20thanniversary
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'Resident Evil 5' comes to PS4 and Xbox One on June 28th
Capcom's Resident Evil series set the standard for a generation of horror video games -- so it's no surprise that the company is celebrating the franchise's 20th anniversary by selling some of its greatest hits again. In reverse order. Starting with Resident Evil 6 back in March, Capcom has been counting backwards to the game that redefined the series: Resident Evil 4. That coveted release is still awhile out, but if you need a zombie fix right now, there are options. At the end of June, Resident Evil 5 will be available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The 'Resident Evil' 20th anniversary means more re-releases
Ready to re-buy Resident Evil 4 again? This time for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One? Well, you'll be able to do that this year, but not before developer/publisher Capcom drops gussied-up versions of Resident Evil 6's hot garbage and the divisive Resident Evil 5 first. Come March 29th, the absolute mess that's better known as RE6 will hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live stores for $20, with RE 5's African adventure starting sometime this summer and the series' modern highpoint, RE 4, releasing this fall.
Sony's retrotastic 20th Anniversary PS4 controller lands in the UK
So, you didn't manage to get your hands on a 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4, just like everyone else. Well, nevermind, as you can now have the next best thing. Sony has today released the Anniversary Edition DualShock 4 controller in the UK (and the rest of Europe), with its retro gray colour scheme and home button sporting the original PlayStation logo. Unfortunately, this model's lacking the engraved touchpad found on those shipped with the limited edition console, but it's close enough. The nostalgic pad can now be found at stores including GAME and Amazon for £50, which is probably more than you'd spend picking up an OG PS1 and a copy of Crash Team Racing on eBay -- not that we should be telling you which is the better purchase, of course.
Add the original PlayStation boot screen to your PS4 gaming videos
Nothing promises gaming excitement like the dramatic eight-second boot up of the original Sony Playstation (below). You can now add it to your game play videos, thanks to Sony's free 20th anniversary theme pack for SHAREfactory, the video editing tool for the Playstation 4. It comes with four intros (including the original boot screen), four outros, 11 titles clips, eight transitions, 26 stickers and four backgrounds. Sony notes that this can only be used in SHAREfactory, not as a PS4 home screen theme. Luckily, it already has a Playstation One theme pack if that's what you're after.
20th Anniversary PS4 controller and headset bring back PSX colors
PlayStation fans who have been with Sony's system since the beginning can pledge their allegiance with a pair of new PS4 accessories. Designed to commemorate the original PlayStation's 20th anniversary, this DualShock 4 and Gold Wireless rock the familiar two-tone gray color scheme with its distinctive PlayStation logo. They'll arrive in the US for $65 and $99 (respectively) this September. The controller is coming to Europe and Asia too, but there's no word on the headphones.
Unboxed: Sony's 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4 is gorgeous, rare and sold out
Nostalgia is a powerful tool and Sony knows exactly how to wield it. You need only glimpse the 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4 in real life to fully comprehend that. The limited edition console, which comes with an "original gray" paint job, patterned faceplate and colorful PS logo that hearkens back to the original PlayStation from 1994, is a rare issue -- only 12,300 exist in the world. And, not to rub it in, but we have one of our very own (no. 8,262 to be exact). What's more, if you didn't lock in a pre-order for one this past Saturday, December 6th, your chances of getting it now are pretty much slim to none. That's it. Game over. Suck it up and move on. After all, it's only a fancy paint job, right? (Yeah, keep telling yourself that.) Oh sure, you could probably find one up for re-sale online for the simple price of your soul, your unborn child's soul and several of your nearest and dearests' souls... and then maybe toss in the souls of a few innocent bystanders and your mailman's for good measure. But the point is, unless you're an obsessive collector that regularly swan dives into a money bin and has three anthropomorphic ducks as nephews, you'll just have to make due with a plain white or black PS4. Them's the breaks, folks. So why not deal with the disappointment by watching us unwrap the golden ticket that is this 20th Anniversary Edition console? It'll ease the pain. Promise.
Duke Nukem 2 on its way to iOS
Duke Nukem 3D is already available to play on the App Store now, and just in time for the sequel's 20th anniversary, Duke Nukem 2 is coming to the App Store soon. Interceptor Entertainment (the folks behind the recent Rise of the Triad reboot announcement) has teamed up with 3D Realms to bring the second, side-scrolling Duke Nukem to iOS, as you can see in the reveal trailer, up now. They're working on a version that will contain all of the original's 32 levels, plus some new artwork and music, as well as touchscreen support (of course), and leaderboards. Interceptor says the game is due out on iOS in April for a price of US$1.99. We'll look for it then.
Twenty years after the birth of SMS, its creator consents to a text-only interview
Finnish engineer Matti Makkonen famously dreamed up the idea for the SMS (Short Message Service) in a Copenhagen pizza shop in 1984, and the first message ("Happy Christmas") was sent to a Vodafone UK cellphone from a PC on December 3, 1992. Since then, an estimated 8 trillion texts have been sent, and now the normally recalcitrant pioneer has given the BBC a rare interview (appropriately via text message), where he discussed "txtspk,' keypads vs. touchscreens, and the next big tech development. While described as the father of SMS, Makkonen is still reluctant to take sole credit, saying it was "the result of a joint effort to collect ideas and write a specification." On top of that, he never felt the idea was patentable and therefore never saw a penny from the invention, despite its present day pervasiveness. As for textspeak, the engineer refrains from creating abbreviated messages himself, saying "my passion is to write correct language (Finnish), using all 160 characters." He's happy to do this using a modern touchscreen phone, although he couldn't resist using the interview to pay a charmingly backhanded compliment, saying they're "slow enough (that I can) think and sometimes even edit what I write." [Image credit: Nokia]
Wolfenstein 3D celebrates 20 years of machine guns and flag-obscured passages with free web version
To commemorate the big two-oh years since its release, Bethesda has offered up the full Wolfenstein 3D experience to play for free in your web browser. Not only that, you'll also be able to play the id original on iOS devices gratis (at least for today) and creator John Carmack has decided to offer us a director's commentary on the game's development while shooting his way through a few levels. Watch, nod and reminisce right after the break, then hit up the source to play for yourself.
Microsoft Research celebrates 20 years of crazy innovation
Microsoft Research was founded way back in 1991 as a way of turning cutting edge concepts into products. Over the years, the division has been behind some of the most exciting ideas that have come out of Redmond, from fluffy mice to HIV / AIDS research. The department is celebrating its 20th anniversary by highlighting some of its favorite projects over the next four weeks, so we're beating it to the punch with some of picks. Check out our list below.
TidBITS celebrates 20 years of online publishing excellence
Although the Apple blogging community is fairly tight-knit, we usually don't go out of our way to laud our competitors. This week, however, we're making an exception. Back in 1990, Adam and Tonya Engst jump-started the online publishing world with TidBITS. Initially, TidBITS was distributed as a HyperCard stack filled with Mac news, reviews, and opinion articles. Later it became a text-based publication, then moved to the Web. Adam was responsible for getting many Mac users connected to the Internet in the early days through his classic book The Internet Starter Kit for Mac, which provided step-by-step instructions in how to connect to the 'net in the days before Wi-Fi and broadband. Many of the writers at TidBITS are well-known names in the digital world, and TidBITS has also spawned its own publishing house: Take Control Books. This week marks the 20th anniversary of TidBITS, and (fitting for a digital publication) issue 1,024 -- that's 2 to the 10th power for those of you who don't play with numbers. From all of us at TUAW to all of you at TidBITS, congratulations!
CEDIA 2009: Super 3D Special Platinum Series Edition
This year for its 20th Anniversary CEDIA shifts from Denver to Atlanta, and we're already on the ground ready to let you know what this show is bringing to the consumer electronics world. Think info on new televisions, receivers, speakers, high end custom install equipment and everything in between is something you'd be interested in? Keep an eye on Engadget HD, though we had to nix the live podcast this week, we'll be bringing booth tours, hands ons as well as live coverage of Microsoft's press conference Wednesday night and any other surprising updates we find out about. Let us know in the comments if you've got a particular point of interest, some time in the next four days we'll be able to swing by and get your questions answered.
Nintendo's Game Boy turns 20
In case you hadn't heard, Nintendo's trend-setting handheld, the Game Boy, just had its 20th birthday -- and that's no small thing for a game console. We won't bore you with stories from our childhood about wasted time and missed opportunities spent chasing the dragon that was Tetris, but we will entertain the hell out of you with this vintage ad touting the system's launch from way back in the totally excellent year of 1989. We know what you're thinking: does the robot create the kid or just warp him there? And if he does create him, does that mean he's some kind of metallic god? And does that mean that the kid kills god? And... why is the robot dancing? Hey -- now you're playing with power.
20th Anniversary Mac unboxing video kind of makes us wish product had never existed
There aren't many ways to hop in the time machine and enjoy old-school hardware the way it was meant to be enjoyed, and that's what makes virgin unboxings of vintage equipment so very special. If even for just a few moments, it's an opportunity to pretend that you're in a bygone era where computers, portables, and miscellaneous gizmos held a mystique that has long since been replaced by the monotony of modern ubiquity. We want to emphasize that "just for a few moments" part, a phrase clearly lost on the proud recipient of a new-in-box 20th Anniversary Macintosh -- an aberration in the Apple family tree that cost a staggering $7,500 back in 1997, so we imagine there weren't many tycoons sitting around with enough cash, tech savvy, and collector mentality to buy one and leave it sitting untouched in its cardboard for ten-plus years. Despite the rarity and coolness of this gentleman's find, we found ourselves screaming "just get to the [obscene] unboxing already," "Batman & Robin is the movie you're trying to think of, now can we please continue for the love of all that's good and holy," and "are you ever going to turn it on, or should I just go ahead and gouge my eyes out now?" by the time the 23-minute marathon had reached its anticlimactic conclusion. Word to the wise: if you're going to take your life into your hands and click through to the movie, do yourself a favor and fast-forward liberally. Meanwhile, we're cool going another 20 years without seeing one of these things.
