With all this talk of 360-degree customer service and Zappos ninjas who help babies out of burning buildings while taking orders for clogs, it’s nice to remember that for every heartwarming tale of customer satisfaction there is a dude like Paul Christoforo.
The tale begins with a controller accessory. It’s called the Avonger en-kontrol (my misspelling) and it’s some kind of octopus that helps… → Read More
Like many FPS gamers of a certain age, I started with the WASD keyboard/mouse control system. As such, I have issues with using a controller to play games on a console, and really wish that someone would come out with a keyboard and mouse control system. There’s been a few that come close, and the Scorch 360 looks like another also-ran. → Read More
Want to help Infinity Ward, developers of Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2, develop a controller? Sure! Robert Bowling, who’s Infinity Ward’s go-to community guy, has a Tweet that asks if you prefer controllers with concave analog sticks, or convex analog sticks. → Read More
Tekken 6 is still several months away—October 27 is circled on most fighting game fans’ calendars, I suspect—,but Namco just took the wraps off the joystick for the 360 and PS3 versions. It’ll run $150, about $50 less than the Fancy Pants version of the Street Fighter IV joystick from MadCatz. The joystick is wireless, yes. → Read More
E3 starts next week, and while I’ll be celebrating by, I don’t know, listening to Ron and Fez all day long, Peter, Devin, and Greg will be rubbing shoulders with celebrities like Adam Sessler and the girl who used to host “Cheat.” One thing the guys might run into in between chatting up G4 production assistants: SplitFish’s new controllers, the Dual SFX Evolution and Dual SFX Frag Pro. Both… → Read More
It’s been a while since Akai introduced the APC40, a controller for Ableton Live. In 17 days the APC40 will be available worldwide. If you head over to APC40.com you can see the remaining time until the controller is released. You can check out in person how the APC40 performs with Live 8 on one of the workshops of Akai and Ableton. There are some dates for Europe too. → Read More
Is a fancy new controller enough to “save” the PS3? We’ll find out at E3 (which is in June; several of us will be there), when Sony is now rumored to debut its motion-sensing controller. → Read More
Initially unveiled way back in September of last year, the “Gametrak Freedom” motion sensing remote control for Xbox 360 and the PS3 has undergone a bit of a makeover and is currently on display at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco. → Read More
It looks like 2009 will be a good year for midi controllers. First Akai came out with the APC40, soon followed by The Maschine by Native Instruments. This new baby here, the Ohm64 from Livid is elegant and sexy. → Read More
We saw the original of this crazy hybrid controller back in 2007, and I can understand why you might want one. I mean, watching console players play FPSes is watching a mudskipper flopping along the bank, thinking “god I’m slick.” They’ve recently updated it, but the principle is the same. Split the Dual Shock in half, remap the right analog stick to a mouse, and put buttons all over that mother. → Read More
This would be nice. I’ve been using this Logitech controller for so long that I’m starting to go crazy. Square enclosures for the analog sticks? Come on! I know that the 360 controller has been connectable with Windows for a while now, but the SIXAXIS and Dual Shock 3 have been strictly console only — until now. An enterprising (and PS3-lovin’) hacker has made some custom drivers that let… → Read More
Hori, the third-party video game accessory maker, will release its Wii Classic Controller on November 27. It resembles the old GameCube controller in size and shape, but the button layout mimics that of other Wii classic controllers, like that Nyko one. Those crazy switches in the middle control autofire, a relic of systems past. The $30 controller should work well with all those Virtual Console… → Read More
Immersion is one of the primary companies behind force feedback and haptics. They’re working with a peripheral maker called dreamGEAR to put out a wireless Dual Shock alternative called the Shadow. It will feature “advanced vibro-tactile, spinning-mass technologies,” which is about as real-sounding as Master of Orion 2′s “black hole generator”* — although… → Read More
Here’s an Xbox 360 controller – but wait! It’s red! It’ll be available on September 30th for $64.99. Wow, that’s a lot of dough for a controller. This is no ordinary controller, though. No, this controller is red. And it’s a “limited edition” controller, meaning that if you don’t buy it, you might have to use the standard white controller forever. Or the blue one. Or the pink… → Read More
A while ago I posted about how Novint, an innovative and ambitious peripheral company took their freaky-deaky Falcon controller straight to EA instead of standing around like some kind of techno-wallflower. Well, it worked out pretty well and they’re leveraging it into more deals: they’re teaming up with Valve to add Falcon support to a ton of their games. As befitting my skeptical… → Read More
http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=191059 We’ve heard much romormongering about the Guitar Hero for DS controller, and now here it is. It’s, well, minimalist, comparatively speaking. It’s much like the Guitar Hero fretboard we have now, with the strum action taking place on the touch screen, which is cleaver, but this still looks unwieldely. I preferred the… → Read More
[photopress:benheck36000.jpg,full,right] World class modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn—BenHeck—has “dropped” a new Xbox 360 controller mod for us all to admire. It’s a one-handed controller that’s still powered by two AA batteries. You may recognize the D-Pad on the controller—that’s because it’s from the PlayStation. Mr. Heck is currently working… → Read More
We first saw Nyko’s Zero controller at CES and now it’s in stores. The $60 controller is the first PS3 controller to hit the market with rumble capabilities (dual vibration motors). But it’s not a one trick pony. The Zero boasts up to 25 hours of continuous play and can be recharged via USB. Range on the Zero is up to 30 feet thanks to the utilization of the 2.4GHz wireless… → Read More
[photopress:guitarslash.jpg,full,center] You love Guitar Hero 3, admit it. It’s so much fun, especially after a few Sparks with your friends. But if you’re like me, you don’t have the game. You get to play when you go to your friend’s houses. But man, I really want my own axe, so I was glad when it was recently announced that Activision would be releasing controllers by… → Read More
If I were forced to pick one thing I didn’t like about the Wii, other than it being a glorified GameCube, would have to be the wired Nunchuck. Let’s face it, we live in a wireless world and why shouldn’t that apply to everything else in life? I flail around when I box and many time have I lost control of the damn thing because it’s tethered to the Wiimote. Thank the tech… → Read More
Here’s a giant NES controller for your amusement. It has a working Nintendo Entertainment System inside of it. The buttons on the big controller are functional but due to its size, you need a friend to help you navigate around the Mushroom Kingdom. Sounds sort of fun, no? Maybe it’d be a hit at some sort of party. I seem to remember finding something a few years ago that was basically… → Read More
One diligent gamer with a surplus of time on his hands has modded a Wii controller to work on an Xbox 360. Don’t get to excited though, at present only the directional pad and buttons work, so no clumsy accelerometer action for your and your 360. sir crx hacks wii controller for 360 [technabob] → Read More
With the success of Guitar Hero 2, it was only a matter of time before some publishers and developers went “Hey…what if we did the same concept with a whole band?!” Rock Band is that next step, which is set to drop in November of this year. The game will include a whole band setup using unique controllers for guitar, bass, and drums, as well as microphones for belting out those… → Read More
Novint Technologies Falcon game controller is the first controller to make high-fidelity interactive three-dimensional touch possible and practical for consumer computing applications. (Admittedly something I didn’t know I needed, but now feel I must have.) The Falcon lets users feel weight, shape, texture, dimension, dynamics, 3D motion and force effects when playing enabled games. Novint… → Read More
The ChillStream controller for PS3 from Logitech features a built-in fan-based cooling system to keep even the sweatiest of your competitors from using that “hey, my hand slipped” excuse. The controller has three vents on each side pushing air directly onto your fingers and palms and can be set to high, low or off. Logitech also claims the fans are quiet during operation. Fans in… → Read More
I like a good, numbing vibration in my console gaming experience as much as the next person, but I can’t say that the absence of force feedback would disappoint me or keep me from buying a PS3. Apparently I’m in the minority though according to a study released by Ipsos Insight. The survey-based marketing research company questioned 1,075 console gamers aged 18+ on their intent to buy a… → Read More
Chill… till the next episode. Logitech just launched the ChillStream controller for the PC, a $39.99 controller that circulates up to 3.41 cubic feet of air straight across your sweaty, sweaty palms. It’s also got some fancy system for the D-pad: The controller features Logitech’s patented floating D-pad, which uses four points of contact instead of a single pivot point – a design… → Read More
The new Warrior controller from WOLF KING is basically a reassessment of their preexisting Timber Wolf design. By removing the keyboard component, WOLF KING has created a highly portable 55-function device that is appropriate for LAN party environs. It works as a standalone unit or in concert with a keyboard. While it is touted as being homogenous with several game genres, it looks to be most… → Read More
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