can actually see those things. My TV now belongs to the condo association, pending that neither ESPN nor ESPN2 can ever be watched on it.

My Tangled Box of Cords

Everyone has an obnoxious, tangled box of various cords, and I was no exception. I hated this box, but found it a necessity in the mortal world. Now that I have transcended to a higher plane of existence (hopefully involving wireless HDMI and unlimited refills at a peach margarita machine), I leave this box to the last person who wronged me in life. Whoever that may be, I fucking hate you and my grudge will be eternal, just like that knot of cords.

My Xbox 360 and Games

OK, now this was a tough one. Who gets all the games, the controllers and the overpriced Wi-Fi dongle? Humanity, that’s who. And my gamer points go to Adam Frucci, the only guy who I know with less Live street cred than me. Well, him or my mom. Figure it out, lawyers. This point might go to trial.

My Wii

Sell it on eBay. I wouldn’t subject anyone I love to dealing with the horrors of the current Wiimote. If eBay has gone bankrupt, the lawyer has been instructed to bury the system in a time capsule until Wii MotionPlus comes out. If there’s a decent amount of game support (I’m talking games with headshots and blood, people), it should go to my two adorable nieces to aid in their development.

My PS3

Hahahahahaha. I mean, whoever will take this can have it! Hahahahahaha. Really though, in ten years, everyone will have them…pfft…hahahahhahahaha. Oh man, I’m funny even when dead.

My Low Digit ICQ Number

Mom, I know this has been hard for you, especially as you have no one to turn to regarding all things tech. No problem. You can have my five-digit ICQ number. (I realize you have no clue what that means.) It’s OK. Walk into any chatroom with that and, trust me, 87264829 isn’t giving you any shit, ever. You rule the internet now. Go forth and crush the opposition.

My MacBook Pro

Ahh, the MacBook Pro, the center of my digital life. That’s why you’re all here, isn’t it? Well, of course my darling wife Elizabeth receives it. With some provisions:

Always wash your hands before using. Before you turn it on, say three Hail Maries with “Steve” replaced for “Mary.” No Boot Camping Vista, but Win 7 is fine. No watching YouTube clips where kids light their own farts on the screen. No chatting with other men on it. Don’t worry about webcam restrictions, I’ve taken the liberty of breaking the iSight for you.

It should be noted that there is a lot of important media saved on the hard drive that represents not only my musical preferences but snippets of our life together. You are now the owner of all MP3s, photos, animated GIFs (this is a big score, honey), and videos.

On the condition that you never delete my Springsteen collection, as low as you may be on space, it’s all yours. The computer is out in the hall. Please go claim it now. Mom? Sis? You can go with and help.

[They should leave the room.]

OK, Jason Chen. Quick. The MacBook is under your seat. I need you to delete some files. Go to my hard drive. Open “Applications.” Open “System Files” folder. Open “DO NOT OPEN OR COMPUTER WILL MELT” folder. Open “I’M NOT JOKING.” Open “SEARS CATALOG BABES WINTER 2002-2008.” Select all files. If you have time, you can copy these to the external drive you were instructed to bring with in a past email. If not, select all and delete. Then empty trash. Thanks buddy. You’re a true friend.

Oh, and to everyone. Don’t mourn my passing. Remember, I’m not dead. My crippled body is merely frozen. When I awake from my long winter slumber, I’ll be totally cured of ailments and donning a 7-foot titanium robot body complete with laser Gatlings and a turbo orgasm button. So don’t feel sorry for Mark. That guy’s doing just fine.

Well, that, or the cryogensis freezer failed, I was wrong about Christianity being fake and I’m burning through eternity in some poorly ventilated internet cafe that only has dial-up.

Feb 05

David Reeves drops hint of Sony’s shift to 45nm PS3s

Posted in: playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili

It’s no secret that Sony has been eyeing a shift to 45nm Cell processors in the PS3 sooner or later, but the always talkative David Reeves (Sony Europe’s president) has now finally dropped a bit more specificity on the matter, while naturally still leaving the company quite a bit of wiggle room. Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Reeves said that Sony is “always looking at ways to reduce costs,” and that one of those measures is “replacing the current 65 nanometer Cell chip with a 45 nanometer one probably in middle of year.” Reeves also expectedly talked up the PS3’s multimedia capabilities, which he says will help the PS3 compete better with the Xbox 360 in the short term without the need for drastic price cuts, although he doesn’t seem to complete rule out the notion of some increased affordability before the end of the year, saying “it will make progress” in that direction, no doubt with the aid of that aforementioned 45nm Cell processor.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Filed under: Gaming

David Reeves drops hint of Sony’s shift to 45nm PS3s originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 04

eSATA HDD Extender may / may not expand PS3 storage

Posted in: hard drive, HardDrive, playstation, ps3, sony, storage, Today's Chili

We’re not saying the mildly brilliant eSATA HDD Extender wouldn’t work in theory, but we’re a bit skeptical about the, um, realness of this here product. Unlike Team Xecuter’s Hard Drive Xtender, which is definitely shipping to buyers, this device supposedly gives Sony’s PlayStation 3 the ability to recognize an external eSATA drive. Furthermore, the device also adds four USB ports for even more connectivity, and given just how sweet this looks beneath the console, we’d say some serious thought went into the design. Sadly, there’s no real indication of where the PS3 HD Plus PHE-01 will be sold, and even if you are able to locate one, the installation is a few notches above “drop dead simple.”

[Via Joystiq PlayStation]

Filed under: Gaming, Storage

eSATA HDD Extender may / may not expand PS3 storage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 03

Homebrew Street Fighter IV PS3 controller stands up on its own two legs

Posted in: controller, hack, mod, playstation, playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, Today's Chili

Anyone can go out there and put their hands on a couple of commercially manufactured Street Fighter IV joysticks, but there is something really cool about a simple, well executed homebrew mod. This PS3 controller may not be the cutting edge of industrial design, but it does say: “I can’t wait for the new Street Fighter. It’s gonna be sweeeet.” Previously a wooden TV table and some controller stuff, the proper holes have been drilled, the innards affixed to the bottom and a picture of Chun-Li thrown in for good measure. We wouldn’t recommend placing a drink on the thing (we know how carried away you get) but who has time for a beverage when you’re consumed with vengeance?

Gallery: Homebrew Street Fighter IV PS3 controller