EA To Cease Madden 2009 PC Release

While not a sign of PC gaming as a whole, the news that EA is pulling Madden 2009 out of the PC is big news regardless. If I had to guess the reason, I would assume it to be that sport games on the PC tend to suck, and from my experience, the graphics, despite being on a fast computer, don't compare to a console. It's obvious where more development time goes. Let's face it... even Need for Speed pales in comparison on the PC when compared to a console.

For those of you royally pissed, Peter Moore has some not-so-soothing words, "The PC presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category, particularly because so many of you all are playing your favorite sports games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii."

Though not direct about an answer, the PC clearly sells far less copies of a game than the consoles do. I'd be willing to bet that even the Wii would sell more copies of a title than the PC would, but I could very well be jumping to the wrong conclusions. But, it has to be something if EA is to pull a series off a platform entirely, especially considering that they tend to release countless copies of their other games on all other platforms.

The news doesn't seem to be sitting well with PC-only Madden players, who suggest that EA Sports "EAT A ***" though we're not sure what that means. Another commenter asks "WFT Peter? NO PC??", suggesting that Peter "needs grow some balls instead of hair!" which certainly gives us a lot to think about.

Source: Kotaku

PS3 Dualshock 3 Gamepad En Route... Finally!

It feels like forever that PS3 gamers have been waiting to get their rumble on... because well, it almost has been. The PS3 launched in November 2006, which means that we waited a long SIXaxisTEEN months to see this thing hit the street! What was the hold up? Who knows... maybe they had a billion SIXAXIS gamepads to sell off first?

The good news in all of this, besides the rumble of course, is that the DUALSHOCK 3 (caps are theirs) retains the SIXAXIS (caps are theirs) capabilities, which means that the original SIXAXIS GAMEPAD WILL BE DISCONTINUED SOON (caps mine out of spite).

These new gamepads are being sent out to retailers right NOW, and can be had for the same price that the original was priced at, $54.99USD. The entire list of supported rumble games is listed through the link below, with some, such as MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man, requiring a quick download prior to the feature being enabled.

Just to give you a small refresher course, the DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller includes pressure sensors that rumble with each action. SIXAXIS technology is also included, so you can still use motion control, and the controller features Bluetooth technology for wireless gameplay. You can pick it up at any of the major retailers and at a cost $54.99 MSRP.

Source: Playstation Blog

Survey Contest E-mail Clarification

I made a post the other day that explained that those who signed up during March for our contest and did not receive a confirmation e-mail, would receive one in the coming days. I have to apologize, because it seems I confused a lot of people with my wording.

I have received numerous e-mails from those who did fill out the survey, but I'm just looking to hear from people (not right now, but tomorrow perhaps) if you did NOT receive a confirmation e-mail during March, even though you signed up for the contest. If you filled out the survey, you are entered, so do not worry.

There was a little delay in getting these fresh e-mails out, but it should be soon. I'll extend the deadline accordingly, but we will most definitely announce the winner next week at some point. I am awaiting ONE last part for the PC, which should be here this week. Once it is, I'll build the beast and post a few pictures before we choose a winner and send it out. Thanks for the patience all!

But while you are waiting, how about checking out our brand-new contest for April, where you could win some wicked NCsoft swag?! Check it out here!

Intel Demos 3.2GHz Nehalem at Shanghai IDF

The Intel Developer Forum is the place to be to get sneak-peeks of what Intel has up their sleeves, but that's a given. IDF in Shanghai is taking place right now, and Intel has wasted no time in breaking out the Nehalem and impressive specs.

The demo chip was running at 3.2GHz, on par with the current QX9770 and QX9775 processors, but it's uncertain whether it will be a launch frequency or not. However, Intel does release higher-clocked products with any new launch, so if such high clocks on the new architecture are stable, then it might very well be 3.2GHz that we see.

Unsure what Nehalem even is? Then you need to check out our reports from a few weeks back, where we explained that architecture along with Dunnington, Tukwila and others. With Nehalem at the stage it is now, I cannot wait to see what's unveiled at the next IDF in August.

The first available Nehalem processors will be built on the existing 45nm manufacturing process, will incorporate SSE4 instructions, and will feature four fully integrated cores. Each core will have its own dedicated 256KB L2 cache and each core will share an 8MB of L3 cache pool. The bulk of these 731 million transistor processors are dedicated to cache.

Source: DailyTech

The D-SLR That Requires a Signed EULA

I admit I've had to sign some odd NDA's and EULA's in the past in order to acquire either a piece of hardware or software under embargo, but never, not once, have I been asked to sign a EULA for purchasing a product on a public e-tailer. BoingBoing has posted news about B&H Photo, a popular photography e-tailer, that requires a EULA to be signed prior to being able to purchase a Fujifilm IS-1 camera.

You are at a loss for words... admit it. So was I when I first read it. But some of the questions themselves begin to make you really think. "Is End User purchasing a Fujifilm Infrared or Ultraviolet Sensitive Digital Camera for a legitimate business purpose?" What? Does this camera have the ability to see through clothes or something?

Well, as it turns out, it IS a special camera, in that it's designed for use with law enforcement due to it's Infra-Red capabilities. A filter can be added to have it act as a normal camera, however. So, if you want a special camera none of your friends will have, get that pen out.

"I'm in the market for a digital SLR, and found something rather disturbing. B&H Photo says that to purchase a Fujifilm IS-1 camera, you must fill out an end user license agreement. Even weirder is the EULA itself: It asks what 'legitimate business purpose' (their words, not mine) the camera will be put to.

Source: BoingBoing

April 3rd Tech Roundup

Displays & Video Cards
• EVGA e-GeForce 9800GTX 512MB - GamePyre
• Samsung Syncmaster 743B 17-inch LCD Display - PC Stats
• XFX GeForce 9800GTX - Motherboards.org

Memory & Storage
• Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB PC2-8500 1066Mhz - TweakNews
• OCZ PC3-10666 ReaperX 4GB - 3D Gameman

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Head-Direct RE2 Earphones - techPowerUp!
• Logitech Harmony One Remote - Gaming Nexus

Cooling
• ASUS Triton 77 CPU Cooler - Hardware Canucks
• Mega 9-way VGA Cooler Roundup - TweakTown
• Noctua NF-B9 92mm Case Fan - Red and Blackness
• Xigmatek XP-S964 & HDT-S1283 Direct Touch Heatpipe Cooler - Metku

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Apevia X-QBOII Micro-ATX Case - OCIA
• Apevia Warlock 750 Watt Power Supply - Pro-Clockers
• Cooler Master Centurion 590 - Elite Bastards
• Icy Box NAS Enclosure - Techware Labs
• In Win B2 Stealth Bombe Case - Overclockers Club
• Tagan BZ900 900W PSU - Overclockers Online

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Helio Mysto - Digital Trends
• MSI GX600 Performance Laptop - Madshrimps
• Phoronix Releases Linux Benchmarking Test Suite - Phoronix