I just had to share this ‘assent of the console controllers’ diagram! (Don’t forget that you can revel in its full glory by clicking the pic )

I think that it’s worth pointing out that apart from the Atari 5200’s controller it seems that controllers went from basic to more complicated - although (ignoring Guitar Hero, etc) we’re yet to see as many buttons as that Atari beast managed to fit.

To accomodate all the new buttons and such the console controllers have also put on the pounds and grown in size. 

This is shown in the illustration above as all the hands are the same size and the controllers are to scale.

I assume that there’ll be a T-shirt, duvet cover and probably underwear featuring this fab picture in no time at all

Chewing Pixels via Offworld

The results of a poll conducted by The London Games Festival of 500 gamers shows that Sega’s blue hedgehog is the most loved character and Nintendo’s Mario had to settle for second.

As you read through the full top ten below you’ll probably recognise that most of these iconic characters have been showing up in games for a decade or more.

The n00bs (comparatively speaking) in the list are Grand Theft Auto IV’s eastern European gangster Niko Bellic and the other Rockstar front-man, Max Payne.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (24%)

2. Super Mario (21%)

3. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) (16%)

4. Donkey Kong (11%)

5. Pac Man (10%)

6. Link (The Legend of Zelda) (5%)

7. Max Payne (4%)

8. Pikachu (Pokemon) (3%)

9. Niko Belic (Grand Theft Auto IV) (2%)

10. Blanka (Street Fighter) (1%)

Do agree with the list - is there anyone missing?

Let me know
 

The Telegraph

All together now.

AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………how cute!?!

Sega Toys will start selling this range of robotic hamsters from August 8th.

The company plans to produce no less than 100,000 units per year and shockingly their main target group is not the kids, but females between 20 and 40 years old.

Named Yume Hamusutaa (Dream Hamster), the robot will start moving when you take it into the palm of your hand.

Three versions of the little critter will be available: A Roborovski hamster, the Winter White Russian Dwarf hamster and Golden Hamster - Click the pic to see all three together, cute overload!!!

The 3.5-inch hamster will cost $11 each and is Japan-only at this point and will only require 4 batteries for food and will not soil its cage.

See - a whole article about hamsters and no actor innuendo……..

Those clever people at Blaze have announced that they’ve crammed the 16-bit Mega Drive into a handheld console.

The Blaze portable game player offers classics such as Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Ecco the Dolphin that can all be re-lived in true Nineties style.

Other games on the list include Alex Kidd - Enchanted Castle, Alien Storm Altered Beast, Arrow Flash, Crackdown, Decap Attack, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Ecco Junior, Flicky, Gain Ground, Jewel Master, Kid Chameleon, Sonic Spinball and Shadow Dancer.

The handheld boasts built-in speakers, a colour LCD screen and TV out.

Power comes via three AA batteries, and is available now from games stores and online at SegaRetro for £29.99 plus P&P. 

Coolio!!

Looking like the result of a love-triangle between a Segway, Rolly and a Miuro this is the new A.M.P. (Automated Music Personality or Ampbot) from Sega-Hasbro.

Ampbot stands 2.4-feet tall and features an MP3 player / iPod cradle on its back, stereo speakers, and the ability to follow, chase and interact with its owner.

Sound comes out via a 5-inch mid-range speaker in the chest and a pair of smaller tweeters in the shoulders for a total of 12 watts tunage.

Osamu Takeuchi of Sega Toys says,

“The owner can also enjoy being chased around the house by the robot.”

That’s a selling point? Sounds a tad ominous to me!

The Ampbot and controller requires 9 batteries (6x D and 3x AAA) for about 10-hours of continuous music.

Wouldn’t it have been better to have added a charging station? If a robotic hoover can have one why can’t a music-bot?

Ampbot will be out by the end of the year for around $500 in the US and Japan.