If you want to add some more camouflage to your Xbox wireless controller collection, Xbox has got you covered. Microsoft has unveiled the Mineral Camo Special Edition controller.
This controller combines four different shades of blue to create a beautiful camouflage pattern. It has a vibrant mineral blue, aqua, and bright and dark purple — all of which are inspired by oceanic geode crystals that give the controller its name.
The Mineral Camo controller is the fourth controller in the camo series of Xbox controllers — following Night Ops Camo, Arctic Camo, and Daystrike Camo — and its vibrant ocean color design makes it the most unique controller in the entire series. It also joins the rainbow of other controllers released since the Xbox Series X/S’ debut in November 2020, including the Xbox 20th Anniversary Special Edition Controller and the Deep Pink controller.
What makes the Mineral Camo controller even more unique is that Razer created a matching quick charging base stand for it. The charging stand works for both Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One controllers, and charges them in less than three hours.
Unlike some of the camo controllers, the Mineral Camo controller has a hybrid D-pad and a textured grip on the triggers, bumpers, and the back case. And like most controllers, you can remap the buttons and create custom controller profiles for it from the Xbox Accessories app, share in-game screenshots with the Share button, and plug any headphones into a 3.5mm audio jack for a fully immersive gaming experience — or for total volume control to avoid waking up other people while you’re playing in the middle of the night.
You can get the Mineral Camo Special Edition controller for $70 on the Microsoft Store or at your local retailer. The matching charging stand is sold separately for $50.
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.