Latest News - Page 2455

Sony's PlayStation Network is getting a much-needed security overhaul by adding in two-factor authentication for all PSN accounts.

PlayStation Network accounts are notoriously easy to hack, leading to ridiculous unauthorized charges on PSN accounts. In an attempt to thwart this, Sony plans to add two-step authentication to all PSN accounts in the future. "In order to further safeguard our users and their accounts, we are preparing to offer a 2-step verification feature," a Sony rep to Polygon.

Two-step authentication requires users to submit two separate pieces of data to access an account, effectively adding another security barrier. Soon users will have to enter more than just a password to log into the PlayStation Network. We don't know exactly when Sony will add in this extra security feature, with the rep saying that "more details will be shared at a later date."

Nintendo's new Miitomo smartphone game is collecting more data than Facebook, making it an extremely valuable tool for the Japanese gaming giant.

In this day and age consumers find data collection quite worrisome, especially with big companies like Facebook soaking up so much valuable user info. But Nintendo's new Miitomo app has managed to trounce Facebook's data collection after being on the market for only three weeks. The trick is that Nintendo has made sharing personal information into a game, creating a colorful and fun environment where friends can learn more about each other.

Miitomo rewards players with in-game currency for answering basic questions about their personalities, favorite foods, songs, television shows and much more. In this way, Nintendo offers incentives to users to actively participate in sharing their personal data--much of which could steadily feed Nintendo possibly invaluable user info. The most surprising part, though, is that Miitomo just asks for the data using cute miniature Mii characters. I think it's all about the presentation and execution, and Nintendo adds a personality and a face to its agency of data-collection, rather than a boring survey or pesky emails.

After recalling nearly all of its Model X vehicles over a rear seat safety issue recently, owners of the same vehicle are reporting glitches that could pose a serious safety threat. Among them: being locked out of the vehicle, doors failing to close, open, or sense objects to prevent hitting them, and light distortion caused by the curved windscreen, thus harming depth perception.

Tesla assures the recall and its current response to the situation is not an admission of mass failure, simply that it takes such issues seriously.

"While we have seen some issues with early Model X builds, the issues are not widespread, and we are working closely with each owner to respond quickly and proactively to address any problems," said a company spokesperon. "We will continue to do so until each customer is fully satisfied. This commitment is one of the reasons why 98% of our customers say they will buy another Tesla as their next car."

Rather than have its own exclusive games library, Sony's new PlayStation Neo (PS4.5/PS4K) will instead use regular PlayStation 4 games and upscale them to 4K.

Instead of moving on to the PlayStation 5, reports indicate that Sony will change the console cycle with a mid-cycle PS4 upgrade called the PlayStation Neo. The PS4 Neo won't be replacing existing PS4s, and will instead co-exist with the console and share a unified library of games that can be traded back and forth. The trick is that every PS4 game will have to support the PS4 Neo's new features, including 1080p to 4K upscaling functionality as well as increased frame-rate performance.

The way it'll work is that every PlayStation 4 game released after October 2016 will have two versions: a "Base Mode" for play on the regular PS4, and a "Neo Mode". Neo Mode allows developers to leverage the console's upgraded hardware to push 1080p 60FPS and upscale to 4K. All in-game content will be the same across PS4 Neo and PS4. All existing PS4 games will be compatible and playable on the PS4 Neo. Existing PS4's will only play games in Base Mode.

There are very few spots on the world that remained untouched by the golden arches, but how did the company grow to be the fourth biggest employer across the world? That's the story behind 'The Founder', which has just released its first trailer.

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Starring Michael Keaton as down-and-out businessman Ray Kroc who grew to eventually wrestle control of the company from two naive businessman brothers, before turning it into a multibillion-dollar global empire. Co-starring Nick Offerman, Linda Cardellini, Laura Dern, BJ Novak and John Carroll Lynch, the film is no doubt sure to raise the ire of McDonalds, as it so eagerly challenges the rose-tinted story of its creation.

No more fussing with paid virtual private network (VPN) services to get your US Netflix or access blocked websites: Opera now builds one directly into its desktop browser.

The company says the new feature is a response to the demand for the service (24% of internet users have tried or are currently using a VPN), as well as a desire to offer something new for the web. No doubt much of that 24% will try out the new Opera and maybe even stick with it, if only as a secondary browser for the express purpose of accessing geographically restricted content.

Unfortunately it's only available with the developer build, but presumably it will be offered publicly before long. To grab the developer build, head here; VPN can then be enabled easily in the options menu on PC or Mac.

A year later and Grand Theft Auto V is still absolutely mesmerizing on PC. Check out a new set of ultra-realistic high-res GTAV wallpapers that show just how magical Los Santos can be.

Berduu is a master at capturing the lightning in a bottle equivalent of video game screenshots. Now Berduu has spun his magic with GTA V, creating some of the most eye-boggling pictures I've ever seen--I've known for a while that Grand Theft Auto V on PC is beautiful, but these snaps just redefine my expectations. Rockstar should hire this guy to provide box art promo pictures or even huge GTA V posters.

All of the screenshots were taken using the Rockstar Editor and a combination of different mods like ReShade and SweetFX overhauls. Berduu promises that none of them have been Photoshopped, and every snap reflects actual in-game captures. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fire up GTA V and grab some mods...

Acer just announced their Predator G1 gaming desktop, which is much smaller than the slightly older siblings, making it portable enough to take along with you to those ancient LAN parties. The best news is that the redesigned case is only smaller, and doesn't sacrifice anything other than space. Their newest gaming laptop, the Predator 17X also made an appearance with updated internals, fast ones too.

If you feel like, you're able to configure this with up to an NVIDIA Titan X, a Skylake K series chip and 64GB of DDR4 RAM. Of course in the storage region you'll be able to have 512GB of solid state storage or even throw in a 4TB HDD for good measure. Essentially what Acer has done with the new, smaller, G1 is take the internals from the larger G6 and stuff them into a smaller case. The case is attractive, too, with customizable lighting and sleek lines that definitely speak the gamer language, but in a sophisticated way. The new G1 is also completely VR ready with it's powerful internals.

The Predator 17X gaming laptops is the follow-on replacement to last years 17-inch powerhouse and comes with the option for up to a 4K screen, a completely unlocked, and overclockable, Skylake i7-6820HK and up to 64GB of DDR4 with an NVIDIA 980 coming along of the ride. Storage options include 512GB NVMe enabled drives and room for 4TB of storage. It packs Thunderbolt 3, just in case you're thinking about external GPU solutions too. With the potential for so much heat in such a small area, Acer has developed a three-fan setup that sucks in copious amounts of air from the side and then rushes it to through the back. It's portable, sort of.

PC gaming peripheral maker Tesoro today announced two new low-profile GRAM Spectrum mechanical keyboards optimized for performance gaming.

Tesoro's new GRAM Spectrum mechanical keyboards sport the company's low-profile AGILE mechanical switches with a shorter 3.5 mm travel distance, and are available in red and blue AGILE switch flavors. The GRAM Spectrum also feature double-injection keycaps for optimum durability.

The GRAM Spectrum fluxes with over 16.8 million color combinations with fully customized RGB lighting, and every single key can be custom-programmed. With a 32bit ARM processor and 512KB onboard memory, users can save and execute macro settings on-the-fly. Tesoro's new mechanical keyboards offer an ultra-polling rate of 1000Hz, and Full N-Key/G-key rollover options.

Dust 514, the first FPS by CCP Games, though only available for the PlayStation 3, had a very strong following. It wasn't the largest following, but the servers were full enough at most times that it was always possible to find someone to play with. Sure, the Unreal Engine 3 shooter wasn't the greatest looking, but it was connected to the greater EVE universe, which is exciting unto itself. Dust 514 is no more, and in its place is going to be another free-to-play FPS, but this time for the PC.

Project Nova is the next great FPS project, and will cut the mechanism that allowed interaction between EVE Online and Dust 514, instead existing in the same universe in name only. That isn't a bad thing, however, because that little-known mechanism, orbital bombardment, was never used anyway according to CCP Games. Project Nova will be built upon Unreal Engine 4, and will be a natural evolution of Dust 514, learning from its failings.

They want to make waves in the already full F2P FPS sphere, and they plan on doing that by allowing customization and the ability to actually have a full and good loadout right from the moment you start playing. You won't start with absolutely nothing, but there will still be plenty to look forward too with more playing time.There are currently eight different classes, but you'll have the ability to create your own by mixing and matching abilities, weapons and armor.

CCP Games is pretty excited about being able to offer EVE: Valkyrie as one of the first VR experiences for all platforms when they all eventually release (we're waiting on you, PSVR). And they're also letting all platforms (well, both) play together within the same servers via some very real cross-platform play. More details for the new Carrier Assault mode were also revealed recently, with a new trailer to show it all off.

Owen O'Brien, the producer of the game, dropped that nugget of information at a fan gathering that took place in Reykjavik, Iceland, saying that everyone will get to play together once it's finally finished and released. Specifically on the PC side they're making sure that owners of the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift are able to play competitively against one another regardless of the headset platform they choose.

Carrier Assault is a forthcoming game mode that's being planned for the game that sees you and others slowly but surely attacking a capital ship, which is rather resistant to your attempts at destroying it. You'll get the chance to attack the physical structures of the ship and then the structures inside the ship. The game is still in early access on the Oculus Rift only at the moment, though the final release will be seen rather soon, we hope. The project has turned from a simple dogfighting representation of the EVE universe to something rather spectacular in design and scope.

Wouldn't you too like to take a small vacation in beautiful Sapienza? It's a beautiful, sun-drenched (fictional) coastal town with gorgeous ocean views and a very relaxed vibe. It's just a trifle dangerous, with a bio-engineer working on a DNA-specific virus somewhere in the small town, but that shouldn't get you down, right?

The latest season of Hitman is set to begin on April 26th on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the PC. You'll be initially tasked with taking down Silvio Caruso, who is a bioengineer working on a very deadly virus. You'll get a chance to stretch your creative muscles and approach it in any way you please, using any number of elements to complete your task. I do wonder if the virus getting released, and killing you, is at all something that can accidentally happen in the game.

If you've been waiting for more to do after completing all of the achievements in the Paris fashion show level, then you're definitely in luck. This should be slightly larger then that level with a bit more variety. Agent 47 won't be taking a proper vacation this time, though, and it'll be a working one.

Communication is a valuable commodity within the video game industry, something that's highly appreciated by the community itself. Being able to hear about the general status of the development of a game is certainly excited news and can help to alleviate pre-release fears if the various avenues are used correctly. We like to hear directly from the big, and little, publishers and developers as they explain the various challenges and fun things they're doing to make their game. Sometimes hearing why something was included, not included a feature or why a particular direction was chosen can help humanize an otherwise inaccessible industry.

How developers communicate with their fan base is as much a part of game development as anything. If you want to be successful, you'll need as wide an audience as possible, so communicating misinformation frequently or even outright lying can hurt a company's credibility to the point of affecting their bottom line.

Larger companies and franchises can weather such issues, though there is the potential for long-term effects not intended. Some companies do it better than others and have strict policies about either saying too much too early and certainly about releasing deceptive information. Peter Molyneux is almost famous for getting ahead of himself and the projects he's a part of. Features he's talked about sometimes never make it into the development pipeline, even.

Remedy Entertainment, the developer of the critically acclaimed Alan Wake franchise as well as Quantum Break, isn't looking to take a break after they successfully released Quantum Break. It seems that according to an online resume for two employees there, an as-of-yet unannounced project has been underway for at least nine months already since August of 2015.

The claim comes from these LinkedIn profiles from the picture above, spotted by VideoGamer.com. We've heard this year that Remedy is not against revisiting and possibly adding onto the Alan Wake franchise. Their creative director, Sam Lake, himself has even teased that a return could also include a bit of multiplayer as well. But nothing is quite certain, and there have only been quiet ruminations regarding that. And in general, after the gigantic story that encompassed Quantum Break, they seem to have quite a few great ideas running around through the office, of which one or two are bound to become their own game.

What could it be? It's more likely that it's a new IP completely, something that possibly visits one of the many different ideas that were thrown out in favor of the time-bending narrative we received. We'll keep you apprised of any rumors or other information that might inadvertently show up before any official announcements.

Intel's Broadwell-E processors have already been listed on NCIX, available for pre-order, just ahead of the official release. The prices that are shown, however, are actually somewhat higher than what we think the actual MSRP to be once they hit the streets. If you're an early adopter, then you can now be among some of the first to receive your CPU's if you pre-order now.

The server-oriented Broadwell-EP parts have been released in full already and have shown incremental, though significant, increases in performance over their Haswell-EP counterparts. The real gain is power-efficiency, however, where the smaller node and accumulative changes have led to far better performance/watt numbers.

The new processors will be compatible with the 2011 v3 socket physically and also be compatible with Intel's X99 motherboard chipset, though the latter will require a BIOS update to be able to support the new microcode. That makes it an easy upgrade, though, for those looking for either power savings or wanting to continue to have the absolute fastest processor available. All four new processors were spotted, and their prices are after the break. The top-end 10 core i7-6950X is listed at $2349.98.

Emulation is a touchy subject, both legally and socially. We love older games and when we can't play them natively, we emulate them with the plethora of different emulators that exist. SEGA is releasing an official emulator for the classic Mega Drive so as to take matters into their own hands, giving you official access to their library of games.

They already have reinvigorated a few games, via Steam and through various consoles, but here they're introducing their own hub that includes keyboard and mouse support and a number of different graphical enhancement filters that can be applied if they happen to suit you. Like other emulators, you'll be able to save at any point with a savestate system with probably the best emulation engine available, considering the official nature of it all. All games will also come with Steam Workshop support, so you can import mods and make your own.

The hub itself will be free, though games will naturally cost and you'll have to purchase a game to get access to the hub. Thus far it doesn't seem as if you can bring in your own ROMs, likely for very obvious legal reasons. The best part about the new hub? The interface is that of a super SEGA fan from the nineties, with a CRT and a wall full of merchandise from the era. The full list of games that grant access to it is below just after the break.

We keep reporting on the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070, based on the GP104 GPU, but what about the successor to the insanely popular GTX 950 and GTX 960? The GP106 will be released sometime later this year, and it might be a surprisingly powerful, yet power efficient video card.

According to the new reports, GP106 cards won't require any additional PCIe power connectors, so it'll be a slot-and-forget deal. We should expect the GeForce GTX 1060 to use less than 75W of power, which will be insane given that it should deliver a nice 30-50% bump in performance over the current GM206-based GTX 960. The 16nm FinFET process at its finest.

Right now, the GTX 950 and GTX 960 are still doing incredibly well in the market, so there's no need for NVIDIA to pump out a GM206-based successor just yet. But, the GTX 970 and GTX 980 cards have been out for nearly two years now, so bring on the GTX 1070/GTX 1080!

Undoubtedly the hero of the cinematic year thus far, the runaway success 'Deadpool' is coming to the home next month - and Twentieth Century Fox aren't skimping on the features.

Releasing on Blu-ray, 4K UltraHD Blu-ray and DVD next month, the former two editions are confirmed to include two audio commentaries, one with director Tim Miller and Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld, while a second features star Ryan Reynolds alongside writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, deleted and extended scenes with optional director commentary, a gag reel, the 'From Comics to Screen... to Screen' documentary, picture galleries including concept art, storyboards and costumes, along with the promise of some more surprises.

'Deadpool' will be available to purchase in the United States on May the 10th, and in Australia on May 25th.

It might be late in the GTX 980 Ti game to make that much of a splash, but Colorful Technology Company Limited, a Chinese manufacturer of some very special video cards, has just unveiled its latest creation - the iGame GTX 980 Ti KUDAN.

The iGame GTX 980 Ti KUDAN features not just a unique custom-cooler, but powerful heat sinks packing an integrated watercooling loop that will provide some insane cooling. Five heat pipes are responsible for taking heat away from the GPU, dispersing it throughout densely packed fins and the watercooling loop, which spools up when extra cooling is required.

Colorful has deployed full-time GPU thermal monitoring which provides smart control over the integrated watercooling system, which can be configured with a custom watercooling loop if you want. The iGame GTX 980 Ti KUDAN also has an Overclocking Key, which when pressed, boosts the GPU up to a huge 1304MHz Boost clock.

It's not often we see release dates shifted forward, but that's exactly what's just happened with the eagerly antincipated sequel to the 1982 sci-fi watershed 'Blade Runner', which returns Harrison Ford as replicant hunter Rick Deckard.

According to Variety, the sequel which was originally scheduled to hit screens in January 2018, has been shifted forward by three months and will now release worldwide in October 2017. Hot of the success of last year's 'Sicario', Denis Villeneuve will step behind the camera, while Ridley Scott will serve as the executive director. Those worried by the potential to screw-up one of the best films of the 20th century shouldn't be overly alarmed - the script written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green has been described by Ford as "the best thing he's ever read".

The film will also star Ryan Gosling and Robin Wright in leading roles.