Why You Need One of the Most Durable External Batteries in the World

TweakTown Deals | Deals | Jul 27, 2015 11:21 AM CDT

We sometimes feel a little like Goldilocks when we go in search of a great external battery. Some are too bulky. Some aren't powerful enough. So when we find one that's just right, we're obviously going to share the great news with you. Even better news? We're making the A8 Pro 25600mAh external battery available for just $69.95 at TweakTown Deals, a savings of 53%.

Here's why you'll love it:

Get the A8 Pro 25600mAh external battery for $69.95 at TweakTown Deals. Add it to your cart now!

Continue reading: Why You Need One of the Most Durable External Batteries in the World (full post)

Razer buys Ouya, reveals new plans for the future

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 11:11 AM CDT

Ouya CEO Julie Urhman today confirmed that PC hardware maker Razer has bought out the company. Urhman inadvertently broke the news by tweeting a cavalcade of thank you messages signalling something big had happened.

The ex-CEO further tweeted the following message to Razer, confirming the buyout speculations: "Can't wait to see what you do. Take care of my incredible team and community...I know you will."

Razer has since issued a lengthy announcement post. "Today we're pleased to welcome OUYA to the Razer family," reads the announcement. "With them in the Razer fold, we plan to further embrace hardcore gaming in the living room and take Android gaming to the next level."

Continue reading: Razer buys Ouya, reveals new plans for the future (full post)

PC-like FPS control comes to PS4 via new keyboard/mouse

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 10:55 AM CDT

Hori's new Tactical Assault Commander 4 is a keyboard and mouse duo aimed at emulating PC quality FPS control on Sony's PlayStation 4 console. Armed with the new controller, gamers can now hone their headshot skills to a heightened degree with the kind of precision that a steady mouse can offer.

The mouse and keyboard are both wired via USB and feature programmable macro buttons for customized play. Like previous models, the peripheral sports must-have modes like snipe and walk buttons, and the traditional WASD scheme shouldered by Triangle (Q) and Circle (E) for easy maneuvering. It also has keys to match a DualShock 4 including a Share button for screenshots and video.

The keyboard is decidedly created with right-handed gamers in mind--lefties are out of luck with this model. Hori affirms that the Tactical Assault Commander 4 is cross-platform compatible and is fully functional on the PlayStation 3, so you can fire up yesteryear classics like Blops 2 for practice.

Continue reading: PC-like FPS control comes to PS4 via new keyboard/mouse (full post)

Report: Valve rakes in $1.5 billion revenue from Steam sales in 2014

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 10:21 AM CDT

2014 has proven to be quite the lucrative year for Valve as reports indicate that the company's digital PC gaming storefront Steam raked in an estimated total of $1.5bn in total sales last year.

Valve's in-house mega blockbusters DOTA 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 were responsible for a considerable bulk of the figures, pulling in more than $450m profit across all three games.

Industry research company SuperData affirms that Valve also amassed $330m in royalties from third-party titles sold on Steam. As per company policy, Valve takes a 30% cut of each sale. Considering Steam has a library consisting of over 781 million games, and that the service hit a peak of 9.2 million users, it's no wonder Valve can pull in that kind of revenue.

Continue reading: Report: Valve rakes in $1.5 billion revenue from Steam sales in 2014 (full post)

Doom multiplayer isn't being designed with eSports in mind

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 7:30 AM CDT

id Software understands the importance of eSports in 2015, but said Doom isn't being designed specifically to become the next big eSports platform.

Just creating the multiplayer mode is a priority, and id Software will go back and analyze eSports potential after Doom has been released. Of course, id is familiar with multiplayer success, especially with Quake 3 and Quake 4, which were popular among professional gamers and players at LAN parties.

"We're not developing [Doom] specifically with how we address eSports. There's tons of moments, even just watching the [multiplayer matches] at Quakecon, where there's very eSports moments in it," said Marty Stratton, developer at id Software, in a statement to GameSpot. "It really just illustrates how eSports can be born out of that. But we're really [working on] how we entertain millions of people on their couches everyday. So that's really been our focus."

Continue reading: Doom multiplayer isn't being designed with eSports in mind (full post)

Could Kojima and Del Toro still end up working on a game together?

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 6:30 AM CDT

It looks like Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro still want to work on a gaming project, even though Silent Hills was scrapped. Details regarding the project haven't been disclosed, but could give gamers something to look forward to one day.

"I love working with Kojima-san. We are still in touch," del Toro recently told IGN. "We are still friends and working into doing something together, but that's not going to be [Silent Hills]."

It's a shame that Silent Hills was scrapped, as both del Toro and Kojima were excited about the progress being made:

Continue reading: Could Kojima and Del Toro still end up working on a game together? (full post)

VR expert doesn't think 'video games are an appropriate market' for VR

The virtual reality market seems to be surging, but there is still quite a bit of confusion regarding what vertical will help drive interest. Initial signs point towards the gaming market, but a VR pioneer said there are much more important and practical uses for VR technology.

"I don't believe that video games are an appropriate market for this. Especially when you get into the highly violent games - do you really want to feel that blood splatter on you?" said Jeremy Bailenson, founder of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, in a statement to the San Jose Mercury News. "I don't think it's the right use case."

"I don't believe VR should be used for hours a day. I think VR's great for really particular and specific moments that you try to learn about yourself and learn about others. Maybe I'm in a minority, but when these games come out, I don't think people are going to want to play them for eight hours."

Continue reading: VR expert doesn't think 'video games are an appropriate market' for VR (full post)

MSI offers GODLIKE motherboards with HyperX, Intel prizes for OC event

Chris Smith | Motherboards | Jul 27, 2015 4:29 AM CDT

If you're a little short on cash or just crazy about overclocking, MSI is offering up some beastly prizes including its new GODLIKE motherboards alongside Intel CPUs and PCIe NVMe drives, HyperX RAM and HyperX SSDs to winners of this newly-announced event.

These high-end prizes will be distributed to top placing competitors in the wide variety of competitions on offer including 2D battle and 3D battles expanding to categories such as ambient and extreme cooling, with limitations on overclocking specifics and CPU frequencies.

If you're interested in learning more about the competition or entering for yourself, you can head to the official event page or check out the press release.

Continue reading: MSI offers GODLIKE motherboards with HyperX, Intel prizes for OC event (full post)

New Xbox One update adds Cortana, new dashboard

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Jul 27, 2015 3:32 AM CDT

Microsoft is bringing some new major changes to the Xbox Onewith the Fall update, including voice-assisted support from Cortana and a new dashboard layout--but speed is their top priority.

New Xbox One update adds Cortana, new dashboard

"Brand new Xbox One User Interface experience that will be going out this fall and is really focused around speed and getting to things faster," Xbox's Richard Irving told GamingBolt at E3 2015. "Our design point of the new Xbox experience is speed and making all of the things you do on Xbox Live, both in and out of the game much faster."

As an Xbox One owner myself I can attest that the console's menus can be sluggish. Firing up an app or starting up Snap Mode can take a bit, meaning you'll sometimes miss that perfect moment you wanted to record.

Continue reading: New Xbox One update adds Cortana, new dashboard (full post)

Doesn't look like Gov. Christie is a big fan of Edward Snowden

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jul 27, 2015 3:17 AM CDT

Edward Snowden may have support from a lot of American citizens, but don't count New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as a fan of the former NSA worker.

Recently, Christie described Snowden as a "piece of garbage," and said he "wouldn't send the SEALs in to pick up that piece of garbage," when asked he would send in the special ops unit to retrieve the American.

Just a few months ago, Christie described Snowden's whistleblowing behavior as "treasonous" and that he "should be forced to come home... and face prosecution."

Continue reading: Doesn't look like Gov. Christie is a big fan of Edward Snowden (full post)

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