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Oculus Touch will control over 30 games this year
Were you worried that Oculus’ Touch controller would arrive without any games that used it? If you ask Oculus, there’s no reason to worry. It’s promising that over 30 Oculus Rift games will use the VR peripheral in 2016. Some of them are titles you’ll know, like Rock Band VR and Serious Sam VR, while others are Touch-ready versions of existing VR experiences like Job Simulator and The Climb. Oculus itself will bundle a sculpting title, Oculus Medium.
This is still just a sliver of the overall gaming universe, so it’s not quite the abundance that Oculus makes it out to be. Also, some of the more promising material, like Twisted Pixel’s Wilson’s Heart, doesn’t show until 2017. Treat this like a video game console launch — there will be plenty to play, but only if you’re not picky. The real show begins when the “hundreds” of future Oculus Touch games arrive and you can simply assume that many (if not most) Rift games support the device.
Source: Oculus
GoPro and Ubisoft join forces to bring thrillseekers ‘Steep’
Love watching amazing stunts recorded by fearless people with skis, snowboards or even wingsuits? Don’t have the guts to do all those things yourself? Ubisoft wants to give you the power to experience some of the very same experiences without all the danger with the aid of GoPro in the form of their latest project Steep.
Steep is essentially a virtual playground for those who dig snow sports. Players will be able to navigate the mountain playgrounds of the Alps using four different and unique methods of traversal: ski, wingsuit, snowboard or paraglide.
There are droves of hidden spots and various areas to uncover as you explore the snowy terrain, all spread throughout the Alps. To keep things as realistic and immersive as possible, the game also utilizes various GoPro perspectives including footage from actual GoPro cameras and several potential new products.
While playing, you’ll be able to meet and follow other players or gather friends to pull off some stunts, even mixing different sports to record some truly insane tricks. If you fly solo, you can take on a series of challenges like Big Air, Proximity Flying or Forest Slaloms to prove to the rest of the world you’re not to be trifled with.
When you’ve done something truly share-worthy, you can send your feats to your friends via social media. You can choose the pace, camera angle and even speed to capture your run, which becomes uniquely yours.
Steep will be releasing for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Apple and Microsoft address Orlando, avoid gay community
Early Sunday morning, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., became the home of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. The following morning Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer took the stage at separate, preplanned press conferences to offer support from “the Apple community” and “the gaming community,” respectively, before launching into their regularly scheduled hyperbolic outpourings of consumer enthusiasm. In doing so, they not only undermined the tragedy, they ignored the community it most affected.
I have no doubt that the people behind Apple and Microsoft had the best intentions in calling for a moment of silence. But best intentions aside, some things are better left unsaid.
Consumer brands have an uncomfortable relationship with tragedy. On Sept. 11, 2013, AT&T sparked a social media firestorm with a tweet featuring a disembodied hand holding a smartphone, an image of the 9/11 memorial lighting its screen. The tweet read simply, “Never Forget.” The judgement was swift and unforgiving. As the internet hive mind saw it, AT&T exploited one of the greatest American tragedies to hawk cellphones. The company quickly apologized and pulled the tweet.
When Cook took the stage at Apple’s developer conference this morning and called for a moment of silence, the response was largely positive. At first glance, this may seem like an apples v. oranges debate. After all, Cook’s comments can be seen as personal, given that he is a gay man speaking just one day after the shootings, while AT&T’s tweet came 12 years to the day after the Sept. 11th attacks. AT&T seemingly used a tragedy to promote its business, while Cook used his platform to draw attention to a tragedy. In both cases, the offense is all about the context.
WWDC may not be a consumer-facing event. It is a developer’s event first and foremost, but it is, nonetheless, an advertisement of sorts. Like AT&T’s Twitter account, Apple uses its WWDC keynote to get fans and developers excited about upcoming products. It promotes its latest operating systems, software developments and potential revenue streams for developers with hyperbolic back-patting, impromptu dance routines, and, yes, dad jokes. In that sense, today’s event was business as usual. Aside from its opening moments, there was no evidence of a great national loss or any sign that Apple and its top brass felt anything but excitement over incremental innovation.
Considering what followed, Cook’s call for a moment of silence felt like a token nod to tragedy before getting to the good stuff. As for his personal connection to the events, I have no doubt that as a gay man, Cook has very complicated feelings about what happened in Orlando. I think we all do. That said, his moment of silence wasn’t for our community; it was addressed instead to “the Apple community.”
“It was a senseless, unconscionable act of terrorism and hate, aimed at dividing and destroying. The Apple community is made up of people from all around the world, from all different backgrounds, and all different points of view. We celebrate our diversity. We know that it makes us stronger and moves everyone forward. Please rise and join us in a moment of silence to honor the victims and the people who love them.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook, WWDC 2016
I appreciate Cook’s sentiments, and I’m all for gay people in positions of power drawing attention to the hate and discrimination our community faces every day, but there is a time and place for serious discussion and reflection. The opening moments of what is essentially a self-congratulatory, hourlong advertisement isn’t it. Forcing these two things together is as tone-deaf and seemingly self-serving as AT&T’s 9/11 fail.
That said, it’s nowhere near as poorly thought-out as Microsoft’s own shout-out to the victims of the Orlando shooting, a similarly milquetoast moment of somberness before a multimedia assault promoting, among other things, hyperviolent video games that glamorize gun violence. Just minutes after addressing the Orlando attacks, Spencer turned the stage over to creators of Gears of War 4, for a bloody, guns-blazing demo of the game.
“To everyone affected by the recent tragedy in Orlando, our hearts are with you. And you should know, you are not alone, the gaming community mourns with you.” Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, E3 2016
Tragedy isn’t an opportunity for brand awareness. Apple’s new OS and Microsoft’s latest console may be hot shit, but they’re not symbols of hope or unity. They are symbols of selfish consumerism and multibillion-dollar profits. While the individuals who drive these brands no doubt feel very strongly about what happened in Orlando, brands aren’t people. They don’t have feelings, they have products. Attempting to connect the two in the context of a tragedy is tone-deaf at best.
The Orlando shootings were an act of violence against the gay community; yet when Apple and Microsoft attempted to show their support, there was no mention of that community. In avoiding the identity of the victims and the nature of the violence, these corporations betrayed their underlying allegiances. As Cook and Spencer’s carefully worded speeches show, today’s keynotes weren’t about the gay community, no matter how well-intentioned.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
DraftKings and FanDuel are reportedly talking about a merger
Many would say that DraftKings and FanDuel are two sides of the same daily fantasy sports coin, and for good reason: in addition to similar businesses, they’ve sometimes been uncomfortably close to each other. And now, it looks like they might just cement that bond once and for all. Sources for both Bloomberg and Reuters say that the two companies are in merger talks. They reportedly haven’t agreed on anything and might not unite, but the insiders claim that the two have been discussing the deal for a long time. Neither DraftKings nor FanDuel has commented so far.
A tie-up might be necessary. Regulators in multiple states have been clamping down on daily fantasy businesses, limiting where and how they operate. A merger would let them consolidate and potentially weather the legal storm better than they would on their own. There’s no certainty that this would work, or even make financial sense, but it’s easy to see the companies deciding that the risks are too great to remain separate.
Source: Bloomberg, Reuters
Ubisoft is still making a ‘Watch Dogs’ movie
Ubisoft has decided that all of its major video game franchises should be turned into movies. Following Assassin’s Creed and The Division, the publisher has reiterated (almost three years after its original announcement) that Watch Dogs is getting a big screen adaptation. There’s no word, however, on when it’ll be coming out. Or what it’ll be like. The upcoming Watch Dogs 2 has a wildly different tone to its predecessor, removing the unlikeable Aiden Pearce in favor of a more youthful hero. The trailers so far have been hilarious, in a borderline cringeworthy way — if the film is based on the new game, hopefully it can strike a better tone.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Serious Sam’s next adventure will be in virtual reality
Adapting classic gaming franchises to VR seems to be a theme at E3 this year. Fallout is getting a VR experience. So is Doom. So, what nostalgic game series is next? Serious Sam, of course. Today, Croteam announced Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope — a virtual reality smorgasbord of explosions, hordes of alien monsters and gratuitous 1990s video game violence.
The game’s teaser trailer is wonderfully silly — bursting with the over-the-top aggressive shtick Serious Sam is known for. Details on gameplay are a little sparse though: all we really know is that players will face off against new and old enemies in new and old locations, and that the game appears to be a standing rail action shooter akin to Space Pirate Trainer.
If the trailer seems a little shallow, that’s because it is — the title’s developer says that Serious Sam VR is just a “fun separate side project,” and reassures die-hard fans on twitter that a proper sequel is still in the works. “We’re still working hard on Serious Sam 4 as our prime goal,” Croteam wrote on Twitter. “Be patient!” There’s no word on when the official sequel will be ready, but folks with VR headsets will be able to play Serious Sam VR on Steam early access later this summer.
Source: Twitter
Netflix nabs ‘The Discovery’ sci-fi film, plans cinema release
Netflix continues to pad its streaming library, and this time it’s adding another indie film. The Discovery, directed by Charlie McDowell, takes place two years after humans proved the afterlife is a real thing and millions are committing suicide in an attempt to start fresh. The movies stars Rooney Mara (The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo), Robert Redford and Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Redford’s character makes the discovery while Segel plays his son with Mara as the younger’s love interest.
The project also stars Jesse Plemons of Fargo and Breaking Bad fame and joins the slate of upcoming Netflix original films with the likes of Ellen Page, Paul Rudd and Brad Pitt. There’s no word on when The Discovery will make its debut, but Deadline reports there are plans for a 2017 theatrical release alongside the streaming premiere. It’s a similar strategy the service took for Beasts of No Nation, making it available for both streaming and theater-goers after its release. This is just the latest in a string of movie announcements from Amazon and Netflix, as both services are adding full-length films at almost the same rate they’re announcing original series.
Source: Deadline Hollywood
Apple’s new file system revolves around encryption
One of Apple’s quietest announcements at WWDC might also be its most important. The company has introduced a brand new file system, simply called Apple File System (APFS) that makes security its centerpiece. It offers a unified encryption method for virtually every device Apple makes, ranging from the Apple Watch to the Mac. That includes multi-key encryption, which makes it tough to crack even if you have physical access to the storage. In short, the FBI won’t be happy: Encryption is now a core part of the operating system, not just something bolted on after the fact.
APFS also acknowledges the advances in technology in the nearly two decades since Apple’s current file system, HFS+, hit the scene. It’s optimized for flash storage, uses extremely fine-grained time stamps (down to the nanosecond) and supports a whopping 9 quintillion files on a single volume. You’ll also see “snapshots” (read-only instances of the file system) that make Time Machine-style backups easier.
The file system is available to developers in preview form right now, and it should launch in earnest in 2017. However, unlike the usual operating system previews, you don’t even dare try this unless you’re writing apps where it’d be a factor. The pre-release APFS can’t be used to boot a device and doesn’t support many Mac staples, such as Fusion Drives or Time Machine. There’s no certainty that the data you put on a drive now will be readable by later versions of APFS, for that matter. Nonetheless, its very existence is noteworthy: It’ll likely dictate the features of Apple gadgets for years to come.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Source: Apple (1), (2)
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