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Ring of death inspires Forza 2 artwork
Another Forza 2 customized paint job arrived in our inbox today and we thought its inspiration was noteworthy. Some of us (including me) have experienced the dreaded red lights and have had to deal with Microsoft's semi-helpful customer service to send off a broken 360. CoolNumber9 is having the same red ring of death problems and has been using the "towel trick" to keep it running long enough to make a ring of death inspired Forza 2 car. It may not be the most badass ride on the block, but anyone who has had to deal with the red lights will shudder when they see this beast in their rear view mirror. Long live die the ring of death!And as always, send us your custom Forza 2 creations so we can add them to our lovely gallery below.%Gallery-3640%
DS Daily: Custom stylus
We've touched on the issue of the stylus before; many people use thicker, professional styluses from PDAs or whatnot, while others use some of the special edition ones seen around the internet. But it's a free-thinking world, guys and gals, and reality is such a ho-hum place.Let your mind drift and dream, and tell us, dear readers: in a penultimate world (that's a clever pun, see?), what would your stylus be? Any reasonably cylindrical shape will do. We're partial to the deadly eastern dragon above, of course.
Crazy good Forza 2 custom paint jobs
Forza 2 isn't even a week old and players have already unleashed some killer custom paint jobs for their rides. A slick iPod theme, several anime-inspired cars along with South Park, Jack Sparrow, and a little game you might have heard of called Gears of War. Readers at Xbox 360 Fanboy have chimed in with their own works as well, proving once again that videogames don't kill brain cells, people kill brain cells.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
The Xbox 360 PC ditches gaming for Windows and OS X
Sure, we've seen the PlayStation 3 morph into somewhat of a desktop machine, but electric0ant decided that simply installing new software was just too easy. No fully functioning Xbox 360s were harmed in the making of the Xbox 360 PC, as the crafty modder snagged a cheap console that had been stricken by the Red Ring of Death, pawned off the DVD drive, and got to work. The build actually stuff an full-fledged PC within the confines of the Xbox 360's case, and aside from having to swap out a standard optical drive for a laptop rendition and refashioning a spare heatsink, there didn't seem to be many troubles. Of course, a side-mounted fan was necessary to avoid a thermal meltdown after extended use, and he didn't quite get around to rigging up the external graphics card that he had in mind, but the final creation does manage to run both Windows XP and OS X. As these things always go, the pictures tell the story, so click on through for a few more select snaps, and then hit the read link for the full skinny.[Thanks, Paul]
Julius the Pirate Monkey DS Lite
It's been too long since we last took a sip from China's rum bottle of personalized DS Lites; it's time to get back on that wagon with a buccaneer-themed skin.YYJoy forumer Pikapika shivered our timbers, decorating his handheld with a crossed-cutlasses pattern and Julius the Monkey decked out in full corsair regalia. Now that's piracy we can get behind! Walk the post break plank for more photos of the shipshape DS Lite.
A-Power's AP-Halo gaming PC dons Halo 2 outfit, beastly innards
With Dell's XPS 720 getting ready for showtime, it's quite possible that a few of you out there are eying a slightly different kind of animal, and for the Halo faithful, look no further than A-Power. The AP-Halo machine sports a fully customized Halo 2 chassis to go along with the game's PC counterpart, but it manages to look fairly good on the inside as well. Beneath the metal you'll find an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, up to 640GB of SATA II hard drive space, Asus' P5K Deluxe motherboard, a Samsung dual-layer DVD burner, Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, gigabit Ethernet, a 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX handling the DX10 duties, a 700-watt power supply, and to cap things off, it also comes bundled with Microsoft's own Reclusa keyboard and Habu mouse. Of course, it'll come pre-loaded with Vista Ultimate and Halo 2, and deep-pocketed gamers can add on an Xbox 360 PC controller if they choose. The Halo 2-themed system is slated to launch on May 22nd, and while the base price sits at CAD$1,659 ($1,505) sans a monitor, those hardware upgrades will send that figure quite a ways north.
Sticker shocking designs from Korea
Gariz's stickers won't upstage mods like yesterday's Zelda-themed DS Lite, but they're an easy way to personalize your handheld with an attractive design. The metal decals emphasize the embossed logo on the system' s lid, surrounding it with either a deco pattern or a miniaturized DS. Both styles come in silver and gold.Selling for approximately $29 at its Korean shop, the're no doubt that the Gariz skins are overpriced, especially when you consider that the rest of the included stickers -- matching borders for your screens, three alphabet sets, and accents for your D-pad/buttons -- are nothing to write home about. We're sure that there'll be people who won't mind paying the premium price though, as there aren't many other options for subtle customizations like these. Jump past the break for more photos.See also: Just about the awesomest skins EVAR
Willcom shows off customizable WP004 handset
If you're getting tired of the mainstream barrage of handsets rolling out on a near-hourly basis, and don't mind sourcing your mobile from Japan, Willcom's got you covered. The highly customizable WP004 aims to please just about everyone, as it starts out as a basic communication device, but allows the customer to add specific peripherals such as a camera, GPS receiver, fingerprint scanner, and even a USB module to sync with your PC. Of course, everyone will get to experience the joy of W-SIM built right in, but picking out your extra goodies is where the real fun is. Per usual, there's no word about pricing on any of this kit, but as accessories always seem to do, we don't imagine the fully-loaded WP004s coming without a premium.[Via Slashphone]
Buy Tony Hawk's board-burdened GH guitar, help starving musicians
Here's a charity item we guarantee no one has ever auctioned off before: a Guitar Hero controller bonded to a skateboard fragment -- with Tony Hawk's siggy, no less. Bidding starts at $100 and proceeds go to the MusiCares organization, which catches panhandling musicians in a delicate safety net and provides them with "critical assistance" (read: not a record deal). Some 29 other celeb- and rocker-decorated GH controllers are also up on eBay to support the cause.For anyone hoping for more than just a geeky display piece, please note the fine print: "Owing to customization, the controller is offered solely as an art object and is not guaranteed to have retained any functionality; buyers who choose to connect the controller to a console do so at their own risk." (Ever seen a skate-guitar asplode...?)[Via IGN]
DIY arcade stick utilizes wireless Xbox 360 components
It's one thing to conjure up your own controller, but to cut the cabling while you're at just makes the whole package that much sexier. Joining the growing array of wireless (and wired, too) DIY joysticks, DH020's all-white rendition does indeed mimic the Street Fighter edition we've already seen, but the plexi-glass top, white gloss paint job, and the "custom felt material base" just sets this one off. The project utilizes a bubbletop Sanwa stick, six 30-millimeter Sanwa buttons (and two of the 24-millimeter variety), a wireless Xbox 360 controller PCB, and to top it all off, a Play & Charge kit for USB recharging. Yeah, we too wish dearly that we could wrap our paws around this for a good week or two, but at least you can click on through and catch a video demonstration while you debate whether you're going to craft one of your own.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Found Footage: Custom Apple TV plug-ins debut
Awkward TV has posted this video showing a custom Apple TV plug-in in action. The post mentions that this is the second known custom plug-in (you can see the first in action here), and that it allows you to play .AVI files located on the main disk (rather than the iPod-esque Media library). For now those files are hardcoded in, as this is primarily a proof of concept. They did not provide a link for downloads, and there probably won't be a public release for a while.
Expensive (but nice) custom Halo 3 themed 360
Up for sale on eBay is one super fine custom Halo 3 themed Xbox 360. Complete with airbrushed Halo 3 logo, portrait of Master Chief, water droplets and dirty embellishments, this is one sexy custom case. And you're ever so lucky, because if you want this little guy all you have to do is drop $925 and you'll have her with matching controllers to boot. Though, no real Halo 3 fan could put a price on custom Halo 3 Xbox 360 perfection. Yup, spend $925 on this custom wonder and an additional $130 on the Legendary Edition and we'll (possibly) crown you richest, silliest, craziest, Halo 3 fan on the planet. Happy bidding! [Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
For sale: WoW day planners and Adventure Logs
Jeni over on livejournal has a cafepress shop where she sells-- you're not going to believe this-- WoW day planners. This is amazing-- not only do these books have the normal holidays in them, but they also come with preprinted WoW holidays! Never miss a Feast of Nobelgarden or a Children's Week festival again! And it looks like on every page, Jeni's printed a quote from a character ingame. You could be writing your dentist appointment above a quote from Herod that says "Blades of Light!" I'm way too excited about these.But if you think that's cool, check this out: she's also got Adventure Logs. Yes, if the built-in quest log isn't enough for you, you can get your very own notebook devoted specifically to recording WoW quest information. There's even a place to keep printed screenshots of your characters, track profession recipes, and even create instance gear templates. All right, so that's a little much even for me, but if you happen to be really obsessive, maybe the Adventure Log is your thing.But I love that day planner idea-- the coloring book was good, but this is definitely WoW merchandising at its best (so much so that the legal status of these might be a little iffy, actually). The only qualm I have about picking one up is the covers-- they're a bit cute for a rugged Orc Shaman like myself. I know Jeni probably made them herself, so I don't want to be too harsh-- they're OK, they just don't work for me. But I'd be all over one of these books if they had a cover, say, drawn by the talented and extremely nice folks over at MMOArt. Get me a WoW day planner with something like this on the cover of it, and my credit card will be jumping out of my wallet.
Sonic-branded Wii Giveaway
Sega's branch in Germany is hosting a contest to celebrate Sonic and the Secret Rings' release, offering up prizes like figurines, signed memorabilia, and a Sonic-Team-branded Wii. The winner of the limited edition Wii will also receive a German copy of the game -- a cruel reminder of the hardware's region lock. We're not sure how faithful the customized console will be to the mock-up pictured above, but the simple stamping of the blue hedgehog's head on both the system and the Wii remote is a lot more attractive than we expected. Entering the contest is as easy as sending an email to Sega's offices with the German title for Sonic and the Secret Rings. They will be accepting entries until March 23rd, so don't put your Google-searching off for too long!
Custom Robo Arena goes gold
Nintendo sent us a press release today, informing that Custom Robo Arena has gone gold and is on track to meet its expected release date of March 19th in the United States. Nintendo is quick to point out that in this future of theirs, all disputes are settled via robots fighting on holographic battlefields, reminding us that we have a long ways to go before achieving this Utopian society of theirs. Not only that, but the Wi-Fi Connect possibilities make us anxious to get our hands on this game for some Game Night action.See also: Custom Robo Arena website launches[Via press release]
Not satisfied with current HDTV models? Build your own!
So you're looking at that new LCD television on the showroom floor, but you think, "I could totally get into this if only it had three component inputs, and two high-def tuners." Well, AVING brings us news that Korean value added reseller A1display has the solution for you, with new "DIY" 1080p LCD models you can have custom built to your specifications. It seems that you come to the company's store, select your components, and then engineers gather all the parts and assemble it for you, with in-home service options available once the set has been delivered. From our machine-translated Korean page, we deduce that the company is using some stock LG glass and various internal parts to assemble the unit, implying that you can choose your tuner and input options, while keeping much of the bezel casing and other hardware the same. Still, keep in mind that your options are somewhat limited by the pre-configured parts, so your dream of a 4K set with 5 HDMI inputs and 2 built in subwoofers will have to remain just that.
Custom Robo Arena website launches
The official website for Custom Robo Arena has gone live, featuring screenshots, video and some downloadable wallpapers. Other than that, there isn't really much else to the site. The video, however, is fairly long and depicts a lot of the combat and customization promised by the Wi-Fi Connect compatible title. Personally, we can't wait for the game as it's almost sure to be added to our Game Night games roster.You can check out the website here.
Designer analog sticks
Do you look at your PSP's analog stick nub thing with disdain? Do you dream up elaborate Road Runneresque schemes to destroy it and eat it for dinner? Well luckily for you, Divineo.com has replacement analog stick nub things for you to put in your PSP if you have some amount of modding skills or friends with modding skills. The pink one looks sorta dirty to me for some reason. If anyone actually has a modded PSP, you should post a link to an image of it in chat so we can all check out your pimped out handheld. [DCEmu]
Car modder installs water-cooled LED-backlit LCD
If you think hooking your ride up with an in-car PC is 1337, or if you were impressed with Samsung's lineup of LED-backlit LCDs earlier today, you'll probably admire this one as well. For reasons unknown to mere men, a crafty car modder set out to not only install a water-cooled LED-backlit LCD into his ride, but to actually construct it. Taking a 12.1-inch widescreen display, he replaced the CCFL lamp with no fewer than 32 one-watt Luxeon LEDs, resulting in brightness akin to staring at the world's largest star. Additionally, he utilized a liquid-cooling setup which he later stated wasn't entirely necessary, but it does give you one more reason to boast. While we highly doubt the novice DIY crowd should try to replicate this without tons of dough and time to waste, be sure to click on through for a few more works-in-progress shots, or hit the read link for the full skinny.[Via Hack-A-Day]
Play custom songs on hacked Guitar Hero II
Ever wanted to play your favorite song in Guitar Hero II? I don't mean tapping away at your keyboard on some competent PC clone, I mean actually strumming along to your favorite rock anthem on your TV with your favorite Guitar Hero controller. Apparently it's possible with a DVD burner, a modded PS2, and a handful of hacking programs as outlined on the ScoreHero.com forums. The 12-step process requires that you to handle some pretty complicated file juggling, but the end results are impressive. Keep reading for a couple of examples of some custom songs inserted into everyone's favorite Guitar game.
