Latest News - Page 2673

There was a time when Doom 4 was a thing, but Bethesda decided to cancel the project after the team wasn't happy with what they were making. Bethesda boss Pete Hines talked about Doom 4 during E3, where he said during a video interview with Polygon: "We weren't happy with the game that was being made".

He continued: "We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over. Some folks left and some faces changed at the studio. Out of that change - which was not easy for those guys to go through - some amazing things happened. You can probably close your eyes and imagine a 'Call of Doom' or a 'BattleDoom' game, where it starts to feel way too much like: 'Wait, this doesn't feel like Doom, it feels like we're playing some other franchise with a Doom skin on it".

Hines had more to say, adding: "It wasn't fast enough. The way that the demons worked. The visceralness of the combat. A lot of the stuff that you see with the finishing moves wasn't part of it at all. The combat was more disconnected, you almost found yourself taking cover at times and using things from other FPSes, which might be fine for them, but for Doom it just doesn't feel right".

Slightly Mad Studios might have just announced Project CARS 2 nice and early, but the original game is being patched up as we speak. Patch 2.0 for Project CARS is massively extensive, offering up to 5% more performance on the PC when under Ultra settings. But that's not all, check out the full Patch 2.0 release notes below:

Performance Improvements

Physics & AI

Intel had planned to jump into the 10nm processor game as early as next year, but it looks like its 10nm-based Cannonlake processor has been pushed back, indefinitely.

The chip giant planned on releasing its 10nm processor in 2016, delaying it into 2017 shortly after. But now the company has experienced serious issues with its 10nm process, deciding to intro the Kaby Lake platform instead. There's not much known on the Kaby Lake platform, other than it being a 14nm process, and the usual dual- and quad-core processors that Intel will surely offer. We should expect the same LGA1151 socket to be used, with power to sit somewhere between 4.5W and 91W.

We should take a lesson from this: while AMD isn't sitting in the best position when it comes to combating Intel in the CPU game, Intel is now at a stalemate when it comes to ushering in a next-generation processor. With 10nm off the table for the next few years, we're looking at nearly rehashed CPUs from Intel until a new technology can be released to market from the company.

It was only a few days ago that we reported that the PC port of Batman: Arkham Knight was a pile of... well, you can use any word you want there. So much so, that Warner Bros. has just announced that they're suspending any and all sales of the PC version until the technical issues can be ironed out.

The company took to their company blog, saying:

It seems the 'Greentext' memes are becoming real as an "epic, new quest" explained as a "never-before-seen, multistage mission in The Taken King that will test the speed and strategic abilities of Destiny players in new ways" will require a Redbull can purchase and specialty code in order for gamers to participate. People certainly aren't happy about this new 'experience', as seen on Games Radar.

Once entered, the code will unlock this quest for all alongside bonus experience points soaring at a rate of 50% for only 30 minutes. How do you unlock more experience bonus? Buy more Red Bull cans! The experience bonus will be made available on the 1st of July, with the quest launching on September the 15th.

Released alongside The Taken King expansion which will cost us all $40, the quest will be exclusive to Red Bull drinkers only until January 1st, 2016. It also seems this is a US-only promotion at this stage.

Fove hopes its virtual reality technology, which uses eye-tracking technology, is able to give users a more realistic VR experience. The company's VR headset uses eye-tracking technology as the primary user interface, which is able to follow a wearer's pupils using infrared light.

As the company develops its hardware, Fove hopes the ability to use eye-tracking won't be just for video games - but in the medical world. For example, designers were able to collect data related to eye contact and eve avoidance among people suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. But let's not forget how eye-tracking can be utilized for gamers:

"From an immersion point of view, if you deal with VR characters that are completely unaware of your gaze, it creates an unnatural, even unnerving experience," said Lochlainn Wilson, co-founder of Fove, in a statement published by the MIT Technology Review. "We can bridge that uncanny barrier."

Bethesda Softworks publicly unveiled Doom during E3, the studio's latest attempt at renewing the famed gaming franchise - and things are going so much better than when Bethesda tried to put together the failed Doom 4 project a few years ago.

"We weren't happy with the game that was being made," said Pete Hines, VP of PR and marketing at Bethesda, in a statement to Polygon. "We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over. Some folks left and some faces changed at the studio. Out of that change - which was not easy for those guys to go through - some amazing things happened."

It seemed like nothing went right with the original Doom 4 project that was underway years ago, with demon and enemy AI all the way to "the visceralness of the combat," which was "more disconnected." Instead, gamers would have had to work through the game in the same fashion as Call of Duty and other war-style games - take cover and be extremely strategic in gameplay.

The US mobile worker population in the United States will increase from 96.2 million in 2015 up to 105.4 million in 2020, according to the IDC research group. By 2020, mobile workers will make up 72.3 percent of the total US workforce, as smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices become even more important in the workplace.

The dropping price of smartphones and tablets, along with acceptance of bring your own device (BYOD) programs by workplaces are helping drive the rising number. In addition, employees can enjoy newer forms of mobile technologies: biometric readers, augmented reality, wearables, voice control, and near-field communications (NFC) are making it increased mobility possible.

"Mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work," said Bryan Bassett, research analyst of the Mobile Enterprise Device Solutions at IDC. "The expectation will be supplemented by new solutions specifically intended to manage the challenges associated with the growing needs of the mobile workforce."

A few days ago we were in Sydney, Australia for the AMD unveiling event for the new Radeon 300 series and the new Radeon R9 Fury X. During a Q&A session with AMD's Chief Gaming Scientist, Richard Huddy, we asked if the Radeon R9 Fury X could be used in 4-way CrossFire configurations.

Huddy replied saying that you can indeed use the Radeon R9 Fury X in 4-way CrossFire setups, but that the team has already played with 8-way setups under Linux. But, I also asked if it was a problem with the massive radiator that is attached to each Fury X, and that a 4-way CrossFire configuration would be quite hectic, even inside the biggest chassis.

AMD didn't seem to clearly answer the question, but noted that Fury X in 4-way CrossFire has been done before. We have secured ourselves a second Fury X for some CrossFire lovin', so expect some Fury X CrossFire scores in the coming days.

The GCHQ British intelligence agency didn't follow protocol when it intercepted data on two non-government organizations, according to the country's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT). Retaining emails for longer than it is supposed to is a violation of GCHQ internal procedures - but the IPT says the data interception was legal.

"We welcome the IPT's confirmation that any interception by GCHQ in these cases was undertaken lawfully and proportionately, and that where breaches of policies occurred they were not sufficiently serious to warrant any compensation to be paid to the bodies involved," a government spokesman said, in a statement published by the BBC.

The GCHQ intercepted communications from the Legal Resources Centre and Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, with both groups saying their data was illegally examined and retained. However, the IPT didn't offer a statement regarding claims from Amnesty International and other NGOs.

Google wants to fight back against the Islamic State's "viral moment" that has been effective in posting rather disgusting and gruesome videos and images on social media.

The Internet giant wants to allow users to be educated about the barbaric and violent actions of the Islamic State, but doesn't want to serve as a distribution method for beheading videos and other content.

"ISIS is having a viral moment on social media and the countervailing viewpoints are nowhere near strong enough to oppose them," said Victoria Grand, policy director at Google, while speaking during the Cannes Lions advertising festival. "ISIS, in particular, has been putting up footage that is inhuman and atrocious. We are still seeing about two or three of these beheadings each week. They are heeding advice from a decade before from Osama bin Laden and they are taking it to another level using social media."

Sony has announced the 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition will launch in Europe and other markets starting on July 15. Gamers had the chance to upgrade their storage capacity with the PS4 if they wanted to, but this is a stock option from the Japanese electronics company.

The debut of a 1TB PS4 is an answer to the Xbox One receiving 1TB storage - and designed to help gamers cope with the growing number of digital game downloads. Pricing information wasn't released by Sony.

In addition to the 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition, Sony also has modified the 500GB model so it's lighter and more power efficient. The new 500GB models will be available in Japan before the end of June, and will be released worldwide in staggered launches.

The ongoing drama involving Apple Music, which has been pitted as Taylor Swift vs. Apple Music, has given other musicians the chance to speak out. Apple Music launches on June 30, and there is a bit of drama and chaos regarding the music service already, so the streaming music market could be even more exciting.

"Apple is making the same mistake Tidal made," Corgan recently said while speaking with Squawk Alley." "I applaud her for taking a stand, but this is going to be played out by the media as 'Taylor versus Apple,' and that's not the real story."

Corgan noted that Apple's attention to just the top-tier artists is a mistake, and could make things rather interesting moving forward:

Microsoft just can't catch a break while promoting the Xbox One in Japan, selling just 100 units from June 8 to June 14, according to 4Gamer. The PlayStation 4 sold 10,822 units - and the aging PlayStation 3 managed to rack up 2,633 sales during the same hellish week for Microsoft.

It's not a surprise that Japanese gamers prefer hardware from Sony and Nintendo - and Microsoft knew it'd be a major fight to sell the Xbox One in Japan - but this is a new all-time low for Microsoft. However, the original Xbox and Xbox 360 didn't struggle this much in Japan, where a tech and gaming savvy population loves embracing new technologies.

Late last year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer noted that Japan isn't an easy market for the company's consoles, but vowed to try to "conquer Japan." Well, keep trying Microsoft...

Things have heated up in the AMD space hours before the launch of the Radeon R9 Fury X, with rumors circling that Qualcomm is interested in acquiring AMD, according to a report by Seeking Alpha.

Without a large amount of success in recent times there has been many claims by public and media alike of AMD beginning a struggle, without any reports pointing out a direction or solution that AMD might undergo in order to fix its 'issues'. However, in a report by investor company Seeking Alpha, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf mentioned that he is interested in taking over a larger portion of the server scene and adjacent markets - this saw AMD pointed out as the most realistic financial possibility.

There's a few assumptions made here that Qualcomm will either buy out the AMD server business solely or the complete company itself - however, it's one of the best theories put forward yet. AMD recently denied spin-off talk, which helps solidify the idea that it may sell up completely to Qualcomm, rather than pushing away parts of its business.

Google today launched a free, ad-supported version of its Google Play Music service, in an effort to steal a bit of publicity ahead of the Apple Music launch next week. Google Play Music has been around for a couple of years with a $9.99 per month subscription, allowing music listeners to create their own custom playlists.

The new public offering won't be available offline and will not have access to some songs - and is a marketing effort to recruit new members. Although many users visit Google Play Music, they don't stick around due to the monthly subscription costs.

"We want to attract even more users, give them a taste of the service and hope they subscribe over time," said Zahavah Levine, VP of partnerships at Google Play, in a statement published by USA Today. It seems like offering a free trial - whether ad-supported or a set amount of free testing - is the ideal way to lure in new listeners.

The US Navy was unable to upgrade from Windows XP before Microsoft pulled the plug on support, and will pay at least $9 million for additional help. Specifically, the Navy will receive critical hotfixes and additional software patches for Windows XP and other software.

The deal is expected to run until July 2016, though both sides agreed to the possibility of support until June 2017 - and would cost over $30 million. Without going into details, the Navy has "legacy applications" that must run on Windows XP - and it is taking longer than expected to make upgrades and improvements.

"Nearly all the networks and workstations afloat and ashore will benefit from the Microsoft Premier Support services and Microsoft Custom Support services for Windows XP, Office 2003, Exchange 2003 and Server 2003,"said Steven Davis, spokesman for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, in a statement published by ZDNET.

If you're looking forward to using the Cortana intelligent personal assistant on the Xbox One, it looks like you'll need a Kinect unit. Cortana integration is expected with a new Xbox One dashboard update sometime in 2015, which is scheduled for some time in the fall.

At the end of this teaser trailer, the following small print is displayed: "Kinect required for Cortana speech recognition."

Even though Cortana responds to voice commands, it's curious since Microsoft didn't spend much time promoting the Kinect during E3. In addition, the Xbox One and Kinect were unbundled in 2014, which allowed Microsoft to cut Xbox One prices.

Apple moved fast to win over Taylor Swift and musicians, when the company announced it would pay artists while users are enjoying a three-month free trial of Apple Music. Tom Conrad, former CTO and EVP of Product at Pandora, recently took to Twitter to discuss the current drama between Apple and Swift.

Apple Music launches on June 30 and will charge $9.99 per month to subscribers, but is offering a three-month free trial. Swift said she would not allow her "1989" album to be available on the service, in an effort to make a stand for rising indie artists - saying it's not fair they wouldn't be paid by Apple.

"Spotify, YouTube, Pandora and others all pay artists for their free tiers and trials," Conrad said via Twitter. "It's the right thing to do. Swift took her new album off Spotify not because she's not paid, but because she feels their free service 'devalues music.' Swift never pulled from YouTube which is the most popular free service and certainly devalues music if Spotify does."

Electronic Arts and other major game companies are fascinated by mobile game development, even though casual gaming has been successful. It looks like the overall quality of mobile games is increasing, with more development funds and focus on creating a popular new Apple iOS or Google Android offering.

Following Take-Two transitioning Grand Theft Auto for mobile devices via premium sales, studios aren't showing as much interest in live services. However, a free-to-play live-service gaming trend could eventually draw some attention:

"Some will. It'll vary. The Grand Theft Auto game has been relatively successful over the last two or three years," said Bill Mooney, VP and GM at EA Mobile, in a statement to GamesBeat. "It would be a question of whether it's the halo or the experience itself. I'm not capable of answering that. EA believes that some of those hardcore gamer brands - you'll see us explore - in a methodical - committed fashion, stuff like sports. Some of our other brands I expect we'll do. We're actively working on it. I myself am working on brands that gamers love."