The Verge - The best gaming of CES 2013

Snakebyte says its Unu Android console is more appealing than Nvidia's 'niche' Project Shield

2013-01-09T19:09:21Z

Peripheral manufacturer Snakebyte is showing off its take on an Android-powered portable console, the Unu. Unlike Nvidia's Project Shield and Archos' GamePad, the Unu doesn't have physical controls mounted onto the device, instead it's going to be a four-piece solution that Snakebyte says will replace your tablet, portable console, and media streamer. For "around $199-$249," you'll get an Android tablet, a Bluetooth gamepad, a TV dock, and a gesture remote.

Included software will let you map touchscreen points to a wireless controller

Unfortunately, we'll have to take Unu's word for that: the company isn't ready to show off any final hardware, and has non-functioning prototypes on display as well as a nondescript Android tablet that...

The Caliber Advantage is the first real iPhone gaming controller

2013-01-09T05:00:47Z

No matter how many million first person shooters developers crank out for iOS, the platform’s touch-based controls mean the games will never control as well as their console counterparts. Here at CES, mobile accessory maker Zagg is unveiling the best-looking solution to the problem we’ve seen so far — the Caliber Advantage. Its dual analog sticks give gamers the same kind of precision as something like the PlayStation Vita or 3DS. And to get around the lack of content — iOS games don’t natively support anything other than touch input — Zagg is working together with Epic Games to add support for the controller in Unreal Engine 3-based iOS games. In the first half of this year, for $69.99, iOS gamers will get the closest yet to...

Valve confirms it's building a Linux-based Steam Box that will act as a local gaming server for all your screens

2013-01-08T23:38:14Z

In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Valve CEO Gabe Newell shed light on the company's hardware plans, confirming that its own "Steam Box" will be based on Linux OS. The Steam Box has mostly been sheathed in rumor over the past year, but we've learned a number of interesting details about the planned device -- perhaps most importantly, the Steam Box won't just be a locked-down PC console designed to be used solely in the living room. "The Steam Box will also be a server," Newell says, "so you could have one PC and eight televisions and eight controllers."

Newell also confirmed some of the company's plans for innovative controller inputs; something Valve has already said it's working on. Newell says he's most excited about biometric...

Exclusive interview: Valve's Gabe Newell on Steam Box, biometrics, and the future of gaming

2013-01-08T23:10:15Z

By T.C. Sottek and Tom Warren

We just sat down for a rare and wide-ranging interview with Valve CEO Gabe Newell, who opened up to The Verge with details about the company's upcoming "Steam Box" gaming hardware, the future of the Steam digital distribution platform, and even gaming itself. For starters, Valve isn't just attacking the living room; the Steam Box will be designed to work across multiple screens in the home using networking standards like Miracast, ideally allowing users to effortlessly transition between rooms and monitors to enjoy gaming and other content. But Valve's goal isn't just to put a box into everyone's living room, it's to help build an ecosystem of content developers — including the gamers themselves.

The...

The Archos GamePad: watch out, Project Shield

2013-01-08T22:56:38Z

Nvidia surprised everyone with the ambitious Project Shield, but Archos already has its own riff off the idea on the market. It’s part tablet and part controller that runs mostly stock Android 4.1 on a 7-inch 1024 x 600 screen. The twist is that GamePad has built in a controller emulator that allows onscreen buttons to the physical controls. We’d like to say it works without any issues, but the various demo units that we tried all seemed to have their own individual problems. Buttons failed to map correctly in certain games, and we had several crashes with Dead Trigger when trying to navigate around the terrain.

Valve's Steam Box gets big push at CES as Gabe Newell meets with major hardware partners

2013-01-08T19:34:53Z

We just stopped by Valve's small booth at CES, and the company has confirmed to The Verge that it is meeting with a number of hardware and software partners to push forward with its plans to release its own console-like PC for the living room. The company isn't showing off much to the press this year, but we managed to take a look at some prototype hardware Valve has sitting out, and it's not all too surprising; right now the Steam Box looks like a small-chassis PC. Valve representative Tom Giardino says that the company came to CES to meet specifically with hardware partners, and it has roughly 15 to 20 lined up — while he couldn't name specifics, he says we "wouldn't be surprised" with anybody on the list.

Valve confirmed plans to...

We try Intel's Perceptual Computing, play 'Portal 2' with a wave of the hand and reach into a computer screen

2013-01-08T19:10:16Z

Intel's "perceptual computing" initiative might still be a loose collection of motion control and voice recognition technologies right now, but that doesn't mean they aren't impressive feats: We just tried a few computers equipped with a Kinect-like 3D camera that let us play video games merely by waving a hand, and let us digitally reach right into the screen. It's pretty simple, really: Intel's tracking the motion of your fingers with an accuracy now that can scan each and every joint, then recreate that motion in real time.

In Portal 2, that means that you can just reach out and grab a cube, and rotate it in 3D space just by rotating your hand the slightest amount. When you push your hand towards the screen, the cube moves deeper...

Razer Edge: hands-on with Windows 8's most dockable tablet

2013-01-08T18:59:38Z

Nvidia's not the only company bringing unconventional gaming hardware to CES this year — PC peripheral maker Razer is out in force with its new Windows 8 tablet, dubbed the Razer Edge. Besides running a proper x86 Intel Ivy Bridge processor and the full, non-RT Windows 8 experience, this tablet differs from the legion of other Winslates thanks to Razer's trifecta of accompanying hardware docks. One is a pretty standard docking station, another is a thick and chunky detachable keyboard with integrated battery, and the third, most striking one, is a two-handed gamepad controller that wraps around the Edge. It too has an added battery cell to extend the device's endurance, and it too is thick and weighty.