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Diablo IV has cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions
Blizzard isn't about to launch another big Diablo game without microtransactions, and Diablo IV will have the more accepted cosmetic approach.
Microtransactions are a huge part of Blizzard's business (arguably the most important part) and are included in every game. Once a game is released, Blizzard's job is only beginning. The studio uses releases as the inception point for years of monetization through expansions and piecemeal microtransactions. Diablo IV is no different and will embrace Activision-Blizzard's new pinpointed focus on live services, engagement, and monetization.
Luckily Diablo IV's monetization will be cosmetic-only. It won't have a horrible Real-Money Auction House, nor will it be pay-to-win. "Diablo IV will be available as a base game, we'll have expansions, and you'll also be able to acquire cosmetics in the game. It's too early to talk about a shop, but yes," Blizzard designer Joe Shelys told Twitch streamer Quin69.
Continue reading: Diablo IV has cosmetic microtransactions and paid expansions (full post)
Razer unveils new flagship Basilisk Ultimate wireless gaming mouse
Razer has just unveiled its new flagship wireless gaming mouse with the new Basilisk Ultimate wireless gaming mouse, a new product aimed at the esports and FPS markets.
The new Basilisk Ultimate wireless gaming mouse packs HyperSpeed wireless connectivity technology that Razer should see home to the most ultra-low-lag gaming mouse on the planet. There are 14 RGB lighting zones that can be tweaked using Razer's own software.
Razer packs its own Focus+ optical sensor that packs 20,000 SPI precision, a 650 IPS maximum speed, and 50G acceleration. Razer even uses an SoC that includes its own features that will improve accuracy and reduce response time of the wireless mouse to give you the fastest wireless gaming mouse experience on the market.
Continue reading: Razer unveils new flagship Basilisk Ultimate wireless gaming mouse (full post)
Death Stranding coming to Steam, isn't Epic Store exclusive
Death Stranding's PC release won't be exclusive to the Epic Games Store after all.
Contrary to our predictions, Death Stranding will release simultaneously on Steam and the Epic Games Store in Summer 2020. There won't be any staggered launch, and the game won't release first on the Epic Store and then Steam months later. It's being released at the same time on both platforms.
Publisher 505 Games today confirmed the news to the elation of PC gamers everywhere, and we're pretty sure Kojima Productions is happy about this move too. Selling your game on as many storefronts as possible is huge for an independent dev. Steam has a huge 90 million strong monthly active userbase, whereas the Epic Games Store lets Kojima Productions keep 85% of all revenues from games sold on the platform.
Continue reading: Death Stranding coming to Steam, isn't Epic Store exclusive (full post)
Kojima's films will be short, games are still his core focus
A bit ago Hideo Kojima said his game development studio will actually start making movies, but these will only be small slices of films. Games will be at the forefront of Kojima Productions.
Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima's latest game, is already a lot like a film. It's a weird hybrid of interactive gameplay with heavy cutscenes that's wrapped up with the auteur's strange style. This is just the beginning for Kojima Productions, and the team will start branching into films. A bit of context is needed here, though, and we won't see Kojima abandoning games in favor of films any time soon.
A recent BBC interview got everyone interested in Kojima's film-making aspirations, but this isn't the first time the Metal Gear Solid creator talked about making movies. "In the future, Kojima Productions will start making films. If you can do one thing well, then you can do everything well," Kojima said. These productions will be smaller-scale endeavors, not blockbuster titles, so don't expect huge marquee movies from Kojima Productions.
Continue reading: Kojima's films will be short, games are still his core focus (full post)
Rick and Morty Season 4 opening scene released, shows off giant Morty
The wait for Rick and Morty Season 4 is almost over, and with only a couple more days to go Adult Swim has excited everyone just that little bit more with a brand new opening sequence.
The new opening sequence has been released onto the Adult Swim YouTube Channel and shows off some brand new scenes. The opening sequence starts as per usual, but as soon as Rick jumps into his first portal and leaves Morty behind we are introduced to a new scene. We see a giant Morty head with multiple Morty's attached to it floating around outside a planet with a galactic battle occurring.
We then see a half robot crocodile(?) backhanding a bunch of snakes in Ricks garage. Then Rick pulls Morty through a sheet of glass to only be grabbed by a man and beaten up. The sequence then cuts to a giant Morty and then Rick grabbing a gun to defend Beth, Summer and Morty from a double headed goose. Rick and Morty Season 4 will premiere on November 10th at 11:30pm.
Continue reading: Rick and Morty Season 4 opening scene released, shows off giant Morty (full post)
The benchmarks Intel doesn't want you to see, 3950X stomps i9-10980XE
In a recent bout of leaked benchmarks which we reported on both here and here, Intel's upcoming Cascade Lake-X HEDT chip has been shown getting pounded by AMD's Ryzen 3000 mainstream lineup.
The beating continues as new leaked benchmarks have surfaced of the announced but not yet available Ryzen 9 3950X and the soon to release Intel Core i9-10980XE.
Credit to Twitter user @momomo_us for keeping the data coming. The field of battle this time is Geekbench, and unfortunately for Intel, the beatings have continued.
Continue reading: The benchmarks Intel doesn't want you to see, 3950X stomps i9-10980XE (full post)
Take-Two teases huge pipeline of games and sequels
Take-Two Interactive reiterates that it has tons of new games in the works, including big sequels from its blockbuster franchises.
Take-Two is doing really well right now: Its Q2'2020 earnings are up 74% YoY to $857.8 million, but the best is yet to come. The company is investing heavily into new projects, sequels, and IPs across the board, teasing the possible return of titanic heavy-hitters like BioShock and of course the billion-dollar Grand Theft Auto.
In a recent earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick once again teased a robust lineup of new games, as well as new business models like game streaming.
Continue reading: Take-Two teases huge pipeline of games and sequels (full post)
AT&T gives customers 15GB of 'bonus' data, but force $10 extra a month
AT&T is giving customers some bonus data to enjoy, but what kind of 'bonus' would this be if a company didn't make you pay for it?
Yes, I know that sentence is a strange one to read, but its factually correct. AT&T has recently decided to offer Mobile Share plan customers a 'bonus' 15GB of data, which applies to all Share Value plans. Examples of this are the $130 plan that originally gave 30GB of data, now give 45GB and the $225 a month plan that gave 60GB of data, now gives 75GB.
The catch? Well, AT&T is not giving these 'bonuses' out for free. Instead, they will be adding an additional $10 to customers' monthly bills. It should also be noted that these 'bonuses' are not optional and are completely intentional by AT&T. "Starting with your October 2019 bill, you'll get an additional 15GB of data on your Mobile Share plan. This bonus data comes with a $10 price increase." said AT&T in an article.
Continue reading: AT&T gives customers 15GB of 'bonus' data, but force $10 extra a month (full post)
NASA has opened up a flawless extraterrestrial Moon rock from 1972
Just this past Tuesday, NASA opened up some lunar samples that were brought back from the Apollo 17 mission. One of those samples was an untouched Moon rock.
NASA has said that the purpose of opening up tests into Apollo 17's samples is to gain insight into the correct techniques to practice for samples that will be returned from the Artemis mission. Francis McCubbin, NASA's astromaterials curator, said that "Opening these samples now will enable new scientific discoveries about the Moon and will allow a new generation of scientists to refine their techniques to better study future samples returned by Artemis astronauts."
CNN reports that most of the samples that were brought back from the Apollo 17 mission have already been under study by scientists at NASA, but a separate group of samples was set aside and stored for testing with more advanced technology. Dr. Sarah Noble, an ANGSA program scientist, said: "We are able to make measurements today that were just not possible during the years of the Apollo program."
Continue reading: NASA has opened up a flawless extraterrestrial Moon rock from 1972 (full post)
'QooCam 8K' is the worlds first pocket 8K 360 camera and its only $589
When I say handheld camera the most likely cameras to come to mind are probably GoPro, Dji Osmo Pocket or even the Insta360, but what about KanDao?
KanDao have announced a new 360 camera, the QooCam 8K. This camera comes in with the highest video recording resolution in its class of pocket cameras, with the capabilities of shooting in 8K at 30FPS. It can also shoot at 4K in 60 or 30FPS, and if you want to capture something in slow motion you can hit the slow motion mode and shoot in 4K at 120FPS.
The QooCam 8K can fit in your pocket but it still isn't that small, I feel as if it were in my pocket it would be uncomfortable due to its bulkiness. Regardless of that though, its a small price to pay for such a powerful portable camera. The camera sports a large 1/1.7-inch 20-megapixel sensor on both sides, a 2.4-inch OLED touchscreen, a 3,600mAh battery with USB PD 2.0 fast charging support, 64GB of onboard storage plus a microSD slot for extra. Pre-orders are currently available, and the asking price for the QooCam 8K is $589, more information can be found here.
Continue reading: 'QooCam 8K' is the worlds first pocket 8K 360 camera and its only $589 (full post)
Here's the full Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition achievement list
Microsoft and Forgotten Empires will be releasing the definitive edition for Age of Empires II in just a few days, and ahead of the launch, we have the full list of its achievements.
On November 14th, Microsoft and Forgotten Empires will be releasing the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition which is a complete overhaul of 1999's Age of Empires II. The overhaul will include three brand new civilizations, 4K textures, three new campaigns, revamped building destruction, adjustable zoom controls, and much more.
It should also be noted that gamers who own a copy of Age of Empires II: HD will receive a 25% discount when purchasing Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Ahead of the launch, we have the full list of 100 achievements that can be earned for the Windows 10 version of the game. In the entirety of this article, I have provided every achievement, how to earn it, and the amount of points that will be scored for completing the said achievement.
Continue reading: Here's the full Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition achievement list (full post)
Is this a hint towards an Age of Mythology: Definitive Edition?
If you have been following Age of Empires news recently you would know that Microsoft are about to release Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. But what about the incredible counterpart Age of Mythology? Will that get some love?
In a recent Twitter post from the official Age of Empires Twitter account, it's mentioned that this week there will be some news regarding Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. This news will be arriving via weekly streaming event, a link can be found here and here for both Twitch and Mixer respectively.
The Twitter post also happens to mention that there will be Age of Mythology news, could this possibly mean the spin-off from Age of Empires is also getting its own Definitive Edition? Or perhaps is Microsoft thinking about taking the series in a brand new direction such as a whole new sequel, Age of Mythology II?
Continue reading: Is this a hint towards an Age of Mythology: Definitive Edition? (full post)
A massive 2,000 feet wide asteroid will just miss Earth by 0.029 AU
Who doesn't love a good asteroid story, right? We know NASA does, and so should everyone else that is on Earth, as we can still sit in peace and watch another potentially dangerous one fly on by.
This 2,000 foot wide asteroid has been given the name 481394 (2006 SF6), and in just a couple weeks, it will have a close call with our blue planet. NASA scientists believe that the asteroid will come within 0.029 astronomical units of Earth on November 20th. While that sounds like an extremely small amount of space between the asteroid and Earth, it's still actually quite far away.
An astronomical unit (AU) is the average measured distance between Earth and the Sun, which comes in at 93 million miles. This means that the asteroid still manages to be around 2.7 million miles away from Earth, or to put it into a better perspective, more than ten times farther away than the distance between Earth and our Moon. It should also be noted that after the space rock passes Earth, it won't be a threat again for several hundred years as its orbit takes it off course.
Continue reading: A massive 2,000 feet wide asteroid will just miss Earth by 0.029 AU (full post)
China battles online gaming addiction with curfews, time limits & bans
The Chinese government is taking online gaming addiction exceptionally seriously, and to battle its problems, they have introduced a bunch of new rules.
According to the announced new rules, young Chinese gamers will now be restricted from playing online games specifically between the times of 10pm and 8am. This is basically a curfew for minors, and if you under 18, you will also be restricted to 90 minutes of online gaming during the week. Weekend and public holiday play for gamers under 18 will be restricted to just 3 hours.
If you thought that was bad, China has also put spending restrictions in place as well. Gamers between the age of 14 and 18 years old can only spend 400 yuan per month, which is equivalent to $57. Gamers that are younger than 14 are only allowed to spend 200 yuan, or $29 a month. To go alongside these new rules, the Chinese government will also require players to provide "valid identity information" to ensure ages haven't been faked.
Continue reading: China battles online gaming addiction with curfews, time limits & bans (full post)
Ships and boats to soon be 'unsinkable' with this newly invented metal
Imagine if ships could be made unsinkable, it seems like a pipe dream of some sort because everyone knows that metal sinks quite quickly once submerged.
Scientists from the University of Rochester have been working on a solution to this problem, and from the above video, it seems they have come up with quite a great idea. The researchers have created a metal that repels against water by having pockets of air under it keeping it afloat. The researchers have done this by etching into the surface of the metal special patterns which were inspired by the natural world.
The team explains that some spiders and fire ants are hydrophobic, meaning that they repel against water. So, the researchers took this insight and created an etching technique called "superhydrophobic" and applied it to modern-day metals. The results could be revolutionary as described in the paper, "The key insight is that multifaceted superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces can trap a large air volume, which points towards the possibility of using SH surfaces to create buoyant devices."
Continue reading: Ships and boats to soon be 'unsinkable' with this newly invented metal (full post)
Dr Disrespect: anyone over 13 playing Fortnite 'has a problem'
Dr Disrespect has gone on a tirade againsdt Fortnite in a recent stream, with the popular streamer saying that anyone over 13 years old that plays Fortnite has major issues.
The streamer deleted Fortnite from his PC and blasted gamers saying that anyone over 13 playing Fortnite has a "psychological problem". He said: "Get me the f*ck off this stupid f*cking game. Get it off my computer, I don't want phoneyness".
Dr Disrespect continued, saying: "If you play Fortnite and you're over the age of 13 years old, you've got a psychological problem, there's something wrong with you, wake up!"
Continue reading: Dr Disrespect: anyone over 13 playing Fortnite 'has a problem' (full post)
Penis and scrotum surgery is rock solid, erections rise again
I didn't think I'd ever be typing this, but when I read the news I was so interested and blown away by what science can do today that I was compelled to write it.
In what would've been a grueling 14-hour operation, surgeons transplanted a penis, scrotum, and lower abdominal wall to an injured veteran. Post-surgery, the patient reports that he has normal sensation and function -- including "near-normal" erections and even orgasms.
The patient, according to his medical team at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, can urinate standing up with what they call a "strong stream". The anonymous patient was the first to have this complex of a genital transplant, and only the third in the world with a successful penis transplant.
Continue reading: Penis and scrotum surgery is rock solid, erections rise again (full post)
Rick and Morty deepfake video is pure nightmare fuel
The world of deepfake video technology is getting better and better, but that doesn't mean the results of these deepfake videos is perfect. Case in point is this perfect nightmare fuel in a new Rick and Morty deepfake video... check it out:
Ben Marriott is behind the video, walking you though how he did it and his influences as he's going -- with the major influence of Morty being Willem Dafoe from the original Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire. This isn't a perfect "deepfake" as Marriott notes in his video that he uses a "style-transfer software that doesn't technically use artificial intelligence".
This result more or less copies the effects of a regular deepfake, but this is combining the worlds of real video with animation which makes it a mash up of nightmare fuel. It's kinda sickening and laughable, and something Rick and Morty fans really need to check out as Rick and Morty Season 4 is about to debut.
Continue reading: Rick and Morty deepfake video is pure nightmare fuel (full post)
Hideo Kojima stars in Death Stranding as Hideo Kojima in new deepfake
What's better than Hideo Kojima making Death Stranding and being a part of virtually every single part of the game from its inception, to design, to marketing? Hideo Kojima presenting Death Stranding starring Hideo Kojima as Hideo Kojima... that's what. Check out this video:
Someone has very cleverly cut the Death Stranding trailer into a wild deepfake video featuring Hideo Kojima as... well... every damn person in the game no matter their gender. Hideo Kojima plays everyone in this trailer, and while it is (most obviously) not real, it is definitely a fun watch.
Wait until the end of the trailer for the smallest Hideo Kojima ever, too. Remember that Hideo Kojima wants to make movies, but will he write, direct, star, and produce? Using deepfake technology, he could.
Continue reading: Hideo Kojima stars in Death Stranding as Hideo Kojima in new deepfake (full post)
ASRock unveils new TRX40 motherboards for AMD's new Ryzen Threadripper
Now that AMD's new third-gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs are official, motherboards makers are unveiling their boards -- one of the first is ASRock and two new TRX40-based motherboards in the Creator and Taichi families.
ASRock's new TRX40 Creator motherboard is made for content creators that want a super-smooth, and ridiculously fast third-gen Ryzen Threadripper system. ASRock is positioning the new TRX40 Creator motherboard at creators who want to throw in crazy-fast NVIDIA Quadro RTX graphics cards and super-fast PCIe 4.0-based storage.
Included in ASRock's new TRX40 Creator motherboard is 10GbE networking courtesy of AQUANTIA's AQtion 10Gbps BASE-T Ethernet controller, which will offer incredibly fast network transfers. Pair this board up with a crazy-core-count third-gen Ryzen Threadripper CPU, some Quadro RTX graphics cards, PCIe 4.0 storage and 10GbE networking and you have quite the content powerhouse.
Continue reading: ASRock unveils new TRX40 motherboards for AMD's new Ryzen Threadripper (full post)






















