And good riddance to that guy. We would have gone with a quip about angry Jazz musicians, but the headline's already gone down the RSS tube.
Mad Catz, a name you'll frequently see on third-party console peripherals or sentences ending in "buyer's remorse," has announced its $30 million acquisition of fellow controller constructor, Saitek. The move is seen as part of a "strategic diversification," with Mad Catz gaining access to Saitek's expertise in designing PC peripherals (such as flight sim sticks) as well as a wider distribution network, especially within Europe. It's also expected to open the doors for the purchasing company's foray into PC mice, keyboards, speakers and "electronic chess."
It seems Mad Catz is on a bit of a spending spree this year, having previously checkmated Joytech in September. The pessimists among us are already envisioning a monopoly on third-party peripherals (with construction quality on par with Monopoly's board pieces).
As we were making fun of Joytech for some of their more offensive accessory offerings, we bet that you had no idea the company was actually a subsidiary of Take-Two. Well, that's your fact for the day, a new wrinkle for your brain. ... Ooh, actually, wait, you need to go ahead and forget that fact. Take-Two announced today that they just sold the whole thing to Mad Catz.
Take-Two says that divesting themselves of Joytech is all part of a plan to focus on its core publishing business. We don't know if it's a financial help, but we know that Take-Two is probably better off spiritually without Joytech in its midst.
The nearly released (in Japan) DS game, Slide Adventure: Mag Kid must be seen in video to be appreciated. The DS mounts inside a baby-walker-style cradle and rolls around on a table, dictating in-game action. It basically turns the DS into a mouse. It's hard to tell if the game will be fun, but as always, we tip our hat to games that try new things.
The argument that there's no link between video games and violence may be a little harder to convince parents of later this month. Just try telling mom and dad that every thing's cool on June 27 when their toddler points the Wii sawed-off shotgun in their face and asks them (with an adorable speech impediment) if they feel "wucky."
Joking aside, we're interested to see how the attachment, advertised in the latest GameStop online newsletter, actually works. The $20 blaster's not actually made by Nintendo, so we're hopeful that the answer, if not "really well," will at least be "not horribly." But don't worry, you can use it to play Duck Hunt! ... You know, when it comes out.
A new DS game revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu, Slide Adventure: Mag Kid, features an unusual control method: sliding. The game comes bundled with a slide controller that attaches to the bottom of the DS like a stand. Sitting the system on a table (or desk, or frozen pond) you slide it around to control the magnetic main character. Push the DS toward an enemy to paralyze the foe and attach it to Mag Kid. When you're ready to drop the baddies, just give the DS a shake. Sounds just gimmicky enough to work, but we're eager to see it in action. Slide Adventure: Mag Kid is set for release in Japan on August 2.
No, there's nothing particularly mysterious about them now, but those retro cans are the first consumer product by mod genius (and Engadget contributor) Ben Heck, hinted at through a veil of secrecy in late April. The Audio FX Pro 5+1 Headset sports a USB connection, an integrated 5.1 surround sound decoder and force feedback tech that allows you to feel frequencies that are too low for humans to hear. So ... superpowers.
It's coming in July, but you can pre-order it right here for $80. The audio works with PS3 (just not the mic) but the 360 looks to be a no go. Now, Ben, just finish up your Wii Laptop that makes iced tea and hoverboards, and we'll see what we can do about that Nobel Prize.
CheapyD over at CheapAssGamer.com has put together a really nice little video review about the Play Stand DS Lite from Hori. We were dubious at first, but after watching this review, we've ordered one ourselves from Play-Asia, to the tune of fifteen bucks.
This little sucker will make playing games with one hand a snap, and it also looks swanky as well. Cradle your DS Lite in some goodness, and wait patiently for the SimCity DS game to come out. It has the ability to hold the DS Lite horizontally and vertically, so basically any of your games will look sweet in its plastic and foam goodness.
Nice work, CheapyD. Now we'll wait patiently for this to arrive so we can pimp out Animal Crossing: Wide World as it was meant to be seen.
OK, so you know how you swing the Wii remote like a tennis racquet or a golf club in Wii Sports? Wouldn't that be a little easier if the remote actually looked like a tennis racquet or golf club? No? Not even a little? Well too bad, Joytech is releasing a set of cheap-looking plastic Wii remote attachments to fulfill such a purpose anyway.
In addition to the sports pack pictured above, Joytech also plans on releasing a rounded controller grip for the remote (perfect for playing NES Virtual Console games), a set of silicon gloves to protect the remote and nunchuck and, most exciting of all, a rechargeable battery pack and docking station to keep your remotes nice and energized. No price has been set for the units, which are due in stores this winter.
A newly discovered Gamestop and EB Games listing reveals an Xbox 360 HDMI cable, a rather ponderous product considering the fact that the console does not have the necessary port to accomodate such a miraculous transmissive device. Is it an expensive adapter that automagically goes from the bulky 360 AV connector to an HDMI output? Feel free to entertain such a possibility, so long as you remember that Microsoft wants nothing to do with it. After constantly pestering them for a comment, they informed us that the product was not one of theirs and that "Microsoft has not announced any additional support beyond component video for HD output. MS is watching the market closely and they will continue to evaluate any options in the face of consumer demand."
Unless the face of consumer demand becomes crumpled in a furious frown regarding the lack of HDMI support, don't expect this retail listing (and they're usually so reliable!) to signify a change in Microsoft's strategy. Back in July, when handed the rumor of a new Xbox 360 equipped with an HDMI port, Microsoft promptly tossed it away and insisted that "you don't need HDMI for HD gaming." We fully expect the HDMI rumorang to return again sometime in the future -- catch it here when it does.
Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.
Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.
Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.
I found the man with the brightest smile at E3 roaming Kentia Hall in the closing hour of E3. "Mr. Silver" told me he sells patented mouth lights and bodypaint on his website, but I don't see a link, so you'll have to email him if you really want to show off your tartar control. He claims he can eat and drink without difficulty or risk of electrocution. Of course, there's also a medical model for serious dental applications.
The nearly released (in Japan) DS game, 
_thumbnail.jpg "i am 8-bit: 2008")
