Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Hey, you — busy rigging up your malfunctioning Guitar Hero III Les Paul using the low-fi method we showed you earlier this week? If you’re just getting started, we’d recommend putting the rubber bands back in the package and taking a look at this. Granted, it seems a bit silly that we’re figuring out ways to repair instruments, er, controllers that should have been solid right out of the box, but we digress. This entirely more technical (but equally painless) fix involves a Torx driver, a bit of PCB rearranging and a triple check to make sure the wiring within wasn’t installed haphazardly to begin with. If done properly, the contacts should have a much better connection once the axe is reassembled, and if you’re still left with nonfunctional frets after all of this, you’ve certainly got our permission to go all Jimi Hendrix / Pete Townshend / etc. on it.

[Thanks, Kyle]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming

We’d been hearing that Sony’s new 40GB PS3 featured a revised design with a 65nm Cell processor and improved cooling, but sadly it looks like those reports were in error — a Sony spokesperson has told Heise Online that the 40GB model continues to use 90mn processors, but does feature an updated design with a lower power consumption of just 120 to 140 watts, compared to 180 to 200 watts for the older models. Sony says its still planning on moving to 65nm processors in the near future, but for now, it looks like the PS3 is 90nm across the board.

[Thanks, Khattab]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming

It looks like those hoping to get a jump on the DualShock 3 action by importing one of the controllers from Japan may be in for some disappointment, as importers are now reportedly warning that stock could be “extremely limited.” According to GamesIndustry.biz, Play Asia says that it’s already filled all its pre-orders, and it’s speculating that prices could “skyrocket” when the controller’s released on November 11st. Some retailers are apparently even being advised by suppliers to only sell the controller with the purchase of a PS3 console, although it’s not clear if anyone’s actually going that far. National Console Support, however, says it expects prices to return to normal within two to three weeks of the Japanese launch, which would still give you plenty of time to taunt your friends with it before it’s available ’round these parts.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming

We’ll be straight with you: we’re far from ready to etch this one in stone, but considering that Sony has already trimmed down the PlayStation 2 (twice), it’s not unfathomable to think that an even smaller iteration could be in the pipeline. According to MCV, Sony is aiming to launch a “compact” PS2 in early 2008 for just $99, and while we’ve no idea how different (or not) it would actually look, it will supposedly feature a “built-in power supply.” Of course, representatives for Sony “refused to comment” when questioned, so we hope you’re ready for another fascinating round of wait-and-see.

[Via Joystiq]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Ugh, more bad news for Nokia. They just announced the delay of their revamped N-Gage service to December. Apparently, they’ve run out of Go-Go juice and Headshot bars for their developers as “software testing” is taking a bit longer than expected. It’s not that bad though, we’re only talking a few weeks delay and with any luck, they’ll be up and running in time for the holiday gift-giving gaming season.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming

Although the Wii’s Virtual Console channel has been a smashing success, there’s always a price for fame: quite a few gamers are running up against the storage roadblocks of Nintendo’s console and starting to wonder about expansion options beyond SD cards — like, say, a hard drive. Sadly, however, Ninty’s not having any of it, with Nintendo of America PR manager Eric Walter saying that “we really don’t want people storing every single game they buy on their drive.” Sounds silly, but since VC titles are yours for keeps, Nintendo’s position is that you can delete games and “go back and get them any time,” or, presumably, build a small library of SD cards. This odd line of reasoning also led Walter to say that he likens the situation “to putting music on your iPod; you listen to it for a while, and then you get tired of it, and you pull it off, and you put some new stuff on.” Clearly Walter does not know how often we listen to the Clash on our iPods — or how often we rock Super Mario Brothers 1 through 64. Either way, it looks like the mothership has spoken for now — looks like it’s up to the third parties to figure out a way to make it all better.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming

It looks like a Best Buy in Marina, California was a little confused about what “floor model” meant and accidentally put a boxed 360 version of Rock Band out for sale instead of setting it up as a demo unit — and the eagle-eyed Tim Menz managed to spot the oversize box poking out of the Guitar Hero 3 display and “casually” purchase it. Apparently the UPC was already in the system but didn’t raise any flags when it rang up for $169. Tim didn’t bother with any of that silly rock music nonsense and skipped straight to selling out on eBay, but pulled the auction when EA called him and politely asked him to return the kit to the store. He hasn’t done that yet, since it’s a little unclear whether Tim got a full copy or just an in-store demo — anyone out there know the answer?

Update: Tim got back to us and says it is in fact the demo, but he’s put it back on eBay for all you desperate to rock.

Update 2: Tim just let us know that Best Buy is now offering him a full refund plus a $100 gift card — looks like Big Blue wants their toys back.

[Thanks, Thomas]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

We’re not exactly sure if this problem is widespread, but for those currently dealing with malfunctioning frets on the new Guitar Hero III Les Paul, you should certainly give this a once over. An incredibly industrious gamer went out of his way to show us all what a few rubber bands and a 3M Utility Hook can do to solve your Guitar Hero blues, and if you haven’t already slammed your axe into the floor, lit it on fire, or ceremoniously bludgeoned your Xbox 360 in frustration, there’s hope for you still. This low-fi fix reportedly holds the connector plate in the neck and the pins in the body together more securely, enabling users to resume shredding sans trouble. Granted, this may not cure every single faulty axe out there, but it’s certainly worth a try. Go on, roll up your sleeves and hit the read link for an (immensely easy) walkthrough.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming, Networking

Finally getting the street cred that its creators have so long desired, the multi-platform, distributed computing network known as Folding@Home is to be recognized by Guinness World Records. According to the group, the network is now the most powerful distributed computing cluster in the world. The system, which utilizes the power of more than 670,000 PS3s, PCs, and lawnmower motors to crunch data, has overall computational capabilities greater than a petaflop (which is a ton of flops). The linked consoles tackle a number of tasks, and scientists harnessing the network’s power are able to study complex medical problems — such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s — much more quickly. Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and head of the Folding@home project says, “Without them [the Folding@Home users] we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases.” Now that Guinness has recognized the system, it can proudly stand next to luminaries such as the man with the longest fingernails, and fastest land animal.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Saitek’s got a new gaming mouse for those in need of a little more precision than your standard off-the-shelf model, with its new Cyborg mouse cranking the dpi all the way up to 3200. That, of course, can be dialed back to accommodate various mousing tasks, and you’ll get a good number of non-standard mouse features as well, including a programmable four-way hat switch, and two extra buttons that can be set up however you like. While there still doesn’t seem to be any official word on a release, Gizmos.es points out that Amazon UK currently has it listed with a release date of January 11th and a list price of £40 (or $83), although it can be had for £30 (or just over $60) at moment.

[Via Gizmos]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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