joypad
Latest
Turn your iPhone into an NES-style controller for free
Back in April we told you about Joypad, the US$1.99 app that lets you use your iPod touch or iPhone as a classic joystick controller for game emulators on your Mac. It works by connecting to your computer via Bluetooth once users have also downloaded the Joypad Connect software for their Mac or PC. Joypad has caught on among gamers and now the app is a free download. The free app comes with Game Boy Advance, NES, SNES, Genesis and N64 gamepad skins. Users can buy additional skins for $0.99 each, including Game Boy, Game Boy Advanced, Famicom, and others. Developers can also download the Joypad SDK, which will allow them to enable their iOS games to work with the app (Unity support is coming). Current iOS games that offer JoyPad support include Meganoid, Stardash, Arcade Jumper, Super Drill Panic, Ghost Ninja: Zombie Beatdown, Ninja USA, Vertex Blaster, Super Mega Worm, Lars, Plum Crazy, Emerald Mine and Space Falcon Reloaded Free. A few Mac games, like Mos Speedrun (which also supports the iCade) are also supported. Joypad is a free download on the App Store. [via MacNN]
Razer's adjustable Onza 360 Tournament Edition controller hands-on at CES 2011
Not so fond of the resistance level on that stock Xbox 360 controller? Hello, solution! Razer just trotted out the Tournament Edition and Standard Edition controllers, and we stopped by to have a look. The company told us that it has been working on perfecting the resistance mechanism on the Tournament Edition ($49.99) for months on end, and the end product was as solid as a rock. Both analog joysticks are capable of being independently tightened or loosened with respect to resistance, and it also touts an added shoulder button that can be reassigned to do pretty much anything via an intuitive button / menu process on the rear of the controller -- that's shown in more detail down in the gallery below. There's also a rubberized feel to the grip, backlit buttons and a braided cable, whereas the $39.99 Standard edition lacks the adjustable resistance, backlighting, rubber finish and cable braiding. Representatives for the company noted that the next logical step would be to concoct a wireless version and to eventually introduce a PlayStation 3 variant with resistant analog sticks, but no one was ready (or willing) to talk release dates. As for these Onzas? Pre-orders will start on the 17th, with shipments to hopefully follow in "soon." %Gallery-113050%
Razer refreshes Onza 360 controller with new Tournament and Standard Editions
Is your Xbox 360's bundled controller not loving you quite like it should? Razer's ready to pick you up on the rebound with its updated Onza controller for Microsoft's console. The Tournament Edition offers analog sticks with adjustable resistance, an improved D-pad, backlit action buttons, and a pair of added programmable keys. The Standard version eschews the backlight and analog customizability, but keeps the other improvements. Pre-orders for both begin on January 17th, with the Tournament costing $50 / €50 and the Standard asking for $40 / €40. %Gallery-113047%
PlayStation designer explains what the controller symbols mean, dishes a bit of history
Teiyu Goto, the man responsible for saving us from that kidney-shaped disaster above and delivering us the splendid original PlayStation's controller, has sat down for a little chat with Famitsu over in Japan. Involved in the PlayStation project almost from its inception, the designer played a pivotal role in shifting Sony away from its Nintendo copycat ways and into the world of handle-equipped button pads. Moreover, his brainbox is the one responsible for coming up with the now legendary geometric button icons adorning the PS controller's buttons. Here's how Goto explains their meaning: the circle and x represent yes and no, respectively, the triangle symbolizes a point of view, and the square is equated to a sheet of paper, there to be used to access menus. Frankly, given the backlog of memories we have built up with those keys, this explanation leaves us a little high and dry, couldn't he have made up some dragon-slaying stories? Hit the source below for the whole interview, it's well worth the read.
Joypad turns your iPhone into wireless video game controller
Do you love playing classic games via emulators on your Mac but hate using the keyboard to control those 8-bit heroes? Joypad is just what you've been waiting for. The simple app lets you use your iPod touch or iPhone as a classic joystick controller for game emulators on your Mac. To use it, just download the US$2 Joypad app from the App Store. Next, download the free Joypad Connect software for Mac OS X 10.5 and above. Then simply launch Joypad on your iPhone and Joypad Connect on your computer. From Joypad Connect, select your iPhone or iPod touch from the list and get ready to feel like it's 1987 all over again! You don't need to be in range of a Wi-Fi network for Joypad to work. The app will work just fine over an ad-hoc network between your iPhone and Mac. Here's hoping we see an Xbox 360 controller version of Joypad for when Steam launches on the Mac later this month. [via Cult of Mac]
Hori Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX has a name to match its size, price
Shoulder buttons? Never heard of 'em. Give us all our buttons in a nice rainbow-shaped array and a big stick for our southpaw and leave us well enough alone. Hori, the company behind the most righteous Tekken 6 arcade controller, is back with a Street Fighter-inspired effort for the true enthusiasts out there. This new deck is a direct copy of the Sanwa arcade cabinets housing Street Fight IV, meaning you can finally take your epic fighting skills home without fearing the misshapen things other people call controllers. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX will be shipping by the end of March, and you can hit the Joystiq link below to find out how to import one for yourself.
Belkin JoyPod plans sneak out (now confirmed false)
Update: Belkin reps have contacted us to say that the JoyPod, while a fascinating idea, is not a product they have in development. Oh well!I guessed that we'd see a more official iPhone controller sooner or later, but I didn't think it'd be this much sooner -- Touch Arcade has unearthed this photo of a Belkin-branded game controller/case for the iPhone and iPod touch called the JoyPod. Looks pretty slick, though as Engadget points out, the ratios don't really work out -- odds are that the final product will have to be a little longer to fit the iPhone in there.Very interesting, though -- now I'm curious to see if Apple really will support stuff like this. Supporting a third-party controller would seem to go against His Jobsness' suggestion that a multitouch screen could be used for anything (even typing on an awkward non-tactile keyboard), but clearly there's a demand, from consumers if not from devs themselves, to move game controls off the screen and onto buttons you can feel while pressing. How else will you be able to "exprimir al maximo tu iPhone o iPod touch"?
Dream Cheeky's metal joypad makes the best of projectiles
Today's generations of gee-whiz graphics and analog controls have brought with them one unfortunate addition: beefy, expensive wireless controllers that we're loathe to dash against the floor or to bash against an adjacent sibling. The creatively-termed "USB Metal Game Pad" from Dream Cheeky is just what it says on the box, doing your basic assortment of SNES-era joypad work with some USB pluggability and Mac / PC compatibility, but being conveniently built out of metal. Sure, it looks shoddy and uninspired, but we wouldn't have it any other way. No word on price or where to nab one.[Via technabob]
Rumor: New Prince of Persia detailed in Joypad mag
Though it's been officially announced for a Holiday 2008 release, Ubisoft's next and "next-gen" Prince of Persia hasn't been glimpsed outside of some leaked concept art (seen above). Of course, that's not a situation the internet can tolerate for very long, with alleged magazine scans of the royal wall runner already popping up on several sites. New information and images, reportedly emerging from the pages of French mag, Joypad, reveal the cel-shaded prince leaping through several stunning environments. A loose (and unconfirmed) French translation from the NeoGAF forum indicate that our acrobatic pal has gone and done something regrettable again -- this time he's let an evil god out of its box and needs to restore the corrupted world (a la Okami) bit by bit. Quick, rewind the time! Oh, wait, that's supposedly not in the game anymore. Instead, it seems the Ubisoft Montreal team has started anew, with more open levels ("multiple paths can be taken"), a greater reliance on the environment ("Prince can slide along any walls using his glove") and fewer, more memorable bosses "inspired by" Metal Gear Solid. It's not specified whether you'll have to change wireless controller channels to defeat any of them.Read -- NeoGAF translation (the forum is currently down)Read -- Prince of Persia screens
Buffalo's USB Micro-Pads for gaming on-the-go
It's not like your average SNES of PSX-inspired PC gamepad is really too much of a chore to lug around, but if you've really got to get your game on with minimal addition to your gear bag, Buffalo's new USB Micro-Pads seem to be the way to go. The folding controller comes in both an analog stick version (pictured) and a traditional direction pad edition, and both Micro-Pads feature dual shoulder buttons, a couple of extra face buttons, and a mini-USB to USB adaptor. Along with being a good match for most PC emulators and other relevant titles, we're thinking this could do good things for a Pocket PC-based emulation fan if Buffalo brings the necessary drivers to the table, but we'll have to wait and see. No word on price or availability yet.
