Top Hot Games

Remember all those fantastic features that Microsoft promised were in the works for its Xbox 360 back at E3? Get ready folks, because they’re all arriving in five days. At an undisclosed time on November 17th, users will be able to login to Xbox LIVE and check out the totally bodacious new portals available to kill time and act social without actually combing your hair. As we’d heard, Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm (US and UK only) modules will all be featured, not to mention on-demand 1080p / 5.1-channel HD video through the Zune Video outlet. In case that’s not enough (and be honest, it’s never enough), users will also see a new “News and More” section in the “Inside Xbox” channel with streams from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert. Yeah, Dilbert. Hop on past the break for a few video demonstrations, and then get back to your Modern Warfare 2 binge before your teammates see you slacking off.

Continue reading Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Software

Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

You could certainly argue that many of today’s gaming laptops are fungible, but if you’re scouting a new beast with a Core i7 within and plenty of customizable options, iBuyPower has one of the few available today. The outfit has just launched its Battalion 101 W870CU, a 17.3-inch behemoth with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution LCD, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPU, up to 500GB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray drive, built-in 7-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Windows 7 Home Premium. It’s up for order as we speak, but you’ll be coughing up at least $2,505 for the privilege. Or, you know, you could just snap up ASUS’ Core i7-equipped G51J, which retails for just $1,499…

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

iBuyPower ships Core i7-powered Battalion 101 W870CU gaming laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Oh sure, we’ve seen a few “portable” Gamecube systems over the years, but we’ve yet to set our eyes on anything as glorious as this. Not surprisingly, the NCube’s creator is yet another Ben Heck apprentice, with the case being a heavily modded Datamax Kid’s Delight and the display an unmodded Zenith PSone. There’s a 2-way switch for running off of batteries or the AC outlet, a relocated memory card slot and a rear-mounted disc drive that’s just begging to be broken. Hit the read link for a look at 90 grueling hours of work, or just jump past the break for a celebratory video.

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Continue reading The NCube: probably the best portable Gamecube of all time (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

The NCube: probably the best portable Gamecube of all time (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the DS Lite will be old ancient news by the time Easy Piano hit the market, but those who’ve learned to be content in life (and have somehow managed to resist the urge to snap up a DSi in place of their older handheld), have probably been hunting for this date. Valcon Games has just announced that its piano-teaching title (and the highly comical / interesting 13-key accessory) will be landing in North America in “early 2010,” but it didn’t go so far as to fess up to an MSRP. Not like it matters — you know you’re totally lining up to snag this during a midnight launch, regardless of how many heirlooms are forced onto Craigslist.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Easy Piano bringing keys to the DS Lite in ‘early 2010′ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’ve seen our fair share of Guitar Hero / Rock Band drum kit mods, but without exception, this one is our fav. Tipster (and tinkerer) Jordan has taken the time to wire up a Guitar Hero kit and a Rock Band kit in order to create the most bodacious set of MIDI skins this planet has ever seen. Using a combination of Osculator, JunXion Lite and Logic, he was able to rig up the Rock Band pedal to operate as a high-hat pedal, while reprogramming some of the heads to act as cymbals. We’d bother explaining more, but we’ll just point you past the break and advise you to watch (head to 2:20 if you’re short on time!).

[Thanks, Jordan]

Continue reading Guitar Hero and Rock Band drums combine for ultimate MIDI kit (video)

Filed under: Gaming

Guitar Hero and Rock Band drums combine for ultimate MIDI kit (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Oh, brother. Here we go again. Just over a year after Nintendo’s own Reggie Fils-Aime denied the existence of a forthcoming Wii HD, the bigwig is having to make that very same denial again. Naturally, a few new rumors of an HD-enabled Wii have surfaced since that fateful day in October of 2008, and with the recent price drop, it made sense to think that the Big N might actually be looking ahead. Instead, it seems that it’s perfectly content selling hundreds of thousands of consoles that want nothing to do with modern amenities like “HDMI,” “1080i” and “things that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have offered since day one.” The man’s exact quote?

“I don’t know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD.”

And Reggie, we don’t know how much more forcefully you can continue to break our hearts.

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime squashes Wii HD rumors… again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Too broke to pay Tony Hawk’s royalties on a Wii skateboard / snowboard? Yeah, we feel you, and evidently Thrustmaster does too. Said peripheral outfit has just introduced its newest Wii accessory, the T-Freestyle NW. Designed with work with any skate or snowboard game that lands on Nintendo’s money-maker, the board is crafted from genuine maple and sports a totally stereotypical “skull” design on the top. There’s also a safety stopper to prevent any sort of toppling disaster, and best of all, this thing will be available at the end of the month for just $29.99. Gnarly, dude.

Continue reading Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW is your next Wii skate / snowboard controller

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW is your next Wii skate / snowboard controller originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’ll be straight with ya — we’re betting these “personal supercomputer” claims are just a bit out of line with reality, but even still, there’s no denying that Maingear has shoved an insane amount of horsepower beneath the (admittedly large) hood of its newest rig. The beastly SHIFT does away with copious LED lighting and blinging accents found on many modern gaming PCs and instead opts for a classier, more ominous tower. Within, you’ll find a vertical airflow system, a Core i7 processor, your choice of ATI or NVIDIA graphics, 8GB (and up) of DDR3-1600 RAM, up to 6 HDDs or 12 SSDs, DVD and Blu-ray options, an Asetek liquid-cooling solution, Razer peripherals, an optional Killer NIC Xeno Pro and Windows 7 running the show. The Intel P55 rig gets going at $2,199, while the X58 model starts $400 higher; for those in creative design fields, Maingear’s expected to unveil a SHIFT just for you in the near future. Head on past the break for the full release.

Continue reading Maingear unveils Core i7-packin’ SHIFT, your own ‘personal supercomputer’

Filed under: Desktops

Maingear unveils Core i7-packin’ SHIFT, your own ‘personal supercomputer’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

For the most part, we’d say that Sony addressed the concerns of many when it introduced the PlayStation 3 Slim. The console was smaller, cheaper and easier on the eyes, and of course the 120GB hard drive didn’t hurt matters either. That said, we know that the redesign didn’t please everyone, and we’ve heard more than a few PS3 diehards complain about the new design. If it were you designing a newer, less expensive PlayStation 3, what would you have done differently? Kept PS2 backwards compatibility? Colored it white? Added HD DVD support? Don’t be scared to get a little crazy — besides, they call that “innovation” in the corporate world.

Filed under: Gaming

How would you change Sony’s PlayStation 3 Slim? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Remember that wacky zoom lens attachment for Nintendo’s DSi that was launched back in January? Amazingly, the product design team convinced everyone else in the company to move ahead with plans for production, and now it’s making its way out to cold, steel shelves. $24.99 buys you a hard shell case for your handheld along with a detachable optical zoom lens, which supposedly gets your sensor eight times closer to a given subject than Nintendo ever intended. You’ll also be mocked eternally if you’re ever caught using this in public, but hey, maybe you’re thick-skinned.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Nyko ships $25 Zoom Case for DSi: because your DSi totally needs a zoom lens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments