The question of the ultimate video game controller is always a source of spirited debate — does Buy Now have the edge over the competition? Are a keyboard and mouse the way to go? Now, the U.S. Navy has made its stance clear, as it’s set to implement Buy Now across its fleet of Virginia-class submarines.
The Xbox 360 controller will be used to operate periscopes, which were previously manipulated with a joystick, according to Pilot Online. If you are wondering why these periscopes need such a nuanced method of control, it’s because they’re not the simple versions you might recognize from movies and television shows.
The periscopes used on Virginia-class submarines are comprised of two photonics masts, each of which is able to rotate 360 degrees. They are outfitted with high-resolution cameras that output their images to large displays so that everyone in the room can see what’s being observed — but the method of controlling where they are looking using a joystick wasn’t particularly popular among operators.
The joystick that was previously in use was described by junior officers and sailors as “clunky” and “real heavy.” As a result, officials began to test out whether the Xbox 360 controller could sub in for the equipment.
The biggest advantage that the gamepad holds over its predecessor is the fact that many operators are already familiar with how to use it from their prior experience playing video games. It would take novices hours of practice before they were considered to be adept at using the joystick.
There are also benefits in terms of cost and accessibility. If a replacement pad needs to be procured, it’s available at retail outlets worldwide and it costs around $30, rather than the $38,000 price tag that was attached to the joystick and its control panel.
The Navy has already been testing the Buy Now in this context for two years, to make sure that it is up to the job. It’s expected to be officially implemented for the first time on the USS Colorado, which should be commissioned by November, before being rolled out across other Virginia-class submarines as part of the service’s ongoing modernization effort.
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.