magicbox
Latest
Magic Box MagSafe mod kit brings the external battery back to your Mac (some assembly required)
It ain't exactly soldering guns at dawn, but it looks like HyperMac is going through a few somersaults to ensure that its products stay on the market without offending the legal team at Apple. First there was the HyperJuice auto / airline adapter, and now the Magic Box takes things to an even more invasive level. First step: cut the power cord of your Mac's MagSafe power adapter in half. Second step: feed the cable that you cut in half into the MagicBox... and you now have your very own HyperMac battery pack for those extra-long liveblogging sessions. Seems dead simple, right? And for the time being, the company is throwing in a free car charger to sweeten the deal. Available for $50 in March.
The Queue: Finding treasure where there's no treasure to be found
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft.Another day, another Queue. Forgive the awful quality of the screenshot above, I tried to show off Malygos' righteous beard but the guy doesn't sit still, even if you ask him nicely. He's a crabby son of a lich sometimes. Well, let's forget about him and dig into today's questions. As always, if you have a question for The Queue, leave it in the comments section below and we'll get to it in a future edition. Magebleck asked... As a mage, my main weapon is almost always a Staff with some good stats to it. Since Wrath of the Lich King has come out I have read several places that there are now some really well speced staffs that are "Bind to Account", such as the Dignified Headmaster's Charge and the Grand Staff of Jordan. I understand that their stats scale with level, but how does one go about aquiering these new "BtA" items?
Monster Hunter continues to slay sales charts in Japan
Like Pocket Monsters that live in a PSP instead of a capsule, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd continues to be immensely popular in Japan. The sales charts for last week show that Capcom's Monster killer has gone on to sell another 64,368 units bringing it's total sales up to 1,000,599 units. If ever there was a game that was obviously in line to get a sequel, this is it. Luckily for US gamers, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd will be coming to the US, so you only have to add to the Japanese sales if you're impatient. [Via The Magic Box]
PSP flies high on Japanese sales charts
The latest Japanese console hardware sales Feb 5 - 11 2007: 1. DS Lite - 201,177 (1,103,588) units 2. Wii - 78,550 (603,378) units 3 PSP - 32,175 (303,113) units 4 PS3 - 23,431 (178,734) units 5 PS2 - 16,033 (149,437) units Great to see that while the PSP isn't the best selling system in Japan, it's certainly not selling as badly as some would like to believe. Nearly every console is having a problem combating the Wii and DS in Japan, so for PSP right behind them in sales is impressive indeed. I'm sure the release of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd will help sell a few more of Sony's system. [Via The Magic Box]
Gundam Seed Rengou vs Z.A.F.T.
The Magic Box has reported that Namco Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Rengou vs Z.A.F.T. Portable (that's a mouthful of a game title) will be hitting Japan on April 5th of this year for 5040 yen. The series was originally on the PS2, but its PSP version will have 2 on 2 team battle that can be played by a single player or 2-4 players via Ad-Hoc. The mech action game is based around the world from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, one of the most loved versions in all of the Gundam series. Feel free to import the game when it's released if you're a Gundam fan since the PSP has no region lock.
Another PSP RPG appears!
Rezel Cross is another original RPG for the PSP to be released by Sony. The game has character designs by Eiji Kandeda who also did character designs for Aquarion and a script written by the team who wrote Arc the Lad III & IV. It is currently planned to be released in Japan this spring. The story revolves around five protagonists who have received the super natural power Rezel because of some comet that returns every thousand years. Meanwhile, numerous wild animals have transformed into crazed beasts. While the heroes set out to stop the beasts, they discover an evil force that wants to use the Rezel power to take over the empire. The game is split into 20 chapters and the heroes gain the powers of teleport, time pause, psycho kenesis, transformation and x-ray vision as they progress. In addition, the battles are in full 3D with an XMB like interface and the heroes get skill points to unlock new abilities and Rezel Arts as well as Hyper Rezels. [Via The MagicBox]
New Dragon Ball screens emerge
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai: Another Road was just announced last week, but screens have already come out. The Magic Box just put some screens up and the game is looking quite similar to the last PSP DBZ title. You don't have to believe me though, view the screens for yourself! Just remember, looks aren't everything. Screens after the jump ...
Japan loves monsters
They are monsters you can put in your pocket, but not Pocket Monsters. The Magic Box is reporting that there are over 400,000 just in pre-orders for the 2nd incarnation of Monster Hunter. That makes it easily the larges pre-order quantity for a PSP game ever in Japan. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd comes out February 22nd.... in Japan. No word yet if it will be heading elsewhere.
EA Replay 2 & more DBZ on the way?
The Magic Box is reporting that Gamestop listed EA Replay 2 and Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Another Road coming out soon for PSP. The EA Replay 2 had a release date of February 19th for $29.99, but when I checked the Gamestop site the listing was no longer there. The release for Dragon Ball Z is listed as March 20th for $39.99 and that page is still up. While Gamestop often lists incorrect release dates for games, they don't typically list games that don't end up eventually hitting store shelves. So there's a good chance PSP owners will get more time with EA and Goku soon. Until then, we'll just have to wait for someone to collect all the Dragon Balls and wish these games into existence.
Magicbox intros Imp Adapt WiFi radio / media player
Magicbox has unveiled a smaller, sleeker version of the original Imp, and is apparently catering to the Squeezebox crowd by throwing in a fair bit of expandability and streaming options. Aside from the obvious ability to tune into internet radio stations wherever there's a WiFi source, this device can also plug into your home theater speakers for surround sound goodness. It also sports a "superbright" LCD, supports WEP / WPA security, six preset channels, "archiving" abilities, headphone out, clock / alarm functions, and a wireless remote to boot. Of course, it will also sync up to your PC in order to stream MP3, WMA, and AAC "to anywhere in your home." The Imp Adapt is available now in the UK for around £114.99 ($219).[Via Tech Digest]
