games news

• Apple Has Secret Team Working on Virtual Reality Headset

  29-01-2016 23:44
  
  Is Apple working on a rival to the Oculus Rift and Playstation VR?
  According to MacRumors.com, the tech giant has assembled a veritable super team of virtual reality and augmented reality researchers to design VR headsets and various other applications.
  The report even suggests that prototypes of the hypothetical Apple VR headset have been made in the past few months and that its inspired by the Oculus Rift.
  Evidence of such a project has been mounting for months with Apple acquiring a number of
  
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• Activision Reportedly Developing New Ghostbusters Game

  29-01-2016 23:43
  
  Activision is reportedly working on a new Ghostbusters game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and it is expected to release alongside the upcoming Ghostbusters movie.
  According to Retail Merchandiser, development on merchandise for the new movie began “early in the filmmaking process.” That apparently includes a new “full-fledged” video game coming from Activision.
  Activision has not confirmed if a game is in development and it is not clear from the report if the game will
  
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• Bungie Talks Destiny Crimson Days Buff, Matchmaking, and More

  29-01-2016 23:30
  
  In this week's Bungie Weekly Update, the Destiny team addressed several of the bigger events happening to the game, including giving some insight into the process that went into creating the upcoming Crimson Days event.
  Today between 1 and 3 pm PT, Bungie will be gathering info "on a third round of changes" in Iron Banner's matchmaking.
  "This week at Bungie we’re fine-tuning the Crucible," Bungie community manager David "DeeJ" Dague wrote on the game's official blog. According to Dagu
  
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• Bombshell Review

  29-01-2016 22:43
  
  Bombshell throws you face-first into an absurd sci-fi quest to save the President of the United States, fronted by a gritty, ex-military, hardass alien hunter sporting a metal arm and prominent cleavage. It plays out exactly how that premise would lead you to expect. Coming from the publishers of Duke Nukem and the developers of 2013’s Rise of the Triad reboot, it drips exactly the same kind of dudebro (or dude-sis, in this case?) self-aware ridiculousness as a Duke or a Serious Sam game.
  
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• Get a job: Be an Environment Artist at Insomniac Games

  29-01-2016 22:35
  
  The studio behind Sunset Overdrive & Ratchet & Clank seeks an artist to work on modeling, texturing and laying out in-game environments at their studio in Burbank, California....
  
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• State of the Industry: Game devs offer opinions on our VR future

  29-01-2016 22:02
  
  Pressed for their (anonymized) thoughts on VR and AR, game developers from around the industry shared their opinions in the GDC 2016 State of the Industry survey. Here, we share some of them with you. ...
  
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• Video: Designing games for infinite play

  29-01-2016 21:33
  
  At GDC 2015 Richard Lemarchand hops onstage to deliver a talk that investigates the game design potential of 'open play' -- play that does not necessarily result in an outcome of victory or defeat.  ...
  
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• Core Labs Game Accelerator seeks more devs to mentor and support

  29-01-2016 21:10
  
  This weekend marks the deadline to apply for the second Core Labs Game Accelerator program, a 6-month online initiative pitched as a way to help you build a sustainable business around your game. ...
  
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• IGN Overclocked Episode 20: The Steam VR Spectacular

  29-01-2016 20:30
  
  Mitch Dyer played 12 Steam VR games on the HTC Vive, and Dan Stapleton and Marty Sliva want to know all about it. The PC crew discusses the biggest problems with the spectacular technology, as well as which games stand out among the crowd -- including a killer Portal-inspired spy thriller that could be the killer app for VR believers.
  Download Episode 20 (MP3)
  New to IGN Overclocked? Check out our first 10 episodes.Episode 1: Welcome to IGN's PC Gaming Show
  Continue reading…
  
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• Don't Miss: How a strategy game studio trained to make The Division

  29-01-2016 20:23
  How does Ubisoft develop a game across as many as ten studios? Gamasutra speaks to David Polfeldt, managing director of Massive, developers of The Division, to find out in this classic 2014 feature. ...
  
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• The 10 Best First-Generation Pokemon

  29-01-2016 20:21
  
  Pokemon has grown quite a bit since it started, but it’s important to remember its roots. We took the original 151 and picked the 10 that have stood the test of time — from cuteness to competitive abilities to their importance in the anime.
  Charizard was always a fan favorite — for good reason. Aside from just being a flying, fire-breathing lizard, Charizard also comes with a strong moveset and stats that make it great for competitive battle even today. It was also really sassy
  
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• Ninja Theory Explains How Its Characters Come To Life With Only Two Animators

  29-01-2016 20:21
  Hellblade's protagonist, Senua, moves with an impressive level of realism, and the latest developer diary for the game explains how that's possible with only two animators on the team.
  You can check out the video below to learn more about the game's motion-capture process, and figure out what is going on in the image above.
  (Please visit the site to view this media)
  Fore more on Hellblade, head here to learn about it mysterious face-capturing technology. Hellblade is coming to PlayStation 4 and
  
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• The Witness Developer Frustrated by Players Pirating Game

  29-01-2016 20:09
  
  Jonathan Blow, the developer behind Braid and The Witness, posted to Twitter recently that newly released The Witness is the top-downloaded game on "a certain torrent site."It seems The Witness is the #1 game on a certain popular torrent site. Unfortunately this will not help us afford to make another game! :(
  — Jonathan Blow (@Jonathan_Blow) January 28, 2016
  Blow noted that he is happy more people are getting to play The Witness, but is still worried Thekla Inc. won't be able to fund its
  
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• Marketing gaffe sheds light on how YouTubers are contracted to hype games

  29-01-2016 20:09
  
  Kotaku seemingly received by mistake (and published) a game company's marketing campaign proposal for YouTubers, which helps shed some light on how the business of being an "influencer" works in 2016. ...
  
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• Pro Rainbow Six Coming Courtesy of Ubisoft and ESL

  29-01-2016 19:49
  
  Ubisoft and ESL are teaming up to structure a professional Rainbow Six Siege league.
  Rainbow Six Pro League will begin in March of this year on both Xbox One and PC. The first tournament will be an eight-match European competition played on the PC version in Katowice, Poland. Following tournaments in North America, and on the Xbox, will occur within weeks after that.
  “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was built from the ground up with competition in mind,” according to the game's
  
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• Oops! Electronic Arts basically revealed how many Xbox Ones are out there

  29-01-2016 19:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Microsoft stopped reporting monthly updates on Xbox One hardware sales last October, a move widely taken as a sign that the tech titan had given up on competing with the PlayStation 4 to become the generation’s “dominant” console. Thanks to publisher Electronic Arts, we now know why. In a recent financial call, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen disclosed some information about the modern console install base, revealing the combined number of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles s
  
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• Hex: Shards Of Fate Exits Beta With Campaign Mode

  29-01-2016 19:03
  Digital card game Hex: Shards of Fate is now available as a fully released game. It hasn’t been easy for developer Cryptozoic, which survived a lawsuit with Magic: The Gathering creator Wizards of the Coast, but Hex is now out of beta.
  The launch comes alongside the long-awaited release of a solo campaign. There are a host of updates, as well. Champions have new race and class combinations, dungeons have been added, a new talent system, and race-dependent quests.
  (Please visit the site to
  
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• Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Has Shipped Over 6 Million Copies

  29-01-2016 18:59
  
  Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has shipped over six million copies since its release in September, Konami has announced.
  According to the company's latest financial report, the six million figure includes downloads and those shipped to retailers. The figure helped lead a 37.5% increase in revenue for Konami's digital entertainment segment. The increase was also aided by things like strong global sales of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games, and the success of its smartphone title Jikkyo
  
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• Which games and platforms did best in the media in 2015?

  29-01-2016 18:55
  A look back at which games generated the most buzz with the games press in 2015, including a list of the top 15 games, how Xbox and PlayStation did relative to one another, and a focus on Oculus Rift. ...
  
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• Women Speak Less in Modern Disney Princess Movies

  29-01-2016 18:21
  
  Despite having key roles in a number of today's Disney princess films, new research indicates women characters speak less than their male counterparts.
  According to the Washington Post (via CBS News), linguists Carmen Fought and Karen Eisenhauer analyzed all of the dialogue from the Disney princess franchise and discovered men have more speaking lines.
  The report reveals that in The Little Mermaid, men speak 68 percent of the time. Additionally, men speak 71 percent of the time in Beau
  
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• New Nintendo 3DS is now supported by Unity

  29-01-2016 18:06
  
  Unity has announced support for Nintendo's New 3DS is now available. Unity announced its intention to support the platform last year. ...
  
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• GDC 2016: Audio wizards share learnings in the Audio Bootcamp

  29-01-2016 18:02
  GDC 2016 organizers are offering an early look at the informative and intriguing sessions taking place during the Audio Bootcamp that helps open the March conference....
  
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• Game design in episodic games

  29-01-2016 17:59
  "Two families of game mechanics can be considered for episodic games: Adventure game mechanics and action game mechanics. We find them in different mixes in nearly all episodic games because of their strong storytelling dimension." ...
  
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• 6 predictions for mobile games in 2016

  29-01-2016 17:57
  "I don't predict there to be huge changes in 2016. I do believe, however, that core games will affect the mid-core market, though in a way they didn't expect." ...
  
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• Future of VR is social, say Steam VR developers

  29-01-2016 17:24
  
  The image of a person wearing a black blinder over their face is an image that doesn't exactly scream "social." That image of isolation is something that this new crop of VR game developers intends to change. ...
  
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• PlayStation boosts Sony's sales; Amazon tumbles on earnings miss; Gilead lower on drug-price war

  29-01-2016 17:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Time for your daily dose of trending tickers, the stocks you're following based on your Yahoo Finance ticker searches.
  
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• Procedurally generating wrapping world maps in Unity

  29-01-2016 16:57
  A guide to generating a realistic, wrapping world map in Unity using C# programming, complete with a discussion of the techniques involved, and sample code. ...
  
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• Ubisoft and ESL form Rainbow Six Siege eSports league

  29-01-2016 16:53
  Ubisoft and leading eSports outfit ESL have joined forces to give the developer's tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, its own dedicated eSports league.  ...
  
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• Get A Refresher Course On Twilight Princess HD In New Story Trailer

  29-01-2016 16:35
  Nintendo's UK branch has released a new trailer for the upcoming HD update for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It may not completely deliver on its mission to highlight the game's story (it's a long, complicated tale, after all), but at the very least it shows off a nice slice of the game in action.
  The Legend of Zelda games often have convoluted storylines that would be tricky to summarize, and they're not helped by the fact that the protagonist doesn't feel up to the task of talking.
  
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• Microsoft has sold 19 million Xbox Ones, according to EA

  29-01-2016 16:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  As of late Microsoft hasn't been sharing specific sales figures for the Xbox One, but we now have an idea of how many units the console has sold — though the news doesn't come from Microsoft itself. During Electronic Arts' most recent financial call, the game publisher revealed what it estimated to be the combined sales of both the Xbox One and PS4. The sizable difference is likely the reason we haven't heard sales figures directly from Microsoft in quite some time.
  
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• Get Fractured Space MOBA Free This Weekend

  29-01-2016 12:47
  
  Edge Case Games has announced that its MOBA Fractured Space will be free on Steam this weekend.
  Fractured Space has been in Early Access since November 2014, but is due for full release later in 2016. If you grab it this weekend for free you'll be able to keep it forever.
  The game received an update this week that has reset the game's Tech Tree to its final version. All ships, experience, and credits that you unlock from now onward will be reflected in the final game. The reset also puts players
  
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• The Story of the Forgotten PSP Game, Saints Row Undercover

  29-01-2016 12:32
  
  New information has come to light about the cancelled PSP game Saints Row: Undercover.
  The news comes via Unseen64, who, after some detective work, brought the new information to the public with the help of Saints Row developer, Volition.
  Saints Row: Undercover was planned to be Volition’s answer to Grand Theft Auto on PSP. The original idea was to port Saints Row 2 to the Sony handheld, but that lofty goal wasn’t possible. Instead, Volition decided the best course of action was to s
  
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• Sony swings to $1.95 bn net profit as PlayStation sales soar

  29-01-2016 08:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sony on Friday posted a nine-month net profit of almost $2.0 billion, as strong sales of its PlayStation video games console and image sensors found in mobile gadgets help it move past years of losses. The company, along with rivals Panasonic and Sharp, has struggled in the consumer electronics business that built its global brand, including losing billions of dollars in televisions over the past decade. In a sign things are on the upswing, Sony said Friday its net profit came in at 236.1 billio
  
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• Strong PlayStation sales boost Sony despite dip in image sensors

  29-01-2016 08:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sony posted third-quarter earnings up on those from a year ago, making ¥202.1 billion ($1.69 billion) in operating profit off ¥2.58 trillion ($21.5 billion) in revenue. Led by the PlayStation 4, the gaming division was the real star here, with a 10.5 percent year-on-year increase revenue brought on by strong PlayStation hardware and software sales totalling ¥587.1 billion ($4.89 billion). Sony recently announced that it's sold over 35 million PlayStation 4 consoles.
  
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• Hearthstone: Designing Reno and the Golden Monkey

  29-01-2016 06:57
  
  Hearthstone’s newest adventure - The League of Explorers – introduced 45 new cards to the game, but it has been the legendary cards in that set, that have had the biggest impact on how Hearthstone is played. Reno Jackson, in particular, has created all new archetypes and significantly altered the pace of gameplay. I caught up with Hearthstone's Senior Game Designer Ben Brode and Associate Designer Dean Ayala to chat about the process of designing those cards.
  IGN: The League of Explo
  
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• 2K Extends WWE License in 'Multi-Year' Deal

  29-01-2016 06:34
  
  2K Games and WWE will continue their licensing agreement for years to come, according to both companies. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
  Long-time developer Yuke's began working on the series in 2000 — at first under THQ, and then with 2K and its studio Visual Concepts three years ago. Their first, collaborative dip into the series was WWE 2K14.
  In addition to the regular console franchise 2K stressed it will continue to invest in WWE SuperCard, the card-battling gam
  
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• IGN AU Pubcast 131: Book 'em, Pikachu

  29-01-2016 06:23
  
  Move over, Pokemon Typing Adventure! Here's a Pokemon spin-off we can really get behind. Pikachu as a hardboiled detective, solving crimes and shouting at perps? Why not? Hell, police procedurals are just about the most popular thing on TV, and Pokemon is one of the world's most recognisable videogame brands. In what universe is this mash-up not a recipe for maximum excitement?Wait, maximum excitement? Let me just go get my blacklight.Continue reading…
  
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• Beyond Good & Evil 2 Still Happening, Says Ancel

  29-01-2016 01:14
  
  Beyond Good & Evil 2 ain't no Half-Life 3.
  This is according to Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel during Double Fine's latest "Dev's Play" episode. While Ancel doesn't explicitly confirm or deny its existence, he talks about it in the present tense when Double Fine's Greg Rice asks after the sequel.
  "That's the problem,no choice," said Ancel. " has to be great. When we startedthere was not that much pressure. People are - the crazy thing is thatwas really not that successful a
  
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• 13 Million Copies of Star Wars Battlefront Shipped

  29-01-2016 01:07
  
  Star Wars Battlefront has managed to exceed Electronic Arts' expectations, with over 13 million copies shipped since its launch in November.
  The publisher shared the news in its Q3 financial report for the 2016 fiscal year. It's important to note this figure specifically refers to the number of copies sold-in to retailers and not through to consumers.
  Electronic Arts was initially aiming to ship 10 million units by the end of March 2016 but increased its projection to 13 million back in October,
  
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• How The Division Will Avoid the Let-downs of Destiny 1.0

  29-01-2016 00:36
  
  In the lead-up to Destiny, the rhetoric around the upcoming Bungie title was, well, garbled. Bungie didn’t want to call it an MMO, but nor was it a straight shooter or an online RPG. It was both solo and co-op, but it also had a competitive environment. In retrospect, this lack of clarity was most likely because there wasn’t an easy way to label the game: calling it any one of those things sold Destiny short on the breadth of other genres which were part of the game’s DNA.
  Dest
  
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