Virtual reality is definitely on Nintendo's radar
With the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Sony's PS4-powered PlayStation VR headsets on the way, all eyes are on virtual reality as the next big thing in gaming. Nintendo, however, has yet to embrace the new tech and remains skeptical of its lack of social interactions, but it looks like the Japanese console-maker is changing its mind about VR.
According to Kantan Games analyst Serkan Toto, Nintendo told its investors during a briefing that it's "looking into VR". The statement is quite vague, but could indicate a big shift in the company's future R&D plans. Or it could just be an affirmation meant to appease investors who see VR as a new lucrative platform.
Nintendo has traditionally been dubious about virtual reality over the past few years. Back at E3 2015, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto said that because VR is an isolated, closed-off and personal experience, it "isn't a good fit" for NIntendo's current plans. The company's main ethos is to create social games that are dynamic, fun, and can be played by multiple people in a living room space, and VR seems to be the antithesis of that.
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Windows 10 is now the second-most used OS in the world
Windows 10 is continuing to jump up the adoption ladder, especially when we look at the latest figures from NetMarketShare, which show Windows 10 has a global OS market share of 11.85%, up from 9.96% in December.
If we compare Windows 10's global OS market share of 11.85% against Windows 8.1 and its 10.4%, and even Windows XP with 11.4%, we can see Windows 10 is doing quite well so far. Microsoft said last month that Windows 10 is the fastest growing version of its OS ever, with 75 million installations in the first month, and 110 million after 10 weeks. In December, Windows 10 had found its way onto 200 million active devices, which is getting closer to Microsoft's plans of having Windows 10 on 1 billion devices "in two or three years".
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Lego: The Force Awakens accidentally leaked, releases in June
If you're like me, you've wondered why there isn't an official game for The Force Awakens. The expanded universe is just so ripe with gaming potential, and the soul-less Battlefront reboot doesn't count. Luckily we'll be getting an Episode VII game in June, and it'll be spun with the comical magic of the Lego Star Wars franchise.
Thanks to a premature Xbox listing, we know that Lego: The Force Awakens is genuine, and it's coming this June. We can pretty much expect a scene-by-scene rendition of J. J. Abram's blockbuster tinged with hilarity and whimsy befit of the Lego video game series. The screenshots show as much, and the quick 30-second trailer gives us a taste of the wacky humor that lays in store.
The Lego adventure will also serve as an important piece in the expanded universe canon: "The game will also feature exclusive playable content that bridges the story gap between Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens," reads the official description.
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Samsung could announce 'Gear 360' VR camera alongside Galaxy S7 reveal
While the world waits in anticipation for the Galaxy S7 reveal from Samsung, the latest rumor is that Samsung will also unveil its new Gear 360 camera, a companion device for the Gear VR.
Samsung's purported Gear 360 camera would be a 360-degree camera that records video with two 180-degree fisheye lenses, making 360-degree content for the Gear VR headset, according to SamMobile. The Gear 360 would reportedly capture 1920x1920 from each camera, producing a much larger 3840x1920 panoramic image, capturing video for later use, but it can also blast the 360-degree video directly to a connected smartphone through the Gear 360 app.
We've heard about the Project Beyond 3D camera, so the Gear 360 could be a smaller, more mainstream evolution of this. We should expect it to be 100% compatible with the upcoming Galaxy S7, as well as the last couple of generations of Samsung's smartphones, too.
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Facebook announces WhatsApp now has 1 billion monthly users
Not to be outdone by Alphabet's announcement of 1 billion monthly users of Gmail, Facebook has announced that WhatsApp is now home to 1 billion monthly users, too.
With WhatsApp still charging its $1 annual subscription fee to its users, with over 1 billion users - that's a nice amount of pocket change for WhatsApp each year, just on its annual subscription fee. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his personal Facebook account, where he said: "One billion people now use WhatsApp. Congrats to Jan, Brian and everyone who helped reach this milestone!"
He continued: "WhatsApp's community has more than doubled since joining Facebook. We've added the ability for you to call loved ones far away. We've dropped the subscription fee and made WhatsApp completely free. Next, we're going to work to connect more people around the world and make it easier to communicate with businesses. There are only a few services that connect more than a billion people. This milestone is an important step towards connecting the entire world".
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The Division's Community Manager is aware of the cheating issues
With the closed beta of The Division underway, and extended until tomorrow, The Division's Community Manager has come out saying that the team is aware of the various issues on the PC side of the game.
The Division's Community Manager wrote on The Division forum: "We are aware of the cheating issues in the Closed Beta on PC. The team is fully committed to providing solutions against this and a system will be in place to ensure a fair experience for players when the game is released on March 8".
The latest we've heard on The Division is that there might be an open beta in the near future, which wouldn't surprise us at all.
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Canon's new 1D X Mark II shoots 4K 60FPS video, costs $5999
Canon has just come out and announced its new flagship camera, the EOS-1DX Mark II, which is the company's answer to Nikon's new D5 camera. Canon is aiming its new snapper at professional sports photographers and photojournalists that require a fast-shooting body that's made for demanding conditions.
The new Canon 1D X Mark II features a full-frame 20.2-megapixel sensor, that can shoot up to 14FPS with autofocus and 16FPS without. It features a native ISO range of 100-51,200 with expanded sensitivity of up to 409,600, and it can capture the magical 4K 60FPS. It sports a sharper 1.62 million-dot 3.2-inch screen, a new autofocus system with 61 points (41 cross-type) and a built-in GPS. Not too bad at all, Canon.
Canon will be selling its new 1D X Mark II in April for $5999 for the body-only, with Canon selling a bundle with a 64GB CFast card and reader for $6299. There's also a new Wi-Fi adapter, something Canon will be selling separately, for $600.
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Serious Sam 4 will 'look more realistic', supports the Vulkan API
The developers of Serious Sam are working on a new game, and thanks to an interview between Reboot magazine and Croteam, we're finding out more about the mysterious fourth part of Serious Sam.
According to Croteam's Damjan Mravunac, the Serious Engine has been upgraded, with Serious Sam 4 being able to take advantage of photogrammetry and motion capture. Serious Sam 4 will be set before the events in Serious Sam 3, with SS4 to include features that no one is expecting, with never-before-seen features, too. Croteam has teased that Serious Sam 4 is going to attempt to pull all of the best parts of the previous games, and throw them up to their extremes.
The developer is aiming to go truly over the top when it comes to the amount of enemies on screen - which is something Serious Sam has always been famous for - as well as pushing Serious Sam 4's open world environments. Not only that, but Croteam wants to move away from the darker and monotonous aesthetics of Serious Sam 3, with the team wanting to make a more realistic-looking game, but keep it easy on the eyes with lots of beautiful color and high-quality graphics.
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SUPERHOT will hit the PC, Mac and Linux on February 25
SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. Yes, finally - SUPERHOT will be released on February 25, according to the SUPERHOT Team.
SUPERHOT will be released through retailers and digital distributors onto the PC, Mac and Linux - look Ma, no consoles! - with the team releasing a new trailer to celebrate its impending launch. Check it out above.
The team released a press release too, which explains: "Blurring the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem, SUPERHOT is the FPS in which time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's just you, outnumbered and outgunned, grabbing the weapons of fallen enemies to shoot, slice, and maneuver through a hurricane of slow-motion bullets".
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Logitech CEO: 'you bet we'll jump into VR'
While VR is set to change everything from gaming to social interactions and entertainment, the actual virtual reality HMD's like the Oculus Rift have pretty much soaked up the limelight. But what about VR peripherals? Logitech is ready to jump into the new platform with a slew of VR-ready accessories.
Although most HMD's like HTC's Vive and PlayStation VR have their own controllers, Logitech wants to create its own unique line of VR peripherals, too. In a recent interview with the Australian Financial Review, Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell discussed his plans for VR: "Just like with the mouse and keyboard, optimizing the experience of the peripherals that go with VR will be an interesting place for us."
Rather than jump in right away, however, the renowned PC hardware manufacturer is biding their time and betting on the second or third generation of VR hardware. "We're in the middle of many discussions in that space ... and at some point you can bet we'll jump in," Darrell continued. "But we're years away from viewing that as a serious category. We'd rather come in late and better than come in early and awkwardly."
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