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23rd Edition
2/22/2013
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Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprint runner and the double leg amputee, was recently released from jail after his bail was granted. Pistorius was recently accused of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutors say that Pistorius killed Reeva after a heated argument. The model was found shot to death in Pistorius’ house. There is no clear answer as to what really happened as of now.
In Oscar’s affidavit (
In full: Pistorius' affidavit to court - CNN.com), he recounts as to what happened on the dark day. Questions are being raised as to what really happened. For example, if he’s afraid of intruders, why does he sleep with his sliding glass door open? When he retrieved his gun from under his bed, why did he not notice whether she was in bed or not? If he was hollering for her to call the police, why did she not respond from the bathroom to tell him she was in there? Why did he bash the door with a cricket bat before realizing that he had a key to the bathroom door? Why would a burglar lock him/herself in a bathroom? Why didn’t Oscar just wake Reeva up and ask if she heard anything? Questions like these are beginning to raise eyebrows about what Oscar said.
The judge agreed to release him ahead of his premeditated murder trial due to the lack of evidence given. As the words “I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a cease to be released on bail”, left Magistrate Desmond Nair’s lips, a huge “Yes!” was heard from Pistorius’ supporters. Although it might be too early to celebrate, as only time can tell.
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Kenji Eno dies at 42
Longtime game designer and musician Kenji Eno, known for his work on the D survival horror and Real Sound franchises, died Wednesday. A statement released on the From Yellow to Orange website from CEO Katsutoshi Eguchi explains Eno died of heart failure. He was 42.
"It is with great sadness that I inform you that Mr. Kenji Eno passed away last night (February 20, 2013) of heart failure," Eguchi wrote.
"Mr. Eno was a musician and video game designer based in Japan. He is best known for his cult survival horror series, the D games and his audio game series, Real Sound."
Eno's latest work was the WiiWare game You, Me, and the Cubes.
Layoffs at IGN; varies sites shut down
Less than a month after Ziff Davis parent company J2 Global purchased IGN from News Corp., the company is seeing layoffs. A company spokesperson confirmed with Joystiq today that in addition to editorial layoffs at IGN, sites including 1UP, UGO, and Gamespy will be closed.
"We are focusing on our two flagship brands, IGN and AskMen," the company said. "Unfortunately, as a result, we have made the decision to close sites and restructure our teams accordingly."
Terms of J2 Global's acquisition of IGN this month were not specified, though a prior report suggested J2 Global scored a deal on the gaming unit, paying "considerably" less than the $650 million News Corp. purchased the company for in 2005.
In addition to editorial layoffs, 1UP, UGO, and Gamespy are expected to shut down.
Interview with Shuhei Yoshida
Today during a roundtable session with media, Sony president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida fielded questions about a range of topics concerning the just-announced PlayStation 4 and the growing PlayStation ecosystem.
During the hour-long talk, Yoshida opened up on a range of topics, including why Sony decided not to show the PS4 hardware during its announcement last night, the rumors of the PS4 blocking used games, why 3D is no longer a focus for the company, and the status of The Last Guardian, among other things.
On possibility of PS4 blocking used games
When you purchase the disc-based games on PS4, it should work on any hardware. So that's what I'm saying.
On whether or not the PS Vita price cut in Japan will become effective worldwide
No, it's not. It's a region-by-region-based decision. Always.
On activation codes for secondhand PS4 titles
It's a publisher decision. We are not talking about it. Sorry.
On Sony's decision not to show PS4 hardware during the announcement
I'm sorry we did not show the hardware. But we have plans from now--in February--through the year for the launch. We like to disclose things based on what we think we really want to communicate first. And next time we will talk about these things.
On 3D support for PS4
No, it's not a focus, but it does [support 3D]. More games will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second, so it's an easier and better experience when you watch on 3D TV. We like what we can do on PS3 using 3D, but now the consumer electronics side [of Sony Corp.] has shifted focus from 3D TV to something else, so if they are not talking about it, why are we?
On 4K support for PS4
The official answer is the PS4 supports 4K output, but does for personal content like photos and videos, not games. PS4 games do not work on 4K.
On support for legacy platforms now that the PS4 has been announced
So we have Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls coming out this year; these are pretty big titles. And after that we haven't announced any new software for PS3.
On the possibility of bringing PS3 titles to PS4
It's an interesting concept. We've been upgrading PS2 games to PS3 with better resolution and better frame rate. And people love it. So I think at some point it makes sense and it's great for developers to be able to develop some things that they missed or couldn't get working properly on the older hardware because of the performance to be able to make it better for newer hardware. So we are open to look at that.
On Gaikai integration for PS4 launch titles
So we are saying virtually every PS4 game will be playable on PS Vita via Remote Play. I would be heartbroken if it doesn't day one. On day one, my expectation is that we have to have all games work on PS Vita.
On whether or not Sony would acquire Quantic Dream
We don't look at developers in the world who are making great games for some other publisher and say, 'We have to acquire them." We never do that. The way we acquire developers, when we do, is the natural evolution of the relationship that develops. When it makes sense, we sign a deal. In terms of Quantic, we worked with them on Heavy Rain, and we are working with them on Beyond: Two Souls, and they are showing something very interesting on PS4. So we are definitely developing that stronger relations and we love them as well.
On possibility of PlayStation App store
Personally, I would like to see that. Our PlayStation Mobile is really targeting to do that so smaller developers can really publish from the countries we support. But on the console side, for the PS3 and PS Vita, we still treat publishing like our disc-based model in terms of certification, approval, quality assurance. So we are discussing internally how we can make it a bit more open or a bit easier especially for smaller developers to publish. Because we totally believe in the importance of supporting these smaller developers because they provide really unique and interesting ideas to the platforms.
On what the PlayStation 4 Eye Camera is capable of
The PS4 Eye has two HD cameras, and these two cameras can be used in several different ways. One way is to use it for triangulation, so that space in front of the camera can be measured so that when you do this [motions with his hands] the game knows you are doing this. The other way is to make the ********* reality games like Wonderbook, using one camera for the video streaming, the other camera to…optimize for that task.
On whether or not the PS4 will be region-locked
I know the answer, but I don't want to be quoted and get a call from my PR guy saying, 'What did you say?'
On whether or not PSN will remain free for PS4
We totally believe that we want to provide more functionality and more services and more content on the network. And so we are looking at how we are going to structure that. And we are not ready to talk about that.
On possibility of backward compatibility for PS3 discs
No. You can quote me on that.
On whether or not the PS4 will make another appearance before E3
[Looks at PR rep] I hope not (laughs).
On whether or not The Last Guardian is still a PS3 game
I’m not ready to talk about it. Sorry. Because we've broken promises [before], we are waiting for the right time to reintroduce The Last Guardian.
On status of Rockstar's Agent and Square Enix's Final Fantasy Versus
You are asking the wrong person. I have some knowledge, but I'm not in a position to talk about it.
Bungie Unveils Its Next Game
Destiny, the new game from the creator of Halo, isn’t just another shooter. It’s a persistent online multiplayer adventure, designed on a galactic scale, that wants to become your new life.
“It isn’t a game,” went the oft-heard tagline at a preview event on Wednesday. “It’s a world where the most important stories are told by the players, not written by the developers.”
This week, Bungie Studios invited the press into its Seattle-area studio to get the first look at Destiny. Although the event was a little short on details — Bungie and Activision didn’t reveal the launch date, handed out concept art instead of screenshots, and dodged most of my questions — it gave an intriguing glimpse at what the creator of Halo believes is the future of shooters.
Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000, and its insanely popular shooter was the killer app that put the original Xbox on the map. Bungie split off from its corporate parent in 2007, and Microsoft produced Halo 4 on its own last year. The development studio partnered up with mega-publisher Activision for its latest project, which was kept mostly secret until now.
Destiny, slated for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, isn’t exactly an MMO. Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg called it a “shared-world shooter” — multiplayer and online, but something less than massive.
“We’re not doing this just because we have the tech,” Hirshberg said. “We have a great idea, and we’re letting the concept lead the tech.”
Built with new development software created specifically for Destiny, this new game is set in Earth’s solar system and takes place after a mysterious cataclysm wipes out most of humanity. The remaining survivors create a “safe zone” underneath a mysterious alien sphere called “The Traveler.”
The enigmatic sphere imparts players with potent weapons, magic-like powers and defensive technology. Thanks to these gifts, people have begun reclaiming the solar system from alien invaders that moved in while humanity was down.
Bungie fired off a list of design principles that guide Destiny’s creation: Create a world players want to be in. Make it enjoyable by players of all skill levels. Make it enjoyable by people who are “tired, impatient and distracted.” In other words, you don’t have to be loaded for bear and pumped for the firefight of your life every time you log on to Destiny.
After this brief overview, writer/director Joseph Staten used concept art and narration to outline an example of what a typical Destiny player’s experience might be.
Beginning in the “safe zone,” a player would start out from their in-game home and walk into a large common area. From here, the player would be able to explore their surroundings and meet up with friends. Then, they might board their starships and fly to another planet, let’s say Mars, in order to raid territory held by aliens.
During this raid, other real players who traveled to the same zone (like visiting a particular server on an MMO) would be free to come and go as they please. For example, a random participant could simply walk on by. They could stop and observe. Or they could get involved in the fight. In this instance, Staten suggested that a passerby would join the raid and then break off from the group after the spoils were divvied up without any user interface elements to fuss with. Walk away, and it’s done.
Bungie made a point of saying several times over that Destiny will not have any “lobby”-type interfaces, or menus from which to choose from a list of quests. Instead, players will simply immerse themselves in the world and organically choose to participate in whatever activities they stumble upon. Bungie promised solo content, cooperative content, and competitive content, though it provided no further examples of these.
The developer said that by employing very specialized artificial intelligence working entirely behind the scenes, players will encounter other real players who are best suited for them to interact with, based on their experience levels and other factors.
Staten didn’t say how many players would be able to exist in the world at the same time, but said that characters will be placed in proximity to each other based on very specific criteria, not simply to “fill the world up.”
Bungie showed off three distinct character classes throughout the day’s presentations: Hunter, Titan and Warlock. Although no differences were outlined between them apart from the Warlock being able to use a kind of techno-magic, the developer was keen to emphasize the idea that each character in Destiny would be highly customized and unique, and will grow with the player over an extended period of time.
While many games make the same promise, Destiny’s vision of “an extended period of time” isn’t 100 hours. It’s more like 10 years.
Bungie’s plan is for the Destiny story to unfold gradually over the course of 10 “books,” each with a beginning, middle and end. Through this will run an overarching story intended to span the entire decade’s worth of games, although like many other topics covered during the day, Bungie gave little detail about how this will work.
The developer spent a lot of time emphasizing its claim that no game has been made at this scale before. Bungie says it has a whopping 350 in-house developers working on Destiny.
Senior graphics architect Hao Chen gave examples of the sort of impenetrable mathematics formulas that allow Bungie to craft environments and worlds at a speed that it claims was previously impossible.
Bungie’s malleable team system was also said to increase its output. With the ability to co-locate designers, artists, and engineers at any time, Bungie says it can go through exceptionally rapid on-the-spot iteration and improvement for each facet of the game.
Apart from highly improved technology and the basic concept of humanity taking back the solar system, there’s just not a lot of hard information on Destiny at the moment. One thing that was made quite clear is that the game will not be subscription-based. Every presenter was clear in stating that players will not pay a monthly fee to participate in this persistent world.
While fees may not be required, a constant connection to the Internet will be. Since the core concept of Destiny is exploring a world that exists outside of the player’s console and is populated by real people at all times, it “will need to be connected in order for someone to play,” said Bungie chief operating officer Pete Parsons.
Representatives from both Bungie and Activision gave vague answers when Wired pressed for further details, often stating that they “were not ready” to discuss specifics. Whether that means those things are still being kept from the press, or whether they have not yet been determined by the development team, was unclear.
Questions currently unanswered: How will players communicate? How will players interact with each other outside of combat? What content exists in the non-combat “safe zones”? Subscriptions may be out, but what about in-app purchases? Will player versus player combat be available? Will the game ship on a disc or be download only? Will its persistent world allow Xbox and PlayStation gamers to play together? What content and interactions will be possible via smartphones and tablets (which Bungie alluded to)? Will the fancy new tools be licensed to other developers?
And so on.
For now, Bungie is asking us to take it for granted that it will execute on a bold 10-year plan for a very different sort of shooter. In the history of the always-changing gaming industry, no one’s ever been able to pull off a 10-year plan for anything. Can Bungie do it?
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Google Goes Crazy
What is one of the most famous companies we know standing as of today? The answer to that question is Google. As you may or may not know, Google has released and confirmed the "Google Glass" eye wear. "Google Glass" was supposed to arrive in 2014 when the"Project Glass" was revealed. There has been some recent discussions or "rumors" saying that the company will host or have retail stores including various and similar products like Google Glass. According to CNET, it is confirmed that the Google Glass will have access to Bluetooth connection towards Android phones and iPhones. The "Glass" can retrieve WiFi from the use of 3G or 4G cellular phones not having the access of cellular radio. Ultimately, there are a lot of advantages towards this product and several disadvantages that will soon be fixed. With the hard work and dedication Google will put up every monthly update, the product will bound to be one of the best ever known.
Google, the company you already know or just found out, is one of the fastest and inspiring company known to mankind. This company releases it's amazing and high class "Chromebook Pixel". The Chromebook has an extremely well done touch screen, and is also brought to you by the Chrome OS. The Chromebook is capable of competing or has enough pixels to match with Apple's Retina Display. The Chromebook is also light, with the weight of 3.3 pounds and is also able to allow you to connect with all of your favourite Google products and games in High Definition.
Here are the Chromebook special functions:
Dual - Core 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor
Intel HD 4000 graphics
4GB of memory
1TB of cloud storage (Google Drive)
Google has also updated their developer tools in order for iOS developers to access Google Maps information and data towards apps. Due to the access for developers, it may cause applications to become a third-party app when using Google Maps rather than using Apple's. These two companies are continuously to tussle between their mapping apps. During iOS 6, the App Store already decided to kick out Google Maps and was replaced with their own mapping system. Due to the failure of the map where there were several bugs and missing spots, the iOS software chief was fired immediately after denying to create and sign the apology letter for the mistakes caused in that map.
LG and Apple
When it comes to advertisements, Apple seems to create one of the most touching videos in the cell phone industry. Recently, a new advertisement released by LG looks extremely similar to the old apple advertisement known as the iPhone 5 TV Ad - Cheese.
This is the LG advertisement
This is the iPhone 5 TV Ad - Cheese advertisement
HTC Offer
Htc is offering $100 free to people that have old HTC phones and is willing to give it to them for free under the purchase of HTC One. This offer will end around March 31st, so if you've got an old HTC phone, it's time you go exchange it for a new one. The point of HTC having this promotion is because they want to attract interest from new or old customers towards this new Android Phone which will run through March 12.
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