FragFX
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Splitfish FragFX Shark 360 starts shipping for your first-person shooting pleasure
What better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Halo than the release of a new way to first-person shoot people on the Xbox 360? Splitfish today announced that its FragFX Shark mouse / analog stick hybrid controller device thingie is finally hitting the Microsoft console. The peripheral offers in-controller setup, customizable precision and should give you around 50 hours of play time on two AA batteries. The $80 device uses 2.4GHz wireless, but, as outlined before, requires a wired controller to get in on the action. More info in the press release after the break.
Splitfish FragFX Shark to surface for Xbox 360, make friends with wired controller
Splitfish is finally bringing its flagship PC and PS3 mouse controller to the Xbox, albeit packing an odd wireless caveat. Although the FragFx Shark 360 is billed as an identical twin to its PS3 counterpart, this half-gamepad and rodent combo, much like a XIM adapter, needs a wired Xbox 360 gamepad to act as an intermediary between itself and the console. That wired controller plugs into the Shark's wireless USB dongle; the macro-equipped "fragchuck" and mouse themselves are completely untethered. It sounds a little janky, but if your faith in mouse superiority is strong, you may be forgiving it for its faults come late August. Hit the break for a full list of features and glittery PR wonder.
Splitfish FragFX Shark extended hands-on: good for Call of Duty and little else
Another year, another Splitfish FragFX controller, determined to bring the accuracy of a PC mouse to your frag sessions on PlayStation 3. This one, the FragFX Shark, boasts a thumb wheel to manually set your mouse sensor's dead zone, improved emulation algorithms and 50 hours of solid gameplay (and 500 hours standby) on a pair of AA batteries. As you might imagine, we weren't able to test the latter due to a little thing called work, but we spent a good number of hours putting the peripheral through Call of Duty, Dead Space, Killzone 2, The Club and more, and came away fairly disappointed. Find out exactly why after the break, and check out our gallery below. Update: We've added a couple images of the final production units to our gallery below. %Gallery-106803%
PS3 firmware 3.50 disables some USB peripherals, consumers report
Owners of various PS3 peripherals, including (but not limited to) the Yobo PS3 Joybox, the XCM Cross Battle Plus Adapter and the SplitFish FragFX, are reporting compatibility issues after the release of PS3 firmware 3.50. Some conspiracy theorists believe the rampant failure of these devices is linked to Sony's ongoing battle to circumvent further use of the PS3 jailbreak, which requires a USB tool to activate. 1UP suggests that this issue may be a side effect of Sony's discovery (and subsequent disabling) of "counterfeit" PS3 controllers. A recent consumer alert on Sony's official website states that "SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates." The 1UP report adds that "no third-party controllers that are officially licensed by Sony" have been disabled in the latest update. Considering the affected devices haven't been officially licensed, it's unlikely that a fix will be offered. A SCEA representative told us that "SCE does not support continued functionality of unlicensed controllers."
Splitfish announces power-saving FragFX Shark controller for PS3, PC and Mac
SplitFish isn't providing a ton of details on this one just, but it has announced that its new FragFX Shark controller for the PS3, PC and Mac will be making its official debut at Gamescon later this month, and it's given us our first look at it. As you can see, it's not all that different from the company's standard FragFX PS3 controller, but the company promises that it will be more "ecology-friendly" thanks to some new power-saving measures that'll let you get 50 hours of gameplay from a single AA battery. Also set to debut at the show are the FragFX Piranha and FragFX Barracuda, although Splitfish isn't still saying anything about those apart from the fact they're also PS3 controllers. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
SplitFish FragFX PS3 controller gets reviewed
Buying into less-than-standard gaming controllers is never an easy ordeal, but the kind folks over at IGN have managed to spend some quality time with the SplitFish FragFX PS3 in order to break down the gizmo before you break out your wallet. Besides being quite pleased with the overall feel and design, reviewers gave props to the intuitive reassignment system, impressive accuracy and precision, and the host of useful extras that gave them an edge when engrossed in a deathmatch. Notably, the only "real complaints" heard throughout revolved around the smallish mousing surface and somewhat "clicky" mouse buttons, but it honestly felt like they were grasping for negatives at that point. Overall, IGN was mighty pleased with the offering, and while it's hard to say if your experiences will mimic these, there was "no question" that it improved the gameplay of those reviewing.
SplitFish announces FragFX mouse controller for PS3
Peripheral purveyor SplitFish has already brought some PC-style input to the PlayStation 2, but now, as promised, it's taken its game to the PS3, following up its EdgeFX mouse controller with the strikingly-similar FragFX device. Like the EdgeFX, the FragFX gives you a mouse to improve your aim in FPS games, with the separate left-handed grip controller getting an upgrade this time around to let you take advantage of the PS3's motion sensing abilities. Not one to let a potential selling point go unnoticed, SplitFish is also touting the controller as being "optimized" for use with Sony's recently announced Home virtual world. While you'll have to wait a while to put that particular claim to the test, you will be able to get your hands on a wired version of the FragFX next month for $60, with a Bluetooth version coming "later" for $70. [Warning: PDF link][Via Gameworld Network]
SplitFish FragFX controller; more PC than PS3
SplitFish is at it again! Reminding us a little of the Phantom lapboard, the FragFX aims to deliver the accuracy of the PC's mouse and keyboard combo to the PlayStation 3 and, more specifically, your couch. The slightly awkward system promises to duplicate the entire range of PS3 input, including the motion control. The "FragChuk" (that's the nunchuk-y thing on the left above) provides "Wii-like motion sensitivity" for the PlayStation 3 console while the mouse handles all of the controller buttons and right-analog control. A wired version is scheduled to ship next month for $59.99 and a wireless Bluetooth wireless will ship "later" for $69.99.
