Here’s a thing that is really real. It’s called Grip-It. It’s a cover for the analog sticks of your PS3 or Xbox 360 controllers. A Gym Hat, I’m calling ‘em. They’re supposed to increase comfort and decrease slipping.
Every gamer knows the hazards of their thumbs accidentally slipping off an analog stick during a game session; it can even be the deciding factor between success and failure at key moments. Grip-It eliminates this hazard thanks to its slip protection material that feels good on fingers while at the same time enhancing the sensitivity of your directional commands. Plus, the Grip-It helps prolong analog stick life, because you won’t need to push as hard on your controllers to have control of your game.
Slipping. Protection. Feels Good. Sensitivity. Push hard.
Much like…well, something else, you kind of just roll it over the stick to apply. They come four to a set and are currently available at retailers for $4.99. I’m going to see if I can find a set today.
Today Sony has announced that the downloadable games they call minis has reached the one million downloads mark. Between the US and PAL territories, on both the PSP and the PS3, a million little games have been pulled down since the 2009 launch.
Right now there’s about 85 titles. If you’re not in on the minis game yet, the EU PlayStation Blog gives us a list of the top ten most downloaded minis:
- Age of Zombies
- Monopoly
- Fieldrunners
- Zombie Tycoon
- Bloons
- Spot The Differences!
- Pinball Fantasies
- Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2
- Yetisports Pengu Throw
- Breakquest
I didn’t realize that minis were doing that well. Perhaps the low price point has them doing well. Keep it up!
Remember Hoopworld for Xbox LIVE Arcade? Yeah, I wouldn’t blame you. The game had been announced, was even playable, but was never released. What happened? It was being turned into a WiiWare game that’s — surprise! — coming out next week on July 19.
Originally set to be some kind of odd basketball/dodgeball/party game mash-up, Hoopworld is now a 3-on-3 basketball title. The game retains it’s whacky, bright-colored look and feel, with seven teams and six outdoor locations. The title is firmly planted in arcade roots, with power-ups and all of that jazz. Trying to beat NBA Jam to the market are we?
Hoopworld will run you 1,000 Wii Points, or ten dollars in American monies.
Blik, a company whose whole schtick is making “surface graphics” — basically stickers you put on your walls for decorations — has added Atari to its collection.
Now available are wall graphics for three Atari classics — Centipede, Asteroids, and Pong. Put ‘em wherever you want — your living room wall, that spot behind your toilet, or all over your kitchen cabinets. They’re $45 a piece, and come as complete sets with everything you’ll need to re-enact your favorite retro gaming scene.
My wife and I got a few wall graphics to decorate our daughter’s nursery. Not videogame-related, but same idea. The end result looks great, but let me tell you — these things are a pain in the ass to apply. Rubbing out air bubbles for days, let me tell you. And imagine tearing one of your graphics in your $45 set of decals… yikes! Those with more patience (and steadier hands) will probably have better results, but proceed with caution.
Holy hell! Nihilistic’s Conan is now available for download on Xbox 360 Games on Demand!
This third-person action is great in that “b-movie” way — hilariously delivered dialogue… over-the-top situations, including topless slave women and dismembering enemies… basically everything I’ve ever wanted in a game! I loved it for what it was, and it’s $19.99, which is about how much it should cost.
Oh, and NBA Street Homecourt is available, too. It’s $19.99 as well, and doesn’t feature any topless slave women or mutilation. Instead, you just play basketball. But LeBron James is in it, and mentioning his name just made this article more attractive to Google. So there you go.
I don’t know what it is about this summer, but we sure have been getting a lot of (legitimate) opportunities to play some sweet games without having to dig out the ol’ credit card.
R.U.S.E., Eugen System’s real-time strategy game about bluffing your way to victory, will be free to play on Steam this weekend. The promotion kicks off on Thursday, July 15 at 11:00 AM PDT. This preview version is a hefty download, so it’d be wise to start pre-loading R.U.S.E. now. Click here to do so.
Maps not seen in the beta build will be playable, as will all six factions. As much as I like to hate on most World War II games, this is at least an interesting take on the period. And hey, free!
Now everyone starts asking! I’ve been fuming for…well, since the PlayStation 3 has been released. What is the f*cking holdup with the PSOne titles on the PlayStation Network? Japan’s PSN has a massive library. Ours is getting better, but it’s still pretty sad. Do you know much more valuable the PSP would be to people if they had the full PSOne library to pick from? It hurts my head thinking about how long this has taken.
Square Enix has asked fans which PSOne games they want on PSN, and now Namco Bandai is following. For Japan, of course. They’ve asked gamers to send requests via Twitter, with a focus on PSOne and TurboGrafx-16 games.
If you want to try to put in the good word for North America, drop your suggestions with the tag #nbgi_archives attached to your tweet. I want everything. I have wants that go beyond PSOne and TG16, though.
Namco Bandai Wants To Know Which Games You Want To See On PlayStation Network [Siliconera]
EA has a tough task ahead of them when it comes to marketing NBA Elite 11, the reboot of their basketball franchise. They’re trying to start a revolution in basketball videogames by having moving and shooting controlled completely on the analog sticks, and it sounds like something you have to try for yourself before you dismiss it.
So EA let some NBA stars, including cover athlete Kevin Durant, get their hands on the sticks — and they recorded the players’ impressions live. They seem to be pretty impressed, and EA is hoping that you’ll feel the same way when you try out the demo this September.
NBA Elite 11 launches on October 5th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
A listing on Amazon.de may point to a new retail bundle for the fancypants new Xbox 360.
The listing shows that this system has 4GB of memory, which is a nice little boost for the Arcade system. While Amazon.de doesn’t come right out and say that this is one of the redesigned Xbox 360 units, it likely is. Right now it is listed for 148 Euro, set for an August 2010 release.
I’m kind of hoping that Microsoft chops the price down for the holiday season for the Arcade bundle.
New 360 Arcade bundle coming in August? [CVG]
