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HTC's next-gen flagship phone should rock 4K display
HTC could steal the smartphone show next year with their next-gen U12 handset, something that should boast some powerful internals but a beautiful 4K display.
According to a new report from DigiTimes, HTC is going to be releasing less smartphones next year, so that they can stop losing money quarter after quarter. HTC is expected to also unveil a cutdown variant of their U11+ smartphone, but we don't know what else to expect other than the cut-down U11+ and the flagship U12.
Speaking of the HTC U12, we should expect the company to tap Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 processor, joined by a 4K display and even a beautiful 18:9 aspect ratio panel that would see the display rock a resolution of 4320 x 2160, versus 3840 x 2160.
Continue reading: HTC's next-gen flagship phone should rock 4K display (full post)
Nintendo delays 64GB game cards for Switch until 2019
It looks like Nintendo is having trouble being in 2005, with the company reportedly having issues with the production of their 64GB game cards for the Nintendo Switch.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nintendo has delayed the 64GB cards until 2019 due to "technical issues", meaning game developers and gamers will have to wait at least another year before we get larger games. WSJ writes: "Nintendo Co. told outside game developers it is delaying delivery of 64-gigabyte game cards for the Switch console until 2019, people familiar with the matter said, meaning gamers may have to wait longer for some data-rich software titles".
They continued: "Nintendo had planned to make 64-gigabyte cards available to partner developers in the second half of 2018, but recently told them that it would push the date back to 2019 owing to technical issues, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions. They said the notice disappointed some software makers, especially U.S.-based publishers that often produce data-heavy games. Those publishers may wait for the 64-gigabyte card to release those kinds of games for the Switch".
Continue reading: Nintendo delays 64GB game cards for Switch until 2019 (full post)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 5GB WindForce OC spotted
NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1060 5GB variant was exposed in the last 24 hours, with the new 5GB variant of the GTX 1060 destined for the Chinese internet cafe market. But now, we have a quick look at GIGABYTE's model in the GTX 1060 5GB WindForce OC.
GIGABYTE has confirmed that their new card will have GPU clocks of 1582/1797MHz in OC mode, while Gaming Mode will have the GPU clocked at 1556/1771MHz. The 5GB of GDDR5 will be clocked at 8008MHz on the same 160-bit memory bus that will provide 160GB/sec of memory bandwidth down from the 192GB/sec of memory bandwidth on the 6GB model with its 192-bit memory bus.
GIGABYTE will use their dual-fan WindForce 2X cooling solution that rocks a full cover backplate, while display wise we have 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI and 1 x DP output.
Continue reading: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 5GB WindForce OC spotted (full post)
Sony's new flagship: Snapdragon 845 + 6GB RAM, 128GB storage
CES 2018 is right around the corner and while the headlines are dominated by Samsung to reveal their new Galaxy S9 smartphone in early 2018, Sony are reportedly preparing a new flagship handset for the show.
Sony's rumored next-gen Xperia flagship smartphone is reportedly going by the model number 'H8266' and will rock a 5.48-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm's fresh Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB of RAM and a large 128GB of built-in storage.
Inside, the rumored next-gen Xperia smartphone will have a 3210mAh battery that should provide all-day battery life if Sony returns to its roots and provides best-in-class battery optimization (something that I used to love about Sony's smartphones, but they've been lacking the last few generations).
Continue reading: Sony's new flagship: Snapdragon 845 + 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (full post)
January's PlayStation Plus lineup is pretty great
Sony recently announced the free lineup of games for PlayStation Plus subscribers for January, which sees PS4 owners getting the most bang for their buck.
For January, PS Plus subbers will net Eidos Montreal's excellent sci-fi cyberpunk shooter Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Telltale's rather decent Batman episodic series for the low cost of $0. Mankind Divided is definitely worth your time, so if you pay for PS Plus be sure to grab it and make some space on your no-doubt cluttered hard drive for it. Check out our review to see why I liked the game so much (spoilers: it has great action and surprisingly deep story arcs that really pull at the heartstrings).
Other free PS Plus offerings include another PlayStation VR game called Starblood Arena, a mech arena combat game that's probably pretty fun in VR. Of course we have the PS3 offering, which includes Sacred 3 and The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, whereas PS Vita gets Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness and Uncanny Valley (both of which are cross-buy on PS4).
Continue reading: January's PlayStation Plus lineup is pretty great (full post)
Super Mario Land 2 gets color makeover thanks to hacker
Super Mario Land 2 receives a neat little ROMhack that splashes brilliant Game Boy Color hues into the game, while adding some extras in the process.
Thanks to the efforts of hacker toruzz, a fantastic Mario handheld game gets a new lease on life...well sort of. The ROM-manipulator managed to inject color into Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, a game that Nintendo has yet to colorize on specific platforms. To grab the hack you'll need to have the original ROM file extracted from the physical game, but once you download the ROM you'll get access to a brilliant nostalgic world that has a few extra tricks.
Apart from the arduous task of colorizing the game, toruzz also added some extra features such as being able to play as Luigi and even helps clear up some messy lag that was a result of the Game Boy's original hardware.
Continue reading: Super Mario Land 2 gets color makeover thanks to hacker (full post)
Solar-powered highway spotted in China
Jinan, a Chinese city with a population of around 7 million people have begun construction of the world first photovoltaic express-way.
The express-way will be 1.2 miles (2km) and will be able to withstand the weight of medium sized trucks. The photovoltaic express-way is constructed using three separate layers, the first being the transparent concrete which has a very similar feel to that of asphalt.
Next, is the solar panels which are located beneath the concrete layer and are safely protected from nature while also absorbing the rays from the sun.
Continue reading: Solar-powered highway spotted in China (full post)
Apple's self-driving cars will learn while you drive
Back in December 2015, Apple filed a Patent Application that was titled "Autonomous Navigation System" which goes into a lengthy description of a navigation system that Apple might be implementing into their self-driving cars.
The "Autonomous Navigation System" is detailed to be equipped with full sensory depiction that will provide updates to driving routes used regularly by the driver. This "virtual characterization" will allow for a much more efficient way for Apple's self-driving cars to make continual updates to the stored driving maps.
According to AutoBlog the application reads as such: "the complexity and magnitude of computer systems required to be included in a vehicle to enable such real-time processing and responsiveness can present an unsuitably excessive investment in capital costs for each vehicle, thereby rendering the system impractical for usage on a wide scale."
Continue reading: Apple's self-driving cars will learn while you drive (full post)
Jurassic World Evolution new in-engine trailer released
Frontier Developments have released a new in-engine trailer for their upcoming 2018 game, Jurassic World Evolution. The trailer shows off the graphics of Dinosaurs found in the park as well as vague release date.
Courtesy of IGN, the trailer shows off some Dinosaur breeds that will be featured in the game; Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Raptors are seen and of course the iconic Tyrannosaurus.
Players will be able to breed their own Dinosaurs and maintain them in their very own park. The franchise is based on the movies, so everything ranging from keeping the Dinosaurs healthy, constructing attractions, scientific research and maintaining the appropriate security will be required to run a successful park.
Continue reading: Jurassic World Evolution new in-engine trailer released (full post)
Russia wants to build $40 million per-week hotel on the ISS
Can you imagine a future where the uber-rich travel to the International Space Station to stay in a $40 million per-week hotel? Well, Russian space corporation Roscomos plans on building a luxury hotel on the ISS for just that reason.
It might cost $40 million per week (and an additional $20 million if you want to go on a spacewalk with a cosmonaut), but Popular Mechanics is reporting that Russian space contractor RKK Energia is working on the idea that will see the construction of the second module it's building that will cost somewhere between $279 million and $446 million.
RKK Energia is already hard at work on the first of two modules, something that will act as a science laboratory and a power supply station. The second module on the other hand, will be paid for by RKK Energia, as the Russian government is only paying for the first one.
Continue reading: Russia wants to build $40 million per-week hotel on the ISS (full post)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 5GB of RAM is on the way
NVIDIA might be enjoying the holidays a little too much, with news breaking that the company is preparing a new variant of one of their most popular GTX 10 series cards.
News has broken that NVIDIA is preparing a new GeForce GTX 1060, something that will be using the full GP106 with 1280 CUDA cores, but a weirder 5GB of GDDR5 on a smaller 160-bit memory bus (compared to the 192-bit memory bus on the 3GB and 6GB versions of the GTX 1060).
This new GTX 1060 5GB model would be an exclusive model for the Chinese market, where internet cafes are continuing to see major success. These cards would be sold in a very plain way, with generic packaging and most likely no marketing push behind it.
Continue reading: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 5GB of RAM is on the way (full post)
Qualcomm approved to test self-driving cars in California
Qualcomm has just been approved to test one of their new self-driving vehicles with three drivers on December 12, testing out their autonomous car technology in California alongside NVIDIA and others.
The new autonomous cars aren't made by Qualcomm, but they do have their in-house 9150 C-V2X chipset the San Diego giant announced a few months ago now. Qualcomm's new chipset provides the car with 360-degree non-line-of-fight awareness, as well as the ability to communicate with one another and with infrastructure like traffic lights.
VP of Product Management for Automotive at Qualcomm, Nakul Duggal, told CNBC that Qualcomm expects to be "a key player in the autonomous space". Qualcomm has now started field trials of the new 9150 C-V2X chipset in other parts of California, before it starts tests in Michigan, China, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Continue reading: Qualcomm approved to test self-driving cars in California (full post)
Guillermo del Toro says he 'saw a UFO' moving 'super-fast'
Guillermo del Toro, the mega director behind Hellboy and Pacific Rim, talked with The Hollywood Reporter not long ago and said that he experienced one of the most strangest, and supernatural experiences of his life.
Not only did del Toro say he has had two experiences with ghosts, but he had a close encounter with a UFO when he was younger. During the interview, del Toro explained: "You sound like a complete lunatic, but I saw a UFO. I didn't want to see a UFO. It was horribly designed".
During his experience, del Toro said he sat alone with his friend in the dark, and saw a light on the horizon that was moving "super-fast". They honked at it, and then flashed their lights, where they said the UFO "went from 1,000 meters away [to much closer] in less than a second".
Continue reading: Guillermo del Toro says he 'saw a UFO' moving 'super-fast' (full post)
Pennsylvania woman gets $284,000,000,000 electricity bill
There is one woman on the planet that can easily say she had the biggest electricity bill ever, or alternatively she's an evil mastermind that is about to take over the world by building killer robots, or something.
Mary Horomanski from Erie, Pennsylvania, recently logged onto her online utility account where she saw a balance of $284,000,000,000 - yes, $284 billion. Horomanski was interviewed by local news outlet GoErie, where she said: "My eyes just about popped out of my head. We had put up Christmas lights and I wondered if we had put them up wrong".
But don't worry, the utility company only wanted $28,156 up front, and would give the family 12 months to pay the $284 billion bill. Mary's son contacted the utility company, where they were quick to fix the bill which eventually came down to a respectable $284.46.
Continue reading: Pennsylvania woman gets $284,000,000,000 electricity bill (full post)
Bitcoin could be worth $0, according to Morgan Stanley
Bitcoin might have skyrocketed from its price of $1000 at the start of the year all the way up to $20,000 - but there are professional analysts that think the cryptocurrency has zero value.
Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette says that Bitcoin might be worth $0, where Business Insider spotted a research note from the analyst, where he said: "If nobody accepts the technology for payment then the value would be 0".
Faucette said that he addressed the "very difficult" question of what the real value of Bitcoin really is, but said that the value of BTC could drop as it is rerliant on the "network effect", and that is no one wants to buy it, Bitcoin could become totally worthless.
Continue reading: Bitcoin could be worth $0, according to Morgan Stanley (full post)
Breath of the Wild's spot on Zelda timeline? Its complicated
Any Zelda fan will know about the rather labyrithine Zelda timeline that's full of inconsistencies and errors (I am Error), and AVGN even made a video about it way back when. But surely Nintendo has cleared everything up and has an idea where Breath of the Wild fits. Right?
Breath of the Wild is one of the best games of 2017--it might even be the best game of the year--because of its storytelling, its amazing open-world, and all of the complex pieces that come together as a wonderful whole. But there's just one question that's been bugging die-hard Zelda fans: where does BOTW fit in with the timeline? Does it fit in? Nintendo's Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma weigh in on the matter...but not in the way we'd hoped.
"I wouldn't say that we're not concerned with the timeline. It's obviously something that we know is very important to people, and they do a lot of research on," Fujibayashi told GamesRadar. "But I think at this point, we're not really at the stage where we want to talk about where Breath of the Wild is in the timeline. I think, as with the pixelated food, it's something that at this point we want to leave up to people's imaginations."
Continue reading: Breath of the Wild's spot on Zelda timeline? Its complicated (full post)
GIVEAWAY: $700 Holiday 2017 Gaming PC thanks to Supermicro
Global entry! We have teamed up with Supermicro to give away an awesome $700 gaming PC to one lucky winner.
The parts consist of the following:
How to Win
Continue reading: GIVEAWAY: $700 Holiday 2017 Gaming PC thanks to Supermicro (full post)
Death Stranding development coming along at brisk pace
The creation, development, and iterative process of Hideo Kojima's new game is well on schedule--in fact KojiPro is making such progress that Sony is very surprised.
Just yesterday it feels like I was covering the Konami vs Kojima debacle, and chronicling how Hideo Kojima broke his bonds to find a new home at his self-started Kojima Productions studio. Fast-forwarding to months and months later, the Metal Gear Solid creator's new bizarre and absolutely intriguing game Death Stranding is rapidly progressing in its development. Last month we reported that Death Stranding is in a playable state, and that the game is progressing on schedule...but now Kojima himself shared a neat little tidbit on what's next.
"Development on Death Stranding is going well enough that SIE told us, 'We have never before seen a game being created at such a fast pace.' We are planning an announcement that will further surprise everyone in 2018," Hideo Kojima said in a recent interview with Japanese game publication Dengeki PlayStation.
Continue reading: Death Stranding development coming along at brisk pace (full post)
After EA, Destiny 2 players push back against Eververse
Battlefront II's dreaded lootbox controversy is starting to bleed over into other games, namely Destiny 2, whose players are tired of the Eververse in-game purchase storefront.
I'd say this has been brewing for some time, the push-back against microtransactions, lootboxes, and other strategies employed by publishers to get gamers to spend money on live service games. When done right, it can be a boon; cosmetic MTx is mostly seen as acceptable when it doesn't affect the game. But when handled badly, as with Battlefront II's skewed progression system and ultra-grindy launch state, it's a bane and can have a big effect on a playerbase. After gamers got EA to change up Battlefront II, players are taking aim at another big service game: Destiny 2.
I've long thought Destiny 2 is a great game...but only when played sparingly. If you play it a lot, prepare to be disappointed. The game's progression has been stagnant for a while, and the new Curse of Osiris expansion did little to alleviate this. Pressure has been building since September over the Eververse microtransaction system, which peddles randomized cosmetics/skins as well as mods to players for a fee (but Bright Engrams can be earned without paying too). Gamers initially were perturbed by it, but thought that the extra cash would help pay for bigger and better DLC and expansions, which is something Activision outright promised.
Continue reading: After EA, Destiny 2 players push back against Eververse (full post)
New Devil May Cry game announced...for mobiles
When you think of Dante's superhuman feats and slice-and-dice action in Devil May Cry, you probably don't associate the game with mobile phones. But in true modern day fashion, even DmC is getting a mobile game.
According to reports from MMO Culture, the new Devil May Cry: Pinnacle of Combat game is being developed by Chinese dev Yungchang Game, not Capcom. Interestingly enough the Chinese game dev apparently acquired the rights to DmC to make a smartphone port, which seems to counter Capcom's plans to embrace more platforms directly--however we're still not sure what the contractual terms are.
The new DmC mobile game is powered by Unity and will be an action-based title...but I'm curious how well users can control Dante's acrobatic escapades via a touchscreen. Hey, if they can make a battle royale mobile game, this should be possible too. Other features include an online mode of play with PVP and team action (which makes a lot of sense for the Chinese mobile market), and it's probable the game will have some sort of in-game purchases or microtransactions to monetize the online modes.
Continue reading: New Devil May Cry game announced...for mobiles (full post)






















