Sure I looked uncomfortable using my Ki to move stuff around in a game, but it was... neatish. But is it $300 neatish?

Emotiv Systems is rolling out a limited edition version of their Epoc PC controller, which uses sensors to "tune into electronic signals produced by the brain", on Dec. 21 for $299. The fact that it's a limited roll-out and that there's no mention of the games designed specifically for the device gives me major pause.

If you're interested in this tech, I'd say hold off until other early adopters have worked out the kinks for you. And if you must, must, must have this now, go watch the video of me trying it before you buy.

Epoc [Emotiv]

But it's a lead pipe lock somewhere, someone is going to throw this thing through mama's flat panel, even with that wrist strap and the finger grips. Someone standing close to the screen could still bash it if it flew out of their hand, strap attached. Then again, if you are this serious about bowling, you're probably good enough not to lose your grip like a dork.

Wii Bowling Ball Accessory Looks Dangerous [Video Games Blogger]

Many of you have kept your orders in place trusting that we would do everything we could to get you the much sought-after controllers. We have been working closely with MadCatz to get more; especially the Tournament Editions. Rest assured, your patience will be rewarded. We will have a few more to send out this month and by the end of April, MadCatz is confident that they will have most, if not all, of the orders completed.

With MadCatz desperately trying to keep up with demand worldwide, I suspect that Capcom's sold out store won't be the only place seeing the sticks reappearing come next month.

If you own a stick, how is it holding up? Mine seems fine still, but I haven't put it to much use lately.

Great News From MadCatz

Yesterday I wrote up my review of Mad Catz' Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition FightStick. If you're interested in seeing what this controller, and its Sanwa parts, look like on the inside check out this video.

After shooting the video, I did a bit more research and discovered that I was right about the Sanwa microswitches, they do come pre soldered to a PCB. This is to make it easier to switch them out and, I suspect, force people to replace all four at the same time. Easier to do, but in the long run, more expensive.

Update: Yes, you probably should open it from the top, removing six bolts with an allen wrench instead of six screws. Though I didn't have any problem getting into the guts of the controller from the bottom and if you want to switch out the microswitch cluster, I think my way would be faster.

I just can't accept that the game that I spent so much of my time playing in arcades, fixing in the arcade I managed, watching being played in hole-in-the-wall bars, has been reduced, yes reduced, to something you sit on your couch and play.

Certainly the bulk of my stubbornness comes from missing the culture that surrounds arcade Street Fighter, but I've also never found a retail stick that lived up to my expectations. Now Mad Catz is promising to deliver that stick for Street Fighter IV with its official Tournament Edition FightStick. Let's see what hours of time spent playing with, and taking apart the stick showed me.

Loved
High End Parts: Inside the solid case are some of the best pieces and parts money can buy. You've got your Sanwa ball handle joystick and low-profile 30mm Sanwa buttons.

Sturdy Design: All of those high-end Sanwa parts are packed into a solid case that while heavy enough to stay put during table-top gaming sessions still feels fairly comfortable on your lap.

Layout: This is very important to me. You can have the best parts on the market, but if they're crammed into a case that's too small you can't rest your hands anywhere. Too big and it gets cumbersome. The Tournament Edition FightStick finds the perfect balance.

Precision Controls: The design, the parts, they all add up to a controller that seems to react to every nuance of movement. I learned Street Fighter on Cherry switch-backed controllers, but it didn't take me long to not only get a handle on this controller, but to almost start to prefer it.

Aesthetic: It's a pretty controller. Sure, the art work may not be your cup of tea, but that's pretty easy to swap out. The design though, is a sheer delight.

Easily Customized or Repaired: When I popped open the FightStick I was disappointed to see that the stick's Omron microswitches were all soldered in place to the PCB. This is done by Sanwa, not Mad Catz, but it still makes doing single microswitch replacement painful, fortunately replacing the entire set is much easier now. The buttons are all easily accessible, and don't feature soldered wires, which is nice.

The Little Things: There's a headset plug hidden away on the front of the controller. The cord packs away nicely in a storage compartment on the back. There's a switch to disable button presses and another for turbo mode for use when playing other games. You can also decider what the stick controls — right thumbstick, left thumbstick or the D-pad. Finally, there are pre-drilled holes in the bottom of the case to make mounting it to a table or stand easier.

Hated
Two Extra Buttons: I know I can ignore those two far right buttons, they're there for people who can't manage to press the other three on the top or bottom at the same time. But this is supposed to be a Tournament Edition stick, so why include it. Occasionally, I found my hand accidentally slipping one button over because of them. My own failing, but sort of annoying.

Price, Limited Stock:The $150 price tag is right on the line. If you were to buy the stick one step down from Mad Catz and do your own upgrades you'd be looking at about $130. But buying and then upgrading a Hori Fighting Stick EX 2 will cost about $100. Of course the case on this one is different than both. So it depends on preference. But, the fact that Mad Catz decided to produce the first run in such a limited quantity, ensuring a healthy and absurdly over-priced grey market, is sort of a raw deal.

This is the only stick I've used to play Street Fighter on a console that actually made me feel like I could pull off all of the same moves, with all of the same timing as when I play in an arcade. There's a bit of a learning curve for those not used to convex buttons and the tiny, precise movements of the Sanwa stick, but this is a purely arcade controller. It doesn't even dip down into the realm of most console sticks.

Official Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition was made by Mad Catz, and will be released on Feb. 17 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for $150. Played Street Fighter IV on Xbox 360 with FightStick for 12 to 15 hours over three days.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

It's called the "Dragon", and while it doesn't breathe fire, it does have eyes that light up. But that's not the best part. No, the best part is that, from the shape and button layout, it looks like it's based off a Duke controller from the original Xbox.

Awesomegadget CES: Dragon Fire Breather [Engadget]

Officially licensed by Blizzard from the cutting-edge accessory creators at Steel Series, the World of Warcraft Gaming Mouse seeks to deliver a winning combination of form and function, with a special WoW-themed configuration tool that lets you do everything from creating complicated macros to handle in-game actions to customizing the color and intensity of the device's LED glow.

Is the ambitious little device worth the $99 asking price, or should World of Warcraft give it a pass in favor of more traditional control methods?

Loved
Plate-Armor: Steel Series did an excellent job of making the WoW Gaming Mouse look the part, with segmented plastic and a blushed metal surface that brings to mind epic plate. The fully-customizable led glow beneath the device's carapace is completely ridiculous, yet I find myself messing with color combinations constantly.

The Total Package: A love for packaging? From a gift-giver's perspective, the treasure-chest design of the WoW Gaming Mouse's packaging is sure to bring a grin to any fan of the game upon being unwrapped. It doesn't effect the device's performance, but it beats the hell out of a plain rectangular box.

Easy To Configure: Once you download the driver software, the WoW Gaming Mouse is extremely easy to set up, even for a rather novice macro creator like myself. The default set up provides many useful functions across the device's 15 buttons, from dismounting to setting your spell focus - a mechanic I never really utilized until I started using this mouse. The interface for the drivers, designed to look like a Warcraft window, makes the user feel at home in the unfamiliar environment of a mouse configuration screen.

Packed With Options: Along with copious amount of World of Warcraft-specific macro-creating goodness, the WoW Gaming Mouse also comes with plenty of options to customize performance as well. You can adjust the DPI from 800 to 3200, change the scroll, double click, and win-pointer speeds, and you can even adjust sensitivity individually on the Y and X-axis.

Works Like A Charm: After a slight struggle getting my fingers used to the strange button configuration, I found that I could completely change the way I played the game using the WoW gaming mouse. I was never big on macros previously, but now I cannot imagine living without them, especially on my priest, who can now cast healing on any member of the party with a click of an assigned button. While it's nothing new for players who have already modified the hell out of their UI and set up 200 macros in the game for every possible spell and ability, but for a guy who has pretty much relied on the tools Blizzard gave me for the past 4 years it makes a big difference.

Hated
A Bit Uncomfortable: While using the WoW Gaming Mouse for its intended purpose works well enough, using it outside of Warcraft or other games you may have created macros for is a bit uncomfortable. The additional buttons aren't active outside of the games, leaving you to rub against all of these strange protrusions as you try to go about your day.

Too Much Focus: As an officially licensed product, the WoW Gaming Mouse is pretty much focused on use within World of Warcraft. This is a mouse for the type of person who plays this one game the majority of the time. While the additional buttons can be mapped for other games, more casual players won't be able to do much outside of the supplied Warcraft-themed toolset.

The Steel Series World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse is a tool with a specific purpose. Steel Series makes an entire line of keyboards and mice that are perfect for the normal PC gamer, but this particular product is targeted at one group and one group only. It's more of a companion piece to World of Warcraft than it is anything else, and as such it functions admirably. With the limited functionality outside of World of Warcraft and the $99 price tag, I couldn't recommend it to anyone falling outside of that group. It's lovely in Azeroth, but outside it's just a rather garish-looking, slightly uncomfortable gaming mouse.

If you've a World of Warcraft player in need of a special gift, or are looking to add some stylish functionality to your own game, the Steel Series World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse is an expensive treat.

The World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse. was co-developed by Steel Series and Blizzard, manufactured by Steel Series. Retails for $99.99. Used mouse as PC mouse for a week, played countless hours of World of Warcraft during testing period, creating multiple profiles.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The Wing features gobs of buttons and up to 10-feet of wireless connectivity via a dongle you plug into the botton of your Wii Remote. The Wing also lets you use rechargeable AAA batteries which can be charged through the Wing's mini USB port.

“The Wing is a great example of what we at Nyko aim to do: improve the gamer’s experience with a quality made product”, said Chris Arbogast, Director of Marketing at Nyko Technologies. “There have been very few options for classic gaming control designed specifically for the Wii until now, and the Wing provides a comfortable and affordable wireless alternative that fans of Virtual Console games will enjoy using.”

The controller sells for $30.

The good news? The one-piece wheel designed for Need for Speed Undercover has built-in gas and brake controls, is wireless and comes with a lap rest, allowing for play as much as 30-feet from the Wii. The bad news? The thing will ring in at $100 when it hits the U.S. and Europe in November. Yikes. $100 for a $250 console? I see Logitech is keeping it crazy.

LOGITECH INTRODUCES FIRST FORCE FEEDBACK WHEEL FOR WII
Logitech Speed Force Wireless Racing Wheel Works With EA’s Highly Anticipated Racing Game Need for Speed™ Undercover

FREMONT, Calif. — Aug. 21, 2008 — To give you a more realistic driving experience on your Wii™ console, Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today announced the Logitech® Speed Force Wireless™ racing wheel – the first force feedback wheel for the popular gaming platform. Licensed by Nintendo®, Logitech’s newest force feedback wheel works with Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed™ Undercover and paves the way for more force feedback racing titles on the Wii console.

“We’re excited to team up with Nintendo and Electronic Arts to bring driving realism to the Wii and Need for Speed Undercover,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming. “Logitech has been at the forefront of force feedback technology for more than a decade, and we’re confident that our driving platform will be an indispensable part of the racing experience on Wii as more titles that support it become available.”

“As the world’s most popular racing franchise, Need for Speed is committed to delivering players superior racing experiences,” said Larry LaPierre, Vice President at Black Box, developer of Need for Speed. “This November, Wii gamers can fully experience the thrill of the chase in Need for Speed Undercover with Logitech’s force feedback realism.”

Easy to set up and store, the Logitech Speed Force Wireless features a one-piece design that is convenient to use whether you’re sitting on your couch, arm chair or living room floor. The built-in gas and brake controls are located on the wheel itself and the expandable lap rest is easily adjusted – allowing for comfortable game play without the need to use a table or a desk. Plus, familiar Wii controls make navigating game menus a snap.

To help you minimize clutter, the Logitech Speed Force Wireless eliminates the console cable. With Logitech’s 2.4 GHz wireless technology, you can enjoy lag-free racing from up to 30 feet away from the console. To start racing, just connect the USB receiver to the Wii console, plug in the wheel’s power cord, put in Need for Speed: Undercover, adjust the lap rest to a comfortable position and wait for the race to begin. There’s no mounting or assembly involved. And when you’re ready to put it away, the USB receiver can be stowed in a convenient compartment on the bottom of the wheel.

Logitech Force Feedback Technology
Having introduced its first force feedback products in 1998, the company has designed 19 models of force feedback wheels. And more than 100 racing titles have supported Logitech force feedback technology on a variety of game platforms.

When you’re playing a racing game, standard controllers don’t let you feel all the excitement that makes racing with force feedback technology the closest you can get to the real thing. Force feedback, unlike vibration feedback or rumble technology, creates directionally precise, tactile feedback that accurately simulates forces experienced in the game. Through the use of advanced software and electronics, force feedback moves a steering wheel as if the device were subject to real external forces.

About Need for Speed Undercover
Need for Speed Undercover takes players back to the franchise’s roots and re-introduces break-neck cop chases and spectacular highway battles. Players discover a world of high-stakes and high-speed action in some of the world’s hottest cars. The all-new Heroic Driving Engine propels the action forward as players experience the dramatic story through spectacular Hollywood-style live-action in-game movies.
Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Speed Force Wireless racing wheel is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in November for a suggested retail price of $99.99 (U.S.).

Need for Speed Undercover is being developed by Black Box in Vancouver, B.C. and is slated to ship this November. It will be available for Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Wii™ as well as the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) handheld entertainment system, PC and mobile. More information can be found at www.needforspeed.com.
About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

This band game light is both peripheral and original music free, using only cover bands so the developers would be allowed to tweak the music to better fit the game. Those tweaks include the ability to have the lead singer be either a man or a woman, no matter who originally sang it.

The Disney folks told me that they did a number of focus tests during their development of the game. In them they asked potential gamers which of nine versions of the game they would want to play. The options ranged from a peripheral-heavy version of the game with original music, to the game they ended up producing. All of the tests showed, they told me, that gamers wanted a game that didn't require peripherals.

To play Ultimate Band gamers use the remote and nunchuk to strum, drum and flick their way through songs on a bass or lead guitar or drums.

To play lead guitar a player strums with the remote to the beat, matching the on screen timing, while holding different buttons or no buttons on the nunchuk. Depending on difficulty settings, you can guitar with just rhythm strumming or with as many as four virtual frets. The frets are triggered by holding the C, the Z, the C and the Z buttons or no buttons.

Bass is played by flicking the nunchuk and strumming while drums are played by drumming straight down with both controllers for standard drums, to the side for cymbals and then twirling the controllers in the air to mimic grandstanding.

A fourth option for playing, called frontman, consisted of dancing with the controllers. Because the game is peripheral free there is no way to sing in the game.

It may sound like the recipe for a douche simulator, but I actually found the game quite a bit of fun. The biggest problem I saw was that it was far to easy for even the most novice of Guitar Hero or Rock Band players.

I play guitar on medium usually (yes, I suck) but even on the expert setting in Ultimate Band I was able to score above 80 percent.

Hopefully this is something that can be tweaked, though it may be they'll be satisfied trying to drawn in younger, less dexterous gamers instead.

ULTIMATE BAND FACT SHEET

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Fall Line Studio
ESRB Rating: E10+ (anticipated)
Audience: Tweens, teens and music fans

Coming Holiday 2008 for Wii™ home video game console

It’s no secret that the music video game genre has exploded in recent years. While the attention of this genre has focused mainly on creating music simulation games for an older demographic, Disney Interactive Studios has been developing a performance-based music video game that will appeal to tweens, teens and families alike. With songs that represent new favorites and old classics, truly interactive venues, and innovative controls using only the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ (no peripherals), Ultimate Band for Wii will round-out any family’s entertainment library: right music, right console, right price.

Why Disney Interactive Studios?
Video games rated E through T represent an $11 billion market and no one knows the audience for those games better than Disney Interactive Studios, especially when it comes to developing third party titles for Nintendo platforms. From January to November 2007, Disney Interactive Studios was the No. 2 publisher of Nintendo DS™ games in North America according to NPD. Also in 2007, the company sold 3.4 million units of Nintendo DS video games in the United States alone (source: NPD Data). Fall Line Studio, which is developing Ultimate Band, is Disney Interactive Studios’ Nintendo-dedicated entity, focusing exclusively on developing games for Wii and Nintendo DS™. Fall Line Studio co-developed last year’s Hannah Montana: Music Jam video game that introduced new music mechanics to Nintendo DS titles through its unique “Creative Play Mode” where players could compose original songs using four different instruments. It also helped solidify Disney Interactive Studios’ position as a leader in creating music video games for tweens and families.
The Gameplay
· In Ultimate Band, there are four band roles that players can take on – drums, lead guitar, bass guitar and a band front man - all with unique motion mechanics using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
· Players can either follow a unique narrative story mode or stand up and jam to any songs and venues they’ve already unlocked.
· Ultimate Band offers group and family entertainment through multi-player modes that include head-to-head competition or cooperative play.
The Music
· 30+ songs made famous by artists such as The White Stripes, The Who, The Jonas Brothers, Weezer and more.
· All of the songs are re-mastered so they are performed in the gender of the front man and lyrics are age-appropriate.
The Atmosphere
· Players can customize their bands by creating characters that look just like them, or by selecting from different character genres.
· Imaginative and real-life venues, such as a haunted mansion or a garage, come to life during gameplay and react to how well fans perform.

Hori Stick [Game Watch Impress via Siliconera]

Gizmodo had a chance to go hands on with that sexy OLED keyboard that can change each key to whatever you want instantly. The good news is that the Optimus Maximus keyboard itself functions like it should, it's responsive, snappy, but not too noisy. The ability to customize your keys also seems pretty locked-down. The only downside I could see from the hands-on at CES was that the keyboard gets greasy "very greasy" when you use it. That sounds like a HUGE issue to me. As someone who uses his keyboard so much the letters actually wear away, I couldn't stand having a board that was tactilely disagreeable, which is a pretty big disappointment for me because I've been jonesing for this keyboard since it was first announced back in the 1500s.

Hands on With Optimus Maximus Keyboard [Gizmodo]

The sexy, almost DS or PSP, looking device is actually a new wireless keyboard, remote controller from Logitech that happes to also work with the Playstation 3. The diNovo Mini includes a backlit keyboard, a click pad for pointing, scrolling and clicking and Bluetooth. It's not 100 percent clear what all you can do with your PS3 using this device, but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun finding out.

Logitech DiNovo Mini Wireless Keyboard Controls Windows Media Center and PS3 [Gizmodo]

Forums on GameSpot and the official Guitar Hero site are getting hit with a number of complaints about faulty Guitar Hero III controllers. Apparently some of the buttons will flake out over time with some controllers. It seems that a lot of gamers suspect that the guitar's detachable neck is to blame.

There's a lot of speculation so far, but no official word from Activision or RedOctane, which is unfortunate. I contacted the company this morning for a comment and they've yet to get back to me. We'll update or do another post once we hear some sort of official word. What about you, have you had any problems? The 360 I demoed with was fine and the Wii guitar had a momentary problem but seems fine again.

Guitar Hero III: Problems with the Detachable Neck [Law of the Game]

Guitar Hero III Single Recharge Kit [Red Octane]

The only catch is that the mod only works with 3rd or 4th gen iPods. But that's all right. It was all downhill after generation three when build materials became cheaper, and buttons transformed into a "click wheel."

NES Controller iPod Remote [via playgadgets]

The only element we're not sold on is the whammy bar which, though coated with with rubber "to prevent screen damage," doesn't seem to work next to the strum bar. Activision, Harmonix, whoever-the-hell has the rights now—let's make it happen. But an FYI: as long as the fret buttons are in tact, I can just strum with the buttons. You know, if that will help or something.

Concept by Dan Moore.

Get Hooked on expensive Wiimote decoration [Wii Fanboy]

Mad Catz released have released a shudder-inducing QWERTY keyboard add-on for the SIXAXIS. This US $30 keyboard is above the controller, which Mad Catz claims is ergonomically designed for comfort. But, really, can you imagine typing on that monster? Humanity can't! Brian Ashcraft

Mad Catz Keyboard [Official Site via Oh Gizmo]