On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

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Wii U GamePad Mod PC

The Wii U is in line for its time in the hacker spotlight, with the Wii U GamePad hacked to work as a simple PC controller. The modder, Chris Manning, learned the GamePad's input by connecting the Wii U browser to a site running a custom script. He was then able to map the GamePad inputs to keyboard functions. While it doesn't support touch screen at the moment, Manning told Kotaku that he plans to integrate it in a future update, as well as attempt to crack GamePad streaming. Check out the video below to see how it works, and then grab the files to perform the mod yourself.

Read More | Kotaku

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Microsoft Kinect allows you to maneuver your character and navigate compatible games simply by using hand gestures and body movements – at least that’s how Microsoft intended it to be. Researcher Evan Suma and his team at University of Southern California, have found a way to use Kinect is a somewhat unusual way. OpenNI, hacked programs (FAAST), and some tech voodoo, have allowed this team of masterminds to plug in Kinect to their computer’s USB port, and use it to play World of Warcraft. The software translates real-world gestures into in-game commands that allows for the player to level-grind with their fists.

Click to continue reading Kinect Hack Turns World of Warcraft Into Full-Body Grind

Read More | Game Life

During the Chaos Communication Conference, a group of hackers claimed that they discovered the Sony Playstation 3 private key, which the device uses to verify code and run its DRM system, preventing users from running games that hasn't been approved by Sony. In a long talk, they described the process of how the system works, and what it took to break it down. Consoles running the latest firmware are currently unable to run homebrew games, but if the claims are true, this would give any user complete control over their system. While it doesn't mean much for the average user right now, it could lead to the ability to run Linux, or any other software on the console. In a nutshell, it seems the code which gives the device random numbers to generate the crypto needed, instead returns a predictable number, as illustrated above. Hit the jump for videos of the talk.

Click to continue reading Hackers claim to have jailbroken the PS3


Latest Gear Live Videos

Since Kinect came out there have been some pretty interesting hacks of the technology. The latest one is a retro reprogramming that allows “Yankeyan” to control NES classic Super Mario Bros. using his body as the controller.

“I programmed it to recognize my motions and passed the virtual button presses to the NES emulator," says Yankeyan. "I could have placed a simulated keypad right in front of me that I can press with my hands, but I thought full body gestures were more in the spirit of Kinect. Of course, Mario isn't designed to be played like this, so this is really really hard."

If you listen closely you can hear the sound of Shigeru Miyamoto’s Wii controller hitting the floor. 

Read More | Game Informer via Youtube


The guys over at Machinima have already found a frightening glitch in the armor lock mod. But beware, learning this ability is something that you can never take back from your memory!



Doom was one of the original first person shooters to drive gamers wild, but it hasn’t held up well over the years. Specifically, the weapons became outdated as games like Halo and Modern Warfare changed the face of first person shooters forever. However, thanks to a recent mod, Doom now sports Modern Warfare 2 weapons, sound effects, and even the ability to quickly strike with your trusty combat knife. If you want to relive your Doom days, but can’t give up the guns of MW2, then download this mod.

Read More | Doom Modern Warfare mod

R4 CardIn an attempt to thwart rampant piracy of their line of video games, Nintendo has been combating the use of the R4 card and other methods of pirating for years. Finally, has seen a tremendous victory come about in the form of the banning of R4 cards in the United Kingdom.

Previously, the R4 card was used (or supposed to used at least) to install homebrew games that indie developers would cook up for the DS. However, the R4 could also be loaded with easily accessible retail versions of Nintendo DS titles from major developers posted online. This posed a big problem to not only Nintendo, but to the developers who saw a decline in their sales. With digital downloads of their games available online, and easily transferable to one of these R4 cards, it seemed that their games didn’t stand a chance at retail. Why purchase something when you can get it for free?

In light of this misuse of R4 cards, a UK court has ruled in favor of Nintendo, making the R4 card illegal in the UK. While this comes as a huge victory to Nintendo, we must shed a tear for the indie homebrew developers who actually used the R4 cards for its intended purpose.

Nintendo had this to say:

“In the UK alone, there have been over 100,000 game copying devices seized since 2009. Nintendo initiates these actions not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of over 1,400 video game development companies that depend on legitimate sales of games for their survival.”

Read More | MCV UK

When Nintendo announced the initially, one of the large collective groans we heard from gamers was in regards to the lack of high definition output. Well, here are a few images to make you lust for that HD Wii even more. The images in our Super Mario Galaxy HD gallery are taken from a Wii emulator that is capable of outputting 720p video.  The images look great and all, but I guess Nintendo knows what’s best for us.

Read More | NeoGAF

Gallery:


Portable Xbox 360 Ben Heck

Just leave it to Ben Heck to continually amaze us with how he can take a modern-day game console like the , and turn it into an amazingly delicious portable system. Check out the stats of his fifth revision of his portable Xbox 360:

  • Built-in Ethernet port, finally.
  • Built-in WiFi adapter, as usual.
  • Digital pushbutton volume control rather than a clunky knob. I used a different audio amp as well, and it sounds a lot better.
  • Flush-mount DVD door and side panels (such as the memory card slots)
  • IR sensor for the remote control.
  • Two user USB ports.
  • More air holes!
  • Jasper motherboard.

Yeah, who wouldn’t want one of these? You throw that into a suitcase, surrounded by clothes, and you are ready to travel. Check out a video of the awesome contraption after the jump.

Click to continue reading Latest Xbox 360 Portable from Ben Heck

Read More | Benheck

Evil Controllers Xbox 360

I am usually not one to go for third-party controllers. It is all about familiarity and once I am accustomed to something – I don’t want it to be changed.  Because of this, I was skeptical at first as I walked by the Evil Controllers booth at ; but Gears of War 2 was the game they were using to demo the game. How could I resist?

The controllers are a base model of the rapid fire controllers for the . The mod is operated by pressing and holding the modded button on the underside of the controller. 

The analog sticks or “Evil Sticks” feel incredibly smooth and can feel how this would improve your gameplay in First-Person Shooter game. Evil controllers also give you the option to customize the controller lights to blue or red, if you really want to fancy it up.

Although pricey, they are an upgrade to a official Xbox 360 controller.  If you are serious about your shooters, I would recommend giving these controllers a try. Evil Controllers run from $109.99-$169.99 and you can buy the “Evil Sticks” alone for $69.99.


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