Tag Archives: game console

Teenage Engineering-inspired Nintendo Switch feels like the minimalist handheld console we deserve

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Teenage Engineering has created a niche in the music tech market with rule-defiying products that tap into the inquisitive nature of things. No matter if it’s a field system, wireless audio, or synthesizers; if it’s from Teenage Engineering, it’s got to be worth talking about. That’s the sole reason we just love everything from the Stockholm-based audio wizard.

This time around though, it’s not something coming out of their creative factory, but rather a culmination of creative thoughts from a designer to muster up a winning product envisioned for TE. A handheld gaming console that’s fun to play around with and also one that doesn’t deviate from the core ethos of the brand. According to the designer the handheld blends into any environment, “triggering the nostalgic feeling and providing fun to the users.”

Designer: Nidharshan Suresh

The primary motivation behind this concept gaming console carrying the DNA of Teenage Engineering is to break the monotony in the design of current handheld consoles and refresh the market with a product that’s a delight to savor. The initial research identified the reason for playing games as an escape from the daily stresses of life. Another couple of motivators are the ability to boost problem-solving capabilities and live a story in pseudo-reality. One fact that was clear from the data was the end-users who are either on-the-go gamers, tech geeks, softcore gamers, or socializers.

Nidarshan employed parallel prototyping using thermocol models to fine-tune the final handheld design that falls right into place. As a TE fan, I immediately found a connection between two different worlds of audiophile bliss and gaming frenzy in this product. A cohesive form that’s minimal while retaining the ergonomic comfort of playing games for extended sessions. The color theme also piques interest in the form of orange, black and white buttons for the joystick and D-pad buttons.

The slim form factor ensures your fingers never get fatigued from constantly hitting the trigger buttons on the top. From what’s apparent this handheld gaming console is quite compact compared to the current market leaders like Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, or Nintendo Switch. That alone is a win for someone like me with small hands.

The titanium silver grey finish brings a new look to the arena which I absolutely love. Whether or not such a handheld is going to disrupt the market, only time will tell, that is if, Teenage Engineering ever designs a handheld gaming console in the near future!

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Atari 400 Mini retro console is a charming recreation of a quirky design

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Most people today probably only know of the Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, but there was a time when the market was littered with countless gaming consoles, each with their own distinct designs. Many of them look almost outlandish by today’s standards, but it’s exactly because of these that these old machines have become today’s novelties again. The retro console craze has died down a bit, but it still exists and there are plenty of designs still left untouched. One of those is the rather distinctive Atari 400, which now finally comes in a mini recreation that brings yet another bunch of classic titles from one of gaming history’s biggest giants.

Designer: Retro Games x Atari

You might already be quite tired of hearing about all these classic games being made available to a newer, younger audience, but the console that this batch comes in is definitely worth noting. The Atari 400 and 800, after all, made many firsts in the industry, bringing what is practically a personal computer into homes with a focus on gaming. That objective was what informed the machine’s design, giving it a peculiar appearance even among its peers.

In essence, the Atari 400, or the 800 rather, looked more like a giant typewriter than a computer of any sort. Atari eschewed the typical joysticks and gamepads associated with gaming machines (and its own Atari 2600) and gave its first 8-bit family a keyboard for tasks beyond just playing. The Atari 400 itself was quite peculiar because it didn’t use real keys but a membrane keyboard, basically a seemingly flat, pressure-sensitive surface that could be considered the ancestor of touch-sensitive controls today. Suffice it to say, the typing experience was anything but enjoyable.

The Atari 400 Mini brings this one-of-a-kind design down to half the size of the 1979 original, which means you get all the looks but none of the quirks or the functionality. Yes, that miniaturized membrane keyboard is just for show, which is probably for the best. Imagine typing not only on a small space but also on a surface you have to press hard to even register a key. Fortunately, you can connect a USB keyboard if you really need to type something. With five USB ports, you can connect almost any controller, though thankfully the package ships one Atari CX-40 joystick for good measure.

The small machine comes with 25 titles from the original already pre-installed, though can also run other Atari classics provided you know how and where to get them. The Atari 400 Mini isn’t available yet, but you can already put down $119.99 to pre-order this recreation of a piece of gaming history before it hits the shelves on March 28th.

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Analogue Duo console revives TurboGrafx cartridges and CDs with a catch

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The retro gaming craze has given birth to many console revivals, but some of them are walking on legally gray areas. The officially sanctioned devices bear licensed titles but in very small numbers. Third-party recreations that use emulators, on the other hand, offer more freedom and flexibility but you’ll have to be creative in where you source your games. And then there’s the rare middle ground that puts those old games in fresh new hardware, like this curious console that pays tribute to the oft-forgotten NEC TurboGrafx. Unlike other retro consoles, however, it doesn’t come bundled with its own games and you’ll have to bring your own cartridges and discs, presuming you still have some of those around.

Designer: Analogue

With the explosion of home gaming systems in the late 80s to early 90s, it wasn’t much of a surprise that some brands would be pushed to the background. Although it did have a faithful following, the NEC TurboGrafx system eventually faded into history, only to be remembered with retro consoles and devices such as the Analogue Duo. It’s not a simple recreation of the original console, however. In fact, it looks nothing like the TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine consoles. What this new console brings, instead, is a way to be able to use those original game cartridges and CDs just the way they were meant to.

Retro mini consoles like the NES and SNES Classics practically use emulation software to run digital copies of games that used to exist on physical media. That’s definitely convenient but also removes the gratification of experiencing those classic titles from the cartridges or CDs they came from. Without going into technical details, the Analogue Duo claims to use no emulation at all and uses hardware engineered for thousands of hours to offer compatibility with a wide range of NEC gaming systems and media, including those for the TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, SuperGrafx, TurboGrafx CD, PC Engine CD-ROM, and Super Arcade CD-ROM.

The design of the Analogue Duo itself is also quite unique, eschewing the trend of copying the appearance of the original consoles. It does lie horizontally like most consoles, but its modern and sleek appearance clearly tells which century it comes from. An odd and rather interesting detail is the wavy rear of the console, something you won’t find on any gaming hardware today. Interestingly, you can place two of these consoles back-to-back with those waves intersecting with each other.

The Analogue Duo is pretty ambitious in its goals, which is probably why it took three years for it to finally become available. Even then, it will be in extremely limited supply, available first to those who pre-ordered back in May. Perhaps it’s for the best so that TurboGrafx fans will be able to bide their time and see whether the console will be able to deliver that faithful classic experience it promised.

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This Tetris-like Analog Game Keeps Your Kids Entertained and Their Minds Active

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In the digital age, it is refreshing to see a game that not only captures the nostalgia of classic 80s-90s gaming but also incorporates cutting-edge technology to create an engaging and educational experience. Super Slide, developed by Giiker, reminds me of the good old ‘Nintendo Game Boy’ but with a screen for varied use. It is a game that combines the charm of retro design with the convenience of modern interactivity. This innovative sliding puzzle game is taking the world of edutainment by storm, offering a range of benefits for both kids and adults.

Designer: FS GiiKER Technology Co., Ltd

Super Slide is not just a game; it’s a complete puzzle experience. This innovative game breaks the limitations of traditional question cards by gathering a whopping 500+ challenges into one compact console. These challenges are displayed on an LED screen, eliminating the need for physical cards and making the game more environmentally friendly.

To enhance the replay value and boost confidence, Super Slide expands its repertoire of questions and organizes them into levels ranging from easy to hard. This approach ensures that players of all ages and skill levels can enjoy the game, from beginners to seasoned puzzle enthusiasts.

The game not only reduces screen time but also instills competitiveness among players, encouraging them to strive for improvement. Additionally, the learning mode helps users build momentum and gain a better understanding of the game, effectively training their minds while having fun.

One of the standout features of Super Slide is its attention to detail. The game board and tiles are equipped with magnets, providing a satisfying sense of touch as players rearrange the pieces. This tactile feedback enhances spatial rearrangement skills and concentration, making Super Slide a valuable tool for cognitive development.

Giiker, the technology company behind Super Slide, is dedicated to the development of smart and connected edutainment products. Their mission is to provide children and adults with engaging, educational, and interactive experiences that promote problem-solving skills, logical thinking, and hand-eye coordination.

While Super Slide is designed with kids in mind, it has proven to be a hit with adults as well. Its blend of nostalgia and innovation makes it an enjoyable pastime for the whole family. In a world dominated by digital distractions, Super Slide encourages families to come together and spend quality time in an interactive and educational way.

Super Slide is designed to be as portable as your smartphone. Its small and lightweight form factor means it can easily fit in your bag, making it an ideal companion for travel or keeping kids entertained at gatherings. Whether you’re on a long road trip or attending a boring party, Super Slide can turn downtime into a fun and engaging learning experience.

Super Slide by Giiker is a shining example of how technology and classic gameplay can be seamlessly combined to create an edutainment product that offers numerous benefits. It fosters problem-solving skills, reduces screen time, promotes competitiveness, and brings families closer together. With its nostalgic design and innovative features, Super Slide is not just a game; it’s a learning tool that encourages spatial reasoning, concentration, logical thinking, planning skills, and hand-eye coordination. So, it’s no wonder that this game has earned the green light from both kids and adults alike.

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Haptic shirt by Ubisoft lets you feel your game character’s punches and stabs

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There have been a lot of improvements already when it comes to interactive games. There have been some devices, gadgets, and features that make online and console gaming even more immersive. Now it looks like gamers will have even more fun as Ubisoft is experimenting with haptic feedback shirts, specifically for their new Assassin’s Creed game which lets players experience in real life (well, sort of) what their characters experience within the game.

Designer: OWO for Ubisoft

The Assassin’s Creed: Mirage Special Edition comes with the OWO haptic feedback shirt that lets you experience the various things that happens to your character within the game. This includes the stabs and punches and gunshots that your enemy inflicts upon you, if you’re not good enough to evade them. You will also be able to feel the blowing wind if you’re in that part of the game or the sensation of freefalling. This gives a whole other meaning to an immersive game experience.

The haptic shirt comes with an OWO skin, an OWO device, gel pads, a charging cables and storage pouch as well as the digital copy of the game and the game code. You will be able to play it on your PS5, Xbox Series X, or on your personal computer. There’s also an app that will let you calibrate your personal screens and the game itself since you get to save your statistics there directly. It doesn’t really say if the shirts come in different sizes but the “skin” should be a good fit so you can feel all the things that your character feels as you play the game.

I’m not a gamer myself but the idea of such an immersive thing is pretty interesting. I wonder if eventually devices like this can be part of other media experiences like TV shows, concerts, and movies. Imagine if you can also feel what the movie characters are experiencing, like getting stabbed to death or falling off a cliff. Okay come to think of it, that’s not such a good thing to feel but it should be interesting.

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PlayStation-inspired foldable console is the all-in-one entertainment system everyone deserves

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The video gaming landscape in the past years has changed considerably. We’re seeing a rise in “portable PCs” designed specifically for gaming purposes, while traditional consoles have become as powerful as or even more powerful than our desktop computers. For all intents and purposes, these home gaming machines can meet almost all our digital entertainment needs, though they have one design peculiarity that makes them a little less convenient for that. Most gaming consoles need to be hooked up to a display and a speaker, which puts some limits on how and where you can use them. That’s why there have been both concepts and actual mods that transform consoles into more standalone and sometimes even portable entertainment machines, but this PlayStation Capsule definitely takes the cake by mashing gaming, video, and audio entertainment together in a single, innovative form.

Designer: Alisher Ashimov

Right off the bat, this machine looks like no other console, not even those modded consoles that masquerade as very hefty suitcases. The foldable pyramid form might look alien to most people today, but more seasoned designers and tech pundits might be familiar with the JVC Video Capsule from 1978. Similar to that vintage appliance, the PlayStation Capsule concept encapsulates, pardon the pun, everything you’d need to immerse yourself in your favorite digital content. You don’t even need to plug anything in, except the PlayStation controllers, of course.

When the capsule is closed and the pyramid is whole, the device functions as an eye-catching speaker, a refreshing break from the cylinders and rectangles of today’s breed. Beyond just the unique shape and 360-degree audio, however, the PlayStation Capsule’s most notable feature in this Speaker Mode is its controls on its front. It has a touchscreen panel that acts both as a way to display visuals like album art as well as an interface for the speaker’s functions. That said, the capsule also features two physical knobs that give better tactile feedback and pay homage to the physical dials of the video capsule of old.

Swing the top upward, and you’ve switched to Console Mode, which can also be Video Mode if binge streaming is the name of your game. It reveals an integrated display so that you can start gaming or watching right then and there, removing the middle man of navigating the TV first. What makes the PlayStation Console special is the built-in mechanical keyboard, the type that gamers love for their tactile feedback and sound, as well as a MacBook-like Touch Bar for instant access to often-used functions. This is especially useful for games that require you to chat with others or to quickly toggle features on or off without having to dig through menus.

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Although it’s not something you’d carry with you on your travels, the PlayStation Capsule’s compact and integrated design still makes it portable to some extent. It doesn’t prevent you from hooking it up to a larger TV or more powerful speakers, but it can also function completely on its own when the circumstances call for it. More importantly, it gives the gaming console a striking and memorable design, one that looks to the future while paying respects to past innovations and creativity.

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Gorgeous 3D-printed Nintendo Switch dock makes your gaming console rest on Japanese zen clouds

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With a two-part design that snaps together right around your existing Switch dock, this rather whimsical 3D print from Holoprops elevates your gaming console in an aesthetic sense! Designed to make it look like your Switch is nestled amongst Japanese clouds, Holoprops’ dock really turns your piece of tech into beautiful sculptural home decor. Moreover, the model is also carefully designed to make sure it doesn’t obstruct the airflow of the Switch while it’s docked or the cables at the back.

Designer: Holoprops

The Japanese Cloud Dock takes inspiration from the ‘Kumo’, or the Japanese cloud motifs often found in arts, prints, and even in traditional clothing (the Kumo patterns can be popularly found in kimono designs). The dock comes in two parts and can be printed without any support structures. Once printed, the two parts simply snap into place, creating a single sculptural unit that can fit both the Switch Classic and Switch OLED variants.

The Japanese Cloud Dock does give the Nintendo Switch a unique aura, taking it from gaming device to home decor in a way that really adds a certain element of fantasy to your home. You could place it on your coffee table, TV console, or anywhere you would keep your Switch dock, and its blank canvas is also perfect for a nice custom paint job!

While the dock isn’t readily available for purchase, the 3D STL file can be bought on Cults3D for a small sum of $3.37 (with instructions on how to print it effectively too). You can then print your file in any color, using single or multi-color filaments, or even making it translucent for a more dreamy effect. If you want to kick things up a notch, try adding a few LEDs underneath to really make your console shine! Once purchased, the 3D file is yours to keep, and you can print as many units as you want. Holoprops even will allow you to sell your prints (all you need to do is contribute to their Patreon page).

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Gaming Box gives a whole new interpretation to portable gaming

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Inspired by the Nintendo Switch’s success, there has been a rise in devices with somewhat similar designs running different gaming platforms. There’s Valve’s Steam Deck for PCs, of course, but there are also gaming handhelds running Android instead. Even computer accessory maker Logitech is getting its game on with a cloud-centric collaboration with gaming giant Tencent. Despite varying designs and sizes, the basic format of these portable gaming devices is the same. There’s a large screen in the middle flanked by the two halves of a typical gaming controller. That, however, isn’t the only way to design a portable gaming device, and this concept design tries to think outside the box to put gaming back inside the box in a slightly different way.

Designer: Eli Lan

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There’s definitely a good reason why these portable gaming devices are designed this way. Gamepad controls are easier to use without the support of a desk or any surface, unlike keyboards and mice, and they offer better haptics and tactile feedback compared to just a touch screen. That’s not to say it’s the perfect design or that there are no other possible forms a portable gaming computer can take.

At its simplest, the Gaming Box design concept is pretty much a mini PC with a screen on top. Mini computers, which include the likes of the Apple Mac Mini, have become more ubiquitous these past years. They come in a variety of designs, and some are portable, not just in form but also in operation. The one thing they all have in common is that they need to be connected to a monitor, at the very least, to actually be usable.

This gaming twist on that design puts an end to that problem and puts a screen on the top, or rather the front, of the box. Unlike typical mini PCs that lie on their larger face, the Gaming Box is designed to stand on one of its thinner edges. It’s a more precarious position, admittedly, but it’s the only way you’ll be able to view the screen anyway.

There are also other and probably bigger issues with this design. The display seems large enough, at least when compared to other objects around it, but its square aspect ratio doesn’t really conform to any of the conventions used in gaming and even in videos. There are no controls to speak of, either, so it’s presumed to be using a touch screen. You can attach or connect controllers, of course, but that won’t make it convenient for playing on the go, which isn’t its primary use case anyway.

In truth, the Gaming Box is probably better as a Media Box, allowing owners to enjoy videos or maybe even social media anywhere inside the house. It is more like a home console or gaming PC that you can move around inside the same space rather than something you’d use outside, so it complements rather than replaces designs like the Steam Deck.

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Man Builds 250-Pound, 6-Foot Tall Xbox Series X to Set World Record

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Dreaming big: some people take it literally. Case in point, YouTuber Michael Pick, who dreamed of a giant Xbox Series X console, then constructed this 600% version measuring 6 feet tall, 3.41 feet wide, and weighing 250 pounds. The console took home the Guinness World Record for World’s Largest Xbox Series X console, presumably because who else would ever do this?

The console is basically a giant scale-size shell of an actual Xbox with the same comparatively small guts inside, but the power button works, and everything else is where it should be. I’m a little disappointed, but I guess that’s my own fault for expecting anything more from a giant Xbox Series X replica other than a bunch of empty space. At least they give it a cool paint job.

After completing the project, Michael donated the giant gaming system to the Atlanta YMCA Youth and Teen Development Center, so you can rest assured it found a good home. Would I have bought it if Michael had posted it on eBay? And paid shipping on that thing. Are you nuts?! I already learned my lesson buying that replica Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder last summer.

[via TechEBlog]

This fan-made Sony PlayStation 2020 console + controller is far better-looking than the original

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Well, we don’t know what the official Sony PlayStation 5 will look like, but Sony’s debuted their new controller design and here’s really what I think. It looks great, but it isn’t Sony-DNA. Sony’s DualSense controller feels a lot like an evolution of an Xbox controller, rather than a direct progression of its own design heritage, and that isn’t sitting well with Yonghwan Kim, who prefers Sony retain its brand DNA. In fact, he’s even designed his own console and controller combo to show Sony the path forward.

Let’s ignore the fact that the top-view of the conceptual PS5 console looks like one of Buzzfeed Tasty’s induction cooktops and move onto its monolithic design that actually follows the architecture that Microsoft set with its 2020 Xbox. The vertical pillar-shaped design is optimized for air-flow, pulling wind from the bottom and pushing it out the back. The design even features a rounded-hexagon top that extrudes upwards to reveal a CD tray, and a host of ports on the back, from the standard Power Delivery port to an HDMI, LAN, and USB ports. It seems like there’s a 3.5mm jack too for an aux out.

What I really like is Kim’s controller, which truly looks like the soul successor of the PS range. It retains the light bar’s position, keeps the touchpad the way it is, and doesn’t change much in way of the layout… but it gives the controller a refreshed aesthetic. I mean, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?

Thoughts, anyone? Besides the fact that it looks like Apple’s 2015 Mac Pro? Or an enlarged Amazon Echo? I mean I really think the form factor makes sense. It’s familiar, and that CD tray is actually pretty cool!

Designer: Yonghwan Kim