Activision hires Google ecommerce, transaction pro as new president

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 6:27 PM CDT

Activision hires ex-Google sales whiz Daniel Alegre as its new president and chief operating officer, the company today announced.

Activision hires Google ecommerce, transaction pro as new president

Activision is shaking up its senior leadership. The company just made a very interesting hire with Daniel Alegre, a former Google executive with strong background in ecommerce and sales. Coincidentally, Activision just signed a huge multi-year deal with Google to use its servers to host its online games. Alegre is basically second in command and will report directly to Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. The way Kotick talks about Alegre gives lots of clues in what we should expect from the new president's leadership:

"I was deeply impressed by Daniel's entrepreneurial drive and broad and deep experience in driving global growth across a variety of businesses in a rapidly changing industry," Kotick said.

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Doom Eternal runs at 1440p 60FPS on PS4 Pro, 1800p 60FPS on Xbox One X

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 5:12 PM CDT

Doom Eternal's new id Tech 7 engine allows for insane 1000FPS performance on PCs, but it'll also provide smooth high-FPS gaming on consoles too.

Doom Eternal runs at 1440p 60FPS on PS4 Pro, 1800p 60FPS on Xbox One X

id recently confirmed Doom Eternal's perf targets on current-gen consoles. Doom Slayer's new bloodthirsty shooter will hit a consistent 60FPS on all platforms (even the 2013 launch console models), but it'll predictably run best on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Series X. Doom Eternal won't hit native 4K on either system, though, which is to be expected given the insane GPU power needed to pull that off in a high-octane FPS.

On Xbox Series X, Doom Eternal will upscale 1800p 60FPS to 4K on UHDTVs, and also supports HDR to boot. On the PS4 Pro, the game upsamples from 1440p 60FPS to 2160p. Oddly enough the game won't hit native 1080p 60FPS on the Xbox One S, and instead upscales to 1080p from native 900p resolution. id basically dropped the resolution roughly 17% to keep the frame rate locked at 60FPS.

Continue reading: Doom Eternal runs at 1440p 60FPS on PS4 Pro, 1800p 60FPS on Xbox One X (full post)

Doom Eternal is so extreme it has its own pre-workout drink

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 4:04 PM CDT

Want to transform into a demon-smashing brute with insane 22-inch biceps? Introducing Spicy Doom'ade, the new G Fuel energy drink that inspires you raze hell.

Doom Eternal is so extreme it has its own pre-workout drink

Doom Eternal is so hardcore that it apparently has its own official energy supplement. Today the gaming-oriented G Fuel line announced Spicy Doom'ade BFG Edition, a drink mix with an insane 300mg of caffeine per serving.

It gets even more extreme though: The Doom Slayer's personal energy drink adds in some lava-hot cayenne pepper to the mix. Yes, this is a real thing. Doom'ade isn't pre-workout, but it'll definitely give you a nice jolt to keep you focused in whatever you're doing, whether it's pumping iron or pumping enemies full of shotgun shells.

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Digital Xbox E3 show planned for June, expect big news from Microsoft

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 3:16 PM CDT

E3 2020 has been cancelled, but Microsoft will continue as planned with a digital showcase. Expect big next-gen Xbox Series X hardware announcements and demos, as well as a bunch of exciting game reveals.

Digital Xbox E3 show planned for June, expect big news from Microsoft

Xbox's Phil Spencer today confirmed Microsoft will still hold an E3 press conference as a digital stream. "E3 has always been an important moment for Team Xbox. Given this decision, this year we'll celebrate the next generation of gaming with the Xbox community and all who love to play via an Xbox digital event. Details on timing and more in the coming weeks."

Like many publishers and games-makers, Microsoft is planning big things for E3 2020. All eyes will be on the Xbox Series X during these streams, and the next-gen system will be the star of the show.

Continue reading: Digital Xbox E3 show planned for June, expect big news from Microsoft (full post)

Ubisoft to reveal next-gen Assassin's Creed, Far Cry on digital stream

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 2:15 PM CDT

E3 2020 has been cancelled due to coronavirus health concerns. Big publishers like Ubisoft now plan to hold their own digital online streams instead.

Ubisoft to reveal next-gen Assassin's Creed, Far Cry on digital stream

Ubisoft's E3 2020 stage show would've been tremendously exciting. Sources say that Ubisoft plans to release three big heavy-hitters as part of this year's slate: A new Far Cry game, the Viking-themed Assassin's Creed codenamed Kingdom, and the ambitious Watch Dogs Legion. Based on Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot's enthusiasm for next-gen consoles, all of these games should be optimized for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. And both Assassin's Creed and Far Cry would've likely been revealed at the show.

Ubisoft is now pivoting towards a digital venue rather than an on-stage event, but the reveals should be just as tantalizing.

Continue reading: Ubisoft to reveal next-gen Assassin's Creed, Far Cry on digital stream (full post)

E3 2020 is officially cancelled thanks to coronavirus health risks

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Mar 11, 2020 1:21 PM CDT

E3 2020 has been cancelled and will not proceed as planned in June, the ESA today confirmed.

E3 2020 is officially cancelled thanks to coronavirus health risks

For the first time in decades, gaming's popular annual trade show isn't happening. E3 2020 has been shuttered due to the looming threat of coronavirus contagion, and publishers are pivoting towards digital Nintendo Direct-style streams to show off their games.

The ESA plans to fully refund all tickets and is reaching out to exhibitors. Luckily the ESA is exploring options for a digital showcase of sorts.

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Mark Wahlberg to play Mark Wahlberg in new TV show about Mark Wahlberg

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Mar 11, 2020 4:17 AM CDT

HBO Max has a new show in the works and this time around, its going to be focused around the actor Mark Wahlberg and his life.

Mark Wahlberg to play Mark Wahlberg in new TV show about Mark Wahlberg

Variety has reported that HBO Max has ordered an eight-episode series, which is titled "Wahl Street" and will follow Wahlberg and his life as an actor and a businessman. According to the shows official description, "viewers will learn about his successes and failures and glean powerful business and life lessons while also getting to know the cast of colorful characters that make up Wahlberg's real-life entourage."

While the show will be focused around the life of Mark Wahlberg, every episode will feature entrepreneurs pitching business ideas to Wahlberg. Wahlberg also commented on the new show, saying "We're documenting the ups, the downs, the hits, and the misses. It's all the real stuff that's happening while I'm growing my businesses. We're pulling back the curtain, and hopefully, it's an opportunity to inspire other entrepreneurs."

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Microsoft fires digital rocket at world's largest cybercrime network

Jak Connor | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 11, 2020 3:11 AM CDT

One of the biggest cybercrime bot networks has been attacked by Microsoft and its partners and is now facing massive disruption in its day-to-day activities.

Microsoft fires digital rocket at world's largest cybercrime network

According to Microsoft's blog post, just yesterday, Microsoft and its partners from 35 countries conducted a coordinated legal and technical attack on one of the world's most prolific botnets called Necurs. Necurs is reported to have infected over 9 million computers around the world, and the disruption that Microsoft and its partners have been coordinated has taken eight years of researching, tracking, and planning.

Microsoft explains that a botnet is a network of computers that are designed to infect computer users around the globe with malicious software or malware. Once those computers are infected, the cybercriminals control those computers remotely from a secure location and use them to commit crimes. Necurs botnet is one of the largest networks in the spam email threat ecosystem, and Microsoft says that "we observed that one Necurs-infected computer sent a total of 3.8 million spam emails to over 40.6 million potential victims."

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Google's new Chromecast Ultra to come with remote and Netflix in-built

Jak Connor | Internet & Websites | Mar 11, 2020 2:39 AM CDT

Google's Chromecast Ultra is already a fantastic device to have from the living room TV, but what would be the next-generation of Chromecast, and why would you buy it?

Google's new Chromecast Ultra to come with remote and Netflix in-built

According to a reliable source close to 9to5google, Google's next-generation of Chromecast Ultra will be coming with an additional physical remote. This remote will be extremely similar to Apple TV's remote and will feature a microphone and a dedicated Google Assistant button for curating content via the users' voice. 9to5google also reports that the source said to them that the remote would be programmable to users' TV as well.

The new Chromecast Ultra is expected to come with 4K HDR support, as well as give users access to in-built apps such as YouTube TV, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and more. Visually, Google's new device will look a lot like the third-generation Chromecast but with some minor tweaks such as softer and rounder finish. At the moment, there is no pricing or release date mentioned, but it can be assumed that Google was planning on revealing the device at their I/O event that was recently cancelled over the coronavirus.

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This Tesla sounds exactly like a V12 and a V10, but there's a twist

Jak Connor | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Mar 11, 2020 2:06 AM CDT

Electric vehicles are becoming all the craze right now, but some long-term car enthusiasts don't want to make the jump because they will loose out on that precious engine rumble that they love so much.

This Tesla sounds exactly like a V12 and a V10, but there's a twist

While electric vehicles do have the more modern technology, they don't quite have that satisfying engine sound that a V12 or a V10 has when you press down hard on the accelerator. That sound is what keeps a lot of car enthusiasts using traditional motors, but what if that sound could be added to an electric vehicle? Would that be enough for some people to make the jump to EV's?

U.K based Milltek Sport, a company who is known for its work on high-end exhausts is taking that chance, and might even have the solution that everyone is after. Milltek has created a new system that mimics the sound of an internal-combustion engine both inside and outside the car. The sound that is emitted is so well done that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you were blind tested. In the above video the new system is demonstrated on a Tesla Model 3 Performance, and judging by what is heard in the video and the hosts reaction, it sounds fantastic.

Continue reading: This Tesla sounds exactly like a V12 and a V10, but there's a twist (full post)