Archive for the ‘Game&Other’ Category

What’s that? Could it be? A Nintendo DS Lite in delicious lime green? Yes, kids, according to pre-order pages that popped up at a Spanish gaming retail site, Nintendo’s ubiquitous portable gaming console of virtually every color will come in lime green, hot red, and ice blue starting some time around June 13. No other information is available just yet but we assume that the insides will be the same and the new colors will kick-start Ninty’s summer sales massacre, at least in Europe. Bonus points for coming up with better color names than we did. Margarita? Cinnamon? C’mon.

[Via NeoGAF]

Well, would you look at that? After a mildly uncomfortable wait, the very first Netflix set-top-box has landed (the Xbox 360 with plug-ins notwithstanding). Thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into (a portion of) the Netflix library without having to wait for physical discs to arrive — and for just $99.99, no less (though unlimited access to online films still requires an $8.95 or higher monthly fee for the traditional service). Better still, the HDD-less Netflix Player can even utilize a wireless signal to pull in streams, though your miles may vary on actual performance. As for ports, you’ll find HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack. Initial reports are looking pretty positive from here (save for the glaring lack of HD support), but feel free to dig into the reviews below to get a better feel of what this box really has to offer.

Read - Roku Netflix Player officially introduced
Read - PCMag review (4 out of 5)
Read - CNET review (7.7 out of 10)
Read - Wired review (”…just shy of totally amazing.”)

Apparently not one to let a tacky trend pass him by, Bill Gates has commissioned 100 mother of pearl-clad Xbox 360s to be used as extra special gifts, the first of which was given to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak earlier this month, prompting a response that we can only imagine to be, “gee, thanks.” To be fair, the design by Korean artisan Kim Young-jun is a bit classier than most of the crystal-encrusted gadgets we come across, but the same can’t quite be said for the move of bringing a bit of thinly disguised self-promotion to a visit with a head of state. We can also only assume that Gates is dreading the day that the President calls him up and asks him what the red rings on his Xbox mean.

Though we’re breaking slightly from our typical Screen Grabs format (movies, TV), we could never live with ourselves if we didn’t share these shocking gadget appearances from Metal Gear Solid 4. That’s right, despite being on some kind of deadly spy mission, Solid Snake will find time to bro down with a fifth-generation iPod (above), while some lovely cohort of his dials up for pizza on a Sony Ericsson W62S clamshell. More pics after the break.

[Via iLounge / CellPassion]

Think violent video games are slowly turning your kids into future serial killers? We’d like to point out that a couple of researchers from Harvard Medical School don’t agree. The researchers — Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner — recently completed a book called “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do,” in which they dispel some myths about video game-related violence, and possibly give life to others.

In the course of their research, the husband and wife team spoke with 1,200 middle-school children about their gaming habits and how gaming affects their social lives. The researchers found that gaming is actually a very social activity for most children, with friends frequently gaming together or talking with friends at school about gaming. They also found that fascination with violent games isn’t limited to miscreant little boys — the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series was the second most popular game for the girls (despite it not being intended for minors).

However, they also found that kids who played M-rated games were actually more likely to get into fights than those who didn’t, 51-percent vs. 28-percent. But, Olson and Kutner’s findings didn’t necessarily lead to blaming the games; instead, they concluded that the kids who are more likely to want to play those games probably have somewhat violent inclinations to begin with. More studies are still needed, according to the couple, but since you’re not letting your kids play M-rated games anyay, you don’t have to worry — right? [Source: Reuters]

Straight from the “spotted at the mall” files, one eagle-eyed tipster has shared a picture snapped at a local shopping venue where the presumably astounding PNP was being kept under lock and key. This marvel boasts the iconic PSP shape, obligatory D-pad, dedicated On / Off button (let’s see your Sony do that… in this manner) and four puzzling buttons to the right of the “display” mounted in the middle. Yeah, it was only being sold for around $10, but you’d have to slip a Hamilton in our pocket before we’d mar our collection with this filth.

[Thanks, Enrique]

AMD may not currently be capable of besting Intel in the market, but hey, why not start up another marketing program to kickstart sales? LIVE! gives way to GAME!, which is an AMD-run certification for classifying premium PC gaming rigs. What constitutes a GAME! PC? Why, AMD-based machine featuring a Phenom, Turion Ultra, or Athlon CPU, and ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics. Users can expect GAME! systems immediately or in short order from bigger direct-order names like Alienware and Velocity Micro, as well as from other smaller bandwagon-jumpers.

Considering that you’ve already spent way too much on that totally over-hyped Killer NIC, why not humor yourself further by snagging a sound card with Johnathan Wendel’s prints on it. Proving once again that everyone does indeed have a price, famed gamer Fatal1ty has placed his highly respected seal of approval on a new duo of sound cards from Creative. The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series and PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series devices boast the X-Fi enhancements you’ve come to expect, vivid new designs, unmistakable packaging and the assurance that the latter is the “official sound card of the CGS.” As for pricing, the Pro edition is available to pre-order for $149.99, while the CGS model adds in an internal I/O drive and demands $199.99. Hit the read link for more detailed specifications and way too much gloating.

[Via CustomPC]