Latest News - Page 2482

Samsung is walking down an interesting path when it comes to VR, with its new Gear VR-powered 'Bedtime VR Stories' for parents. Bedtime VR Stories allows parents to be right there in the VR world with their kids at bedtime, telling them an amazing VR bedtime story.

Not all parents can be with their kids at bedtime, and for traveling parents - this type of system works incredibly well. I have two young daughters (5 and 2) and travel once a month on average for work, so this type of system for someone like me, is transformative. I can be on the other side of the world physically, but in the same room with them during story time.

Samsung's new Bedtime VR Stories uses a combination of VR and VOIP, with each story taking between 6-7 minutes, and requires a Gear VR and Samsung Galaxy smartphone for the parent, and a special cardboard viewer for the child.

After countless Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare leaks and teases, Activision finally publishes a teaser trailer for the new futuristic Call of Duty shooter.

The new Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare teaser trailer is entitled "Know Your Enemy", and gives players their fist look at the game's possible antagonist force called the Settlement Defense Front. Activision also posted a livestream of the trailer on Twitch, and had a SDF bot within the chat posting up some curious phrases. The Call of Duty Instagram feed has also been updated with teasers.

In-store pre-order advertisements for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare were leaked earlier this week, revealing the game's $80 Legacy Edition, which comes with a free copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered. The remastered port features a full campaign and ten multiplayer maps, but Activision has yet to officially announce which maps are included.

Quantum Break wants to be a beautiful game, but when you have sold your souls to your potato gods - this is what happens. Making a game for consoles is the worst thing you can do when you want to make a great looking game which so happens to be one the PC, too. Jeff tore the game apart in his performance analysis, and I tore it apart when I found out Remedy had watered it down so much.

Well, with the reconstruction technology disabled, which renders at a lower resolution and then upscales to your monitor's resolution - it ruins it. But, if you disable the reconstruction technology and crank the rendering resolution to 4K, it looks gorgeous.

In order to hit 4K in Quantum Break, you're going to need some serious GPU horsepower - as DSO Gaming reports that even with their GeForce GTX 980 Ti, they didn't even hit an average of 20FPS. But, it looks absolutely beautiful. The lack of multi-GPU support is because Remedy decided to make it an UWP game, and Microsoft really just hates PC gaming so UWP-based games don't get multi-GPU support. My rage about that subject, we'll leave for another day.

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex has had its official PC requirements released, with Turn 10 Studios' driving game requiring some relatively modest PC hardware to play the game.

You'll need a decent dual-core CPU with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 or AMD Radeon R7 250X video card. If you want to hit 1080p 60FPS, you'll need a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290X. 4K 60FPS isn't too far away, as you'll need a GeForce GTX 980 Ti or Radeon R9 Fury X.

Other than that, Turn 10 recommends an SSD + 30GB of HDD space for 4K 60FPS gaming, while you'll need 6GB or more of VRAM for 4K 60FPS. Turn 10 suggests an Xbox One controller for your input, which is going to be much, much better than playing Forza Motorsport 6: Apex on your keyboard.

Quantum Break has been Quantum Broken on the PC since it launched, with Remedy Entertainment pushing out a new 'title update' for Windows 10 version of the game.

Remedy's PR boss Thomas Puha said that Title Update 2 for Quantum Break on Windows 10 is now available, with the new patch weighing an insane 27GB. Seriously, that's more than what full games weigh in at, with the new patch giving you the ability to turn on/off the film grain, upscaling, and fixes the niggly frame pacing problems.

There are plenty of other fixes, with the full details below:

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray echoes what fans have known since the reveal: virtual reality would be a fantastic platform for the procedurally generated, planet-hopping space sim.

Hello Games' Sean Murray is definitely optimistic about virtual reality, so we could see a VR adaptation of No Man's Sky sometime in the future. In a recent interview with IGN, Murray said that VR is a "really good fit" for No Man's Sky: "I think VR in general is incredibly exciting. I would say I'm a believer. I have this optimism about it. But it doesn't have a killer app yet--I haven't found anything that makes me want to spend hours upon hours in VR yet.I really hope everyone gets it right."

So could No Man's Sky be the "killer app" that virtual reality needs? Could Hello Games' space sim take the mantle as the one singular must-have VR experience and kick off a new wave of excitement for the platform? Murray was still guarded about No Man's Sky on VR, choosing not to directly answer if the game is coming to VR or not.

Guillermo Del Toro possibly hints that a spiritual successor to the haunting P.T. could be in the works.

Last night Guillermo Del Toro Tweeted a single image of P.T.'s ghost Lisa that haunts us in two ways: it reminds us that Konami's cancelled Silent Hills (P.T.) will never surface, and cruelly teases us about a possible successor.

We're not sure if Del Toro is actually teasing a new P.T. game, or if this is his way of saying goodbye to the game. The Tweet was accompanied by "Buenas Noches", which translates to "goodnight", so this could just be his macabre way of saying goodnight to his followers. Or maybe, just maybe, Del Toro is indirectly revealing a new horror collaboration with Hideo Kojima.

1666: Amsterdam gameplay footage has leaked, revealing a fascinating look at THQ's canned supernatural adventure.

The reel is from a two-year-old pre-release 1666: Amsterdam tech demo, and shows the basic mechanics of what the game has to offer. It takes place in Amsterdam during the 17th century, and players assume the role of a devilish cloaked wizard who uses sorcery to wreak havoc on the city of Amsterdam. The footage shows shapechanging and controlling the minds of animals to cause mischief across the very Assassin's Creed-like cityscape.

While this version of 1666: Amsterdam may not ever release, the game itself isn't dead. Patrice Desilets, a former THQ dev who invested tons of time into the project, has now been given full rights to the game by Ubisoft. I'm beyond excited for this game, and I find something darkly enchanting about the whole idea of a malevolent devil traipsing around 17th century Amsterdam and causing all kinds of despair and destruction. Certainly the game would have its own narrative, and that would be even more mysterious and macabre.

id Software ups the ante with Doom's new Ultra Nightmare difficulty, and it's so ruthlessly cruel that none of the developers have even come close to beating it.

Longtime fans of the Doom series know all about the Nightmare difficulty, and how fraught with danger the mode can be. But it's nothing compared to Doom's new Ultra Nightmare mode--the horrendously sadistic difficulty that punishes you with merciless glee. What makes Ultra Nightmare so cruel is its permadeath feature, which completely resets the game if you die a single time. I couldn't imagine beating the first boss, let alone massive hulking behemoths or Spider Mastermind.

id has told IGN that no one in the entire studio has even come close to beating Ultra Nightmare mode. The devs are using the difficulty as a kind of internal competition, but even the masters that created the hellish FPS are getting slaughtered, so what hope do we have?

Activision has officially trademarked Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, pretty much confirming the next entry in the hit FPS franchise.

Activision filed two separate trademarks for "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare" and "Infinite Warfare" at the United States Patent Office on April 26, meaning the patents are actually four days old.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was originally outed by an accidental listing on the PlayStation Store, along with leaked pre-order adverts and in-store promos. The game is believed to take place in space, and may be set in the distant future. A special $80 Infinite Warfare Legacy Collection comes with a free copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered, which features the full campaign and 10 multiplayer maps.

Vivendi has just purchased a larger stake in Ubisoft, where until now they had a 10% stake in Ubisoft, but have recently purchased more - now holding 17.73% of Ubisoft's capital, and 15.66% of voting shares.

The company filed documents this week which were reported on by Reuters, with the company saying that it had "no plans" to try and push for an Ubisoft takeover, nor would it make an offer for Ubisoft's outstanding shares. Rewinding back to 2015, Vivendi increased its hold on Ubisoft from 6.6% to 10%, which Ubisoft said was "unsolicited and unwelcome".

Ubisoft has since met with investors and the Canadian government to "fight to preserve our independence". Vivendi used to own Activision Blizzard, but sold its majority stake in 2012, and then fully in 2013. It still owns around 12% of the company in 2013, and now it has less than 6%.

The future is VR, with the San Jose Cogswell College announcing its new Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Certificate Program with the school adding that it's the first of its kind to do so.

Jerome Solomon, Cogswell's Dean of the College & Director of Game Design and Development, explains: "We look forward to helping the industry make sense of the exciting recent developments in virtual reality. We recognize the pain of developing around emerging VR/AR systems while at the same time the gaming industry has always led the way in finding applications for new technologies".

The new program will also cover Perceptual/Cognitive Aspects of VR/AR; HCI Design; Design for VR; and Project-Based Iterative Application. Timothy Duncan, DMA, Professor, Director of Digital Audio Technology said: "VR and AR are quickly emerging as leading areas for content and technology development. In keeping with Cogswell's 130-year tradition of educational excellence, we are offering this brand new set of VR & AR classes to help our students bridge the preparation gap by working with these trending and ground-breaking new technologies today".

Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima promises the new NX console will launch with a full assortment of launch games, and that the system will have a long lifespan. In fact, the main reason Nintendo is releasing the NX in March 2017 instead of 2016 is so the NX has enough launch games. Nintendo is rightly choosing to expand the NX's debut library instead of rushing the console out for the holiday season.

"The NX's software lineup will be built-up. Having a full software lineup when the hardware launches is one reason for the #NX launch timing," Kimishima said at Nintendo's investor's meeting (as translated by Cheesemeister 3K)."Also, we must be in a state to release titles not just at launch, but continually afterwards."

Nintendo has learned a lot from the Wii U business model. The company is taking its time to formulate a new plan of action based on careful consideration and methodical evaluation. One of the many changes sees Nintendo abandoning inconsistent, fractured games releases, instead pushing out a steady stream of content for NX owners.

Wealthy investor Carl Icahn, has pulled his entire investment out of Apple stock. With Icahn being one of Apple's biggest backers, claiming multiple times that Apple stock was undervalued, and offers more to investors than meets the eye - well, Icahn has pulled his stock and it's making headlines.

Just a month ago, Apple stock was trading at $110, and now it's sitting at $93.74 at the time of writing. How much did Icahn hold in Apple stock? Well, he owned around 0.83% of Apple stock - which is a huge portion of stock for a single investor, which was valued at an insane $4.5 billion. Late last year, Icahn sold around $700 million worth of shares, but this time it was a much bigger chunk.

The reason Icahn sold his Apple stock? Apple is facing issues in China, which are struggling to create devices for the middle class - you know, the people who can't afford $1000 smartphones. This is why Apple has shifted into devices like the iPhone SE, but it hasn't been enough. Apple recently reported that their revenue decreased for the first time in 13 years, due to falling iPhone demand across the world.

While the entire gaming market has shifted to mobile and consoles in terms of AAA game development, the PC is still a powerhouse when it comes to profits.

According to Newzoo's latest Global Games Market Report, we have the latest sales numbers on mobile, PC and console gaming. PC gaming is more profitable than console gaming, but mobile gaming blows them both away. Newzoo's Global Games Market Forecast Model projects gamer numbers and revenues per segment, region and screen on a global, regional, and country level. The report also shows the share of paying gamers and average spend in the same granularity.

The company explains in the report: "These projections are analyzed in various ways, comparing year-on-year growth rates, market share, CAGRs and absolute amounts in USD between the regions and segments, as well as the development of specific regions or segments in time. These projections are compared to available third-party sources on a local or global level. Given the pace of the developments in the games industry, Newzoo reviews its conclusions and assumptions every quarter, taking into account newly available data and insights. Before publication of any data, Newzoo also performs validation checks in various ways including comparison against historic internal data, comparison against market figures from alternative sources and validation from several Newzoo clients".

Can you believe how exciting the next month is going to be? First, we've heard that NVIDIA will be unveiling its next-gen GeForce video cards in the next week, and on the same day - EA will unveil the next generation Battlefield 5. Yes, it's happening on the same day. We only reported a few hours ago that NVIDIA will have partner cards on retail shelves in June, too.

EA will be unveiling Battlefield 5 at its world premiere event this week on May 6, while NVIDIA is reportedly inviting select press from around the world to unveil its new next-gen Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1080, and GTX 1070 video cards.

When it comes to the next-gen GPUs from NVIDIA, the GTX 1080 should be quite the beast - with it being much more powerful than the GTX 980 (think Titan X speeds), with it being built on the 16nm FinFET process, the new Pascal architecture and GDDR5X. The upcoming GeForce GTX 1070 will be slightly slower - think less CUDA cores, and the use of GDDR5, not GDDR5X.

The latest trailer to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is here, with Square Enix ushering in the new '101' trailer for its upcoming game, showcasing protagonist Adam Jensen as he "makes sure that the events of the past won't repeat themselves".

Because of the issues between humans and augmented people, the problems that arose in Deus Ex: Human Revolution reach a new tipping point. Jensen is then "forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind". Jensen is investigating some issues in the new trailer, as well as a new look at Jensen's apartment.

Square Enix said in a press release for Mankind Divided: "Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. You'll also discover both old and new acquaintances, all of which have their own agendas. Whether going rogue or by the book, choices never come without consequences. The truth is still yours to reveal".

The features Apple Music has had for months are now finally on Android thanks to a new update.

First is video playback, allowing you to watch most music videos and soon, a Vice documentary called "The Score", a new Dr. Dre series named Vital Signs, and an Apple series about app developers.

Then there's family plans: if you're willing to drop $14.99 per month over the standard $9.99, you can share with up to five other people.

Apple has a new API for its Music service which offers a variety of exciting features for developers, allowing them to do all kinds of things they couldn't before.

Among them:

In turn, this added functionality opens up possibilities like Facebook creating playlists for you based on songs your friends have posted; fitness apps could create playlists based on tempo, and social music apps could pop up left and right. In short, every developer can now integrate Apple Music into their own apps and software in a ton of different ways without having to worry about things like licensing, since that's handled by Apple.

Some of you have been circumventing the default behaviour for Cortana searches in Windows 10, telling her to search the web with a browser other than Edge and/or an engine other than Bing. Microsoft is putting a stop to both as of today, in what it says is an effort to ensure the best possible experience.

"The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable," it explains in a blog post. "The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing - all designed to do more for you."

"Starting today, to ensure we can deliver the integrated search experience designed for Windows 10, Microsoft Edge will be the only browser that will launch when you search from the Cortana box."