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Nyko FrontMan guitar compatibility chart
Click to embiggen During E3 we spoke with third-party peripheral manufacturer Nyko about its line of FrontMan guitars and which games the different versions were compatible with. We did a quick and dirty post on what we were told during the E3 madness, but Nyko just sent over the chart above, which, admittedly, is much easier to understand.For first-party guitar compatibility, check out our Guitar Hero / Rock Band guitar compatibility matrix v2. We're sure to have v3 available as soon as we confirm Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution guitar compatibility.
The state of WoW on Linux
During the dev panel a few minutes ago, Tom Chilton told us something interesting about playing World of Warcraft on the Linux platform -- Blizzard has actually had it working. For "compatibility purposes," they apparently had an internal build of the game that worked on Linux. But unfortunately for Linux users, they have no plans at all to bring the final game out on the system. They didn't expound much more than that, but of course we can imagine all kinds of reasons they'd hesitate to release a Linux version, first and foremost being that in terms of gamers on the platform, the marketshare just isn't there.Of course, this doesn't mean you can't ever play WoW on Linux, it just means you can't do so off the shelf. WoWWiki has some really great information on how to play WoW with WINE (which just, by the way, reached a 1.1.0 release, and allows you to play Windows programs on other platforms). Transgaming's Cedega is also supposed to work with World of Warcraft (and you probably won't get banned), and Codeweaver's CrossOver also is approved to work with World of Warcraft on Linux.So there are ways to play it, but you might have to do some tweaking. Still, we wish they'd told us more about why they don't want to release the client they builtt
Konami wants music peripherals to be universally compatible
Rhythm game fans seem to be in a tough spot. It used to be that we could just buy whatever interested us, and that was that. Now, as new peripheral after new peripheral gets manufactured (of the same instruments), there's a problem: we're running out of space. Not all of us live in big, swanky mansions (or even small, cozy houses for that matter). Another problem? Money. Faux guitars and drum sets don't come cheap, so buying multiple game instruments isn't very economical.Konami feels our pain, which may end up being their pain if people start avoiding Rock Revolution. We think Konami might be in a lot of trouble, since Rock Band and Guitar Hero are already well-established in the gaming world. Rock Revolution is the new kid on the block, and if people already have closets full of peripherals and empty wallets, the game might suffer for it. Since Guitar Hero is currently the most owned of the bunch, Activision has no plans to make things any easier for its competitors. Harmonix, meanwhile, preaches universal instruments, but Rock Band's drum set might be too different from Rock Revolution's to even aim for compatibility. What do you think, though? Is there room for another multi-instrument rhythm game in today's market?[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Less is more with Battlefield Heroes
In the wake of such resource-intensive MMOs like Tabula Rasa and the upcoming Age of Conan, it's good to know that every once in awhile, we can get back to the fundamentals of games: having fun. That's exactly what we anticipate with the upcoming Battlefield Heroes.Opening an MMO up to a broader audience is something many newer developers have not yet grasped completely, but could it be as simple as hardware compatibility? EA certainly hopes so, since Battlefield Heroes is said to run "on your grandma's PC". With a download size less than 250MB and rumors of it running on an integrated video system, we're certainly curious to see if this will become a new trend. Less is more, people.
TWC transitioning three HD channels in Albany to SDV, CableCARD users out of luck
Uh oh, here we go again. Earlier this month, we heard a chorus of complaints from CableCARD Bright House customers that had four of their HD channels snatched out from under them, and now it looks like Time Warner Cable subscribers in Albany, New York will soon be dealing with the same. According to a recent note sent out to CableCARD users, the carrier plans to start delivering TBS HD, A&E HD and Universal HD via switched digital video (SDV) on March 18th. Considering that we're still waiting for support for SDV on CableCARD devices, TWC is advising these users to come on in and join the dark side -- er, pick up one of its own HD set-top-boxes that can handle two-way services (which SDV is). So, here's your options: concede and pick up a box (if only temporarily) from TWC, or stick with your CableCARD setup and go without this trio. Check the full letter after the jump. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Mark P.]
Tabulator: Alarm clock showdown
Mac users must be extremely heavy sleepers, because there is no shortage of alarm clock software for your Mac. If you need to wake up, your Mac will get you up. But which one rules the rooster?Aurora, a popular choice, recently updated to version 4, and went from donationware to a licensing setup (a single copy will now run you EU$15.00. And Awaken was recently included in the Macheist bundle, but could it be that a donationware app like Alarm Clock 2 will do what you want, or is Koingo Software's Alarm Clock Pro the way to go?We decided to wrap them all up into one big table-- app vs. app vs. app vs. app for a wakeup showdown. After the jump, find our first Tabulator battle (thanks to sister site Joystiq for the slick formatting) and discover which clock and timer program deserves to press play on your wakeup playlist.
Usable Keychain Scripting updated for Leopard
Daniel Jalkut put together a little app called "Usable Keychain Scripting" a little while ago that was designed (what else?) to make scripting the Keychain a little more usable -- the interface included in OS X is bad, to say the least. He was apparently hoping that it would be better in Leopard, but no dice -- we're all using the new version, and it's still a pain to access the Keychain with AppleScript.So he's updated UKS to version 1.0b3. It's still a free download (and I'm guessing he still hasn't added the ability to set values of Keychain items, but only because he was justifiably worried that doing something wrong would have terrible consequences). If you've already been using it, you should be happy to see a new version, and if you haven't tried it yet, but do a lot of Keychain scripting, hopefully it'll make the interface a little less painful.
Activision blocking Guitar Hero III axes from working in Rock Band
We could tell by the tone of Mr. Charles Huang's voice that something just wasn't right, and now it seems the truth has finally emerged. According to the Harmonix team, Activision is the reason why Guitar Hero III axes still aren't functioning with the PlayStation 3, and if that wasn't cruel enough, it stings even more to know that the solution is sitting in Sony's lap just waiting to be distributed. Reportedly, Harmonix has already created the patch that would allow GH III guitars to shred in Rock Band, but instead of it going out on December 4th as planned, kvetching by Activision has put the release on an indefinite hiatus. Granted, we're sure Harmonix is doing its best to cast itself in a positive light, but regardless of what's really going on behind the scenes, why not get an interoperability update out there and just let the consumer decide?[Thanks, dorrington]
Harmonix: Blame Activision for PS3 Rock Band guitar issues
After Harmonix's valid attempt at easing tensions over PS3 guitar compatibility issues for Rock Band, the time for détente between MTV/Harmonix's Rock Band and Activision/Red Octane's Guitar Hero is over. Harmonix has issued a detailed statement saying the company created a patch for Guitar Hero controllers to be compatible with Rock Band on PS3, but that Activision blocked Sony from releasing the patch.Harmonix reiterates in the statement that it believes in an "open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility." The company says that such a policy is in the interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and "will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity." Harmonix says that on Tuesday, December 4 it was ready to release a patch approved by Sony so that Guitar Hero controllers would be compatible with Rock Band, but that Activision objected to the release and now Sony is holding onto the patch due to Activision's "continued objection." The full statement from Harmonix can be found after the break. The ball is now quite publicly in Activision's court.
Red Octane VP excuses axe incompatibility, blames Rock Band issues
Alright, try to stay with us here. Guitar Hero III's axe works just fine with Rock Band, but only the Xbox 360 hardware -- and Rock Band's guitar won't play the first note on any flavor of GHIII. Yeah, it's a bit confusing, but apparently the folks over at 1UP were downright tired of being dizzy, and phoned up Guitar Hero publisher Red Octane's co-founder and VP of Business Development, Charles Huang, to chat about the totally confusing compatibility quandary. We fully understand the complexities in getting the instruments to work with other games, as well as the potential business impact, but Mr. Huang chose to take a different route in explaining why no Guitar Hero title would accept a Rock Band controller. He was quoted as saying that Red Octane wasn't "too interested in having [Harmonix] guitars work on its game, because [Harmonix is] having a lot of issues with its guitars." Of course, this logic begins to fall apart when you realize there was absolutely no compatibility even before these malfunctions came to light. Nice try, though.[Via DailyTech]
Remote Buddy releases version 1.7.1
Remote Buddy, the do-it-all remote program for OS X, has reached version 1.7.1. I haven't taken a look at this app in a long time, but they've come a long way, baby-- a few months ago they added support (via AJAX) for the iPhone, and that has added a whole new universe of functionality to controlling your computer via a remote unit. If you haven't seen it lately, check it out.The 1.7.1 update fixes a few bugs in the AJAX module, adds a warning if you don't have an Airport Express setting correct, and adds a newly rewritten driver for Front Row control. And this is all in addition to last week's big release (1.7), which added a ton of new stuff-- almost a complete rewrite of the AJAX remote, and compatibility with a ton of new programs, everything from ComicBookLover to VoodooPad.Very impressive. Applications like this are what make it so great to be a Mac user. Remote Buddy is available for 19.99 € or as a free 30 day trial version over on their website.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Shiira 2.2 updated for Safari 3 beta's WebKit
When Apple makes changes to WebKit - the open source rendering engine that powers Safari - like they just did with the Safari 3 beta, many, many other Mac OS X apps that have anything to do with websites need to do a little catchup so things continue to run smoothly. Shiira, the feature-packed alternative browser, is just such an app that fortunately just made the leap to Safari 3 beta compatibility. Aside from the twelve new localizations introduced in this new v2.2 update, I can't tell what else has changed. Still, if you installed the Safari 3 beta and noticed that Shiira has been misbehaving one way or another, this new version should calm the waters.
iTunes 7.1 out, claims to play nicer with Vista
It looks like those legions of iPod owners who have been taking Apple's advice to hold off on upgrading to Vista can finally dust off their month-old DVD cases and get their upgrade on, as iTunes 7.1 has officially been released with "a number" of the compatibility issues accounted for. According to the release notes, however, a few known problems still remain, with the most serious being the nasty possibility that your iPod gets corrupted when you go by the book and select "Safely Remove Hardware" from the taskbar to, um, safely remove your hardware. Instead, users are advised to choose "Eject iPod" from the iTunes Control menu or "Restore" if they're reading this just a little too late. Other remaining quirks include sporadic address book syncs, messed up text and graphics (resizing the window should do the trick), and annoyingly, continued lack of support for any 64-bit editions of Windows, be it XP or Vista. Meanwhile, in other news, the ten Zune owners who also rock a Mac are still waiting patiently for Microsoft to acknowledge their existence.[Via Digital Media Thoughts]
Wii Warm Up: 'Cube aesthetic
The Wii is, by far, the most stylish Nintendo-produced console ever made. It's sleek, minimalistic, and shiny shiny white (not pictured!). However, when being used as a Gamecube, there tends to be a loss of aerodynamic flow. Flaps concealing the GC circuitry must be lifted or removed; Wavebird receivers stick out at awkward angles, and those outdated things called wires might even get in the way.Do you guys leave your GC stuff in the Wii, ready for (slightly) retro gaming? Does the loss of form factor make a big difference, and is it worth it to pull out and put in equipment every time you load up one of those tiny discs?(uses Jedi mind trick) Tell us.
Europe's PS3 to have limited PS2 backwards compatibility?
We'll admit, we're feeling starting to feel for you folks in Europe, as not only do you now have to actually pay attention to where you're driving, but the PlayStation 3 you were planning on snagging exactly one month from today might be hamstringed right out of the box. According to comments made by David Reeves, president of SCEE, support for PS2 titles will indeed be limited, as he stated that "rather than concentrating on PS2 backwards compatibility, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3." It seems that original PlayStation titles won't be hindered all that much, but the situation looks fairly dire for your current PlayStation 2 discs. The actual list of compatible titles won't be published until launch day, and while it was noted that future titles could be added through PlayStation Network downloads, a Sony spokesperson purportedly stated that "backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as in the US and Japanese models." The reason, while still not pinpointed, could potentially be linked to the Euro-spec'd PS3 rocking a "new chassis" designed to bring manufacturing costs of the console down, which might have demanded some hardware cutbacks somewhere along the line. Regardless of the "why," it looks like UK users could get snubbed by Sony once again, so we seriously hope your PS2 won't mind sharing cabinet space with its newfangled sibling come March 23rd.[Thanks, Stoo and Ryan]
The Descent giving fits to BD-Java-less Blu-ray players
If you've just picked up the recently released The Descent on Blu-ray disc, hold back from tearing the plastic off just a minute. If you're using a first-generation Blu-ray player that doesn't yet support the "BD-Java environment," chances are you'll be graced with a depressing black screen instead of an action-packed thriller. Users across the web are complaining that the film isn't playing back on their particular Blu-ray player, and High-Def Digest has suggested that units that don't play nice with BD-Java extras are having a hard time swallowing (and playing) the featurette-packed disc. Sony's BDP-S1 and Pioneer's BDP-HD1 have been singled-out as the two most problematic players in this ordeal, and while Sony has promised a firmware update to add BD-J support "early this year," the Pioneer users are currently out of luck. Notably, Panasonic units, Samsung's BD-P1000, and Sony's own PlayStation 3 are having no troubles, although some Samsung devices may need the latest firmware installed to overcome any glitches. Hopefully more manufacturers will get on the ball and start supporting these newfangled extras that were supposed to make high definition discs worth more than the pretty resolution, and kudos to Lionsgate for pumping this one up with BD-J action -- even though some of us are still trying to make it spin.[Via High-Def Digest]
Staff recommendations: Gamecube
Lately, a couple of lists have been speeding through the tubes of the intertron, reminding new Wii-owners that in fact, your new system has all the functionality of one recently passed away: the Nintendo Gamecube. As such, the library of playable games from launch is actually quite large. But how is one to discern the hidden gems amongst such a vast field? Worry not, fair readers: we're here to help.Let's be fair: you're here reading Nintendo Wii Fanboy, for goodness' sake, so you probably know about absolute wonders such as Super Smash Bros Melee, Metroid Prime, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. These games, of course, must be played under penalty of death. What follows are fifteen fourteen of our personal recommendations, leading you from the AAA-released to barely known wonders of the little purple box. Most of these games can still be found, used, at many outlets nationwide. Take a look, and buy a game! We believe in you.
On the Firefox 2.0 beta, extensions and compatibility
If you want to play with the Firefox betas, but don't want to break your existing extensions, there is an add-on available that can bring your existing extensions along for the 2.0 beta ride. Nightly Tester Tools is an add-on (extensions are being rebranded as 'add-ons' in the new Firefox) that brings a number of developer-related features to Firefox, but it does two fantastic things for regular end users like you and I: it can make *most* extensions/add-ons work with versions of Firefox they weren't necessarily meant to, even new ones you want to install.Long story short: the way I understand it, Firefox add-ons need to specify which version of Firefox they're compatible with, in case there is version-specific code they require to function. Most add-ons, however, don't have that version-specific code, so Nightly Tester Tools (basically speaking) futzes with add-on version lists so (ideally) more recent versions of Firefox - i.e. this shiny new 2.0 release - can use these add-ons just fine. The one catch I've personally run into is that it seems Nightly Tester Tools needs to be installed on a v1.5.x of Firefox in order to be able to work with v2.0 (ironic, isn't it?). I stumbled across this because I recently wiped my MacBook Pro and reinstalled Mac OS X (I needed to start from scratch to get that new version of Vista running on my MBP). Along with this fresh system, I tried installing Nightly Tester Tools into a Firefox 2.0 beta, and it wouldn't budge. Turns out I had to degrade to 1.5.x, install Nightly Tester Tools, then bump up to 2.0, but YMMV.I need to give a shout out to Download Squad, as it is they who first found this add-on which makes playing with Firefox betas so much sweeter.
SCEA: PSP price drop to $199 on March 22nd; EyeToy, GPS, and PSone game-download support coming later
As noted in our earlier story on the PS3's worldwide launch in November, the PSP will drop in price to $199 in the U.S. on March 22nd.According to an official PR announcement from SCEA, this basic package with PSP, AC adaptor, and battery will also retail for $229.99 CND (for our friends up north).Highlights include classic PSone games for download onto Memory Sticks, web browser compatibility with Flash, a silver USB EyeToy camera for video and voice-over-IP chat in September, and GPS support for games like Hot Shots Golf as well. Europe will get their basic PSPs for 199 Euros on the same date, while Japan will get a new white SKU on April 15th.See also: PS3 worldwide in November PSP-specific page from IGN; second IGN page with other pricing info New PSP Value Packs revealed [with bundled games for Europe] Rumor: New PSP to get a built-in camera and 4GB of flash
Another Rosetta Compatibility List
Following up on yesterday's post about a Macintouch Rosetta compatibility list, I found that MacFixIt has a much more comprehensive list. This hopefully will help assuage the lamentations of readers such as EatingPie, who found the Macintouch list much too tiny. Actually, let us know if you spot any other Rosetta compatibility lists out there. Perhaps, if we find enough of these lists spattered around the Internets, we can gather them together into a TUAW uber-list.
