Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXIV: MiWi2 Wiipoff spotted in London shop

We're pretty sure that Nintendo doesn't have anything to fear when it comes to the MiWi2, a Wii knockoff that was first spotted by Engadget Korea back in June. However, we were surprised to see the fake on sale somewhere outside of Asia -- or really anywhere for that matter. Yes, unknowing parents may have accidentally snagged one of these rip-offs instead of the real deal at an unnamed London shop, but rest assured, your little darlings probably let you know once they unwrapped it and realized you got them the wrong damn thing.
[Via: Engadget ]

Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXIII: 8-bit Xbox 360 / PS3 consoles only serve to dash dreams

We've seen some pretty low tricks when it comes to giving what appears to be a gaming console to a junior, but we're pleading -- nay, insisting -- that you don't ever buy in on either of these in an attempt to pull the wool over a kiddo's eyes. Straight from a shady warehouse in China comes Rodisson Technologies' totally ridiculous Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 clones, both of which can only play 8-bit titles. The worst part, however, isn't the complete lack of effort in knocking these systems off with any level of pride; rather, it's the 10,000 item minimum order quantity. Thanks, but no thanks.
[Via: technabob ]

PS3 teardown: 30% fewer parts, $300 cheaper

When the gang at iSuppli first tore open a PlayStation 3 back in November 2006, they pegged the cost to build the $500 model was $805 in materials. Now they're back and looking inside the $400 version, which they estimate is $448.73 in parts -- still a loss leader for the company, but only by about one Ulysses S. Grant this time. The number of components has also dropped from 4,048 to just 2,820, and both the Cell processor and NVIDIA GPU have slimmed down from 90nm to 65nm. They suspect Sony might be able to lower costs and turn a profit sometime in 2009, but while you may be rooting for this generation's underdog, don't get your hopes up for a price drop any time soon.
[Via: Engadget ]

Bandai rolls out new Tamagotchi Music Star designs, earplugs not included

Bandai's been busy in their genius labs brewing up some "high tech" amusement, and they have the newly announced Tamagotchi Music Stars to show for it. You've probably been dying to create a digital diva or virtuoso all your own, and now you can, with six different options such as Glam Rock, Techno Sound, and Rising Star to choose from. Your character gets to join a band, go through hours of practice, auditions and rehearsals before making it big. Sound exhausting? Well fame comes at a price, kid. No word yet on price or availability, but you can check out their site for lots of info and a few shots of the designs. Oh: and rock on.
[Via: Engadget ]

Documents suggest Microsoft knew Xbox 360 could damage discs all along

Microsoft long ago fessed up that the Xbox 360 was capable of scratching discs, and it even offered a (somewhat limited) exchange program for damaged games, but some recently unsealed documents from an ongoing lawsuit now suggest that the company was well aware of the issue for about as long as the console has been around. According to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Microsoft first discovered the problem in September or October of 2005, and it even went so far as to send a "team of engineers" to stores across the US to determine the best course of action. Apparently, they came up with three options, two of which proved to be impractical, and one of which (installing small bumpers in each and every console) proved to be too expensive, leading Microsoft to offer the disc exchange instead. What's more, the documents apparently also revealed that some Microsoft employees thought that the warning labels on the console were insufficient, and that the company has received complaints about the problem from more than 55,000 customers as of April 30th of this year. No word on any movement just yet in the lawsuits themselves just yet but one of them, filed back in July of 2007, is seeking class-action status on behalf of everyone that's bought an Xbox 360.

[Via: Engadget ]

Stolen Xbox recovered by victim using controller, science

People will go to great lengths to steal your gear -- no big surprise there. In a nice, semi-ingenious twist, though, one Xbox 360 thief on campus at Missouri State has gotten caught by the dupe himself. Thievery victim Ryan Kestenbaum was able to connect the controller (which the crook had left behind) up to the console, which of course meant that it was nearby. He then went on a fantastic journey with the controller, allowing the LEDs -- which flash if the controller is out of range -- to guide him to the room of the thief. Kestenbaum contacted the dorm's advisor, and the Xbox was recovered, although it had sadly been reformatted and all of Ryan's saved games were gone. He said he plans on prosecuting the thief "to the fullest extent of the law," which we hopes means he'll be getting back the thousands of bottle caps lost.
[Via: Daily Tech ]

Sony to release new handheld sometime in the future

According to Eurogamer, sources close to Sony say that sometime in the future, a new PlayStationPortable will be released. While there's been no official word, the game site is reporting that there could be an update to the current PSP (which might be called the PSP 4000), and in the not-too-distant future (2010 or 2011), Sony will introduce a completely new model, confusingly dubbed the "PSP2." David Reeves, SCEE president has recently been quoted as making vague, suspicious statements such as "there are currently no plans for a PSP2," and "I go to Tokyo quite a lot and no one has referred to it - I think they have their hands full at the moment." Nice try Reeves, but If you keep up these kinds of thinly veiled allusions to a new system, we suspect it's only a matter of years till this cat's out of the bag.
[Via: Yahoo! ]

Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXII: Wu Fit -- it's Wii Fit, without the supply chain issues

So far as we can tell, the Wu Fit (see what they did there?) doesn't actually come with the Wii Fit software. But unless we're being badly deceived, the knockoff balance board should operate just fine with the official game (seriously!) -- assuming that you can find it by its lonesome, which you can't. The best (er, "only good") part? It's actually in stock for $92.95, which is more than the Big N can say about its genuine counterpart in much of the world. It's okay, we know you're seriously considering this over that eBay auction -- we promise not to tell.

[Via: Engadget ]

SimCraft Apex Racing Simulator Offers Vomit-Covered Thrills [Racing Simulators]

We have seen racing simulators plenty of times in the past, but few can offer a vomit-inducing three degrees of freedom (roll 40°/pitch 25°/yaw 40°) like the Apex SC830. In fact, the SC830 is so realistic in its motion that it is good enough to train racing professionals. It features a custom USB "Plug-and-Play” hardware interface, high-fidelity motion actuators and knuckles, easy to enter and exit cockpit, adjustable mounting surfaces and a lightweight tubular aluminum framework (I'm sure it also costs a fortune). The SC830 is expected to launch during this year's CES.

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]

PlayStation Home already hacked?

Well, that was fast. A poster by the name of StreetskaterFU has outlined what he claims is a method of hacking into PlayStation Home's servers for download, uploading and deleting files. We're not able to verify his directions, but if true it would be a potentially calamitous oversight on Sony's part. Additionally, a PS3hax forum poster claims to have used StreeskaterFU's method and changed the movie posters and trailers and both outlines his methods and provides video proof (embedded after the break). We haven't seen any signs of this during our time with Home, but let us know if your virtual moviegoing experience has been drastically altered.


[Via: Engadget ]

Slot loading Xbox 360 enjoys its 15 minutes, heads to eBay

There's a good possibility you felt some sense of jealously when eying RDC's meticulously modded Xbox 360, and now you can act on said envy thanks to the supreme convenience of the online auction house known as eBay. That's right kids -- the slot loading Xbox 360 that was shown here just under a month ago is now on the auction block, and the $250 minimum bid means that you're paying a ridiculously small premium for all the blood, sweat and tears that were undoubtedly poured into this creation. Of course, that figure is apt to head skyward in a hurry, but maybe that would encourage you to get off your keister and craft one yourself. No time like the present to beef up that weakening DIY muscle.
[Via: Xbox-Scene ]

Valve releases Team Fortress 2 update

Team Fortress 2 received a fairly significant update today, which adds a number of gameplay tweaks to Valve’s multiplayer shooter – mostly for the Engineer and Spy classes. Following the update Engineers will be able to upgrade teleporters and dispensers to a third level, providing faster recharge and dispensing rates, while Spies will gain the ability to recharge their cloaking devices by picking up ammo.


The update also includes some new user interface features, such as a revamped HUD to show things like deaths by critical hits, players that are overhealed, and giving more information to medics when people are calling for them. Valve also revealed that next in line for the class updates will be the Scout, particularly focusing on making him more useful for the Dustbowl and Goldrush maps. They're soliciting ideas from fans, so head to the forums if you have any.

Finally, the company also mentioned that they are working on a “massive” update for TF2 on the 360 which will include all the new content that the PC version has seen in the past year, and revealed some engine improvements from Left 4 Dead will be coming to TF2.
[Via: Jose Vilches ]

Nintendo faces class-action lawsuit, hotter-than-ever sales for Wii

Nintendo's fended off class-action lawsuits over "defective" Wiimote straps in the past, and if you remember, they also replaced about 3.2 million of the straps (a/k/a "all of them") around the same time too -- way back in December of 2006. Well, the same lawyer's back for round two with a new, nearly identical suit, but this one also alleges that Nintendo knew that the defect existed and was negligent in their failure to report the problem to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nintendo's probably not stoked about the news -- but we've got a feeling that the company's record-breaking sales will balm the wounds a little. According to NPD data just released, the company sold 2 million Wiis and 1.56 million DS units in November, an all-time hardware sales record for a month other than December. Yeah, who cares about a few busted up TVs and black eyes in the face of those numbers?

[Via: Gamecyte ]

Lego console wars: NES vs. PSX... fight!

The been-there-done-that competition of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii are a total yawn this holiday season, so we thought we'd give you a console war with a few more interlocking plastic building blocks mixed in to keep things interesting. These two otherwise-unrelated case mods each bring their own strengths to the competition: while the Lego PSX mod might be more technically impressive, it looks totally amateurish next to the classy Lego NES stylings. But, like with all things in life, there can only be one winner. This is America, after all.

[Via: Engadget ]

Quake ported to Chumby makes for an adorable first-person shooter

At first glance, you may wonder if Chumby is simply too lovable to rock a version of Quake, but after peeping ChumbyLurker's port of the game, we'll be darned if the two aren't perfect for each other. He's been gracious enough to make it available as both source code and a disk image, and installing the game is as easy as plugging in your USB drive and turning the machine on. On the video we've seen, the 350MHz device appears to keep up with things quite well, but the best part would have to be that the mouse and keyboard control inputs have been eschewed in favor of the accelerometer -- when Chumby leans forward you move forward, ditto left and right. The bend switch is used to fire, and the touchscreen used to jump or activate items. Unfortunately, there's no network support at the moment, so if you feel the need to go multiplayer, it looks like you'll be stuck with your Nokia handset. You can see a video of the thing in action after the break.


[Via: Bunnie's Blog ]

Logitech's G13 gameboard turns it up to level 80

Check it PC and Mac gamers, Logitech just announced its G13 Gameboard. With a trio of game modes, built-in 160 x 43 pixel LCD for stats and messaging, 25 programmable keys, and a programmable joystick, Logitech says that the G13 "offers up to 87 ways for you to control your game." It comes with pre-configured settings for World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to name a few. Otherwise, you can setup custom button-profiles as you please and even create macros on the fly without having to pause your quest. Available in US and Europe sometime this month for $80.
[Via: Engadget ]

Sony says it has no plans for revamped XMB, Netflix service

No real surprises here but, in a recent interview with GamePro, Sony's John Kohler said that the company doesn't have any plans to pull a Microsoft and redesign its XMB interface, nor does have any intention to offer Netflix service on the PS3 in the foreseeable future. More specifically, while Kohler says that Sony is willing to make changes "if consumers pound on our door loudly enough," it's not likely to make any "grand-scale changes" to the XMB "because it's something that's been so well-received." As for Netflix, Kohler expectedly shifted the focus to Sony's own download service, saying simply that "our efforts will continue to be there, because our customers want to own the content." Not surprisingly, Kohler didn't exactly invite any door-pounding on that matter, though there's certainly nothing stopping anyone that feels so inclined.
[Via: PS3 Fanboy ]

Walmart brags about its "tens of thousands" of Wiis for sale online

Walmart's reassuringly boasting that they've got plenty of the oft-out-of-stock Wiis on hand for your online holiday shopping needs today. There are a host of different Nintendo-related deals to go with it, too. The Wii itself is available for $249.24, there's a "Value Bundle" which includes the console, a game, an accessories pack and an extra set of controllers for $329 (or $20 off), and they have some games on sale, as well. What's next? Walmart mouthing off about the "millions of iPhones" they have available?
Update: Well, that didn't last very long! As some commenters have helpfully pointed out, it appears that those "tens of thousands" of Wiis have been reduced to "zero" -- they're already sold out.
[Via: Game Daily ]

TN Games HTX Helmet lets you feel those headshots

Impact gear isn't exactly the hottest peripheral out there for game consoles, but TN Games is apparently finding plenty of hardcore gamers willing to splurge on its FPS Vest. Now, the outfit is finally getting official with its HTX Helmet, which we first heard about as the year began. Utilizing the company's 3rd Space technology, it's designed to be used in conjunction with the 3rd Space Gaming Vest and will enable wearers' to feel blows to the head when fired upon. We're talking bullets whizzing by, impacts of shots -- the works. If, for some incredibly odd reason, that sounds like your idea of fun, be on the lookout for a 2009 release.
[Via: Engadget Chinese ]

Mad Catz Street Fighter IV joysticks surface for PS3

We at Engadget will always have a special place in our hearts for Street Fighter, and if you can't help but agree, you might be unable to resist picking up one of these. Mad Catz has introduced a new pair of joysticks for Sony's PlayStation 3: the Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition and the Street Fighter IV FightStick. The first will only be available in "very limited quantities," and it'll pack the exact Sanwa joystick and 30-millimeter buttons found in the official Street Fighter IV arcade machine; the latter is a more commoditized version with a more vanilla 'stick and plain jane buttons. Both devices are scheduled to ship on February 20th of next year, with pricing set at $149.99 and $69.99, respectively.
[Via: PS3 Fanboy ]

Microsoft touts Xbox 360 Black Friday sales

The Xbox 360 experienced “record-breaking console sales” over the busy shopping period known in the United States as the Black Friday weekend. According to Microsoft, the 360 outsold PlayStation 3 consoles three-to-one, noting that it's 2008 Black Friday sales were also 25 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

It seems the combination of low prices along with the New Xbox Experience and Netflix support is making the Xbox 360 a very hot buy. What’s more, this success is not exclusive to the United States, with Microsoft claiming Xbox 360 sales have surged worldwide since the September price drop, where it says console sales “are up as much as 400 percent.” Of course, data regarding the Nintendo Wii's sales on Black Friday was notably absent from the announcement, so we’ll just have to wait for the NPD report.
[Via: Jose Vilches ]

Emotiv's Epoc mind-controlled device delayed till next year

Not so long ago, in the cold, frosty month of February, we heard about mysterious headgear (an update of Project Epoc) that, if worn, could be used to do stuff like play insanely simple video games (emphasis on insanely). We also heard that this USB unicorn of the gaming universe would be ready by "Christmas" -- whatever that is. Well, according to Big Download, who spoke with a PR rep from Emotiv, the device has been delayed until "sometime" in 2009. The reason for the delay? The company wants to "make sure" the device works "as planned." Glad to hear it -- since we weren't interested in it as a fashion statement alone.
[Via: Engadget ]

Amazon kicks off Cyber Monday with $99 Nintendo DS

Let's face it: this year's recession-busting Black Friday sucked, featuring a few good deals but no single blockbuster worth getting up at 2:00 am to stand in the cold. Over the weekend we still maintained a bit of hope that Cyber Monday would bring something worth getting excited about, and while right now it looks like we're set for another disappointingly bargain-free day full of nothing but work and turkey sandwiches, one deal did catch our eye. Amazon has a Nintendo DS up for just $99; that's $30 less than you'll find it elsewhere -- if you can find it elsewhere. The catch is it's the "Limited Edition Pink Ribbon" version, and pink and white is not exactly the perfect color scheme for those about to rock. However, a deftly-placed AC/DC sticker might let you feel the joy of supporting a good cause this holiday season ($5 goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation) while also avoiding any embarrassing taunting from thoughtless friends.
[Via: I4U ]