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23 stories tagged Hardware
Sony will release a Midnight Black version of its Japan-only PS5 Digital Edition on November 19 for 55,000 yen, alongside a matching 11,980-yen disc drive, with pre-orders opening October 20.
The PlayStation Pulse and Pulse Edge bring planar magnetic drivers to PS5, with four and eight magnets per driver respectively. Both ship with a USB Type-C PlayStation Link adapter; the Edge adds ANC, a detachable boom mic and a case. No pricing yet.
Valve's Steam Frame VR headset is $1,059 for 256GB and $1,299 for 1TB, with the controllers, a Wi-Fi 6E PC streaming adapter and a copy of Half-Life: Alyx in the box - but no power supply, which is $29 extra. Reservations are a randomised lottery, not a queue, and close on 17 September at 10am Pacific. A native ARM build of Alyx runs standalone on the headset, and around 70 games are Steam Frame Verified so far.
Nintendo's system version 23.0.0 adds variable refresh rate in TV mode to Switch 2 - gated behind a separate dock firmware update - plus full Switch 2 to Switch 2 system transfers, a Settings menu and online-license escape hatch for Virtual Game Cards, GameChat screen sizing, Mii QR codes, Handheld Mode Boost in Quick Settings and Brazilian Portuguese accessibility support.
Nintendo revealed Switch 2 bundles pairing the console with Mario Kart World ($549.99, late September) or Nintendo Switch Sports Resort ($529.99, October 22), each including a digital game code and three months of Nintendo Switch Online - landing days before the standard Switch 2 rises to $499.99 on September 1.
Hiroki Totoki told the Wall Street Journal that the PlayStation 6's launch timing - and therefore its price - has not been decided, with AI-driven component costs complicating the maths. Hours later, PlayStation launched a new It Happens on PS5 campaign.
Xbox revealed the Gears of War: E-Day Limited Edition Wireless Controller on August 12 at $89.99, with pre-orders live now and shipping September 30. It uses 3D moulded, laser-etched asphalt grips with glowing red cracks and a translucent Crimson Omen. A separate Xbox Design Lab option with exclusive Luke Preece artwork opens the same day, alongside a licensed 8BitDo magnetic charging dock.
PlayStation has unveiled a Marvel's Wolverine hardware range designed around artwork by comics illustrator Jock: a $649.99 Battle Yellow PS5 Digital Edition bundle, an $84.99 DualSense, and $74.99 console covers in Battle Yellow and a PS5 Pro-only metallic Adamantium finish. Pre-orders open August 19, stock lands September 15.
Microsoft is hiking Xbox Series X and Series S prices worldwide from August 1 - up to $799.99 for a disc Series X and $499.99 for the Series S - while discontinuing the 2TB model, blaming a 2.5x surge in memory and storage costs.
Valve has officially priced the Steam Machine: $1,049 for the 512GB model and $1,349 for 2TB, with reservations opening June 30. A surging memory market - DRAM up over 170% year over year - pushed the SteamOS living-room PC well past early expectations. The six-inch cube packs a Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU for roughly six times the Steam Deck's power, and launches alongside the Steam Frame headset and Steam Controller 2.
Valve has confirmed a summer 2026 launch window for the SteamOS-powered Steam Machine and Steam Frame, with both now wishlistable on Steam and leaks pointing to a reveal as soon as June 23. The box promises over six times the Steam Deck's power, but pricing - likely around $1,000 amid a RAM shortage - remains unconfirmed.
Xbox celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Xbox Games Showcase with the X25 Anniversary Collection, headlined by the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition - the first-ever translucent Series X in 'OG Green' with a light-up green X, 1TB of storage, and a matching X25 Special Edition controller. The collection arrives in November 2026.
NVIDIA's GTC Taipei keynote at Computex 2026 was mostly AI and robotics, but GeForce owners got real news: DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction with a 2nd-gen transformer model arrives in August in 11 games including Marvel Rivals and Gothic 1 Remake, the RTX Spark Blackwell superchip with 128GB unified memory hits thin laptops in fall, ShadowPlay jumps to 240fps capture, and partners showed off a wood-clad RTX 5080 and an RTX 5090 with a curved AMOLED display.
Sony has dated its new accessory lineup: the FlexStrike wireless fight stick launches worldwide August 6 at $199.99 alongside Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls with pre-orders from June 12, the 27-inch QHD 120Hz gaming monitor with a DualSense charging hook arrives August 27 in the US and Japan at $349.99, and the Pulse Elevate wireless speakers slip to later in 2026.
Brazil's Anatel regulator just leaked Microsoft's unreleased Xbox Cloud Gaming Controller and Xbox Elite Series 3. The cloud pad packs Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, a Realtek chip, and a 500mAh battery so it can talk directly to xCloud without a phone or console as middleman.
Scuf Gaming's first officially licensed PS5 pro controller is on sale now for 219.99 USD with Omron mechanical buttons, TMR magnetic thumbsticks, and 11 customisable extra inputs across paddles, side buttons and G-Keys.
Nintendo shares fell as much as 10% in Tokyo on Monday — a second straight session of losses after Friday's earnings — pushing the stock to a 21-month low. The trigger: a 16.5 million Switch 2 forecast, a dividend cut to 162 yen, and a 100 billion yen hit from the AI-driven DRAM chip surge.
Nintendo announced sweeping price hikes on May 8, 2026: Switch 2 jumps from $449.99 to $499.99 in the US (+$50), with Canada and Europe seeing similar increases — all effective September 1. Japan gets hit harder and earlier on May 25, with the Switch 2 jumping ¥10,000 and original Switch hardware climbing 26 to 36 percent. Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions also rise in Japan effective July 1. Nintendo cited market conditions and the global business outlook without naming tariffs, semiconductors, or the yen.
Valve’s redesigned Steam Controller launched May 4 for $99 and sold out in roughly 30 minutes. The controller introduces TMR magnetic thumbsticks, capacitive Grip Sense for automatic gyro activation, dual angled trackpads, four rear buttons, and 35+ hours of battery life. A magnetic charging Puck doubles as a wireless 2.4GHz USB-C transmitter.
Sony's 007 First Light Limited Edition DualSense Wireless Controller launches May 27 alongside IO Interactive's James Bond debut. We break down the gold-on-black design (which the game's art director says is NOT actually inspired by the gun barrel sequence), the $84.99 price tag, and how it compares to other premium DualSense editions.
Microsoft will showcase Project Helix at a public developer event on May 7. The next-gen hybrid console-PC runs a custom AMD chip and can play both Xbox and PC games from Steam and GOG.
Sony raises PS5 prices by $100-$150 across all models effective April 2, citing surging memory chip costs driven by AI data center demand. The PS5 Pro now costs $899.99.
Sony has hiked PS5 prices by $100–$150 globally starting April 2, citing a severe DRAM shortage driven by AI infrastructure demand. The PS5 now costs $649.99 and the Pro hits $899.99 in the US.