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Nyko Power Grip for PlayStation Vita review: a $25 accessory that promises to double your battery life
Gaming accessories come in all shapes and sizes --- replacement controllers, portable console suitcases, specialized mice, control augmenting nubs, you name it. Whatever your niche, you can bet there's a product out there to fill it. Nyko, in particular, has made a bit of a habit of fulfilling a particular need: manufacturing third-party battery accessories for all those short-lived handhelds. The outfit has such a solid track record in the category, in fact, that we had little doubt its PlayStation Vita Power Grip ($25) would live up to its life-giving hype -- but we decided to put it to the test all the same. %Gallery-162642%
Hands on: Nyko Free Fighter arcade stick (plus bonus Nyko booth gadgets)
During E3, contributing editor Jess Conditt and I met up with the folks at Nyko to take a look at the Free Fighter, the company's first real foray into the world of high-end arcade sticks. The Free Fighter's main selling point, beyond its Sanwa Denshi parts -- well, mostly Sanwa Denshi, as half the button plungers are in-house -- and programmable macros, is its modular design, which allows the joystick to be placed on either the left or right side of the buttons, or even be detached all together. Ambidextrous arcade sticks have been done before, but Nyko's offering is a bit more elegant than Qanba's solution.That being said, the Free Fighter isn't necessarily the prettiest arcade stick I've ever seen, but it is certainly striking in an angular, industrial way. The lack of surface area isn't as much of an issue as it originally seemed like it would be, and resting my hands on the stick felt comfortable, be it on a table or in my lap. Nyko says the stick's small footprint was designed with portability in mind, so as to make the stick easier to transport from event to event.Launching for the PS3 this holiday at a $180 price point, the Free Fighter is $30 more expensive than its strongest competition, the Mad Catz Round 2 Tournament Edition FightStick, which also uses Sanwa Denshi parts. Nyko told us that if successful, the Free Fighter could be adapted into a platform for other peripheral modules, like a flight stick or racing wheel. Xbox 360 and Wii U versions are expected to launch sometime next year.Check out our awkward hands-on video above, as well as pictures of the Free Fighter and Nyko's other E3 offerings (Power Grip for Vita, Power Grip Pro for 3DS, Powerpad and Powerpad Pro for Android) in the gallery below. Photo and video credit: Jess Conditt%Gallery-157594%
Nyko drags Yo Gabba Gabba to CES, unveils PS Vita, Kindle Fire accessories
Nyko may be hitting Sin City's premier electronics trade show with a Yo Gabba Gabba! alarm clock in tow, but the outfit's PS Vita and Kindle Fire accessories are just a hair more enticing. First up is a Vita flavored follow up to Nyko's line of portable gaming battery packs, the PS Vita Power Grip. This $25 rechargeable battery pack promises to triple the battery life of your pocket PlayStation, and tacks on a pair of ergonomic controller grips, to boot. The outfit is also launching an accessory rich "Armor Kit" for the new handheld, an iPod-like speaker stand and a slew of assorted accessories ranging from USB chargers to game card holders. Kindle Fire owners will be happy to hear that their lightweight tablet is getting hit with the same assortment of accessories, including a speaker stand, an assortment of charging accessories and even its very own battery life-extending Power Case. You'll find the full press release after the break -- in case you really need to know more about that Yo Gabba Gabba! clock radio / charging dock.
Nyko Power Grip review
There have been more than a few third-party responses to the Nintendo 3DS' notably short battery life, from grips to clips, to full-on battery replacements. Despite their best efforts, these products still fall short of making the fledgling handheld international flight-ready, leaving globetrotting gamers with idle thumbs. Can't we do better? Nyko thinks so, and promises to triple the battery life of a standard 3DS with its latest accessory, the Nyko Power Grip. Other products have boasted double, but three times the play time? Now we're interested. We gave the Grip a run for its money -- read on if you want to know if it is worth yours. %Gallery-139504%
