iTech4: Gaming

The Beatles: Rock Band limited edition bundle priced, detailed

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 16th 2009 at 12:03PM

Finally, a few whispers straight from the horse's mouth. While we've heard rumor after rumor regarding the actual hardware to be bundled in with the sure-to-be-hot The Beatles: Rock Band, MTV Games, Harmonix and EA have come forward today with a few succulent tidbits to keep you interested until the 09.09.09 launch. We're told that the Limited Edition Premium Bundle will include the game itself, aHöfner Bass (which will undoubtedly do Sir Paul McCartney and southpaws the world over no favors by being right handed), a microphone, a microphone stand, undisclosed "additional special content" and the real kicker -- a Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums, complete with a classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head.

The whole kit is slated to launch worldwide this September, with USers having to pay $249, Europeans paying €199 and Britons paying £179. Finally, we're told that North American and European fans who pre-order any version of the game will be eligible to join the The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club and "receive breaking news and access to exclusive game elements including art and behind-the-scenes footage directly from MTV Games and Harmonix." Oh, goody!

Gallery: The Beatles: Rock Band limited edition bundle priced, detailed

Beatles Rock Band features multi-mic support, harmonious performances?

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 16th 2009 at 7:28AM

Wouldn't it be great if you and your mop top-clad friends could all sing together in the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band? According to a rumor found in the latest issue of Game Informer, Harmonix is doing just that: including multiple-microphone support for players to harmonize on the tracks. Not much else is given, but a NeoGAF forum poster who last week claimed to have played an early version adds that three mics were being used -- one for each instrument -- and there was also a new harmony trainer mode to ensure your vocal talents were up to snuff. We'd advise a good bit of skepticism, no matter how much sense it seems to make or how many of you dreams would come true if this turned out legit. In the meantime, you can go back to deciding which of the Fab Four you're gonna pretend to be first when the game launches on September 9.

[Via Joystiq]

Read - Multi-mic support
Read - Harmony trainer

Speak n' Spellbinder makes your ABCs a little bit creepier

by Laura June, posted Apr 15th 2009 at 6:34PM

Mysterious music man A.J. Gannon's put together this wild Rock Band guitar / Speak n' Spell hybrid for use on his upcoming album. Calling it the Speak n' Spellbinder, the letters are individually mapped to the buttons on the neck of the axe and it boasts tons of really insane effects. The result is something a little grating, if totally, randomly awesome. Just further debunks that myth about video games making you lazy, doesn't it? Check out the video demonstration after the break, and be sure to hit the read link for many, many more insane instruments made by Gannon.

[Via Make]

David Reeves retires from SCEE, Andrew House gleefully takes over

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 15th 2009 at 5:33PM

The always outspoken and completely outré David Reeves has decided to retire from his post as President, CEO and Co-COO at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). During his 14 years with the company, Sir Reeves has provided us with loads to talk about, even finding himself the proud owner of our 37th edition of 'CE-Oh No He Didn't!' The scuttlebutt is that Reeves could be leaving to share his talents with Realtime Worlds, but then again, maybe he's just out to step foot in the 40 remaining countries that he has yet to visit. At any rate, Sony has already selected Andrew House (pictured) to take over on May 1st, with a release noting that he will soon be responsible for "managing the PlayStation business across nearly 100 countries in the Europe / PAL territories, including the company's PlayStation2, PSP and PlayStation 3 platforms as well as PlayStation Network." Oh, and Mr. House -- we're fully expecting a 'CE-Oh No He Didn't!' quip from you within the first hundred days. Make it happen.

Read - David Reeves out
Read - Andrew House in

Nintendo not apt to add MotionPlus capabilities to older titles

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 15th 2009 at 12:48PM

Hey, you know what would be awesome? If you could actually use the MotionPlus dongle you're going to pick up on June 8th. You see, there's a 1.5 month gap between the US release date of the add-on and the first first-party title (Wii Sports Resort) designed to take advantage of it. 'Course, we fully expect a few third-party games (EA's Grand Slam Tennis, for one) to filter out beforehand, but what we were really hoping was for the Big N to provide patches for a few existing titles. Sadly, Mario has chimed in from the Mushroom Kingdom with this: "The Wii MotionPlus accessory is only for games that are designed to make use of its abilities." Translation? You can forget about seeing MotionPlus support added to Mario Kart Wii... or Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, for that matter.

[Via Joystiq]

Gallery: Nintendo MotionPlus

GBalpha announces Ranger GPS unit for Nintendo DS

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Apr 15th 2009 at 12:23PM

There hasn't exactly been a rush to flood the market with Nintendo DS-based GPS mods over the years -- and when we have seen them, they've been largely DIY affairs. Looking to fill a niche that most reasonable folks assume does not exist, GBalpha has announced the upcoming release of Ranger, its new touchscreen solution for those of you wishing to saddle your handheld with navigation duties. If you're curious, this bad boy sports a u-blox GPS module, 32MB extended memory, Google Earth map integration, and optional Mandarin and Cantonese voice prompts. Are you stoked? What if we gave you a price and a way to order it? Well, we can't do that for you. Sadly, large swaths of the product website are mum on those details.

[Via Max Console]

Beatles Rock Band bundle will boast Höfner bass, Ludwig-branded drums

by Laura June, posted Apr 14th 2009 at 2:38PM

Not really surprising to hear, but exciting none the less... according to a teaser email sent out to people on The Beatles: Rock Band mailing list -- the special edition bundle will include a custom branded Höfner bass and Ludwig drums. The email also mentions other "custom" content, which we are hoping will be either a Rickenbacker guitar like the one Lennon often used or a gigantic Harrison-esque moustache / beard combo. We're just going to have to wait it out together guys -- it's not expected until September 9th -- so let's chill and enjoy the video after the break.

Continue reading Beatles Rock Band bundle will boast Höfner bass, Ludwig-branded drums

Nintendo's $19.99 MotionPlus Wiimote add-on ships to US on June 8th

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 14th 2009 at 8:43AM

Alright, so maybe the rumors weren't that far off, but the Big N just did us a solid by establishing US availability of its MotionPlus Wiimote accessory a few weeks ahead of when we were expecting. Granted, it's downright baffling that these things still aren't out on the market, but we're fully anticipating perfection from something that has been in the Crock-Pot® for so long. Shortly after E3 2009 concludes (June 8th, to be precise), Nintendo will ship its MotionPlus add-on stateside. The device itself will run you $19.99, though you could wait until July 26th to pick up the totally attractive Wii Sports Resort for $49.99, which naturally comes bundled with one of the accessories.

Xbox 360's class-leading warranty extended again to cover E74 errors

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 14th 2009 at 7:59AM

While long warranties are a strong selling point in the automotive world -- a sign of confidence from the manufacturer -- in gadget land bonus repair coverage usually comes along with some chronic problem. Most notable was the Xbox 360's iconic RRoD, and now a new failure is continuing that console's reliability black eye: the E74 message. It's said to be caused by a bogus AV connector or graphics chip, and while the message doesn't necessarily result in the same ring of crimson that caused Microsoft to extend the warranty the first time around, the company has announced it will cover E74-afflicted consoles for that same three year period, and will refund any money already spent by those fixing this issue. It's another classy move by Microsoft, but another worrying failure in an already disconcertingly fragile box.

[Via Gamezine.co.uk]

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru

by Ross Miller, posted Apr 13th 2009 at 4:47PM

We've heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead - Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to "rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." Whether or not this means we'll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone's guess, but with Microsoft's version so far a streaming success, we wouldn't be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

Lime green PSP in the works?

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 12th 2009 at 2:44PM

Sony might think the DSi is just for kids, but it's never had any problems pumping out candy-colored PSPs -- and the next hue off the line might be lime green, if this image supposedly leaked from inside a Sony factory is any indication. It's, uh, seasonally appropriate, at the very least -- anyone revved up by this?

[Via Joystiq]

Sony patents PSP-controlled spy car

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Apr 11th 2009 at 12:04PM

Check it out, all you budding G. Gordon Liddys -- if the usual assortment of spy gadgets isn't doing the job, Sony's got something in the works that should be right up your alley. According to a little site calledSiliconera, Sony's European arm has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car uses the PSP as an interface. This bad boy is equipped with a camera that feeds video back to the hand held and allows the user to upload the footage to a website. If that weren't all, the patent makes mention of an augmented reality racing game incorporating virtual markers and paths that the players physically create -- that is, the junk in your apartment is incorporated into on-screen game play. Innocent fun, right? Well, perhaps -- at least until Iran gets involved. They're still pretty bent by the whole squirrel thing.

[Via Joystiq]

Homemade NES purse is so voguish, so for sale

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 11th 2009 at 12:33AM

C'mon, don't even front here -- you can't deny the frisson in taking one look at the masterpiece above. We know, there's a never-ending stream of NES-related doodads flowing from every possible direction, but it's not everyday that you get the opportunity to actually purchase one of these amazingly beautiful creations. Designer inhope has clearly and definitively one-upped that other NES purse with the Nintendo Controller Purse, and you can be the proud owner of one for just $39.99. An irrefutable bargain, we say.

[Via technabob]

Xbox 360 Elite bundle rumored to include Halo 3 and Fable 2 for $400

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 10th 2009 at 4:40PM

Don't get all loony just yet -- this one's still a long, long way from panning out -- but ArsTechnica has it from a reliable mole that Microsoft is gearing up to ship an even more attractive Xbox 360 Elite. One that comes bundled with hits Halo 3 and Fable 2 for the same $400 that the console alone runs you now. We already heard last month that Microsoft was considering phasing out the standard Elite in favor of bundled "limited edition" models, so that certainly jibes. Though, we will caution you that the last timeArs's mole spoke of console price drops, he / she didn't completely nail it. While said mole didaccurately suggest that a $400 PS3 would hit America before the 2007 holiday rush (it happened in late October of that year), the whole "$100 PS2" thing took a full two years to come to fruition. Then again, E3 is just around the bend...

[Via Joystiq]

XCM's $84.99 Cross Fire Adapter for Xbox 360 ships today

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 10th 2009 at 7:28AM

We can't say for sure why you'd want to use a PlayStation 3 controller with your Xbox 360, but if you somehow prefer the Batwing over something that's actually comfortable to hold, there's this. XCM -- who just recently debuted its Rumble Joystick and KO Adapter for PlayStation 3 -- is today shipping its Cross Fire Adapter for Xbox 360. As we insinuated earlier, this device enables users to connect a PS3 controller, original Xbox controller (Duke!) or wired Xbox 360 controller to one's Xbox 360 console so you don't have to mod your controller to enjoy the spoils of Turbo Fire. Get your order in right now over atExtreme-Mods for $84.99.

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Friday, April 17, 2009

Gaming