Nvidia Shield launches in June for around $350, Preorders Start May 20th

May 15th, 2013, 02:54 Posted By: wraggster



Nvidia will release their Android Powered Nvidia Shield gamepad in June for $350, the console boasts some impressive specs.The Tegra 4 powered handheld runs on Android 4.2.1, has a nice 5-inch retinal display capable of 720p and also has 16GB of internal storage, expandable via the SD card slot on the back. Notable hardware features include a built-in mic and GPS, plus a mini-HDMI port. The Shield is also capable of streaming games from your PC, provided you have a GTX 650 GPU or better.

Nvidia has today announced five new games coming to its handheld: Broken Age, Costume Quest, Origins, Skiing Fred and Chuck's Challenge.

Nvidia Shields will ship with two free games: Expendable: Rearmed and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2

The portable system will be available at Newegg, GameStop, Micro Center and Canada Computers.

According to Nvidia, heres whats good about the handheld:

• Tegra 4 - The world's fastest mobile processor delivers rich graphics and unbeatable performance thanks to 72 GPU cores, four CPU cores and 2GB of RAM
• Console-grade controller - Precise control thanks to dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons
• Multi-touch display - 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display for high-fidelity visuals
• Integrated speakers - Custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system - we think this is SHIELD's sleeper feature
• Wi-Fi - 802.11n 2X2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi for game streaming
• Pure Android - Latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, for access to Android games and apps
• There's more - We put into SHIELD everything we would want in a premium mobile gaming device: 16 GB memory, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot, a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack.

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Raspberry Pi camera module comes to the UK May 14th

May 15th, 2013, 01:07 Posted By: wraggster

Remember that Raspberry Pi camera module we wrote about a few months ago? It looks like UK-based electronics retailer CPC / Farnell will start taking orders for the shooter on May 14th. Users on the Raspberry Pi forums who signed up for info about the camera module have received an email from the retailer inviting them to order. As a reminder, the five megapixel fixed-focus shooter -- which only measures 25 x 20 x 9mm -- can snap 2,592 x 1,944-pixel images and capture video at 1,080p (30fps), 720p (60fps) and VGA (60 or 90fps). While the accessory is expected to cost about $25, there's no actual pricing details on CPC / Farnell's website. Wanna see the camera module in action? One lucky Raspberry Pi user's received the device early and shared a video -- check it out after the break.
Update: As promised, the boards are now officially available to order per a blog post on the Raspberry Pi website. And the price is indeed $25. Hit the source link for a list of commands needed to activate the add-on, or check after the break for another video demonstrating the setup process and some PR explaining Element 14's competition to promote the Pi and its camera.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/13/r...h-lands-early/

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Raspberry Pi survives electronics blackout for a cameo on Revolution

May 15th, 2013, 01:06 Posted By: wraggster

Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com.
The original premise of NBC's show Revolution is that in the near future some unknown worldwide catastrophe devastated all electronic devices, plunging everyone into a blackout. As the plot has progressed however, in limited cases the power is coming back on. That includes a nanotech machine a couple of characters are planning to use to perform emergency surgery -- by shoving what appears to be a USB stick into an open wound -- and its configuration is enabled thanks to a very familiar-looking $35 device. Keen eyed viewers spotted a Raspberry Pi (top center) as it popped on screen a few times, however like our own prime time cameo it flashes by very quickly, the screencap above may be your best look at it.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/s...pi-revolution/

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One game controller connects to many consoles

May 15th, 2013, 00:16 Posted By: wraggster


[Dave Nunez] wanted arcade quality controls when gaming at home. The problem was he couldn’t decide on just one console to target with his build, so he targeted them all. What you see above is a single controller that connects to many different gaming rigs.
He took a simple-is-best approach, keeping the main goal of high-quality inputs at the forefront. To start, he built the face plate out of thick MDF to ensure it wouldn’t flex or bounce as he mashed the buttons. To keep the electronics as simple as possible he soldered connections to actual controller PCBs (well, reproductions of controllers), breaking each out to a separate DB9 connector on the back of the case. These connectors interface with one of the three adapter cables seen to the right. This lets the controller work with NES, SNES, and an Atari 2600 system.
To pull the enclosure together [Dave] designed the rounded corner pieces and cut them out with a CNC mill. These connect with flat MDF to make up the sides. To give it that professional look he filled the joints with Bondo and sanded them smooth before painting.

http://hackaday.com/2013/05/14/one-g...many-consoles/

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The future of console homebrew

May 14th, 2013, 01:20 Posted By: wraggster

source: marcan @ fail0verflow.com] It’s been almost 7 years since the Wii was released. Back in 2006, not many owned a living room PC. PCs were still relatively bulky, and the Chinese offerings were limited to horrible media players. At the time, the prospect of having a game console double as a HTPC and being able to browse the web, play games for older platforms with emulation, and run homebrew games on a device which you already had in the living room was rather appealing. Fast forward to today. Mobile SoCs have made huge advances - you can get a quad-core chip in a phone these days - and have made the jump to the living room. Spend $25 and you can get a Raspberry Pi, which is about on par with the Wii at 1/10 of the launch price and 1/7th of the power consumption (with HD video). Spend $100 and you can get an Ouya, which beats the Wii U’s CPU and doesn’t have too shabby graphics at one third the cost. These mobile-derived devices aren’t quite a replacement for game consoles yet, but they’re catching up fast. They’re cheap enough that they’re almost disposable. The software ecosystem is much larger and wider than any console has ever had. More importantly, they’re open, and the development tools and environments are way better for open development than any game console ever was.

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Mad Genius' Motion Capture System brings Sony's break-apart controller idea to life

May 13th, 2013, 21:24 Posted By: wraggster


Remember that break-apart DualShock 3 idea for motion control Sony had five years ago? A new company named Mad Genius Controllers has surfaced with a working prototype that shows such a contraption working in spades. The setup uses a splittable controller and a processing unit to enable seamless motion control and spacial tracking on any title and system. Because Mad Genius doesn't use any accelerometers or cameras like the current consoles, its creator notes that accuracy of up to 1/100th of an inch is possible.
In a video demo with an Xbox 360 version of Skyrim and a modified Xbox gamepad, certain gestures and movements even automate menu selections like a macro. One instance shows the controller being split and held like bow and arrow, highlighting that both sides are tracked in relation to each other -- not to mention that the in-game character's weapon automatically changes without any menu-digging by the user. The current version is merely a wired proof-of-concept, but Mad Genius plans to eventually make it wireless and hit Kickstarter for funding. In the meantime, you can build up anticipation for yourself by checking out the nearly 10-minute long video demo after the break. All that's left is the inevitable Oculus Rift tie-in (like we've just done with this post).

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/12/m...apture-system/

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Sales declines expected through July

May 13th, 2013, 20:57 Posted By: wraggster

Cowen and Company projects double-digit NPD sales declines until Madden hits; April game sales expected down 13%
The combined efforts of new Gears of War, God of War, BioShock, and Tomb Raider games goosedMarch's NPD-reported US retail software sales up a little less than 2 percent, but the industry was apparently unable to build on that momentum in April. In a note to investors today, Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz said he expects the NPD Group's April numbers--set for release this Thursday--to show that software sales dipped 13 percent year-over-year.
The biggest difficulty for April sales was a light release slate, with Creutz expecting only a single title, DC-themed fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us, expected to sell more than 250,000 units. Creutz believes that game sold around 424,000 copies.
With few surefire hits on the schedule, Creutz is expecting the NPD to report double-digit monthly sales declines for the industry through July. August is expected to show a return to growth, although the main reason for that will be an earlier launch for the annualized Madden NFL, which fell in the September reporting period last year. Despite that shift, Creutz expects industry software sales growth to continue in September and October thanks to anticipated releases like Grand Theft Auto V and Battlefield 4.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-through-july

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UK charts: Dead Island: Riptide still number one

May 13th, 2013, 20:40 Posted By: wraggster

Dead Island: Riptide was the biggest selling videogame at UK retail for the third week running, GFK ChartTrack has confirmed, matching Bioshock Infinite’s record for this year.Both Star Trek and Dragon’s Dogma, Dark Arisen dropped out of the chart, to be replaced by two older games, The Walking Dead (available on disc for the first time) and Assassin’s Creed III. Call of Duty: Black Ops II has also surged back up the chart, with strong retailer price drops ahead of more reveals in the near future on Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Ghosts. Luigi’s Mansion 2 just pushed Persona 4 Arena into 11th place.The Ukie UK top ten according ChartTrack for the week ending May 11th is as follows, with the week-on-week sales difference stated in brackets. Reviews are through the links.1. Dead Island Riptide (-32%)
2. Call Of Duty: Black Ops II (+60%)
3. Tomb Raider (-17%)
4. Injustice: Gods Among Us (-36%)
5. FIFA 13 (-19%)
6. Bioshock Infinite (-10%)
7. Assassin’s Creed III (+25%)
8. LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins (-24%)
9. The Walking Dead (New Entry)
10. Luigi’s Mansion 2 (-12%)

http://www.edge-online.com/news/uk-c...ll-number-one/

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Microsoft and John Lewis find over two thirds of parents ask their kids for tech advi

May 13th, 2013, 19:48 Posted By: wraggster

A new survey reveals that parents are struggling to keep up with today’s technology.
Of the 1,000 parents surveyed, 67 per cent admitted to asking their teenage children for technology related advice.
Matt Leeser, Head of Buying at John Lewis comments: “Technology moves at such a fast pace, you only have to look at how touch screen gadgets have come into force in the last four years. Children are more exposed to new gadgets and services that’s why parents are turning to their tech savvy kids for advice. At John Lewis, we know how important it is for parents to get expert advice when they’re buying technology for themselves or the family – this is why we train our partners to provide guidance in-store and keep them updated with the latest trends.”
The findings show that technology help courtesy of teenagers isn’t just restricted to gadgets, 21 per cent of parents go to their children for help setting up their social media profile.
Mae Moran, aged thirteen, commented: “My mum’s always asking me how to use her mobile. She’s only just worked out how to use the camera but can never download any of her photos. I’ve got her using SkyDrive now, which is so much easier. Because I synched up all our devices, she can save her pictures down when she’s at work and then I do the editing for her on my laptop. Next step will be to get her uploading them to Facebook.”
28 per cent of parents surveyed said they turn to their children for tech advice ahead of friends, partners or work colleagues.
“The research shows that busy parents are gleaning the expertise of a younger, tech savvy generation to save time and help them get the most out of their gadgets,” said Abigail Rappoport, Microsoft Office Division Director UK.
Microsoft and John Lewis find over two thirds of parents ask their kids for tech advice
The research, commissioned by John Lewis and Microsoft and conducted by Opinium, lays out the top five tech troubles that parents seek help for from their children, including installing products or services (46%), help using their phone (45%), using the internet (41%), help with the TV/home entertainment system (37%), and advice on what products to buy (31%).

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-advice/030924

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Raspberry Pi housed inside a computer monitor

May 12th, 2013, 00:32 Posted By: wraggster


Behold, something we’ve always wanted. [Matthieu] mounted his Raspberry Pi board inside of a computer monitor. His work makes for the cheapest smart-TV modification we can possibly think of.
The image above shows the monitor’s driver board on the left, with the Raspberry Pi mounted on the back plastic cover. [Matthieu] used a short HDMI cable to connect the two. The HDMI connector plugs into the RPi directly. The other end has been cut off and the wires soldered to the DVI pins on the monitor’s PCB. This is not a problem since HDMI and DVI use electrically identical protocols. The one thing missing is audio. But if you were pulling off the same hack with a device that had HDMI (like a television) it would just be a matter of also soldering in the audio connections. While he had his iron hot he also connected a 5V source from the monitor board to the RPi. He completes his hack by cutting a slot in the monitor case to allow access to the SD card.
We’ve long wanted an XBMC computer we could velcro to the back of the TV and the RPi turned out to be just the thing. Now we’ve got to consider cracking open the TV to replicate this internalization hack!

http://hackaday.com/2013/05/09/raspb...puter-monitor/

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Auto dimmer hacked into keyboard backlight

May 12th, 2013, 00:30 Posted By: wraggster


As the title says, [José Faria] added the ability to adjust his keyboard backlight based on ambient light levels. But that’s just one of the things he did during his hacking extravaganza with this Razer BlackWidow Ultimate.
When he first received the peripheral he didn’t like the blue LEDs used as backlights. So he removed all of them and put in white ones. He doesn’t talk too much about that but we’d image it was a ton of work. The new color was pleasing, but then the ability to adjust their brightness started to irritate him. There are four predefined levels and that’s all you get. Even the GUI which has a slider for adjustment couldn’t go outside of those levels.
His solution was to augment the controller with his own. He patched in an AVR chip to the transistor which controls the low side of the LED circuits. While at it he also noticed that the keyboard case was actually translucent. This let him hide a photosensor inside which automatically adjusts the light levels. But he did it in a way that still allows him to use the original functionality with the flip of a switch. See for yourself after the break.

http://hackaday.com/2013/05/11/auto-...ard-backlight/

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BioWare selling replica ME3 M-77 Paladin pistol for $400

May 11th, 2013, 15:58 Posted By: wraggster

Arguably the ultimate Mass Effect replica is currently available to buy from BioWare’s online store.
Made by collectibles specialist Triforce, the SKU is a real-life replica of the game’s M-77 Paladin pistol. It weighs seven grams and is supposedly hand-painted. Only 200 units will be produced and sold worldwide.
Should we be criticising BioWare for selling toy firearms? Possibly, but in reality a toy ‘ray gun’ is a world away from a replica AK-47 or Magnum. And we’ve got a replica Portal gun that we love, too, so don’t wish to be hypocritical.
Want one? Then you’ll need to stump up a $200 deposit. And then another $200 when it’s finally released in Q3.
Oh, and as it’s shipped from the US there’s the shipping. And the UK custom charges. All of which presumes customs will let it through on the first place – toy firearms can often be confiscated.
You can grab your here.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/biowa...or-400/0115349

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ANALYSIS: Are smart devices killing the console?

May 11th, 2013, 15:52 Posted By: wraggster

62 per cent of the British population now own a smartphone and 29.3 per cent a tablet.
In fact, in the latest data, smartphones accounted for 83 per cent of all mobile sales, demonstrating their growing dominance.
There has been much debate recently about consumers’ interaction with smart devices, with most people not using their phones or tablets to the max. However, what is clear is the ‘smart generation’ is increasingly using these portable devices for gaming.
40.7 per cent of mobile owners use their phones for gaming, up from 32.6 per cent in 2011. This has meant that 3.9 per cent of games are now bought for smart devices – an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the past year. And this looks set to rise.
In the past year, the number of games bought for phones and tablets has increased by 11.7 per cent. This contrasts markedly with the 27.1 per cent decline we have seen in sales of physical games over the same period.
Growth is, in the main, being driven by the increasing number of smart device shoppers, with a quarter more consumers entering this market in the past year.

"In the past year, the number of games bought
for phones and tablets has increased by
11.7 per cent. This contrasts markedly with
the 27.1 per cent decline we have seen in
sales of physical games over
the same period."

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Low cost consoles and games can reach the markets PlayStation and Xbox can’t, says Ga

May 11th, 2013, 15:48 Posted By: wraggster

Sony and Microsoft’s vast console empires have made it difficult for them to innovate and capitalise on the rise in low cost indie games, says Playjam CMO Anthony Johnson.Playjam will release GameStick this summer for $79 in the US and £79.99 in the UK, where it will retail exclusively at Game. It is targeting casual and ‘mid-core’ games players – the kind that play low-cost mobile games but aren’t likely to pay a premium for a traditional, high-end games console.“The issue is that as we all know, elephants can’t jump,” Playjam CMO Anthony Johnson told us. “[Sony and Microsoft] have built an extraordinary successful market which they have dominated for years, but times are changing and the underlying models employed by these manufacturers will make it extremely difficult for them to innovate. A model built around huge hardware subsidies and Hollywood-type budgets for content will only ever serve a relatively niche segment of the market.”Johnson says that GameStick was conceived as a reaction to the ‘old’ marketplace, and it reached its $100,000 Kickstarter target with ease. It currently has $647,658 in funding – a not inconsequential sum, but one that’s dwarfed by the $8.5 million raised thus far by fellow microconsole Ouya.“Ouya got to Kickstarter first and ran a legendary campaign,” says Johnson. “We would probably see them as our closest competition today although we have chosen to go down a different route in terms of form factor that we think offers players more. I know that this sounds canned but competition is good. We are looking to define a new market and realistically this is going to take a number of players to achieve.”Its pitch to developers is to offer an easy way of getting games onto the big screen, but with competing tech on its way, fragmentation could threaten this new marketplace. ”If new hardware manufacturers insist on throwing up barriers by asking developers to follow proprietary key mapping technologies then we will see fatigue from the developer community hit pretty quickly,” says Johnson. “GameStick has decided to employ open standards to ensure as much cross compatibility between devices and content as possible. Developers are far more likely to support platforms which require the least effort to port to.”Johnson says that GameStick is courting indies and large publishers, and tells us that “500 developers have signed up so far.”“If your game runs on an Android device and would make sense on TV it will work on our platform with either minimal or no tweaking,” he says.One million units sold is the benchmark for Playjam, at which point it would consider GameStick to be a viable platform in the long term. And Johnson doesn’t believe that the arrival of PS4 will dilute demand for GameStick in any meaningful way.“I think Sony made a couple of neat innovations around the integration of social media within the platform but these will take time for developers to integrate, whereas the games we are targeting are inherently social given that they originated on mobile platforms,” he adds. “Their underlying model has not changed. Until it does, devices such as GameStick will legitimately be able to claim to be truly disruptive to the industry as a whole.”

http://www.edge-online.com/news/low-...ays-gamestick/

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Half-Life 2 now has Linux, Oculus Rift support

May 11th, 2013, 15:47 Posted By: wraggster

You can now play Half-Life 2, in beta form, on Linux platforms. Those who are participating in the Steam beta on the open-source operating system can now download it on Steam.Also included in the update to the classic shooter is Oculus Rift support. It is still an early version, with many known bugs that Valve is working through, but it has been shipped to Oculus Rift development kit owners.As Valve’s Joe Ludwig states on the Oculus Rift development forums, “This port is a bit more raw than TF2 was when it shipped, so we would appreciate hearing about any bugs you find. Just like in TF2 this mode is experimental, so we really want to hear what you think.”

http://www.edge-online.com/news/half...-rift-support/

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Microsoft interested in acquiring Nook for $1 billion

May 11th, 2013, 12:57 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft is reportedly mulling over a bid to take on the digital assets of Nook Media LLC for $1 billion.
A report by Tech Crunch indicates that Microsoft is looking to follow up its initial $300 million investment in Nook with a further bid to take on the firm in its entirety.
Questions were raised following Microsoft's initial investment in Nook given that its device predominantly featured the Android operating system. However, the deal did provide Microsoft with a number of patents and a Windows 8 Nook application.
However, it would appear that Microsoft is taking an even greater interest in the e-reader market, which Tech Crunch opting to explain Microsoft's internal documents on the matter.
"In this plan, Microsoft would redeem preferred units in Nook Media, which also includes a college textbook division, leaving it with the digital operation — e-books, as well as Nook e-readers and tablets," reads Tech Crunch's report.
The documents continue to reveal that Nook is set to discontinue its Android-based tablet range, instead moving its content to a third-party partner, who we can safely assume would be Microsoft.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...billion/030906

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3DS dominates latest Japanese chart

May 9th, 2013, 00:04 Posted By: wraggster

3DS maintained its stranglehold on Japanese hardware and software sales during the week ended May 5.

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The portable comfortably outsold all rival systems combined, while 3DS games took the top three places on the software chart and five of the top ten.Tomodachi Collection: New Life was the best-selling title for the third consecutive week, according to Media Create data published onNeoGAF.Software sales (lifetime total)

1. Tomodachi Collection: New Life (3DS, Nintendo) - 208.814 / 758.575
2. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS, Nintendo) - 64.420 / 660.575
3. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS, Nintendo) - 47.128 / 3.175.398
4. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3, Capcom) - 31.319 / 156.682
5. Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission (3DS, Bandai Namco) - 15.094 / 177.157
6. Tomb Raider (PS3, Square Enix) - 12.899 / 48.149
7. Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 3 (PS3, Bandai Namco) - 12.096 / 117.593
8. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS, Nintendo) - 10.875 / 2.019.369
9. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition (Wii, Bandai Namco) - 9.984 / 469.436
10. 7th Dragon 2020-II (PSP, Sega) - 8.985 / 97.862

Hardware sales (previous week's total)

1. 3DS - 76.463 (55.433)
2. Vita - 22.051 (21.399)
3. PS3 - 17.415 (14.682)
4. Wii U - 13.173 (8.262)
5. PSP - 8.443 (7.536)
6. Wii - 2.238 (1.660)
7. Xbox 360 - 596 (490)
8. Total - 140.379 (109.462)

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...apanese-chart/

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Lucasfilm domains hint at several new Star Wars projects

May 9th, 2013, 00:03 Posted By: wraggster

Lucasfilm has registered new domains for what appears to be several unannounced Star Wars projects.

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has spotted multiple new domains filed by Lucasfilm on May 6, including:

• gunganfrontier2.com
• starwarsalliance.com
• starwarsrebels.com
• starwarswolfpack.com
• wolfpackadventures.net
• wookieehunters.com
• order67.net

This comes just days after EA revealed on Monday that it has signed a multi-year deal with Lucasfilm parent company Disney to secure the rights to develop and publish 'core' new Star Wars games.As part of the deal, Disney retains "certain rights" to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.While its unclear whether the new domains relate to games or other forms of media, domains such as 'Wookie Hunters' and 'Wolf Pack Adventures' seem suited to video game titles - particularly that of mobile/tablet games.Following the closure of the video game development arm of LucasArts, Lucasfilm has yet to reveal its plans for in-house development of Star Wars games.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...wars-projects/

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Minecraft lands unofficial Oculus Rift support

May 9th, 2013, 00:00 Posted By: wraggster

If you're looking for more virtual worlds to explore using the Oculus Rift, MTBS3Dforum user StellaArtois has developed something that might strike your fancy: aMinecraft mod dubbed Minecrift that bakes in support for the virtual reality headset. The modification still needs refining, but it already incorporates head tracking and warping. Not only did the intrepid forum goer grapple with the OpenGL API to devise the solution, but they also created the altered software before their own Rift dev kit arrived, relying on others to provide feedback for tweaking.
Mojang has has expressed interest in the VR headset and already has one in house, but official support for the Rift doesn't seem close at hand for Minecraft."Would take a lot of work to get it working for Minecraft, but not impossible - especially with the new launcher," Mojang dev Nathan Adams tweeted yesterday regarding the Rift. Click the first source link below to give the mod a shot or head past the break to see it in action.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/08/m...ith-mod-video/

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GAME plots summer of events to counter video games drought

May 8th, 2013, 23:44 Posted By: wraggster

High Street giant GAME says it will reach out to software-starved consumers with a series of major events this summer.
The firm responded to MCV’s story last week about a lack of games coming out over the next four months.
It said it would work ‘smarter’ to entice consumers, before announcing its biggest lock-in event so far for PS3-exclusive action game, The Last of Us.
75 GAME stores will open late between May 3rd and June 9th so that consumers can go hands-on with the title before it launches on June 14th.
“We all want to get our hands on the latest releases, so when there aren’t as many new releases around we have to be a bit smarter,” GAME’s brand engagement manager James Taylor told MCV.
“Our lock-ins are here to get gamers together to whet their appetite for new games, to build up excitement and create buzz around upcoming releases – and, of course, for gamers to pre-order. Lock-ins aren’t just about the games. They’re great social events too – a chance for our customers to meet other gamers, test their skills and hopefully make new friends in the process. The events are about building a local gaming community around our stores, which is something that online retailers just can’t do.
“We have quite a few exciting things in the pipeline and we can’t wait to share the details. The Last of Us will be our biggest lock-in to date with 75 GAME stores. In the past few weeks alone we’ve run a Grid 2 lock-in series and an Injustice lock-in tournament.”
GAME says it will look to experiment with new in-store events over the coming weeks, too.
“What you’re seeing is the result of over six months of work and each one seems to be bigger and better than the last,” said Taylor. “We’re getting great feedback from our community and we’re always looking to develop them and adopt new ideas. We’ve run events in local cinemas for example to allow more of our gamers to get involved so we really are open to every idea.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-...rought/0115288

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