RumblePak
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Mophie Pulse adds stereo speakers, extra vibration to iPod touch
Gamers who enjoy playing on the iPod touch can look forward to getting their world rocked by the Mophie Pulse, a sort of "rumble pack" case that Mophie is showing off at CES 2011. The pulse will feature front-facing speakers as well for stereo sound while you play games. If you're worried that sudden vibrations might cause you to accidentally drop your iPod, Mophie has added a rubberized grip to help ensure that your game doesn't get away from you. While there's no word on a release date or pricing just yet, this certainly looks like a fun addition for anyone who likes gaming on the go. We'll try to get a closer look at this unit from the show floor.
NES controller gains a Rumble Pak, DIYer gains a dedicated following
Ah, the Rumble Pak. It was arguably the must-have accessory for the Nintendo 64, and had it been around during the time of R.B.I. Baseball, we're certain it would've went over well. One Andy Goetz decided that he'd be interested in reshaping history a bit, and spent 20-some-odd hours building a rumble device for his NES controller as a deadline loomed. He ended up submitting it in Oregon State University's Engineering Expo, and while it seems that they can't actually control when the rumble happens, at least your youngster will likely believe that he / she is doing something right while they're being humiliated by CPU racers in Excitebike. Cruel? Maybe. But totally practical.
A cheaper, quieter Rumble Pak
The Nintendo DS Rumble Pak didn't show up on most people's radar back when it was first released with Metroid Prime Pinball a year and a half ago, but with over a dozen titles now using the force feedback cartridge, more and more people are looking to buy one for their compatible games. DS Lite owners, however, will be annoyed to hear that the only Rumble Paks sitting on North American shelves are the original, GBA-sized carts. Though they've been available in Japan since last May, Nintendo hasn't yet brought the smaller DS Lite Rumble Paks to the states. If you're looking to purchase a cartridge that won't stick out of the GBA slot, buying Nintendo's DS Lite Rumble Pak would set you back about $24 (plus international s/h) at an import site.eWin, a company known for manufacturing high-quality carts for the homebrew market, has produced a third-party alternative that puts the official Rumble Pak to shame. Available online for approximately $10, this new DS Lite Rumble Pak already has the advantage with its bargain price. Being cheap doesn't necessarily mean it's a second-rate product. According to GBAtemp's review, eWin's force feedback was more enjoyable than the "buzzing" from Nintendo's cart, and noticeably quieter too. Unlike with Nintendo's product, you can match eWin's Rumble Paks with your own DS Lite, choosing from white, black or pink carts.
GRAB proves haptics research is in for a bumpy ride
One of the first times that we encountered haptics, or the study of force feedback, was while playing StarFox 64 back in 1997 (was it really that long ago?), with its Rumble Pak -- that little motor that shook the whole controller every time you sustained a laser hit. Today, haptics has gone from the realm of stellar video games to simulating the edge of a knife. A team of Mexican and Italian scientists announced last week that they've created virtual surfaces to fool the brain into thinking that a flat surface is actually bumpy or pointed. The researchers created a system called GRAB, which consists of a mechanized thimble, connected to the end of a motorized arm. Once the subject puts a finger inside the thimble, various motors create force feedback, and limit motion along a left-right axis, all of which could be used in medical robotics and training, so that surgeon hopefuls can better simulate operations without actually cutting any flesh. Better yet, if these scientists continue along this route, by the time the next version of Call of Duty comes out, receiving a bayonet jab may feel really close to actually drawing blood.[Via Futurismic]
DS Lite is ready to Rumble (Pak)
Eager DS Lite anticipators can all get their red pens out and cross this one off their list of "DS Lite annoyances." Nintendo of Japan has a special reduced-size Rumble Pak for the smaller sized GBA port on the DS Lite, so if you're the kind of gamer who likes to keep the Pak in permanently, you won't have to deal with that ugly sticking-out thing. They're selling it from their site (machine translation here) for the same price as the larger Rumble Pak: 1200¥ (about $10). While there's been no announcement of any counterpart outside Japan, it's a reasonable expectation. It's less than a couple more weeks now ...See also:DS Lite diet factsBuy MP Hunters, get Rumble Pak fo' free[Via DS Fanboy]
Nintendo releases Rumble Pack for DS Lite
No surprises here: Nintendo has loosed a version of the venerable Rumble Pak on Japanese DS Lite owners, with a US model forthcoming. Besides being smaller than its big brother in order to fit flushly in the Lite's cartridge slot, the new Rumble Pak sports all the same vibrating goodness, and for the same price too. (In case you don't remember, that price is a mere $10). Unfortunately, both versions of the Pak are still only supported by a handful of games, so here's to hoping you haven't beaten Metroid Prime Hunters yet.[Via DS Fanboy]
Japan feels Lite rumble
Sickened by enormous GBA cartridges protruding awkwardly from their precious DS Lites, the folks over at Nintendo of Japan have seen fit to release a teeny tiny version of the Rumble Pak, that wondrous device that shakes about in your DS in unison with the blasts of Samus' arsenal. The new Lite Rumble Pak is made to suit the stylings of the newer system very closely, fitting snugly into the GBA slot for some discreet vibrating action in-between train stations. A US release shouldn't be too far behind the Lite launch. [Via DSLite Blog, thanks Thomas!]
Buy MP Hunters, get Rumble Pak fo' free
If you haven't already grabbed it free with Metroid Prime Pinball, the love affair between the Metroid DS titles and the DS Rumble Pak continues with Nintendo's latest offer: if you buy Samus' latest adventure, Metroid Prime Hunters, you get the $10 Rumble Pak for free. That means no money! Of course this is "available at select retailers for a limited time and while supplies last."Since the Rumble Pak has become a permanent fixture in the official Joystiq DS -- serving double duty as both gameplay enhancing peripheral and GBA slot-cover -- we're really hoping Nintendo decides to make a DS Lite reduced size version as well. The sticking out thing is cool for the occasional GBA game but...(Update 2: fixed title. Thanks, Freezair! Added contents of the press release after the break for those who don't have a login to Nintendo's press section! Sorry!)
DS gets a rumblin'
The DS Rumble Pak is now available direct from Nintendo ($9.99). The peripheral plugs into the DS's GBA slot and is compatible with games such as Metroid Prime Hunters and Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. One question: is the rumble pak gonna stick out on the DS Lite? Ewww!
