Sony wants to sell PlayStation Vue as streaming industry gets more crowded
Sony is reportedly looking to sell the technology of PlayStation Vue and its subscriber base of 500,000 households, as the internet TV service keeps losing money. With the streaming industry set to become more crowded, Sony may have picked the perfect time to offload the struggling business.
Project Treble helps solve Android fragmentation, but still nowhere like iOS
Project Treble, which Google rolled out to help solve the Android fragmentation problem, seems to be working. Just before the launch of Android 9 Pie, Android 8 Oreo was installed in 8.9% of devices, and in comparison, just before the launch of Android 10, Android 9 Pie was installed in 22.6% of devices.
Ubisoft learns lesson from Ghost Recon Breakpoint, delays three AAA games
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot lamented over the disappointing reception for Ghost Recon Breakpoint, but the developer learned valuable lessons from the Ghost Recon Wildlands follow-up. To avoid similar issues, three games have been delayed to its next fiscal year, including Rainbow Six Quarantine.
PlayStation 5 exclusives may dive into deeper collaborations with Sony Music
Death Stranding is being considered as an "important benchmark" for what is expected to be deeper collaboration between Sony Music Group and the PlayStation 5. The soundtrack of the new Hideo Kojima game will feature real-world, Sony-licensed artists, and this may continue for PlayStation 5 exclusives.
Command & Conquer Remastered stays true to original in first gameplay teaser
Electronic Arts revealed the first look at Command & Conquer Remastered in a gameplay teaser that showcased upgraded 2D graphics. The project, which includes Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Command & Conquer: Red Alert, stays true to the original games, but there is still no release date.
Google Pixel 4 box hides augmented reality Easter egg: Here’s how to find it
Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL owners should not throw away the box of their new smartphones, at least not until viewing the augmented reality Easter egg. The show, which may be unlocked by using the device's camera with Google Lens activated, differs slightly between the Pixel 4's color options.
Dark Mode in iOS 13 proven to extend battery life of OLED iPhones
A test by YouTube channel PhoneBuff revealed just how much battery may be saved by activating Dark Mode on an iPhone XS. The feature was finally added to Apple's mobile operating system with iOS 13, and for owners of OLED iPhones, PhoneBuff's test gives a reason to activate Dark Mode permanently.
Dentist purchases collection of nearly 40 NES games for just over $1 million
Eric Naierman, a dentist and one of the world's prime video game collectors, bought a treasure chest of "holy grail" NES games for just over $1 million. The collection includes the arcade edition of Mario Bros., the two known copies of Golf, and the only known copies of Balloon Fight and Gumshoe.
Half of all iPhones are already on iOS 13 less than a month since release
It took only 26 days for iOS 13 to be installed in 50% of all iPhones, slower than iOS 12 but still at an impressive pace. When taking into account only the devices that were released in the past four years, the adoption rate goes up to 55%, and this is despite the operating system's reported issues.
Apex Legends Season 3’s new weapon is too strong, Charge Rifle nerf in the works
The Charge Rifle, which was added to Apex Legends in Season 3, is apparently too powerful, pushing Respawn to plan a nerf for the Energy-powered sniper rifle. The weapon fires two different lasers that deal massive damage, but Twitch streamer Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek argued that it is very situational.
Pokémon Masters producer apologizes for lack of content, promises improvements
Pokémon Masters producer Yu Sasaki apologized to players for the game's lack of content, as well as for shortcomings on its overall battle difficulty and design. The initial hype for Pokémon Masters quickly died down due to a short main story and overpowered trainers, but improvements are on the way.
Riot Games, Epic Games walk opposite paths after Blizzard’s Hong Kong debacle
League of Legends developer Riot Games and Fortnite developer Epic Games responded differently to Blizzard's Hong Kong controversy. While Riot Games urged pro players to avoid doing what Chung "blitzchung" Ng Wai did, Epic Games said that it will not ban players for expressing their personal views.
Apple reportedly told Apple TV+ showrunners to avoid negative portrayal of China
Apple reportedly told Apple TV+ content creators to avoid negative portrayals of China, as part of the company's efforts to maintain a good relationship with the Asian country. This is just the latest example of tech companies succumbing to the demands of China, a major player in the global economy.
Pokémon Go has been Pokémon No on this Greek island for past 7 months
The Pokémon Go community of Salamina, an island in Greece's Saronic Gulf, has called for help from the global community. No Pokémon has spawned in their area for the past seven months due to an issue in Open Street Maps, an open-source service that is used by the mobile game for mapping data.
Google Stadia shooting for negative latency by predicting players’ moves
Google Stadia is planning to solve the latency problem of cloud gaming by using artificial intelligence to predict players' moves and pre-render the next frames. According to VP of engineering Madj Bakar, negative latency will help Stadia become faster and more responsive than consoles and PCs.
Apple sets very aggressive timeline: Build a 5G modem for iPhones by 2022
Apple has reportedly set a very aggressive timeline to build its own 5G modem, as it plans to have the component ready by 2022. Apple is "really pushing it" with the two-year deadline, which comes after the $1 billion acquisition of Intel's modem business and a multi-year agreement with Qualcomm.
Patent reveals PlayStation VR 2 with built-in cameras, augmented reality mode
Patent filings suggest that the PlayStation VR 2 will look similar to its predecessor, but with a few important upgrades under the hood. The headset is expected to come with built-in cameras and the capability to show the wearer's surroundings for potential augmented reality applications.
Blizzard rolls back penalties against blitzchung, but damage already done
Blizzard, facing immense pressure from various communities, reduced the suspension against Hearthstone player Chung "blitzchung" Ng Wai for expressing his pro-Hong Kong stance. Unfortunately, the damage may have already been done, with several groups reportedly planning to stage protests at BlizzCon.
Overwatch director offers any hero to join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster
Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan said in an interview that Nintendo is welcome choose any character from the shooter to add to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. Kaplan's first choice is Tracer, who was previously rumored as a DLC fighter, but there are many good choices among the Overwatch heroes.
Mario Kart Tour claims title as Nintendo’s biggest mobile launch in first week
Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo's biggest mobile game launch, with 90 million downloads in its first week after breaking records on its first day. The mobile version of the Mario Kart franchise, however, is in third place in terms of revenue, primarily because of the free two-week trial for its Gold Pass.
Apex Legends may celebrate Halloween with new zombie-infested map
Apex Legends will reportedly celebrate its first Halloween with a zombie-infested, nighttime version of King's Canyon. The new map will start as regular Solo matches, but as players die, they will be reborn as zombies that will try to stop the living players from being rescued by a dropship.
Bungie gives away free Powerful Engram with Destiny 2: Shadowkeep launch
Bungie is giving away a free Powerful Engram to all Destiny 2 players in celebration of the launch of the Shadowkeep expansion. Taking advantage of the offer is easy through the Bungie Reward program, but players are recommended to hold off on claiming the Powerful Engram until they will be able to maximize it.
The best way to counter drones is apparently to smash them with other drones
California-based startup Anduril Industries has unleashed the Anvil, an anti-drone drone that answers hostile UAVs by smashing into them. One of the co-founders of the startup is Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR and the designer of the Oculus Rift, but his new work involves real-life threats.
PlayStation 4 cross-play exits beta stage, finally available for developers
Sony has officially ended the beta stage of PlayStation 4 cross-play, which means that it is now widely available to developers who want to add it to their games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare may be the first major title to take advantage of the long-awaited feature, and it will surely not be the last.