Microsoft Hardware’s Got Game: SideWinder Line Is Back With a Mouse That Defines Customized Gaming Control

SideWinder Mouse is group’s first gaming mouse built in-house from the ground up.
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LEIPZIG, Germany, Aug. 22, 2007 Today at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, Microsoft Hardware debuts the revival of its SideWinder™ line with its first gaming mouse built from the ground up — a product that transcends the mouse category to become a customizable gaming system.


The new Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse marks the return of the popular SideWinder line of gaming peripherals, established in 1995.
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The Microsoft® SideWinder Mouse was created to meets gamers’ individual needs, providing custom tuning tools and a design for ultimate handling. The first mouse to wear the coveted SideWinder name, this top-of-the-line gaming machine sets itself apart from the competition with never-before-seen features that gamers want, uncovered during worldwide research. Features include one-touch access to Windows Vista® Games Explorer, Quick Turn — a performance-enhancing macro that lets users check their perimeter from wherever they are in-game — the first-ever LCD on a gaming mouse, and a cable anchor that doubles as an accessories storage box.

“We’re taking gaming mice to a new level with a mouse created in direct response to gamer feedback from all over the world; it offers superior customization and performance handling,” said Bill Jukes, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware. “We found that gamers are a lot like performance car enthusiasts. They like to tweak and tune their mouse to get it just right, and today we are giving them the tools to create a personalized experience that lets them focus on what’s important: being at the top of their game.”

The SideWinder Mouse marks the return of the popular SideWinder line of gaming peripherals, established in 1995 and known for its top-notch PC gaming peripherals, including game pads, joysticks and steering wheels. The SideWinder Mouse adds to the line of PC gaming products and reinforces Microsoft Corp.’s continued commitment to PC gamers.

Nearly 5,000 Mice in One

The SideWinder Mouse lets gamers create an individual gaming system with tuning options that allow them to personalize their SideWinder Mouse, including an adjustable weight tray, changeable mice feet with three materials for glide preference, DPI control and new software features. The SideWinder Mouse lets gamers record their own macros by tying a sequence of actions into one press of a button. With all the features in this new mouse, gamers can transform their mouse into nearly 5,000 different mice from a single system.

These new features allow gamers to do the following:

• Turn on a dime.The new Quick Turn feature — a performance-enhancing macro — is built right into the software and lets users check their perimeter at any angle from wherever they are in the game with the click of a button.

• Choose the perfect weight. The SideWinder Mouse has a weight cartridge system and comes with four weights (up to 30 grams) so gamers can customize the weight of the mouse to their preference.

• Choose from three sets of feet to match gameplay preference.The SideWinder Mouse ships with three sets of feet, offering varied levels of glide depending on personal preference and the surface used.

• Instantly switch between DPI settings. A 2,000-DPI laser engine delivers super-fast response time, and three DPI switches behind the scroll wheel allow gamers to toggle between low-, medium- and high-sensitivity settings — in-game, at any time.


The First Gaming Mouse System

The SideWinder Mouse is more than a gaming mouse — it’s a gaming system. To complement the customizable options, this mouse has the following three innovative features to make it the ultimate gaming package:

• LCD. With the first LCD on a gaming mouse, gamers can easily keep track of key gaming actions — including their DPI and steps for recording macros — without being distracted from the game.

• Cable management system. The unique cable management system offers the feel of a wireless mouse with the connection speed of a wired mouse by holding the extra cable and preventing it from getting caught on other items on the desk. The cable management system doubles as a storage compartment for extra weights and feet.

• Quick-Launch. The new Quick-Launch button demonstrates the exceptional way in which Microsoft ties hardware and software together. When the Quick-Launch button is pressed from within Windows Vista, it will bring up the Windows Vista Games Explorer so gamers can instantly see the games available in their PC’s game library.


“Great games on Windows® deserve great controllers, and the new Sidewinder Mouse delivers,” said Kevin Unangst, director of Games for Windows at Microsoft. “The SideWinder Mouse is an ideal companion for every game, from your favorite PC classics to the upcoming releases ‘Crysis,’ ‘Hellgate: London,’ ‘World in Conflict’ and more.”

Designed for Performance Handling

The SideWinder Mouse also features a unique design with key ergonomic elements designed to allow gamers hours of comfortable play. Features include the following:

• Two vertical side buttons. This side placement allows gamers to feel exactly which button they’re pressing, thereby reducing the risk of executing the wrong command midgame.

• A wide, detented metal scroll wheel. The wheel design helps gamers feel each movement as they scroll, and the wide metal finish adds elegance and control to the mouse.

• Balanced weight.Designed for quick, balanced, comfortable precision gaming action and painted black with a crimson-red stripe, the SideWinder Mouse has gamers in mind from top to bottom.


Pricing and Availability

Microsoft SideWinder Mouse will be widely available in October 2007 for an estimated retail price of $79.95 (U.S.).* The SideWinder Mouse is now available for special pre-sale on Amazon.com and will ship in October when the product is widely released. More information about the Microsoft SideWinder Mouse can be found on http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/sidewinder and http://www.siteofchampions.com.

About Microsoft Hardware

For 25 years, the Hardware group has employed innovative engineering, cutting-edge industrial design and extensive usability testing to create products of exceptional quality and durability that enhance the software experience and strengthen the connection between consumers and their PC. Microsoft Hardware leads the industry in ergonomic engineering, industrial design, and hardware/software compatibility, offering consumers an easier, more convenient and more enjoyable computing experience. Microsoft IntelliMouse® Explorer, which was launched in 1999, earned a place on PCWorld.com’s December 2005 list of “The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years” as the first mainstream optical mouse that “brought gunk-free pointing devices” to a broad consumer base. More information about the Hardware group is available at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Price is U.S. estimated retail price. Actual retail price may vary.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

The greatest game console of all time?

Jan 28 2008

Will Greenwald 12 comments



A few days ago, blogger Don Reisinger made the bold declaration that the Super Nintendo was the greatest video game system of all time. The SNES was indeed a great console with lots of great games, but it's still a leap to call it the greatest system ever made. In an industry that's over 30 years old, that's seen dozens upon dozens of home video game systems, simply calling out Nintendo's second console as the best ever seems simplistic.

To a certain extent, though, Don is right. The Super Nintendo could be considered the greatest console of all time. It presented a huge leap in technology from the NES, and its superlative selection of great games make it a system I'd be proud to keep next to my TV to this day. Some of my fondest young gaming memories revolve around the SNES and the countless hours I spent in front of it. Many of my favorite games are SNES titles, and they're still great to play today (thank you, Virtual Console, since my original SNES is long gone).

The Super Nintendo isn't the only choice, though. It might not even be the best choice for best console. The SNES took a huge leap forward from the NES, but it went in the same direction as the NES took from the Atari. It did everything the NES did, and it did a far better job of it, but it didn't really offer much else. A look at some of the greatest games of the system offer enough proof of that: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mega Man X, and Final Fantasy VI were all sequels. They're all fantastic games, but they owe everything to the original NES games: Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy.

Several other consoles could also be called the greatest gaming system. They all offer a great advancement from the previous generation, they all feature massive libraries of great games, and they all have a shot at beating the Super Nintendo for the superlative title.

Nintendo Entertainment System: Brought gaming back from the brink

The NES helped start it all, and pulled North America back from the brink after the console gaming crash. The home video game system market almost died in 1983 and 1984, when the field became flooded with everything from Atari to Colecovision to Intellivision to Vectrex to the Bally Astrocade. There were practically more systems on the market than decent games to play with them, and people weren't biting. The Nintendo Entertainment System helped revitalize the industry when it came out in the U.S. in late 1985.

Of course, Nintendo's first home system wasn't great simply because what it did to the market. The 8-bit console found dozens of great games, from franchise firsts like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda, to great third-party titles like Mega Man, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy, to classic sports games like Super Tecmo Bowl, Super Dodgeball, and Blades of Steel. The millions of grown-up gamers who helped make the game industry so successful owe much of their childhood memories to time spent on Nintendo's 8-bit console.

The case against: The NES' games haven't aged very well. While SNES titles like Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past are still a blast to play, the original Final Fantasy,, Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda can't readily compare. They score big on the nostalgia factor, but the SNES offers broader, deeper, prettier games that feature all the best parts of the NES titles without the ugliness or simplicity. It doesn't help that for every great game on the NES, there were easily 10 horrible pieces of shovelware pushed out.

Great games: Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Super Dodgeball, Duck Hunt, StarTropics, Ducktales, Final Fantasy

Sony PlayStation: Gaming made for grown-ups

If you had an NES in your childhood living room, you probably had a PlayStation in your college dorm room. While the NES helped make home video games popular again, the PlayStation helped legitimize the industry as a form of entertainment for adults, as well as kids. Titles like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, and Metal Gear Solid tied great graphics with surprisingly mature and deep storytelling to present gaming experiences that adults could proudly play.

The PlayStation really gave developers the opportunity to actually show gamers the story, not just tell them. The system's combination of optical storage and 3D graphics let games use rendered cut scenes, voice acting, and even video footage to tell their stories. Previous systems like the SNES and NES offered dramatic storytelling at times (like the excellent Final Fantasy 7), and systems like the Phillips CD-i and Sega Saturn used optical discs to pack movies and sound into games, but the PlayStation was the first system to really take advantage of both to inject much-needed maturity into an industry that was still seen as primarily for young children.

The case against: Like the NES, the PlayStation suffered from a deluge of shovelware that outnumbered its decent games. Like the SNES, most of the great games on the PlayStation were retreads and sequels of older systems' games. Many of the games, like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7, took their series in some great new directions, but they still didn't offer much new besides prettier graphics and deeper stories.

Great games: Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Silent Hill, Tekken 3, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears

Microsoft Xbox 360: Putting it all online

Though it's horribly premature to consider any competitor in the current console war the "best game system ever," the Xbox 360 still deserves some consideration. Microsoft's second game system has done the best job so far of connecting a home console to the Internet and bringing the entire experience together with ease and (relative) stability. After a successful test run on the original Xbox, Xbox Live has bloomed into a full-featured online service. Xbox Live Arcade offers a surprisingly large library of fun, downloadable games, from classic titles (like the aforementioned PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) to esoteric board games (like Catan and Carcassonne).

While online competition was once the sole purveyance of PCs, the Xbox 360 and the for-pay Xbox Live Gold service has made everything from casual death matches to sports tournaments easy to set up and execute. Previous systems, like the Sega Dreamcast, the PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox, laid the groundwork for online console play, but the Xbox 360 managed to execute it the most successfully. Voice and text chat both in and out of games, easy communication between friends enjoying different games, and a buddy list you can view and edit over the Web make the system one of the easiest to take online.

Of course, the other two consoles have made available both downloadable games and multiplayer, but they don't do it quite as well. The Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console lets gamers enjoy some of the best games from the NES, SNES, and other classic systems, and the PlayStation Network offers both new games and classic PlayStation titles for download. Unfortunately, the Wii's multiplayer component feels incomplete and awkward, and the PS3's library isn't as large and its interface isn't nearly as friendly as it could have been. The Xbox 360 simply manages to hit its mark and, like the NES and the PlayStation, take gaming forward.

The case against: The Xbox 360 has been plagued by quality control issues since it came out, and the red ring of death has caused a great deal of bitterness. The system itself has some great games, but it doesn't offer many truly remarkable exclusive titles; with a few exceptions, the Xbox 360's best games are either PC ports or cross-platform titles that are also on the PS3. In certain ways, the Xbox 360 is little more than a PC in a shiny console wrapper.

Great games: Mass Effect, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Gears of War, Puzzle Quest, Catan, Carcassonne, Alien Hominid HD

The final verdict: Depends on what you mean by "greatest"

Gaming is so subjective that there is no single "greatest" system ever. It might sound like a cop-out, but it really depends on what standards you're using and what generation you grew up in. I loved the SNES, and would personally call it the greatest system of all time. However, the NES and PlayStation could both easily be called the best, based on the standards they set and the advances they presented to gaming. Even the Xbox 360 could be called the best, if you consider how much it's done in terms of connecting console gamers to each other and making new games and content accessible.

In the end, it depends. My heart says SNES, my head says NES, and my hands say PlayStation (because nobody ever got Nintendo Thumb from the Dual Shock controller). Some of my best gaming memories were from the Super Nintendo, but I still have to give credit where credit is due.

Tips About PSP Video Formats And Folders

By Peter Ville

Before you can watch movie downloads on your PSP, you need to understand the folder structure, file types and naming conventions. The PSP does not play standard formats like wmv or quick time mov files. It uses MPEG-4 codecs, and its own file naming convention to complicate things a little. Once you understand these basics, you are well on the way to download any movie,music,games and more stuffs that you like on your PSP.
When the PSP was first launched it would only accept one format of movie - the MPEG-4 SP standard. With later updates however the superior AVC format (also known as H.264, or MPEG-4 Part 10) is also playable on the PSP.
MPEG-4 AAC files.
This is the default format initially used for the PSP. It is more properly known as MPEG -4 Simple Profile, or as MPEG -4 Part 2, and MPEG -4 AAC.
MPEG-4 AAC movies should be placed in the MP_ROOT100MNV01 folder and must be named with a M4V prefix followed by a random number, like this; M4V00001, M4V00002, M4V00003, etc., with an .MP4 extension.
When browsing your list of movies on your PSP, this type of file will be listed with a MPG4 tag.
MPEG-4 AVC files (Advanced Video Coding).
This format is playable on the PSP after firmware update 2.0 or later is installed. AVC files are also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or more commonly H.264.
AVC files are of superior quality to plain vanilla MPEG-4 files, and are in fact a variant of the exact same format used for the superb UMD Video disc movies.
MPEG-4 AVC movies should be put in the MP_ROOT100ANV01 folder and must be named with a MAQ prefix followed by a 5 digit random number like this, MAQ00001,MAQ00002,MAQ00003 etc., with an .MP4 extension.
When browsing your list of movies on your PSP, this type of file will be listed with an AVC tag.
Important Notes
Using lower case will mean your PSP will not recognise the file at all.Always remember which folder to put the movie type and what naming convention to use so you must name all files using CAPS only.
Have the latest updates of PSP movies, games and more downloads please visit:
Today's Hottest PSP Downloads
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Ville