Posts Tagged ‘peripheral’
Tatsunoko vs Capcom Fight Stick coming from Mad Catz
After the success of MadCatz‘ Street Figher IV Fight Stick they have been hard at work producing just about every kind of arcade stick you could shake a stick at (ha..ha).
Anyways, today at Comic-Con they had the above controller on display, a Tatsunoko vs Capcom themed Fight Stick. Sure, it may have the same hardware as the Street Fighter IV Fight Stick (you know, the one that was notorious for breaking) with some Tatsunoko vs Capcom artwork slapped on top. But it’s the novelty that counts, right?
No word on pricing or availability but considering Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars is expected to drop for the Wii towards the end of this year, you can probably expect it then.
via Destructoid
Band Hero coming to DS, peripherals revealed
Earlier this week we learned that a game called Band Hero would be making its way to consoles at some point in the future. However, there was no talk about a portable version of the game. But let’s be real now, it’s Activision, they have to leave no stone unturned.
Enter, Band Hero DS which is exactly what you woudl expect, Band Hero for the Nintendo DS. The game will be developed by Activision owned Vicarious Visions and will come bundled with a guitar peripheral along with a never before seen drum peripheral.
For gamers who liked the previous Guitar Hero DS games, this is for you. As for the rest of you, move along.
via Kotaku
Guitar Hero 5 drumset gets pictured
A few days ago we were shown the updated guitar controller that would be bundled with Guitar Hero 5 and today Activision shows us yet another peripheral, the drums.
There’s not much to say about this set besides the fact that it’s, well, a drum controller. Although, it will apparantly allow for use with 2 kick pedals if you’re into that kind of thing.
Guitar Hero 5 will be made available for the Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox 360 and Wii on September 1st, 2009.
via Joystiq
Conduit Developer “Messing Around” With MotionPlus
They might have decided that the peripheral wasn’t worth integrating into their recent FPS title The Conduit but High Voltage admit that they’ve been messing around with the Wii MotionPlus and see a lot of untapped potential in it: “Whenever you see new equipment and tools to play with, that just opens up the door for all kinds of creative new ideas. I’m sure we’ll see in the next year some really cool stuff coming out on the Wii that could only work with Wii MotionPlus.”
This all comes from the mouth of producer Cameron Rains, with Rains adding that since in these early stages of the peripheral most companies are focusing on sports related titles we have yet to see the full potential of the device. That’s a pretty no-brainer statement of course, since it’s rare that any gaming system or new peripheral/control scheme is executed perfectly in its first few offerings.
In an industry where boasts and gigantic egos are fairly common it’s refreshing to see that Rains doesn’t follow it up with a claim that they’ll be the ones to deliver on it.
Sony to allow more companies to produce Playstation products
Sony has recently announced that they will be expanding their licensing program thus allowing more third party manufacturers the ability to produce pretty much anything they want for the PSP, PS2 or PS3.
Apparantly if a company decides to enter the licensing program they will have to comply with “qualifying SCE standards and requirements” after which they will be given the technical knowledge behind creating Playstation products. Of course they also get to slap the Official Licensed Product logo onto their products.
Read (Joystiq)
Xbox 360 wireless microphone dropping in fall for $49.99
We first heard about the Wireless Xbox 360 Microphone back in the beginning of April when Microsoft unveiled some new Lips DLC.
Well, it seems that Microsoft has again set their sights on the wireless mic as they have said the peripheral, which is compatible with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Lips, and even Disney Sign It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year, will ship to retail this fall.
The Wireless Microphone is expected to cost $49.99. Hey, you didn’t think a Microsoft developed product would be cheap, did you?
Read (Ripten)
Nintendo shows off Wii Vitality Sensor
What you see above was recently introduced by Nintendo during their E3 presentation, the Wii Vitality Sensor.
What this peripheral essentially is, is a heart rate monitor that you attach to the bottom of the Wii controller just like you would the Nunchuk attachment. Nintendo says this attachment will “expand the appeal of video games” and sense a players pulse along with “a number of other signals being transmitted by their bodies, and will then provide information to the users about the body’s inner world.”
So, exactly waht they will be using this attachment for? Not a clue but knowing Nintendo they will probably come up with something good.
Read (Kotaku)
The Peregrine: Bringing Technology Back To The 90s
At E3 Iron Will Technologies is unveiling an innovation of theirs that’ll bring many gamers back down memory lane to a time of bad haircuts, ripped-up jeans and Fred Savage. In his classic film The Wizard where he attempts to get a young video game prodigy to a gaming competition. One of the most tense scenes involved one of the antagonists unleashing one of the most bizarre yet desirable peripherals of the early gaming world: the Power Glove.
It was intended to translate a gamers hand movements into control inputs, but due to its imprecision and lack of dedicated games it didn’t really catch on, and was regarded as a gimmick, but the concept has remained popular. Films like Minority Report, Johnny Mnemonic and others have showed extreme fascination with the concept of controlling a computer via hand inputs.
The Peregrine is an attempt by Iron Will to bring this generally science-fiction concept into real life. MMOs and RTS games are notorious for complex control schemes that require endless numbers of key shortcuts for success and to fumble one in the midst of a raid or skirmish can destroy your slim chance of victory. The Peregrine promises to offer over thirty key shortcuts by tapping your thumb to various points on your fingers. Of course the control options are customizable and luckily for those prone to long, long gaming sessions the sensor disconnects and the glove itself is washable.
DJ Hero controller spotted with cross-fader attachment
We first saw the turntable inspired controller for DJ Hero earlier this month but it was only half of the controller not to mention just a rendering.
Well, during a E3 preview special aired on spike there was a brief segment with the hostess, Amanda McKay, holding the full controller cross-fader and all. Even with the missing counterpart it’s still had to determine which game has the cooler controller, DJ Hero, or Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.
Either or, Activision says that DJ Hero is set to drop sometime before the end of this year.
Read (VG247)
Wiimote Alternative Now Available
It seems a little late in the game to be releasing a third-party Wii controller, but Nyko has gone ahead and done it anyways, calling it the Wand. After their lawsuit over the Kama they’ve made sure it’s quite distinguishable from Nintendo’s controller in terms of looks, but the overall shape and functionality is the same.
One of the more interesting features though is that the Wand allows for electronic emulation of existing buttons. With the Nintendo Wiimote if you want some sort of alternate control scheme i.e. a light gun style controller, it can only operate the buttons in an analog fashion. The Wand is set up so that a peripheral plugged into the port on the end can have its own buttons.
There are two packages available, the ‘core pack’ which comes with a Wand and vibration enabled wired Kama; then there’s the ‘Action Pack’ which includes a Wand and a light gun accessory. It’s obviously styled after the Nyko Perfect Shot but functions a little differently. Before slipping the controller into it, you remove the battery cover. It also includes the mandatory orange bit you stick on the ‘barrel’ to indicate it’s a toy, though why you’d take it outside the house is beyond me (well with the exception of maybe bringing it to a friend’s place to play, but then just stick it in a bag).
The Wand is now available in stores for $34.99, the Core and Action packs are available for $49.99
Tony Hawk: RIDE controls explained
When I first saw the announcement trailer for Tony Hawk: RIDE I wondered how the hell that skateboard deck shaped controller would work. Well, thanks to Kotaku, we now know — The controller itself will include two accelerometers and 4 motions sensors (which you can see above) all serving their own purpose.
The accelerometers, as you could have guessed, will deal with turning and spinning. As in, you tilt to the left your character turns left, tilt right he turns right, just like a real skateboard.
The real fun, however, comes with tricks like kickflips and tail grabs in which you will utilize the motion sensors. You’ll have to actually move your feet over said motion sensors just like you would if you were doing the trick in real life. Nonskateboarders don’t fret as there will be 3 difficulty the hardest of which will require “a ton of motion control from the user” with the two easier settings catering towards those who are less skateboard savvy.
Punch-Out!! to utilize Wii Balance Board
Up until now I’ve always look at the Wii Balance Board as sort of a gimicky peripheral. I mean, everything you could do with it (besides Wii Fit) you can do with the Wiimote easier. However, the control scheme for Punch-Out!! has recently been reveiled and the Balance Board looks to be a welcome addition.
As you can see, the player can apply pressure to both feet to duck and pressure ot the left or right feet to dodge either way. Pretty cool, huh? Definitely a step up from Wii Boxing which was bundled with Wii Sports.
Punch-Out!! is set to hit shelves for the Nintendo Wii next week.
Read (Kotaku)
Wii Retro Controller Adapter Debuting At E3
Although the Wii Classic Controller or a Gamecube controller works well enough for most virtual console titles nothing would beat the sheer joy of playing old school Nintendo games with the original controller. Before now you’d have to possess MacGuyver level skills to wire an old-school NES controller to your Wii, but a new peripheral set to be revealed at E3 will substitute for the mullet-style tinkering.
The 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adapter will plug into the Gamecube controller port and accept inputs from the original NES, Super Nintendo and N64 Controllers. It’s compatible with both 1st and 3rd party controllers and is set to launch June of this year, with an MSRP of $19.99. It’s manufactured and designed by Komodo and distributed by Innex
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ controller to rival DJ Hero’s
Just yesterday Activision gave us a first look at the controller for their upcoming DJ Hero title. Today, Kotaku has gotten their hands on some press images of the controller for competiting title Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.
As you can see, the controller is somewhat similar to DJ Hero’s since it has a turntable and a cross-fader but it also includes 5 colored buttons and was created by actual turntable maker Numark. Oh yeah, that turntable is also free spinning and touch-sensitive.
Now, there’s no telling when Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will be out but if it does actually hit store shelves DJ Hero is sure to get a run for its money.
Penguin Debuting Dedicated Wii Zapper at E3
Whether you prefer the double handed grip of the original Nintendo zapper, the more realistic gun style of Nyko’s Perfect shot or some other Wiimote add-on designed to simulate the lightgun experience, they all have something in common; they’re all just analog devices that utilize simple mechanics to depress the buttons. Unfortunately most zapper controls only utilize a trigger mechanism, leaving the rest of the buttons and the directional pad on top of the zapper. Unfortunately games like Red Steel 2 and the Conduit are going to be utilizing both the wiimote and the nunchuck, meaning that manipulating all the controls could be difficult and cumbersome.
Penguin is creating a new peripheral for the console that hopes to correct this issue, the CrossFire Remote Pistol. It’ll be a smaller, more compact device with the A, B and D-pad buttons are all repositioned for easier access. Of course the B button is located in the trigger position, with the A and D-pad buttons located right next to the thumb. It also features enhanced vibration function and more powerful speakers. Of course since it’s simply just a modified Wiimote with the same buttons it’ll function with normal games. The new peripheral is set to be debuted at E3.