Hasta La Gadget!

We don’t have the foggiest idea whether Tron: Legacy will serve to reboot Disney’s venerable light cycling franchise, but it’s certainly got peripheral vendors in high gear — you’ll be able to hack the ENCOM Digitizing Molecular Laser with a genuine Tron keyboard and mouse or toss virtual light discs with an Tron-themed Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii controller this holiday season. Gaming favorite Razer crafted this $130 laser-etched keyboard with swappable numpad and programmable macros; it will ship alongside a $100, 5600dpi laser mouse in October, and PDP will provide the console controllers for $50 at an unspecified date. We were bummed to hear that the Xbox 360 and PS3 pads are wired, but in retrospect that might be a good thing — by comparison, Razer’s detachable keypad is just begging to be thrown at an MCP-generated foe. See all the new Tron toys lit up in a video after the break. (Caution: video loads automatically.)

Continue reading Tron gaming peripherals soothe your nostalgia with calming blue light (video)

Tron gaming peripherals soothe your nostalgia with calming blue light (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Listen Microsoft, we know you’ve been wanting to stay absolutely mum on Kinect‘s price since its official E3 unveiling, even as GameStop and Walmart say $149.99. Included is the Kinect sensor itself, power supply cable, manual, and WiFi extension cable (huh?), and it shows up in our virtual shopping cart just fine. So, now that your own official online store is giving that price tag on a pre-order page, don’t ya think this guy deserves something akin to a legitimate press release for its MSRP?

[Thanks, Steven W.]

Kinect for Xbox 360 now listed for $150… at Microsoft’s own online store originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Schlepping your Xbox 360 around in your carry-on is a hardly ideal solution for platinum-level frequent fliers. Not only does it take up a significant portion of your roller, but once you get where you’re going there’s no guarantee that your hotel’s wood-paneled tube will know what to do with your high-end gaming machine. Enter the GAEMS Portable Console Gaming and Entertainment System, which carries not only an Xbox but also a 15-inch, 720p LCD in the lid, and speakers to boot. Flip open your console and you’re good to go, though we’re wondering whether there’s room in there for the power brick too. We do know that your controllers will not fit, which seems like an unfortunate design choice if you ask us. The GAEMS suitcase ships sometime before the end of the year for around $250, and yes there are PS3 and new Xbox 360 versions coming too.

GAEMS suitcase is the solution for bad-spelling, frequently-travelling Xbox 360 gamers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Jun 2010 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although we had a chance to play with the new Xbox 360 at E3, that was under Microsoft’s gentle supervision — now that the stealthbox is hitting stores and we’ve got a couple of our own to play with, we’re ready to dive deep and figure out what’s what. In person in the living room, the new 360 isn’t quite as small as you’d think — although it’s definitely thinner and narrower, Microsoft clearly had to jury-rig its big “lift off the old Xbox to reveal the new one” moment at E3, because the new unit is actually a bit deeper by about a half-inch. We’ll forgive them in interests of show business, but just know that you won’t be saving a ton of space with this new version. We also went head-to-head with the OG PS3 and the Slim, as well as the Wii — as you’d expect, the new Xbox 360 is much smaller than the original PS3, noticeably smaller than the Slim, and a hilariously gargantuan monster compared to the Wii. We just did a quick noise comparison video, and we’ve got some early notes, so check it out below!

P.S. Fun note: the older 360 pictured here RROD’d almost immediately after we unboxed the new unit. Karma!

We’re going to be continually updating this post throughout the day, so hit us up with questions and keep checking back!

Continue reading The new Xbox 360 is here — we go head-to-head with the 360 Original, PS3 Slim, and Wii

The new Xbox 360 is here — we go head-to-head with the 360 Original, PS3 Slim, and Wii originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re sure that SteelSeries is mighty pleased with the audio quality of its brand-new Spectrum 5xb gaming headset, but company reps didn’t introduce the product as such. They wanted us to walk away knowing three things, and the first was that we could beat the living crap out of them. Right in front of our eyes a product designer twisted the headband a full 180 degrees, let it snap back into place, then started yanking hard on the braided nylon cord (video after the break) while a dumbfounded expression crossed our face. We tried the very same, but couldn’t get the cord to budge. On the off-chance you don’t care to test durability for yourself, the phones also break into three pieces for transport.

While the second tenet of SteelSeries’ presentation was comfort (and these circumaural cans are comfortable, to be sure), the third was a prototype Xbox 360 device called the AudioMixer that will ship both bundled with the peripheral and separately as well. Plugging into your console and the base of a controller, the AudioMixer lets you connect a PC headset, then automatically balances voice chat and game audio using an on-board processor chip. There are individual volume dials, too, if you just need to shut that swearing ten-year old up. No price as yet, but both this Spectrum 5xb and a less feature-packed younger sibling will ship in Q3. Full press release and semi-destructive video after the break.

Continue reading SteelSeries shows off ultra-durable Spectrum headset, we fail to rip it a new one (video)

SteelSeries shows off ultra-durable Spectrum headset, we fail to rip it a new one (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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