Mattel Doing World's Greatest DC 6" Figures With Lynda Carter Wonder Woman, Val Kilmer Batman & John Wesley Shipp Flash?!?
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HTC announces Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor
HTC's recent tease for a higher-res Vive model is coming to fruition.
This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced the Vive Pro, a lighter-weight unit with integrated audio and a resolution increase to 2880 x 1600. The new model will be available as an HMD-only option for folks who bought the original Vive and it'll be compatible with your existing gear as well as the upcoming 2.0 base stations that can track up to a 10 x 10 meter area.
What's more, the Pro has a new headstrap, dual microphones with active noise cancellation, and two front-facing cameras "designed to empower developer creativity." Timing and pricing wasn't divulged yet, but hopefully we'll see a price drop for the original Vive once the Pro is on the market.
There's also a new wireless solution coming this summer. The Vive Wireless Adaptor will support the original Vive and the Vive Pro, offering an integrated VR experience courtesy of Intel's WiGig technology.
Look at this funky thing!
Wireless is a big, necessary step forward for a lot of folks. Glad to see progress on that front.
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PlayStation VR should hit 280 titles this year
The two million people who own PlayStation VR should be able to find something new to latch onto this year. As reported by Nikkei, Sony expects its VR platform to jump from 150 available titles to "over 280" by the end of 2018.
Granted, some of these games will surely be too short, too unrefined, or relegated to limited modes housed within larger games, but still! Over the holidays, I got back into Resident Evil 7 for its Not a Hero and End of Zoe DLC, the latter of which was excellent and reinvigorated my interest in VR. I am so down for more melee-centric horror experiences in virtual reality. (Another Condemned, please!)
While this year's games aren't all bound to be worthwhile experiences, it's reassuring to know that PSVR software isn't slowing down. I'm looking forward to the adorable mouse adventure Moss (pictured above) and Supermassive's psychological horror game The Inpatient in the near future.
ＳＩＥ、「プレステＶＲ」のソフト280本超に [Nikkei via Siliconera]
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Review: Attentat 1942
World War II is a staple in the gaming community. For years all we had were Nazis to shoot because it is harder to find a more universal evil than Nazis. Unfortunately, since most of those games were shooters the stories amounted to little more than to move you from battle to battle so that you had more Nazis to shoot at. Games that eschewed the shooting and instead dove into the human story of World War II are few and far between, so when one of the community members here sent me the Steam page for Attentat 1942, my first thought was that it was about damn time someone did this.
My real conundrum with writing this review is how does one even begin to handle a game about one of the most atrocious periods in modern human history? It's not like I can say this game is a barrel of laughs or a joy to play because it isn't. It is filled to the brim with the horrors of Nazi-occupied Europe, and while the personal stories are fictionalized, the gnawing reminder that these stories are based on countless real-life stories makes the game both uncomfortable and almost necessary to play.
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Monster Hunter: World's file size isn't exactly a behemoth
The world is big and monsters are big (usually), but Monster Hunter: World isn't necessarily very big. At least the file size, that is.
With Monster Hunter: World releasing later this month on January 26, reports are surface about the game's base install. According to this photo that PlayStation Universe found, the Japanese PS4 version of Monster Hunter: World is 16GB. That's in line with the Xbox version which the Microsoft Store lists as 13.62GB.
Pretty small, right? Not that file size speaks to quality in any way whatsoever. I just kind of expected something bigger. Maybe there's a 50GB day one patch to bring our collective irritation back up to normal levels.
Monster Hunter World file size for PS4 is very surprising [PlayStation Universe]
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State of Decay 2 is still on for a spring release
Along with Sea of Thieves (and let's be honest, plenty more PUBG), State of Decay 2 is one of the cooperative games I'm most looking forward to this year. Undead Labs and Microsoft Studios have been fairly quiet about the zombie survival game, but it seems to be making steady progress all the same.
Today, the ESRB rated State of Decay 2.
.@StateOfDecay 2 (#PC, #XboxOne) from @undeadlabs and @MSStudiosBlog is rated #MforMature!
— ESRB (@ESRBRatings) January 8, 2018
Click here for more: https://t.co/Ifu3v16d2m pic.twitter.com/asqyVEbbqD
The summary doesn't really tell us anything new, but if you're curious, knock yourself out.
This is a third-person action/simulation game in which players assume the role of survivors in a zombie apocalypse. Players explore small towns and rural settings, locate survivors, and battle hordes of swarming zombies. Players use baseball bats, meat cleavers, machetes, grenades, and machine guns to kill zombies in frenetic melee-style combat. Several weapons allow players to crush/maim zombies' heads; grenade blasts also depict blood and dismemberment.
If other human survivors become infected or ill, players can choose to “euthanize” them by shooting them in the head at close range, resulting in decapitation and large blood-splatter effects. During the course of the game, players can build an infirmary in which they can craft painkillers and opiates; specific drugs referenced include Herbal Remedy, Painkillers, Opiates, Amphetamines, and Pentamezin (a fictional prescription drug). The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” appear in the dialogue.
Following this roundabout status update on the game's production, Undead Labs also confirmed that while it still can't commit to a release date, the developers are "confident for a Spring release."
ESRB [Twitter]
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GoPro cuts over 250 jobs and reduces its CEO's cash pay to $1 in huge restructuring plan (GPRO)
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Is Centurylink Inc Stock a Treasure or Trap? 3 Pros, 3 Cons
Centurylink Inc (NYSE:CTL) is one of the most controversial high-yield stocks on Wall Street. Some folks see it as a huge opportunity because CenturyLink stock offers a 13% dividend yield. The company has struggled for years.
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Here’s why cryptocurrencies are getting smoked on Monday
A data adjustment by CoinMarketCap caused cryptocurrency prices to drop on Monday. Prices of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies appeared to take some major hits on Monday morning after CoinMarketCap.com, arguably the most popular and important site for cryptocurrency pricing data, opted to remove South Korean exchanges from its data sources. Cryptocurrencies have been known to trade at significant premiums in South Korea, often times many magnitudes higher than on other exchanges, due to localized demand and strict national controls on capital movement.
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A new $99 toy drone has Intel and DJI flight technology
(Source: www.theverge.com) A Chinese startup called Ryze Tech is selling an affordable drone with te
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Some great indies are holding a Nintendo Switch sale
A handful of independent developers have "banded together" to hold a sale on the Nintendo Switch eShop. If you're one to wait for (or double dip with) Switch ports like me, this is a pleasant little list.
- Death Squared - $11.24 (25% off)
- GoNNER - $6.99 (30% off)
- Graceful Explosion Machine - $8.99 (30% off)
- INVERSUS Deluxe - $9.74 (35% off)
- Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime - $9.99 (33% off)
- Semispheres - $6.99 (30% off)
- Severed - $9.99 (33% off)
- Thimbleweed Park - $14.99 (25% off)
- Thumper – $13.39 (33% off)
The sale will run in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand through January 15.
This is fortuitous, as I was thinking of finally digging into GoNNER on Switch tonight after seeing Jonathan Holmes' recommendation in our "best games of 2017 that you didn't play" list.
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EA filed a patent in 2016 to tinker with online matchmaking for better player engagement
A few months back two patent applications submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Electronic Arts surfaced online. Both of these patents were filed on March 8, 2016 and dealt with dynamically altering the player experience. One of the patents dealt with dynamically changing the difficulty of a game to better keep players interested. They would achieve this mostly by adjusting difficulty without your consent so that you don't get stuck on a boss and end up quitting the game.
The second, more malicious and exploitable patent dealt with how EA handled its online matchmaking. Similar to Activision's own matchmaking-altering patent that was approved a few months ago, EA's patent for Multiplayer Video Game Matchmaking Optimization wants to dynamically alter who you get matched up with based more on their algorithm rather than solely on equal skill levels. The algorithm, named Engagement Optimized Matchmaking (EOMM), is designed as the name states for the sole purpose of keeping you engaged in online games. The factors that go into this algorithm run the gambit from interaction, play style, sportsmanship, willingness to spend money, and skill.
On the application, EA states that it is applying for the patent to improve player engagement, but this is EA we are talking about. After the fiasco with Star Wars Battlefront II, I wouldn't put anything really past them to make the extra buck. This concern for the patent being rooted in more than just engagement is especially valid when you look into the research paper that the algorithm was based on where they say they can "change the objective function to other core game metrics of interest, such as play time, retention, or spending. EOMM allows one to easily plug in different types of predictive models to achieve the optimization."
So what's the takeaway for both of these patents? As far as the dynamic difficulty one, it's nothing super serious other than to make people question whether or not they actually got through that boss they were having problems with or if the game threw them a get-out-of-jail-free card. The matchmaking patent is the one that we as consumers should keep an eye on -- it has the most potential to exploit our wallets. But for now, since these are only applications, it is nothing to seal the gates on just yet.
When can we expect these patents to be approved or denied? YouTube games personality YongYea noted that Activision's own matchmaking patent took around two and a half years to be approved. So judging by the time gap from EA's application date, the approval, if it occurs, would take place sometime later this year.
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Steven Spielberg's Halo TV show still in development
It's been almost five years since we've heard anything about the Steven Spielberg-helmed Halo live-action TV series, and if you think you're gonna get a release window well then you best HALO jump out of a spaceship because there is nothing of that sort to be had here.
While speaking at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Showtime president and CEO David Nevins was asked about the state of the Halo series. "[It's] still in very active development," was the only real definitive answer that he could give and stated that he had read some of the scripts and enjoyed what he had seen. President of programming Gary Levine echoed Nevin's statements with "[it] is absolutely still in development, still moving forward and I'm encouraged by what we've seen so far."
So there you have it, the old military adage of "hurry up and wait" applies to even military science fiction TV shows. I'm a lifelong fan of the Halo series but despite having not played Halo 5: Guardians yet, I'm still looking forward to this show as I think the lore and universe of the Halo series is one of the best in gaming. But what about you? Will the wait be worth it or are we just being set up for disappointment?
Steven Spielberg's Halo Series Is Still Very Much in Development at Showtime [TV Guide]
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There Was More to Caterpillar Inc. Stock's 11.6% Jump in December Than You Might Know
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Ethereum co-creator says the cryptocurrency could triple ...
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White House suggests there isn't 'any way back' for Steve Bannon
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Energy agency rejects Trump bid to boost coal, nuclear power
An independent energy agency on Monday rejected a Trump administration plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to boost the struggling coal ...
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Kim Jong Un is on a path to destruction, economic disaster: Gen. Jack Keane
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POPek The Squatting Dog (Yellow Edition) by Whatshisname x Mighty Jaxx Launched For "Year of the Dog"!
Launched for pre-orders on mightyjaxx.rocks is the YELLOW colorway of "POPek The Squatting Balloon Dog" (see other colorways HERE) by London-based artist, Whatshisname, with this 8" tall vinyl figure - complete with a "little toy poop" - priced at US$109, in an edition of 200pcs, with a scheduled shipping in March 2018.
#toynews featured #onTOYSREVIL: http://bit.ly/2FgQYZv #POPek The ![]()
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Mini Yu Shu Long by Black Seed from Mighty Jaxx
And while Mighty Jaxx does not seen to be producing Back Seed toys ("yet?") as speculated before, they are going beyond the Yu Shu Long Lottery (SINCE ENDED), with the online release of not one, but TWO Editions of MINI YU SHOU LONG from Black Seed, with BLACK KING and AMEYTHST available now on mightyjaxx.rocks.
Standing at an adorable 4" (10cm) tall, the vinyl collectibles ships in March, ![]()
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