Best products from r/Games

As long as you're in the Xbox One neighborhood, I also recommend looking at:

• Sunset Overdrive: Launch trailer. Well-respected developer with a couple decades of stuff under their belts. You can get this one for ten bucks on Amazon.
  
  
• Forza Horizon 2: E3 trailer. I generally don't like racing games, but this one is slick, easy to get into, and is set in an open-world environment that I just like driving around in. Horizon 3 is coming out in a few months. Free demo downloadable here. If you like it, Amazon has it on sale for $35. If you have a GCU account with Best Buy, they will price match Amazon, where it's currently marked down to $35, and bring the price down to $28. This only works with physical copies. XB1 also has Forza 5 and 6, which are more traditional racing games.
  
  
• Then there's the Master Chief Collection, which lets you play Halo 1 through 4 (but not Reach). The first two games have been remastered. It's pretty cool. Multiplayer was pretty buggy at first, and by the time it got fixed, most people had moved on to other things. But the single-player campaigns are a fun ride. Launch trailer.
  
  I personally feel that the PS4 has a better selection of games overall, but if you're ready to try an Xbox, there are some worthy reasons to do so. The console also has support for HBO Now, while the PS4 does not. You can buy the Xbox One S next month, which is a revised version of the console, but it costs $400. There are cheaper versions coming (less storage) but not until December. You you can get a bundle with the regular version now.

I wouldn't recommend any traditional gaming headsets, you would do better to get a good pair of headphones and a separate mic. Gaming headsets have good mics, but the speakers are almost always lacking compared to similarly priced headphones.

I've used many headsets from Logitech, Steelseries, Razer, Turtle Beach, and a few other companies, and anything from Sennheiser, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic, Denon, AKG, or the multitude of quality audiophile manufacturers, will give you far better audio.


Sennheiser makes the only really good headsets in my opinion, the PC350 and PC360, but they are expensive at around $200, and don't sound as good as the HD598's for about the same price.

Steelseries makes okay headsets, but are over priced for the audio quality. The 5Hv2 and 7H are incredibly comfortable, and the Siberia v2 are quite comfy as well (not if you have a large head though, I have 7 7/8 hat size and was fatigued in an hour). Also their build quality is very good. They produce very accurate locational noise, but be warned as Steelseries headsets have no bass at all at the cost of having very clear footstep identification.

I wouldn't even consider Razer products as their build quality is sub-optimal.

Check out: reddit.com/r/audiophile and reddit.com/r/headphones for all the info you want on good headphones.

Also www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide is a good place to start.

For gaming I use Audio Technica ATH-AD700 and Zalman Zm-Mic1. The AD700's don't have a large bass presence, so bass thumps don't interfere with footsteps and important locational noise (which they produce very accurately). These are by far the most comfortable headphones I have ever had on. The ModMic is also a very good mic option for any headphone.


Do a little research on the audio sub-reddits and you will find the perfect solution for your needs.

Here's a quick rundown of the winners.

/u/amitter is awesome and the nominees can be found below.


Category| Winner
---|---
Best Soundtrack| Transistor
Best Thing to Come out of Crowdfunding| Wasteland 2
Most Interesting Gaming YouTube Channel that isn't Mine| XboxAhoy
Stop Preordering Video Games Award for Biggest Launch Disaster| Halo: the Master Chief Collection
Most Impressive Aesthetic| Transistor
Best Expansion/DLC Content| Hearthstone Goblins vs Gnomes
Best Mobile Game| 80 Days
The Game I Turned My Consoles on for the Most this Year| Fibbage
The Game that Most Surpassed my Expectations| Wolfenstein: the New Order
The Sharpened Pitchfork Award for Dodgiest Games Company of the Year| Ubisoft
The Game that most Needs to See the Light of Gaben| Halo: the Master Chief Collection

Senheisser is one of the best brands of headphones out there, and HD555's are probably the best bang for buck model they make. The HD595's are better obviously, but the only actual difference is that the 555's have foam inside the cups which muffles the sound a little bit, pull that out and you now have 595's :D The only downside to them is that they don't have an integrated mic. Thats where this little fellow comes in. I've heard it's really good for gaming, not sure if it still holds up well enough for recording though sorry. You should probably read up some reviews to be sure.

Also, don't fall for all that 5.1 and 7.1 headset BS, it's just a gimmick and if anything makes the headset heavier and less comfortable. You hear perfect 3D with only 2 ear holes after all don't you? ;)

Another suggestion is that, unless you are live streaming, it may be better to do any commentary after the fact with a good quality pro mic. Record a rough version as you play and then re-do it afterwards when you have an opportunity to do re-takes and edit stuff.

Hijacking this comment to implore anybody remotely interested in replaying Final Fantasy VI to try out the phenomenally well-made fan ROMhack called Brave New World.

If I was a smarter man I would be able to articulate just how incredible this mod/overhaul really is without sounding like a hyperbolic rambling weirdo. But I'm not, so here goes:

The original Final Fantasy VI is one of my absolute favorite games of all time. I can't remember how many times I've beaten it since I first rented it at Blockbuster when I was 10 years old. But it is not without a slew of (gamebreaking) bugs, balance issues (Vanish/Doom anyone?), questionable design problems (Magic stat trumps EVERYTHING), and really weird damage calculations and mechanics.

THIS MOD FIXES ALL OF THAT, in a logical, cohesive, and intelligent manner that still manages to respect the feel of the original game. This is not a lazy "difficulty" mod that some 12 year old put together after figuring out how to use a hex editor to raise boss HP values. This is a passionate love letter to a flawed game that uses a slew of really clever hacks and other technical wizardry to make the gameplay super satisfying.

Every stat has a use, every character is unique with several different viable stat/gear builds instead of being generic Ultima/defense-ignoring attack spammers. I seriously cannot recommend this romhack enough. This is the way Final Fantasy VI was meant to be experienced.

Anybody with an Android phone can download SNES9X or another emulator for free off of the Play Store and run this rom at fullspeed and perfect sound. I bought this controller mount for my smartphone and a cheap short USB cable to wire my Dual Shock 4 to my phone for portable gaming nirvana. I can play arguably the greatest JRPG ever made while pooping.

I highly recommend Masters of Doom, it covers the story of John Carmack and John Romero from their pre-id years up until around 2002 or so and goes over the development of early id games like Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake as well as other companies at the time like Apogee/3D Realms and Softdisk and of course Ion Storm, Daikatana and the issues with its development.

If you find that interesting i also recommend Jordan Mechner's Making of Karateka and Making of Prince of Persia. These are unique in that they are the journal that Jordan Mechner kept while making these games (start with the Karateka one, the PoP one continues more or less where the Karateka one ends) back in the 80s and early 90s up until he started working on The Last Express and give a unique look not only at how development was done at the time, but also how a very known at the time publisher - Brøderbund - was running during their later years (which sadly ended up collapsing in the midlate 90s just when The Last Express was released, which ended up with TLE becoming a commercial failure despite the critical praise it had, in large part because the marketing team left the company weeks before the game's release and nobody was around to market it :-P). Also there are several bits about Mechner's attempts on movie writing since that is another passion of his, although that wasn't as successful (he did write the Prince of Persia movie though and was a moderate success).

Another interesting book is Hackers. This is an older book, written in early 80s about the "computer hackers" that influenced modern computing. A large part of the book is about the earlier communities, like those at MIT from where the free software and open source movement began, but there is also a sizeable part about the early days of gaming companies that would later become powerhouses like Sierra and - again - Brøderbund. This last one is very interesting because you can see the shift from the early Brøderbund days in Hackers towards the more boureaucratic and sterile environment in their later days as shown in Mechner's journals. This also makes me curious about their last days and i'd like to see Mechner writing about the development of The Last Express if for no other reason than that.

Finally a book that i also liked a lot, although this one focuses more on a single genre and the games that make it up, is Dungeons and Desktops which focuses on the development of CRPGs from the early attempts at mainframes down to modern RPG games.

Computer and computer gaming history are favorite topics of mine and i tend to buy books about them (and i really like finding common pieces in different books).

*Not a sales plug in the slightest, but for $150 this set is the exact one I bought and it's pretty solid if you're interested in just trying VR and not wanting to spend a ton. Make sure you get the other video adapters too if needed since they aren't included. The wands can eat batteries too, so stock up.

If you’ve got a decent computer and want to check out VR I would just grab a refurbished Windows Mixed Reality headset. It’s half the price of the newly announced Rift and can run pretty much everything the HTC and Rift can. I picked up an HP model for under $200 with all the accessories.

This new Rift being standalone and wireless is awesome, but I never really felt that “Wow” moment with things like Google Cardboard or the Samsung Gear. It always felt like I was inside an older game looking through a screen door. It’s hard to explain.

It's really weird it is translated so slowly, cause in Poland it's like the most famous saga and personally i think that what Andrzej Sapkowski created is genius. Interesting fun fact: The Witcher (game series) take off where the books have ended and are officially approved by the author.
Anyway, you're in luck!

Ok, so i'll try to give You some help, whether You like it or not. Sapkowski first started to publish The Witcher stories in a magazine between 1986-1990. Then they've been assembled in books. So, to this day there have been 7 stories compilations released (In Poland), but what we're interested in are the following: The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny in that order (these 2 are the introduction to The Witcher world)

THE WITCHER - INTRODUCTION

• The Last Wish (1993) was released in English in 2007. Here it is on amazon
  
• Sword of Destiny - The book has been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, Bulgarian and French. It has not been translated into English and there are no plans to do so to date. The publisher of the English edition of the Witcher books decided to skip The Sword of Destiny and publish Blood of Elves.
  But no worries, you already know what is going on and You're ready to jump in The Witcher Saga! (ok, you'll lose some of the flow, since there's a bunch of characters introduced here that later appear in The Blood of Elves.)
  
  
  THE WITCHER SAGA
  
  
• The Blood of Elves(1994) - Here it is on amazon
  
• Times of Contempt/The Time of Contempt(1995) - it was supposed to be June 27th, but on amazon it says August 27th - Here it is on amazon
  
• Baptism of Fire(1996)
  
• The Swallow's Tower(1997)
  
• Lady of the Lake(1999)
  
  Well, with Witcher 3 coming soon and with the hype around it i guess they will continue the releases. I highly recommend it to everyone! Also it gives a better perspective on the game series, its characters, plots, etc.
  
  There's also one Witcher story (The Spellmaker) in this: The Polish Book of Monsters

>Stop making shit up. $30 is the high end price for gamepads, you can find them for much cheaper. $60 is the cost of a gaming keyboard or mouse. Not a gamepad.

Less making shit up and more estimating given the range of prices I have seen. I've never seen an xbox-360 or PS3 controller for less than $30.

Wired, new, $49.99 at FutureShop

Refurbished, wired, $34.99 at FutureShop

Wired, $49.60 on sale ($49.99 normal) at Amazon.ca

Wired, $39.95 at Amazon.ca

Wired, $39.95 at NCIX.com

>Plenty is a bit vague and meaningless. I would posit that the vast majority of PC gamers either have a dedicated gamepad for their PC or swap in a 360 controller (or a PS3 controller with a bit of tweaking).

I would have said the majority, but since there are no actual statistics about it I went with plenty instead because I am not in the business of relying upon anecdotal evidence and lying.

>I personally don't know a single one that doesn't. I was the last adopter of my circle of friends and I became a sworn defender of the gamepad immediately afterwards.

None of my friends have hooked up their xbox controller to their PC. The ones who do have a controller also have a console and just buy console games on that. Few of my online friends have a controller sitting next to their PC. It does depend on what games they buy on PC too though, most of them try to avoid buying bad console ports.

> I couldn't even imagine playing a game like Darksiders with a keyboard + mouse and it's one of the best games I played this generation.

I couldn't couldn't care less about Darksiders to be honest, it doesn't interest me at all. Although it is good to hear that you really enjoyed it :)

>It's incredibly whiny and pathetic to bitch about buying a cheap peripheral to get a quality experience on hundreds of games

Have you ever read your own posts?

>(yes, there are literally hundreds of PC games that have dramatically superior experiences with a gamepad).

There are literally thousands of PC games that don't support controllers and are good games (and quite often are deeper and more complex than most console games).

While there may be hundreds of console ports available, those I have played I've had very few issues with. Some of them have worked extremely well with a keyboard and mouse because the developers actually put some time and effort into the PC port (Mafia II, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Call of Juarez, Borderlands, Bioshock, Hitman: Blood Money, etc).

Honestly I think the anger at paying for PS+/XBL Gold is overblown. Compared to the other bills I pay, less than $4/month (or $4.17 for PS+) is practically nothing. If somebody can afford a $300-500 entertainment device, they can afford to pay 1% of that cost once a month.
Sure, it's a cash-grabbing move on the part of MS/Sony, but I want the gaming industry to be profitable for them because I want them to stay in it. I want their investors to look favorably upon Playstation/Xbox and prioritize them. I can afford it, I receive good service in return for my money, and we get new features like "free" games and dedicated cloud servers to keep the paid premium enticing.

> Do I need a joystick

you do pretty much need to have a joystick, but nothing else is essential. A cheap joystick like this is more than good enough though, or this one which is a little more expensive but not a crazy price and comes highly recommended by a lot of people.

I'd say the learning curve's not too bad, you need to know a few basic principles of flight but nothing complex. If you go for FSX it has lessons which will take you from no-knowledge to being able to take-off, fly, and land the default planes pretty quickly, I don't know about X-Plane but I'd guess it probably has some tutorials too.

You can either play them chronologically in the order in which the games were released (I recommend this), or play them chronologically in the order in which the story occurs. Either is fine but definitely do not skip the original Metal Gear Solid.

My recommendation is to buy either:

• Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection for PS2, which contains MGS1, MGS2, and MGS3, then buy MGS4 for the PS3, or
  
  
• The original PS1 Metal Gear Solid + Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection for PS3 which contains MGS2, MGS3, and MGS:PW, then buy MGS4 for the PS3.
  
  I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to start from newer games going into older games because you get "spoiled" by the updated combat mechanics of the newer games, which could make playing the older games more tedious. If you play the older ones first, you'll appreciate the better combat mechanics of the newer games. Having said that, I think that Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for Gamecube isn't as clunky as the original since it's a remake. TBQH with you, though, it's probably not as bad as you might think.

Bam. I just bought this one a few days ago. It works beautifully. It will not auto install, you have to google the drivers, but it's very easy to do, and it'll save you a few bucks over the one with the drivers preloaded. Played Shank, Beat Hazard, Bastion, Jamestown, etc., controller works great, and was autodetected every time.

I posted this yesterday: >there is 100% guarantee that the person would have bought a game, as used games and new games are substitutes for each other. All that matters is price. Seeing as a new game is a superior quality good (guarantee that it will work, instruction manual, original boxing) they will be willing to pay a certain price over the used game. As long as the price is reduced to that amount, they will pay the price for a new game, and hence purchase a new game, which will enable the actual developer to recoup some revenue, and not have it go to gamestop for arbitrage, which is rent seeking imo. For example, a copy of Halo 4 new is now worth £13.63 + £2.99UK delivery at http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0054OGIRQ/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1369676689&sr=8-1

It is worth £9.00 + £2.03UK delivery used http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0054OGIRQ/sr=8-1/qid=1369676689/ref=olp_tab_used?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&condition=used&me=&qid=1369676689&seller=&sr=8-1

Were the used game function of games to be removed, all those who previously bought the game for this used game price would take a look at the new game and decide that it is too much (or otherwise they would have bought the new game). The seller of the game would have to be stupid to not reduce the price of a new game, as the variable cost of producing game is basically nothing, and hence they should go for revenue maximisation/ sales maximisation. (They have significant fixed costs which they need to cover however, and used games prevent them from being able to do this.) This is done by reducing the price to attract all those who would have bought a used game had they been available for sale. This can be dependent on time, so as to maximise revenue even further: charge a high price for a certain period of time to get the original customers who would have bought a new game to pay the 13.63 price, and then reduce the price to entice all the people who would have bought a used game

The reason that they do not reduce the price of the new game in order to get the used games sales originally is because the price of the used game can go right down, as it has very little utility to someone who has completed the game, and they can sell the game on for far less than a games developer would be willing to sell it for, because, as stated, the games' original development costs must be covered, whereas the person selling the used game has no such concerns.

All used game markets do is take away revenue from the games developer, and give it to the arbitrageur, namely gamestop.

Look at Steam. There are literally no variable costs to the distribution of new games online, so my example above works perfectly. Steam realise that they can charge a very high price at launch for those willing to pay this price (those who want the game most) and then just keep on reducing prices without having to worry about being price out of the market by used games sellers. They still face competition through other digital game distributions. I have often bought games from Steam's competitors, because they are willing to offer a lower price than Steam. The exact same should happen for the next generation of gaming. Even if Sony doesn't offer it, and MS does, developers will realise that they will face a higher level of profit margins for developing for the XB1 if they can recoup revenue instead of it going to gamestop. What matters is whether the majority of people who actually buy the consoles (the majority of whom are not hardcore/core gamers) will suddenly decide to go to the PS4 instead (and this is assuming that the PS4 don't decide to employ a similar system - judging by the fact that EA killed their online pass system, I'm going to say that both have a used game system employed).>

I think if the price of a used game is now fixed against a new game, this allows developers to reduce the price of their new game without fear of being undercut by used games. As long as competition between new game sellers remains high then this should be positive for the consumer and developer. Not for gamestop of course.

The best recommendation is to go to a store where you can listen to some headphones first-hand.

However, to provide at least a little guidance, you might want to check out the well reviewed Sennheiser 518 headphones. (I'd probably get these myself if I was looking for a good set of headphones under $150).

Also, the Grado SR80i headphones get a lot of recommendations and are in your price range, though some people complain that they're "too bright" (which is an unclear, metaphorical description, but it usually means that there is an emphasis in the high frequencies that can induce auditory fatigue, but others think it's a mark of precision).

Neither of these have microphones. So, you might want to pair them with a Zalman Zm-Mic1, which is cheap and gets pretty good reviews. As an added benefit, using a separate mic will also increase the options you have when considering headphones.

I hope so too. They make many great points in this video too.

personally i think that Playstation has put a large quantity of their resources into streaming, and as soon as they fix the prices they will be the best option in this field. My only problem with it is that we know they will not offer PS4 games on PSNow(although i cant really blame them because that would essentially make the PS4 obsolete) and so as soon as i get my fill of past gen games i will probably unsubscribe.

The thing that i think is being overlooked about this whole streaming situation is the potential the Playstation TV. The potential it shows is huge, yet i never find anyone talking about it. It is a PS Vita that connects to the TV, so you can play Vita games on the TV, it can Remote Play the PS4 and those PS4 games fantastically, and it can also access PSNow. So what you have in the PSTV is a Vita, PS4(provided one is owned and near the PSTV), and it can be a PS1, 2, and 3 all through PSNow. Realle the pomise for the device is really strong.

Oh, and the main reason i want the PS4 streaming part is for the fact that the PS4 can be in one room(for example and office in the basement), and you can stream it's games to the PSTV which can be is, say, the living room. So if you have friends over who want to play PS4 but you dont want to have to move it, just use the PSTV! Also, Sometimes guests might want to play an old game, so you can use the PSTV for that too. Hell, the regular Vita can be remote play the PS4 from an entirely different network, so instead of taking the whole PS4 and shit over to a friends house, you can just take along the little PSTV and have the whole PS4 there. Boom!

Additionally, PSNow is going to work on Sony Bravia TV's, and some other devices as well in the future(here's hoping for phones and tablets as well(where you can connect a controller and use the device as a monitor))

If you enjoyed this you should read Masters of Doom, or listen to Wil Wheaton's very good reading of it (that's what I did).

It's a very interesting and entertaining book.

You still get a free audiobook when signing up to Audible, right?

Yes, but console gamers have never had to purchase additional input devices to have new experiences on their platform. No console manufacturer has ever expanded on their initial controllers to try to provide a more robust experience.

Also, KB/M is the superior control scheme for all games. Developers should be expected to release a PC game with KB/M controls that are flawless for the genre. There is no reason that any other input mechanism might enhance any PC gaming experience.

edit: This is also not KB/M but I guarantee you would like to experience it.

It's definitely not a make or break. I've played with both and the keyboard works fine, though a controller does make it feel much more natural/fluid (though this may just be because I did play it on xbox before PC). It may be worth it if there are other games you would use it with - they're $33.00 on Amazon and possibly cheaper on eBay. (game + controller would be a little over the price of a single game at standard cost)

As an aside, Dark Souls is currently my single favorite game, above even nostalgia bombs like any Zelda or Mario games.

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection

Includes:

-Metal Gear (1995)
-Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1999)
-Metal Gear Solid (2005)
-Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Substance Edition / HD) (2007 - 2009)
-Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Subsistence Edition / HD) (1964)
-Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3 Exclusive) (2014)
-Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (1974)

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes / The Phantom Pain are sold separately but aren't PS3 exclusive.

The games here range from 1987 to 2010, sorted by release order. Guns of the Patriots is the finale to the franchise even though Revengeance takes place in 2018 but that title isn't canon.

It took me roughly ~2 weeks to get through all of them. On average, a Metal Gear Solid game takes ~8-12 hours to beat on your first ever run. The first 2 are a bit shorter.

---

The franchise is a must play. These games started, revolutionized, and essentially built the stealth franchise, with Ground Zeroes being the closest thing we have to a stealth simulator. Also Kojima wrote one of the greatest stories in gaming history.

I highly recommend picking up a wired xbox 360 controller: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wired-Controller-Black/dp/B003ZSN600/

I've saved a significant amount of money by buying games like AC2, Arkham Asylum, GTA IV, and Just Cause 2 on Steam sales instead of waiting for the console version to go on sale. It has definitely paid for itself in that respect.

I love Metal Gear... and I already have two collections:

Metal Gear: The Essential Collection released in 2008 (this one was criticized by some for not including the Gamecube remake, but rather including a PS1 disk)

Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection released 2011 (again avoids any remake of MGS1 or GCN port, also leaves out Portable Ops: is basically MSG2, 3, and Peace Walker)

Is this a new thing? Release a random collection of MG games every 3 years? If there's an HD remake of the original Metal Gear (a la, the project they shut down) and MG2.. along with a port/remake of the GCN version - that would be worthwhile I guess.

If it's HD-collection redux with slightly "more HD" versions of the previous games....? I can't see them having done proper remakes in this time frame. Previous HD collection + Ground Zeroes? Same issue.

As someone who wanted to play PS Vita games but didn't really want to buy a Vita, a Playstation TV turned out to be a good option: it costs like $80 (EDIT: /u/MrRatt points out that it's on sale for $45 on Amazon), and plays Vita games on the TV (using a PS4 controller).

$80 is a bit much if P4G is the only Vita game you want to play, but there are a few other decent Vita games.

EDIT 2: /u/BokuNoPickle rightly points out that the VitaTV doesn't support all PSVita games (particularly those that require the touch screen); /r/VitaTV have a post with resources for figuring out which games will work.

Not USB, but I use a Zalman microphone that just clips onto the headphone cord. It's cheap, and you can use whatever headphones you'd like with it. The sound quality isn't fantastic, but if you aren't doing anything more than talking to people on Skype or something like that, then you're definitely good with this. If you are going to record audio for Youtube/podcast/other, than you'll probably have to invest in a higher quality microphone though.

You should either check out this book or go on youtube and find the short documentary about how ID got started and what they went through to go from Commander Keen all the way up to Quake. They were like the rockstars of software development. It's such a cool story. At one point Carmack gave away a Ferrari he owned at a deathmatch tournament. The guy who won it couldn't afford to get it home so Carmack fronted the bill in cash. This was all money from the shareware model with "extra levels you could buy by faxing in orders and sending in by mail!

I suggest the book for sure though, because it goes into way more detail than you can get from a youtube video.

I see the logitech one below, but I'll give you another option. I got one of these (although mine is black), and it's worked perfectly and I've had no issues. Search around with those keywords and I'm sure you can find one on sale for <$15.

Edit: To be specific, I got the genuine one, which has the word Microsoft across the top, not Xbox 360. The model # is 1086 if that helps.

Get the Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection for ps3. I'm pretty sure it has every single Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid game within it. I've skipped Metal Gear 1 and 2 (The msx games) and have play Metal Gear Solid 1-4. Play them by order of release.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO/ref=pd_sim_vg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1606X1BZ2MYMZW28RX9N

Almost definitely not

Back in the day game development almost never paid royalties, it was usually an up-front and milestone payments, or a lump sum upon completion. Many game devs were using the payment from the publisher for their last game to pay salaries to develop their next game

If you're interested, "Stay Awhile and Listen" is a pretty great book covering the origins of Blizzard North, including their history of developing shovelware on contract to afford to develop later games

There's actually 2 games before Metal Gear Solid itself, titled Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2.

I assume that what you're saying is you can source for the other metal gear titles individually and haven't actually bought or played them yet.

You can still find the original PC game on amazon used here

However you're in luck that the legacy edition for PS3 has been announced and is coming in July which collects the original Metal Gear up to Peacewalker Here

There's more in the series that you can find under the metal gear wikipedia article (metal gear acid, rising and some versions that came out on handheld devices)

I'm using this controller to play the game, and the experience is fantastic (though it's quite a bit more expensive here than in Japan where I got it).

I have to say - this game is amazing. Very hard, at least for me, but amazing.

Obviously not exactly the same, but Metal Gear Solid is pretty good about this (especially in re-releases, such as...).

Have you heard of the Playstation TV yet? While it doesn't have 100% of all the Vita games on there, it is going to be supporting some of the big ones that people want to play (Persona 4).


Full list of games that are supported here. Includes PS1, PSP, and Vita games.

It also has remote play with the PS4, and it's Playstation Now compatible.

For $100, can't really go wrong with all the things it does.

EDIT: I just read the the TLDR part, it sounds like you want it for the portable purposes, so that kind of makes my part pointless, but I'll leave it none the less for people that might be interested.

If you're using an emulated wiimote, you need nothing.

If you are using a real, physical wiimote, you will need a sensor bar and a bluetooth dongle.

Most of us recommend the Mayflash Dolphinbar as it combines both into one device.

http://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-W010-Wireless-Sensor-DolphinBar/dp/B00HZWEB74

Update that to the latest firmware to alleviate a burn out problem.

We also support official GC controller adapters (From nintendo) and can emulate those for the most accurate GC controller input (surprisingly enough, we get better analog stick input).

http://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-GameCube-Controller-Adapter-Port/dp/B00RSXRLUE/

This is also effectively the same as the official GC adapter.

We also support pretty much any GC -> USB adapter as long as it gives some sort of controller interface, but for obvious reasons we try to recommend one or two.

Just pay $30 for a Xbox 360 controller. It works like a charm; outstanding handling; every game I played so far (didn't play many emulators tbh) immediately recognized it.

MGS has always come out on PlayStation platforms first. I know the first one is on PC, and there is a remake made specifically for the GameCube but it started first on PlayStation. Xbox didn't get a version of MGS2 until the Substance releases a year or so later. Until the HD collection 3 was also exclusive to PlayStation I believe.

Back when MGS4 was announced, there were technical reasons why the game was exclusive to the PS3, and I think that still holds true today considering there is an "ultimate" HD collection for PS3 that includes MGS4 and just the normal HD collection for 360 and Vita.

Edit: For those of you curious about what collection I'm talking about, it's this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO

I'm not completely sure about mapping the Xbox One controller, the 360 worked very well so I expect the One will work similarly so follow their guide for configuring controllers to set up the inputs for GCN games. For Wii games, you can map all the Wiimote buttons and actions to controllers, however it's really best to buy a DolphinBar and use a real Wiimote to play Wii games.

You could emulate them im sure. Or you could get this https://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-TV-vita/dp/B00KVMHSUM and run them natively for cheap. I do know P3 emulates almost perfectly with ppsspp if you want to play it on a phone or pc.

None, 5.1 and 7.1 headphones are a scam.. or at the very least redundant.

http://www.overclock.net/t/640943/why-5-1-headphones-are-a-scam-with-pictures

If you have to go for a traditional headset, Sennheiser's usually a good bet.

Otherwise you can just buy a pair of high quality headphones and a clip-on mic like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

As long as you avoid koss, bose, logitech, turtlebeach, beats, skullcandy, steelseries, razor and creative, you should be fine. USB headphones are usually pretty bad, as well.

http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide

(As for which of these you can use on consoles, I guess that depends on the console.)

I've been using this one for a year now:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377556724&sr=8-1&keywords=zalman+zm+mic

The sound quality seems pretty decent to me, and it's still holding up pretty well after a year

This link is good for the fan translations of the third, seventh, and eighth books. You can buy The Last Wish from Amazon to see if you like it.

Buffalo (yes, the router company Buffalo) makes SNES-style controllers for PC, I have four of them and they're extremely high quality. Button action is great, and I'm pretty picky about that.

https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-iBuffalo-Classic-Gamepad-BSGP801GY/dp/B002B9XB0E

Psychonauts, Batman AA and AC, AssCreed 1&2, and Burnout Paradise all work best with a controller. I use one of these, but some prefer the PS3 controller or cheaper Logitech solution.

I think this is the one I've got.

However, I noticed something weird. When playing it using emulators, the triggers worked. When playing Dead Pixels, the triggers worked.

However, when playing FEAR, the triggers did not work, but all the other buttons did. So. Beats me.

Regardless, it's been a faithful receiver for me and it's been sitting on my desktop for months now with no end in sight. Pretty good purchase.

I imagine most people would buy something like [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-W010-Wireless-Sensor-DolphinBar/dp/B00HZWEB74) which connects the wiimotes through bluetooth, and emulates the sensor bar.

Other than that, there's configurations for using standard controllers with games like [Super Mario Galaxy] (http://www.overclock.net/t/1503468/super-mario-galaxy-2-xbox-controller-config-for-dolphin-emulator)... Hope that kinda answers that for you...

A wired xbox 360 controller works simply by plugging it in on windows 7. On a fresh win7 install windows recognized it right away as an xbox controller. Windows update does have a small driver update for it if you have any issues. Wireless controllers will also work but requires an adapter such as this.

I use it for platformers mainly such as super meatboy as well as snes/nes/ps1/ps2 emulators.


*****

I also prefer the razer version of the controller. It has mechanical switches for the buttons so they feel a bit more crisp and tactile. Imagine a left or right mouse click feel but requiring slightly more pressure.

You can get cards in stores like Best Buy & Gamestop. You can also buy an activation code from Amazon

Check out what this user found:

>Heh, you can, actually. Just doing a quick look at Amazon gives all three games for $39.80[1][2][3].

>I'm not sure re the DLC cost, going by this site, Bring Down the Sky was free for PC, Pinnacle Station is $5, Cerebus Network is free (now), Zaeed / Firewalker Pack / Cerebus Assault / Arc Projector / Crash site were free with it, and you'd get the "online pass" thing with purchase so that's free. So total cost is $44.80 for what they're going to sell for $60. That's pretty ballsy.

If that's not ripping buyers off, I'm not sure what is.

Yes, for their physical items. Try adding a digital Kindle book to the cart, and it won't let you: https://www.amazon.com/Stay-Awhile-Listen-Legendary-Video-Game-ebook/dp/B00G8UL474

https://i.imgur.com/f5LA5hq.png

Or a digital movie: https://i.imgur.com/T3u4HAT.png

Digitals play by different rules. Guess which one EGS sells? Even iTunes and Google Play will do the same

Heh, you can, actually. Just doing a quick look at Amazon gives all three games for $39.80[1][2][3].

I'm not sure re the DLC cost, going by this site, Bring Down the Sky was free for PC, Pinnacle Station is $5, Cerebus Network is free (now), Zaeed / Firewalker Pack / Cerebus Assault / Arc Projector / Crash site were free with it, and you'd get the "online pass" thing with purchase so that's free. So total cost is $44.80 for what they're going to sell for $60. That's pretty ballsy.

$43 on Amazon. Even cheaper on the marketplace. $50 at Gamestop. Not doubting you, but I don't think I've ever seen it go for $100. Maybe they started producing more copies after they noticed a demand, kind like like Xenoblade Chronicles? I don't know.

www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO

You either need one of these and then use your wireless controllers or get an actual wired controller. Xbox controllers are natively supported by Windows and shouldn't require any extra setup whatsoever as long as the game you're trying to play supports controllers.

If you have HDD space to spare it might be worth it to partition ~30GB off and install/dualboot Windows. If you only want it for this, an old version would work just fine. Probably cheaper than buying a new computer too, but then again almost any hunk of junk that still works would probably be able to play this.

I found this joystick after a quick search.

Oh okay, then YESTERDAY Metal Gear Rising was $29.99 (WHICH IS THE LISTED REGULAR PRICE and will probably return to that) and it's currently on sale for Cyber Monday specifically. When it returns to its regular price, the physical copy will again be cheaper.

Again, it's a case of "maybe one day the game you want will be on sale." Not "pc games are always cheaper." That is a lie. If that were the case, the regular listed price for Metal Gear Rising on the website you linked wouldn't be $30, almost double the physical price. (also Amazon is also listing the price for Metal Gear Rising at $9.49 which makes the digital a WHOPPING $2 cheaper...and then you can probably sell the game for $5 and it'll still be cheaper than the digital copy).

Also I specifically said that Walking Dead Season 1 is currently cheap right now but wasn't when I wanted the game, which you clearly didn't read. So okay cool I guess to just ignore what a person says.

Edit: You challenged me to find you one example.

Mass Effect 2 digital download on Amazon, $20 ($7.50 physical for PC): http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-2-PC/dp/B001VJ4DHK/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417433920&sr=8-1&keywords=mass+effect+2

Mass Effect 2 on Steam: $20 (deluxe edition is $7.50, but only for the next day)

Mass Effect 2 physical at Gamestop, $4.99, all the time: http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/games/mass-effect-2/83995

So yeah. That's one example.

Well you're in luck, in ~30 days!

http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO

Seriously, play them all.

Let me start off by saying that I haven't done this yet, I just ordered my wired controller today. But, yes you can connect your xbox controller to your Mac. If you have a wired controller I believe all you need to do is download this driver. For wireless controllers you need one of these for the controller to be recognized, however, I'm not sure if this will work for OSX, but it'll work through bootcamp I'd imagine. Hope this helps in some way!

If you're interested to learn more about the people behind Doom, I highly recommend Masters of Doom. It's by far one of my favorite non-fiction books.

External SSDs are about $20 more expensive for 500G SSDs


Even without a laptop I have a separate SSD for games, so I highly recommend :)


External
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA500B/dp/B073GZBT36?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_3015429011_&pf_rd_p=9bc9d775-b810-58dc-aff0-248ecaa49afc&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3015429011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=9R4KHBSSR52PB8JXKZK6&pf_rd_r=9R4KHBSSR52PB8JXKZK6&pf_rd_p=9bc9d775-b810-58dc-aff0-248ecaa49afc

Internal

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA500B/dp/B073GZBT36?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_3015429011_&pf_rd_p=9bc9d775-b810-58dc-aff0-248ecaa49afc&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=3015429011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=9R4KHBSSR52PB8JXKZK6&pf_rd_r=9R4KHBSSR52PB8JXKZK6&pf_rd_p=9bc9d775-b810-58dc-aff0-248ecaa49afc

Right on man, and these games are very "game-ey" if that makes any sense. Kojima makes very self-aware titles, often 4th wall breaking. I highly recommend a play through of all the games. If you have a PS3, check this set out: https://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO

Xbox Live Gold One Year Subscription Right Now;

• Microsoft: $59.99
  
• Amazon: $46.98
  
  Source
  
  Playstation Plus One Year Subscription Right Now:
  
  
• Sony: $49.99
  
• Amazon: $49.99
  
  Source
  
  Both Amazon sources show a picture of the actual card when the price is in the top right as directed by the respective company.
  
  
  Conclusion: Microsoft's Xbox Live is more expensive than Playstation Plus when buying directly from the company, but is less expensive when buying from Amazon and waiting for a sale.
  

Will amazon ship to you? That is where i got mine.

Might have some luck with play-asia or ebay or newegg

You can find a third party one on Amazon for about ten dollars located here. Despite the advertisements, it's NOT by Microsoft though, and it's a rip off brand (although it still works), although user reviews state that it works fine for the most part, albeit with a few issues.

I'm gonna go with all three. Getting the PS4 at launch, since I pretty much agree with everything you said about the PS3. I started the current-gen with a 360 and didn't get a PS3 until about 18 months ago. Sony does have the best exclusives (for my personal tastes) and they have far better customer service (PS+) so going with the PS4 is a no-brainer for me.

I'm planning on upgrading my PC's GPU shortly after the PS4's launch, from an HD 6850 to a 7970.

I'll pick up the Xbox One eventually but I'm in no hurry on that front.

>More ps4 than pc for me since I don't like playing on mouse or keyboard.

I prefer mouse/keyboard for first person shooters, but I gotta have a controller for racing games and third-person action games.

I just bought this because I picked up some games during the Steam sale that don't work well with mouse/keyboard. Driver: San Francisco in particular. It works really well.

ATHM50s + Zalman clip-on = awesome

As for the wireless adapter, it's fairly cheap, about ten dollars. I have one and it's worked great so far.

You can buy controllers that are almost identical in feel to the original SNES & NES controllers fairly cheaply off of Amazon.

I have this SNES USB wired controller, and there are wireless versions of the SNES, NES, and N64 controllers.

The ones that have been officially translated are all available on Amazon:

The Last Wish: Introducing The Witcher

Blood of Elves

The Times of Contempt

There are also some unofficial translations around for the other books.

I recommend this controller: https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Classic-USB-Gamepad-PC/dp/B002B9XB0E

It's just as good, if not better than the oem snes controller. The cord is a bit short though(2m iirc) so you may need to buy a usb extension cable.

Perhaps, I'm simply pointing but that starting off in MGS5 would be like reading A Dance with Dragons without reading the first 4 Game of Thrones books.

If you own a PS3 you can get all the games (except AC!D and Portable Ops, both of which aren't really important) in a single package.

MS wireless receiver and a 360 controller works well, I have a long HDMI and optical audio to receiver and use my HDTV as a secondary monitor to play all the games on.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342035712&sr=8-1&keywords=Microsoft+wireless+receiver

Since it's shaped like a 360 controller anyway, why not just get a real 360 controller? He's playing on a computer.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wired-Controller-Black/dp/B003ZSN600/

Short of a title being exclusive or badly ported no. I used to play certain games on my console because the controller was the better input device (Bastion, for example). Then I got one of these. Now I've picked up almost all of the games from my console on Steam (thank you sales!). The only game I truly miss is Bayonetta. My console wasn't fired up for months. Only reason I started it the other day was to test my new wireless setup for downstairs. I would use it as a media center but I'm not about to pay $20/3 months for access to the internet. I can get a Roku for under $100.

In reality, they are pretty much the same price:

• 1-year PS Plus [Amazon digital code] - $49.99
  
• 1-year Xbox Live Gold [Fulfilled by Amazon] - $51.94
  
  Even at list price, the different is only $10/year - that hardly qualifies as "criminally overpriced" to me
  
  

Anything written about Daikatana at this point feels like beating a dead horse. Do we really have to kick Romero over this anymore?

If you want to get what I would consider to be the best summary of this and how it all came around Kushner's book Masters of Doom does a pretty good job of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

Here.

You're welcome.

You may also like...

Stay a While and Listen.

A book that details the early days of Blizzard Entertainment and how the world's biggest game company came to start up.

There's a nice book detailing the early years of Blizzard, Stay Awhile and Listen

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HZFCT2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

And yes, that one is legitimately from Microsoft and doesn't require jumping through the Device Manager hoops that the knock offs do.

360 Wireless Receiver which I've had for years.

EDIT: Changed link to 1st party receiver.

yes, $50.
it is already on amazon

I use this. High quality and very similar to the original SNES controller in feel. Careful, there are a lot of cheapos that look similar to the original SNES but will not last you very long.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002B9XB0E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$49.99 for a year on Amazon as well as the official store.

I've kept my controller budget under $150 via garage sales and Amazon deals.

$15 360 reciever

$20 Dolphin bar

$12 n64 Controllers. These don't have great cable lengths and the analog sticks don't work perfectly, but mapping n64 buttons to a 360 controller was a nightmare. These were worth the hassle and price.

Yup...

This is the original one

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Wired-Controller/dp/B003ZSN600

Anywhere?

You can get one off Newegg or Amazon for around that cheap. Both wired and wireless are around the same price, and they go on sale quite often. I bought one not long ago for $18.99 off Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103205

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103325

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZSN600

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZSP0WW

Amazon has the dongle separately if you already own a wireless 360 controller.

Link

Not a big deal for me personally. I have yet to play a single MGS game but I've got this headed to my house as soon as it's released.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTKHXFO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Playstation TV doesn't cost $80 anymore. It's at $45 on Amazon right now.

there was like an "HD Collection" that was indeed missing 1 and 4. But then legacy came out maybe a year later? http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450293753&sr=8-1&keywords=metal+gear+solid+legacy

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

Skip coffee for a couple days and bam, you've got a solid microphone equivalent to those that are installed in many combination headsets.

You do realise that the xbox live gold is on a sale and that it's normal retail price is $59.99.

The PS+ however is $10 chaper, providing similar features plus the "Exclusive discounts of 10% - 75% on the PlayStation®Store", "12 Hit games for the PlayStation®3 system and 6 for the PS Vita system" and "New games added to your collection every month". I belive this makes the PS+ more affordable.

Source #1 Source #2

Dunno why you'd pay $24 for a converter when you can just pay $32 plus shipping for a new wired one that you can also use on the 360: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wired-Controller-Black/dp/B003ZSN600

EDIT: Also note the "New from $23.99" as well, so there ya go.

If you've never played MGS, this is the way to go, buddy. You won't regret it.

I bought this one and it was a legit copy http://amzn.com/0316029181

This one is affordable and has a throttle in the base

How much are you willing to spend?

Currently, I'm using these with this.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2

this is the one from microsoft

You can buy wireless too, this works perfectly:

[receiver] (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370611781&sr=8-1&keywords=xbox+360+wireless+receiver)

One of these

Alternatively, a wireless 360 controller with wireless adaptor for PC.

BAM!

Buy one of these, or one of these with one of these. Nothing beats an Xbox controller.

Of course it's wireless...

You can already use the wireless Xbox 360 controllers with a PC, you just need the USB wireless receiver

https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-iBuffalo-Classic-Gamepad-BSGP801GY/dp/B002B9XB0E

These are high quality.

iBuffalo is about 5.6 feet (little under 2m) and is about ~$20.

Here you go my dude

$50 for a year of PS+.

The price on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Plus-month-Subscription-Download/dp/B004RMK5QG

You can buy 12 months of PS+ for $50.

amazon.com

100% digital, gives code.

If you have a PS3 get this :http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B00CTKHXFO

Fortunately for you, they're releasing the MGS Legacy collection soon, which includes every major game in the series. You could probably pick it up and finish it by the time MGSV hits. Check it out.

Mayflash sells a Dolphin bar for use with PCs.

For motion+ games you really need a sensor bar. The bar itself doesn't transfer any data so if you have a wii hooked up near your pc you can just turn the wii on to power the bar and use bluetooth on your pc to sync the wiimote.

I actually use this because I don't want to move my wii u into my room http://www.amazon.com/TOTALCONSOLE-W010-Wireless-Sensor-DolphinBar/dp/B00HZWEB74

1 long hidden HDMI from my computer to the TV solves the "moving hardware around" problem, and I already own a couple 360 controllers which connect without issue to my PC wirelessly using a $15 dollar adapter

Congrats, but do you really think someone is going to drop $120 to buy 4 XBOX controllers at once?

Either you've got a lot of money to spare or you got those controllers separately, over a decent period of time.

Do you really think everyone else has the same access to resources as you do?

To use a Wireless 360 controller on the PC, you need a Wireless Gaming Receiver.

Even if you used an USB cable on your wireless controller, it wouldn't work. The USB cable only serves for charging the battery. The input signals are wireless only no matter what, and that's why you need the receiver.

I personally use a Wired Controller as player 1, and my roommates use 3 wireless controllers with the receptor. Takes up 2 USB ports.

I have this USB SNES gamepad.

Came highly recommended on Amazon and it's supposed to work with Retropie no problems. It is a hell of a nice gamepad, so I would rather get it to work than try another one. Like I said, I will probably try the whole thing again soon.

Couple notes:

Xbox Live will cost $60 a year. It will be $5 a month for a year contract, which implies that it will be more per month if you don't sign up for a year and pay it all at once. I think Xbox Live is either $9 or $10 if you're only paying for one month.

PS+ is only $50 a year so already $10 cheaper for a year paid all at once.

However, I couldn't find a source on my previous statement. I found one source saying that PS+ costs $10 a month if you pay only monthly and $17.99 for three month increments, though it was stating thats how it is currently. So, I'm not too sure.

Yeah I've always remembered it as Quake being id's big arena shooter game and all my experiences with the first two DOOM games were the single player campaign, though that nostalgia is probably filtered a bit because I also played the shit out of DOOM 64. And even reading Masters of Doom I got the sense that the networked component of DOOM was just sorta tacked on at the last minute.

Really, I don't understand the need for both touchpads especially after seeing that joystick on the right side. They probably should have just put a joystick/dpad on the right hand side.

Their dpad would probably suck ass anyway. Their last iteration of the Steam controller had 4 round direction buttons, I fucking puked when I saw that. Not that I would even use a Steam controller for emulation or anything when stuff like this is only $13.

Sometimes Canada is really fucking annoying for electronics prices...

Xbox 360:

The charging cable only charges the controller. There is no data transfer. No matter what a stripper tells you. You need one of these bad boys. (also available in black.)

PS3:

I believe you need to download some custom drivers as Sony does not support PC functionality out of the box.

Hell naw. "Gaming" peripherals are notorious for being worse at their pricepoint. If you need a mic, get a modmic or a zm-mic. I have the latter and it works great.

If you're looking for new headphones, head to /r/headphones and /r/HeadphoneAdvice. If you're not a self-identified audiophile, stick to their low-end suggestions. I.E. if you're like me and can't hear the difference between a .mp3 and a lossless format, you don't need to shell out hundreds for a set.

PSTV:
-Is loads cheaper. https://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-TV-vita/dp/B00KVMHSUM
-Supports any display with an HDMI input.
-Can use a regular Dualshock controller.
-Still portable; Basically perfect for business trips.

It's a damned shame retailers were so hellbent on killing the thing.

Alright, here's my take:

FPS, Third-Person Shooters, Racing, Action-Adventure -> Xbox 360 Controller. [For wireless controllers you use this.]
(http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2)

Fighting, Platforming, Beat-em-ups, RPGs -> Playstation 3 controller with motioninjoy drivers. If you want wireless you can grab a Bluetooth Dongle That's the one I use.

I have both controllers, and change them out depending on what game I'm playing. For example, I prefer the 360 controller when I'm playing Darksiders but use the PS3 controller for Devil May Cry.