Our time at E3 this week wasn’t all about impressive software — we also saw a promising handful of new gaming peripherals, from new Wiimote attachments to pulsing head-mounted squid-things. Nyko invited us to their booth to have a look at their new hardware lineup for all major consoles, and we got an up-close, in-depth preview of the new summer models. Coolers, attachments, and all manner of shiny wireless toys await you after the jump.
The first accessories on display were Nyko’s new line of cooling devices for the Xbox 360 and PS3; the Intercooler TS. TS, in this instance, stands for “TempSmart,” a new feature for this version of the peripheral which provides an as-needed burst of extra air flow when your console starts to warm up. Nyko explained to me that a temperature sensor in the Intercooler now takes a reading of your console once a minute, and if the reading is too high, the fans come on and help ventilate the overheating hardware. Should the console cool back down, the fans will turn themselves off again. The PS3 model, in addition, comes with a dial which allows users to adjust the fan speed if they’re concerned about faster cooling. Both models feature external AC power (no doubt to avoid placing extra strain on the consoles they’re trying to cool down).
We all know the irritating result of an overheated 360, but stories about overheating PS3s seemed a little less prevalent to me. I asked Nyko about this — had there been a great demand for a PS3 Intercooler? PS3 overheating does happen on occasion, I was told, but mostly the PS3 Intercooler TS is a cautionary measure, sold to provide peace of mind: a $34.99 insurance policy. The Xbox 360 model (smaller for this year) will sell for $24.99, and both models will be available soon.
We don’t know if Nyko had advance knowledge of Sony’s plans to release the new 80GB PS3 Core Pack, but their next accessory seemed to be the perfect match for the upcoming model. Nyko’s Media Hub helps replace two of the features which will be missing from the cheaper Sony SKU, providing two additional USB ports and an SD Card/Memory Stick reader when attached to the front of the console. The Hub fits snugly onto the PS3, needs no additional power, and we’re told that pushing the PS3 back up to 4 USB ports makes it an ideal Rock Band accessory. It, too, will become available soon.
That covered it for the new hardware, but Nyko also gave us a detailed look at some of their recently released revisions to their existing lineup. The new PS3 Charge Base 2, for example, represented a series of improvements to the original design: Nyko listened to users’ frustrations over trying to fit controllers into the narrow USB mounts, and instead designed a small dongle which attaches to the controller, providing gold contacts which meet easily with the contacts on the Charge Base, allowing users to now simply drop the controller loosely and easily into the charger. Speaking of dongles, Nyko also showed off their two wireless solutions for the Wii Nunchuk, the Cord-Free and the Kama Wireless Controller, which both involve plugging a small dongle into the bottom of the Wiimote. Nyko believes these will remain compatible with the new Wii MotionPlus, thanks to a pass-through port on Nintendo’s new attachment.
Nyko went on to show off their various other plans to make the world free of any and all wires, showing off their Frontman Wireless Guitars, and Wireless Sensor Bar for Wii. The PS3 Frontman, in fact, solves the Rock Band/Guitar Hero incompatibility issue, working with both games via the flip of a single switch.
Nyko’s new Intercooler TS models and the PS3 Media Hub are slated for release in September and August, respectively.
Full disclosure: At time of publication, Nyko was a client of TriplePoint PR, a firm managed by Richard Kain, owner of our parent company Pantheon Labs. A TriplePoint representative invited us to the Nyko booth.
Leave a Reply