Archive for the ‘Game&Other’ Category

Word on the street was that the $299 price slash we’ve been hearing about wasn’t about carving out a new pricepoint but instead making room for a new 60GB Xbox 360 in its place. Turns out the Mr. Word on the Street nailed this one, with Microsoft finally fessing up to the price drop, and announcing a new fancy 60GB Xbox 360 to fill in at that $349 pricepoint, which will be available in “early August.” You can pick up a 20GB “while supplies last,” but the $279 Arcade and $449 Elite aren’t budging price wise. Oh, and can we just say that this couldn’t come at any better a time? We just had to delete August Rush to make room for National Treasure 2, which we’ll probably have to drop tomorrow for Fool’s Gold. Such is life when you’ve only got 20GB to work with.

[Thanks, Sean H.]

The folks at Konami have been trolling the forums again, kids, and this time they’re fighting back. Reps from the game-maker have issued a statement on the company forum addressing the furor over the inflated cost of the forthcoming, limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle. According to Konami, the bumped up price ($600 for a 40GB version of the PS3, plus Dual Shock controller and MGS4 game) is due to the special material used to create the gunmetal gray system and controller casing. The company seems to take issue with the fact that some are calling it simply a “paint job,” and points out that the run of units is only 10,000, and the package also includes a version of the game with an extra disc of additional content. To put it another way: this is the deal of a lifetime!

[Via Wired]

ASUS seems to be bringing a lot of new toys out to play at Computex, but we’re suddenly most intrigued by the Eee Stick, a pair of motion-sensing game controllers that looks like nothing more than a pair of Wii nunchuks. We’re hearing that the left nunchuck can also work as a 3D mouse, but it’ll be interesting to see if ASUS plans to actually pitch the $70 set to game developers, or if it’s just another gimmicky controller that’ll inevitably get dumped for the comforts of WASD. Gameplay video after the break.

It’s a crying shame (okay, not really), but the long-standing availability of free WiFi to Nintendo DS users in Mickey D’s is now over. Apparently the contract that enabled the access has expired, and there’s no signs of a renewal happening in the US or Canada. Of course, if you’re incredibly desperate to kick some tires online while treating yourself to a supersize medium order of fries and a vanilla cone, you can fetch the Nintendo DS web browser add-on or WiFi USB Connector from the second-hand market and carry on. We, however, see this as a perfect excuse to avoid the temptations that lurk underneath the Golden Arches.

[Via DS Fanboy]

[Via GizmoLounge]

Chicks and dudes, get ready for extremely spicy, delicious, and stimulating news. Remember those new DS Lite colors we mentioned a few days ago? Apparently Nintendo has all but confirmed the forthcoming arrival of cool ice, hot red, and lime green — at least in Europe. According to DS Fanboy, the big N has started circulating an e-teaser with the new paint jobs, which pretty much puts to rest any chance that this was just some over-eager Photoshopper’s weekend art project. The landing date of June 13th seems to be holding as well, but what we really want to know is when we can see some of these provocative color schemes Stateside. Well Nintendo?

GameStop leaked the existence of the $100 Rock Band Stage Kit back in January, and it’s updated the listing with the first pictures we’ve seen of the included smoke machine and strobe light. The smoke machine looks fairly ordinary, but the light features controls so Rock Band vocalists can apparently blind themselves while making selections. The kit’s listed with a ship date of August 15, but who knows if that’s accurate — and considering you can pick up a real fogger and strobe light sufficient to glam out your living room for all of $50, we’re not exactly waiting on pins and needles.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Things are looking good for the Phoenix lander which touched down on Mars at 4:53pm on Sunday, May 25. The NASA nerds are reporting an almost perfect landing, with the spacebot tilted only one quarter of a degree. In fact, they’re claiming that this landing was “far smoother than any simulation or test that was ever done.” The lander’s north-pole location is measured at -106 degrees Fahrenheit and chock-full of life-preserving ice. Phoenix will chill on Mars for 90 days, sniffing soil and looking for frozen Martians in whatever form they may take. Now that Mars Oddyssey — one of its main communication uplinks — has passed over the lander, we have our first pictures, one of which is above. Nice work, guys!

[Via The Phoenix Mission]