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The best coffee table of CES
After weeks of trials and tribulations, I'm excited to announce Engadget's Best of CES winner in the hotly contested coffee table category: Retrobit's Mega Table. Okay, so I've only seen one coffee table at CES, and I'm also not in charge of our awards. But the Mega Table is pretty great anyway. It's a wooden coffee table with a giant wooden d-pad and action buttons, that can be used to control all manner of games consoles. The device here is just a prototype, but Retrobit is planning on heading to a crowdfunding site to make it a reality. At an estimated $500, it's not exactly an impulse buy, but I've bought more expensive coffee tables in my time, and its dual-purpose design might make it an interesting conversation piece for your games room.
Retro-Bit's wireless N64 controllers are just smashing
Everyone was talking about the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U during E3 this year, but the highlight of the Innex booth wanted nothing to do with these newfangled gadgets. I'm talking about Retro-Bit's Wireless Hypermode controllers for the N64. I got a chance to try out one of these controllers with the original Super Smash Bros – serendipitously right before my interview with its creator, Masahiro Sakurai – and it seemed to work swimmingly. I didn't notice any significant input latency, and was able to perform smash attacks without any trouble (as Samus, obviously). I doubt I spent more than five minutes with it, so I can't speak to longterm concerns like connectivity issues or battery life, but the initial impression was definitely a positive one. The build quality felt good, though not as high as official Nintendo controllers. The analog stick in particular felt like it didn't have as much weight or resistance to it as an official pad – more or less how you would expect a third-party controller to feel. Connection is achieved via a receiver plugged into the console's controller ports. The receiver has a connection button and a slot for a memory card or Rumble Pak. Obviously you won't be feeling any of those rumbles from across your living room, but at least the option is there for any games that require the Rumble function (like finding secrets in Ocarina of Time, etc). The Wireless Hypermode N64 controller is slated to arrive this summer for $30. A Genesis version and an NES / SNES hybrid version are panned for this fall at the same price.%Gallery-191540%
Retro-bit bringing wireless controllers to retro consoles
Remember Retro-Bit, the company behind the nifty handheld NES / SNES, the RetroDuo Portable? Once again, the company is looking to make your outdated gaming habits a little more convenient, this time with a line of wireless controllers for vintage consoles. There are three controllers in the Hypermode series, one for the Nintendo 64, a hybrid controller the NES and SNES, and finally one for the Sega Genesis. Each uses a 2.4GHz receiver to connect to its respective console, and all three have turbo functionality. The N64 controller also features a slot for a Rumble Pak. Furthermore, the NES / SNES and Genesis controllers can also be used on PC or Mac. The N64 controller is slated to launch this summer, while the other two are planned for this fall. Each will cost $30. Distributor Innex will be showing the controllers at its booth during E3. We'll do our best to swing by and check them out. In the meantime, we pose a simple question: Where's our wireless Saturn controller?%Gallery-188447%
Engadget goes hands-on with the RetroDuo Portable NES/SNES
We don't know if you guys realize this or not, but CES is a big show. Like, really big. So big, in fact, that our crack team of ground forces couldn't possibly see all that there is to see, no matter how efficient and devilishly handsome they may be. Thankfully, our sister site Engadget was also at the show, and they got to spend some hands-on time with the RetroDuo Portable, an NES/SNES combo device from classic console fabricator Retro-Bit. Functionally, the device serves the same purpose as the SupaBoy released by Hyperkin late last year, albeit with a few catches. Hit the source link for Engadget's full write up, and ask yourself a very important question: Which is more valuable, $90, or memories?
