Power Gig, Rise of the SixString is like Rock Band, but uses real guitars.  Instead of the cheap plastic guitar that is used in Rock Band you will be using a fully functioning six-string guitar to control the game.

“As one might imagine, the game is being developed by a company connected with the guitar business. Developer/publisher Seven45 Studios is a sister company of First Act, a leading musical-instrument maker responsible for making the entry-level guitars, basses, and other instruments found at Wal-Mart, Target, and other big retailers.”

When the guitar is hooked up to an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 system, you simply push a button and a dampening block pops up to hold the strings in place allowing you to control the game via the fingerboard.

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Gene and Steve’s favorite item… the Apple iPad will start taking pre-orders on March 12 and will start shipping on April 3.  I wonder if people will line up for this like Steve hopes… or if it will be just ho-hum.

“Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.”

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Wii Fit nuts who want to add some cardio/weight training to their Wii gaming/workouts should check out the Riiflex Dumbbells.  The Wii dumbbells slide over the Wii-mote and Nunchuk controller adding a full 2 pounds for each hand.

The Riiflex Wii Dumbbells are made from strong polycarbonate with a soft rubber cover (for better grip) so that you don’t end up throwing your heavier Wii controller through the TV.

The 2-pound Riiflex Wii dumbbells are available now for $29.99 here.  Riiflex plans on releasing a 4 pound set in the future.

The company also has plans to release 4-pound (1.8kg) dumbbells at some point in the future so you better get into training now.

A German company called Kettler will soon be selling pedal powered ATV’s for kids in the US.  These days kids get the best toys.  The pedal powered ATV is called a Kettquad and will sell for around $800.  The four-wheeler has pneumatic tires for off-road action, an enclosed drive chain, disk brakes, and a no-shift reverse.  Designed for kids between 5 and 12 years of age.

Watch video of the Kettquad in action after the break… you will wish you were a kid again.

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It isn’t hard to find a decent foosball table for under $100… but if you need to take your game room to the next level… check out the VIP Kicker Premium Edition foosball table.  This foosball table is partly encrusted in over 18,000 Swarovski crystals.  Not sure this will improve your foosball game… but it sure looks nice.

The VIP Kicker Edition is handcrafted and customized to fit your needs.  Customization options include selecting the crystals, the colors of the corpus and game board along with the surface of the tokens. Not sure of the price

More pictures after the break.

Just because your favorite hoop spot doesn’t have night lights doesn’t mean the basketball game has to stop.  Get yourself a glow-in-the-dark basketball and basketball net.  Both are relatively cheap and available here.

More often than not, when using 5.1 headphones… I am not impressed… lots of guys trying to make “innovative” headsets… most failing.  Looks like Psyko Audio may have actually turned out a quality innovative 5.1 headset.  Read on for more details of the Psyko Audio 5.1 gaming headset.

A couple of the most notable features are;

1 – the fact that you can have the earphones closed for more sound isolation… or you can open a set of ear vents for more external sound and air.

2- instead of trying to cram all 5 speakers inside the ear cups… Psyko put the speakers on top of the headband and uses tubes called PsykoWave guides to pipe the sound into the right parts of your ear.  In other words they direct the front channel of sound to the front of your ears soundstage and the rear to the rear.  The subwoofers are the only speaker located in the ear cups.

“We call the Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System "The Perfect Room™" because they deliver the audio experience of the perfect room. That audio experience lets you hear where every sound comes from. They improve your positional awareness and your reaction time for improved game play. There is no DSP (Digital Signal Processing) to alter the sound, and no latency. They put you into the sweet spot. You simply hear more and play better.

This is a quantum leap in headphone technology. The Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System create 3D sound, in exactly the same way a room system does – with 5 speakers plus the subwoofer positioned accurately around you. You hear precisely where every sound originates, the way you are supposed to. You get naturally immersive sound with no hassles, no latency, and no limits to where and when you want to play. It’s really is the perfect room in headphone form.”

OK here is my iPad rant whine.  When it comes to Apple and All Things Mac, I am a little like Agent Fox Mulder from the X-Files – I want to believe!  But the Apple iPad product announcement left me seriously underwhelmed. I was watching Steve present his Magnum Opus and hearing the vacuous sucking sound – we waited so long and this is it?!  The positive stuff was there too – its slick and cool looking -yay.  It reminds me of other things I love like my iPhone 3GS – yay!  It has serious potential – yay!  That said I just felt like a kid who was looking forward to Christmas all year long only to get a really bitchin pair of socks…  So without delay read on for my WTF moments from the iPad presentation.

• No Camera!!!  Really Steve? REALLY?!?!
• No Multitasking – *checks the calendar* WTF?
• No Flash Support – I understand Apple’s hard on for Adobe, but the iPad was supposed to offer almost sexual level of gratification for browsing the Web. Not!
• No 720p Resolution – *taps foot* seriously, what’s with the 1024×768 rez?

I mean this wasn’t exactly a total “mene, mene, tekel upharsin” moment but I found the whole thing lacking.  Here’s hoping for the version 2.0.

The new and improved Wii Classic Controller Pro is finally going to make it to the US starting in April.  Similar to the Classic Controller plus Wiimote but has two extra shoulder buttons and some smooth grips.  Best Wii controller to date.

Mad Catz Interactive (Saitek) has launched a batch of high end Cyborg gaming mice which will start shipping in Q2 of this year.  For the first time ever on a mouse, the main contact points between the gamer’s hand and the mouse are adjustable allowing a customized grip preference. Cyborg states that they are the most comfortable gaming mice around… and I am sure this is true… but this is more of a desk candy thing… looks freaking cool.

The top of the line Cyberog R.A.T. gaming mouse will set you back about $130 and comes with rechargeable lithium ion batteries, a 5600dpi laser, removable weights, and is wireless.