Damn Nintendo! Back at it again with the weird peripherals. In October 2014, the company filed a patent application with the super sexy title “Training Implement, Training System, and Input Device,” (already abbreviated as TITS, because the Internet is so classy). The patent was published April 22, 2016 through the World Intellectual Property Organization, where incredibly thorough NeoGaf forum user Rösti found it.
A little too curved to be a boomerang, the new controller, pictured below from the patent filing, it looks more like a cartoon magnet, a horseshoe, or a big “U” in keeping with the Nintendo theme.
Besides the expected accelerometer and gyroscope, it has load sensors built into the bridge between the two upright sections of the “U,” implying the controller could be squeezed like a grip strengthener: “Body is joined to each of the immovable two grip portion and the two gripping portion opposed at a distance, having a connecting portion for connecting the two gripper. Load sensor is provided inside the main body, for detecting a load applied to the body.” (Here’s the original in case you can comment a more accurate translation: 本体は、間隔を隔てて対向する２つの把持部および当該２つの把持部のそれぞれと非可動に接合され、当該２つの把持部を連結する連結部を有する)。
Gamers are having a hard time imagining what games are a perfect fit for this particular peripheral. It’s visually similar to the Xbox 360 “Steering wheel”, but is clearly intended for fitness games. Descriptive diagrams show a person squatting, the patent includes temperature sensors as part of the device as well, and specifically describes using this new controller design in conjunction with a balance ball.
It’s unclear if the “U” controller is intended for the Wii U or the upcoming NX console. There’s always the chance this is tied in to Nintendo’s Quality of Life doughnut sleep-tracker, but since that was pushed back there’s no way to tell. In any case, gamers are already voicing doubts about whether it will ever see the light of a GameStop, but at least Nintendo keeps gamers on their toes–sometimes literally.
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.