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Polk Audio Xbox N1 sound bar and 133t gaming headphones eyes-on
Polk's at E3 showing off two new devices it's showing off at E3 this week that aren't half bad looking. Granted, they're not as slick as some of the higher end products the audio company has shown off in the past, but as far as gaming-centric devices go, they're not too shabby. According to the company, Microsoft approached it specifically to create peripherals for the Xbox, leading Polk to give the world the 133t Gaming Headphones and N1 sound bar. The 133ts eschew the standard external gaming mic for a little nub that juts out from one ear. To mute it, you just click it back up inside the cup. The headphones also feature a mixer that plugs directly into the controller to help eliminate cords and lets you adjust sound settings on the fly. The Surroundbar, meanwhile, was designed specifically with the Xbox in mind, featuring four modes: Racer, FPS, Music and Cinema, so you can switch between gaming and standard media consumption. The N1 is set for a fall release, with the 133t coming some time in Q4. More info in a press release after the break.%Gallery-191251%
The Anvil of Crom: Hives of scum and villainy
Once, a long time ago, I stood on the summit of a sandy cliff with my MMO mentor. His sage-like eyes took in the desert around us, surveying the burgeoning multiplayer landscape. On one side of us were MMOs; on the other, FPS titles and social networking games. Surrounding us from all directions I saw a writhing, rioting mass of digital humanity, overlapping chat bubbles floating toward the horizon for miles around. Some of these bubbles were legible, though many featured bizarre butcherings of the king's English as well as certain phrases that I couldn't even begin to decipher. Almost all of them sported excessive punctuation and some variation on LOL. Squinting his eyes against the glare and covering his ears with both hands, my mentor inclined his head down the slope. "Global chat," he said, a weary sign escaping his chapped lips. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
Game designer turns geek mafia
Before you lynch us for recommending entertainment that's neither electronic nor interactive (books, they're the ultimate retro portable), know that GEEK MAFIA ain't just any book. First, it's hella cheap: $5. Second, the book features as hero protagonist a video game designer who gets entangled in a comic book counterfeiting scheme and uses game design skills to pull off a big con. Author Rick Dakan's bio includes a hint of the intrigue that may have inspired the novel. According to his bio, Dakan dreamed up the idea for popular MMORPG City of Heroes, helped found Cryptic Studios, and was fired by his business partners three years later. The kid's got chops, the book's getting props, and the price is right. We bought one. [Via Seth Godin]
Money can't buy me uber
William Beamish sends along a link to an article over at NotAddicted called "Can't Buy Me Uber." They tried to work out, Mastercard style, exactly how much it would cost you, in real dollars, to make the most pimped-out, l33te57, uber-est character ever-- use gamecards, hired someone to level you to 60, and then a guild to run you up to Naxx to get all the best gear (until the expansion anyway). The figures aren't much more than random guesses, but it's a mildly amusing thought experiment-- especially the bits where they try to figure out how much gold it would take to get a Naxx guild to hook you up with their server first stuff.So how much money would it take to become TEH UBER? They land on a figure of $23,015 (not counting the $100,000 they say you'd have to pay to get everyone on your server to treat you with the respect you'd actually get if you were that uber). Which seems high, of course, not to mention that you're missing out all the good stuff-- the leveling and raiding you'd be doing while playing your way to the top. Would you pay $23,015 to have the absolute best character on your server? I sure wouldn't.But I'd take it. If you want to give me $23k and six months, I'll be happy to quit my job (later, WoW Insider!) and get you exactly the character they describe. But then the question is, as NotAddicted says, what would you do if you really were the uber-est character around? Rock the battlefields? Gank newbies? Dance naked in front of Orgrimmar?
