Gad-O-Tech: May 2012

30/05/2012

Crysis 2 returns to Steam, EA silent on other absences

Crysis 2 returns to Steam, EA silent on other absences:
Publisher says Crysis 2: Maximum Edition complies with Steam's terms of service; says it has nothing to announce regarding other EA titles missing from Valve's digital store.

The EA-published, Crytek-developed Crysis 2 has become available on Steam again after EA originally pulled the title from Valve's online storefront in June 2011.

Crysis 2 is back on Steam.

At the time, EA's head of global e-commerce David DeMartini said that the reason for the removal of Crysis 2 from Steam was due to Valve not allowing EA to "establish an ongoing relationship" with customers by contacting them to inform them of new patches and available content.

"We take direct responsibility for providing patches, updates, additional content, and other services to our players," DeMartini said at the time. "Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly, and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve. At present, there is only one download service that will not allow this relationship. This is not our choice, and unfortunately it is their customer base that is most impacted by this decision. We are working diligently to find a mutually agreeable solution."

Crysis 2 has reappeared on Steam as Crysis 2: Maximum Edition, complete with an offer for existing Crysis 2 owners who bought the game on Steam before EA removed it. According to Steam, those eligible can now purchase the Maximum Edition for a 50 percent discount. The offer is available until June 12 at 10am Pacific Time.

The Maximum Edition includes four limited edition unlocks: bonus XP with access to preset classes, plus a custom class; scar assault rifle; day-one access to scar hologram decoy; and a unique platinum dog tag that allows players to display their multiplayer rank and stats.

The edition also includes Retaliation and Decimation packs with nine additional multiplayer maps supporting all game modes and two new weapons (FY71 assault rifle and M18 smoke grenade).

According to EA, the game's reappearance on Steam was due to changes made to the Maximum Edition by developer Crytek.

"Changes made by Crytek to Crysis 2: Maximum Edition have brought the game in compliance with Steam's terms of service," an EA spokesperson said in a statement to GameSpot.

When asked whether EA plans to reinstate some of its other missing titles to Steam, the publisher replied: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Following the removal of EA titles, such as Battlefield 3, Dragon Age II, and Mass Effect 3 from Steam last year, Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell expressed disappointment at the dispute with EA, saying that it is up to Valve to prove to EA that it is worth selling its games through Steam.

GameSpot has reached out to Valve for comment and will continue to update this story.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Crysis 2 returns to Steam, EA silent on other absences" was posted by Laura Parker on Tue, 29 May 2012 17:48:24 -0700

LG Optimus LTE, Vu, and LTE Tag scheduled to receive ICS in June

LG Optimus LTE, Vu, and LTE Tag scheduled to receive ICS in June: Optimus_vu_lte_ics_press_640_large

When LG announced the Optimus Vu it promised that the phone would receive Ice Cream Sandwich within three months of its March launch. True to its word, the company has now announced that the Vu, as well as the Optimus LTE and Optimus LTE Tag, will all be receiving Android 4.0 this June. Along with the latest flavor of Google's mobile operating system, all three phones will also be bumped up to Optimus UI 3.0. The new skin had quite a few nice touches when we took a look at it with the Optimus LTE 2 earlier this month, including a new lock screen and a voice-activated camera shutter. However, it's not clear how many of the new software features demonstrated on that phone will make it to the three upgraded devices.
Continue reading…

Sony E3 press conference to be open to the public (the first 200 of them)

Sony E3 press conference to be open to the public (the first 200 of them):
For the first time ever, people who are not part of the video game industry will be able to literally walk up to the event venue where Sony’s pre-E3 media extravaganza is taking place and get their own spot for the presentation. That is, if they happen to be one of the first 200 people to show up to said venue. Sony wants to ensure it has a cheering section.

Details of the unconventional move have been posted on the PlayStation Blog. It calls for PlayStation fans to be at the LA Sports Arena no later than 3:30. Sony says that those gaining entry will “be helping us out with our pre-show festivities” but did not elaborate on exactly what that means. Sony plans on having free food and drinks for the media before the press conference begins.
In the past, non-media personnel have been able to get into the E3 press conferences, but historically this required such attendees to be affiliated with a corporate business partner or have won a contest of some sort. The LA Sports Arena is a huge place, though, and there is ample room for all members of the press and plenty more guests. So, is it true to say the more the merrier?
[via PlayStation Blog]

Sony E3 press conference to be open to the public (the first 200 of them) is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple CEO talks sharing: “In this area I want people to copy us”

Apple CEO talks sharing: “In this area I want people to copy us”:
When Tim Cook talks sharing, he’s not speaking about moving images from one phone to another, he means the opposite of greed, speaking this week at D10 on how Apple will expand its chairity work in the future. “To whom much is given, much is expected” noted Cook, expanding on an employee chairity donation matching program Apple has in place. Cook let it be known that by using a system such as this, Apple can do good without having to form lots of committees and commit undue time where it isn’t needed. Cook spoke: “I think we can do even more so we are looking at some things – maybe that is a change.”

Cook had just moved from speaking specifically about the late Steve Jobs, saying that the former CEO of Apple had told him to “do what’s right” in all things. This was instead of simply doing what Jobs would have done. Cook noted this week that he was following this maxim as best he could:

“I’m doing that. Does that mean something would be different Of course. But he was the best person at doing that.” – Cook

Cook went on to say that if Apple employees had cash to spare, they should spare it: “we’ve got a little bit left over and we should share it.” The current CEO of Apple noted that Jobs “was for” the employee charity donation matching program and certainly knew that it would be in place before he died. When asked if sharing also meant that Apple would be less secret in the future, Cook was quite clear in his reply.

““We’re going to double down on secrecy on products. But in other things Apple will be the most transparent company. Supplier responsibility, environmental issues … In this area I want people to copy us.” – Cook

Check the timeline below to see all the D10 gold left by Tim Cook in the wake of this opening interview. Siri, Steve Jobs, Foxconn, and more on the way!

Story Timeline

Apple CEO Tim Cook to make opening speech at D10

Tim Cook trashes convergence as "not pleasing to the user"

Apple's Tim Cook top-paid CEO in 2011 by a long shot

Tim Cook turns down $75m dividend

Apple CEO Tim Cook faces D10, talks Siri flaws

Tim Cook talks Steve Jobs at D10

[via All Things D]

Apple CEO talks sharing: “In this area I want people to copy us” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tim Cook: 'I'm not interested in being in the console business'

Tim Cook: 'I'm not interested in being in the console business': tim cook apple d10

Despite Apple's emergence as a dominant force in the handheld gaming market, CEO Tim Cook has no interest in taking on Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft in the console business. During a Q&A session at the D10 conference, Cook responded to a question asked by The Verge's own Joshua Topolsky about the company's future in gaming, as reported by AllThingsD:

Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we'll see. Customers love games. I'm not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming. But Apple is a big player today and things in the future will only make that bigger.

Although Cook dispelled any notion of Apple building a gaming console,...
Continue reading…

Apple CEO Tim Cook faces D10, talks Siri flaws

Apple CEO Tim Cook faces D10, talks Siri flaws:
Tim Cook took the stage at the D10 conference this evening, and as you might expect when he’s facing questions from no-nonsense business types, he was asked to defend the iPhone 4S’s personal voice assistant Siri, which has gone from a cool novelty to one of Apple’s biggest marketing campaigns of the decade, even though some suggest Siri doesn’t have the chops to back it up.

“Customers love it. But, there’s more that it can do, and we have a lot of people working on this. I think you’ll be really pleased with what you see in the coming months on this. We’ve got some cool ideas about what Siri can do,” he was quoted by Engadget as saying. That’s quite a different tone than previous company head Steve Jobs.
Jobs had an attitude that if Apple launched something, it was perfect. And if customers had a problem with it, that was only because the customer wasn’t using it properly. But from Cook, we’re seeing that he empathizes with the customer. Addressing the hot-button issue of Siri without saying dissatisfied users are wrong, and instead promising that brighter futures are ahead, makes Cook look like more of the traditional customer-centric CEO.
From the outset, people have questioned whether Tim Cook could usher in the same kind of enthusiasm as Steve Jobs, or at least manage to hold the fort down while everyone reels in the loss of the legend. And when we say people, we mean Apple fans, Windows fans, Google fans, Apple employees, and pretty much anyone else who doesn’t know the word “apple” as simply a kind of fruit.
And for good reason – Jobs was Apple in a way that no other CEO had ever been identified with a Fortune 500 company. Although Cook took the helm a while ago now, he still feels very mysterious to a lot of outsiders. Exposure at events like this can only be a good thing as long as there are no major flare-ups.
[via Engadget]

Apple CEO Tim Cook faces D10, talks Siri flaws is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tim Cook joined Apple because even 'when customers got mad at Apple, they'd continue to buy'

Tim Cook joined Apple because even 'when customers got mad at Apple, they'd continue to buy':

It's epic storytelling time at AllThingsD 10 as audience Q&A has begun, with Apple CEO Tim Cook opening up on why he came to join the company in the first place in response to a question from Lance Ulanoff of Mashable. To hear him tell it, an executive search firm came calling and he wasn't pressed -- until five minutes into his meeting with Steve Jobs. We'll let him tell it:

It was a very interesting meeting. Steve had hired an executive search firm to find someone to run operations. They kept calling, and eventually I said 'Okay, I'll talk.' I flew out Friday on a redeye for a Saturday morning meeting with Steve. The honest-to-God truth, five minutes into the conversation I wanted to join Apple. I was shocked. Why did I want to do it? He painted a story and a strategy that he was taking Apple deep into consumer when I knew others were doing the exact opposite. I never thought following the herd was brilliant. He told me a bit about what would late be named the iMac, and I saw brilliance in that. I saw someone unaffected with money, and that has always impressed me when people do indeed have it. Those three things to me to throw caution to the wind and do it. I went back, and resigned immediately.
Did I see the iPad and iPhone? No. What I saw was this: Apple was the only technology company that I knew of, including the one I was currently at, that when a customer got mad at a company, they'd continue to buy. If people got mad at Compaq, they'd buy Dell. If you were mad at Dell, you'd buy IBM. But an Apple customer was a unique breed; there's this emotion that you just don't see in technology in general. You could see it and feel it at Apple. When I looked at the balance sheet of the company, I thought I could do something in turning around a great American company.

Whether you call it the reality distortion field or simply a strong brand attachment, it was enough, along with Steve Jobs' vision, to lure Tim Cook to work at Apple even when things weren't going so well back in 1998. Can he keep the shield generators running as CEO? Time will tell.

Tim Cook joined Apple because even 'when customers got mad at Apple, they'd continue to buy' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2D Puzzle Platformer Snapshot Announced For PS3 & Vita

2D Puzzle Platformer Snapshot Announced For PS3 & Vita:

Retro Affect has announced Snapshot, a 2D puzzle platformer for PS3 (PSN) and PlayStation Vita.
On the PS Blog, Retro Affect’s David Carrigg announced the game, which has players taking control of a robot named Pic, who awakens in a dusty and abandoned laboratory. Unaware of his purpose and why he was built, he begins exploring the forest on the outside of the laboratory.
Pic is able to take photographs of objects and then reintroduce objects in the picture into the environment to solve puzzles. Photographs can capture an object’s momentum and be rotated as well. For instance, if a snowball is falling when a picture is taken of it, if the player then opts to turn the picture upside-down, the snowball will go upwards. Photographs can even be taken of light and then used to interact with physics.
Feature-wise, the game is planned to support PlayStation Move on PS3, touch screen controls on Vita, and cross-platform save support as well.
Also, sound effects for the game are being created by Jordan Fehr, who created sounds for games such as Super Meat Boy.
Snapshot is scheduled to release on PSN later this year. A PC version is also in development. No price has been decided yet.
To view the debut trailer for the game, click on the video below:

To view screenshots of the game, click on the Media Gallery below:

What do you think about Snapshot? Let us know in the comments!

WWE ’13 Announced, Laying The Smackdown On Consoles This October

WWE ’13 Announced, Laying The Smackdown On Consoles This October:

Last night on WWE RAW, WWE announced the next installment of their long-running game franchise, WWE ’13.
Straight Edge Superstar and current WWE Champion CM Punk will be the cover athlete for this year’s installment of the game. The new installment is promising an evolution of last year’s “Predator Technology” (offering fluid animations, better move transitions, and more), WWE Universe 3.0, new WWE Live audio and presentation system, and a single player campaign focused on eight “purveyors” of the WWE Attitude era and the “Monday Night Wars,” including Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Confirmed roster members thus far are Stone Cold Steve Austin, CM Punk, The Undertaker, Mankind, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, The Big Show, and “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry. The roster in this year’s installment is said to be the largest in the franchise to date.
WWE ’13 is currently scheduled to release for PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii on October 30, 2012.
To view the game’s official teaser trailer, click on the video below:

To view screenshots of the game and the game’s box art (PS3), click on the Media Gallery below:

What do you think about the announcement? Let us know in the comments below!

Rumor: Sony To Announce PlayStation Plus Revamp At E3 That Includes Vita Integration

Rumor: Sony To Announce PlayStation Plus Revamp At E3 That Includes Vita Integration:

Sony is rumored to be announcing a revamp for its PlayStation Plus service that will include integration with the Vita.
Eurogamer reports that multiple sources have indicated to them that Sony will be announcing a revamp of the PlayStation Plus service at E3 with the intent of attracting more subscribers.
The report claims that subscribers will be offered “top-tier” games free of charge and that the service will also see integration with the PS Vita. On PS Vita, PlayStation Plus will allegedly offer DLC, Vita exclusive titles, and cloud services (which would mean that Vita owners wouldn’t have to connect to PS3 or a computer to back up game saves and content).
Sony has made no announcements concerning a revamp of PlayStation Plus, but PSLS will be at E3 and will keep you posted if there are any further developments.
What do you think about the rumor? Let us know in the comments!

Naughty Dog Co-Founder Becomes THQ President

Naughty Dog Co-Founder Becomes THQ President:

It’s no secret that THQ has been in a bad way, with costly mistakes like the U-Draw Tablet hurting the company, just as it had to struggle with the shrinking market for mid-sized games. To help turn things around, THQ has brought on Naughty Dog Co-Founder Jason Rubin as their new President.

Rubin will be responsible “for all of THQ’s worldwide product development, marketing, and publishing operations” and will report to THQ’s Chairman and CEO Brian Farrell.
Co-founder of the now-Sony-owned Naughty Dog, Rubin was the co-creator and game director of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter which have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Rubin also co-founded media mashup tool Flektor which was acquired in 2007 by Fox Interactive Media. Jason Kay was the other co-founder of Flektor, and will become THQ’s new Chief Strategy Officer.
Brian Farrell said:

Jason’s proven track record in the industry speaks for itself, and he is one of the brightest minds in the business. We believe he can be a game changer and can contribute immensely to executing on our strategy of delivering quality connected core game experiences.

Jason Rubin added:

THQ has incredible internal and external game development teams, and an exciting slate of games in its development pipeline. The recent transformation of THQ into a creator of wholly-owned IP has placed it in a perfect position to leverage future trends in the game business. I look forward to working with the management team and board to realize the company’s goals.

The press release for the announcement then went on to boast how THQ is focusing on “wholly-owned IPs”, before highlighting South Park: The Game and WWE ‘13.
Danny Bilson, EVP Core Games will leave THQ “to pursue other interests”. Brian Farrell commented on the departure, saying:

Danny has made significant contributions to THQ, and we thank him for his efforts.

Dave Davis, SVP Core Studios will also be leaving, with Farrell continuing:

Along with Danny, Dave has been instrumental in getting our strong pipeline into production.

It will certainly be interesting to see if Rubin can inject some of the Naughty Dog spirit into the THQ development scene and help turn the company around. It is also refreshing to see a revamp for a major company that is struggling that only affects a few higher up employees rather than hundreds of developers or the closure of studios.

PlayStation Store Global Update – May 29, 2012

PlayStation Store Global Update – May 29, 2012:
featurepsstoreglobalupdate

Each week Sony brings PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable owners new content, add-ons, games and more. PlayStation LifeStyle catalogs the PlayStation Store updates for the major regions across the globe. Check back every Tuesday and Wednesday to keep up to date with each week’s PlayStation Store Update.
** Note for other regions **
European PSN is updated on Wednesdays.

North American Update

PlayStation Plus Content

Full Game Trial	Assassin’s Creed Revelations Full Game Trial Rayman Origins Full Game Trial
PS3 Games	Rayman Origins (PS Plus Price: $23.99)
PS3 Ultimate Edition Bundles	MotorStorm Apocalypse (PS Plus Price: $35.34) Bioshock 2 Complete Edition (PS Plus Price: $19.59) Call of Duty: Black Ops Bundle (PS Plus Price: $46.54) inFAMOUS 2 Complete Edition (PS Plus Price:$23.79) Just Cause 2 Ultimate Edition (PS Plus Price:$14.69) L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition (PS Plus Price: $19.59) Mafia II Bundle (PS Plus Price:$14.69) Mortal Kombat Bundle (PS Plus Price:$24.49) Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare Collection (PS Plus Price:$19.59)
Avatars	Rayman Origins: Globox Toe-grab avatar (PS Plus Price: FREE) Rayman Origins: Baby Dragon avatar (PS Plus Price: FREE) Rayman Origins: Darktoon avatar (PS Plus Price: FREE)
Theme	Robot Dynamic Theme (PS Plus Price: FREE)

PSN Games

Mad Riders ($9.99)

Pure Chess ($7.99)

PS Vita Games

Pure Chess ($7.99)

Resistance: Burning Skies Full Game ($39.99)

PS3 Full Games

Assassin’s Creed Revelations ($59.99)

Rayman Origins ($29.99)

Game Demos (free)

Mad Riders

PS Vita Demos (Free)

Gravity Rush

Resistance: Burning Skies

PS3 Add-ons

Mass Effect 3: Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion

Atelier Meruru add ons (x2) ($2.99 – $3.99)

Batman Arkham City – Harley Quinn’S Revenge ($9.99)

Dragon’s Dogma add ons (x2) ($0.99 – $2.99)

Elevator Action HD – Additional Stages -5 ($1.99)

LittleBigPlanet 2 Starhawk Minipack ($2.99)

MotorStorm RC add ons (x3) ($0.25 – $0.49)

Prototype 2 Excessive Force Pack ($4.99)

Pure Chess Park Game Pack ($1.99)

Rocksmith – My Chemical Romance Song Pack ($7.99)

Rocksmith – Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) By My Chemical Romance ($2.99)

Rocksmith – Planetary (Go!) By My Chemical Romance ($2.99)

Rocksmith – Welcome To The Black Parade By My Chemical Romance ($2.99)

Test Drive Unlimited 2 add ons (x9) ($0.99 each)

Rock Band 3

“SCREAM AIM FIRE” – Bullet for My Valentine ($1.99)

“TEARS DON’T FALL” – Bullet for My Valentine ($1.99)

“YOUR BETRAYAL” – Bullet for My Valentine ($1.99)

“BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE PACK 01 ($5.49) – Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game album: BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE PACK 01. This pack includes “Scream Aim Fire”, “Tears Don’t Fail” and “Your Betrayal”. By Bullet for My Valentine.

Rock Band Network v2.0

“DESCONOCIDO” – Leche de Tigre ($0.99)

“HALF CAB” – Quartered ($0.99)

“I AM S/H(IM)E[R] AS YOU AM S/H(IM)E[R] AS YOU ARE ME AND WE… ” – Giraffes? Giraffes! ($0.99)

“MARTYR TO SCIENCE” – Deadlock ($0.99)

“THE FALL OF PSILANTHROPY” – Chaotrope ($0.99)

PS Vita Add-Ons

Hustle Kings add ons (x2) (Free – $1.99)

MotorStorm RC add ons (x3) ($0.25 – $0.49)

Pure Chess Park Game Pack ($2.49)

Resistance: Burning Skies Online Pass ($9.99)

PS Vita Apps

Nico Nico (free)

Updates

Fate Unlimited Codes (Price Change) (PSP) (now $9.99, original price $19.99)

Prinny 2 – Digital (Price Change) (PS3) (now $14.99, original price $29.99)

Under Siege – Exclusive (Price Change) (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $13.99)

Phantom Brave (Price Change) (PSP) (now $9.99, original price $19.99)

Test Drive Unlimited 2: Casino (Price Change) (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)

Avatars

Assassin’s Creed III Avatars (x10) ($0.49 each)

Ridge Racer Avatar Pack 01 – 03 ($2.49 each)

Game Videos (free)

Dishonored Debut Trailer

Hell Yeah! Gameplay Trailer

London 2012 – The Offical Video Game Of The Olympic Games

Metro: Last Light – Enter The Metro Short Film Trailer

Rocksmith My Chemical Romance DLC Trailer

Spec Ops: The Line – Damned Vs Exiles Trailer

Super Street Fighter Iv Arcade Edition Trailer

PS3 Themes

Bianca Beauchamp Glam Goddess Theme ($1.99)

Bianca Beauchamp Latex Queen Theme ($1.99)

Burial Ground Maggot Head Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

Burial Ground: Axe Girlfriend Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

Burial Ground: Dead in the Water Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

Burial Ground: Handy Snack Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

Burial Ground: Zombie Rain Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

Girls Gone Wild Static Theme ($1.49)

Prong Tattoo Model 2 ($1.99)

PS2 Classics

Rayman Arena ($9.99)

Bundles

Call of Duty Black Ops Ultimate Edition ($66.49)

inFAMOUS 2 Ultimate Edition ($33.99)

Mafia II Ultimate Edition ($20.99)

Mortal Kombat Ultimate Edition ($34.99)

Motorstorm Apocalypse Ultimate Edition ($50.49)

Music

Resistance 3 Original Soundtrack from the Video Game ($9.99)

Next Page: Japanese & Hong Kong Update »

Tim Cook: 'I want there to be' Apple products made in America

Tim Cook: 'I want there to be' Apple products made in America:

Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently being interviewed by AllThingsD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, and took time to answer the question of whether or not Apple is interested in manufacturing any of its products domestically. While pointing out that it does source components locally, including glass for the iPhone made in Kentucky as well as CPUs for the iPhone and iPad made in Austin, Texas by Samsung, Cook indicated he "hopes" final assembly could be done in the US. Initially repeating "I want there to be [manufacturing in America]," he closed with "we will do as many of these things as we can do [in America], and you can bet that we'll use our influence to do it." Check out our liveblog for all the quotes on this and more, unless of course you're already planning a trip through the rolling hills of Kentucky to stock up on back glass for your iPhone.

Tim Cook: 'I want there to be' Apple products made in America originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tim Cook: Apple will 'double down on secrecy on products'

Tim Cook: Apple will 'double down on secrecy on products': Tim Cook D10

Tim Cook, speaking at the D10 conference, predictably didn't come out of the gate with new product announcements. However, he did say that Apple has "some incredible things coming," though of course he wouldn't speak about them in detail, dodging questions from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher about WWDC next week: "We're going to introduce some great stuff. I think you're gonna love it."
What would it be? Cook was not only keeping mum, he predicted that Apple would become even more secretive in the future. He told the conference that "We're going to double down on secrecy on products." While Apple certainly hasn't been known for being a leaky ship when it comes to products, in the past year the new iPad and (likely) the next iPhone have...
Continue reading…

The Witcher dev teases new cyberpunk RPG

The Witcher dev teases new cyberpunk RPG:
CD Projekt Red releases teaser image for upcoming role-playing game hinting at futuristic setting with guns; full announcement slated for tomorrow.

The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red has offered a glimpse into the company's future. Today, the Polish studio released a concept image for a new mystery AAA role-playing game in development at the company, hinting that project may be set in the future.

Might CD Projekt Red be making a cyberpunk RPG?

The image (at right) depicts a man wielding a futuristic-looking handgun and wearing eyeglasses boasting some sort of computerized heads-up display.

Other details are not available, but gamers won't have to wait long to know what CD Projekt Red is up to. The company will broadcast its annual Summer Conference tomorrow on its Facebook page at 1 p.m. EDT, where the project will be announced in earnest.

Speculation about new projects at CD Projekt Red was sparked earlier this month when job listings at the studio revealed the firm was at work two new role-playing games, one of which would be an entirely new intellectual property. The other game is to be set in a "mature dark-fantasy world," and may be a follow-up to 2011's much-praised The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"The Witcher dev teases new cyberpunk RPG" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Tue, 29 May 2012 12:38:40 -0700

Motorola Gearing up to Release a Slew of New Handsets Across Many Carriers

Motorola Gearing up to Release a Slew of New Handsets Across Many Carriers:

According to sources close to PocketNow, Motorola is gearing up to release a slew of new handsets in the near future. The first device is said to be launching worldwide and is being referred to as the Vanquish, also known as the Droid Razr HD according to some recent Verizon EXIF data. As you might have guessed, this device will sport a 1280 x 720 display and will be the first Droid device to dawn the HD classification. There are a few model numbers that are being referenced for this device, meaning it will most likely launch all over the world. Verizon’s version is said to be the XT926 which we have seen many times as the the Droid Fighter. The other model numbers being associated with the device are XT922 and XT980 which are headed for China, and XT923 (UMTS) and XT925 (LTE) which will land in other parts of the globe.
The next Moto device that has been tipped off is the Motorola Asanti, and is said to be heading for AT&T as the XT898 and elsewhere throughout the world as the XT897 and XT896. The Asanti is suggested to be an LTE equipped QWERTY device with a qHD display sporting a resolution of 960 x 540. It is believed that this will be Ma Bell’s version of the Droid 4 as we have seen it with Big Red. Joining up with the Asanti, AT&T is also slated to get another LTE device, the Motorola Dinara (MB886).
If you Sprint folks out there are feeling a bit left out don’t worry. Moto plans to release the follow up to last year’s Photon 4G, the Photon Q 4G LTE.
As if that wasn’t enough (or confusing to say the least), Motorola has a few other unknown devices up their sleeves as well. The Motorola Primus XT621, and the Motorola Yangtze XT881/XT885/XT886/XT889/MT887. Since there are so many variations of the Yangtze, it is believed that device will also see a global release. The last of those model numbers may sound familiar to some of you because it was recently released in China as the Motorola Razr V.
Did you get all that? Go ahead a take a few minutes to let it all digest. If you are still having troubles just know this… Motorola is releasing a butt-load of devices all over the world in the coming months and your carrier will most likely get one of them.
source: PocketNow

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Jelly Bean is Android 4.1, to debut on “Nexus 7″ tablet

Jelly Bean is Android 4.1, to debut on “Nexus 7″ tablet: android-jellybean-aam-2

Google’s $199 “Nexus tablet“, that we first reported on back in March, appeared online this week in Rightware’s Basemark ES 2.0 Taiji benchmark test. Most of the details revealed in the benchmark match up with what was previous reported. The device will be made by ASUS, feature a 7-inch display with 1280×768 resolution, and use NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor.
What’s new in this benchmark result is the Android version 4.1. Rightware tells us this is the only device they have ever seen to include Android 4.1. The device also featured a software build number JRN51B, which is important because J represents Jelly Bean.
The device also has the model name listed as “Nexus 7″, which could be the final product name.
Some of us had speculated that Jelly Bean would be a major release and become Android 5.0, but this new evidence suggest it will be more of a minor update and be labeled Android 4.1. We reached out to a second source who claims to have seen the Nexus tablet, and they also said it was running Android 4.1.
Details are still limited, but we are told that Android 4.1 will feature a user experience very similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The device will feature multiple home screens that are dedicated to different types of content (music, movies, books, etc).
We are just a month away from Google IO, when this “Nexus tablet” is expected to be revealed, so look for more details to leak over the coming weeks.