Even though Steam has put a dampener on Steam Machine plans by announcing that SteamOS will be delayed to at least 2015 “to fix issues with the Steam Controller”, partners to the project are still continuing to design, prototype and demonstrate their own Steam Boxes ready for sale as soon as SteamOS officially launches. Taking the stage again to kick off today’s action for day two of COMPUTEX Taiwan, ASUS announced two new Steam Machines under it’s gaming-orientated brand, ASUS ROG.

While both machines may run SteamOS, the two ASUS ROG Steam Machines share very little in common when it comes to either size or features. We’ll start with the smaller machine first – the ASUS ROG GR8 (ten bucks says you’ll pronounce that like “great”) comes equipped with a Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti graphics card inside, but is incredibly slim – ASUS wouldn’t give the exact dimensions, but did state it took no more than “2.5 litres” of space on a desk. The device is also capable of supporting 4K HD output – though you’ll have to supply your own screen – and also supports Miracast, making it a plausible console alternative. ASUS claim the device’s size-to-power ratio is the best it’s ever made.

Meanwhile, the ROG G20 is not only bigger, but more powerful as well. While it keeps the Core i7 Processor of its smaller sibling, the G20 swaps the graphical chippery for the GeForce GTX 780 – truly a gaming machine. ASUS claims that because it uses a hidden airflow tunnel for cooling, it’s capable of “near silent” operation; and has supposedly measured it to emit just 25dB of noise while idle. We at Sanitarium.FM point out that an idling machine is always quieter than one actually being used for gaming, which is what SteamOS is primarily about, and the real test for how “quiet” a machine may be is in measuring its loudness during a hardcore gaming session. The hidden airflow tunnel does, however, result in a machine that has no visible exhaust system whatsoever, which is unusual for gaming-orientated computers. For that added touch of class, the G20 also has built-in lighting – and even here ASUS feel the need to show off, claiming that the lighting is capable of cycling through millions of colour shades. Really, ASUS? Millions?

ASUS have decided to withhold further details of both Steam Machines until Valve reveal their own Roadmap for Steam OS’ eventual launch, which as stated at the top of this article has suffered some delays. Additionally, as is typical of Computex reveals, ASUS are currently keeping mum on expected retail prices for the machines as well. We expect more details to appear alongside Valve’s next announcement.

Many hardcore players of Nintendo’s long-running, franchise-merging beat-em-up, Super Smash Bros, will attest that the only way to properly play the games is with a proper, chunky controller with plenty of buttons to enable the widest range of moves and tactics. It’s no surprise really: having started on the N64 and then moved on to the GameCube for the subsequent sequel, Melee – both consoles whose controllers could be described as chunky and button filled – Smash Bros. was a game that took advantage of every single button to provide plenty of attacks, taunt options, grabs and – for the wusses – defensive moves. That Nintendo had to simply every character’s movesets for the Wii follow-up, Brawl, due to the Wii Remote having just four buttons and a D-Pad was seen as sacrilege to many fans of the previous two titles, who felt reducing the immediately available attacks and using two-button combinations for most moves just didn’t offer the level of control they were used to.

Luckily, the Wii offered something that catered to those fans: Gamecube backwards-compatibility. Realising that there would be those craving the greater control of the previous games, Nintendo allowed people who had plugged Gamecube controllers into the Wii to use them as controllers for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, letting them play the new game with their old, familiar controllers even though they’d still be subject to the simplified move sets. That players familiar with the previous generation could fight again using the ergonomic, full-featured controllers they’d gotten accustomed to was a godsend; and so, when the Wii U removed Gamecube compatibility and the Gamecube ports, many weeped that they’d not get the same option in the next Super Smash Bros. title.

Well, dear fans, weep no longer:

It’s official: The #WiiU version of #SmashBros. will be playable with GameCube controllers! pic.twitter.com/JMWqTgyM3Y

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) May 30, 2014

That’s right! Nintendo UK and Nintendo of Europe took to Twitter today to announce that Gamecube Controller support will be hitting the Wii U; and will feature in the next Smash Bros. title! From the picture posted, it appears the support will be added via a new accessory which will plug in to the Wii U via USB and offer the standard four Gamecube controller ports like on the original ‘Cube and the Wii. Given the nature of the accessory, it seems unlikely this will be used ONLY for Smash Bros. – many Wii games and WiiWare / Wii Virtual Console titles supported the Gamecube and the Wii U is backwards-compatible with those, so we may see Gamecube controls returned to those games; but what’s stopping Nintendo also baking Gamecube controller support back into the Wii U Virtual Console or even into future Wii U titles? The prospect is tantalising.

Interestingly, the picture appears to show the Wii U with both front USB ports in use, though the connectors are different colours. This begs the question as to whether the Gamecube add-on will require one or two USB ports to use. What’s more, the plugged-in Gamecube controller in the picture features a Smash Ball decal – just a decorative touch, or will whole new, special-edition Gamecube controllers hit the stores once again? There’s a lot of questions still to be answered; but one thing’s for sure. Those of you who’ve kept hold of your Gamecube controllers for the last couple of years or more, now have even more reason to feel smug.

Gg Nintendo. Now people can’t tell me I’m crazy for keeping four new gcn controllers all these years!

— Digmbot, via Facebook

A multi-layered series that looks back to the formative years of Ryu and Ken as they live a traditional warrior’s life in secluded Japan. The boys are, unknowingly, the last practitioners of the ancient fighting style known as “Ansatsuken” (Assassin’s Fist). The series follows them as they learn about the mysterious past of their master, Goken, and the tragic, dark legacy of the Ansatsuken style. Can their destiny be changed, or will history repeat itself?

Well, time for our first on demand/youtube review and what a doozey of a review aswell…
Season 1 of Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, the follow on to the Youtube short from 2010, Streetfighter: Legacy, which showed a night time fight between Ryu and Ken and got the whole of Street Fighter fandom around the world salivating for a real live action Street Fighter spectacle (especially after the travesty that was Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li)

This is very much a prequel to the First Street Fighter: World Warriors game/story and the years of Ryu (Mike Moh) and Ken Master (Christian Howard) training, aswell as the young life and training of their Sensei Goken (Akira Koieyama) and his brother Goki (Gaku Space), and his betrayal of Gotetsu (Togo Igawa) to become Akuma (Joey Ansah), the Demon of the No Hado!

The first thing that strikes straight away is the choreography of the training and fight scenes.  The training is utterly wonderful to watch and the fight scenes, especially the CGI added for the ingame moves, like the Hadouken and ShoRyuKen look cool.

Filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria, the locations are stunning too, the perfect backdrop for the training of two young world warriors into the video game characters we’ve been knocking heads with for nearly 30 years now

What I WASN’T expecting, yet supremely surprised about was the introduction of Ken’s father (Mark Killeen) in Episode 4: A Rough Night,  a boxer, who spends a day training with Ryu and Ken and showing them a few of his moves.  What really stood out most in this episode was the bond and training these actors and fighters have, the moves and dialect is fluid and warm and the fighting/training is quick and beautiful to watch aswell.

But they also get a taste of street fighting at a local bar against some American GI’s (and leave them in a mess of course) in this episode, of course we see Ken in full flow offering large bets, while Ryu looks out of his depth and uncomfortable being thrown into the ring.  Everything we know about these characters is there and real.

The real stand out throughout the series though is Goken, more than just their teacher, he’s a father figure and one that is respected and loved by both teenagers, and the flashbacks to his own training and trials with his brother Goki under the training of Gotetsu is part of the Street Fighter legacy that hasn’t been deeply looked into before now and it was good to get to know.

Goki’s transformation into Akuma is good to watch aswell, almost a rocky level montage of his body falling apart under the power of the No Hado and his transformation into the demon Akuma is great to watch.

The one thing that I don’t get with this series is why its even a series.  All 12 episodes were released right away and at 9/10 minutes an episode, I have to ask why…   If this was released on DVD/BluRay as a feature length episode, like  , Then I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Here’s hoping Machinima see sense to release it as a movie.

Now, to get back into the dojo myself, this gave me a definite recharge to my No Hado!

~9.5/10  Utterly Amazing!

Got Steam? Have you got multiple computers at home (or wherever you usually do your gaming)? Are they networked? If you answered “yes” to all of these, then this news might interest you.

Three months ago, Valve enabled ‘Family Sharing’ for all Steam users, to allow customers who know each other to share their libraries of games among one another (with some restrictions). Today Valve have launched a feature that takes it even further, letting users stream installed Steam games on any machine with any other computer on the same local network.

By logging into the same Steam account on two connected computers, Steam will now allow a remote computer to install, launch and play games by streaming them from the computer they were first installed on, allowing less powerful computers and laptops to stream games from a high-end gaming computer (for example) and enjoy the games just like they were installed on that computer, but with performance closer to that of the high-end computer since it’ll do all the work instead. Assuming a solid internet connection, this potentially means even an old junker can now play top-end Steam titles with little effort required.

Games can be transferred from the host computer to another – and vice versa – at any time, even mid-play. Bandai Namco Games has even stated that with a proper set-up, gamers might even “forget” they’re playing the game remotely instead of locally – or so claims a quote attributed to the company on Steam’s in-home streaming page.

While the feature at the moment is restricted to Windows-based PCs, Steam state they will attempt to introduce it to MacOS and Linux versions of the system in the future – given the company’s desire to improve gaming on non-Windows PCs, I expect we’ll hear about this very soon indeed. We assume this will also include SteamOS, being a Linux variant of Valve’s own design – if so, the new Streaming capabilities open up a whole realm of possibilities. Raspberry Pi-based SteamOS Gaming Computer for little more than the cost of a screen, keyboard and mouse, anyone?

We’ve known about it since February, but finally, D-day (Deactivation Day) has arrived for online services on Wii and DS games. At some point in the next 24 hours, Nintendo is turning off the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Service as used for Wii and DS games. This means you’ll no longer be able to use the WiFi on Wii and DS to play those games online, download new content, or access leaderboards.

That means no more Mario Kart DS races; no more Professor Layton downloadable puzzles; no more online Multiplayer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl or the original Monster Hunter 3. And while it was originally suggested that DSi-enhanced games would not be affected, this seems to have been wishful thinking, as even Pokémon Black and Pokémon White and their sequels (along with the other DS-era Pokémon Titles) are being disconnected (Nintendo UK’s page about it only lists games with Downloadable Content as being discontinued; the American site is a little more comprehensive, although some titles have different names between regions).

While the games will no longer be playable online or be able to receive downloadable content, local Wireless is unaffected – so you can still wirelessly race, battle, puzzle against or otherwise play with your mates within a ten-metre range; and use Download Play if your game offers it. The games will also continue to have all their offline play features. Meanwhile, Pokémon fans worried their Pokémon collections from Generations 4 or 5 are permanently locked to stay in that generation need not worry – using a 3DS, it’s still Possible to move Pokémon from some DS Pokémon Titles to the Pokémon Bank and then to Pokémon X and Y, thanks to the Poké Transfer app for 3DS which remains functional.

Online services that do not use Nintendo WFC, such as Netflix and Youtube apps, also remain functional on their respective devices (for as long as the companies behind those apps continue to support the Wii or DS, anyway); and Internet Browsing is still also possible. Meanwhile the Wii Shop Channel is also remaining up and running for the moment, so WiiWare and Virtual Console games can still be downloaded, gifted and so on. Even so, it’s clear where the real focus of online for Nintendo is now – Wii U, 3DS, and the Nintendo Network, all of which will continue their normal lives long after their predecessors are cut off later today.