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Huawei's new Nova 4: 48+20MP rear camera, in-display camera

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Dec 17, 2018 8:16 PM CST

Huawei has just unveiled its smartphone with the unveiling of the Nova 4, the first handset from the Chinese smartphone giant to rock a larger-than-life 48-megapixel rear-facing camera and an in-display camera round the front.

Huawei's new Nova 4: 48+20MP rear camera, in-display camera

The new Huawei Nova 4 smartphone features a large 6.4-inch IPS LCD display with a native 2310x1080 resolution, in-display camera, and Kirin 970 processor... so don't expect performance like the Huawei Mate 20, but something slightly less powerful. Inside, there's 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash storage, while the camera rig on the back rocks a 48-megapixel sensor and a second camera with a 20-megapixel sensor.

Battery wise Huawei is looking after you with a large 3750mAh battery and 18W fast-charging support, and with a price of around $450 that is not bad at all. Huawei will most likely not be bringing its Nova 4 smartphone to the US market but we should see it deployed in other markets around the world in the beginning of 2019.

Continue reading: Huawei's new Nova 4: 48+20MP rear camera, in-display camera (full post)

Battlefront II to last throughout 2019

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 4:04 PM CST

DICE and EA plan to support Battlefront II well into 2019 with new updates and content rollouts.

Battlefront II to last throughout 2019

Despite being born in controversy, Battlefront II has enjoyed a long life as a service game and will continue to unfold throughout next year. DICE recently outlined some of the new content coming to Battlefront II, affirming the game isn't going to die out any time soon.

"We're truly excited about our plans for 2019. 2019 will kick off by introducing Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, more clone trooper Appearances, and a new mode featuring command posts and capital ship takedowns. Continuing beyond, we're working to bring even more content and experiences to Star Wars Battlefront II," the post reads.

Continue reading: Battlefront II to last throughout 2019 (full post)

Xbox Scarlett to have mid-grade and enthusiast consoles

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 10:34 AM CST

Like the Xbox One ring of hardware, Microsoft's new next-generation Xbox range will belong to a family of systems.

Xbox Scarlett to have mid-grade and enthusiast consoles

Microsoft is currently developing multiple new Xbox consoles that will be part of the new codenamed Scarlett hardware family. Back at E3 2018, Xbox division head Phil Spencer confirmed more than one system was in the works, and sources say as many as three new Xbox variants may be on the way. According to various rumors and sources, the games-maker will have a staggered tier of Xbox Scarlett systems that essentially mimic the price range and spec ratio of the Xbox One S and Xbox One X systems.

The cheaper and more accessible Xbox One S successor is reportedly built from the Lockhart devkit and has mid-range specifications, whereas the beefier Xbox One X successor's devkit is called Anaconda and may tap AMD's next-generation Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU architectures for enthusiast-grade console gaming. The hardware itself should be highly customized and utilize Microsoft's full range of services and content, and play existing Xbox One games via backward compatibility--both digital and disc-based.

Continue reading: Xbox Scarlett to have mid-grade and enthusiast consoles (full post)

Mega Man Legacy Collection has sold 1 million units

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 5:00 AM CST

One of Capcom's longest running hero's is undoubtedly Mega Man, and even though many gamers now-days may only recognize him from the recently released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, our blue hero has made an achievement all by himself.

Mega Man Legacy Collection has sold 1 million units

According to Capcom's financial data which dates back to September, the Mega Man Legacy Collection which released back in 2015 and was re-released onto the Nintendo Switch earlier this year has now finally reached 1 million units sold. This is quite an achievement for the Blue Bomber as it has been 15 years since a Mega Man title has reached this many units sold, especially considering that there is over 50 games on a multitude of systems.

For some comparison statistics, the other Mega Man titles that reached 1 million sales are: Mega Man 2. Mega Man 3, Mega Man X and Mega Man Battle Network 4. The highest selling Mega Man game to be released by Capcom is 1988's Mega Man 2 which was released back on Nintendo Entertainment System and raked in 1.51 million units. The latest installment into the Mega Man franchise is Mega Man 11 and that title is available across all platforms.

Continue reading: Mega Man Legacy Collection has sold 1 million units (full post)

Mario's voice enters Guinness World Record, 100 performances

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 4:00 AM CST

Mario has got to be one of the most legendary and influential video game characters ever created. Being up there with other legendary characters such as Pac-Man and Sonic The Hedgehog, the voice of Mario is certainly one of the aspects most people remember him for and now it has been solidified in history with an award.

Mario's voice enters Guinness World Record, 100 performances

Charles Martinet is the voice actor for our favorite plumber and has recently Tweeted a photo of himself receiving a record certificate for entry into the Guinness World Record. The record that has been achieved my Martinet comes under the category for "most video game voiceover performances as the same character".

The release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pushed the total number of voiceovers for Martinet to a massive mark of 100, making him the leading video game voice actor for a specific iconic character. Martinet thanks both Guinness and also Nintendo for the opportunity to receive achievement. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading: Mario's voice enters Guinness World Record, 100 performances (full post)

Mortal Engines movie could HARDCORE fail, $42m made so far

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 17, 2018 3:00 AM CST

From the director of the legendary Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson's most recent project titled Mortal Engines could be a catastrophic failure, with expectations of the movie losing upwards of $100 million.

Mortal Engines movie could HARDCORE fail, $42m made so far

Mortal Engines which is based on the novel by Philip Reeve's has released in North America and has only managed to rake in a minuscule $7.5 million. Variety has reported that the sales expectations for the movie have projected an upwards loss of $100 million, some projections even reaching in the higher regions of $125 million. On a global scale, Mortal Engines has only made a total of $42 million so far, while having a budget of $100 million with tens of millions spent of marketing.

It may have been the wrong time-frame to release the film, as at the moment the movie is competing against other big titles such as; "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and Clint Eastwood's new thriller "The Mule". According to Jeff Bock, an analyst for Exhibitor Relations, "This is a true Christmas disaster and a lump of coal for Universal, they took a big swing, and they struck out." Even though Mortal Engines has already been shown in Russia, the U.K., Australia, and Korea there still could be hope for the movie, as it has yet to open in the China marketplace which is a prominent factor in box office sales.

Continue reading: Mortal Engines movie could HARDCORE fail, $42m made so far (full post)

God of War's director confirms viewable Death Stranding demo

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 2:00 AM CST

We are all waiting on the edge of our seats for details about Hideo Kojima's extremely interesting title Death Stranding, and now another tease has been released. God of War's director Cory Barlog has confirmed the existence of available demo.

God of War's director confirms viewable Death Stranding demo

The news has come from Hideo Kojima's Twitter post regarding the current celebration of the third year of Kojima Productions. The independent development studio was created back on the 16th of December, 2016 and to celebrate its anniversary the studios Hideo Kojima wrote an inspirational post about expressive creation. The post references one of the reasons Kojima continues to make games and content despite what some of his peers were telling him to do; "there're ppl out there waiting for your work so keep creating for them".

God of War director Cory Barlog joined in on the celebration as well, congratulating Kojima for his efforts and said he is looking forward to all that the director has to create. Within the Twitter thread a question was posed to Barlog from Rodrigo Zanotta, it read "Just between you and me @corybarlog , you watched a private gameplay of Death Stranding didn't you?", Barlog answered with a simple "Yes." This confirms that they is a playable demo state of Death Stranding other than the walkthrough one we already saw at this years E3. At the moment there is no release date for Death Stranding but it will only be exclusive to PlayStation 4.

Continue reading: God of War's director confirms viewable Death Stranding demo (full post)

New Street Fighter V character 'Kage' image leaked early

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 17, 2018 1:00 AM CST

At the moment Capcom is hosting their Capcom Cup and it seems that a new Street Fighter V character announcement was planned for the even. An image has leaked online and has revealed the characters appearance and name.

New Street Fighter V character 'Kage' image leaked early

The leak comes from what GameSpot are claiming to be a new update that some people have received ahead of schedule. The update contains what seems to be the new character called Kage. From the above image from Twitter user DatFeetLee, Kage can be found in the first character window in the character select menu.

The Capcom Cup tournament is on at the time of writing this picking up quite a lot of traction on Twitch.tv, the Grandfinal has so far raked in a stable 64,000 viewers. It could be a possibility that Capcom are planning to reveal multiple characters at the event and that this leak is just one "accident" to build some hype for the other reveals.

Continue reading: New Street Fighter V character 'Kage' image leaked early (full post)

Intel's new Xeon W-3175X: 28C/56T could cost up to $4000

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Dec 16, 2018 11:32 PM CST

Intel is preparing its new flagship Xeon W-3175X processor to compete with AMD's continued Ryzen Threadripper threat, with the new CPU from Intel coming in as a 28C/56T chip in a world where Threadripper 2990WX chimes in as a 32C/64T beast.

Intel's new Xeon W-3175X: 28C/56T could cost up to $4000

But now we have list prices on the Xeon W-3175W with the 28C/56T chip costing up to $4000 which is a considerable price for the super-enthusiast workstation monster from Intel. The new Intel Xeon W-3175X boasts 28 cores and 56 threads with a base CPU clock of 3.1GHz and boost CPU clock of 4.3GHz, packing 38.5MB of L3 cache, support for 6-channel DDR4 memory (512GB total), and a huge 68 PCIe 3.0 lanes (44 on the CPU, 24 from the PCH).

Some of the listed prices for the Intel Xeon W-3175X range from $3900 through to just under $7000... all the while AMD is selling the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX processor for $1700, and it packs more threads than the Xeon CPU, for less than half the purported price of Intel's new flagship Xeon.

Continue reading: Intel's new Xeon W-3175X: 28C/56T could cost up to $4000 (full post)

3DMark's ray tracing benchmark: RTX 2080 Ti scores 51FPS

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Dec 16, 2018 10:45 PM CST

The best benchmark for testing out NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX series graphics cards is nearly here, with the new 3DMark Port Roay benchmark to be one of the first real-time ray tracing benchmarks available.

3DMark's ray tracing benchmark: RTX 2080 Ti scores 51FPS

GALAX has recently hosted its huge GALAX GOC 2018 overclocking event where some of the best overclockers in the world descended to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to play around with the new 3DMark Port Royal benchmark among other things. Some of the benchmark runs have been published which means we get an early look at what performance to expect on the flagship GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card from NVIDIA.

The highest 3DMark Port Royal benchmark score is from Swedish overclocker Tobias 'Rauf' Bergstrom who scored 11069, with an average of 51.25FPS on the GALAX GeForce RTX 2080 Ti that was overclocked to 2640MHz on the GPU and 2088MHz on the GDDR6, all cooled with liquid nitrogen. Inside, Rauf used an overclocked Core i9-9900K and an ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac motherboard.

Continue reading: 3DMark's ray tracing benchmark: RTX 2080 Ti scores 51FPS (full post)

It costs $600 to unlock everything in Red Dead Online

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 7:10 PM CST

Red Dead Online's new microtransactions are now live, and if you want to buy everything outright it'll cost you the equivalent of two PS4's.

It costs $600 to unlock everything in Red Dead Online

It's no surprise that Red Dead Online, Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode, is monetized in a similar fashion to GTA Online. After all, GTA Online has pulled in over $1 billion and remains a top earner for Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar. Red Dead Online lets players buy a premium currency called gold that can quickly unlock items and gear, or earn it for free at a slower pace by playing the game.

Based on current numbers players can earn a gold bar every two hours. Unlocking everything in the store with gold costs about 2,134 gold bars, as per Forbes' calculations. But what if you want to just buy everything right away with real money? Let's take a look at the easiest possible route to buy that much gold. Rockstar current sells gold in five tiers ranging from $10 for 25 bars to $100 for 350, and of course this last one gets you the most bang for your buck. So 2,134 divided by 350 is roughly 6.09, meaning you'd have to spend $600 to buy six 350 gold bundles to unlock everything.

Continue reading: It costs $600 to unlock everything in Red Dead Online (full post)

Over-monetization will kill Fallout 76

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 5:35 PM CST

Fallout 76's launch has been mired in controversy and poor decisions, but adding more microtransactions this early would be a death sentence.

Over-monetization will kill Fallout 76

Like all service games, Fallout 76 needs to follow a very particular sequence that revolves around full game sales, engagement, and monetization. This billion-dollar cycle takes the utmost care and dedication to get right, a balancing act that requires diligence and intense risk-management. It's a linear sequence with steps, so one wrong step up the ladder could send the whole thing crashing down. This is what will happen if Bethesda adds more monetization options in an already badly-designed service game.

But who says Fallout 76 will get extra microtransactions? In a recent YongYea video I discovered that Reddit sleuths have uncovered some potential hints in the source code for the game's recent update. The code mentions lunchboxes, which have users concerned Fallout 76 is getting more spending opportunities. Lunchboxes are lootbox-style pails that are monetized in Bethesda's free-to-play Fallout Shelter and contain random rewards like guns, items, and more. It's believed that lunchboxes could make their way into Fallout 76 in a similar fashion, albeit in a more limited cosmetic sense as the game is only monetized via cosmetic microtransactions and not those that actually affect gameplay.

Continue reading: Over-monetization will kill Fallout 76 (full post)

Heroes of the Storm isn't dead, it's just slowing down

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 4:23 PM CST

Blizzard is dialing back its rapid development of Heroes of the Storm so it can focus on bigger games.

Heroes of the Storm isn't dead, it's just slowing down

In a bid to change direction and push onward to potentially better things, Blizzard has cancelled Heroes of the Storm's eSports tournaments and is shifting some resources from the live game. The company announced the decision earlier this week, which sees Blizzard slowing down the game's updates and content rollouts. Heroes of the Storm isn't dying but is instead being stretched more thin across a longer period of time. New characters and events will still happen, the devs say.

This is nothing new for the games industry. Months before a game is finalized or even shipped, whole dev teams typically begin work on the next project. Live games that stagnate or lose their money-making potential follow a similar pattern as developers hop to other teams to work on new games. And we know Blizzard is working on a number of unannounced projects, including Diablo 4.

Continue reading: Heroes of the Storm isn't dead, it's just slowing down (full post)

PS4 sales hit 88 million, surpass PS3

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 2:57 PM CST

Sony's PlayStation 4 has sold-in more than 88 million consoles worldwide, sales tracker VG Chartz reports.

PS4 sales hit 88 million, surpass PS3

According to the latest stats, Sony's PlayStation 4 family of systems has now sold-in 88.05 million units globally since 2013 and dethroned the PS3's lifetime sales of 86.09 million. The data doesn't stipulate whether this is sell-in (shipments to retailers) or sell-through (direct purchases and shipments to consumers), but the latest figures from Sony have PS4 sell-in at 82.2 million. We'll have to wait official metrics from the company to find out actual figures.

This continued momentum in PS4 sales aligns with Sony's recent forecast bump. The games-maker recently raised its PS4 sales target by one million and now expects to sell 17 million consoles up until the fiscal year's end in March 2019. It also underlines an interesting future for the PlayStation brand, namely with a possible continuation of the iterative console cycle.

Continue reading: PS4 sales hit 88 million, surpass PS3 (full post)

Relying solely on eSports is risky for competitors

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 2:06 PM CST

Recent events in eSports reminds competitors, athletes, and players about the dangers of over-relying on a big publisher for specific things, especially non-employee incomes.

Relying solely on eSports is risky for competitors

Blizzard's arbitrary and sudden decision to cancel Heroes of the Storm's future eSports tournaments has left many without a job or a source of income. This kind of switch-off can happen at any time to any eSports branch, effectively cutting hundreds of people off from a paycheck. A recent Kotaku article really drove the point home and really made me think about what eSports actually is and how it can be a risky venture for competitors.

Let's get one thing clear: eSports exists solely as a marketing tool. It's all about engaging players with the promise that, if you play hard and long enough, you could one day be on that stage earning millions. It's not about the betterment of the community, so to speak, or arming pro players with cash: it's about bringing maximum exposure to millions of consumers in a competitive sports-like setting. eSports is only a thing because corporations use it as a combined way to reach average consumers, engage a playerbase (which is then monetized with special events, themed skins, or even paygates), and run ads.

Continue reading: Relying solely on eSports is risky for competitors (full post)

Epic Store gives away free games every two weeks

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 10:34 AM CST

In a bid to pull users away from Steam, the newly launched Epic Store is giving away two games every month for an entire year.

Epic Store gives away free games every two weeks

Many PC game stores already offer free games without any kind of purchase or subscription--GOG, Humble Bundle, and of course Steam--and Epic Games' new digital games store is following suit. The fledgling marketplace, which aims to compete directly with Valve's reigning platform, will give away a free game every two weeks. The promo starts with the excellent exploration sim Subnautica (ends Dec. 27) and follows up with the massively tough platformer Super Meat Boy (Dec. 28 - Jan. 10).

Continue reading: Epic Store gives away free games every two weeks (full post)

Next-gen Xbox Scarlett development kit is called 'Anaconda'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Dec 16, 2018 2:08 AM CST

The hype for next-gen consoles is beginning to get louder and louder, and while we have been hearing more about Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 console, that doesn't mean Microsoft's new Xbox Scarlett console has been invisible.

Next-gen Xbox Scarlett development kit is called 'Anaconda'

The latest news for the next-gen Xbox comes from Windows Central write Jez Corden, who tweeted the next-gen Xbox development kit is codenamed "Anaconda", with Microsoft staying with its reptile-themed codenames. The original Xbox One was codenamed "Durango" while the beefier Xbox One X console was codenamed "Chuckwalla".

Microsoft should be using AMD's upcoming CPU and GPU technology inside of the next-gen Xbox Scarlett include Zen 2 as well as the custom-made Navi GPU architecture which will be refitted for a new PC graphics side. The new Xbox 'Anaconda' console will see a Navi-based GPU that will use GDDR6 memory technology, over the HBM2 used in Vega and GDDR5 used on the Radeon RX 400/500 series and the Polaris-based GPU inside of the Xbox One/S/X consoles.

Continue reading: Next-gen Xbox Scarlett development kit is called 'Anaconda' (full post)

Detroit: Become Human sells 2 million+ units since May 2018

Jak Connor | Gaming | Dec 15, 2018 1:00 AM CST

Quantic Dream, the developers behind the exclusive PS4 title Detroit: Become Human have announced that their title has surpassed the 2 million units sold mark.

Detroit: Become Human sells 2 million+ units since May 2018

The announcement comes from the official PlayStation Twitter account and celebrates that Quantic Dream's title "has sold through more than 2 million units worldwide on PlayStation 4 since its launch on May 25, 2018." The developers also commented on the post saying that Detroit: Become Human has become the companies fastest selling title they have ever made, creating a new milestone for the company.

Detroit: Become Human could be considered a title that wouldn't be for the average gamer as its gameplay is so in-depth and plethora of options could scare some players away. It isn't a battle royale and isn't necessarily a fast-paced game but despite all of this, Quantic Dream has created an experience like no other and should be proud of the milestone they have hit. For more information regarding Detroit: Become Human, visit the official website here.

Continue reading: Detroit: Become Human sells 2 million+ units since May 2018 (full post)

Project Stream testers get free copy of AC: Odyssey

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 14, 2018 10:32 PM CST

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is one of the best games of 2018, and honestly sits as one of the best games I've played in the past few years. It's a sprawling adventure set in the heart of ancient Greek myth and legend that's full of action and interesting locales. In short, you should totally play it if you haven't already. And you totally can for free without having to download anything if the gods are willing.

Project Stream testers get free copy of AC: Odyssey

If you got into Google's big beta test for its streaming service, then you can get a free copy of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey on PC. Ubisoft today announced the promo and confirmed that all Project Stream saved data progress would carry over to your new PC version, but your Helix credits won't make the jump. We got into the Project Stream beta and I can honestly say it paints a very bright future for gaming.

There's some rules though. Getting in isn't enough; you have to play at least one hour of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey within Project Stream from now until the beta test ends on January 15. It doesn't matter if you've played over an hour in the past, and to get the free copy you need to log an additional hour of playtime...which shouldn't be hard to do in Ubisoft's vibrant and massive open world.

Continue reading: Project Stream testers get free copy of AC: Odyssey (full post)

Google's Project Stream is the future of gaming

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Dec 14, 2018 8:41 PM CST

Google's new game streaming service gives us a glimpse at a brighter future of gaming.

Google's Project Stream is the future of gaming

I remember when gaming was convenient. It used to be you bought a game, popped it into your console or PC, and started playing. But today's gaming landscape is fraught with large day one patch downloads, long disc installs, and even more frustrating game downloads. Then there's the required patches for live games like Fallout 76 and Destiny 2 that typically annoy gamers when they fire up the game unawares. The point is there's always something to wait on in gaming these days,

and now that most games have live service elements, there's even more opportunities to spend money.

Continue reading: Google's Project Stream is the future of gaming (full post)

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