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SpaceX marks 6th successful launch this year

Lana Jelic | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 16, 2017 3:21 PM CDT

Just two weeks after their last launch, SpaceX has successfully launched another Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX marks 6th successful launch this year

The company launched a communications satellite that will complete Inmarsat's fifth-generation broadband network. The Inmarsat-5 F4 communications satellite is the heaviest object delivered by the company to space, for now.

Getting the 13,400-lb. (6,100 kilograms) heavy F4 into its intended orbit emptied the Falcon's fuel tanks, leaving no propellant for the landing attempt.

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Square Enix reports massive sales spike

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 16, 2017 2:09 PM CDT

Square Enix recently announced its Fiscal Year 2017 earnings (April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017) revealing strong growth in all gaming sectors as well as a look at the publisher's future.

Square Enix reports massive sales spike

Square Enix reported mighty net sales of $2.26 billion (256.8 billion yen) during its FY2017, representing a sizable 19.94% year-over-year increase.

The company notes that "major launches of blockbuster titles boosted revenue significantly," with games like Final Fantasy XV, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Rise of the Tomb Raider's PS4 port, World of Final Fantasy, and NieR: Automata all contributing the the strong net sales.

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Galaxy Note8 details emerge: Huge screen and dual camera

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | May 16, 2017 1:28 PM CDT

We know that Samsung is working on the Galaxy Note8. This was confirmed earlier this year by DJ Koh, Samsung's Mobile Chief. The Note 8 will likely debut this fall, but the first leaks have already been revealed.

Galaxy Note8 details emerge: Huge screen and dual camera

According to the latest report from China, the Galaxy Note8 will have a huge 6.3-inch display, most likely with the same 18:5:9 aspect ratio as the Galaxy S8.

The same source claims that the Note8 should sport a dual rear camera setup. Unfortunately, no other info is available at the moment.

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ASUS may discontinue ZenWatch series due to low sales

Lana Jelic | Wearable Computing & Fashion | May 16, 2017 12:15 PM CDT

Back in 2014, ASUS launched its first smartwatch, followed by ZenWatch 2 in 2015, and ZenWatch 3 in 2016. However, it looks like we might not see the ZenWatch 4 at all.

ASUS may discontinue ZenWatch series due to low sales

According to a report said to be coming from "sources of Taiwan's supply chain," the company has a hard time finding the buyers for their smartwatches. The source claims that ASUS is shipping 5,000 to 6,000 units per month. Considering that Apple is shipping around a million smartwatches monthly, this number is extremely low.

This is the reason why, according to the report, ASUS is considering to discontinue the ZenWatch series.

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Halo 6 reveal may not happen in 2017

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 16, 2017 7:17 AM CDT

343 Industries appears to be taking its time with Halo 6, and we already know the shooter wont release in 2017. However it appears the game probably won't get an official reveal in 2017 either.

Halo 6 reveal may not happen in 2017

Xbox division head Phil Spencer has already confirmed that Halo 6 won't be a Project Scorpio launch game. Since Microsoft's new 4K-ready Project Scorpio console will release Holiday 2017, that means Halo 6 won't be available this year. 343 Industries Bonnie Ross affirmed that Halo 6 would have many changes including split-screen co-op and multiplayer as well as a "compelling story" with stronger focus on Master Chief.

Now 343 Industries community manager Brian "Ske7ch" Jarrard confirms that Halo 6 won't be showcased at E3 2017. In fact, Jarrard confirmed Halo 6 won't even be showcased at Microsoft's Gamescom 2017 presence in Cologne, Germany. That's two major gameshows that Halo 6 will miss, strongly indicating we won't get an official reveal--or even a tease--in 2017.

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HTC U11: Hands-on and first impressions

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | May 16, 2017 2:01 AM CDT

HTC has finally unveiled their highly-anticipated flagship, the HTC U11. Although we expected the U11 to be unveiled in April, a year after its predecessor the HTC 10, the company wanted to wait for its official 20th anniversary to launch the phone.

HTC U11: Hands-on and first impressions

Ever since the HTC One, announced in 2013, there hasn't been much hype about the new HTC phones. In the world of smartphones, HTC doesn't represent what it used to. They are leaders in virtual reality with their Vive device. The company recently sold its phone manufacturing facility in Shanghai to boost their investment into their Vive virtual reality business. Although the company said the sale of the Shanghai plant would not affect its mobile division, it is clear in which direction the company is headed in.

Just recently, HTC announced that they marked an 18.03% decline in revenue this year compared to the last one. It seems that the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play sales aren't that great, and they aren't helping the company to get back on track. The two phones were launched in January, but many were left disappointed with the last year's processor and a steep price that can be compared to the price of Snapdragon 835 powered Galaxy S8.

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HTC launches HTC U11: Snapdragon 835, no headphone jack

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | May 16, 2017 2:00 AM CDT

HTC has unveiled their highly-anticipated flagship - the HTC U11. The phone was subject to numerous leaks over the past few weeks, so there were no surprises at the launch.

HTC launches HTC U11: Snapdragon 835, no headphone jack

The HTC U11 is powered by Snapdragon 835 and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2TB with a microSD card.

The device comes with a 12MP rear camera and a 16MP front shooter. As rumored, the phone doesn't have a headphone jack, but the company will ship adapters with the phone.

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It's official: HTC U11 doesn't have a headphone jack

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | May 16, 2017 2:00 AM CDT

HTC has launched the HTC U11, and as previously rumored, the device doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It's official: HTC U11 doesn't have a headphone jack

The company decided to ditch the headphone jack. Many might be disappointed with this decision, but lately, we are seeing more and more companies that are dumping the headphone jack.

However, HTC will pack an adapter with the phone, so you don't have to worry if you still want to use your headsets.

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NVIDIA CEO: 'every human will be a gamer someday'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 16, 2017 1:59 AM CDT

You've got to give it to NVIDIA CEO and founder Jen-Hsun Huang, he has high hopes for gaming in the future, and simply oozes enthusiasm for the entire gaming market.

NVIDIA CEO: 'every human will be a gamer someday'

During NVIDIA's recent investor Q&A, Huang provided some updates on GeForce Now, NVIDIA's game streaming service. He said that GeForce Now is "years away" from becoming a major gaming service, but said that he believes every human will eventually be a gamer, and that there's only one way to do that: the cloud.

Huang said: "However, I'm optimistic about the opportunity to extend the GeForce platform beyond the gamers that we currently have in our installed base. There are several billion gamers on the planet. And I believe that every human will be a gamer someday, and every human will have some way to enjoy an alternative universe some way someday. And we would love to be the company that brings it to everybody. And the only way to really do that on a very, very large scale basis and reach all those people is over the cloud".

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RTG boss uses JFK quote for AMD Radeon RX Vega tease

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 16, 2017 12:31 AM CDT

Radeon Technologies Group boss Raja Koduri has posted something a little cryptic on his Twitter account, where he tweeted a tease on Radeon RX Vega just over 20 minutes ago.

RTG boss uses JFK quote for AMD Radeon RX Vega tease

Koduri tweeted: "Ok..complete the sentence..we stand today on the edge of a ...... (first 10 people who get this right will get something special) @radeon". I was the first to answer, saying "new frontier" by JFK, and plenty of others followed with the same answer.

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NVIDIA: we're 20 years from ideal VR resolution

Anthony Garreffa | Extended Reality (XR) | May 15, 2017 10:56 PM CDT

NVIDIA has been pushing its GeForce technology into the VR world since Oculus and HTC headsets were in development stages, and now Jason Paul - the General Manager for VR Strategy at NVIDIA has said some interesting things about the future of VR tech.

NVIDIA: we're 20 years from ideal VR resolution

Paul was interviewed by UploadVR during GTC 2017, where he talked about his estimated roadmap for VR headsets, and how their resolutions would improve. Paul said: "I actually sat down and did the math one time. Based off how many pixels we would need to be able to push and mapping that out alongside our upcoming new GPU releases, it would take us about 20 years to achieve resolutions that can match the human eye".

Sight is a "highly difference sense" says Paul, with our eyes detecting "even the smallest inconstancies in its perceptions" adds UploadVR. In order for VR to reach a resolution where our eyes wouldn't be able to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality - taking away the weight of the headset, etc - it would take GPU development another 20 years to get there.

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Intel Core i9 benchmarks: Core i7-7920X with 12C/24T

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | May 15, 2017 10:06 PM CDT

We've been hearing a few rumors on Intel's next-gen Core i9 family of processors, but now we have benchmarks of the new Core i9-7920X which rocks a 12C/24T design.

Intel Core i9 benchmarks: Core i7-7920X with 12C/24T

Intel's upcoming Core i9-7920X will reportedly feature 12C/24T with somewhere around 4GHz boost CPU clocks, with 16.5MB of L3 cache, 44 PCIe lanes, and 140W TDP. This chip was benchmarked against Intel's 10C/20T offering in the Core i9-7900X with its 3.3/4.0GHz base/boost clocks with 13.75MB of L3 cache, and the same PCIe lanes and TDP.

I put all of the scores into one of our benchmark templates, so you can see the scores in a much easier to understand way. As you can see the Core i9-7920X really is a monster, with the multi-core test score pushing 1760, leaving the Core i7-6950X in its rear view mirror, and the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X in its dust.

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AMD Radeon RX Vega: HBM2 with 409GB/sec bandwidth teased

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 15, 2017 9:24 PM CDT

SK Hynix has released its new Q2 2017 product databook, and inside we get some more details on their current and next-gen graphics memory products, with the company listing 12Gbps and 14Gbps modules of GDDR6, as well as 1.6Gbps HBM2 memory.

AMD Radeon RX Vega: HBM2 with 409GB/sec bandwidth teased

AMD's upcoming Radeon RX Vega is powered by HBM2 memory provided by SK Hynix, while NVIDIA is tapping Samsung made HBM2 memory. Radeon RX Vega should rock SK Hynix's current 1.6Gbps HBM2 that would provide up to 409.6GB/sec of memory, unless AMD were to use more HBM2 stacks, then the bandwidth and HBM2 would double. The memory bandwidth would reach a pretty damn high peak of 817GB/sec, easily beating out any graphics card in its path - and getting close to NVIDIA's new HBM2-based Tesla V100 and its memory bandwidth numbers of 900GB/sec.

Remember that AMD also has its HBCC (High Bandwidth Cache Controller) working alongside the Vega NCU, which will be able to greatly improve minimum FPS performance, and has up to 512TB of virtual address space - insanity.

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Hackers obtain upcoming 'Pirates of the Carribbean' film

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | May 15, 2017 7:35 PM CDT

The irony is delicious, but Disney are less than amused that hackers have obtained a full copy of the unreleased 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' and are ransoming it for an undisclosed sum.

Hackers obtain upcoming 'Pirates of the Carribbean' film

According to Deadline Hollywood, Disney is currently working with the FBI and are refusing to pay the "enormous" ransom that is being demanded. The unnamed hacking group have threatened to release the film incrementally is their demands aren't met. The hack is not believed to be related to recent WannaCry ransomware attack, but could be related to the recent leak of unreleased 'Orange is the New Black' episodes which were apparently sourced from a Hollywood post-production facility.

'Dead Men Tell No Tales' is set to hit theatres in 2D, 3D and IMAX across the world on May 26th 2017.

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Remedy says Alan Wake 2 probably won't happen

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 15, 2017 7:13 PM CDT

Fans of Remedy games have always wanted an Alan Wake sequel, but the developer strongly hints that it won't ever happen while confirming it's simply out of their hands.

Remedy says Alan Wake 2 probably won't happen

"If we make an excellent game - and that's a massive investment - we would like to preserve the possibility that we can then continue those stories in future games as well. With Alan Wake and Quantum Break, that didn't work," Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala told GamesIndustry.biz. "Based on our past experiences, we have seen that it's really difficult. The decision is not in our hands unless the brand stays in our hands."

Remember that both Alan Wake and Quantum Break were developed in partnership with Microsoft, but Remedy actually owns Alan Wake as an IP--Microsoft owns the publishing rights for the first game. Remedy's point is reinforced by Alan Wake's recent delisting from all digital marketplaces due to expired music licenses. Remedy confirms that it's not up to them to renew the licenses, and they have no control over whether or not the game goes back up for sale.

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UploadVR sued: rampant sexual harassment/discrimination

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 15, 2017 7:05 PM CDT

UploadVR is in some serious trouble with the SF-based VR startup being sued by a former employee who alleges the company engaged in sexual discrimination and sex/gender harassment.

UploadVR sued: rampant sexual harassment/discrimination

TechCrunch reports that the lawsuit was filed today with the Superior Court of California, claiming that UploadVR is plagued by "rampant sexual behavior and focus, creating an unbearable environment for Plaintiff and other female employees". The suit continues, adding: "Defendants purposefully and expressly created a 'boy's club' environment at work, focused on sex and degrading women, including female employees".

UploadVR co-founders Will Mason and Taylor Freeman "would frequently talk about much sex they were going to have at each party and how many girls they were going to have sex with". It gets worse, as the VR startup reportedly has a "kink room" that has a bed in its office, where people can have sex during parties - and I guess, whenever the hell they feel like it.

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SEGA's profits increase by 421%

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 15, 2017 6:32 PM CDT

SEGA's net profits have surged four-fold year-over-year, and the Japanese games-maker hopes to continue the strong momentum with a new business plan.

SEGA's profits increase by 421%

In Fiscal Year 2017 (April 1, 2016 thru March 31, 2017) SEGA reported profits attributed to parent (net profits) of $242.9 million, or 27.6 billion yen, representing a mighty 421% year-over-year increase. These Japanese entertainment company saw increases in sales and operating income, too; SEGA earned $3.23 billion (366.9 billion yen) in sales, up 5% year-over-year, and a tremendous increase in operating income with $259.7 million (29.5 billion yen), representing a 68% year-over-year increase.

SEGA's profits were boosted significantly due to strong performance of its amusement, digital entertainment, and resort segments; SEGA shipped 17 games overseas which performed quite well in sales, and enjoyed surges in mobile games and pachislot/pachinko revenue.

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NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce will feature GDDR6 at first

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 15, 2017 6:15 PM CDT

Some more information on next-gen graphics cards has arrived thanks to a press release from SK Hynix about their new HBM2 tech, with SK Hynix also shipping GDDR6 memory in Q1 2018.

NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce will feature GDDR6 at first

SK Hynix was also at NVIDIA's recent GPU Technology Conference showing off their 8Gb GDDR6 module with 16Gbps of bandwidth, up from the 11Gbps of bandwidth available on the fastest GDDR5X on GTX 1080 Ti. GDDR6 is listed as a Q4 2017 product, meaning it will enter mass production in Q4 2017 for a huge Volta launch in Q1 2018 - at least according to WCCFTech.

I think we'll see a Pascal refresh based on GDDR6 at first, and then a full Volta line up with a blend of GDDR6 and HBM2 technologies - GDDR6 for the GTX 2080/2070, and HBM2 for the Volta-based TITAN Xv, and what I'm hoping for: a dual-GPU Volta graphics card.

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SEGA to spend more on R&D to develop new IPs, sequels

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 15, 2017 5:19 PM CDT

SEGA has promised to revitalize and revive classic IPs with new releases on mobile, console and PC, and it even promised to make new IPs to boot. However, it appears SEGA will take these new games very seriously instead of issuing halfway remasters and PC ports.

SEGA to spend more on R&D to develop new IPs, sequels

While scouting SEGA's latest financials, I found something interesting: the company plans to spend $31.7 million more on research and development for its games entertainment sector than it did last year. In fact, SEGA plans to spend $455.1 million (51.7 billion yen) on research and development in FY2018, which is a 7% increase from last year's $423.4 million (48.1 billion yen).

This underlines SEGA's promise of "focused investment on promising titles," and its four-part IP structure plan: revival IPs, existing IPs, new IPs, and external IPs. The company says it will "expand existing IPs and obtain new IPs for North American and European PC games," as well as "revive major IPs."

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SEGA plans to revive dormant IPs on mobile, console, PC

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 15, 2017 3:38 PM CDT

SEGA plans to revitalize and revive older dormant IPs in its back catalog of games, but the publisher will be careful to only bring back and port over more popular games.

SEGA plans to revive dormant IPs on mobile, console, PC

In SEGA's Road to 2020 briefing the Japanese publisher discusses its future plans for Fiscal Year 2018 and beyond, saying that it plans to tap its wealth of popular IPs and spread them across all major platforms--mobile, PC, and console. This revitalization will happen on both physical packaged game sales and digital games, albeit in different capacities: SEGA says that it will select titles carefully, aiming for bigger hits via popular and profitable franchises and IPs.

But it's main goal is to "create IPs that will become global hits," suggesting its games will see more localization than ever before. SEGA will now be IP-focused instead of device-focused, and aim to stretch all strong IPs across mobile, PC and consoles.

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