stations

After an aborted launch last Halloween, the WikiPad Android gaming tablet looks ready to finally hit the market. So says WikiPad Inc., anyway, who this morning declared that its unique gaming device will finally hit shelves this coming Tuesday, June 11 (aka the first official day of E3).

This new WikiPad, you may recall, is a shrunken edition of the 10-inch behemoth (itself an update of the original 8-inch version) the company was showing off last year.

This new model, which came to light this past February, has the same core features as the 10-inch model -- removable standalone Android … Read more

The E3 gaming conference that kicks off later this month might turn out to be a boon for deal-seekers.

In a note to investors Monday, Wedbush analyst and long-time gaming industry evaluator Michael Pachter said that he expects Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all to announce console price cuts at the show. He believes that Sony and Microsoft will both cut prices on their PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, respectively, by "at least $50." Pachter also believes that the Wii will drop to $99 -- down from the $129.99 the company is currently selling some bundles for.

Perhaps … Read more

In sharp contrast to Microsoft's vision of the Xbox One as a device for everyone, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai is pitching his company's PlayStation 4 as a device first and foremost for gamers.

"The most important thing we need to make sure we do at least initially is that we all agree and understand that the PS4 is a great video game console that appeals to video gamers," Hirai said at the D11 conference Thursday, according to AllThingsD's Ina Fried. "If we miss that part than I don't think we get the initial … Read more

There are already a few ways you can make Lego robotics, including Lego Mindstorms -- the latest iteration of which includes support for smartphone control -- and, more recently, a Kickstarter campaign to get Raspberry Pi in on the action. The toy company, however, seems to be seeking new ways to make Lego robotics accessible.

The latest is a collaboration with Sony to create a range of bricks called "Toy Alive" aimed at keeping kids interested in Legos in the age of video games. Unveiled at an open house at the Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo, the bricks are embedded with various electronics that can be controlled with a PlayStation controller, including motors for mobility, actuators that can destroy Lego creations, and tiny cameras that can broadcast to tablets and smartphones. … Read more

When Sony has a secret up its sleeve, the company loves to tease. If you missed last week's video enigma, Sony revealed very brief pictures of the mysterious PlayStation 4 hardware, leaving gamers in the dark about what the highly anticipated gaming console will look like.

Luckily, graphics guru Andy Gilleand has the imagination (and skills) to piece together Sony's puzzle, and created a general conceptual rendering of the PlayStation 4.

While Gilleand's interpretation will have most Sony purists crying foul, the render does align with the general shape and accents seen in the official teaser videos. It's widely expected that Sony will finally show off the PlayStation 4 during a company press event at E3 2013 on June 10.… Read more

For the better part of a decade the video game landscape remained mostly unchanged, complacent in a sea of sequels, motion controls, and downloadable content.

It's a generation that has lasted longer than any other before it, albeit for generally good reasons. And perhaps most impressive is that though their PC gaming counterparts have long since passed them by, these aging consoles are still able to render great-looking games.

So while the sun begins to set on what will go down as a pivotal generation for video games, we look ahead to see what owning a console will be … Read more

Microsoft's Xbox One is out of the bag, and the next-gen console war's in full swing. So what happens next? Truthfully, the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U are still big boxes of mystery -- even though one's already been out in stores for months.

So, how will this new gaming landscape shake out? Sony and Nintendo, the also-rans to the current success story of Microsoft and the Xbox 360, will have options. But they're not always pretty.

Differentiate or die Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are more similar than … Read more

What's hotter -- the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4?

This year kicked off a new chapter in gaming history as Microsoft and Sony revealed their next-generation consoles, which are destined to rule living rooms (and hands) around the world. Of course, Nintendo also had its fun with the Wii U, but hard-core gamers don't seem to really be jumping on the device.… Read more

Ah, now we can finally compare the two. Pretty much. With Microsoft's Xbox One cat out of the bag, at last both it and that other yes-it's-been-announced-but-no-we-don't-know-every-detail console, the PlayStation 4, can be put under our powerful, analytical virtual microscopes.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions on both sides, but that won't stop us from diving headfirst into what we actually do know.

Editors' note (May 23, 12:52 a.m. PT): This story has been extensively updated and expanded since its original publication.

Hardware The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 house very similar silicon … Read more