Filed under: Gaming

To all those who’ve been tipping us like crazy about Xbox Live going back down again: yeah, we heard, and we know you’re not happy. If you’re having problems (or even if you’re not), feel free to let us know in comments. Almost two weeks of outages, yeesh.

To all those sick of hearing about Xbox Live being up and down: feel free to stop reading here, there will be another news story along in a few minutes. But do remember that Xbox Live is possibly the most widely used paid gaming service in the world, so forgive us for keeping close tabs on this story. Mwah!

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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’s certainly not the first bit of super rare Atari gear to show up on eBay, but those looking to expand their collection may want to take stock of their bank account right about now, as the Super Breakout handheld prototype pictured above (apparently one of only two known to exist) is now up for auction with less than a day to go. As you might have guessed, it doesn’t actually work, or even have the finished branding, but it apparently is the real deal — purchased directly from the handheld’s designer, no less. If that’s got you all nostalgic for what could have been, you’ll only have to beat $385 (as of this writing) to be the top bidder, although you can be sure you’ll have to drop a good deal more than that if you actually want to get your hands on it.

[Via OhGizmo!]

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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

This is just the faintest whiff of a rumor, but Sony Asia just put up a questionnaire in which it asks how interested PlayStation Store for PC customers would be in a “Monthly subscription plan (1 price for unlimited download).” That suggests that the company is at least thinking about a service that would let gamers play as many downloadable PS1 and PSP games as they want for a monthly fee — although it’s not at all clear if the service would be PSP-only or work on both the PSP and PS3, which would sweeten the deal considerably. Chalk this up as wishful thinking for now — but those of you with PSN IDs may want to hit the read link and fill out the questionnaire.

[Via CVG, thanks L. Rawlins]

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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

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen video games and VR in particular applied to medicine, but this is certainly the boldest claim we’ve heard yet. According some research done on chronic pain sufferers up at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, test subjects who were playing VR games were more comfortable than participants who were on pain meds alone. That might sound like a no brainer, but the researchers are saying that video games apparently have the potential of providing a safe, partial alternative to addictive medicine, boring counseling and lame-sauce physical therapy. Sounds like a miracle cure, but who are we to argue with Canada’s finest?

[Via DailyTech]

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

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This incredible image of exploding nano-wires was taken with an electron scanning micrograph. It brought home first prize in a “Science as Art” competition. Click here for some of the other entries — also captured with electron scanning micrographs.

Just take a look at this photo of exploding nano-wires they posted. Yes, those are the tiniest explosions you’ve ever seen

[via Gizmodo]

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Unlike other cell phones, the “Freedom Phone” is a no-frills handset that lets users purchase 60 / 100 / 200 minute blocks of airtime, without needing a SIM card. Features like an LCD display and camera were not included to keep the price low. No word yet on availability. Click here for first picture in gallery.

No SIM card needed-No Roaming charges and in 10 short minutes, the Freedom Phone is charged. The phone number, important service and other information are located on the back of the Freedom Phone

[via YankoDesign]

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Apple has filed a US patent for the a MacBook (upcoming ultraportable version) docking station. The laptop simply plugs into the side of a iMac-like device, complete with ports, and “works similarly to the old PowerBook Duo and its DuoDock base station, but vertically instead of horizontally.” Click here for first picture in gallery.

This Apple docking station patent shows a screen base in which you can slide in a MacBook through its side. While this would be difficult to do with current MacBook models, it fits perfectly with the idea of the ultra-light, ultra-slim MacBook that allegedly will be presented at MacWorld

[via Gizmodo]

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The OhMiBod iPod Vibrator, which we got hands-on of above, is set to get an iPhone compatibility upgrade next week at the Adult Entertainment Expo (AVN) in Vegas. Our own videograhers loved it when they saw it last year, which allows you turn on the music and start “jamming away”. Here’s what the founder has to say about the new features:

“Since the iPhone has the same music storage and playback capabilities as the iPod, we knew we had to make sure that all of our products functioned with the iPhone, too,” said OhMiBod founder Suki. “When the iPhone is attached to your OhMiBod and you receive a call, OhMiBod will vibrate to the caller’s voice, a feature that will truly revolutionize phone sex!”

In addition to the iPhone OhMiBod, there’s also going to be smaller “nano” versions, which will retail for $69 and be available in pink, black, green and blue to match the new nanos. Look for hands on of this at AVN by either myself or Frucci (or myself on Frucci). [AVN via Fleshbot]

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According to analyst Shaw Wu, Apple has plans to start selling computers with Blu-ray drives built-in. It’ll announce this at Macworld, and immediately thereafter the HD DVD camp will gulp audibly. That is, if it’s merely a Blu-ray drive. Wu covers his ass by also saying that there’s “a smaller chance Apple may use a combo Blu-ray/HD DVD drive to ensure full compatibility and not get involved in the format wars.” Or, heck, they might not do either. I guarantee one of those three things will happen at Macworld. I feel like an analyst! If Apple does go with Blu-ray (or combo drives, for that matter), look for them to first go in overhauled Mac Pros, which are sure to be bananas-expensive. What do you think, would you spring for a high-def disc drive if it was offered? [Apple Insider]

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Few things set geek hearts aflutter like a juicy hardware rivalry. Who among us hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed taking sides in such legendary throwdowns as Mac versus PC, PlayStation versus Xbox, or (for the truest of old-timers) Atari versus Intellivision? It’s thus in our nature to pay excessive attention to the raging Blu-ray versus HD DVD imbroglio, which is several shades more entertaining that any other ongoing battle. Enormous vats of digital ink have been spilled in the name of arguing which format is better. But quality doesn’t always guarantee victory—just ask the Betamax. Who, then, is winning the disc-of-tomorrow advertising war? We’ll start with HD DVD’s latest entrant, starring…ex-San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer? What, Rich Kotite wasn’t available?

HD DVD’s Pitch Toshiba is obviously no great believer in splashy ads, as they clearly spent a pittance on this spot. Not only did the HD DVD champion refuse to pay for the right to use NFL logos, it also hired an out-of-work, notoriously uncharismatic coach as its spokesman. (Toshiba also seems to have skimped on the dialogue—the exchange between Coach Schottenheimer and Number 11 is, uh, less than inspired.) Despite the clumsy execution, however, the goal here is wise—the majority of consumers are sitting out the format wars, because they’re afraid of picking the loser and then being saddled with expensive doorstops. So the combo-disc approach makes sense, as does the college-lecture vibe; at this point, consumer education is a priority.

Mission Accomplished? Absolutely not, because Toshiba botches the most important part of the ad: the website mention. As of this writing, HDDVDNBC.com brings up nothing but a blank page. How can consumers be expected to trust a new technology that doesn’t deliver on so simple a promise? The folks behind this campaign better get on that quick, because this ad will doubtless air several times during Saturday’s Jacksonville-Pittsburgh wildcard game. (It was in heavy rotation during last week’s Colts-Titans game.)

Blu-ray’s Pitch The PS3 becomes some sort of nightmarish robot, in order to tout the console’s secondary use as a Blu-ray player. Sony, of course, loves to tout its PS3 sales as evidence that the Blu-ray format will eventually win out; though only 370,000 standalone Blu-ray players have been sold (about 200,000 less than standalone HD DVD players), there are 3.4 million Blu-ray drives in PS3s. On top of that, the new PS3 drives feature the most up-to-date BD Profile 1.1 spec. Not that there’s any specs porn in this spot, nor any hint of reassurance for consumers who fear picking a loser. The ad is all about the dazzle—though the impact of that dazzle will vary greatly according to your TV’s might.

Mission Accomplished? The crunching soundtrack and sharp Ratatouille visuals pack punch, but is it enough to pull consumers off the fence? People are already vaguely aware that both Blu-ray and HD DVD offer superior picture quality, as well as multiple camera angles. Unfortunately, those features are difficult to convey in a thirty-second spot, especially if viewed on a sub-1080p HDTV. Blu-ray should really shout-out its consumer-ed website, which makes a strong case for why folks with high-end TVs should invest in HD players.

And the Winner Is… Blu-ray, but only by default. HD DVD’s approach is corny, sure, but it also provides exactly what mainstream consumers need right now: reassurance that they aren’t risking hundreds of dollars by betting on one format over another. That said, incompetence on the interactive end kills the spot. Blu-ray, on the other hand, gets the wow factor right, and touts the added-value aspect by rolling its pitch into the PS3’s ongoing campaign. But Sony needs to do a better job of educating consumers, or risk leaving that job entirely in the hands of retail salesmen—who, if they’re honest, may very well recommend that potential buyers wait until next year, when dual-format players may finally come down into the realm of affordability.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

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