Steer into the fast lane
From Fanatec (www.fanatec.com) comes the Porsche 911 Turbo Racing Wheel (MSRP: $349.99) for PC and Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3). It offers Porsche fans and gamers alike an authentic look and feel along with a rich feature-set that delivers a genuine Porsche racing feeling when playing games such as Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, Racedriver: GRID, rFactor, etc.
Licensed by Porsche Lizenz-und Handelsgesellschaft mbH, the Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Racing Wheel provides gamers with latency free wireless USB technology (wheel and pedals), three force feedback motors and smooth belt drive, both of which help to deliver sensational realism, 6+1 speed H-pattern gear stick with realistic shifting feel, authentic wireless pedals with realistic clutch pedal (with declining resistance) and brake with soft-stop. The wheel itself is covered with fine, automotive grade leather. For reviews of the wheel, check out www.porsche911turbowheel.de/?q=taxonomy/term/25.
Who is playing what?
As the summer wears on, more and more kids are parked in front of video games. Children playing on a game console six hours or more daily is not unusual in the Kingdom. While a lot has been written on how unhealthy such behavior is for kids, parents feel that they have few choices to keep their offspring entertained in the extreme Saudi weather.
If your kids are bug eyed behind a game console, for goodness sakes at least ensure they are not being exposed to inappropriate entertainment. The company, What They Like, has a free-to-use site “What They Play” (whattheyplay.com), which provides unbiased descriptions of video games in clear, accessible language. What They Play offers parents a searchable database that describes the themes, content and player experience of the latest and most popular videogames. Information about each game, written by experts in videogame journalism, is easily accessible and organized by ESRB ratings categories and hardware platforms. The site also presents features, editorials and commentary focused on topics relating to interactive entertainment, as well as blogs and subscription-based newsletters.
Video game guitar designs
We told you last month that they would be coming and now Arab News has the first photos of the Aly & AJ guitar-shaped video game controllers from Performance Designed Products (PDP). The controllers are billed as “fun and feminine with a rock ‘n’ roll twist,” targeting women gamers. Aly’s guitar features heart-and-crossbones print in pink and brown giving it a rocker chick style. AJ’s guitar is in the shape of the Aly & AJ heart logo featuring a bright pink and purple zebra print.
The guitar controllers were originally developed to be compatible with Activision’s Guitar Hero, and will now also be compatible with MTV’s Rock Band. PDP wanted to design a product that would appeal to women gamers, who have traditionally been underserved in the gaming world.
The sisters, Aly & AJ, who enjoy music as well as video games, worked with PDP to come up with several designs. PDP then tested the designs with several hundred girls between the ages of eight and 17. The girls rated the body shape of the guitar, the graphics, color and fret inlay and headstock. The results supported PDP’s desire to launch two guitars — one aimed at tweens (ages eight to 12) and the other for teens and older. The guitar controllers, which can be used with Wii and PS2 consoles, are set to be available in mid-October and will have a suggested retail of $69.99 each.