LG LTNC11121V review – CNET
The Good LG’s smallest full-size refrigerator looks more expensive than it really is, and it holds accurate temperatures in the body of the fridge. It also holds more groceries than we expected it would.
The Bad Some parts of the interior feel a bit flimsy. Also, the door shelves and the crisper bin ran warm in all of our tests.
The Bottom Line The compact-sized LTNC11121V is worth considering if you’re looking for a second fridge, or if you’re tight on space.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
We’ve tested a lot of refrigerators over the past few years at CNET Appliances, and fridge for fridge, the brand that’s impressed us the most is LG. The Korean brand’s refrigerators have consistently outperformed the competition in our cooling tests, and many of the higher-end models offer the kinds of designs and features that make upgrading exciting.
The LG LTNC11121V is not one of those higher-end models. In fact, at $700, it’s the least expensive fridge that LG sells, and the smallest, too: just 24 inches wide, with a total capacity of just 11.1 cubic feet. It’s about as compact as refrigerators come without venturing into mini-fridge territory, but with good performance and a decent design for the price, it might be good fit for a back room or a tight kitchen.
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With the exception of those two 12-packs, I was able to squeeze all of our test groceries into the fridge.
Chris Monroe/CNET
Design and features
The LTNC11121V almost looks more like a locker than a refrigerator. At 24 inches wide, it’s as skinny as full-size fridges come, so if you’re trying to fill a tight space in your kitchen, there’s a good chance it’s up to the task.
Looks-wise, it’s a good design for the price, with a stainless-steel finish and recessed handles. It doesn’t scream luxury, but then again, neither do most other compact-sized refrigerators.
With 11.1 cubic feet of total storage space inside, 8.5 of which are allocated to the fridge, you’ve got less than half the space for fresh groceries than you’ll get with LG’s largest top freezer model (which, incidentally, happens to be our top top-freezer pick). That’s not a lot of room to work with, so if you’re thinking of using this thing to keep a family fed, think again.
Then again, the LTNC11121V did better than I expected it would when I started stuffing groceries into it. The door shelves were big enough to accommodate a pair of two-liters along with a few other large beverages, and the shelves were deep enough to hold two 1-gallon jugs of milk — though not deep enough to fit either of the 12-packs of soda from our standardized load of test groceries. They were the only two things I couldn’t fit inside.
As for features, you don’t get much — just the one crisper bin, along with a “Pull-Out Tray” that sits a few inches below the top shelf and slides out for easy access. Up in the freezer, you’ll find a manual ice maker with a pair of smallish ice cube trays that you can twist to dump the cubes into a bin. It’s an interesting approach, though it feels a bit flimsy. Also, you can’t take those trays out to fill them at the sink. Instead, you have to bring the water to the freezer, and I had a hard time pouring it in without spilling.
Twitter Engage app: What is it, how does it work, and who can use it?
Kim Kardashian West has access to a new app that makes Twitter much easier for her to understand and use.
The app is called Twitter Engage. Although it’s not limited to famous people, it’s obvious that the app is meant to help popular or verified users on Twitter highlight the most important interactions they’ve had and view detailed analytics and performance numbers for their posts. But like we said, anyone can use it, so if you’re at all interested in it, we’ve detailed everything you need to know.
What is Twitter Engage?
Twitter Engage is all about analytics.
However, Twitter has described Engage as a new companion app for Twitter. It’s available now and basically provides you with real-time data and insights about your tweets and followers. It’s clear that Engage is targeting famous people, including celebrities, influences, and public figures. I’s designed to help them better interact with their audience and build an even bigger following.
With Twitter Engage, you can see how your posts perform. So, if you’re a rich person posting a sponsored tweet that tries to hawk a juice cleanse, you can see how well your followers responded to it by viewing total impressions and interactions with that post. You can also sift through the noise and find mentions and interactions with your verified and top followers.
The idea is you’ll be able to better engage with Twitter (no pun intended), and you’ll be able to better understand engagement activity on your posts. It’s also about making it easier for you to connect with fans. It gives you all the info you need in one, organised place.
How does Twitter Engage work?
Start by downloading Twitter Engage. It’s free but only available for iOS in the US. From there, open the app and give it permission to connect to your Twitter account. You should see a Get Started button at the bottom and might have to log into Twitter. Once all that is done, the app will load its main interface. You’ll see a menu bar along the bottom with three main tabs: Engage, Understand, and Posts.
Engage
Engage displays your most important interactions on Twitter. You’ll see a section where you view the most recent “top” people who have followed you (in other words: verified people), and you’ll see another section that aggregates all your interactions with verified people (such as mentions, replies, likes, etc). You’ll even see another screen that specifically highlights all your mentions from people whom you interact with you a lot.
Understand
Understand displays high-level analytics for your posts in real-time, such as how many impressions you’ve been getting over time. You’ll also see your recent likes, mentions, retweets, impressions, and followers, along with data about your audience, including their demographics.
Posts
Posts displays detailed performance numbers for individual posts. You will see three different sections that’ll let you see stats for your videos, photos and gifs, and other tweets. Each post will show impressions, engagements, likes, retweets, replies, etc.
Who can use Twitter Engage?
Twitter Engage reminds us of Facebook Mentions – a two-year-old app that also helps celebrities discover posts about them and relevant to them. That said, Mentions requires a verified Facebook account to use, while Twitter Engage is available to all iOS Twitter users in the US.
Want to know more?
Check out Twitter’s blog post for more details.
Reddit users helped bust a national park graffiti artist
Graffiti artist Casey Nocket is learning first-hand about the consequences of sharing illegal acts online. She’s facing a US-wide national park ban and 200 hours of community service after Modern Hiker and Reddit users identified her as the vandal who painted faces in six parks, including Colorado National Monument and Death Valley. A Reddit hiker drew the earliest known attention to the vandalism, but things really snowballed when MH’s Casey Schreiner posted a story detailing Nocket’s identity and social networking accounts. That led to a further Reddit discussion, which caught the eye of a National Parks Service investigator… you can guess what happened next.
The internet’s contribution wasn’t uniformly positive. Would-be vigilantes tried to post Nocket’s home address (aka a classic doxxing attempt) on both Modern Hiker and Reddit, and the general rage toward Nocket sparked fears for her safety. While other users helped report these incidents, they show that there’s a fine line between online justice and online abuse.
Via: The Guardian
Source: Reddit (1), (2), Modern Hiker
iPhone 7 to Feature Longer Earpiece Cutout, Relocated Ambient Light Sensor
Some minor changes are coming to the front of the iPhone 7 that will render protective LCD films made for other devices unusable on the new iPhone, reports Japanese site Mac Otakara.
According to the site, manufacturers of LCD films have stopped receiving orders as the iPhone 7 is expected to feature some front panel changes that will require new film designs.
Mockup of what the iPhone 7 could look like, without front panel changes taken into account
Recently, some manufacturers of LCD protection films on Alibaba.com have stopped receiving orders as iPhone 7 has its proximity sensor on the front changed to the dual specification in addition to the ambient light sensor on the side moving from the left side to the right while a slightly longer receiver.
Mac Otakara also reiterates rumors that the iPhone 7 Plus will feature a dual-lens camera while the iPhone 7 will feature a larger back camera, rendering existing iPhone 6s and 6s Plus cases unusable with the new devices
Though only small design tweaks are expected to be seen in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, there will be enough of a design shift to require accessory makers to create new products and to require iPhone buyers to purchase new products.
Schematics and blueprints suggest the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be largely the same dimensions as the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s, but with relocated antenna bands, better water resistance, the removal of the headphone jack, and possibly some as of yet unknown reduction in thickness. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the iPhone 7 could be 1mm thinner than the iPhone 6s, but case leaks and other rumors suggest more a more modest change.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday called the changes set to be introduced in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus “subtle,” while Kuo has said the device will not have many “attractive selling points.” Apple is eschewing a major design revamp in 2016 in order to introduce more expansive changes in the 2017 iPhone, expected to see an all glass body with an edge-to-edge display.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: macotakara.jp
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How to make your Galaxy S7 feel more like stock Android – CNET
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Jason Cipriani/CNET
While Samsung has spent the last two years toning down the amount of changes it makes to Android with its proprietary TouchWiz interface, it can still be a little too much for some.
Whether you love Samsung’s hardware but hate the software, or you simply want a stock Android experience on the S7 or S7 Edge, it only takes a few minutes of your time to put Google’s Android design flair on your device.
Keep in mind, however, you won’t be able to replace every aspect of Samsung’s interface with a stock Android design, but you can get pretty close.
Material themes
Samsung’s Galaxy line has a Theme store where users can go to find themes that suit their personal tastes. Whether it’s a random robot theme, complete with robot-inspired app icons, wallpapers, sounds and fonts, or a theme that mimics Google’s Material Design the company uses in its own apps and on stock Android devices.
Open the Themes store on your Galaxy S7, and search for “Material.” There are a handful of Material-inspired themes available for free. Install each one, tap around and find one that works for you.
Google Now Launcher
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
The easiest way to make your S7 feel more like a stock Android device is to install the Google Now Launcher.
Once you’ve installed the app, open it and follow the prompts to select the Google Now Launcher as your default Home screen app.
With Google’s launcher active, you can find quick access to Google Now by swiping to the right on the main home screen. You’ll also notice the app icons are a tad bigger, and the app drawer itself now scrolls vertically, instead of horizontally. Additionally, there’s the option to search through the app drawer at the top of the drawer.
More Information
Read the full CNET Review
Samsung Galaxy S7
The Bottom Line:
The fast, powerful, beautiful Galaxy S7 phone is 2016’s all-around phone to beat.
Read full review
CNET Editors’ Rating
4.5 stars
Outstanding
Priced at
$599.00
to $694.99
Reviewed: Mar 8, 2016
Google Apps
Stock Android is naturally full of Google’s own apps, whereas the Galaxy S7 is a mixed bag of Samsung and Google apps. Replace apps such as Samsung’s Calendar and web browser with Google’s offering. Here’s a list with Play store links of some apps you may want to install:
- Google Calendar
- Google Messenger
- Google Photos
- Google Clock
- Google Keyboard
- Google CalculatorGoogle Fit
For apps such as Calendar, Messenger and Photos you’ll need to set them as the default app. You can do that in Settings > Device > Applications.
With a few apps and tweaks, you can turn your Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge into a device that closely mimics one of Google’s Nexus phones, rather than Samsung’s TouchWiz interface.
How to use multi-window mode on Samsung Galaxy S7
How do I use multi-window mode on Samsung Galaxy S7?
Although Android N will be bringing a split-screen functionality to all Android phones in the future, Samsung’s Galaxy series of phones have been able to use multi-window mode for years now. This multi-tasking feature is extremely useful for people who are tired of moving back and forth between apps.
- How to enable multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
- How to enable multi-window mode in from Recent menu on Galaxy S7
- How to enable multi-window mode from an app on Galaxy S7
- How to adjust the size of the multi-window mode windows on Galaxy S7
- How to invert the app windows’ positions in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
- How to drag and drop content in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
- How to minimize an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
- How to maximize an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
- How to close an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
How to enable multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
Not all apps are capable of using multi-window mode, so only multi-window-compatible apps will appear when you activate multi-window mode.
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
The app that you are currently in will always have a blue outline around the edges, so you shouldn’t lose track of where you are.
How to enable multi-window mode in from Recents menu on Galaxy S7
If you already have the app you want to use multi-window mode open, you can easily start a multi-window session from the Recents menu.
Press the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Tap the multi-window mode button on the app you want. It looks like to rectangles stack on top of each other. This button will only appear on apps that support multi-window mode.
Tap second app you want to use.
How to enable multi-window mode from an app on Galaxy S7.
If you are already in an app and want to start a multi-window session, you can do so with just a few taps provided the app you have open supports multi-window mode.
Launch any app from your Home screen or app drawer.
Press and hold the Recents key.
Tap on the second app you want to open.
How to adjust the size of the multi-window mode windows on Galaxy S7
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Press and hold the white circle in the middle of the two app windows.
Drag the white circle to the spot you want.
Let go.
How to invert the app windows’ positions in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
You can quickly invert the positions of both apps that are open in Multi-Window mode. Not only will they switch positions, but the windows will also switch sizes.
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Press the white circle in the middle of both apps
Press the invert positions button. It’s the furthest left button in the multi-window menu.
How to drag and drop content in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
Some apps — fair warning it’s a limited list— will allow you to drag and drop content between them when you have them in multi-window mode. If you try it with two apps that aren’t supported, your Galaxy S7 will let you know.
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Tap on the app window you want to drag and drop content from. The app you have selected will be surrounded by a blue border.
Tap the the white circle in the middle of the two app windows.
Tap on the drag and drop content button.
From here you can now drag the content on the app window you have selected to the other app window.
How to minimize an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Tap on the app window you want to minimize. The app you have selected will be surrounded by a blue border.
Tap the the white circle in the middle of the two app windows.
Tap on the minimize button. It’s the two arrows facing pointing towards each other in a box.
How to maximize an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Tap on the app window you want to maximize. The app you have selected will be surrounded by a blue border.
Tap the the white circle in the middle of the two app windows.
Tap on the maximize button. It’s the double-sided arrow in the box.
How to close an app in multi-window mode on Galaxy S7
Press and hold the Recents key. It’s the button to the left of your Home button.
Open the first app you want to use.
Open the second app you want to use. Note: you can’t open the same app twice.
Tap on the app window you want to maximize. The app you have selected will be surrounded by a blue border.
Tap the the white circle in the middle of the two app windows.
Tap on the close button. It looks like an X.
Best AT&T prepaid phones
Going prepaid with AT&T and in need of a phone? Check out our favorites.
Sure, you could pick up a prepaid phone straight from AT&T, but if you’ll always have more choice by bringing your own unlocked device. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best phones you can buy outright to use unlocked on the carrier.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
- LG G5
- Nexus 6P
- HTC 10
- LG Nexus 5X
- iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
A popular pick (and rightfully so) is the Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge. All that was awesome about the Galaxy S6 has been enhanced and Samsung keeps giving the people what they want.
The battery life in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge has been improved and extended considerably; in other words, bring on your busiest day and it will keep up with you. If your day involves rain or possible puddle or pool encounters, worry not; the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are waterproof. Take that, Mother Nature. The fingerprint sensor is conveniently tucked into the Home button and works like such a charm you’ll wonder how you’ve gone without one until now.
If you love photography with your Android phone, these are the phones you need to get your hands on. Photos turn out fabulously in just about any light and the Quad HD SuperAMOLED display on both phones keeps your pictures and streaming videos looking clear and sharp.
Need a little more convincing? Check out our reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.
See at AT&T
LG G5
For something completely different, have a look at the LG G5. The modular design is a new direction for LG and it makes the phone a unique offering in the world of Android.
You want a great camera? LG’s got a great camera – three, in fact. Of course, you have your front-facing camera for those necessary selfies, but you also get two rear-facing cameras: a 16-megapixel main camera (same as the G4) and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera. The fingerprint sensor is built into the power button on the back of the phone and it boasts impressive accuracy.
The Snapdragon 820 processor will keep you happily multitasking all day and the 5.3-inch Quad HD quantum display keeps your video streaming and app gaming in top form. The feel isn’t as premium as the Galaxy S7 series, but that’s what you’ll trade for the G5’s modular capabilities. The “Friends” ecosystem of add-ons includes items like camera modules that attach to the phone when you remove the base.
Want to know what we think about the LG G5? Check out our review.
See at Amazon
Nexus 6P
The latest Nexus phone has lived up to all the hype, and a long-awaited and well-executed phone from Google could be right up your alley — even as we enter the latter half of the year. You can’t buy the Nexus 6P from a carrier, but you purchase it unlocked and bring it to AT&T.
The camera holds up well next to many current Android phones, offering 8 megapixels for the front-facing camera and 12.3 megapixels for the rear-facing one. It works in bright outdoor light or shadowy indoor environments and features laser-assisted autofocus for accurate focusing in the dark.
The 5.7-inch display and aluminum body look and feel modern, industrial, and comfortable in your hands. The fingerprint sensor uses Nexus Imprint and is located on the back of the phone, which is a departure from the way some manufacturers have been doing it, but 6P owners tend to like this feature having its own space away from the home screen or bezels. The nippy 810 Snapdragon processor and strong battery life round out the reasons the Nexus 6P is a good buy.
There’s more to learn. Check out our review of the Nexus 6P to see what we have to say.
See at Amazon
HTC 10
HTC is back in a big way with the HTC 10, an outstanding 2016 flagship phone for the company that’s been a little quiet lately. Although it’s not offered directly from AT&T, the unlocked HTC 10 is compatible with the network and can be purchased from another retailer.
Crazy about music? Say no more: the HTC 10 features BoomSound Hi-Fi that’s going to make all of your music sound stellar. The front-facing tweeter and bottom-facing woofer give you more volume than you could possibly need (with some help from Dolby, no less), and there’s a dedicated amp in the headphone jack so that you can rock out in crystal clarity. The capacitive fingerprint scanner doubles as the home key; the set up for scanning is straightforward, easy, and secure.
The HTC 10 comes with either 32GB or 64GB of storage that can be expanded upon with a microSD card, which can be used as adoptable storage, so you’ll never run out of space for photos or music. The 5.2-inch Quad HD display can be a little hard to see in bright sunlight, but the 10 makes up for this in other areas.
Need to know more? Get all the details on the HTC 10 from our review.
See at Amazon
LG Nexus 5X
For a solid mid-range phone, look no further than the LG Nexus 5X. You’ll need to purchase it unlocked from another retailer and opt for the bring-your-own-device prepaid plan.
A smaller and lighter offering compared to other phones, the 5.2-inch display is clear and covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. The Snapdragon 808 Processor and dependable battery give you a full day of work and play without much to worry about in terms of bogging down the phone or searching for an outlet to charge up at. The phone is available in 16GB or 32GB, and for the price, you’ll be better investing in the 32GB model.
The camera is one of the phone’s best features, offering a 12.3-megapixel sensor for excellent color and detail capture. The phone also features Nexus Imprint fingerprint scanning, which sets up easily with six simple presses to the sensor.
See more on the LG Nexus 5X in our review.
See at Amazon
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
Yes, this is Android Central, but no, we’re not going to leave the iPhone off of the list when we’re talking about the best phones to use on AT&T. They have much to offer and are worth considering.
The iPhone 6s has a 4.7-inch Retina HD display and the iPhone 6s Plus tops out at 5.5 inches. Shutterbugs will rejoice at the 12 megapixel camera for still photos and the 4K video capabilities, and they can bring those still shots to life with the Live Photos feature, which animates an image using a second and a half before and after the image was taken. 3D Touch sensors also recognize the pressure your fingertips put on the screen to easily open apps or preview content.
Touch ID keeps your iPhone secure and the storage capacity ranges from the standard 16GB up to as much as 128GB. Not too shabby, iPhone.
Thinking about making the leap to an iPhone? Check out iMore’s reviews of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus.
See at AT&T
More, you say?
If you need to see more options before buying, have a look at some of the best unlocked phones and see how they stack up.
Grab a limited edition Android Namey McNameface t-shirt now!
Google is having a bit of fun in the latest Android N Developer Preview by trolling us with a Namey McNameface Easter egg. While we doubt the name is going to stick for the final version, it’s still a great name and would make for a heck of a shirt, huh? Especially since when Google announced that it would be seeking submissions for the name of the update, it specifically called out Namey McNameface as something that should not be submitted.
So, before Google announces the official name for the next version of Android, why not grab one of these limited edition t-shirts for your collection. There are a few options available for t-shirt styles, as well as a sweatshirt option if you want something to wear when it’s a bit cooler. This will instantly become a collectors edition as Google announces the real name, making it even cooler to have. You want to be a cool kid, right? If so, hit the link below and grab one for yourself now, as you only have until June 27 to get your order in!
See at TeeSpring
‘Resident Evil 7’ is going back to its horror roots
Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 brings some substantial revisions to the series. The seventh major installment takes the franchise into virtual reality, but that’s just the start of the changes you’ll see when it launches on PS4 early next year. The studio is taking the opportunity to rewrite the “survival horror” game concept it helped pioneer, stripping away a lot of schlocky Resident Evil tropes, enemies and characters. Both the demo and trailer show a more terse, psychological kind of horror game, something that several games (including Konami’s loudly canned P.T. teaser) are looking to tap into. Action appears to takes a back seat to exploration and plain weirdness. It’s a great conceit, but it’s still a work in progress. Series producer Masachika Kawata explained to Engadget what’s happened to Resident Evil — and the challenge of ensuring that those playing on PSVR can stomach it.
To start, this Resident Evil is a different kind of experience, regardless of whether you play it with or without PSVR; both versions are presented with a first-person view. “It offers a more detailed, visceral experience of the game environment,” Kawata said. “But comfort optimizations are an extra challenge.”
In the short demo (playable now on PS4 with a PS Plus subscription), the game starts with you inside an abandoned house. The goal is to get the hell out of there, which is mostly a matter of exploring and interacting with things inside the house. Without spoiling it, the demo doesn’t offer much (or anything) in the way of weapons, but that’s not to say you won’t be able to fight back. “[After switching perspective to first person], I like how the control system works with combat. While we haven’t shown that just yet — it’s coming,” Kawata said.
According to Kawata, the first-person view also offers a “more detailed, visceral experience of the game environment … although comfort optimizations are an extra challenge.” It makes sense: If I’m meant to be the character in a VR game, looking through her eyes, then shaking the camera or switching the perspective will make for an uncomfortable experience. Kawata explains: “Like climbing a ladder: In the PS4 version, the camera pans out to show the character climbing down. In VR, we’d fade out from the view from the start of the ladder and fade back in once you’ve moved. These are the kind of things we have to look into and support [for VR players].”
Those aren’t the only VR issues that Capcom needs to tackle. My colleague Jess Conditt went through the wringer while playing the PSVR teaser, which made her feel severely nauseous. (I also had to take off the PSVR headset before finishing the demo, as I felt similarly queasy. And we’re not alone.)
Kawata admits there’s work to be done here: “There’s a lot of variables in place when you play VR, including how [the player] literally feels at the time that you play it,” he said. “It’s something that we’re comprehensively looking into, especially at events like E3, which is an opportunity to gather feedback from gamers that try it out. We’re optimizing Resident Evil 7, to make it the most comfortable experience we can make it.”
Whatever the problem, it highlights an important fact: Good VR is fantastic, but there’s nothing worse than bad VR.
According to Kawata, “We’re aware that the main issue, the freedom of movement of the VR headset, can sometimes clash with the right stick that adjusts your view on the controller. That seems to be one of the issues — one that we’re working hard to resolve.”
It could be the camera system, or it could be the lower frame rates on the PSVR compared to the competition. Whatever the problem, it highlights an important fact: Good VR is fantastic, but there’s nothing worse than bad VR.
With everything that’s changed, is this a Resident Evil title only in name? Despite those aforementioned changes across the latest installment, the game isn’t a reboot: It continues the storyline from RE6, albeit in a different way. No zombies or shotguns? You should be OK: “You can be assured that the experience will very much be a Resident Evil one,” Kawata added.
Making a full game in VR was a challenge, he said. “It’s a lot of work but I really think we’re starting to see the results of all that now.” There’s still time, at least, for the team to work out those (literally) stomach-sinking VR issues: Resident Evil 7 launches Jan. 24th, 2017.
This interview has been translated from Japanese as well as edited and condensed.
Game studio claims it lost $450,000 to key resales
Game key resales are theoretically ideal for players — you can buy that must-have title at a discount from someone who wasn’t going to use it anyway. However, SpeedRunners developer TinyBuild would beg to differ. It’s accusing G2A of facilitating a black market in game keys that amounted to $450,000 in potential lost sales at retail prices. The studio maintains that G2A is refusing proper help (including compensation) after fraudsters bought keys from the TinyBuild store using stolen credit cards and posted them on G2A, making a tidy profit while TinyBuild made nothing. Supposedly, the only way to get help would be to forge a deal with G2A itself and undercut its own retail partners in order to compete with the bootleggers. Simply blacklisting a range of keys wasn’t an option, either.
G2A, to no one’s shock, sees things differently. It believes that TinyBuild made “unjustified demands” of its store. It also argues that it suspended shady key sales before TinyBuild even got in touch, and that the developer isn’t being entirely honest about its revenues — it’s using the peak prices as its model, not the sale prices that frequently appear. G2A is giving TinyBuild 3 days (until June 25th) to deliver a list of “suspicious” keys that it wants to investigate.
The truth might be somewhere in between these two positions. G2A wasn’t the one who bought keys through shady means, and it did take steps to keep things clean without being prompted. However, this does suggest that both sides may need screening that discourages fraud in the first place — it’s rare that someone honest will buy or sell game keys in those kinds of quantities.
Source: Gamasutra (1), (2), G2A
AIVAnet 