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Why wasn't the NX at E3? Nintendo is afraid of copycats

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 29, 2016 8:15 AM CDT

In turns out that Nintendo's "new idea" for the NX is rather precious--so precious that the Japanese gaming giant skipped a console reveal at the premiere games industry event of the year. So why did Nintendo hold the NX back from E3 2016? To protect it from copycats stealing their idea.

Why wasn't the NX at E3? Nintendo is afraid of copycats

According to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the company would normally reveal the NX at E3, but they held off because of potential imitators. "Normally we would've shown the NX at E3, but we didn't. We're worried about imitators if we release info too early," Miyamoto said during today's Nintendo Investor Relations meeting, as translated by Cheesemeister3K.

So let's go over this, shall we? Nintendo has initiated a complete press blackout about the NX for the past several years in order to protect this "new idea". Nintendo also missed out on showcasing their new console at E3 in order to safeguard this idea. We don't even know if major third-party developers have NX devkits yet--this is how far Nintendo has gone to protect the console. This tells me that Nintendo is working on something special, something entirely different than we've seen before. Now Tatsumi Kimishima's promises that the NX is a "new way of thinking about consoles" seem to make a lot more sense.

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HTC brings 30 companies together for VR, has $10 billion to spend

Anthony Garreffa | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 29, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

HTC has just doubled down on VR once again, if it didn't already with owning the room scale VR scene with its HTC Vive headset - announcing the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance at GSMA Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China earlier today.

The newly-formed VRVCA will see 30 VR investment companies all join forces to help fund startup companies that are working on not just VR content, but augmented and mixed reality, too. Alvin Wang Graylin, the President of VR at HTC China sits as the president of VRVCA, with the Vive division of HTC dedicated, alongside Immersion Ventures, The VR Fund and Colopl VR Fund. At their disposal, is a huge $10 billion in "deployable capital" between the 30 investors.

VRVCA will have six meetings per year, with a meeting every two months at their offices in Beijing and San Francisco. Startups from around the world will be able to make their pitch to the investors, with VRVCA saying that "anyone working of VR content, base technologies, tools, platforms, hardware, peripherals, accessories or other vertical applications can apply, and it's already possible to submit a pitch deck", reports UploadVR.

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Continue reading: HTC brings 30 companies together for VR, has $10 billion to spend (full post)

Nintendo is officially researching VR

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 29, 2016 6:21 AM CDT

Nintendo is actively researching its own virtual reality hardware solution that will be affordable, comfortable for extended periods of use, and family-friendly.

Nintendo is officially researching VR

We've heard that the Nintendo NX would support VR at launch, and Nintendo has now officially confirmed its R&D sectors are investigating virtual reality. At the latest Nintendo Investor Relations meeting in Japan, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto spilled the beans by saying Nintendo "has the core technology" for VR and wants to make a VR solution that meets certain criteria.

"I heard VR was a hot topic at #E3, so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn't what I expected. We're also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease."

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Continue reading: Nintendo is officially researching VR (full post)

Nintendo focusing on 'greatness of games' over hardware performance

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 29, 2016 5:26 AM CDT

Nintendo's new Investor Relations meeting was a hotbed for tips and info on the company's immediate future, including its new NX console. According to a very specific response from Nintendo research exec Genyo Takeda, the Japanese console-maker is more focused on creating amazing gaming experiences than it is squeezing out the most from hardware.

Nintendo focusing on 'greatness of games' over hardware performance

When asked how Nintendo plans to offset the rising costs of games development, Takeda replied by saying: "We're using increases in productivity to make an appeal with the greatness of games instead of [hardware] performance." Now remember that Takeda is talking about games development rather than overall console performance, but it still gives us an idea where the company's priorities are. And if you ask me, they're right where they should be.

On the other hand, Takeda's words match up with Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime who recently said the NX "isn't about the specs, it's about the content," strongly hinting gamers will have some quality titles on the NX.

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Continue reading: Nintendo focusing on 'greatness of games' over hardware performance (full post)

'Tetris' movie becomes a trilogy, we don't know why

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Jun 29, 2016 1:06 AM CDT

So, Hollywood is now so creatively bankrupt they're resorting to making a video game adaptation of Alexey Pajitnov's 'Tetris'. Just let that sink in. Recovered? Well, said movie has now become a trilogy of movies. I know, right.

According to the Guardian, Producer Larry Kasanoff whose career is littered with such classics as 'Mortal Kombat' and ... 'Bionicle: The Legend Reborn' has claimed that the move has been made because "the story we conceived is so big... This isn't us splitting the last one of our eight movies in two to wring blood out of the stone. It's just a big story." If we accept that with good faith, what story could possibly justify three feature films exactly? Well, Kasanoff isn't exactly saying. But he has said what the film isn't about. "We're not going to have blocks with feet running around the movie. But it's great that people think so. It sets the bar rather low!"

The Untitled Tetris Sci-fi Project is currently in pre-production with an unknown release date.

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Continue reading: 'Tetris' movie becomes a trilogy, we don't know why (full post)

Twitter hires ex-Apple UI designer to lead its VR and AR division

Anthony Garreffa | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 29, 2016 12:05 AM CDT

Twitter is shifting in an interesting direction, confirming with Engadget that it has acquired Alessandro Sabatelli as its new Director of VR and AR.

Sabatelli will lead the new AR team within Twitter Cortex, which is the social network's upstart machine-learning division. You know, the 140-character limit version of Skynet. Sabatelli was previously over at Apple as a UI designer, credited with helping create the iTunes visualizer. He also worked with IXOMOXI, which is a startup that focused on developing contextual overlays for both VR and AR systems.

Twitter also recently acquired Magic Pony Technology earlier this month for $150 million, a company based in London which has developed techniques to use neural networks to improve lower quality images.

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Continue reading: Twitter hires ex-Apple UI designer to lead its VR and AR division (full post)

4K UltraHD Blu-ray disc sales off to a roaring start

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Jun 28, 2016 11:14 PM CDT

The launch of the UltraHD Blu-ray format has convincingly defied the notion that physical discs are dead, with the first crop of titles posting very strong initial sales.

According to Variety, the format has moved 228,000 discs in the United States since the first discs were released in March, a figure that eclipses Blu-ray sales during it's own launch period back in 2006 by a factor of 4. Warner Bros, one of the most bullish studios who have supported the format with heavy hitters such as 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' see great potential in the format. Ron Sanders, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution remarked "The new Ultra HD format with HDR allows us to give audiences the best-quality picture and sound available at home today... filmmakers and consumers alike are excited about the way we are able to present our films to home viewers. It is truly the closest thing to what the filmmaker intended."

With some big releases heading to the format in the coming months, including 'Independence Day Resurgence', 'X-Men Apocalypse', 'Warcraft' and catalogue favourites like 'Watchmen' and 'Labyrinth', there'll be plenty of content to look at when our 4K UltraHD Blu-ray reviews launch in a few weeks time.

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Continue reading: 4K UltraHD Blu-ray disc sales off to a roaring start (full post)

WB delays Batman: Return to Arkham, devs need more time to polish

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 28, 2016 8:53 PM CDT

Warner Bros. can't catch a break with the Batman Arkham series, with the new Batman: Return to Arkham game delayed. It was set to arrive on the PS4 and Xbox One as a HD collection of titles, but the company needs more time with the game in order to "deliver a polished Batman Arkham game experience".

The company explained in a statement: "After reviewing the progress of the project, the team at WB Games has decided to delay the release of Batman: Return to Arkham to give the team at Virtuous Games additional time to deliver a polished Batman Arkham game experience. We do not have a release date yet and will be sure to communicate that once we are sure the game will be ready. We know this is disappointing news, but we feel the extra time will allow the team to create the best gaming experience for our fans".

It's disappointing to see, but it's good that Warner Bros. has learnt its lesson in releasing Batman Arkham games when they're not ready. If you remember the release of the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight last year, was riddled with bugs - which most likely forced WB's hand in delaying Return to Arkham. There's no new release date just yet, but when Warner Bros. does provide it, we'll let you guys know.

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Continue reading: WB delays Batman: Return to Arkham, devs need more time to polish (full post)

Overwatch Competitive Mode launches on PC

Sean Ridgeley | Gaming | Jun 28, 2016 1:01 PM CDT

Overwatch's Competitive Mode looks to be going public today, following last week's beta test. The news was discovered by one French-speaking European player who noticed a new set of patch notes dated for today in the Battle.net client, although it doesn't appear the patch itself has gone out anywhere just yet.

Competitive Mode in Overwatch means rankings and seasons for those interested in a challenge and seeing where they stand on a global stage, as well as golden weapons and other rewards.

Other changes in the patch include another Widowmaker nerf (her ultimate callout can now be heard globally), improved performance, removal of the "avoid player" option (which was borking matchmaking and causing great players to have to wait ages to get into a game), and various bug fixes, among other changes.

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Continue reading: Overwatch Competitive Mode launches on PC (full post)

Amazon says you can have an Oculus Rift by tomorrow

Jason Evangelho | Extended Reality (XR) | Jun 28, 2016 11:52 AM CDT

I still know dozens of people who are waiting on their Oculus Rift pre-orders from January to ship out, but Amazon says you can have the $599 VR headset in your hands by tomorrow.

The Virtual Reality group on Facebook just made us wise to the Oculus Rift's new availability on Amazon. Although we're unsure what kind of quantities we're looking at, the Rift is being sold by Amazon directly, not a shifty 3rd party. I even successfully added it to my cart and had the option of selecting next-day shipping. Hopefully the stock is plentiful, as HTC is now shipping all Vive headsets worldwide within 72 hours.

Oculus continues to seep into retail at locations like Best Buy and e-tailers like Amazon, and while that's fantastic for the brand's exposure and for those curious about VR (or just craving it right now), we really wish the company would ship out pre-orders from 6 months ago first.

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Continue reading: Amazon says you can have an Oculus Rift by tomorrow (full post)

System Shock reboot gets 9 minutes of new gameplay footage

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 28, 2016 8:12 AM CDT

The System Shock reboot (yes, it's a fully-fledged reboot now, not a remaster) has ignited nostalgic fire in the hearts of PC gamers everywhere, and now we get our first glimpse of the beloved cyberpunk thriller in action.

System Shock reboot gets 9 minutes of new gameplay footage

Recreating something like System Shock is quite a delicate endeavor. Considering the original was part of many gamers' youths and solidified an entire genre of PC gaming, you damn well better not mess up the reboot. From what we've seen so far Night Dive Studios has nothing to worry about. Powered by the flexible Unity engine, System Shock reboot looks fabulously authentic in every regard, representing a love letter to the landmark first-person cult hit. It's clear that Night Dive cares about the game and I only expect it to get even better with time.

The System Shock reboot will be funded via Kickstarter campaign, which actually kicks off today at 12PM PST / 3PM EST. Unlike a good portion of Kickstarter campaigns Night Dive is giving everyone a chance to play a working System Shock demo before pledging support, which is a huge plus for everyone. The System Shock demo will go live on Steam, GoG, and the Humble Store alongside the Kickstarter campaign.

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Modders morph Skyrim into amazing standalone RPG Enderal

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 28, 2016 7:11 AM CDT

After three years of development, SureAI has made every Skyrim modder's dream a reality: they've built an entirely new standalone RPG with Bethesda's Skyrim modding tools. Introducing Enderal, a completely fresh adventure meticulously crafted with the Skyrim CK.

Modders morph Skyrim into amazing standalone RPG Enderal

Enderal is one of the few total conversion mods that have actually been finished, and is set to arrive in July. Like any other mod, Enderal is free, but the total conversion experience will mirror the content of a fully-fledged AAA game with up to 100 hours of gameplay. Enderal features a massive new world with unique characters, lore, storyline, new voice-overs, original music, and even new gameplay mechanics. And it even has a flying airship! Enderal also takes players outside of the frosty climes of Skyrim, adding in new areas like tropical oases.

This isn't SureAI's first total conversion rodeo, either. The team was responsible for the mega-popular Nehrim: At Fate's Edge transformation mod built on the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion engine. In fact, Enderal is actually a sequel to Nehrim and is set in the same mythical world and continues the storyline set forth by the original while offering new landmasses and continents to explore.

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Continue reading: Modders morph Skyrim into amazing standalone RPG Enderal (full post)

China is the first with a 3D printed house, was built-in 45 days

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jun 28, 2016 4:19 AM CDT

In the future, all of our houses might be 3D printed - especially if it takes just 45 days, like the world's first 3D printed house that was recently build in China.

According to the reports, the entire house was 3D printed in one go, rather than being built with multiple pieces. Experts over at Huashang Tengda in China oversaw the project, which took 45 days to complete in Beijing's Tongzhou District.

After 45 days, what we have is a large 400-square-meter home, with the two-story villa featuring walls that are up to 8.2 feet thick. Each flooor has a height of 10 feet, so you can be super tall and not have to worry about getting around the house. The 3D printing side of things was completed by the company, with specialists overlooking the project, but there wasn't much physical work to be done as it did most of it on its own.

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Continue reading: China is the first with a 3D printed house, was built-in 45 days (full post)

Battlefield 1 has Async Compute and DX12, expect 'DX12 fireworks'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 28, 2016 2:08 AM CDT

Earlier tonight we reported on Battlefield 1 rocking DX12 abilities, but with EA and DICE not confirming anything right now, it's hard to know what's going on.

Well, we've just had an industry insider tell us that EA is working closer than ever with AMD, and that we should expect "DX12 fireworks". Now if the words "DX12 fireworks" don't excite you, I don't know what else will.

The inclusion of both Asynchronous Compute and DX12 is going to make Battlefield 1 one of the best looking games of the year - and AMD is sitting pretty with its new Radeon RX 480 which is launching in less than 48 hours. AMD has committed to Async Compute since the beginning, and has been sitting at the DX12 table since day one too, so it'll be interesting to see how the performance fares on the $199 card when it launches.

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Continue reading: Battlefield 1 has Async Compute and DX12, expect 'DX12 fireworks' (full post)

Volkswagen fraud settlement biggest in US history, hits $15 billion

Anthony Garreffa | Current Affairs | Jun 28, 2016 12:13 AM CDT

Volkswagen really screwed the pooch with its diesel emission fraud, with over 500,000 US regulators and diesel vehicle owners seeing a settlement of over $15 billion in cash, according to Reuters.

If the settlement goes through, it'll be the largest ever automotive buyback in American history, and the most expensive scandal in the automotive industry. Last year, Volkswagen was caught in a scandal, where it had lied to regulators, installing secret software that allowed US cars to push out up to 40x more pollution. The settlement is expected to be finalized soon, with $10.03 billion in buyback offers to owners of around 475,000 polluting vehicles, and close to $5 billion to offset excess diesel emissions, and boost zero emission vehicles.

Reuters reports: "A separate settlement with nearly all U.S. state attorneys general over excess diesel emissions will be announced on Tuesday and is expected to be more than $500 million and will push the total to over $15 billion, a separate source briefed on the matter said. Spokeswomen for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Volkswagen declined to comment. Speaking on condition of anonymity, due to court-imposed gag rules, the original source said that owners of 2.0 liter diesel VW 2009-2015 cars will receive an average of $5,000 in compensation along with the estimated value of the vehicles as of September 2015, before the scandal erupted".

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Continue reading: Volkswagen fraud settlement biggest in US history, hits $15 billion (full post)

Battlefield 1 will have DX12 support, current alpha runs very smooth

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jun 27, 2016 9:16 PM CDT

Now that there's plenty of Battlefield 1 alpha gameplay footage, we're finding out little nuggets of information on EA DICE's latest first-person shooter. Now we know to expect DirectX 12 support, which is something that DICE is working on right now.

The option has been found in Battlefield 1's settings, where DX12 can be toggled on or off, meaning DX11 is enabled by default. DigitalFoundry recently played around with the PC version of Battlefield 1, cranking it up to 1440p with maxed out settings on NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 with 100% resolution scaling, which works out to be around 5K or so - and it was running smooth - which is impressive.

DigitalFoundry reported that the resolution slider works differently, with the native resolution on the slider now set at 50%. They added: "So by bumping the game up to 100% on a 1440p display, we are effect[ive]ly rendering at 2880p, or 5K".

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Continue reading: Battlefield 1 will have DX12 support, current alpha runs very smooth (full post)

How the PS4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio are frustrating and confusing gamers

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 27, 2016 8:42 PM CDT

Microsoft affirms that it doesn't want to confuse or frustrate gamers with its new Xbox trio gameplan, but it's already happened. Many gamers are asking themselves "why buy an Xbox One?" when they know Project Scorpio is coming next year, and that goes double now that most Xbox games will be playable on Windows 10 PCs.

How the PS4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio are frustrating and confusing gamers

"We're trying to shift the culture and put the power of when to upgrade in the hands of gamers, as opposed to it being driven by technology or a corporate initiative," Shannon Loftis, head of publishing at Microsoft Game Studios, told Associated Press. "I hope that we don't frustrate gamers. We're responding to them. The feedback we've received is that they want more choices."

It's true that Microsoft has completely revolutionized the console gaming world by giving players more hardware choice than they've ever had before. By Holiday 2017, there will be three differently tiered Xbox consoles on the market: the entry-level Xbox One, the sleeker, smaller Xbox One S that supports 4K Blu ray playback and HDR, and the "monster" Project Scorpio, a native 4K gaming console that promises enthusiast-grade performance. But Microsoft's new vision may be betrayed by the behaviors instilled and taught to consumers over the decades of one-console cycles.

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Continue reading: How the PS4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio are frustrating and confusing gamers (full post)

Nintendo explains why its so secretive about the NX console

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jun 27, 2016 7:16 PM CDT

Apart from revealing a March 2017 release window, Nintendo has been quite silent about its new NX console. Now legendary Zelda and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto reveals the reasoning behind this long-standing silence, and it all has to do with a "new idea."

Nintendo explains why its so secretive about the NX console

"In terms of NX, there's an idea that we're working on. That's why we can't share anything at this point, and I don't want to comment on the other companies. If it was just a matter of following advancements in technology, things would be coming out a lot quicker," Shigeru Miyamoto told the Associated Press.

Miyamoto's words echoes those of Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima, who said that the NX represents "a new way of thinking" about consoles. But what is this new idea and new way of thinking? Based on tons of past rumors, patents, and insider info, we've been able to take a lot of the mystery out of the NX, especially its unique features.

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Continue reading: Nintendo explains why its so secretive about the NX console (full post)

Final 'Star Trek: Beyond' trailer peaks at the right time

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Jun 27, 2016 6:02 PM CDT

After a summer of disappointing sequels and coming off the back of an initial teaser trailer that had many long-term 'Star Trek' fans switching off, the latest trailer for 'Beyond' has reignited interest in the upcoming sequel.

Starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, along with Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty and Karl Urban as Bones, and Idris Elba as the big bad Krall, 'Beyond' is the third film in the J.J. Abrams multiverse (now called the 'Kelvin Timeline') and is directed by 'Fast and Furious' director Justin Lin.

'Star Trek Beyond" hits cinemas in 2D, 3D and IMAX from July 21.

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Continue reading: Final 'Star Trek: Beyond' trailer peaks at the right time (full post)

Microsoft's new tool fixes Start Menu issues in Windows 10

Sean Ridgeley | Software & Apps | Jun 27, 2016 3:34 PM CDT

If you've ever experienced issues with the Start menu in Windows 10 (won't open, tiles disappearing, etc.), Microsoft has a cure for what ails you. The newly released Start menu troubleshooter will automagically check for and repair any issues it finds.

To download it, click here for the direct link or here for the indirect link if you're the cautious type. And if you're having trouble with the Store or your printer, official troubleshooters exist for that too and can be found with a simple search on the Microsoft support website.

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Continue reading: Microsoft's new tool fixes Start Menu issues in Windows 10 (full post)

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