Tony Hawk's New Game With Skate Board Remote

Tony Hawk has long been a favourite amongst game players and wanna be skateboarding champs. The latest incarnation of the Tony Hawk series of video games comes with a skateboard, like a Wii Fit board, only "way cooler", that allows you to get more than your thumbs into the action. Check out this Wired video in which Tony explains how to maneuver on the board:

The game is yet to be released but will be available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.

Thought Driven Game Controller Later This Year

A US/Australian neuro-engineering company, Emotiv, has developed a game controller that gets it's instructions from your brain. Using a technology known as non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) to read neural activity, the $299 headset controller can be used to give authentic facial expressions to avatars in virtual worlds and to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally using only your thoughts. "This is the first headset that doesn't require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and does require gel on the scalp," said Tan Le, president of Emotiv. "It also doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars." This is reminiscent of a very bad Clint Eastwood film, Firefox, in which a US pilot steals a super secret Russian fighter jet that is equipped with such a system... hmmm perhaps Emotiv should produce a Firefox companion game? BBC news story here.

Standalone Instruments Coming For Rock Band

G4's The Feed is reporting that Harmonix and MTV have announced the upcoming release of Rock Band standalone instruments. "The Rock Band drum set will ship on Feb. 12, for $79.99. The wireless Stratocaster guitar will ship April 1 and will cost $59.99." It's a natural move and one that will make my kids happy as they were only able to find the software version on the release date back in December. It also will make replacing instruments a whole lot easier.

Belkin's n52te SpeedPad for hardcore gamers

Belkin International, Inc., has announced the new n52te, a hybrid gaming keyboard built for gamers who wish to dominate in "FPS (first-person shooter), MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing games), and RTS (real-time strategy) computer games." Looking like a control from Darth Vader's Tye fighter the n52te is a pretty piece of technology. The controller hits the streets in the US, Europe, Australia, and Korea in November and Canada, Asia, and Latin America in February. The suggested retail is $69.99 US. The device boasts the following features (according to the press release):

• Backlit keypad and scroll wheel for total control in dark conditions
• Enhanced tactile feedback and button responsiveness for rapid key presses
• 15 fully programmable keys built for speed
• Adjustable soft-touch wrist pad for maximum comfort and endurance
• Programmable 8-way thumb pad with removable joystick
• Nonslip rubber pads grip in place for aggressive fragging
• Easily toggle between 3 keymap states
• Razer software provides:
• Personalization of multiple player profiles
• Razer Synapse™ onboard memory enables plug-and-play versatility with no additional software installation
• Unparalleled customization tools for intuitive setup and performance

It sure is pretty!

credit: Belkin