Fallout Shelter puts $5.1M in Bethesda’s vaults in just 2 weeks

Half of all the Fallout fans around the world were ecstatic when Todd Howard, Game Director at Bethesda Game Studios, announced that along with Fallout 4, Bethesda had developed a free mobile Fallout game called Fallout Shelter. The other half were bummed to find out that the game was only available on iOS devices. Of course, he also announced that an Android version was coming, and later Pete Hines, Vice President of PR/Marketing at Bethesda tweeted that the Android version should be out next month.

@kolos_kovacs coming along nice. haven’t announced a date, but should be out next month. we’ll let you know when we have specifics

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) July 1, 2015

No one could have imagined at that point that this free game, originally developed as a way to market Fallout 4, would become such a cash cow, but according to Superdata Research, Bethesda’s Fallout Shelter has made $5.1 million in it’s first 2 weeks on Apple’s App Store. This is especially impressive when you consider that the only things you can buy in the game are lunchboxes. The lunchboxes contain upgrades, weapons, and various items to use in the game.

Superdata speculates on the reason for its strong success.

“The game’s success further underscores the value of a strong franchise in the otherwise crowded mobile games market.“

Hopefully, this open cash register will encourage Bethesda to hurry up and finish the release of the Android version. We want the opportunity to buy lunchboxes as well. Are you excited for Fallout Shelter? Let us know in the comments.

The post Fallout Shelter puts $5.1M in Bethesda’s vaults in just 2 weeks appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Space junk collision scare forced ISS crew to evacuate

The ISS crew sure had a rough morning yesterday: a piece of an old Russian satellite came hurtling towards them, and the team didn’t have enough time to move the station out of the way. Since they only had an hour and a half to spare, the crew chose to seal off modules to contain possible damage and to lock themselves inside a Soyuz spacecraft. That way, they could abandon the ISS if needed and wouldn’t have to desperately scour the near-Earth environment for ways to come back home. That was the fourth time in the station’s history that its crew had to move to a Soyuz for safety.

ISS personnel typically get warned much earlier about debris coming their way, what with various organizations tracking space junk movement from Earth. The early warnings allow the crew to maneuver the station in case a big one’s flying too close for comfort — the ISS is tough enough to withstand the impact of smaller rubble. Thankfully, the old satellite ended up flying by the station yesterday without damaging billions of dollars’ worth of equipment, and the astronauts were permitted to go back to their living quarters.

Space debris remains one of the biggest threats to the ISS, other satellites and spacecraft. As more and more space junk accumulate, the more dangerous the situation in near-Earth orbit becomes. Scientists have proposed a number of different solutions to the issue, including blasting debris with lasers or a harpoon and cleaning them up using a Pac-Man-like spacecraft.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

Filed under: Science

Comments

Via: Wired

Source: NASA

Hugo Barra confirms again that Xiaomi is coming to the US

VP of Global Operations at Xiaomi Hugo Barra has confirmed once again that Xiaomi is coming to the US “soon”. We reported on Xiaomi coming to the US not too long ago, but now Hugo Barra gives a more exact date. In an interview with Bloomberg Barra states that he thinks Xiaomi will be in the US within a couple years.

“It’s no less than a year, plus, away… Potentially much more than a year away.”

Xiaomi seems to have big plans for the US market, but there sounds like a lot of behind the scenes problems stopping them from really jumping in. For now they are sticking with just selling accessories.

Source: Bloomberg
Via: Androidcentral

Come comment on this article: Hugo Barra confirms again that Xiaomi is coming to the US

Angry Birds 2 coming July 30th

Angry Birds is about to get its first-ever sequel, well, ignoring the many, many spin-off sequels that Rovio has already thrown our way including Angry Birds Star Wars, Bad Piggies, Angry Birds Fight, and countless others (well, they can be counted .. And they number 14).

While calling this new title “Angry Birds 2” seems a bit funny considering the many chapters this game has already seen, we can hope this means that the game will offer the same classic gameplay as the original but expanded in a greater way that goes beyond what we’ve seen in bird-flinging spin-offs like Star Wars or Space. Some fetching new graphics or a new camera angle (3D bird flicking anyone) would be pretty cool too. For now, all we can do is speculate what the sequel will bring, but Rovio has announced it will be hitting Google Play, and all other major app stores, July 30th.

The big question is whether Angry Birds 2 can recapture the magic of the original, as well as the attention. Angry Birds is still a highly known franchise, but the reality is it’s not nearly as popular as it once was and many smartphone users are growing weary of the series. The obvious answer would be to give the birds a break and try something new, but for now Rovio seems content to keep milking the cash cow dry.

What kind of changes would it take to make you interested in Angry Birds 2? Or are you simply sick of the birdies at this point?