‘Street Fighter V’ will feature the series’ first full story mode
Street Fighter V will launch in just a few weeks, but Capcom’s already sharing details about the game’s long-term content strategy to keep players hooked. Perhaps the most notable announcement the studio made was that, for the first time, a Street Fighter game will have a proper story mode. Series producer Yoshinori Ono (whom we talked with extensively; you can read the entire interview here) says that the new single-player campaign will be released in June as free downloadable content for anyone who buys Street Fighter V.
“When we announced Street Fighter V [in 2014], we started getting all of this feedback from fans and press,” Ono says. “My Twitter account was flooded with people saying, ‘Other fighting games are doing pretty cool stuff with story modes — are you guys doing anything?’” All that feedback came as a bit of a surprise to Ono, so he set out to develop a story mode that essentially bridges the events of Street Fighter IV with Street Fighter III, which comes later in the universe’s chronology.
All told, the Street Fighter V story mode will feature over an hour of in-game cinematic sequences running off the same 3D engine that powers the rest of the game, and that’s not including the actual gameplay elements. Capcom didn’t want to say how long the story mode will take, all told, because it isn’t finalized yet, but it’ll be several hours of additional content.
That’s in addition to the character stories that’ll be present on day one. As in past Street Fighter games, playing through the arcade mode with your chosen character will reveal details and backstory on his or her place in the Street Fighter universe. That story content will feature 2D art from the artist Bangus, who has worked on other such pieces of art for the series in the past. “He was just the perfect fit,” Ono says. “He’s such an iconic figure in Street Fighter’s history.”
Capcom also dropped some details on how it plans to approach game updates for Street Fighter V, and it sounds like the company doesn’t plan to nickel-and-dime players for updates throughout the game’s lifespan. Instead of dropping bigger paid updates a year or two after launch, Capcom says it will continuously deliver free updates. Instead of selling “upgrade packs” that some players might buy and some might not, Capcom will release free balance updates to everyone.
“What we found out is, by selling upgrade packs, only a percentage of the community would end up upgrading, and it ended up creating all these sub-communities where people were playing on different balanced iterations,” says Capcom’s director of brand marketing and eSports, Matt Dahlgren. Now it sounds as though everyone will be playing on the same version of Street Fighter without having to shell out for these balance updates.
Of course, there will still be paid content to unlock, either via in-game “fight money” or cold hard cash. Capcom will launch its store a month after the game is released to give people time to play through the day-one content and earn some fight money. “If you play through the majority of single-player content at launch, you’ll earn enough money to get the first new DLC character free of charge,” says Dahlgren. After a month, Capcom will also start its daily challenges, which the company believes will provide a consistent source of fight-money revenue for players to earn. We can’t judge until the game is actually out, but it sounds like there will be plenty of ways to access new content without having to spend real-life cash.
This approach to updates plays right into the strategy Yoshinori Ono laid out — he wants the game to be as accessible as possible to the widest audience. Free updates that everyone can access certainly should help with that goal and keep the community from becoming segregated. And the free story-mode update coming in June should be icing on the cake for big fans of the series, particularly if the demand Ono saw for such a feature is accurate. “We’ve never done anything like this before in terms of the type of presentation, ambience, the type of look we’re doing in story mode,” Ono says. “We want people to see that we’ve really worked very hard to provide story content that fans have been asking for and that everyone will enjoy.”
Street Fighter V’s story mode won’t be available until June, but the full game will be out on February 16th for PlayStation 4 and PC.
‘Street Fighter V’ creator says his game is meant for pros and noobs alike
Street Fighter IV was a textbook case of how to breathe new life into an aging franchise. Led by Capcom’s enthusiastic and passionate Yoshinori Ono, the 2008 release was designed to be a spiritual successor to Street Fighter II, the classic ’90s game that practically defined the genre. But Street Fighter IV was far more than just a retro retread: The game was updated with 3D models and a host of new moves, play styles and robust competitive options, including a comprehensive online battle system. It brought the Street Fighter series back into the public mind in a big way and also gave Capcom a perfect title that let the company participate in the growing eSports world.
That’s a lot for one game to pull off — and it also make the stakes for a sequel pretty high. After a total reinvention of the series, what do you do for an encore? Luckily, Ono is particularly well-suited to continue guiding the franchise. He’s finally almost ready to show off his work — Street Fighter V will launch on February 16th. A passionate Street Fighter fan who basically joined Capcom for a chance to work on the series, Ono believes that there’s plenty this new game can do to improve the experience for all players, whether they’re competing in tournaments or just trying the series for the first time.
[Note: All of Ono’s responses came via his translator and Capcom associate producer Brian Oliveira, and the interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.]
Street Fighter IV was a big leap forward over the games that came before it. Graphically, it improved so much that it was obvious what was new. But now, a lot of those changes aren’t as immediately apparent to more casual players. How do you explain to them why Street Fighter V is worth their money?
Yoshimori Ono: As you said, there isn’t a huge graphical leap, but there have been some improvements in terms of how everything looks. When we were making Street Fighter IV, we were working very hard to take these classic 2D pixels and convert them into a very beautiful 3D model. With Street Fighter IV — and our art director in the past might get a little mad at me for saying this — I don’t think we did the most perfect job at doing that. I think we’ve been able to make some improvements in that regard with Street Fighter V.
Also in Street Fighter IV, sometimes the motion didn’t look as smooth [as we’d like] because the consoles weren’t as powerful in terms of handling motion and processing all of that information. This time around, the motion looks very, very smooth, and that’s just because the console’s power has increased.
On the other hand, there’s some stuff that’s happening on the back end, specifically talking about the network experience. We’re working very hard to make a stress-free online experience that everyone can enjoy, and we’ve also been able to bring together the PS4 and PC community. We feel, with the way we’re handling online network play, people can enjoy it very seamlessly and have a very stress-free, awesome online experience so they can play this game for hours on end.
How does Capcom think about eSports? Specifically, when developing Street Fighter V, how important was thinking about that competitive community?
The quick answer is we really thought about it a lot. We’ve got the Capcom Cup and the Capcom Pro Tour; we have this top-level player pool who are very much into this and their livelihoods depend on it. We’ve developed this really nice system that’s in place right now in terms of an eSports infrastructure.
However, with Street Fighter V, we’re really considering eSports in that we really wanted to reset the community. We want to reset the entire game so that we can reset the playing field and let lots of new people jump in and start competing. Of course, we want everybody from the previous generation to join, but we want to create an environment where everyone can start fresh and be very welcoming to new players as well. We feel that’s really important in terms of building [Street Fighter] out as an eSport.
My goal is to really make Street Fighter as an eSport [more] mainstream. When you look back just two years ago, in 2014, we had the Capcom Cup right here at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, and just recently we had the Capcom Cup 2015 take place at the PlayStation Experience Event. We teamed up with Sony to do that, and we had a $500,000 prize pool there. In comparison with some of the bigger eSports titles out there, this may be like a quarter of what League of Legends is doing in terms of the prize pool. But in comparison with other console games, there’s really no one else doing what we’re doing right now. As a company, what we want to do is keep this pace, keep that momentum going as we proceed forward into the eSports realm.
“You can look at [competitive] ‘Street Fighter’ [matches] like baseball. Yes, there’s Major League Baseball, but there are also neighborhood baseball leagues where people can get together and play on the weekends.”
For players who aren’t at this level of competitive gameplay, how do you make sure the game is still fun for them and encourage them to go online and keep them from getting their butts kicked by more experienced players — or even just provide a good single-player experience? How do you balance those goals?
With Street Fighter V, there will be a tutorial for beginners in there that teaches the very basic stuff. From there, people can go into the [arcade mode] and play the character stories and immerse themselves in the world of Street Fighter V.
After that, they might feel like “OK, I want to test the waters in terms of online matches. Like you said, there might be some concern about getting your butt whipped the first time you go online. But this time, we built a league system where you have to have a certain level win rate and a certain amount of points built up to proceed to the next league. We’re basically segregating people between leagues so you’re only playing with people in the same league to help balance out the win rates.
Looking toward the future — it’s not going to happen this year, but we’re looking into creating tournaments geared more toward the casual player. In Asia, we’ve already started something where we’re going to have college students compete with each other; that’s one of the things we’re doing. We also have plans — it’s still in the planning phase — but we’re talking about maybe a parent/child tournament where the parent and their kid enter together.
You can look at [competitive] Street Fighter [matches] like baseball. Yes, there’s Major League Baseball, but there are also neighborhood baseball leagues where people can get together and play on the weekends. We’d like to create an environment for Street Fighter where people can do that at a casual level and get together and just play.
“With ‘Street Fighter IV,’ we had a huge turnout of old-school players who came back, and we also gained an entire new generation of players.”
In that same vein, the Street Fighter games have always felt like games that you can just pick up and play and get the basics quickly, but mastering it is a major challenge and takes a lot of commitment. As you go forward and make new games, how do you add new gameplay features without complicating that “pick up and play” mentality?
With Street Fighter IV, we had a lot of people come back to the series. I can’t say that we did a very extensive analysis of who came back to the game who used to play Street Fighter II, but I can say we had a huge turnout of old-school players who came back, and we also gained an entire new generation of players.
However, when looking at Street Fighter V and examining who didn’t join the Street Fighter scene with Street Fighter IV, we realized it was people who weren’t necessarily able to do what they wanted to do with their characters in terms of actual physical execution of the game’s moves. With Street Fighter V, we’ve added a thing called input leniency — moves just come out a little easier than you might expect. A lot of the higher-level, hardcore players might wonder, “Is this OK?” And yes, we think it’s fine. Those guys are going to figure out how to use it to their advantage.
The whole idea there is just so people have a feel-good experience with the game. We want people to feel like they have full control over what’s going on and make things a little easier for them. Even if you’re getting beat up left and right — that might happen, but even despite that, at least you’re able to do a really cool move in the game relatively easily. Yes, we do have input leniency now, but we just want to make the game feel good, and it’s a good way to bring in as many people as possible. We’re trying to make the game feel awesome so players have a very good, comfortable experience playing Street Fighter.
Were you surprised at how many people really wanted a single-player story mode? [Ed. note: Street Fighter V will feature a story mode for the first time — you can get the details on it here.]
I don’t know the exact number of people who are actually asking for this, but I can say that after we announced the game, left and right when I was meeting with press and media, they’d be asking, “What are you going to do with the story mode?” And then my Facebook and Twitter accounts were getting bombarded with people asking me what’s going on with the story. Honestly, I was expecting people to ask about new battle mechanics, but really the main voice was asking, “What’s going on with the story?”
Street Fighter is almost approaching its 30th year, and I’ve been working on the brand for a very long time, and so … I reached this point where I had two feelings in terms of the story. One, it’s like there’s some regret for not maybe paying a little more attention to this in the past. But the second feeling is, “Wow, this many people are really interested in the story content!” It’s a mixed bag of feelings.
Also, just giving a little more background to how all this went down — Matt [Dahlgren, Capcom director of brand marketing and eSports] and the Capcom USA team have been pestering me for a long time, saying, “We really need this story content!” And now those folks can say, “See, I told you!” And now I have to say to them, “Yes, you were right!” But they seem pretty pleased with how the story expansion is turning out, so I’m pretty confident that, once this finally is released in June, the story content that fans have been longing for will finally be delivered.
Cortana helps you keep deadlines by scanning your email
Remember telling Ted in accounting that you’d get the Tuttle figures over by Wednesday morning? No? Well, Cortona does — it can now read your emails and remind you of any written commitments. Microsoft revealed that the new tweak, and others, are now available in a new Windows Insider release. If you email your spouse promising to be cinema tickets, for instance, then Cortana will pop up to tell you so the next time you open up your PC. The feature works much the same as Microsoft’s flight and package tracking, and data is kept locally unless you ask for a reminder. You can also opt out.
The other new features is calendar management. Should Cortana notice that someone has requested a meeting outside your regular working hours, it will tell you so and ask if you want to reschedule.The assistant will also keep on top of any last minute meetings, to help you juggle things and leave on time. If you’re used to Google’s reminder cards based on emails, reservation confirmations and more, none of these features are new. However, they may prove handy to business users who are more likely to be logged onto Windows 10. If you’re in the Insider program, you should see the features soon, otherwise, they’ll roll out during the next big Windows 10 update.
Source: Microsoft
LG G4 owners launch petition to address bootloop issue
For the past couple of months, various LG G4 owners around the globe have been complaining about a mysterious bootloop problem affecting the device. For no apparent reason, the LG G4 will randomly reboot and get stuck in a bootloop with no apparent resolution. A petition has now been formed to get LG to officially address the issue.
The petition has been created as a means to force LG into not only acknowledging the problem, but also to institute a free replacement scheme for all affected models of the G4. According to the petition’s creator, Santiago Archila, the issue potentially affects all G4s, not just specific carrier-branded or regional models. According to Archila, LG’s response thus far has been unacceptable.
Complaints have been floating around the internet since September, 2015 – and some carriers have even acknowledged the problem as a “known issue” – but LG has reportedly not handled the issue in a consistent way. Some users have had their device replaced while others have been told their model number isn’t eligible for repair or replacement.
Some carriers have even acknowledged the problem as a “known issue”, but LG has reportedly not handled the issue in a consistent way.
If you scour YouTube, Twitter, Reddit and various Android forums like XDA Developers, you can find plenty of evidence of the problem, including multiple videos showing it in effect. The problem certainly seems to be widespread enough that an official investigation and statement from LG is warranted. We’ve reached out to LG for comment and will update this story with any response.
When the problem was initially flagged, it was thought the issue only affected early model G4 units (ie those built before October 2015) and was a hardware problem related to the motherboard on specific variants. But the claims of random bootloops have persisted, with users on all carriers and in all regions being affected with no simple solution.
If you have an LG G4 and have been affected by this issue, we encourage you to contact LG and your carrier or retailer. Signing the petition can’t hurt, but you’re better off attempting to get your particular situation remedied yourself than hoping someone else will force LG’s hand.
If you have suspicions as to what is causing the problem, please hit the comments below to share your thoughts.
Oxygen OS 2.2.0 update starts rolling out on OnePlus X
The OnePlus X update to OxygenOS 2.2.0 has officially begun, one month after it starting rolling out to the OnePlus 2. The update was announced over on the OnePlus forum and while there are several additions in the update, the biggest news for users is likely to be the arrival of manual mode for the OnePlus X camera.
Other OxygenOS update features for the OPX include: dual-SIM preferences added to system settings; “save to SD Card” added to the camera app; update to the OTA app. The usual security updates, performance enhancements and bug fixes are also included, including a USSD bug fix for Indian users. It also patches the Stagefright vulnerability.
See also: Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates roundup – January 19, 2016
The OxygenOS update is still not Marshmallow-based, but that update shouldn’t be too far away. While the Marshmallow update has been confirmed for the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 in Q1, 2016, the OnePlus X has not been confirmed for the update. For the impatient, you can grab the OTA file here, via XDA Developers (this link has not been verified, so proceed at your own risk).
Have you got the update yet? What are your thoughts?
Report: Spotify to launch video content on Android this week
Back in May, Spotify announced that it would be moving beyond music to offer video content too, in the form of music videos, podcasts and content created by a selection of partners. According to the Wall Street Journal, Spotify will finally launch its video content service through its Android app later this week, with iOS to follow the week after.
Video content will land in the US, UK, Germany and Sweden initially, according to the company, having undergone a long journey of testing in these regions. We won’t know exactly what video content will be included in the Android app until Spotify makes an official announcement, but the report states that the current content mostly consists of short clips and seems to be focusing on contextually relevant videos, in order to engage users that are used to leaving the app on the background to listen to music.
To differentiate itself from other video platforms, Spotify wants content specifically created for its service, which it will sort into categories such as “News of the Week” and “Laughs for Lunch”. Clearly the company has much bigger plans than just hosting music videos. Last year, Spotify had announced partnerships with the BBC, Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV, and Vice News, among others, to produce content.
Despite accumulating 20 million paying subscribers, Spotify is still not a profitable company yet and it doesn’t seem to be ready to monetize its new mobile video service right away. The video service will apparently be launching to all users without any advertising. Insteads it is a play to expand Spotify’s audience. However, last year Chief Executive Daniel Ek said that video ads would eventually become an important revenue source for the company.
The next Nexus: What last year’s peculiar pair might mean for 2016
2015 was a groundbreaking year for Google’s Nexus program, in several different ways. For one, there were in fact two smartphones released, yet at the same time, there was no tablet or specifically branded accessory to be found despite the actual Nexus event last September bringing forth 5 products in total. The aim of this piece is to take a quick look at what last year did – and didn’t – offer, and consider what 2016 may have to offer, especially given that rumors have already begun to surface that HTC will be tasked with making two different Nexus smartphones.
The original “strange” strategy
The announcement of two separate Nexus smartphones from Google last year came as a profound shift in its established Nexus program. In a way, it represents the largest change of strategy since 2013’s temporary decision to allow for “Google Experience Edition” products, know as “GPe” for short. The GPe program basically allowed for products unaffiliated with the Nexus program to be sold directly from Google with Vanilla Android.
Several devices were offered, from a number of manufacturers including the Samsung Galaxy S4 GPe, the HTC One M8 GPe, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra GPe, and the LG G Pad 8.3 GPe. Many of these products received OS updates far quicker than their “skinned” counterparts, and in some cases when their default variant received nothing at all.
The new strategy
Whereas 2013 officially brought the LG Nexus 5 and 2014 the Motorola Nexus 6, 2015 saw the release of a Huawei Nexus 6P, and an LG Nexus 5X, with the former representing the high end of the spectrum, and the latter offering offering more mid-range specs and pricing.
Given that Google has now established that a phablet Nexus has relevance as well as a more standard sized version, there is good reason to assume 2016 will see a similar strategy. This is all the more relevant when one considers that the Nexus smartphones, in many ways, represent the Google antithesis to Apple’s iPhones. And just as Apple now has two sizes of its own products – perhaps three this year – so too does Google.
Of course with the Nexus program, the choice has seemingly less to do with iOS competition and more to do with “internal” options. There has never been more Android phones offered than there are today, with the New York Times, last year, stating that over 1000 different companies are making phones. Given some of the strange ones that released – a Pepsi phone anyone – it’s easy to see just why the number has grown.
By giving the Nexus smartphone program a two-pronged approach, it thereby allows Google to cater to two markedly different markets, and offer compelling products that can stand their own with respect to the aforementioned “internal” competition, especially given that many of the products originating from Asia have heavily skinned user interfaces.
What dreams may come
Could HTC be making the next Nexus?
In assuming there will be two Nexus smartphones released in 2016, the question is who is going to be making them. Would Google pick a pair of producers as it did last year, or will it stick with a single supplier? Given that the first month of 2016 has already passed the half-way point, it is only fitting rumors of this year’s new Nexus devices have begun to start up. Indeed this year, perhaps more so than in those now gone, many in the Android community have increasingly higher expectations of what Google will deliver for the platform itself given the negative reaction ushered in by the Pixel C and its perceived shortcomings, namely the lack of split-screen multitasking and a plethora of tablet-optimized software.
Last week a rumor appeared originating from China’s Weibo social network that claims HTC will be making both a higher-end and lower-end Nexus smartphone this year, and that the former will land at 5.5 inches and the latter at 5.0 inches. The rumor was then expanded when two alleged product model numbers leaked. While some might argue it is too early for plausible rumors to begin for a Nexus product, last year the talk of Huawei making a device began quite early as well, and indeed such talk became a reality as last fall eventually played out.
Hints by Huawei
While any given situation may be fluid until the details and specifics are settled via contract, there is already a bit of evidence to suggest Huawei will be involved in this year’s Nexus project. It is important to consider the not-so-subtle “hint” that Huawei dropped in a recent interview with us, suggesting that it might have another close-working relationship with Google for 2016. (For reference, fast forward to the 3:10 minute mark to find the specific section referenced).
Of course this could ultimately be anything, assuming it to be true at all: a new tablet, a new Chromebook, a new Chromecast. The list could seemingly go on forever given that Huawei manufacturers far more than just devices. To play it safe however, let it be assumed the device in question would be a Nexus smartphone. This would mean either a repeat of the 6P – i.e. a top tier product – or it could be a replacement for the 5X.
While some might argue that it making a mid-tier product after crafting last year’s high end device might be seen as an insult to Huawei, do consider that the Chinese OEM is (1) quite adept at making high quality, affordable devices, and is (2) quite interested in expanding its market share and brand recognition around the world. Unlike Samsung, which allegedly named the Nexus S such because it refused to be considered “number two”, Huawei might have no qualms with the idea of producing a lower-end device, all the more so given that the 6P already proved it could do top-tier, and all the more so given that the 6P will inevitably still be sold for some time after this year’s models are announced and released.
Assuming the rumor does pan out though, and HTC will make both smartphones, the partnership which Huawei hinted could mean the OEM is working on whatever tablet Google plans to bring out this year. Given that Huawei makes numerous tablets, and just announced a newly designed product around CES, such a product would not be out of bounds to consider.
Returning to HTC…
At the same time, while HTC certainly had a flagship phone in its One M9 last year, the device was also playing it very safe. HTC has not released a truly large screen product since 2013’s HTC One Max. Moreover, HTC is also facing continued hardships with earnings and criticism for its choices. Google may not feel comfortable trusting the Taiwanese OEM with handling a potentially volatile project like the 2016 flagship Nexus smartphone out of sheer fear of seeing a repeat of the shortages that befell the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5. Huawei, for that matter, is an infinetly larger enterprise and therefore far better able to meet the manufacturing needs and supply demands of what could be a growing demand as the Nexus line becomes more well-known among the average consumer.
The supply issue problem would become seemingly a larger one if HTC makes both smartphones this year, because then it has two separate lines to worry about all the while trying to salavage its own brand and continue to develop products that make use of the A9’s new controversial design. There is also a fair question in asking how much power the HTC brand itself has given that (1) the company has fallen from grace in recent years, and (2) its sole Nexus smartphone was the original Nexus One, released at a time when arguably few people really knew what Android was compared to the absolute dominance the platform now enjoys.
The supply issue is also a problem given that Google clearly went for two different design languages with last year’s Nexus smartphones. The 6P looks quite different than the 5X. If HTC makes both devices, it would mean that the OEM would either make two clones of different sizes, or else make two entirely different products which means double the details and delivery. It would also serve to make the Nexus line into something more akin to ZTE’s Axon products, which come in different sizes yet essentially look the same. This would be good for continuity, however it would be bad in terms of creativity.
The size situation
Another point worth discussing is the idea that this year’s Nexus devices will be 5.5 and 5.0 inches as opposed to the 5.7 and 5.2-inch products that 2015 saw release. In dropping the larger device further – consider the Nexus 6 was almost a full 6-inches – it would then be on screen parity with Apple’s inevitable iPhone 7 Plus. This may work out for the better, or it might work out for the worst. Aside from that, there would be a clear segment of consumers who would be displeased that their phablet dreams would be dashed. Considering that the LG G4 – a standard smartphone – came in at 5.5 inches as well, it does indeed seem more clear that phablets need to be at least 5.7 inches or larger.
Given the overall satisfaction that seemed to be present last year with respect to the sizes of the 5X and 6P, it seems highly questionably that Google would further shrink both of its 2016 Nexus devices – assuming there are two – just for the sake of making them smaller. If anything the hardware itself could be reduced in size – the top and bottom bezels come to mind – yet leave the display sizes as they are for now.
Tablet talk
The other issue to consider is the next tablet, assuming there is one at all. Whereas 2015 was the first year ever since the original Nexus 7 tablet released in 2012 to not see a new Nexus tablet, there was still the Pixel C released. Running stock Android and receiving updates directly from Google, it is in many ways a “pure” Nexus, developed and manufactured directly by Google rather than through an OEM partner. (Though ironically enough a partner was still obviously used to manufacture the device itself as Google lacks production facilities) .
There is no telling what kind of a Nexus tablet might hit in 2016. It could be a new 7-inch product, especially if the new large Nexus smartphone were to indeed shrink to a 5.5-inch display. It could be a new 10.1 inch device. It could be anything really, but given the decreasing tablet sales as well as neither the Nexus 9 nor the Pixel C taking off by any accounts, it might be more sensible for Google to just fold the Nexus tablet line altogether.
Wrap up
Suffice to say, 2016 is going to be another big year for the Nexus program. Regardless of who makes what device, how many devices release, or even what size they may be, with the presumed inclusion of multitasking and possibly other new additions, it is likely that whatever products are manufactured and sold will be at the forefront of Google’s mobile domination.
Only time will tell what device(s) are ultimately announced and released. Given that Google looks to be making a formal unveiling of “Android N” this summer, it is theoretically possible there could be a new Nexus product announced then. More likely than not however, whatever devices may this way come will probably not see a formal unveiling until the fall.
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Why you can’t rely on Facebook friends in times of need
The scientist that previously claimed the human brain is not cognitively able to maintain more than 150 meaningful interpersonal relationships is at it again. This time, Professor Robin Dunbar is demonstrating that the vast majority of your Facebook friends don’t really care about you at all.
Dunbar’s latest research revolves around two studies of UK Facebook users. Survey respondents were asked to specify who among their Facebook friends could be relied upon in times of need and how many express sympathy when something bad is shared on the social platform.
Within an overage friend pool of 150 people, respondents felt they could only rely on less than five people during an emotional crisis and only expect a sympathetic response from less than 15.
Who do you call on in a crisis?
The figures remained relatively constant even in friend pools that were much larger, reinforcing Dunbar’s previous research that humans are not able to sustain countless stable relationships, even when aided by social media and technology.
There is a cognitive constraint on the size of social networks that even the communication advantages of online media are unable to overcome.
As Professor Dunbar notes, “there is a cognitive constraint on the size of social networks that even the communication advantages of online media are unable to overcome,” adding that, “at least occasional face-to-face interaction” is required to maintain “real” relationships.
See also: Facebook Messenger may soon get a big taste of Material Design on Android
The study certainly seems to confirm that human beings have natural limits placed upon our ability to create larger social networks with meaning, even when we have the tools to do so. Rather than creating ever-larger meaningful networks, we instead spend our time pandering to the passive entertainment needs of fake friends that actually don’t care about us at all. Now, if that’s not sufficient cause to do a “friend cull” I don’t know what is.
Do you agree with these findings? How many “real” friends would you count in your friend list?
Samsung reveals plans to launch a VR movie studio
Samsung at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah revealed plans to open a movie studio in New York aimed at creating high-quality virtual reality movies.
The Korean tech giant hasn’t offered any additional details, other than saying that the movie studio would be at an existing Samsung suite, which is currently where a team of marketers are located. Samsung believes this is an ideal location, as the marketing team would be able close enough to the production to effectively advertise the immersive stories Samsung’s new movie studio is creating.
Samsung during the film festival also announced a year-long partnership with the Sundance Institute, aimed at helping filmmakers tell stories. Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer at Samsung USA said:
“At Samsung we love stories. And we love to help people tell stories.”
It will no doubt be awhile before we hear any details on the movie studio’s upcoming project. Creating a movie is a long and involved process, and it’s no doubt a bit more complicated with adding virtual reality into the mix.
Virtual reality has a relatively small audience right now, but for it to grow and keep its current users, there needs to be a plethora of content available for it. Samsung producing immersive movies for VR is just one step in the right direction.
Let’s just hope the VR movies they create aren’t exclusive to Samsung’s own virtual reality products.
source: CNET
Come comment on this article: Samsung reveals plans to launch a VR movie studio
OnePlus rolling out OxygenOS 2.2 to the OnePlus X today
OnePlus took to its forums today to announce that OxygenOS 2.2 will be rolling out to the OnePlus X.
There’s a couple of neat things that come with this update, including a new Manual mode for the native Camera app, a save to microSD card option inside the Camera app and an OTA app upgrade. Additionally, there’s been some bug fixes, performance enhancements, and most importantly, security patches. OnePlus also noted that they added some dual-SIM preference options back in the System Settings.
As per the norm, if you haven’t gotten the update yet, you can try and snag it normally in Settings > About Phone.
OnePlus began rolling out the same update for the OnePlus 2 back in late December.
Updates like these do take a couple of weeks to get to every device owner, so if you still don’t see it, be sure to check back later.
source: OnePlus
Come comment on this article: OnePlus rolling out OxygenOS 2.2 to the OnePlus X today
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