Hasta La Gadget!

This one’s strictly for the record, the one that documents failed aesthetic experiments. Microsoft’s Albert Penello has been cornered for an interview by the British Official Xbox Magazine — mostly to discuss the console’s five-year anniversary — and their discourse touched on the ill-fated frontal accessory for the original 360. Penello admitted that although “faceplates were what everybody wanted to do” five years ago, they pretty much fell flat in terms of retail success, which led Microsoft to kill them off pretty quickly. We can’t say we ever developed strong feelings either way about these plastic prettifiers, let’s just be happy that Microsoft’s latest console peripheral probably won’t be subject to similar mea culpa admissions five years from now.

Microsoft admits ‘failure’ with Xbox 360 faceplates, says nobody bought them originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey, you know that Kinect thing that Microsoft recently launched and hasn’t been heard of since? Well, it’s such a boring and useless creation that somebody had to try and spruce it up. Enter DS Styles, with a bag of 5,000 Swarovski crystals and the courage to use them. The result of that coupling has been the (quite literally) unmissable concoction you see above — a Kinect that will blind you first, then record your clumsy reaction for posterity second. And it only costs $632, what a steal!

Continue reading Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)

Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s not much to see right now, but it appears that Red MR is well on its way to becoming one of the most advanced (and probably the most amusing) karaoke bars in the world. Ahead of its Hong Kong debut this Saturday, said company has already installed six Surfaces in its two bars, and is aiming to fit more to fill up all 80 rooms — and that number could go up to 300 in the near future — once Microsoft has ramped up production. With Red MR’s customized software (still under wraps), customers will be able to pick songs, order food, watch TV, and play games on the Surface while listening to a drunk rendition of My Heart Will Go On. Oh, and there’ll also be a few Kinects dotted around the bars, but it’s not exactly clear whether they’ll be in the rooms as well. Anyhow, we’ll be flying out to Hong Kong to check it out later this week, so stay tuned. For now, you can watch a demo of the Surface’s Liar’s Dice game after the break.

Update: Our friends over at M.I.C Gadget found a video from Apple Daily that teases the karaoke UI. Have a look after the jump.

Continue reading Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (update: new video)

Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (update: new video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s face it, the daddy of all motion-controlled gaming is the humble art of air guitar. There’s no question about it, creationists and evolutionists all agree, the genesis of our modern craze for motion sensitivity was your uncle rocking out to Jimmy Page’s face-melting solo in Stairway to Heaven. Now that we’ve got the history lesson out of the way, someone’s gone and programmed Kinect to recognize the fine craft of your air strumming and deliver concordant chords in response. Excellent!

Continue reading Kinect meets its maker with new air guitar hack (video)

Kinect meets its maker with new air guitar hack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Talk about just in time. With merely weeks to go before Mr. Claus makes his wintry journey ’round the globe, Mad Catz has decided to finally ship a peripheral that was introduced way back in June. Without a doubt, the MIDI Pro adapter is one of the more intriguing music game accessories to hit the open market, enabling Rock Band 3 owners to use most MIDI keyboards and drum sets with the title. The box is shipping as we speak for Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii, and the Xbox 360 variant should be headed to Best Buy in the coming hours. If you’ll recall, this guy’s also designed to work with the forthcoming Rock Band 3 Squier guitar / controller, and it even features a velocity sensitive adjustment for MIDI drums designed to reduce cross-talk during play. At $39.99, it’s a no-brainer for those who already own a MIDI instrument or two, but we just might be more excited about the hacking possibilities than anything else. DIYers, get at it!

Continue reading Mad Catz ships Rock Band 3 MIDI Pro adapter, gives your keyboard and drum set new life

Mad Catz ships Rock Band 3 MIDI Pro adapter, gives your keyboard and drum set new life originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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