Trend Micro has announced several Internet security services for Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld. The services will include two products, "Trend Micro Kids Safety" and "Trend Micro Web Security." The latter option is based on the company's "web reputation" system that blocks users from accessing websites that may contain malicious content.
Bonobo has released a major update for its realtime automotive analytics app, Zilla. The software can be used to plot a vehicles braking, corning, and acceleration G forces on live graphs, as well as view weight transfer in real time. Version 2 adds five new color schemes that can be added via in-app purchases, as well support for auto-calibrating Zilla on startup, and configuring metric and imperial unites separately. Additionally, the Lateral G display has been corrected and no longer shows inverted data. Zilla is currently being offered at the discounted price of $3 and can be purchased in the App Store.
ThinkGeek picked the American International Toy Fair to bring out the iCade 8-Bitty, a much more portable alternative to the iCade cabinet. The wireless iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch gamepad is conspicuously styled like (though not identical to) the original NES controller with four face buttons, Select and Start, although it also has two shoulder buttons. It works with the same iCade-friendly titles, such as Atari's Greatest Hits, as well as any others wanting to use the freely available support.
Sony is mulling the possibility of extending is PS Vita operating system to other devices, according to AV Watch. Incoming CEO Kaz Hirai reportedly mentioned the idea to reporters during a Japanese Q&A session suggesting that, in addition to Android, the PS Vita OS offered additional scope for the company beyond gaming. The view was also given further credence by Sony Computer Entertainment Senior VP Yoshio Matsumoto, who suggested that as the OS was designed to run on the ARM architecture, that porting it to tablets and smartphones was possible.
The 13- to 14-inch notebook screen size is currently one of the hottest areas of competition right now: it's where Apple, HP, and others start off their higher-end models. Dell has certainly been one of the most active in this space and has brought its high-end XPS line to that space through the 14z. We'll check in our Dell XPS 14z review whether the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the Sony VAIO S, or comparable rivals will feel the strain.
Cider port house TransGaming's download service GameTreeMac is now accepting pre-orders for The Darkness II, a first-person shooter released earlier this month for Windows and consoles originally from 2K Games, TheLoop reports. The Mac version is expected in March, and the sequel is based on the same comic book series that inspired the original game, which was released in 2007. The game, when released, will be available via Steam.
Feral Interactive has ported over Sega and The Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War and will release it as Empire: Total War Gold Edition for Mac in the spring. The game was originally developed for Windows as the sixth instalment in the series in 2009, but the Mac version will include all game updates, improvements and all downloadable extra content, including The Warpath Campaign and four "elite unit" packs.
More if indirect support for an early March iPad 3 launch came Thursday night through assertions that Apple was in "crunch mode" rounding up apps to demo the tablet. The rumor's sources at The Next Web had Apple stepping up the process of finding apps that would showcase the new iPad's very high resolution display. Apple was focusing on "graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets," the tipsters said.
Electronic Arts has revealed that will soon be bringing a tie-in version of its Mass Effect sci-fi game series to iOS devices with a new game, Mass Effect Infiltrator. The game is an all-combat version of the console Mass Effect games, and ties into the current version, Mass Effect 3, by having the main character feed intelligence to Commander Shepard, the protagonist of ME3. Despite the combat emphasis, MEI will still feature some of the "decision points" of the console games.
New NPD data has once again given the Xbox 360 the lead in console sales in the US during January, but in grim conditions. At 270,000 systems in the month, it had enough to outpace the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3, whose sales researchers were keeping secret. However, its performance was noticeably worse than a year ago, where it had moved 381,000 systems.
Double Fine Productions has surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal in just eight hours since the developer began accepting pledges to help create an adventure game and a documentary to chronicle the experience. The project has achieved over $1 million in investment pledges, more than doubling the original goal of $400,000.
Samsung's new Ivy Bridge powered gaming laptop has popped up at the company's US website and is available for pre-order. The 17.3-inch NP700G7C-S01US is powered by a third-generation and so far unannounced 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM quad-core processor. It comes paired with a similarly unofficial, discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M for graphics.
The early run of the aptly-named First Edition bundle of the PlayStation Vita has just received an official unboxing from Sony's US team. The system is due to arrive on February 15 to those who preordered it, or one week before its widespread launch in stores. Included in the bundle is a 4GB PS Vita memory card, a unique PS Vita carrying case, and a physical copy of the Little Deviants game.
A new study has found that the number of gamers in the US has grown from 56 million in 2008 to 135 million in 2011. The 241 percent increase is thanks largely to the explosion of new online and mobile gaming platforms, including those on social networks and smartphones. Parks Associates performed the study, which is called Trends in Digital Gaming: Free-to-Play, Social, and Mobile Games.
Sony in a quick brief has warned that North American gamers won't have access to the UMD Passport program for the PlayStation Vita like their Japanese counterparts. A spokesperson told Kotaku that gamers with legacy, physical PSP titles will have to buy them again if they're available on the PlayStation Store. Japanese gamers can currently register their UMD-based games through the PSP and then pay a much smaller fee to download the digital version.
CompuExpert has introduced a lightweight, foldable, rechargeable wireless headset called the Airhead 1000 that positions itself as a top-quality music headphone system that also happens to handle chat and gaming experiences. The headset provides up to 12 hours of wireless use at a stretch and features both a USB charging port and a 3.5mm line-out jack for a second headset or speakers. It works with all major chat, VoIP and gaming networks up to 30 feet from the computer.
Cleveland-based AVADirect is accepting pre-orders for a new gaming portable that integrates one of the refreshed, Sandy Bridge-E Intel Core i7 desktop processors into a laptop form factor. The Clevo P270WM is a 17.3-inch desktop replacement that can come equipped with either a 3.2GHz or 3.3GHz Extreme Edition chip. It can also house dual NVIDIA mobile graphics chips in SLI.
Telus' Optik IPTV service got much more control over non-traditional viewing on Tuesday. Optik TV for Xbox 360 takes advantage of the fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update to use the console as the set-top box, including for remote DVR viewing if there's a traditional DVR on the same network. The support includes full Kinect motion control.
After months of extra waiting for the game itself, Microsoft has confirmed that the Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle will be available April 3. The special edition system will cost $450 and includes a 320GB Xbox 360, a Kinect motion controller, and a copy of the game in question. Both the console and the Kinect have unique R2-D2 theming, while the gamepad is patterned after C-3PO.
Hasbro and Nerf have brought Lazer Tag back with iOS as its cornerstone. While the blasters can work in multiplayer without any device, mounting an iPhone or iPod touch in a special holder gives them an app that both extends the firing range to 250 feet and introduces a HUD that shows the trajectory and ongoing stats. As many as 24 people can play at once with leaderboards that can update mid-match.
The Windows 8 public preview when it ships will have a handful of available games that mostly come from familiar sources in the Microsoft universe, according to new tips on Tuesday. Some of the games seen by The Verge will be direct ports of Xbox 360 downloadable titles, such as Ms. Splosion Man and Toy Soldiers. Others would be titles that are better known on mobile even with a big-screen version, such as the seminal Angry Birds and ilomilo.
Sony has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a tablet-like game controller. The Position-Dependent Gaming, 3D Controller, and Handheld as a Remote in many ways conceptually resembles Nintendo's Wii U's tablet-like game controller. Sony actually began the application process for the technology in July 2010, almost a year before Nintendo showed the system.
Sony has teased an update for the PlayStation Vita that should significantly expand its features just a week before the North American launch. The 1.6 firmware patch will add a mapping tool with both driving and walking directions. Likely based on Google Maps, it has the options of satellite and traffic views as well as sending locations out on the Vita's own group messaging for a meetup.
Beginning February 7th, several Mac and Windows games will be become temporarily unplayable, publisher Ubisoft has announced. These include Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2, Might & Magic: Heroes VI, and The Settlers 7 for Windows, and the Mac ports of Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and The Settlers. The company is moving servers out of a third-party data center into a new building, and promises that the end result will "improve the maintenance of our infrastructure and deliver better uptime and greatly improved services for our customers."
Sony in its results call Friday was confident that the PlayStation Vita was selling well so far. Having moved slightly more than 535,000 units in its first three weeks, according to Media Create data, company CFO Masaru Kato didn't see "any problems" with results so far. The comment came even after shipments had dipped to just over 18,000 in January and had been mostly steady since.
GameStop stores as promised have started carrying PlayStation Vita demo units. Depending on which of the 3,300 stores showing the Vita gamers visit, they should have access to a handful of the 25 launch titles to try. Among the mix will include FIFA, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and Wipeout 2048.
Sony has given notice that the unification of its online entertainment services mentioned during its CES keynote would affect the PlayStation Network on February 7. A terms of service change will see the service renamed as part of the Sony Entertainment Network. Actual functionality should stay the same.
Microsoft took another loss to its Xbox divsion Friday after its Director of Xbox Live Policy and Enforcement, Stephen Toulouse, resigned from the company. Often known as Stepto, he planned to finish his term at the company on February 15. He stressed that the exit was amicable and a matter of looking for a life change, with no other companies in mind.
Based on the original game by Bethesda Softworks and iD Software, Aspyr has ported the first-person shooter Rage to the Mac in a "Campaign Edition" that features bonus equipment and missions formerly exclusive to the Rage: Anarchy Edition for the PC and Xbox. The Mad Max-style post-apocalypse adventure uses the iD Tech 5 OpenGL engine and represents the first entry in the Rage franchise for the Mac.
Apple has recruited an important executive from Microsoft's Xbox division, Robin Burrowes, reports say. Until this week, Burrowes was in control of Xbox Live marketing for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region. At Apple, he will be responsible for marketing the App Store for iTunes Europe. Other highlights on his resume include work on Microsoft's MSN, and time with music and movie retailer HMV.
Nintendo has reportedly continue to make adjustments to the technical specifications for its upcoming Wii U game console. In an interview with Dutch magazine NGamer, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi suggests that the hardware specs have been "changing constantly" since the game studio first began developing for the upcoming device.
Nintendo has inked a deal with free-hotspot.com to offer free Wi-Fi service to Nintendo 3DS owners. The arrangement will provide the hand-held game console's users with free access to over 5,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. These are dispersed within in 21 European countries.
On schedule, Microsoft has started shipping the Kinect for Windows add-on and its matching software. The sensor lets those on Windows 7, 8, and Embedded use the motion control from the Xbox with optimizations for the PC world, such as tracking subjects as close as 15.7 inches as well as a PC-oriented USB cable. It costs $249 for anyone, although it will cost $149 for educational users later.
Microsoft has further expanded the content capabilities of the Xbox 360 with the arrival of the new Xbox Live TV apps for CinemaNow and Crackle. Users in the US can download and access content from both of the new apps immediately. Users in Australia, Canada and the UK now have access to Crackle, but with no current plans to launch CinemaNow in those markets due to content licensing rights.
A quick investigation has confirmed that PlayStation Vita owners in the US will get a discount on games if they buy through the PlayStation Network. Shacknews heard that, as in Japan, games will not just be available the same day as a download but will be price-cut over their retail versions. The discounts are about 10 percent over boxed copies, or about $4-5 for games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Razer has announced that it has sold out of the first batch of its Blade gaming notebooks within 30 minutes. The high-end notebooks were originally slated for the holidays, however the launch was eventually delayed until late January as the company made a last-minute decision to switch to SSD storage.
AMD has hoped to corner the more widely accessible range of high-end video cards Tuesday by unveiling the Radeon HD 7950. It trims back slightly from the range-leading 7970 with 1,792 visual processing cores instead of 2,048, 112 texture units instead of 128, and both 800MHz core and 1.25GHz memory clock speeds versus the 925MHz and 1.38GHz of its counterpart. The chipset is still powerful enough to handle 4K video and carries the 384-bit memory bus and 3GB of video RAM.
Nintendo is partnering with Japanese service provider NTT DoCoMo to bring speech recognition tools to the classroom. Together, the two companies are using Nintendo's DS handhelds to display a teacher's words directly on the handheld gaming device's screen as they are spoken. The intent is to help students with disabilities learn better.
Remastered versions of the first three Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games are coming to iOS, reports say. Players assume the role of Wright, a defense attorney who must both investigate the facts of cases and then challenge prosecution during trial. The series is already present in the App Store, but the new ports will sport better graphics.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Microsoft will not release the next-generation Xbox 360 in 2012, according to Cedric Delmas, Microsoft France marketing director. In an interview translated by Eurogamer, he said nothing will be revealed for a new Xbox at this year's E3 show in June. Other claims have pointed to an E3 2013 reveal instead.
Nintendo hoped to seize on Valentine's Day by putting out a stand-alone Pearl Pink version of the 3DS. The gaming handheld, previously available only in a bundle for Americans, will be available by itself. It had been available in Japan as early as September.
NVIDIA was accused this week of using dishonest marketing to try to skew gamers towards its next-generation Kepler graphics hardware. Posters in the ChipHell forums claiming to have details of the new graphics core were reportedly discovered to be NVIDIA marketers. They made bold claims about Kepler's prices and performance in what appeared to be an attempt to downplay AMD's Radeon HD 7900 line.
Lenovo has stepped up its gaming credentials by quietly taking orders for the IdeaPad Y470p. The 14-inch notebook swaps out NVIDIA's low-end GeForce GT 520M video of the regular Y470 for a mid-range AMD Radeon HD 7690M, giving it an edge in 3D games. The 2.2GHz quad Core i7 and 8GB of RAM help keep the system running at full pace.
For those who have always yearned to "get in touch with their inner dictator," Feral Interactive has ported over the third instalment in the Tropico city-simulator game series, Tropico 3: Gold Edition for the Mac. Originally developed by PopTop Games, the series is now handled by Haemimont Games and Kalypso Media for Windows and Xbox. The third entry is a "re-imagining" on a grander scale of the economic, political, construction and management simulator.
Mac game maker Aspyr has selected four titles from its catalog for a special month-end sale. From now through the end of January, Prey, Tomb Raider II, Duke Nukem Forever and Neverwinter Nights 2 for Mac will be on sale for $5, up to 75 percent off their normal price. The sale prices are already available for the Mac App Store versions, which require Intel Macs running OS X 10.6.6 or higher. Graphics requirements vary by game.
Sony has hoped to lure gamers to the PlayStation Vita with another bundle for the official February 22 US arrival. The Launch Day bundle mates the 3G version of the console with a free month's pass for 250MB of AT&T data. While most of the accessories aren't present from the First Edition bundle, gamers get a twice-as-large 8GB memory card to encourage more game and add-on downloads.
Nintendo is reportedly considering changing the name of its upcoming game console, the Wii U. The reason for this internal mulling, CVG heard, is supposedly due to the confusion with the 3D and 3DS, which Nintendo found to be too similar in the public eye. It supposedly fears the same would happen with the Wii U and its existing Wii.
Nintendo's Friday briefing in the wake of its tough quarterly results has confirmed that it plans to at last go head-to-head with Microsoft and Sony in a persistent online gaming network. Just called Nintendo Network, it will let gamers download chat and play with each other without needing friend codes in addition to getting game add-ons. On the Wii U, gamers will have personal accounts, presumably letting them transport their Mii, downloads, and other preferences across systems.
Id Software's non-franchise game for iOS devices, Rage HD, has now been updated to version 2.0. The game, which puts players in the middle of a "reality TV" show called Mutant Bash, is a first-person rail shooter that now includes in-app purchasing of additional episodes, higher-resolution player and weapon graphics, better video out support for VGA, component cables and HDMI under iOS 5, and various performance enhancements for controlling the game.
Valve has partly fulfilled one of the most common wishes of gamers Thursday by posting Steam Mobile. Versions for both iOS (App Store) and Android (Market) lets users both keep up with their Steam chats and groups while away. They can go so far as to buy games for the Mac or Windows that they can start downloading immediately when they get home.
