Updated by Kyle Wiggers 06-05-2015: Added news of a since-pulled 1TB Xbox One listing on Amazon.
Between AMD’s latest generation of graphics cards and virtual reality peripherals from Sony and Facebook’s Oculus, this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo promises a deluge of new hardware. But that doesn’t mean the nearly two-year-old consoles that kicked off the latest generation of games aren’t getting some attention. According to leaked documents, the Xbox One and PS4 are due for a few noteworthy, albeit minor, improvements.
The Xbox One controller’s lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone port has long been a point of consternation — unlike Sony, Microsoft opted for a proprietary connector on its next-gen console — but a fix is incoming. An updated controller diagram on the Xbox Support site, since removed, describes a “3.5-mm port” next to the “expansion port” on the bottom of the controller. It’ll support “compatible 3.5-mm audio devices,” according to the document, and will debut on controllers “released after June 2015.” But there’s evidence to suggest the wait may not be nearly that long — a listing for a “Covert Forces” Xbox One controller featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack was briefly posted by Australian retailer Libro late last month.
Both consoles are getting a storage boost. A post on Amazon, since removed, detailed an Xbox One bundle with a 1TB hard drive (double the storage capacity of currently available model), the aforementioned new controller, and a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Tweaked PS4 hardware has yet to make as public an appearance, but FCC filings suggest Sony is prepping two new models, numbered CUH-1215A and CUH-1215B, for sale later this year. One, CUH-1215B, also boasts a 1TB harddrive. But both list lower power (230 watts versus 250) and amperage (2.3-0.95 amps from 2.5-1.15 amps) requirements, and a negligible reduction in weight (2.5kg, down from 2.8kg).
The Xbox One and PS4 changes address the consoles’ respective shortcomings. Piping Xbox One system audio through an off-the-shelf headset requires buying a $24.99 adapter right now, and the PS4 lacks an easy way to expand storage. The latter console’s problem is arguably the more pressing — the space requirements for downloadable games regularly top 40 gigabytes — but both fixes are welcome enhancements to already solid gaming platforms.
The new Xbox One on Amazon had a list price on of $400 and a June 15 release date, the day of Microsoft’s E3 keynote. The refreshed PS4 console’s release timeframe and pricing remains unclear.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.