Games

PlayStation 3 owners in the audience will likely have noticed an inability to connect to the PlayStation Network (PSN) over the past week, though Sony today made an announcement revealing that things are much worse than a week without access to online multiplayer gaming. At some stage between the 17th and 19th of April, a hacker gained access to Sony's systems. Sony believes the hacker was able to retrieve the personal information of 77 million PSN accounts, and say it is possible that credit card details were also retrieved. Read More

Nintendo will show a playable model of the next-generation Wii gaming console at E3 Expo in June. The company confirmed the reveal date in a short statement earlier today and although there's still no official word on exactly what the successor to the Wii (codenamed “Project Cafe”) holds in store, the rumors are gaining momentum. Read More

While motion controllers are becoming a staple for console gamers with the release of the Wii, PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect, PC gamers have been left wanting. Razer is looking to change that with its Hydra motion controller which has been developed specifically for PC gamers. Unlike other console-based motion control systems, the Hydra uses magnetic tracking technology by way of a base station that emits a magnetic field that Razer says allows the exact location and orientation of the handheld controllers to be detected with millimeter and degree accuracy. Read More

Spending many hours in front of a computer screen battling demons and monsters or laying waste to enemy outposts can really take it out of your poor keyboard. Swedish high-end gaming accessory manufacturer Mionix believes that the rage-proof durability of its new mechanical keyboard should give you the means to tackle any gaming marathon with confidence. Read More

The arrival of viable wireless charging solutions has given us the opportunity to pull the plug on devices like mobile phones and personal media players (with televisions and electric vehicles next in line). Game controllers are another obvious candidate for this technology and BLAZE's latest offering joins the ranks of wireless-charging solutions for the Nintendo Wii remote. Read More

Earlier this month we featured some novel building blocks that help teach robotics to kids, and grew from a project at Carnegie Mellon University. Now it's MIT's turn, with the Sifteo Cubes – 1.5-inch gaming blocks sporting full color screens that respond to motion, and interact with the player and each other as they are moved around. Games and apps can be bought online and wirelessly transferred onto the cubes via an internet-connected computer or laptop. The current title catalog includes adult games, puzzles for kids, and challenges and games that people can play together. Read More

One of the big criticisms leveled at rhythm-based guitar games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band was that they don’t actually teach you to play guitar. Ignoring the fact that this was never the intention of the games and not necessarily a bad thing ... it’s true. With the curtain recently brought down on the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, Ubisoft has stepped onto the stage with Rocksmith – the first videogame that lets players use any real guitar and is designed to teach them how to actually play it. Read More

With the Nintendo 3DS release date fast approaching, Nintendo's keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was an opportunity to showcase more of what we can expect from the new handheld. The most connected Nintendo device ever released according to company President Satoru Iwata, the 3DS will incorporate Netflix video streaming and gain access to over 10000 AT&T wireless hot spots across the United States. Read More

CeBIT 2011 is near enough home turf for Hamburg's gaming specialist ROCCAT, so it's no surprise that the company has a new product to show off. As the name suggests, the Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard features 123 medium height, back-illuminated keys for ease of use in low lighting (or in the dark) gaming. The keyboard also offers new gaming possibilities with some wizardry that allows it to communicate with a mouse and technology that can double up certain keys for even more functionality. Read More