While Nintendo has become synonymous with kid-friendly gaming, it certainly isn’t the only console kids can play. The PlayStation 4 has games such as Buy Now , Knack 2, or Buy Now . But there is one design flaw that keeps some children and their small hands away from the system — its controller is made for larger, adult hands.
By keeping younger gamers in mind, Hori designed a better PlayStation 4 controller for children. The Mini Wired Gamepad is 40 percent smaller than the original DualShock 4 design and comes in a simpler form factor that resembles the controller for the Super Nintendo. The Mini Wired Gamepad provides all the necessary functions to play most PS4 games. It has control sticks, shoulder buttons, directional buttons, and action buttons. Even without a built-in touchpad, many of its inputs can be simulated with the left or right sticks.
To make the setup easier, this mini controller is completely wired. Playing a game is as simple as plugging in the 10-foot cable. While this does open up gaming to the whole family, the gamepad has a few features absent, making it incompatible with a few games. There is no touchpad, light bar, stereo headset jack, speaker, vibration, or motion sensing.
Without certain key features from the DualShock 4, games like Tearaway Unfolded are completely unplayable. This game is perfect for children, but it was designed to take full advantage of features like the light bar and motion controls.
Hori has been a big name in third-party video game accessories for some time, even going as far back as the original Nintendo Entertainment System. As first-party controllers have become more complex and expensive, Hori has come in with affordable alternatives. Aside from standard controllers, it is also known for making more niche controllers; for fighting games, it makes plenty of arcade sticks. For PC-like controls, it created wired keypads and mice. Whether players are looking for an advantage through their controller or just a cheaper alternative, Hori has what is needed.
Hori’s Mini Wired Gamepad launches across the United States and Canada this holiday season. Available only in blue, the controller will cost $30.
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.