Android will get Fallout Shelter on August 13... will you play?

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 26, 2015 3:15 AM CDT

Fallout Shelter will launch for Google Android mobile users on August 13, and will be available for free via the Google Play store. In its first two weeks of release for Apple iOS, the game became a top-downloaded game - and helped generate $5.1 million in revenue.

"Whether you're playing on Android or on iOS, Fallout Shelter will feature new game updates, including Mr. Handy as an all premium reward," according to a Bethesda blog post. "Have him collect resources inside your Vault, send him into the wasteland to collect loot, and defend your Vault from creatures and disasters, including all new Deathclaw invasions and Molerat infestations."

Expect Bethesda to support the game "for a long time," according to Bethesda - as the game studio is overwhelmed with support by iOS gamers.

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Over half of all YouTube views are thanks to the mobile apps

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jul 26, 2015 1:29 AM CDT

Just how popular is YouTube for Android and iOS? Very popular, with over half of all YouTube views originating from mobile devices. Google has recently been revamping its mobile apps to provide a better experience, not just for viewers, but for content creators, too.

The latest update to YouTube includes a new 'Home' landing page, where you can take a look around and discover videos with recommendations and personal playlists based on your history. 'Subscriptions' is the new home for updates from the channels that you're subscribed to, as well as a new option being made available which lets you receive notifications once your favorite YouTuber uploads a new video.

'Account' is the last part of the new YouTube, where all of the videos you've uploaded are found, as well as your watch history and your playlists. All of these small changes to YouTube culminate in a much better application for video playback, especially with the latest update which allows for full-screen portrait videos.

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I watched an eSports documentary at the cinema and it was great

Chris Smith | Gaming | Jul 25, 2015 9:46 PM CDT

The opening night of All Work All Play in Melbourne, Australia saw a few dozen of us nerds bustle with excitement at our 'full-time hobby' finally getting some mainstream screen time. Although the small turnout was a little disappointing, some familiar faces had woven themselves out of the wood work, these being the types of people you would have seen hunched over a CRT monitor in 2005, wearing baggy cargo shorts and sporting too much gel in their hair.

Although it kicked off with a rough start (technical difficulties), the end result was captivating for us enthusiasts. Following a few champions throughout the entire film, this ESL-led documentary honed in on the former director of pro gaming, Michal 'Carmac' Blicharz and Cloud 9, an underdog League of Legends team.

Following journeys both personal and on-stage, the production quality matched that Valve's 'Free to Play' and poised itself as a film that can educate and capture the imaginations of eSports enthusiasts experienced and new.

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HTC will sell the Vive VR headset directly through the HTC website

While HTC might not be doing so well when it comes to smartphone sales, it has one of the most exciting products in it arsenal, with the Vive VR headset arriving later this year.

With no firm release date other than 'the end of 2015', HTC is now saying that it will sell Vive directly through its website, as well as various retailers. HTC.com and HTCVR.com will have the first Vive units available, but it will slowly reach other destinations. HTC's Head of Global Marketing, Jeff Gattis, talked with Polygon recently about Vive, where he said: "Everybody is excited about this: They see the potential for the market, the potential to sell the things around it. They see it as a great traffic driver to their stores".

Gattis said that "retail will be part of [their] strategy" but it won't happen until Q1 2016, but that doesn't mean the Vive is delayed from its 'end of 2015' release window. Gattis added: "I don't know if we're necessarily going to hit retail for holiday, but we're still very committed to that".

Continue reading: HTC will sell the Vive VR headset directly through the HTC website (full post)

Mortal Kombat X tops US retail sales charts for the first half of 2015

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 25, 2015 7:39 PM CDT

In what should come as a total surprise, Mortal Kombat X has topped NPD Group's sales rankings for video games at the retail level in the US for the first half of 2015. Considering the #2 title is Grand Theft Auto V, this is a huge scoop for Warner Bros., especially after the huge issues surrounding Batman: Arkham Knight.

Most of the games on the chart will be games you either own, or have heard of, but it's quite surprising to see Mortal Kombat X top the list. Here's the top 10 sales rankings for video games at retail for the first half of 2015, according to NPD Group:

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Halo 5's campaign features eight playable Spartans

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jul 25, 2015 9:58 AM CDT

343 Industries has revealed new info on the importance of teamwork in Halo 5: Guardians' campaign mode, underlining key mechanics and tweaks they've made along the way.

For the most part 343i has kept the standard Halo formula in tact for Halo 5, but this time around the game has a decidedly more strategic co-operative feel. Gone are the days of lone-wolfing it in Master Chief's boots: throughout the missions you'll be accompanied by three other Spartans all with their own attributes, Loadouts, and specialized HUD's.

"Your team is your weapon," reads the developers' new Halo Waypoint update.

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Security issues plague contactless payments, Which? group finds

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jul 25, 2015 8:40 AM CDT

As there is a big push for consumers and retailers to adopt contactless payments, there are plenty of cybersecurity headaches that must be addressed.

The Which? Consumer group noted that data from contactless debit and credit cards can be intercepted - and while not all data is taken - it's enough to make fraudulent purchases.

"Using an easily obtainable reader and free software to decode data, we were able to read the card number and expiry date from all 10 cards," said a spokesperson from Which?, in a statement published by Sky News. "We were also able to read limited details of the last 10 transactions, although no cards revealed the CVV security code."

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BlackBerry speaks about security efforts, as business focus changes

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jul 25, 2015 7:30 AM CDT

BlackBerry is looking for new business opportunities away from just smartphone handsets, and recently showed off a new line of security products. The company wants to continue its evolution from just a smartphone maker, and has focused more on software and cloud-based offerings.

The full turnaround may take a bit longer than what the company previously predicted, and instead of it taking six months, could take an additional 12 to 18 months.

"I'm pretty satisfied with the progress on the turnaround so far," said John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, in a statement to Reuters. "I laid out the $500 million software revenue target and I'm still comfortable with that commitment for this fiscal year, it looks good."

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Valve talks about Half-Life 3, says it can't exist 'outside of a game'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 25, 2015 7:18 AM CDT

While Valve still hasn't confirmed the development of Half-Life 3, rumors have circling Reddit that the script for Half-Life 3 is finished, but it won't be released 'due to fear'.

Well, someone reached out to Valve's Marc Laidlaw, who said: "I can't comment on Valve's internal process, but I can say that it sounds like someone is trolling. Anonymous sources have been posting speculation masquerading as inside knowledge since the Half-Life 1 delay in 1997. If that's any comfort, please rest assured that in my experience at Valve, fear is the last thing that would ever drive a decision about what to work on".

When it came to the question of "If the story is finished, why not release it as a book or a comic", Laidlaw responded with: "There's a misunderstanding that I've always tried to address straight on when this question comes up, which is that a Half-Life story can somehow exist outside of a game. It can't. The story is created through the process of trying to figure out how to best use the features of the engine within the interesting set of constraints it poses".

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Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to feature 8-core processor, 4GB of RAM

Thanks to a leaked benchmark, we now know that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 5 will feature an 8-core processor and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. Samsung will be using its own octo-core Exynos 7420 SoC inside of the Galaxy Note 5.

The Geekbench result was used on a Verizon-powered Galaxy Note 5, with the model name of 'SM-N920V'. The benchmark has the Galaxy Note 5 has a single-core result of 1418, while the multi-core result was 4399. These scores are very similar to that of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, so we should expect the same performance on the Galaxy Note 5 that we had in the S6 and S6 edge.

Samsung is expected to unveil its new Galaxy Note 5 next month, with rumors pointing to August 12. The Galaxy Note 5 should feature a 5.67-inch 1440p Super AMOLED display, the aforementioned 8-core processor, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and Samsung's new Shannon 333 LTE modem.

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