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Ion iCade Arcade Cabinet review
The iCade Arcade Cabinet began as an April Fool's joke in 2010, but this golden unicorn of iPad accessories has actually made it to production, showing up at our door last week. iCade creator ThinkGeek partnered with Ion to make this former imaginary gadget a reality, and so far it appears to be a hit, backordered for weeks soon after hitting the online store in April. The $100 cabinet pairs with your iPad or iPad 2 over bluetooth, bringing familiar hardware arcade controls to the Atari's Greatest Hits app, which includes classics like Missile Command (free), and Pong, which you can download from within the free Atari app for $1. The iCade is an awesome addition to your gaming collection, but it won't replace the hours of coin-dropping at your local arcade. Read on to find out why this accessory may become a permanent fixture on our desk. %Gallery-124649%
MOPS Shadow T800 brings analog joystick, hearts & spades to Android
Sure, the Xperia Play may have that slick gamepad slider, shoulder buttons, and Sony Playstation's official blessing, but can it hold its own against the Shadow's analog pad? Probably, because despite the new contender's self described status of a "mobile Playstation," its lack of shoulder buttons won't help it play any of those Xperia-exclusive PSone games it can't download. Still, besides being known as the "Phantom of the Opera" phone (thanks, Google Translate), this MOPS Shadow T800 has a lot going for it. This analog Android packs a Froyo-powered 806MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, front and rear 5 megapixel and 0.3 megapixel cameras, respectively, a 3.5 inch 320 x 480 touchscreen, and a whole mess of standard GPS, Bluetooth, and 3G radios. Not enough? Okay, fine; the device also comes pre-loaded with a handful of emulators, as well as a legit copy of Assassin's Creed. Besides, who doesn't want a phone with card-suit face buttons? Bragging rights will set you back 2680 yuan ($410), assuming you're in China when this thing launches later this month.
Thumbs-on review of ThinkGeek's JOYSTICK-IT for iPad
A while ago we were sent a couple of Joystick-IT "thumb sticks" from ThinkGeek (note: ThinkGeek uses all caps for the product name -- I respectfully decline to shout at readers throughout this post, and I consider this an increasingly annoying practice by marketers). Designed to give an old analog joystick feel to your iPad, the Joystick-IT sticks are little metal joysticks with conductive pads on the bottom coupled with a suction cup so that they can stick to your iPad, provide some "bounce" (with the conductive sponge) and control a game by using your fingers or thumbs. Read on for a quick review of how these work in real life and whether they are worth the US$24.99 price ($39.99 if you buy two at once). Design Well, I have to say these are cleverly designed. As you can see in the gallery, they provide a bit of spring from the spongy parts, and under the spongy parts is a conductive mesh to relay your controls to the screen. The metal on the sticks (necessary for these to work) feels solid and sturdy, not like a cheap plastic toy. The suction cup is necessary for sticking the thing onto the screen of your iPad, and comes off easily but not so easily it'll pop off during gameplay. Still, the suction cups look like they'll eventually snap off as they are connected by a very small diameter of rubber to the stick itself. By "snap off" I mean they look like they'll break. They definitely popped off the screen without too much pressure. Plus, while the metal is necessary, I am a little concerned about damaging my screen should I push down too hard. %Gallery-123403%
iCade arcade cabinet for iPad starts selling at $100, already on backorder
Humans, they just love mixing the old with the new. To wit, the iCade gaming cabinet for the iPad, an April Fools' joke that was just a fun idea this time last year, has gone and turned very real, replete with FCC certification and now a pre-order page. The Bluetooth-communicating iPad enclosure seems to have originally been on sale for immediate delivery, but ThinkGeek has burned through its first shipment of units faster than you can say "Atari's Greatest Hits." The second batch of $100 iCades is expected by May 20th at the very latest, although orders are being taken only from the US for now. The rest of the world needn't despair, however -- we hear building one of your own is a pleasurable and rewarding experience.
iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder
The Ion iCade, our favorite April Fools' joke turned actual product, has just passed through the FCC and moved one step closer to retail reality. The arcade cabinet for your iPad had all its Bluetoothy bits laid bare and even brought along its user manual, in case you're the type who bothers to read those sordid things. There aren't too many surprises here except, perhaps, the inclusion of an Ikea-esque hex key -- some assembly required. With the green light from the feds, though, that means the iCade is right on schedule for its May 31st release. If you want to ensure you nab one of the first batch, you can pre-order it now for $99 from either GameStop or ThinkGeek. And, while you wait for the blissful marriage of Atari's Greatest Hits and Bluetooth joystick, you can peep the pics in the gallery after the break.
GDC 2011: Graeme Devine on the iPad for gaming
Veteran game developer Graeme Devine took the stage at GDC 2011 this week to talk about Apple's iPad (and by extension, the new iPad 2, of course), and called it "the best gaming machine on the planet today." He went through his own thoughts on the device, talked a little bit about how developers could use the metaphor of touch to make the best games possible, and then went through a list of what he felt were the best practices for iOS development. Devine said that the first time he held an iPad, "I felt like I was holding something from science fiction in my hands. It was different from any other experience I've had before." The iPad reverses the trend in gaming to move the screen farther away from the player, and instead puts it relatively close up and personal. Additionally, the joystick is gone, and while a lot of games depend on that virtual joystick (more on that in a bit), the iPad removes any hardware between your fingers and what's happening on screen. A finger isn't a mouse, either -- rather than selecting and then clicking, fingers on iPad screens just tap and move.
Joystickers provide a little tactile feedback on a touchscreen
Do you want little tactile-feedback joysticks on your iOS-device screen? And do you want to be a founding financier of the company that produces them? You're in luck. Head over to the Kickstarter funding project of Chicago-based Joystickers, who want to muss up your shiny screen with tiny, sticky joysticks in order to improve the feedback you get in shooter and platform games. The joysticks -- the inventors call them the Classic -- are held onto your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Android device with micro suction cups that won't damage your screen. Joystickers founder and engineer Anthony Cerra says the special sucker for the Classic is imported from Japan. According to Cerra, "Every detail of this product was custom manufactured to our specification -- even the spring." The spring itself is manufactured in Chicago and is designed for long-lasting durability. Joystickers is looking for US$25,000 in funding by March 24, which will pay for injection molding production for the Classic and a stylus and paintbrush that they've designed. A $30 donation will get you a pair of Classics when production starts in May. [via MacStories]
ThinkGeek's Joystick-It offers a more traditional arcade joystick for your iPad's screen
You've probably seen the Fling, which is TenOne's stick-on joystick for the iPad. Now, ThinkGeek has introduced a competitor -- the Joystick-It is another stick-on joystick for the iPad's touchscreen, this time styled a little more closely to an actual arcade controller. The bottom of the stick has what looks like a suction cup that attaches to the device, and then you can move the stick around to control a capacitive widget on the bottom that acts as your finger normally would on the touchscreen. I haven't gotten to play with it, but I can't imagine that it offers as big a range of movement as the Fling does. Then again, the Fling is more of a controller-style joystick, while the Joystick-It looks like a full arcade stick, and it has a smaller footprint on the screen. The Joystick-It is more expensive than the Fling, too, at one for US$25, or two for $40 plus shipping from ThinkGeek. We'll have to try one out soon and let you know what we think.
Finally, an arcade stick for the fashion-conscious
Are arcade sticks too gaudy and affordable for you? You're the target audience for the utterly implausible "Hoon vs. Neo Legend" arcade stick, designed by Hoon, a Parisian jewelry and leather clothing company, in collaboration with the "arcade shop" Neo Legend. The stick is built by hand out of "lacquered oak wood and corners cased in ostrich leather" and contains hardware made by trusted Japanese arcade parts company Sanwa Denshi. It's designed for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The sticks will be available both from the Neo Legend store and from Hoon's website on February 18. If you have so much money that you can confidently buy electronics from a fashion designer without knowing the price, Hoon is currently accepting pre-orders by email request. And for the rest of you, we've inquired as to the price -- and we'll be sure to share the shocking news when it comes in.%Gallery-115575% [Thanks, David]
Mechanized joystick built to control iPhone tilt sensor, rack up high score
What do you do when you just can't get that high score you're looking for in Tilt to Live? You build a computer that's better at playing the game than you are. For Shane Wighton, that turned out to be a mechanized joystick for tilt-controlled iPhone games. When Shane couldn't achieve the score wanted on Tilt to Live, he asked himself, "[Can] I program a computer to detect patterns in the enemies, be strategic, and make the best moves using its superior reaction time and raw processing power?" As part of answering that question Shane's made the above illustration a reality by building a mechanized joystick with an Arduino, some servo motors and metal. The next phase is for Shane to mount the webcam, write the code that will actually play the game for him and, hopefully, rack in some damage on the score board. Check out the video after the break to see the beast in action. Shane, we're looking forward to seeing how this works out for you. From all of us here at TUAW, we wish you the best of luck. Go get 'em! [Via Joystiq, TouchArcade]
ThinkGeek slaps a joystick on the iPad
If that pseudo-analog nubbin didn't satisfy your touchscreen gaming needs, ThinkGeek has revealed its own "Joystick-It" arcade stick attachment for the iPad. The aluminum stick will go on sale for $25 at the end of the month. See it action after the break.
iPhone meets Arduino, tilt joystick for mobile games results (video)
Even though games like Infinity Blade can be great fun on the iPhone, there's no getting around the fact that touchscreen-centric, buttonless devices don't offer the best gaming ergonomics. A modding project gone horribly right, however, might just fix that right up for all of us. Shane Wighton set out to build a robot to try and beat his favorite iPhone game, replete with a webcam and an Arduino setup, but in the process of doing so he "just realized that [he'd] made a mechanism to play tilt based phone games with a joystick." Yes indeedy, one of the most awesome DIY gaming accessories was built by fluke as much as design. See it revolutionizing mobile gaming just after the break.
ThinkGeek Joystick-It brings arcade-style fun to your otherwise mundane tablet gaming experience
We've seen many arcade-style joysticks for video game consoles over the years, and the trend is making its way to the tablet market. The ThinkGeek Joystick-It attaches to your tablet's screen in a position of your choosing so that you can game on your shiny new slate in a decidedly retro way. The joystick is all-aluminum, works with any game that has an on-screen control pad, and does its thing without the use of batteries. We don't know how the device actually attaches to the display, but we do know that it is more aesthetically pleasing than other tactile control solutions we've seen at CES this year. The Joystick-It will cost $24.95 and be available by the end of January, so if old-school gaming is your thing, check out the demo video after the break. [Thanks, Jessica] %Gallery-113014%
Fling joystick lets you get physical with Super Megaworm on the iPad
You know, some people take gaming very seriously, and there's no doubt that a good portion of them will be picking up this new peripheral from Ten One Design. For $24.95, the Fling tactile game controller promises to enhance some iPad games by overlaying their virtual D-pad with a physical mini joystick. And that's not it -- the funky spiral mechanism also provides resistance to simulate force feedback, meaning your thumb will always know its boundaries. Check out the video demo after the break. %Gallery-112504%
Fling adds a joystick to your iPad
The Fling tactile game controller is a real joystick that attaches to your iPad so you can instinctively feel what you're doing with your thumb and increase your accuracy. Xbox and PlayStation controllers taught console gamers to use a left thumb joystick for movement or aiming. Action games on the iPad simulate that with a virtual joystick controlled with your thumb on the touch screen. Problem is, there's no touch feedback from the iPad's flat glass screen. It's hard to keep track of exactly where your thumb is, making games like GWars:Touch or Rage HD harder than they need to be. Fling is a physical joystick giving you real feedback. Use the suction cups to position it properly centered for the game, then use your thumb on the thumbstick to control the game. The joystick is made by Ten One Design who came up with the Pogo Sketch stylus for iPad, so they're experienced in making touch input devices with great accuracy. The Fling FAQ confirms you can use two of these for "dual joystick" games, but points out that most first person shooters and role playing games only use the left joystick, while the right side of the screen has virtual buttons instead. Watch the Fling iPad joystick in action on YouTube and visit Ten One Design on January 6 to pre-order. [via CrunchGear]
Mad Catz creating FightSticks and FightPads for WWE All Stars
Mad Catz has created FightPad and FightStick accessories for fighting games like Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It has now announced a partnership with THQ to produce ... WWE-branded FightSticks and FightPads, for the upcoming WWE All Stars game. All Stars is supposed to be more arcade-like and feature "combination sequences" (according to its original announcement), so ... no, this just isn't going to make sense no matter how hard we try. Mad Catz intends to produce the accessories for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, which means that if you missed out on the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick, you'll have another chance to get a Wii arcade stick, albeit one with pictures of wrasslers all over it. Mad Catz has declined to offer images or specific details for the devices, so we're just going to have to dream for now.
Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500
Already got a tween of your own begging and pleading for a decent gaming joystick from Santa? It's a common issue, or so we hear. Thrustmaster's HOTAS Warthog is probably one of the nicest around, and it looks as if it'll be landing on American doormats in plenty of time to procure a sufficient amount of wrapping paper. The ultimate flight sim stick will start shipping out by the end of this month for a wallet-melting $499.99, but thankfully for you, we were able to put together a lengthy list of impressions during a hands-on session back at E3. And hey, if this one ends up out of reach, at least you've always got Solipskier.
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.
Hori's Twin Stick EX controller returns for Virtual-On Force
For Hori, the release of Virtual-On Force is another excuse to sell its expensive Twin Stick EX controller. The peripheral company is producing another run of the ¥30,000 ($344) Twin Stick EX, now bearing the Virtual-On Force logo and targeted at a winter release to coincide with that game. The current iteration of the stick is being sold only through preorders on Hori's website between now and July 20, but we suspect a small number will find their way to importers, for those of you who started saving up the last time these sticks were announced and have only now managed to get enough money together.
Canon DSLR shutter remote hacked into Atari joystick
Just point and shoot. Video after the break.
