Porsche's all-electric 'Mission E' vehicle will be here before 2020
Tesla gets all the headlines when it comes to electric vehicles, but Porsche will soon be competing in the all-electric vehicle race with its forthcoming Mission E sedan.
Porsche showed off the four-door Mission E concept vehicle in September, saying that the all-electric vehicle would have the equivalent of 600 horsepower. This will provide the Mission E car with 0-60 mph times of under 3.5 seconds, with a range of more than 310 miles. At these specs, Porsche's Mission E car will be slower than Telsa's more-than-impressive Model S P85D, which is rated at 762 horsepower - enough power to usher in 0-60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds (with Ludicrous mode enabled).
Mission E will feature an 800-volt charger that will charge up the all-electric vehicle to 80% charge in only 15 minutes. This is impressive, considering Tesla's vehicle takes nearly twice as long to get to 80%. Porsche also promises to build its lithium-ion battery pack into the floor of the car, just like Tesla does. Porsche's chairman of the executive board, Oliver Blume, says that the Mission E is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the sports car. We should expect the first vehicles to roll off the production line before 2020.
Continue reading: Porsche's all-electric 'Mission E' vehicle will be here before 2020 (full post)
Asetek demands suspension of sales of AMD's Radeon R9 Fury X
It looks like AMD will be hitting a brick wall with the sales of its Radeon R9 Fury X, as Asetek has sent both AMD and GIGABYTE cease and desist letters over the watercooling on their video cards. GIGABYTE's GTX 980 Waterforce cards are also set to see sales stopped.
Asetek has been in a long battle with Cooler Master, a legal battle which kicked off in 2014. Asetek said that it had won an injunction against Cooler Master over patent infringement claims that went to court late last year. Fast forward to now, GamersNexus received the following statement from Asetek: "Asetek's attorneys have recently sent cease and desist letters to GIGABYTE, demanding that it cease selling Giga-Byte's GEFORCE GTX 980 Water Force (sold under at least model number GV-N980WAOC-4GD) because it contains the Seidon 120M found by the court to infringe Asetek's patents".
Asetek continued: "Asetek's attorneys have also written a cease and desist letter to AMD, demanding that it stop selling its Radeon R9 Fury X product, because it infringes Asetek's patents. Our attorneys have had some difficulty obtaining a GIGABYTE GV-N98TXTREME W-6GD, but we expect to receive and analyze one very soon for infringement".
Continue reading: Asetek demands suspension of sales of AMD's Radeon R9 Fury X (full post)
100 Foot Robot Golf looks great, is another PlayStation VR exclusive
We've just heard that Ace Combat 7 will be a PlayStation VR exclusive, but there was an announcement trailer for something quite unique at PlayStation Experience; 100 Foot Robot Golf.
Yeah, it's a thing. 100 Foot Robot Golf has PlayStation VR gamers stepping into the cockpit of a massive mech, and well... playing golf. It looks crazy as hell, but you know what? This is the type of stuff I want to see on VR headsets - games and experiences you simply can't get anywhere else.
The one thing I have to criticize are the graphics, which look somewhere between PS2 and PS3 level, which I'm guessing is because the PS4 isn't capable of rendering 1080p+ at 90FPS for PlayStation VR...
Continue reading: 100 Foot Robot Golf looks great, is another PlayStation VR exclusive (full post)
Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC includes new outfits for Lara, and more
While Rise of the Tomb Raider is a timed exclusive for the Xbox One for now, we're hearing more details on the DLC that will roll out for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of the game throughout 2016.
Major Nelson posted some details on the DLC coming soon for Rise of the Tomb Raider, with the first DLC pack dropping on December 29. Endurance Mode will be the first DLC, where Lara must "scrounge, scavenge, craft and survive the harsh elements by day, as well as lethal threats from enemies, both man and beast, by night. This is her ultimate woman-versus-wild test to push the limits of how long she can survive on her own in sprawling, unforgiving landscapes. Fire takes fuel, cold kills the unprepared, food restores health, but everything must be caught, collected, or crafted. You start with nothing and must find everything. Challenge friends to your longest survival run and battle to the top of the leaderboards for the title of Ultimate Survivor. Includes a new outfit and weapon".
The other modes, we'll detail below:
Continue reading: Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC includes new outfits for Lara, and more (full post)
Halo 5 has now generated more than $1 million in microtransactions
Despite controversy and heating arguments, Microsoft and the Halo devs at 343 Industries are raking in serious cash with Halo 5's paid microtransactions. Since the game was released two months ago, gamers have now spent over $1 million on Halo 5's optional REQ packs, pretty much ensuring that microtransactions will be permanent fixtures in the Halo universe.
The official Halo website clearly stated the staggering REQ pack earnings in a recent post. A new Halo 5 update also revealed that the Halo Championship prize pool has reached $2 million and growing thanks to the in-game "crowd-funding" gleaned from REQ packs.
Apart from actual game sales, Halo 5 continues to generate huge cash flows at a rapid pace. The most current $1 million sales is up from $700,000 earned as of November 19, and the $500,000 earned in less than two weeks after the game's release.
Continue reading: Halo 5 has now generated more than $1 million in microtransactions (full post)
Sony releases new Final Fantasy VII Remake gameplay trailer
Sony's PlayStation Experience event went live today, and the Japanese console-maker had a bevvy of new PS4 content to show off at the event. One of the main attractions was the first gameplay footage for Square Enix's mega-anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake, giving gamers the first look at how the PS4 exclusive compares to the 90's RPG classic.
The new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake purely exhibits the game's newly refined action-based combat system. In many ways, FF7 Remake is an extension of Final Fantasy 15's fluid drop-in drop-out combat and stands as a polar opposite to the turn-based combat found in the original Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix said right from the start that the FF7 Remake would have a "dramatically different" combat system.
I've always thought that Square Enix would never remake something like Final Fantasy VII. The game has such an incredibly devout following that it's taken on a kind of mythological scope; Final Fantasy VII is so revered that it transcends the traditional sense of gaming, and because it's such a powerful nostalgic force, I was sure that Square Enix wouldn't take the risk of ruining everything.
Continue reading: Sony releases new Final Fantasy VII Remake gameplay trailer (full post)
Day of the Tentacle Remastered announced, arrives in March 2016
Day of the Tentacle was one of those games for me when I was growing up, that I remember so fondly - just like Maniac Mansion and Full Throttle. Well, Double Fine has just announced Day of the Tentacle Remastered Edition.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered Edition will include all new hand-drawn, high-resolution artwork, as well as remastered audio, music and sound effects. In the game itself, you'll be able to switch between classic and remastered modes, and mix and match around the audio, graphics and user interface, too.
Double Fine teased: "We've also included a concept art browser, and recorded a commentary track with the game's original creators Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Larry Ahern, Peter Chan, Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian".
Continue reading: Day of the Tentacle Remastered announced, arrives in March 2016 (full post)
Far Cry Primal detailed in some awesome new screenshots
We saw the first official gameplay footage of Far Cry Primal at The Game Awards last week, but now Ubisoft is flashing around some new screenshots and some details on the Collector's Edition of the next installment of Far Cry.
As for the screenshots, they're looking mighty fine. But it's the Collector's Edition that people are going to want to know about. What do you get? Well, there's two versions; Far Cry Primal Collector's Edition, and Far Cry Primal Digital Apex Edition. First off, here's what you'll get with the Collector's Edition:
Physical Content
Continue reading: Far Cry Primal detailed in some awesome new screenshots (full post)
AMD rumored to launch its AM4 platform with its Zen CPU in March 2016
There is quite a lot of excitement in the air over AMD's upcoming Zen architecture, but according to the latest rumors, AMD is preparing to launch it sooner than previous reported - as soon as March 2016.
The rumor is coming from Planet3DNow, which said AMD would launch the new flagship AM4 platform in March, much earlier than the previous release window of Q4 2016. The new Zen CPU would run on the AM4 platform, which will support both APUs and CPUs. Better yet, the new AM4 platform will reportedly last much longer than previous platforms, promising support for future AMD processors. The source of Planet3DNow said that "The internal timetable foresees a March 2016 launch".
Furthermore, the new AM4 platform will bring support for Bristol Ridge and Summit Ridge platforms, with the Summit Ridge range being the performance desktop processors under the FX branding on the Zen architecture. The Bristol Ridge range will be the mainstream/desktop mobility APU range, based on the Excavator architecture. Summit Ridge will be powered by the smaller, more power efficient 14nm process with up to 8 x CPU cores while the Bristol Ridge APUs will be made on the current 28nm process as quad-core processors. Both offerings will come in at 95W, while the APU will include GCN GPU cores, and the Summit Ridge offering featuring CPU cores only.
Continue reading: AMD rumored to launch its AM4 platform with its Zen CPU in March 2016 (full post)
CDPR says Cyberpunk 2077 is 'even more ambitious' than they planned
While The Witcher 3 has only been out for a few months, CD Projekt Red isn't stopping. The developer has been working on its most ambitious game yet, Cyberpunk 2077, for quite some time, and is now talking about the game in greater detail.
During an interview with Polish TV station TVN24 BiS, CD Projekt Red's CEO Adam Kicinski said: "The project is even more ambitious than we first planned (...) we need to create a game that will be even more successful. (...) We have a long way ahead of us to reach the biggest commercial successes in the world. Sure, many people consider The Witcher 3 to be the best game in the world this year, but this is not a game that broke any sales record".
If you are worried about The Witcher franchise now that CD Projekt Red has its hands full with Cyberpunk 2077, don't worry. Kicinski said that the team isn't leaving The Witcher behind, where he added: "It's too early to talk about it, but it's not like we're forgetting about this brand - that's understandable. (...) It wouldn't be fair towards the fans. We work within this universe for over a dozen years now and I don't think it's going to be the end of it".
Continue reading: CDPR says Cyberpunk 2077 is 'even more ambitious' than they planned (full post)