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NVIDIA Shadowplay now supports OpenGL and Vulkan APIs

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 12, 2017 12:37 AM CDT

NVIDIA's latest version of GeForce Experience now has built-in support for gameplay recording through ShadowPlay for Vulkan and OpenGL-based games.

NVIDIA Shadowplay now supports OpenGL and Vulkan APIs

Until now, ShadowPlay only worked with DirectX-based games, but now GFE is opening its doors to new APIs. The updated version of GFE also features improved user controls for broadcast, gallery, and upload.

NVIDIA's official news post states: "In other words, you can now stream and record your Minecraft and Doom gameplay with the press of one hotkey, and use the built-in overlay to easily share to Facebook, Google, Twitch, and more. It's powered by our acclaimed ShadowPlay technology, so you can capture up to 4K 60 FPS and never miss a beat while you game".

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'Hellboy' movie series hits the reboot switch

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | May 11, 2017 11:47 PM CDT

Fresh from the announcement by Director Guillermo Del Toro a few weeks ago that 'Hellboy' 3 "will not happen", we now know why. The studio has decided to go full reboot.

'Hellboy' movie series hits the reboot switch

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Millennium studios is in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin to reboot the property with Dark Horse Entertainment CEO Mike Richardson also producing. 'Stranger Things' star David Harbour is said to be in negotiations to take the title role. None of the actors from the previous two films, nor Del Toro are said to be involved.

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Forza Horizon 3 patched on PC, improved DX12 and more

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 11, 2017 10:11 PM CDT

Forza Horizon 3 has been updated on the PC, with developer Turn 10 increasing the number of concurrent threads used by the render architecture, which squeezes DX12 even further to use more of your PC that is normally tucked away and hidden.

Forza Horizon 3 patched on PC, improved DX12 and more

Turn 10 has also updated Forza Horizon 3's threading affinity model, so it will use more of your CPU threads. This means that PC gamers will get better performance out of the game in CPU limited situations on High/Ultra graphics settings. The new update will be pushed out through the Windows Store, with Turn 10 also adding in support for a slew of steering wheels on the PC.

PC Update Improvements

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Continue reading: Forza Horizon 3 patched on PC, improved DX12 and more (full post)

Google buys company behind Rick and Morty VR game

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 11, 2017 8:40 PM CDT

Google is splashing around some cash acquiring VR developer Owlchemy, the team behind one of the best VR games out there - Job Simulator. Owlchemy also worked on the Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality game, which is available for both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

Google buys company behind Rick and Morty VR game

Owlchemy said in a statement that they will "continue building high quality VR content for platforms like the HTC Vive, Oculus Touch, and PlayStation VR". Google said in its own blog post that the two companies will be "be working to create engaging, immersive games and developing new interaction models across many different platforms to continue bringing the best VR experiences to life".

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EA strongly hints Battlefront II has microtransactions

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 11, 2017 6:45 PM CDT

We originally predicted that Star Wars: Battlefront II would have microtransactions, and here's how EA reinforced our forecast with some very specific descriptions.

EA strongly hints Battlefront II has microtransactions

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently affirmed that Battlefront II would launch with three times as much content as the original Battlefront game. Given what I already suspect to be true, I immediately wondered how much of this content would be gated off behind in-game purchases. Wilson said that Battlefront II would have an extensive live service plan that will add more content to the game over time, which is typical for all of EA's big online-based games. To understand how this live service equates to microtransactions, we have to take a look at how EA defines live services, and what they mean.

"Star Wars Battlefront II will have more than three times the content of the previous game at launch, with a brand new story, a new singleplayer campaign, new modes, characters, vehicles and planets from all eras in the Star Wars universe, as well as a live service plan that will continue to add even more fun for the global community. " Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said in the company's recent earnings call.

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Star Wars: Battlefront II is 3x bigger than Battlefront

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 11, 2017 5:31 PM CDT

Star Wars: Battlefront II will release on November 17 with triple the amount of content that it's predecessor offered at launch.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is 3x bigger than Battlefront

EA has put considerable effort into hyping up Star Wars: Battlefront II, affirming gamers that all the features they wanted will be available. With the help of three studios--DICE, EA Motive and Criterion--EA has packed Battlefront II with a fully-fledged offline singleplayer campaign that connects Return of the Jedi with The Force Awakens, split-screen co-op, maps from all three eras, 20v20 multiplayer, galactic space battles, and a new class-based system. Now EA goes a step further by saying Battlefront II will feature three times as much content than the original Star Wars: Battlefront remake did at launch.

"We're also incredibly excited to bring Star Wars Battlefront II to the massive Star Wars community later this year. This game is made possible by the collaboration of three incredibly talented studios - DICE, Motive and Criterion - bringing together their individual strengths and building on the feedback from our passionate fans.

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Games industry to earn $108.9 billion in 2017

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 11, 2017 4:28 PM CDT

The international games industry will hit an astronomical $108.9 billion in 2017, and continue to grow to $128.5 billion by 2020, market analyst firm Newzoo predicts.

Games industry to earn $108.9 billion in 2017

Newzoo's latest Global Games Market Report delivers some fascinating and mind-blowing predictions for the games industry, especially for mobile gaming. According to the report, 2.2 billion gamers are expected to a staggering $108.9 billion in games market revenues in 2017 alone, which represents a year-over-year increase of 7.8% (or $7.8 billion). The report also forecasts that digital will account for 87% of total revenues, or $94.4 billion, but remember that digital includes all facets of digital gaming--not just game sales: subscriptions and subscription-based services, microtransactions/DLC/add-ons, live services, freemium mobile games, full game downloads across all platforms (PSN, Xbox LIVE, Steam, GoG, etc), and other content.

The analyst firm says that mobile is by far the most lucrative segment in global gaming, and is projected to make up more than half of the games market by 2020. In 2017, mobile gaming (smartphone and tablets) is expected to hit $46.1 billion, or 42% of all revenues. This represents a 19.3% year-over-year increase. As mobile is digital-only, it's one of the major prime movers for the digital sector, and crosses over between full game downloads and in-game purchases.

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Continue reading: Games industry to earn $108.9 billion in 2017 (full post)

Huge security flaw: Keylogger found on HP laptops

Lana Jelic | Hacking, Security & Privacy | May 11, 2017 3:23 PM CDT

Swiss cyber-security company Modzero discovered some worrying security flaws in certain HP laptops and made them public.

Huge security flaw: Keylogger found on HP laptops

According to their report, some HP laptops come with an audio driver that includes a feature which would be best described as a keylogger. This feature records all the user's keystrokes and saves the information into a local file, which is accessible to third-party software or malware.

The keylogger feature was discovered in the Conexant HD Audio Driver Package version 1.0.0.46 and earlier. The audio driver in question is preinstalled on the HP laptops.

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Square Enix drops Hitman dev IO Interactive

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 11, 2017 2:32 PM CDT

Square Enix today announced that it will be breaking away from Hitman developer IO Interactive, but the publisher will still retain the ownership of the Hitman franchise.

Square Enix drops Hitman dev IO Interactive

Square Enix spent $43.05 million (4.989 billion yen) to de-couple itself from IO Interactive, which used to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix. Essentially the publisher carved a piece of itself off to make it more lean and profitable, shedding IO Interactive for undisclosed reasons, however we think it's because Hitman 2016 didn't perform to Square Enix's expectations. The publisher's statement is a bit confusing, but it seems to indicate that Square Enix made an agreement with IO Interactive to terminate their business contract, and paid the studio part--or all--of the $43.05 million in "extraordinary loss of income." Note that extraordinary in this sense is used as "uncommon or irregular," not to denote size or value.

"To maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward, we are focusing our resources and energies on key franchises and studios. As a result, the Company has regrettably decided to withdraw from the business of IO INTERACTIVE A/S, a wholly‐owned subsidiary and a Danish corporation, as of March 31, 2017," Square Enix said in a statement.

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Tesla releases solar roof prices: Cheaper than expected

Lana Jelic | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 11, 2017 1:27 PM CDT

We've heard a lot about Tesla's solar roof tiles products, but the most important piece of information was missing - the price.

Tesla releases solar roof prices: Cheaper than expected

The company has now announced the prices, and they are lower than expected. Consumer Reports estimates that a Solar Roof for an average size U.S. home would need to cost less than $24.50 per square foot to be cost-competitive with a regular roof. The cost of Solar Roof is less.

Tesla says that typical homeowner can expect to pay $21.85 per square foot for Solar Roof. The $21.85 per square foot price point was calculated for a roof where 35 percent of the tiles are solar (solar tiles cost more per square foot than non-solar tiles). A 14kWh Powerwall 2 is also an available option.

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Overkill's The Walking Dead game gets new info blowout

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 11, 2017 12:18 PM CDT

Payday developer Overkill has released new info about its upcoming The Walking Dead online shooter, and the details are quite interesting.

Overkill's The Walking Dead game gets new info blowout

Overkill's The Walking Dead game is an online-based multiplayer shooter with dynamic drop-in/drop-out co-op. The game will have classes, as well as new unique characters that have set classes and abilities based on their personalities. Robert Kirkman's Skybound is collaborating on the project to ensure the game preserves authenticity, and from what I've seen and heard, this could be the ultimate TWD game. Key Overkill devs discussed the game's details on Starbreeze's recent Starstream livestream, revealing fresh info about the once-mysterious shooter.

"Overkill's the walking dead is a multiplayer online first person shooter in which you will need to co-operate with your friends to fight your way through an apocalyptic Washington, DC," said Saul Gascon, Executive Producer. "We designed the game so that players can jump in and out whenever they want, so they can do one mission, five missions, twenty missions in sessions like fifteen minutes or two hours if they want to. We want to incorporate what we've learned from Payday 2, and fun is our main focus."

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Two teens create Tesla's Model 3 in Minecraft

Lana Jelic | Electric Vehicles & Cars | May 11, 2017 11:34 AM CDT

Minecraft studio Block, led by the UK's youngest CEO Brandon Relph (16) and youth marketing expert Florian Funke (19), built a replica Tesla Model 3 in Minecraft.

Two teens create Tesla's Model 3 in Minecraft

The duo met Elon Musk in 2015 at the Minecraft convention Minecon in London, and since then, they wanted to create a Tesla & Minecraft project. They saw the opportunity when Tesla announced 'Project Loveday', a video contest where fans from around the globe are asked to create an ad-like video. The winners will win a chance to attend the launch of one of upcoming Tesla's products.

The 51-second video shows the Tesla Model 3 replica in six custom-created environments. The duo said that their project involved a lot of stressful, sleepless nights, but they are happy with the result.

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Gionee S10 photos leak shows dual front and rear camera

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | May 11, 2017 10:28 AM CDT

Gionee's next smartphone, the S10, is expected to launch sometime this year. The specs of the phone have been rumored for a while now, and recent leak gives us the best look of the phone so far.

Gionee S10 photos leak shows dual front and rear camera

The mentioned images showed up on Chinese Weibo and confirm that the S10 should come with dual rear and front camera setup. The back cameras are reportedly 16MP + 8MP, while the front shooter should rock 20MP + 8MP, for 'flawless selfies.' Of course, these are rumors, so take this info with a grain of salt.

The phone should come with 5.5-inch display and leaks claim that it will be powered by a MediaTek 6755 processor. There should also be 4GB of RAM on board plus 64GB of internal storage.

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Continue reading: Gionee S10 photos leak shows dual front and rear camera (full post)

HTC reports 9% revenue decline in April, 6.4% drop YoY

Lana Jelic | Business, Financial & Legal | May 11, 2017 9:33 AM CDT

HTC has reported their monthly revenue for April 2017, and it doesn't look good. The company marked a 9.29% decline in revenue compared to March and 18.03% decline compared to the same month last year.

HTC reports 9% revenue decline in April, 6.4% drop YoY

HTC's revenue for April 2017 was NT$(Taiwan New Dollar)4.71 billion or $155 million. The total of revenue for this year is NT$19.24 billion or $625 million, which means that the revenue dropped 6.45% compared to the first four months of 2016.

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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Continue reading: HTC reports 9% revenue decline in April, 6.4% drop YoY (full post)

Apple buys sleep-tracking app and hardware maker Beddit

Lana Jelic | Business, Financial & Legal | May 11, 2017 8:22 AM CDT

Apple has acquired a sleep tracking app and hardware maker Beddit. The Finnish startup posted this news to their website adding that users personal data will be collected, used and disclosed under the Apple Privacy Policy.

Apple buys sleep-tracking app and hardware maker Beddit

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The Finland-based company was founded in 2007 and in late 2015 they launched their products in Apple stores. Their latest product, Beddit 3 Sleep Monitor, automatically tracks your sleep and works with the Beddit app on your iPhone or iPad to help you achieve better sleep.

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AMD Radeon RX Vega liquid cooled dual-GPU card teased

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 11, 2017 7:41 AM CDT

Like it was planned to be teased after NVIDIA's huge unveil of their next-gen Volta GPU on their new Tesla V100 graphics card, news appears through recent Linux drivers of a purported dual-GPU based on Radeon RX Vega. The new info points to specific code:

AMD Radeon RX Vega liquid cooled dual-GPU card teased

These codes are new Vega 10 IDs, so we should expect a larger family of Radeon RX Vega graphics cards - with the number 7 floating around in previous reports. The specific code we're looking at here points to a specific PLX chip, which is an ASIC board that splits PCIe lanes to bridge multiple components, like dual GPUs.

There's not much else here, but a dual-GPU Radeon RX Vega is something AMD will need to beat the new Tesla V100 graphics card, that's for sure. A dual-Vega graphics card could also hurt the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti... so we'll have to wait and see.

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System Shock 3 concept art, approved by SHODAN

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 11, 2017 4:21 AM CDT

System Shock and System Shock 2 are two of my favorite games of all time, especially the sequel which really ramped up SHODAN's plan to end your existence - so any news of System Shock 3 is great. The latest tease of the upcoming game has arrived in the form of concept art from the team.

System Shock 3 concept art, approved by SHODAN

Starbreeze and OtherSide Entertainment teased concept art for System Shock 3, but there wasn't any new information unveiled about the game.

Concept art is all we get for now, but with System Shock 3 being in early development, we can't expect too much right now.

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NVIDIA CEO isn't worried about AMD's new Radeon RX Vega

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 10, 2017 11:22 PM CDT

GTC 2017 - NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has come out with some fighting words for its main competitor AMD, and their upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics card, with the Huang saying he's confident in NVIDIA's position in the gaming GPU market.

NVIDIA CEO isn't worried about AMD's new Radeon RX Vega

NVIDIA has no competition in the high-end market against their GeForce GTX 1070, GTX 1080, GTX 1080 @ 11Gbps, GTX 1080 Ti, Titan X(P) and the new TITAN Xp. AMD has their upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics card family, but we're still weeks away from its release.

After NVIDIA's unveiling of their new Volta-based Tesla V100 graphics card, Blayne Curtis from Barclays Capital Inc. asked Huang: "I was just wondering if you can just talk about the competitive landscape looking back at the last refresh. And then looking forward into the back half of this year, I think your competitors have a new platform. I'm just curious as to your thoughts as to how the share worked out on the previous refresh and then the competitiveness into the second half of this year".

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Continue reading: NVIDIA CEO isn't worried about AMD's new Radeon RX Vega (full post)

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