Red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition “unboxed” by Major Nelson

Curious what’s in that hot new red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition box? Well, Major Nelson’s got you covered — he just posted up this quick video going over the contents. You’re getting the red 360 with 120GB drive, a red controller, black headset, HDMI, component, and Ethernet cables, a download code for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, RE 5, and… the standard Xbox power supply. Yeah! We’ll hit you with a real unboxing when it all goes on sale — which just happens to be Friday the 13th, our favorite day in March.

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Red Xbox 360 Resident Evil Limited Edition “unboxed” by Major Nelson originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

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.

Red ‘Resident Evil 5’ Xbox 360 unveiled! (updated)

Looks like that red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle wasn’t just some tripped out figment of your imagination. Just moments ago, the package popped up for Xbox Live subscribers, detailing a handsome red Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive, Resident Evil 5, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and a few other odds and ends (like a handful of cables). There’s an indication that you can pre-order the kit, but at this point, we’re not aware of any place to follow through. We’ll keep our eyes peeled, of course.

Update: According to the German press release we just received, the limited edition bundle will hit Europe on March 13th for €299 — likely $399 Stateside. Gallery updated with official press pictures.

Update 2: Boom! Pre-order at Best Buy for $399. [Thanks, Ivan]

Continue reading Red ‘Resident Evil 5’ Xbox 360 unveiled! (updated)

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Red ‘Resident Evil 5’ Xbox 360 unveiled! (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony PlayStation 3 Heading South–To Latin America

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This week Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that it would be officially expanding its business to Latin America. The key word is “officially,” because the PlayStation 3–as well as other PlayStation versions–has been available, via import from the United States. However, increasing demand made Sony take another look at the market last year.

With more than 500 million consumers south of the border as a potential market, Mark Stanley, SCEA director and general manager for Latin America, said, “This expansion is the direct result of us listening closely to our community,” So, later this year the PS2, PS3 and PSP will be made available to 13 different countries in Latin America.

Time will tell whether the PS3 will be a hit in South America, though. And while pricing and availability haven’t been announced, it is worth noting the PS3 could be the most expensive console to actually land on Latin America shores. This could be Sony’s last gamble to build the international presence of the PS3, which still trails the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii in sales.

Post by Peter Suciu

My Final Gadget Will and Testament

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.

Red Xbox 360 mentioned in PR, is probably real


So it looks like that red Xbox 360 Elite that we heard might be on its way is, in fact, on its way. A press release for Halo Wars in New Zealand makes mention of the phantom console — the deal is that anyone buying a new Xbox 360 will get a free copy of the game, but the fine print excludes the doesn’t-yet-exist red model, because it’s “exclusive to EB Games.” So this is the Resident Evil 5 one? It’s all so unclear. We haven’t picked up on any context clues as to a time frame for release or price. Yet.

[Via Joystiq]

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Red Xbox 360 mentioned in PR, is probably real originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheap Geek: DVD Sale, LG HDTV and Xbox Combo, $1 Domain Names

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For those of you who had Monday off for President’s Day, today may still feel like a Monday, but you can rejoice in the small defeat of being one-fifths of the way through the work week with some super bargains. Check out Gearlog’s deals for Tuesday, February 17:

1. Get two DVDs for $10 until March 2 at Amazon.com. Choose from titles like “True Lies,” “Borat,” “M*A*S*H,” and even the Power Rangers Movie. The price will be adjusted at checkout.

2. Save $225 when you purchase the LG 37-inch HDTV and Xbox 360 together. Get both products for $874.98. The TV alone costs $799.99, and the Xbox runs at $299.99, totaling 1,099.98 altogether. Plus, the Xbox comes with Kung Fu Panda and LEGO Indiana Jones. Not a bad deal. But hurry, it ends on February 21.

3. Get a domain name for $1 from GoDaddy.com. Use coupon code LOVE99 at checkout. You’ll still have a standard $0.20 ICANN fee that will apply, but take advantage of the deal now, it may end soon. [Via Bargainist.com]

Totally rad, red Xbox 360 spied in Toys R Us fine print

Is this for reals? If so… yay! If the above screenshot of a Toys R Us terminal is to be believed, there might be a new, red Xbox 360 Elite on its way to a shelf near you. Details beyond the SKU are pretty scant, but the price is the same as the current Xbox 360 Elite model — $399. We know a certain, fashion-conscious avatar who is going to be really excited if this is true.

[Via Joystiq]

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Totally rad, red Xbox 360 spied in Toys R Us fine print originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Halo Is an RTS Game!

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Are you a huge Halo fan? Are you also a big RTS gamer? Did you ever think those two worlds would collide?

Microsoft is releasing Halo Wars next week on the Xbox 360–and it’s a console RTS game based in the Halo universe. We are not really sure what this genre is going to be called; maybe “first person strategizer”? And how do you play an RTS game on a console? The controls just don’t compute, right? Microsoft has teamed up with the guys who produced the “Age of Empires” series, but in this game, instead of muskets and swords, they’re using Warthogs, Grunts, and Grizzles.

Check out the preview at PCMag.com.

Hello Kitty Xbox 360 dazzles while you frag

You may remember deviantART member Ricepuppet from his days dressing up his Xbox 360 in Domo-kun stylings. He’s back, combining our love for console paint jobs with all things Hello Kitty. No matching controller this time, but there’s more than enough stars, shades of pink, and cuteness to make up for it. The Sanrio charmer isn’t the only new mod he’s got, we also spotted consoles adorned with Halo Wars, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chocobos (of Final Fantasy fame). Now how about we see some of that HK love plastered on a Rock Band drum set?

Read – Hello Kitty mod
Read – Go Go Sonic mod
Read – Halo Wars mod
Read – Chocobo racing mod

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Hello Kitty Xbox 360 dazzles while you frag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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