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Microsoft shows off Minecraft for the HoloLens wearable
E3 2015 - During its press conference at E3, Microsoft announced that a new version of Minecraft, designed for the HoloLens wearable holographic platform, will be available to gamers. The launch date and price of HoloLens remains unknown, but it looks like Microsoft is doing a great job building hype for the upcoming headset.
Gamers will be able to interact in the Minecraft world with a new glimpse of the environment as they build, detonate TNT, and play with other gamers. As an added bonus, those of you wearing HoloLens will still be able to communicate and interact with gamers using a standard controller.
As with any virtual reality or augmented reality platform, the need for killer apps and software could help make or break the platform - and it looks like Microsoft wants gaming to be a major part of HoloLens.
Continue reading: Microsoft shows off Minecraft for the HoloLens wearable (full post)
Elite: Dangerous hits the Xbox One Game Preview program
E3 2015 - During the Microsoft E3 press conference today, Frontier Developments has announced Elite: Dangerous for the Xbox One's Game Preview Program.
As part of the Xbox Game Preview Program, you can purchase the Elite: Dangerous game preview for $30.99. The game runs at 1080p on the Xbox One, and features new controls customized specifically for the gamepad.
The open world space adventure game allows you to begin with a small starship, a few credits, and your imagination - as you'll need to pick up the skills, knowledge, wealth and power to persevere in the futuristic space world. Starting next month, Elite: Dangerous console players will be able to jump into the Close Quarter Championships (CQC), a PVP feature in custom-built arenas inside the Elite: Dangerous galaxy.
Continue reading: Elite: Dangerous hits the Xbox One Game Preview program (full post)
Microsoft: Play your Xbox 360 game title on the Xbox One
E3 2015 - In a rather unexpected move, Microsoft has decided to make it possible to play Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One. The company will include the backward compatibility for at least 100 titles starting this Christmas, with additional support branching to other games later down the road.
Those of you with digital Xbox 360 titles will simply find the game in your Xbox One library once Microsoft rolls out support. It's a clever move by Microsoft to try to woo gamers, many with large collections of Xbox 360 titles, to hopefully purchase an Xbox One sooner rather than later.
"If you've been waiting to move from your Xbox 360, now's the time," said Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox division.
Continue reading: Microsoft: Play your Xbox 360 game title on the Xbox One (full post)
Fallout 4 Special Edition will include a real Pip-Boy for your phone
E3 2015 - With the sea of announcements from Bethesda this morning, including Doom 4, Dishonored 2, and Fallout 4, the news of the Fallout 4 Special Edition including a real-life Pip-Boy got fans of Fallout salivating.
The special edition of the game will include a real-life Pip-Boy that you can strap to your wrist, and use your Android or iOS smartphone with. If you're a Fallout fan, you know that you'll be pre-ordering this. Bethesda hasn't released any numbers on Fallout 4 yet, but I'd dare say this will be an extremely limited edition item that is going to sell out in less than 30 seconds.
Continue reading: Fallout 4 Special Edition will include a real Pip-Boy for your phone (full post)
Uber is massively successful in China, with 1 million rides per day
It looks like Uber is very successful in China right now, with the ride sharing giant saying it is logging over 1 million daily rides in China. Keep in mind, that's more than the company was logging in every single market it is in across the world, as of December 2014.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has said that the company wants to raise $1 billion in orders to boost its dominance in China, with the company claiming that trip volume is climbing in Chinese cities faster than it is in New York City. But by how much? Well, Chengdu is logging 479 times the trips that NYC was logging at the 9-month mark, with Hangzhou logging 422 times as many trips. You'd think that these cities had more people living in them when compared to NYC, but that's not the case - Chengdu is home to 4.3 million, while Hangzhou is home to 2.5 million.
The growth that Uber is experiencing in China seems unstoppable at this point in time, with the company creating 100,000 "new full time equivalent jobs per month" according to Kalanick. With Uber only operating in 11 cities across China, most of this growth can be attributed to the heavily promoted service 'The People's Uber', which sees Uber not taking commission from completed rides.
Continue reading: Uber is massively successful in China, with 1 million rides per day (full post)
Fallout 4 starts before the nuclear bombs dropped
E3 2015 - Bethesda showed off Doom 4 and Dishonored 2 during E3, but it was Fallout 4 that had the crowd going nuts. The studio has been working on Fallout 4 since 2009, right after Fallout 3 was released.
You can play as both a male and female character in Fallout 4, another large change from the previous titles in the franchise. Fallout 4 starts before the nuclear bombs dropped and caused the world to go into turmoil, another large change for the franchise. Character creation is done before the bombs drop, where you can completely modify the look of your character and all of his or her facial features and hair.
You survive the nuclear attack, but emerge from Vault 111 some 200 years after the attack. Your city has been demolished, but it's an "enormous, dynamic world" where you can "create any character you want, go wherever you want, and do whatever you want", according to Bethesda.
Continue reading: Fallout 4 starts before the nuclear bombs dropped (full post)
Dishonored 2 officially announced at E3 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC
E3 2015 - Arkane Studios took to the Bethesda conference at E3 to officially announce Dishonored 2. The studio teased a trailer that wasn't in-game, but it looked impressive, and most of all, fun.
Dishonored 2 will be hitting the Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime in 2016. Arkane Studios also announced Dishonored: Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the first game that will be released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game will receive a graphically-enhanced version of the game, when compared against their previous generation counterparts.
Dishonored: Definitive Edition will include all of the DLC that was released for Dishonored, and will be made available in the fall.
Continue reading: Dishonored 2 officially announced at E3 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC (full post)
Bethesda unveils Doom 4 at E3, with a bunch of gameplay footage
E3 2015 - Bethesda was the first to start up E3 2015, and for their first unveiling we have Doom 4. Yes, Doom 4! The next-gen first-person shooter was shown off in all of its gory detail, but does it live up to the hype?
Doom 4 is powered by id Software's id Tech 6 engine, where you play a marine based on a USAC facility on Mars, where you have to kill pretty much every single demon you can. From the gameplay video, there was a ton of gibs, with lots of violence to be had. There are a bunch of weapons to use, including the Super Shotgun, a fan favorite from the original Doom games.
But I did notice a considerable chunk of motion blur, and a very console-like experience. The field of view seemed like it was at 60, and most likely played on the Xbox One. The blood count was high in the first few minutes of the video, but then I noticed that the violence started to be toned down, with less and less blood being spilled from killed demons. I don't know if this was a resource-related issue that Bethesda didn't talk about, but I hope that it's not something that happens in the final game.
Continue reading: Bethesda unveils Doom 4 at E3, with a bunch of gameplay footage (full post)
SAPPHIRE teases Radeon R9 Fury X card, and its Radeon 300 series
It's now the week of the launch of AMD's new video cards, with the rebranded Radeon R9 390X now being teased from SAPPHIRE in the form of the SAPPHIRE Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC.
SAPPHIRE's Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC will rock the Grenada XT (Hawaii XT) GPU, which will include 2816 stream processors, 176 TMUs, and 64 ROPS. We should see 8GB of GDDR5 clocked at 6100MHz on its 512-bit memory bus, while the Core is clocked at 1055MHz. SAPPHIRE has rated the Radeon R9 390X Tri-X OC with a 375W TDP, consuming its power through two 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Where this card is different to other cards, is its Tri-X cooler which sports triple fans and a huge aluminum heat sink array with 10mm copper heat pipes.
But it's the news of the Radeon R9 Fury X that has me excited, based on the Fiji XT core and running that sure-to-be delicious High Bandwidth Memory. We should also expect the Fury, another HBM-powered card that will sport the Fiji Pro GPU. Both of these new cards are expected to be unveiled at the PC Gamer Show hosted by AMD on June 16 during E3 this week.
Continue reading: SAPPHIRE teases Radeon R9 Fury X card, and its Radeon 300 series (full post)
Starbreeze Studios' new VR headset features crazy 5120x1440 resolution
Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind the Payday series of games, has just surprised the world by unveiling their own VR headset, known as Project StarVR.
The new VR headset will be shown off at E3 this week, alongside Overkill Software's upcoming shooter based on The Walking Dead. Starbreeze has acquired French VR hardware developer InfinitEye, with InfinitEye turning into Starbreeze Paris. Moving onto StarVR itself, which is sporting a huge 210-degree horizontal field of view, with a resolution of 5120x1440, courtesy of its dual 5.5-inch panels.
StarVR is really upping the ante on VR headsets, offering gamers immersive orientation and positional tracking as it features a plethora of gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, and an optical tracking system. The developer teased a shotgun prop that was tracked positionally, so just imagine that in The Walking Dead game for a minute.
Continue reading: Starbreeze Studios' new VR headset features crazy 5120x1440 resolution (full post)
North Korea threatens to 'wage a cyber war' against United States
The North Korean regime didn't like news that the United States tried to launch a Stuxnet-like cyberattack against the country, and threatened it could "wage a cyber war against the US to hasten its ruin."
A report in a North Korean newspaper also said the country "can react to any forms of wars, operations and battles sought by the US imperialists," and added "the US is greatly mistaken if it thinks the DPRK will just overlook with folded arms the provocations in the cyber space."
North Korea has threatened a cyber-based apocalypse against the US in the past - and was reportedly behind the attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Continue reading: North Korea threatens to 'wage a cyber war' against United States (full post)
The world's first 360-degree 8K video has hit YouTube
If you thought your PC or Internet connection couldn't handle that 8K video we reported on last week, what do you think will happen with this new 360-degree, 8K video that Dubai360 has just posted to YouTube? Your PC will melt in its own flames, that's what.
The world's first 360-degree 8K video is a beautiful one, with a 24-hour timelapse of the Dubai airport. The 8K video was achieved using 88,000 individual shots that created many four-hour videos, that were then stitched together. It's an incredible video, and is sure to test out both your PC, and your Internet connection. Just don't try it with dial up.
Continue reading: The world's first 360-degree 8K video has hit YouTube (full post)
EA rumored to unveil next-gen Battlefield 5 at E3 this week
Very shortly after we posted our news on EA showing off three unannounced games with one of them being new IP, we had an industry source of ours say that they've heard that EA will be teasing Battlefield 5 at E3.
We shouldn't be surprised by this, as Battlefield is one of EA's largest franchises. It was shot in the foot majorly with Battlefield: Hardline, and with Battlefield 4 being on the market for 16 months now, it's time to start hearing about a new Battlefield game. EA is already busy with Star Wars: Battlefront, and the new Mirror's Edge Catalyst, but a surprising tease of Battlefield 5 would really shake the walls at E3.
Of course our insider could be wrong, but with EA already saying Battlefield 5 will be a military-themed shooter in the same vein as Battlefield 4, and a release of Q4 2016, it's not too far away anyway. One thing I would like to see with Battlefield 5 is a full concentration on the PC build of the game, where they water it down to consoles. This way we will get one of the best looking games ever released, and please EA - include VR support.
Continue reading: EA rumored to unveil next-gen Battlefield 5 at E3 this week (full post)
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition sells for $91,635
Do you have $91,000 spare to blow on a smartphone? Too bad. Someone else shelled out a couple of house deposits on the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition smartphone.
JD.com, China's second largest e-commerse retailer, auctioned off just one of the Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition smartphones, with a huge 92,429 bids received, the final price was $91,635. At $91,635, this lucky bidder spent nearly 100 times what the phone retails for, at $1079.
While I love the Galaxy S6 edge, you'd have to be very wealthy - Tony Stark rich - to spend nearly $100,000 on a smartphone. But, what a collector's item, eh?
Continue reading: Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition sells for $91,635 (full post)
EA rumored to be showing off '3 unannounced games' and new IP at E3
With E3 2015 right around the corner now, Electronic Arts is teasing its lineup of games that it will have at the show. Not only will EA be showing off games we already know about, but industry insider Shinobi602 says that EA will be showing off "3 unannounced EA games, one of which is a new IP".
EA will be presenting a large amount of games at E3 next week, including FIFA 16, EA SPORTS FIFA, Madden NFL 16, Madden NFL Moible, Minions Paradise, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, NBA LIVE 16, Need for Speed, NHL 16, EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR, Star Wars Battlefront, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
But it's the 3 unannounced games, with one of them being new IP that has me interested. I'm really hoping we get to see Battlefield 5 unveiled, with the player numbers on Battlefield 4 dropping, and Battlefield Hardline pretty much being a flop. Mass Effect 4 is sure to be shown off, but some new IP would be good to see, too.
Continue reading: EA rumored to be showing off '3 unannounced games' and new IP at E3 (full post)
ArmA 3's new terrain surface looks incredible in a recreation of Tanoa
Bohemia Interactive has had its upcoming ArmA 3 expansion detailed in a new leak, where we've been teased of a beautiful new environment that is a far cry from the maps we have in ArmA 3, as you can see in the images below.
The beautiful island of Tanoa, found in the South Pacific, is part of Horizon Islands. Tanoa is a lush tropical environment, with a thick jungle floor and very large geological features. Not only is Tanoa absolutely massive, but the upcoming expansion for ArmA 3 will feature new vehicles, weapons, attachments, gear, story content, and much more.
The developer will be detailing the ArmA 3 expansion during E3 next year, with the expansion due for release sometime in the first half of 2016.
Continue reading: ArmA 3's new terrain surface looks incredible in a recreation of Tanoa (full post)
Google Chrome will soon be better on battery consumption
Google has recently done the world some good, by detecting and shutting down any unnecessary Flash content in Chrome, which improves battery life on mobile devices and notebooks.
But the company isn't just stopping there, as it's just the first change in Chrome in order to reduce the battery consumption foorprint of its popular browser. Senior Chrome Engineer, Peter Kasting, recently took to Google+ to talk about some of the changes the Mountain View-based search giant is going, which has them starting with how Chrome renders background tabs.
Up until now, Google has rendered all tabs with the same priority, but as you can imagine this isn't great on battery life. From now on, Chrome will be prioritizing foreground tabs over background tabs, which is sure to save some battery life. The team is also working on reducing the CPU usage that is used during Google searchers, by shifting the number of wakes down from around 390, to just 120, cutting CPU usage from 0.3% to 0.1%.
Continue reading: Google Chrome will soon be better on battery consumption (full post)
Lian Li shows off their new dual-compartment chassis, the PC-O8
Lian Li have always had exciting cases, but their new PC-O8 is one of the bigger and badder ones the company has ever released. The new Lian Li PC-O8 chassis is a double-wide, dual-compartment beast, that can handle 240mm and 360mm radiators.
We have an oversized tempered front and side glass panels with built-in RGB LED lighting, support for ATX motherboards and the aforementioned 240mm radiator support at the top, and 360mm radiator support at the front. Lian Li has installed removeable HDD cages, and as usual, a beautiful all-aluminum construction.
Lian Li will have the PC-O8 available in the US through Microcenter at the end of June for an MSRP of $395.
Continue reading: Lian Li shows off their new dual-compartment chassis, the PC-O8 (full post)
MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G spotted, features Twin Frozr V cooler
We were the world exclusive on posting the first images of the Radeon R9 390X, but the leaks continue with ASUS and now MSI. The MSI Radeon 300 series has been leaked, headlined by the Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G.
The MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G is based on the Grenada XT (Hawaii XT) GPU, which means we're getting a rebadged Radeon R9 290X. This has us seeing 2816 stream processors, 176 TMUs, and 64 ROPS. MSI has clocked its card at 1100MHz, using 8GB of GDDR5 sitting at 6.1GHz on a 512-bit memory bus. This card features the always impressive Twin Frozr V cooling technology that MSI is known for.
Under that we have the Radeon R9 280 Gaming which uses the Tonga Pro GPU, with 1792 stream processors, 112 TMUs and 32 ROPs. The GPU is clocked at 1GHz, while the memory sits at 5.7GHz for the 4GB part, or 5.5GHz for the 2GB version. Then we have the Pitcairn XT-based Radeon R7 370 which has 1280 stream processors, 80 TMUs and 32 ROPs. This is pretty much the Radeon HD 7870 with 4GB of VRAM, a clock speed of 1070MHz on the 4GB model while its just 1050MHz on the 2GB model.
Continue reading: MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G spotted, features Twin Frozr V cooler (full post)
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X confirmed, rocks 4GB HBM and 4096-bit memory bus
We had a world exclusive when we outed the name of AMD's new Radeon R9 Fury X, which has been 'confirmed' with the official marketing material for AMD's Fiji-based product. We are to expect this to be AMD's best GPU yet, aimed at the ultra enthusiasts and those who want to run 4K and beyond.
The new Fiji GPU will measure in at around 560mm2 making it the biggest GPU that the company has ever produced, where inside we'll have 64 Compute Units each featuring 64 stream processors. This brings us to a total of 4096 stream cores, 128 raster operation units, and 256 texture mapping units.
But it's going to be the High Bandwidth Memory that sits next to the GPU die that is going to make the Radeon R9 Fury X special. The GPU and HBM have allotted space on an interposer die which measures at around 1000mm2, and while this chip is far larger than any other previous GPU released, HBM saves countless space on the PCB that would normally have GDDR5 chips sprawled throughout.
Continue reading: AMD Radeon R9 Fury X confirmed, rocks 4GB HBM and 4096-bit memory bus (full post)






