Gaming - Page 1139

We demand better graphics and more immersive gameplay, but that comes at a cost. As video games progress the amount of storage they require is exploding. Some current games can chew up to 40GB each, and this can grow even more with DLC. Nyko has the bases covered with a new innovative enclosure that snaps onto the top of the PS4. The internal PS4 drive is limited by capacity, and users can upgrade it, but it requires a 2.5" drive. These are limited in capacity, and higher in cost, compared to their larger 3.5" brethren.

The Data Bank supports 3.5" drives, which can be between $40-$50 cheaper than 2.5" models. 3.5" drives currently top out at 6TB for consumer models, and heftier capacities are on the horizon. The Nyko Data Bank will retail between $30 and $40 when it is released. The Nyko Data Bank snaps to the top of the PS4 and is connected via a pass-through power cable on the rear of the unit. The design mimics the PS4's aesthetics, but it does add a large component to the top of the console.

6TB might seem a bit over the top for most PS4 users, but after a few years data begins to pile up. If the lifespan of the PS4 is as long as the PS3, there will be a need for additional capacity at some point. Those with large media libraries will also find the Data Bank useful. With todays game consoles geared to be the hub of the home entertainment center it is surprising they still stick with capacity-limited 2.5" drives, but this is likely driven by size constraints more than any other consideration.

Rolling out to Xbox One preview members today, Microsoft has finished work on a brand new update for their champion console. With regular users to receive this in February, there have been some new features listed and improvements made.

One of the main improvements is the apparent upgrade to the TV functionality, alongside adding new game hubs - a new section for each game, displaying your friends that this title, DVR clips and broadcasts and a VIP view that will highlight popular Twitch.TV streamers. Thanks to the new game hubs, you can also launch the game with a party, track achievements or broadcast game play in snap mode.

As for the TV component, Microsoft have added a OneGuide rollout for the Netherlands, added support for new AV receivers and set-top boxes and have also added Live TV trending for France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. This Live TV streaming service will also be supported on Windows Phones and Android for Xbox One Digital TV tuner customers in France, the UK, Germany Italy and Spain.

First we covered the Xbook Duo, which placed a non-backwards compatible Xbox One and an Xbox 360 into a single package - now we've got the Playbox. Developed by the same modder, he's thrown a PS4 and an Xbox One into the same shell - confusing and worrying elitists worldwide.

In the lead up to these two creations, Eddie Zarick has thrown a PS4 and Xbox One into their own separate shells, but as the famous saying goes "¿Por qué no ambos" (why not both?). The Playbox hosts the PS4 component on the left side of the system and with the Xbox One on the right.

Both consoles are powered by a single cord, however they don't function at the same time due to overheating constraints. You can flick an easy-to-reach switch on the back to help change from one console to another at your will.

The Nintendo New 3DS XL will finally be released in the United States on February 13 with a $200 price tag, and includes a number of hardware improvements for gamers. The new gaming unit has better face-tracking 3D, a more powerful processor, additional shoulder buttons, built-in NFC and a second analog mini-stick for gamers.

Nintendo also decided not to include an AC adapter with the New 3DS XL, so owners will get home and find they don't have a bundled charger. All new units will have a 4GB micro SD card, as Nintendo moved from standard SD to micro SD, due to changes in the internal layout of the new 3DS XL's hardware.

Unfortunately, Nintendo isn't releasing the New Nintendo 3DS in the United States, despite it launching in Japan and Australia.

As seen in their Twitter description, Telltale Games has been working on "games based on Game Of Thrones, Minecraft, Borderlands, The Walking Dead & more!" But now it's time for them to produce something completely of their own, as according to their new CEO, Telltale has an "upcoming original IP" in production.

Kevin Bruner has been promoted within the company from president to CEO, in a statement to GamesIndustry he said that "we're thrilled to continue our growth and bring our unique style of scripted entertainment to the next generation of digital media, and do that across thousands of different devices. Our top priority is to continue fostering an environment where the most talented and creative storytellers in the industry are working side by side with the world's biggest creative partners. We're already working on some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, and when you add our unannounced partnerships and upcoming original IP, it's clear the most exciting time to be at Telltale is now, and there will continue to be more and more opportunity to innovate ahead of us."

Telltale's self described "eater of marshmallows, Community & PR Specialist" Laura Perusco has been promoting their The Wolf Among Us release over the last few days crazily, so expect to see this new game teased on her Twitter page when the time comes.

Far Cry 4 was probably the most successful launch for Ubisoft last year, and now we're seeing the very first DLC for it in the form of "Escape from Durgesh Prison".

The Escape From Durgesh Prison missions is a downloadable piece of content for the first-person shooter, where Ubisoft explains it as "In this new piece of downloadable content for Far Cry 4, Ajay and Hurk find themselves defenseless in the dangerous northern region of Kyrat after being captured, tortured and stripped of their weapons in Yuma's prison". The developer continues "On their way to the extraction point, they will be able to complete a series of challenges kicked off by the tyrannical Pagan Min to acquire weapons and upgrade their gear before a final stand-off against Yuma's forces".

Better yet, you can play Escape From Durgesh Prison by yourself, or with a friend in cooperative mode. It ups the ante by making the mission a time trial, which sees players pushing to be at the top of the online leaderboard. But, if players are killed or die throughout the mission, they are forced to restart the entire mission.

When Markus "Notch" Persson purchased his $70 million house not too long ago, snatching the property from the hands of Jay-Z and Beyonce, most didn't know that a housewarming would be this close - but come on, it was going to happen.

Well, Notch flew back to his new home to host a massive housewarming party, bringing in some of the biggest names in the industry. John "Daikatana" Romero and his partner Brenda were in attendance, as was Tim Schafer, ex-Infinity Ward and now Respawn Entertainment boss Vince Zampella, former Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo, and many more. Gamers were in attendance, celebrities (including Selena Gomez) and producer/DJ Zedd.

It was only a few hours ago now that we reported the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V on the PC was delayed, but it was the PC requirements that caught my eye.

The biggest point of GTA V on the PC is that it requires a huge 65GB of free HDD space. Yes, 65GB! Most will shout back that HDDs are cheap these days, but SSDs aren't. Sure, SSDs are definitely cheaper than they used to be, but they still aren't cheap enough where you can just throw 65GB installations of games - and not just one, but multiple - without worrying.

On top of that, you'll need a quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM minimum with 8GB of RAM recommended, and modest GPU requirements. The HDD space is definitely a shocker, with even the biggest game installations on PC maxing out at around 50GB these days.

Microsoft has won an Emmy Award for Television Enhancement Devices, as the Xbox One captured the award during the 66th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards last week during CES. The Xbox One has a number of different apps supporting streaming video, premium content channels, and other video services.

In addition to CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc playback and apps, Microsoft included MKV and DLNA support, so downloaded videos are supported - and features an Interactive TV Guide.

"Microsoft is in good company with the likes of fellow award recipients Apple, Roku, Sony, and TiVo, and we're proud to be awarded this honor by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences," Microsoft said in a blog post.

The PC version of Grand Theft Auto V has been delayed from January 27 until March 24, Rockstar Games confirmed on Tuesday morning. When the game finally does launch for the PC, there will be a customized GTA Online mode available, so gamers will be able to compete in online competitions against one another.

"Our apologies for the slight shift in the date but the game requires a few extra weeks of testing and polish to make it as good as can be," Rockstar Games noted in a statement. "Moving a release date is never a decision we take lightly and is a choice we make only when we know it is in the best interests of the game and our fans. Thanks everyone for your understanding and we assure you these few extra weeks will be worth it when the game does arrive in March."

The Microsoft Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were released in September, and recently updated for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamers.

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios have announced Forza Motorsport 6 will launch exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox One game console later this year.

The Ford GT, Shelby GT350 Mustang and F-150 Raptor will also make appearances in the video game, and 2015 is the 10th anniversary of the game franchise.

"Just as Ford has pushed the boundaries of car technology in GT, 'Forza Motorsport 6' will embrace that spirit of innovation as our most technically advanced racing simulation to date - offering a fun and realistic automotive experience for both car lovers and gamers," said Dan Greenawalt, creative director at Turn 10 Studios. "We're excited to unveil gameplay at E3 in June."

Minecraft: Pocket Edition has topped 30 million downloads, as the paid premium game reaches an impressive milestone. The mobile version of the game is available on Google Android, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows Phone and Amazon Kindle Fire for $7.

To help celebrate the milestone, Minecraft fans are welcome to visit this reddit thread and submit questions, which will be answered during a live question and answer session later this week.

Also, more than one million desktop gamers played Minecraft simultaneously, Mojang noted, with the milestone reached at a non-peak time.

A couple of screenshots for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V have surfaced, showing the difference between low and high settings. The screenshots are coming from NfoHump user 'Neon' who is surely going to have most of the Internet talking with these GTA V screenshots.

The two shots are in-game shots from the PC version of GTA V, but it was only a few days ago that the same user posted some shots of the Settings menu of GTA V on the PC (above), as well as a few other screenshots of the game. Now we have a a low quality, and high quality screenshot to see if we can spot a big difference in quality.

Above, we have the low quality and high quality screenshots (low is the top one, high the one below it). Both of these screenshots were reportedly taken on a GeForce GTX 970 with 4GB of RAM. As you can see, there is quite a large difference between the low and high quality settings in the game, such as draw distance, shadowing, reflections on the car, and much more.

Video game retailer GameStop has teamed up with Microsoft to use the Azure cloud platform to stream video game and promotional content to user mobile devices while they are in-store. Customers will be able to view video game catalogs, trailers, promotional materials, and other data.

"Microsoft has always been a fantastic and innovative company for GameStop to collaborate with, both in the technology space as well with their video game consoles and titles," said Jeff Donaldson, SVP of GameStop Technology Institute. "We are continuing to work closely with them to discover and aggressively elevate ways to enhance the retail experience for our customers today and in the future."

GameStop has become more creative in how it approaches gamers, as streaming and digital downloads continue to alter the PC and console gaming markets.

Instead of rushing Battlefield Hardline out as scheduled on October 21, Electronic Arts and Visceral Games decided to take their time and ensure a pleasant gamer experience at launch. The new cops-and-robbers style video game will be released on March 17, providing even more details and features to be added to the game.

"We got some pretty pointed feedback after our early beta that you wanted more," said Steve Papoutsis, executive producer and GM of Visceral Games, in a statement to fans. "And we listened. There's no doubt moving the game back was the right call."

When the game is released, there will be 51 weapons, 27 new vehicles, 28 gadgets, nine maps and seven modes immediately available - and EA is preparing to release new game details and in-play trailers every Wednesday.

It looks like Elite: Dangerous is doing quite well, with Frontier Developments making some nice revenue on the just-released space game. While it's doing well, their expectations for 2016 and beyond see the developer making some serious dosh.

The company made an announcement last week outlining the success of the game, with $26.1 million in revenue from 300,000 sales. The developer had a few possible scenarios for its sales, but they could be revised, the developer explains "Since late 2013 the Group has been using three scenarios to model performance of the game, created based on the growth of other non-subscription online games in their first three years, a "base" scenario, a "mid" scenario, and a "bull" scenario ... In terms of revenue Elite: Dangerous is tracking above the "bull" scenario; and on units sold, between the "mid" and "bull" scenarios."

Elite: Dangerous is coming to OS X, but it could arrive on Linux too - and hopefully Steam OS. As for profits, we can see that the developer is hoping to sell 30 million units in 2017, securing itself a huge $453 million.

Ministry of Gaming (MoG) are running yet another massive 'Pubstomp' located at the famous Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.

This craze started off with StarCraft II's massive popularity in 2011 - hundreds of nerds would pack out various pubs and bars to huddle around TV's and projectors and watch their favorite players go at it in tournament grand finals for massive wads of cash. Here in little old Australia we saw the biggest live viewing events as seen globally - with Silicon Sports in Melbourne often capping 300+ attendee's and the Sydney crews having to hire out two whole bars just to fit their 600+ spectators inside.

Now that Dota 2 has become a massive success globally, we've seen a transition to massive Pubstomp events being held at world-class establishments become the norm. During The International 2014 global finals, MoG ran a 450+ person pubstomp in Crown's Largerfield room, which is generally reserved for 'real life' sporting viewership and finals.

Originally reported by Kotaku, Riot Games are working on building their own network across North America and Europe to help combat and defeat lag in their popular MOBA title - League of Legends (LoL).

This goes to show how big LoL has really come. These days if you're travelling into the city on a train or bus, you can often hear the youngsters going on about a penta-kill they achieved last night, or how they think Teemo is the cutest and most annoying character on the planet.

The basics of this announcement is that Riot Games are working on their own direct network for LoL traffic, helping combat lag. Riot's official explanation of this implementation is as follows:

The Call of Duty $1 million 2015 Championship information has just been released, following their massive success during 2014.

Advanced Warfare is the platform this year, seeing the finals held in Los Angeles over March 27-29. This year's tournament is sponsored by Microsoft and Xbox One, alongside the popular tournament and event conductor, MLG.

The online qualifiers will be run on Xbox One consoles, seeing the finals streamed live over Xbox Live and 'other networks' - likely involving Twitch TV, Azubu and YouTube streaming platforms.

Based on the Games Workshop Warhammer board game, UK indie developer Chilled Mouse have just announced their Steam release of Warhammer Quest - due to hit the e-shelves on January the 7th, 2015.

The basics of this game have been described in their recently issued press release as - "Lead a party of brave adventurers through the dangerous winding dungeons of the Warhammer world in the search for wealth and glory, as players uncover and explore new settlements. In their quest for legendary weapons, players encounter enemies including evil Night Goblins, dangerous Orcs, gigantic River Trolls and hordes of the evil Skaven, hellbent on destroying the band of adventurers."

As with any game looking to keep its player base - You level up your heroes through battle, gaining new abilities, spells and blessings along the way as you continue on the path to become one of the Heroes of the Legend and play as various races including the Marauders, Dwarf IronBreakers, Grey Wizards and Wood Elf Waywatchers.