Accessories For Your Nintendo

Microsoft, Apple, Sony, Nintendo and OnLive are the large players in the next-gen gaming war, and we are purposely calling it a “gaming war” as opposed to a “console war” because it’s moved well beyond the lounge. And, it’s more complicated than ever before.

Consoles are hardly consoles anymore; they're more like set-top boxes that try to be the center piece of your home’s theater. Samsung and Apple smartphones pair up with TV sets and set-top boxes to act as controllers for games that run on the phones themselves. Some of these platforms can connect to OnLive, giving game players access to Computer games on smartphones, tablets and PCs at home or on the go. And before all this happened, Nintendo helped to catalyze the fondness for casual gaming (that Apple has harnessed as a cash monster) with the Nintendo Wii and the DS. Casual gaming has never been as successful as it is now.

Now, it’s insufficient for a company to build a console with the best hardware available, and then simply supply that console with quality titles. That was the original formula for success, and it worked throughout the 80s, 90s, and 00s. But this is a new day, and everyone's making it tougher for everyone else to play.

As we discussed before, Apple has harnessed as a cash cow the popularity of casual gaming, a market category invented and improved on by Nintendo. Apple games can run on iOS devices, which can wirelessly connect to the Apple TV, making it sort of Apple’s faux console. But Nintendo seems prepared to resume the successful formula of the Wii because it’s working well. Microsoft spotted this, and it’s prepared to unleash the Xbox Lite by the end of 2013. It’s supposed to be a set-top box with puny specs that may sell media, games and programmes to users, and it'll be a direct rival to the Apple TV and the Nintendo Wii.

And then there’s Sony. This company owns movie, music game and studios, so it can develop and publish fine quality software, hardware, media, and games in house that it sells on smartphones, tablets, PCs and consoles that it builds in house. From end to end, Sony can ensure a high-quality experience for the end user. No other company produces literally everything in house, and that puts it in a unique position against its competitors.

Naturally, it will probably be Apple that comes out on top of all of these companies. It is now considered the largest company in the world , so it can doubtless buy OnLive and maybe even Nintendo if it wanted.

Fausto Mendez is the editor of ReleaseDates.co, a free website and email-subscription service that updates its readers only about the devices, video games and brands they want.

It may not be the console of your dreams and it won't be the subsequent next-gen console you buy, but video-gaming consoles of the future are going to be less like today’s hulking, strong boxes. The gaming service OnLive is at the center of this revolution, and the company is breaking new ground with its streaming services.

Unlike modern consoles, such as the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 360, OnLive’s main hardware exists at a server farm far away from the ultimate user. After you install the firm's app on your platform of choice , OnLive will stream a live, high-quality, low-latency feed of the game straight to you. On the user’s end, the device is simply showing this video feed, and any input by the user is sent back to the company's poweful server farm, which processes the game instead of the user’s gadget.

Though the user may feel a bit like he’s playing the game on his PC, tablet or smartphone, OnLive is handling all of the heavy lifting. This has several clear and less-obvious benefits. All a user desires is a trustworthy, fast information connection for a great technology experience. The capability of the user’s hardware to deal with the game itself is unimportant. Additionally, the company may upgrade the hardware that powers its games with bothering the user. A less-obvious benefit is that the user never needs to transfer game-progress data between devices.

Already, you should purchase an OnLive game machine. GameStop, Microsoft, Amazon and others are halfway there with online stores that feature downloadable games. That is great, but we think this Sony will get really interesting when the big players jump all the way in. Actually, Nintendo, Apple, technology and perhaps even gaming can harness this future to provide its shopper base with an amazing console experience. Perhaps its only a matter of time till someone buys OnLive to inject it with cash and even better talent.

In the console, the low price of entry to cloud-based gamings will cut back the costs of “next-generation” consoles to bring fine quality gaming to anybody with an LCD screen and a fair web connection.

Fausto Mendez is the editor of ReleaseDates.co, a free website and email-subscription service that updates its readers only about the gizmos, video gamesand brands they need.

The recent and remarkable success of iOS as a mobile operating system has turned Apple into the biggest company in the world, placing it in a position its competitors have only dreamt about. Now, Apple has the resources, not only the talent, to turn iOS into the biggest video-gaming platform on the planet and the best part is that the company does not need to push experimental, new devices like the relatively unsuccessful Nintendo 3DS to make sure it happens. To the dismay of Sony and Nintendo, the take over is already happening because Apple’s hardware is in your pocket or bag (or perhaps your friend’s pocket or bag). That seems to be the biggest problem console manufacturers must overcome.

Oddly enough, the same factors that made a contribution to the success of iOS as a gaming plaform are the same factors that contributed to Windows’s success as a gaming platform. Windows and iOS are exceptionally handy to folks from all kinds of life, so tons of people use them. Ridiculous amounts of people utilize them, though it wasn't initially for the games. Even now, folks do not buy iPhones and iPads for gaming, but the majority of people with these devices play games on them.

But now that these devices are in everyone's hands, why not make some great games for it too? Do that, and suddenly you have the biggest, most successful mobile gaming platform worldwide. The largest hurdle Sony and Nintendo now face is the typical person's incapacity to see the value of a dedicated, mobile-gaming console when a smartphone or tablet can serve.

Of course, touchscreen, button-less devices aren't the best hardware for most games, and nothing tops a good-ol’-fashioned gamepad. For those people, arcade sticks, mini arcade cabinets and wireless controllers are available for iOS and even Android, and you can select from several options, styles and sizes. For everyone else, the choice between dropping another $200+ on hardware or learning to to get decent with touchscreen controls is an obvious one. Almost everyone would rather put in the additional work with a touchscreen display. Finally, there’s nothing like mirroring your game on an HDTV wirelessly over AirPlay.

Nintendo and Sony are now off balance. iOS permeates each sub-culture and profession in most places around the globe, and Apple has the currency stacks to repay developers for top-shelf gaming titles. Now, if only Apple would spend some time on developing OS X’s gaming library, I’d be complete. I need some Star Wars: the Old Republic in my life.

Fausto Mendez is the editor of ReleaseDates.co, a free web site and subscription service that updates its readers only about the devices and brands they wish to know about.

As always, CES is a big score this year, but it isn't invariably clear what companies and products will make it a big thing. It's not difficult to get lost in all the hustle, bustle and hype, and there’s definitely more than any individual can hope to experience. So we are hoping to ease your stress by sharing what we’ll look forward to at this year’s CES in lovely Vegas. Of course, we'll be there to bring you the latest updates about the electronics you covet.

As usual, the gadgets we’ll seek out have a tendency to be or are related to smartphones, cameras and home-based theatre gear, although not each company will tow along the large guns in every category. Still, there are some great products that we look forward to experiencing and studying about. In a few cases, the world will lay eyes on a number of these poorly kept techniquesimminent products for the first time.

Nokia: The company is expected to show off its latest and greatest Windows Telephone hardware. Though it only exists in the form of rumours and leaks, the 4G Nokia Ace is predicted to put in an appearance, and it could be offered by AT&T and/or T-Mobile. We may also see official Lumia 800 models for the US with added LTE connectivity. We are expecting to see an equal share of Nokia feature/dumb telephones too.

Nikon: The successor to the D3 DSLR, known on the streets as the D4, should debut. Nikon is rather good at keeping its techniques under wraps, so it’s hard to figure out the company’s plans for CES. Regardless of whether we do not see the D4, Nikon should be a massive player this year with a few of the company’s large projects rumored to launch soon.

Fujifilm: The camera community eagerly awaits the arrival of Fujifilm’s mirrorless camera, and the company would be run by fools if it didnt ‘ show off a working prototype at the show. It may launch in the Spring if rumors turn out to be true.

Razer: At the previous CES, the organization's Switchblade concept laptop PC turned heads and made the front page because of its unique and dynamic keyboard. At this year’s CES, the company is expected to show off the Razer Blade gaming laptop computer, a larger device that is built round the technologies developed for the switchblade, and gameplayers around the world continue to anticipate its release since Razer delayed the release until Jan.

Samsung: The successor to the Universe Note’s throne may put in an appearance, and we could also see a US variation of the original Universe Note with added LTE connectivity. We doubt the Galaxy S III will show up, but we hope we're wrong.

LG: The company should show off its latest and greatest smartphones, but , truthfully it’s latest offerings leave us yawning. On the home-based cinema front, LG isn't lagging. The company is also expected to debut its 55-inch, ultra-thin HDTV with an infinite contrast ratio. That is the biggest OLED HDTV ever shown off in public.

Sony Ericsson: This company has several highly-anticipated products in the works for US residents, and CES 2012 is the best time of the year to show off those products to Americans. We would be surprised if the company failed to make a big statement this year.

Nintendo: Though working prototypes of the Wii U have already received exposure to the public, Nintendo will most likely have a few more on display at CES 2012 for enthusiastic gamers to check. We will not learn anything new about it, but we may find out about new games and services that will launch with the console.

Obviously, there’s a lot of stuff at CES 2012 to anticipate. There's no way we can cover it all here, and there’s probably a lot of stuff that will debut to take the show too. We'll keep you updated, so stay tuned.

Fausto Mendez investigates the release dates and specs of unreleased products for ReleaseDates.co, where you can subscribe to customized e-mail campaigns only about the upcoming gadgets you crave.