God of War series made into a Netflix show? The director thinks 'yes'

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Jan 30, 2020 1:08 AM CST

Netflix and other streaming platforms will eventually adopt some game series' that are almost bigger than life and turn them into TV shows. What game series do you think would be good enough to be made into a TV show?

God of War series made into a Netflix show? The director thinks 'yes'

Cory Barlog, the director behind the God of War series, thinks that his story of Kratos would be a perfect fit. Barlog took to Twitter in a re-tweet of GamesIndustry asking the question I asked above. Barlog said, "God of War. (At least, I think so). Personally, I think Barlog is right on the money with this one, a God of War Netflix-style TV show would be incredible for not only the over-the-top fight scenes but also character development, environments, story-arcs and everything else in between.

Before the internet could take what Barlog said as a hint towards Netflix prospecting the God of War games series into a TV show, Barlog clarified "By the way, this is not a hint or anything. I just believe that games would make great TV shows because you spend so much time with the characters in fantastic worlds. Games, like TV, are like relationships with the characters, where movies are more like a date. Both can be great."

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Google paid out record $6.5 million to hackers who exploited security

Jak Connor | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 30, 2020 12:34 AM CST

Google has announced via its security blog that throughout 2019 the company paid out a new record to researchers for finding exploits in their products.

Google paid out record $6.5 million to hackers who exploited security

If you didn't know, Google rewards people who have found exploits in Google's security system. This reward program is called 'Vulnerability Reward Programs'. Every year Google announces a new report on how much money they have paid out to users, and throughout 2019 Google has set a new record.

In 2018, Google paid out $3.4 million in total to users who were able to assist Google in increasing their security defenses. In 2019, the company had a record-breaking year by doubling what it paid out in 2018, reaching the total payout sum of $6.5 million. If you are interested in checking out Google's full report, head on over to the website here.

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Need for Speed Heat updated, now supports select steering wheels

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 29, 2020 11:11 PM CST

EA has pushed out a new update for Need for Speed Heat that not only squashes a bunch of bugs and new functions to the game, but it also adds support for steering wheels.

Need for Speed Heat updated, now supports select steering wheels

Need for Speed Heat's new update also lets you drive through gas stations to repair your ride, so if a cop is chasing you and causing too much damage, you can pull into a gas station and get repaired and ready to roll out again. The cops are on you harder at night, so you only get 3 visits to the gas station before they shut down until the next day.

But the big deal here is the steering wheel support, with the following steering wheels now supported in Need for Speed Heat:

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iPhone Cyberphone inspired by Tesla Cybertruck and it looks awesome

Tesla has made big enough waves with its electric Cybertruck that Russian custom smartphone maker Caviar has just unveiled their latest, and possibly most gorgeous creation yet -- the iPhone Cyberphone. I also think this may be the best 'mod or attachment' for the Tesla Cybertruck ever.

iPhone Cyberphone inspired by Tesla Cybertruck and it looks awesome

Caviar has modified Apple's new iPhone 11 Pro to the design and style of Tesla's new Cybertruck, with a gorgeous and protected titanium body and a bunch of beautiful metal plates -- just like Tesla's Cybertruck. The back cover, sides and the screen are all hidden under metal plates which protect the phone, and it looks great.

But, those metal plates aren't just there for looks -- Caviar has made great use of the metal plates on its new custom iPhone Cyberphone that can fold out and into a holder. It's actually really nifty, and something that I can see the 99 people (as Caviar is only making 99 of these limited edition phones) using this as a great built-in feature.

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Apple rumored to release 'AirTags' trackers this year

It seems like Apple is wanting to let the apple fall a little farther from the tree, with its purported new AirTags being teased by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple rumored to release 'AirTags' trackers this year

Kuo's latest research note suggests a bunch of new Apple products to be announced this year, with one of them being Ultra Wideband-enabled AirTags. Apple's new AirTags would be very much like a Tile tracker tag, with Apple's new AirTags to support Ultra Wideband, something that will enable much more accuracy than Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi.

In her note, Kuo said: "We forecast that Apple's major new hardware products in 1H20 include the 4.7-inch LCD iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro/Air, smaller wireless charging mat, UWB tag, and a high-end Bluetooth headphone".

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87 minutes of System Shock remake released, SHODAN would be pleased

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 29, 2020 9:08 PM CST

System Shock and its sequel System Shock 2 are some of my favorite games of all time, so when Nightdive Studios announced it was making a remake of System Shock, my heart fluttered. It did it again, after watching this glorious 87-minute gameplay video of System Shock remake... check it out:

87 minutes of System Shock remake released, SHODAN would be pleased

Nightdive Studios runs us through virtually everything in this 87-minute gameplay video, from checking out the updated graphics (which look far better than the original 1994 graphics), combat system, inventory system, and more. I personally think it looks great, and is a beautiful remake of Looking Glass Technologies' original System Shock.

Back at GDC 2017, developer Nightdive Studios announced it would be shifting development of the System Shock remake from the Unity Engine to Unreal Engine 4. At the time, System Shock remake director Jason Fader explained: "Unity is not a great engine to use if you want to make an FPS on console". Although, hearing the words "System Shock" and "console" together make me throw up in my mouth a little. Still, I'd rather have a remake instead of not having one at all.

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Unity Engine now has support for real-time ray tracing tech

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 29, 2020 8:06 PM CST

Unity Technologies has just released its new Unity 2019.3 which includes real-time ray tracing goodness, and is now available to download from the Unity Store.

Unity Engine now has support for real-time ray tracing tech

Unity 2019.3 is a 'Tech Stream' release which is aimed at creators who want the latest engine tech from Unity, but there will also be a new 'Long-Term Support' version of Unity with Unity 2019.4 coming in the Spring that will be a more stable build. As for Unity 2019.3, Brett Bibby, Vice President of Engineering at Unity Technologies explains: "With the release of Unity 2019.3, we are continuing our focus of giving all creators the power they need to have a more optimized, stable, and pleasant, creative experience".

Bibby continues: "Unity 2019.3 includes more than 260 improvements and new features focused on giving you the confidence that what you're making right now will look and perform beautifully - whether you're targeting the technologies of today or the platforms of tomorrow".

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Apple limits employee travel to China because of coronavirus outbreak

You would have to be living under a rock right now to not be hearing about the coronavirus outbreak in China that is slowly spreading throughout the world, but it is now affecting Apple.

Apple limits employee travel to China because of coronavirus outbreak

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the on-going coronavirus outbreak in China is affecting Apple's operations in the country, so it has restricted employee travel and even closed an Apple Store in China over the outbreak. Tim Cook explained to CNBC: "We're restricting travel to business critical travel. For employees that are in the Wuhan area, we are providing care kits and supplying them across our employee population in China as well".

The company has "some suppliers" in the Wuhan area according to Cook, who told Apple investors on Tuesday that some of its manufacturing facilities in China will be closed until February 10. The Chinese government has put forward these recommendations, with Cook also adding that some of its channel partners have closed their retail stores which will have a (small) impact on sales. Cook added: "Retail traffic has also been impacted outside of the city over the last few days".

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Halo Reach progression changes planned, new armor unlock system coming

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jan 29, 2020 5:05 PM CST

343 Industries plans to overhaul Halo: Reach's lackluster and uninspiring progression system, complete with a nonlinear armor unlock track.

Halo Reach progression changes planned, new armor unlock system coming

The MCC version of Halo: Reach has a terrible progression system. It's as basic as it gets, a simple seasonal battle pass-style system that gates off the coolest armors behind insane EXP grinds. It's a linear ladder grind that's not creative, unique, or interesting in any way. Compared to the Xbox 360 version, which gives you free access to any armors provided you have the credits to buy them, 343i's armory is kind of embarrassing. That apparently will change, at least in some form.

In a recent blog update, 343 Industries says it's exploring new ways to let people cherry-pick what rewards and armor unlocks they want irregardless of previous unlocks. The team is also adding challenges back into Reach, which are basically little optional bounties that reward you for doing specific things in modes like campaign, firefight, or PVP. It was a way to earn extra credits to buy goods in the original game.

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Xbox earns $3.3 billion during Holiday 2019 quarter, consoles down 43%

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jan 29, 2020 4:30 PM CST

Today Microsoft announced its Q2'20 earnings for the three-month period ended December 31, 2019, showing dips in overall Xbox segment earnings.

Xbox earns $3.3 billion during Holiday 2019 quarter, consoles down 43%

Xbox gaming, services, content, and hardware sales generated $3.327 billion in Q2'20, down 21% year-over-year from Q2'19's massive $4.232 billion. This sizable $905 million drop is due to 2018's megaton launch of Red Dead Redemption 2, which generated millions of game sales both at retail and digitally and helped move Xbox console hardware.

Speaking of Xbox consoles, overall hardware sales of the Xbox One family of systems was down 43% YoY in the holiday quarter. Total content and services revenue is also down 11% YoY, or $295 million, due to the absence of a heavy-hitter like RDR2. Subscription growth is healthy though, and services like Xbox LIVE Gold and Xbox Game Pass are doing tremendously well for the company's overall engagement-driven efforts.

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