Nintendo 64 mod promises HDMI output, soldering burns
If you have a Nintendo 64 kicking around, it’s probably not hooked up to your television. It’s not that you don’t love the classic console, it’s just that many modern sets don’t support the machine’s archaic video cables. Don’t worry, it can be fixed. RetroActive, a one-man mod team, is working on a circuit board that will gift the aging console with digital outputs. The kit promises to pipe audio and video out through DVI, HDMI or VGA (assuming you have the appropriate cables), but its creator is considering building an HDMI-only version. Either way, it won’t be easy to install — RetroActive says that it attaches directly to one of the Nintendo 64′s main processors, and “it requires fine pitch soldering skills to install.”
RetroActive has set up a notification page for folks interested in project, adding that the device’s Q1 2014 release date is only tentative. “To be honest it’s one of many things I have going on and I’d rather not release a crappy product,” writes Marshall, the man behind RetroActive. “It’ll be done when it’s done.” Fair enough, we’re not that handy with a soldering iron anyway.
Via: Nintendo Life, Destructoid
Source: RetroActive
Feedback Loop: Favorite messaging apps, rooting Kindle Fires and more!
Welcome to Feedback Loop, a weekly roundup of the most interesting discussions happening within the Engadget community. There’s so much technology to talk about and so little time to enjoy it, but you have a lot of great ideas and opinions that need to be shared! Join us every Saturday as we highlight some of the most interesting discussions that happened during the past week.
This week, we discussed our favorite messaging apps, rooting Amazonian tablets, the games we’re playing and whether 3D movies are coming to next-gen consoles. Head on past the break and join the conversation.
Favorite messaging apps
Facebook’s recent acquisition of WhatsApp highlighted how popular and valuable (evidently) messaging applications are. Assuming your friends and family haven’t made the choice for you: How do you pick which service to use? Head over to the Engadget forums and let us know how you keep in contact with the loved and loathed ones in your life.
Rooting a Kindle Fire HD
The Kindle Fire HD is quite a capable slate, and it’s cheap too. Engadget reader bkowalski3000 isn’t so fond of being restricted to the Amazon ecosystem however, and wants to know how to root it. Got the knowledge to help him out? Head on over to the forums and let him know what you do.
Operation Finish All The Games
Engadget’s product database wizard Kris is on a mission to finish all the games. Every single one of them. In her most recent post in the Engadget forums, she gives us an update on her progress. Check it out and let us know which games you’ve been playing recently.
3D movie support for Xbox One and PS4?
With the abundance of 3D televisions and Blu-ray content on the market, CAThornhill is wondering why next-gen consoles don’t let us watch movies in three dee. What do you think the issue is? Our forums are the perfect place to indulge in speculation as to whether we’ll ever be able to watch films in the third dimension on our gaming consoles.
That’s all this week! Do you want to talk about your favorite gadget or have a burning question about technology? Register for an Engadget account today, visit the Engadget forums and start a new discussion!
Steam Family Sharing exits beta, lets your borrow all of your friends’ games
One of the inherent drawbacks of digitally distributed games is that you can’t loan them out to friends, but Steam has rewritten the rules a bit. Now that Valve’s Family Sharing feature is out of beta, pretty much anyone can authorize another user — that they trust with their account and its attached reputation/information — and their device to “borrow” a game from their library. It’s taken a few months to happen, but if your best Steam buddy owns Rust, you should finally be able to give it a shot before plunking down the cash for it yourself.
Source: Steam
EA Sports told the NCAA it was using real players in its college football titles — back in 2007
Back in September, EA Sports announced that it would shutter its NCAA Football series after losing support from the college sports governing body and due to ongoing legal spats. As part of that news, the video game studio said that it had settled its case with those suing over the use of their likeness in its releases. During the course of the last week, though, a federal district court judge ordered documents be made public in the Ed O’Bannon player-likeness suit. So why does that matter? Well, as it turns out, EA sought use of player names and faces “just as they are shown on TV broadcasts”, and a document shows that the NCAA knew “hidden” rosters were being used back in 2007. This news comes after an EA Sports exec said last year that the NCAA gave it the official OK to match up real names and with virtual jersey numbers — directly identifying actual players. And as AL.com reported, the NCAA is suing EA Sports for not protecting it during the aforementioned settlement proceedings.
What’s more, in exchange for the ability to pack its games with player likenesses, EA agreed to sprinkle in “academic-related features.” That’s why “academic prestige” is part of the recruiting pitch options in Dynasty mode and explains the inclusion of player suspensions in previous releases. You know, the whole “violation of team rules” type thing? The O’Bannon lawsuit is still in progress, so it could be quite a while before we find out just how much those player likenesses were really worth.
[Image credit: NCAA Football 14/EA Sports]
Filed under: Gaming
Via: SB Nation
Source: AL.com
FIFA 14 is now available for Windows Phone footie fans
Windows Phone owners no longer have to watch from the sidelines as their friends battle for supremacy in FIFA 14. EA has released a native version of the free-to-play soccer (aka football) title for Microsoft’s platform with the same on-the-pitch action that you’d expect on Android and iOS, including options to buy both team points and special game modes like Manager or Kick Off. There’s nothing specifically taking advantage of Windows Phone here, but Lumia owners wanting to dominate a virtual Premier League should be very happy.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Mobile
Via: Windows Phone Blog
Source: Windows Phone Store
Xbox One update preview adds new audio, Kinect options and a fix for UK TV
Xbox One owners who received a special ticket in their inbox are already testing out next month’s update, and they’ve already uncovered a slew of tweaks. Beyond the multiplayer / party system changes and Twitch streaming we’d heard about, fans with surround sound headphones have been pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Dolby Digital Audio. Another new audio choice is bitstream output, and our friends at The Digital Media Zone have already checked it out to confirm the expected lights are popping up on their surround sound receivers.
Forum posters on NeoGAF has put together a list of changes they’ve as well, and several media related ones stick out. First, the 50Hz compatibility problem that plagued some European TV viewers using the HDMI passthrough has been fixed. Other tweaks include a check box to disable Kinect hand gestures while watching a video (which would often accidentally recognize casual movements and put an icon on the screen), and the ability to change how much the volume changes when commanded by Kinect. Hit the thread for the full list, while everyone else waits until March 11th for the update to arrive.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: The Digital Media Zone, NeoGAF
Report: Less than one percent of mobile gamers responsible for half of all in-app purchases
With the runaway success of Candy Crush Saga, it’s perfectly natural to wonder just how many people are dropping coin in freemium mobile games. One firm’s answer, however, might surprise you. A very small number — 0.15 percent, to be exact — of total mobile payers contribute half of monthly in-game revenue, according to in-app marketing company Swrve. The outfit also says that over 60 percent of the money made within the first two weeks of a player’s life is made on the first day. Meaning, if most people install a game and don’t make any purchases almost immediately, they likely won’t at all. The report comes from a limited sample, but designers hoping to build the next fragile confection-like phenomenon are probably studying it for secrets right now. We’ve embedded the provided infographic after the break should you want a peek at a whole lot of graphs for yourself.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile
Source: Swrve
Pieces might be falling into place for a Minecraft movie from Warner Bros.
Prepare thyselves, Minecrafters. Earlier today, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to turn the indie phenomenon Minecraft “into a major motion picture.” The popular franchise has apparently already drawn “huge interest” from writers and filmmakers, making it a hot property for Warner Bros. to add to its mighty portfolio. The studio giant is rumored to have chosen Roy Lee to take production charge of said Minecraft project; he recently produced The Lego Movie, which has been a complete hit at the box office.
Minecraft creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, isn’t keeping quiet and recently tweeted about how he “wanted to be the leak,” hinting that, perhaps, there is a movie in the works. Still, nothing’s actually been confirmed yet — but, as they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Until then, maybe this documentary can control your high level of excitement.
Someone is trying leak the fact that we’re working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie. I wanted to be the leak!
– Markus Persson (@notch) February 27, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Twitter (@notch)
Sorry, shredders: Tony Hawk’s new game is a mobile-only affair
After Tony Hawk’s massively popular Pro Skater game series faded into the sunset (and the Ride/Shred series lit that sunset ablaze with nuclear warheads), the world went a few lonesome years without a new Tony Hawk title. 2014 is apparently the year that all changes, as Tony Hawk’s back with a new game headed to mobile phones.
In a wide-ranging Bloomberg interview, Hawk said, “We are working on a game for mobile devices this year, and we’ve never gone exclusively that direction yet.” While the leaves the door open to a wide variety of genres (Tony Hawk first-person shooter? Tony Hawk match three?), we’re betting it’s of the skateboarding variety.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Software, HD, Mobile
Source: Bloomberg
Japanese cable provider launches on-demand gaming service, will stream Sonic and PES titles
Sony’s PlayStation Now streaming game service is still months away from launch, but Japanese cable company KDDI is testing the idea with the app-based GameNow service, through cable. It’s the same company responsible for LG’s Smart TV game service, although judging from the title lineup, J:Com and JCN cable subscribers might not see games at the level of Devil May Cry 4 and Dead Rising 2, at least to start with. Temper that enthusiasm a little, and expect several puzzle games and sports titles, including PES, WRC3 and Sonic Adventure DX. KDDI’s Smart TV Box launched in 2012, but its new gaming service will go live at the start of March. And hey, know where you could play Sonic over cable, just over 20 years ago? The Sega Channel, that’s where.
Source: KDDI
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