|
|
 |
Archived News:
Facebook has acquired Oculus, paying a reported $2 billion for the virtual
reality startup, which
Forbes says is $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook
stock, and the deal includes another potential $300 in incentives. "Mobile is
the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of
tomorrow," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. "Oculus has the
chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play
and communicate." There's some immediate fallout from this as
Markus "notch"
Persson tweets (thanks nin via
Joystiq) that this has ended the possibility of an Oculus version of Minecraft:
"We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus. I just
cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out."
Hi-Rez announces SMITE is out
of beta in North America and Europe, saying they will kick off a launch
tournament for the MOBA on Friday. Here's a
cinematic teaser trailer,
and here's the news: Hi-Rez is celebrating the launch with a $200,000
Launch Tournament that will take place Friday, March 28 through Sunday, March
30, 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia in front of a live audience. Half of the $200,000
prize pool is community contributed, based on sales of exclusive in-game
merchandise. The Launch Tournament includes the top four teams in Europe and the
top four in North America that have qualified from the SMITE Weekly Tournament
Series that began on January 4, 2014. The event will be live-streamed worldwide
via twitch.tv/smitegame.
SMITE is the online battleground of the gods. Players choose from a diverse cast
of deities and use their unique powers to triumph over the opposition in player-vs-player
matches. SMITE is a new take on the MOBA genre; rather than observing the action
from above, a third person perspective puts players into the thick of combat.
Instead of clicking the mouse to move, players use the familiar WASD keys to
move and fight their way through SMITE's dynamic battlegrounds.
Continue here to read the full story.
Paradox Interactive announces the release of Crusader Kings II: Rajas of
India, the new Crusader Kings II expansion, celebrating the news with
a new trailer. Word is:
"History is heating up in Hindustan and tactics get tantric as the spicy sixth
expansion of the universally-acclaimed strategy/RPG sets sights on the
Subcontinent and enlightens on the Eastern religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and
Jainism. Vishnu is being virtuous!" Continue here to read the full story.
NCSOFT and ArenaNet announce a new unified skin/wardrobe system is coming to
Guild Wars 2: Guild Wars 2 has a tremendous variety of gear to
collect. From vanity skins to gear with specific stats to all manner of
beautiful armour and weapons, there are a lot of ways to customise the look and
function of your character. But currently, it can be a little overwhelming to
try to sort through it all and choose a look and feel. Our answer to that is the
Wardrobe, which makes it easy to customise your look at any time and to share
cosmetic items across all the characters on your account.
Link of the Day:
Thelma & Luigi. Thanks Ant.
Irrational Games announces BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode Two
is now available worldwide (except for Japan) for Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3,
continuing to explore the events that connect the floating city of Columbia with
the undersea city of Rapture. There are reviews in today's game review section,
and
Irrational Games offers
this launch trailer. Here's word: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea –
Episode Two, developed from the ground up by Irrational Games, is the final
content pack for the award-winning BioShock Infinite, and features Elizabeth in
a film noir-style story that provides players with a different perspective on
the BioShock universe.
“I think the work the team did on this final chapter speaks for itself,” said
Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games. “We built something that is
larger in scope and length, and at the same time put the player in Elizabeth’s
shoes. This required overhauling the experience to make the player see the world
and approach problems as Elizabeth would: leveraging stealth, mechanical
insight, new weapons and tactics. The inclusion of a separate 1998 Mode demands
the player complete the experience without any lethal action. BioShock fans are
going to plotz.”
Continue here to read the full story.
The Windows edition of the Naval Strike DLC for Battlefield 4 was
to have launched today for premium members today alongside the console editions
of the military shooter expansion. The
Battlefield Blog, however, explains that the PC version's release is being
delayed until they work through an issue they've discovered: On March 25,
Battlefield 4 Premium members on consoles will be able to experience the
ultimate sea-to-sea warfare in the third expansion pack for Battlefield 4.
Battlefield 4 Naval Strike takes the intense and dramatic water-based combat
introduced in Battlefield 4 to four all-new maps set in the South China Sea
while introducing a new game mode and vehicle.
However, we are delaying the launch of Battlefield 4 Naval Strike on PC. We’ve
detected an issue and it needs to be solved. Quality is our number one priority
and we will not release Battlefield 4 Naval Strike on PC until we feel it meets
the highest quality level possible. Once we have a confirmed date for PC, we’ll
be sure to update those players on our official channels. We appreciate your
patience and look forward to seeing everyone on the Battlefield.
Battle.net announces the
Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo III launched in North America
at midnight EDT, and is now live. A
story on IncGamers has details from Blizzard's launch livestream, which
apparently had more technical difficulties than the launch of the action/RPG
add-on itself. They have some details on how they overhauled the game, and plans
to introduce new competitive features going forward, including ladders and
tiered rifts.
Peter Molyneux tells
CVG the current indie game renaissance "won't last," saying indies will be
attracted by the allure of deep-pocketed investors and lose their independent
spirit, tempting an interpretation that he's speaking as much about his own past
as other developers' futures. "Here's the thing: walk through any hotel lobby at
GDC and look at people's name badges. This morning at breakfast I saw three
angel investors talking to indies. They're saying, 'take my money! I want to
invest in your company!'," he explains. "But what those indie companies don't
realise is that they'll then have to have board meetings, and in those meetings
they'll be told, 'no, you shouldn't do that - look at this game that's making
money'." He compares the current environment to the heyday of the 1980s:
"It's very much like the 80s," he said. "Back then anybody could create a
game that could be hugely successful. There were no formulas or anything cast in
stone.
"A few years ago it was all about fear; huge budgets and 'my franchise is bigger
than your franchise'. It was all about 'who's going to create the new Call of
Duty?'
"Now it's all about invention, creativity and not having any fear."
- 1954 Alcatraz on
Gaming Nexus.
- Betrayer on
Eurogamer.
- BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Part 2 on
Eurogamer,
GameInformer,
IGN,
IncGamers.com,
NowGamer,
PC Gamer,
Rock, Paper, Shotgun,
Strategy Informer, and
VG247.
- Deus Ex: The Fall on
IncGamers.com.
- Titanfall on
Gamer
Horizon.
- Violett on
Adventure Classic Gaming.
Thanks for the feedback on the headset question. Many of you addressed my
specific needs, so I have some good leads to go on. I also see that the
discussion was helpful to others with a similar quandary, so I'm extra glad I
asked here.
|
Twitter 
