Facebook Instant Games gets live-streams so you can show off your skills

Facebook launched Instant Games for Messenger just over a year ago, offering 20 games at the start. Twelve months on and developers excited by the platform have been knocking out customized versions of their popular games, expanding the count to 70.

Celebrating Instant Games’ first birthday, the social networking giant on Thursday unveiled several new features, the most notable of which is live-streaming for players “who love to share their play-throughs and engage in a little smack talk.”

It means that if you really must show off your skills, you can now broadcast your gameplay to friends and family in real time via Facebook Live.

To do so, all you have to do is tap the camera icon in the upper right corner of the display while you’re playing a game, whether it’s EverWing, Pac-Man, Arkanoid, or one of the other 67 offerings.

Once selected, you can choose precisely who to broadcast to, and add a short description to get your viewers interested.

To begin the live-stream, press the “Start Live Video” button and you’re off. When you decide to end the broadcast, “the video will be published to your Page or profile so that fans and friends who missed it can watch at a later time,” Facebook explained on its website, adding that you can also remove it if you so choose.

While the live-streaming feature is available now, Facebook is also promising more for 2018, including the ability to play games alongside a video chat. The fun-sounding feature will kick off with Words With Friends, so instead of merely imagining your opponent’s face when you lay down a 100-point word that no one’s ever heard of, you’ll soon have the fun of seeing their reaction when they realize what you’ve done.

Finally, other goodies coming soon to Instant Games include the once wildly popular Angry Birds by Rovio Entertainment, though the Messenger version promises “an exciting new way to challenge friends.” Other incoming games include Sega’s Sonic Jump, Disney Tsum Tsum from Line, and a new casual puzzle game from GungHo Online, makers of the hit game Puzzle & Dragons.

Instant Games and the upcoming additional features are all part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts to drive engagement with Messenger as well as Facebook, ending the need to exit the platform to play games, or launch live-streams via other apps like Periscope. Integrating other Facebook features into Messenger like Facebook Live bolsters Facebook’s all-important ecosystem, boosting engagement to put more eyeballs on more ads and, you got it, generate even more revenue for Facebook.

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Honda has just rolled out four of its cutest robot designs yet

Although better known as an automaker, Honda has long been directing funds to robotics research for personal interactions and mobility, with some of the technology also likely to find its way back to its driverless car project.

It’s a busy time for the Japanese company as the fruits of its most recent work is set to be unveiled at CES in just a few weeks time.

Described by Honda as a “3E (Empower, Experience, Empathy) Robotics Concept,” the four robots incorporate a range of experimental technologies designed for a variety of roles.

First up is the 3E-A18 (no, they don’t have particularly catchy names), described by Honda as a companion robot “that shows compassion to humans with a variety of facial expressions.” In the video, the 3E-A18 can be seen on the far left, sporting a smile so cute it would surely melt the heart of even the most frozen of souls.

Next up is the 3E-B18, a single-seat mobility concept “designed for casual use in indoor or outdoor spaces,” while the the 3E-C18 (can you see a pattern emerging with the names yet?) is a small-sized, wheel-based electric machine with a multi-functional cargo space.

Finally, the 3E-D18, the heftiest and most rugged-looking design, is an autonomous off-road vehicle geared toward supporting people “in a broad range of work activities.”

The designs are all easy on the eyes, a deliberate approach by Honda that in its view makes them more likely to be embraced (perhaps quite literally in the case of the smiley 3E-A18) by certain sectors of society, for example, senior citizens who might initially be nervous of robotic technology.

As these are concept designs, it’s by no means certain that these robots will one day be ferrying people around, carrying their shopping, or grinning broadly at their users, but the technologies powering them could well find their way into similar machines in the not-too-distant future. DT will be at CES in Las Vegas next month to see the robots in action and learn more about what they have to offer.

Asimo and others

Honda already has plenty of experience with robotics, the most famous of which is Asimo, which the company claims to be “the world’s most advanced humanoid robot.”

Another of its creations is the Walking Assist device, a hip-mounted unit fitted with small motors, which, as its name suggests, helps those that need some level of support when walking.

And we mustn’t forget the steerable Uni-Cub, shown off wonderfully in one of OK Go’s wacky videos a few years ago.

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Just Eat made a ‘magic wand’ for ordering food

Just Eat, we need to talk. Your latest invention, a food-ordering “magic wand,” is ridiculous. I get that you want to have some fun over the Christmas period — and somewhere, your marketing department is having a good chuckle — but you’ve gone too far. Enough is enough. First of all, is it meant for the kitchen or the bedroom? Actually, don’t answer that. Then there’s the operation. You have to download a separate app (ugh), login and make an order the old-fashioned way. Only then can you repeat this order — and nothing else — by waving the wand around like Merlin.

Did I mention that it only works with Android? Oh, and the app has to be open for the wand to work, otherwise your phone can’t hear the “sonic barcode” being emitted from the tip. *Sigh* Okay, so thankfully this is a prototype. And obviously it’s a joke. (I doubt Just Eat plans to actually sell any of these.) Even so, the number of hours that must have been required to design and manufacture the wand is, frankly, embarrassing. So please Just Eat, no more. You’re a solid takeout website that competes just fine with Deliveroo. You don’t have to copy Pizza Hut and KFC’s viral silliness.

‘The Game Awards’ round-up: catch all the best bits

Geoff Keighley has been touting this year’s The Game Awards as the gaming industry’s answer to the Oscars. Now that the ceremony has concluded, we can safely say that he delivered. It had all the hallmarks of a lavish awards show: Live orchestra (check), fervent spiels (check), Hollywood a-listers (check). And, there was the return of the hotly-anticipated game reveals that — in part — helped nab 8.6 million viewers last time round. If you didn’t catch the action online, we’ve got your back. Below you’ll find a list of the night’s winners and the game trailers that went out live from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. As always, there were touching moments too, like a noticeably awestruck Melina Juergens getting the Best Performance award for Hellblade from Andy Serkis.

Highlights this year included Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro’s ongoing bromance (which came with a side-helping of Death Stranding) — the game’s star Norman Reedus was also on hand to help out. The ceremony’s most WTF moment came from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons dev Josef Fares, whose expletive-filled intro for his next project A Way Out included a middle-finger to the Oscars and props to current enemy number one EA (the game’s publisher).

Josef Fares brought a new trailer for A Way Out to #TheGameAwards. And he has a message for The Oscars, too. pic.twitter.com/pvyXfVLmln

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 8, 2017

Nintendo was the big winner on the night, courtesy of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s game of the year win, for which it beat out Persona 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mario Odyssey, and Steam record-breaker PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. The gaming giant also bagged an additional four gongs, bringing its final tally to five.

• Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Best Game Direction – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Best Narrative – What Remains of Edith Finch
• Best Art Direction – Cuphead
• Best Score / Music – NieR: Automata
• Best Audio Design – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Best Performance – Melina Juergens, Hellblade (as Senua)
• Games for Impact – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Best Ongoing Game – Overwatch
• Best Independent Game – Cuphead
• Best Mobile Game – Monument Valley 2
• Best Handheld Game – Metroid: Samus Returns
• Best VR/AR Game – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
• Best Action Game – Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
• Best Action/Adventure Game – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Best Role-Playing Game – Persona 5
• Best Fighting Game – Injustice 2
• Best Family Game – Super Mario Odyssey
• Best Strategy Game – Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
• Best Sports/Racing Game – Forza Motorsport 7
• Most Anticipated Game – The Last of Us Part II
• Trending Gamer – Guy Beahm (“Dr. Disrespect”)
• Best eSports Game – Overwatch
• Best eSports Player – Lee Sang-hyeok “Faker” (SK Telecom 1, League of Legends)
• Best eSports Team – Cloud 9
• Student Game Award – Level Squared
• Best Debut Indie Game – Cuphead
• Chinese Fan Game Award – jx3 HD《剑网3》重制版

Source: The Game Awards (YouTube)

YouTube to try again with new paid music service, aiming for March launch

Multiple past efforts by YouTube to take on the likes of Spotify and Apple Music have ended in failure, but the Google-owned company is clearly not one to walk away from a challenge.

Determined to try, try, and try again, YouTube is reportedly prepping another subscription service for a March 2018 launch, allowing anyone who coughs up the cash to stream music to their devices.

The service is likely to be called Remix, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, and while focusing primarily on music streaming, could also include relevant video clips from YouTube.

As we heard earlier this year, the new service looks set to unite Google Play Music and YouTube Music, a free app that arrived in 2016 offering music with ads.

Google launched Google Play Music in 2011, but it hasn’t enjoyed the same success as rival music streaming services. Keen to explore the subscription platform, YouTube launched Music Key in 2014, offering subscribers ad-free music videos. But poor growth saw Music Key succeeded by YouTube Red, which landed in 2015 and lets users watch all videos without ads while also offering original programming, offline viewing, and background playback for $10 a month.

YouTube has already inked a deal with Warner Music Group for Remix, according to Bloomberg’s sources, but remains in talks with others that it needs to get on board, namely Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Merlin, a consortium of independent labels.

The report says any deal “could help appease record-industry executives who have pushed for more revenue from YouTube,” with some claiming that recent growth enjoyed by the industry would’ve been greater “if not for YouTube,” which they say doesn’t pay them enough when you take into account the number of people that use the streaming site to listen to music.

No subscription costs have been mentioned, though Remix may try to undercut Spotify and Apple Music to offer a compelling reason for users to jump ship or for first-time subscribers to sign up. Spotify and Apple Music currently both offer basic streaming plans for $10 a month.

While other music streaming services exist, Spotify and Apple Music have emerged as the two main players, with Spotify now home to more than 60 million paying subscribers, and Apple Music to 30 million.

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New THQ Nordic horror game ‘Fade to Silence’ hits Steam ahead of The Game Awards

After launching a teaser site on Wednesday dubbed #EndlessWinter, THQ Nordic and developer Black Forest Games quietly revealed their new game, Fade to Silence, on Steam, just before the 2017 Game Awards. The survival horror game throws players into a post-apocalyptic, frozen world where resources are dwindling, and the only way to survive is to stick together. The game will launch in Early Access December 14.

According to the description, players take control of lead protagonist Ash in what’s described as a “complex, character-driven, group survival experience.” The player’s biggest foe will be winter itself, especially when a blizzard strikes and catches players off-guard. Beasts inhabit the frozen wastelands as well, including Eldritch monsters, pushing players to not only fight against a harsh environment, but the creatures brought forth by whatever devastated the world. The game will include a tiered weapon system, ranged weapon, and melee-based combat.

“In order to survive and overcome all challenges, the player needs to attract followers, bringing them into the refuge,” the game’s description states. “Each individual skillset and character traits grants access to higher tier resources and gear. Without such advances, the player character can scavenge only the barest necessities, crafting makeshift tools and weapons.”

The early access version will consist of a river delta, a cultivated farmland, and a dense forest region. Players will have access to a wolf-pulled sled, and an NPC-based companion to keep players company. Other NPCs will appear during the journey, and players must determine if they’re fit to be part of the team, or total flesh baggage that needs to be left behind in the bitter cold.

“We believe nothing is a more personal game-experience than a survival game,” says Black forest Games. “Our goal is to develop something that drags you deep into the cold and deadly world of an apocalyptic winter. Therefore, for us this game will only be perfect if we can get feedback from the community. Early Access is designed for that.”

The schedule shows the game to remain as an Early Access build until a full release in August 2018. The next eight months will serve as testing grounds as the developer dumps features into the game, and receives feedback. That said, the Early Access will continue to reel in updates, fixes, and changes until the game’s full release late next summer.

“We are also introducing the first beats of the story: What is the haunting voice that keeps pestering, misleading, mocking us? Where does the corruption come from, and why?” the studio adds. “Can we even do anything about it?”

Here are the current hardware specifications, but note the high amount of memory needed to run the same versus the use of old processors and graphics cards:

Minimum
Recommended
Operating system (64-bit):
Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10
Windows 10
Processor:
Intel Core i5-2400
AMD FX-8320
Intel Core i7-3770
AMD FX-8350
Graphics:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 760
AMD Radeon R9 270 2GB
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
AMD Radeon RX 480
Memory:
12GB
16GB
Storage:
30GB
30GB

During its official reveal at The Game Awards, Black Forest Games released a trailer, and announced that the game will be coming to consoles when the game exits early access in 2018.

Update: Added information about Black Forest Games’ reveal during The Game Awards.

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Harish’s Favorite Things of 2017

Harish’s Favorite Things

2017 turned out to be a very interesting year for tech — budget phones got much better, and flagships continued to push boundaries with bezel-less displays and significantly-improved cameras. I got to try out a ton of phones and accessories, and ended up buying a whole lot of gear I’ll probably not use all that much.

From phones to accessories and hardware, these are my favorite things of 2017.

Galaxy Note 8

Samsung didn’t put a foot wrong this year. The Galaxy Note 8 has everything you need in a phone, and then some. With a gorgeous Super AMOLED panel with minimal bezels, excellent dual rear cameras (with OIS on both sensors!), beefy internals, sleek design, and S Pen, the Note 8 is the complete package. This is the phone to beat going into 2018.

$923 Buy now

Xiaomi Mi A1

At the other end of the spectrum is Xiaomi’s Mi A1. The first in the new wave of Android One devices, the Mi A1 punches significantly above its weight. The phone has a 5.5-inch Full HD panel, Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, dual 12MP rear cameras, and a 3000mAh battery. All this and the promise of quick updates for under $250, and it’s easy to see why the Mi A1 is such an easy recommendation.

$226 Buy Now

Google Home

A year after its debut, Google Home continues to be a great option if you’re looking for an internet-connected speaker. Assistant has picked up a ton of new features, including the ability to set reminders (finally). With the device now selling for just $79, there’s no reason not to get one.

$79 Buy Now

Marshall Stanmore Multi-Room

I bought the Stanmore three years ago, and it continues to be one of my best audio purchases. Marshall rolled out an updated variant of the Stanmore a few months ago, which has the same great sound and retro flair, but with a slew of new connectivity options: Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect in addition to Bluetooth and a 3.5mm jack. It’s $100 costlier than the Bluetooth-enabled version of the Stanmore, but it’s worth the investment.

$450 Buy Now

Sphero R2-D2

If you’re interested in Star Wars, you should take a look at Sphero’s app-controlled R2-D2. The attention to detail is astonishing — particularly when you consider the fact that it costs $125. It also comes with an integrated speaker, flashing lights at the front and rear, and a ton of programmable actions.

$125 Buy Now

Sony MDR-1000X

The MDR-1000X is just as good as Bose’s QC-35 at blocking out sound, and offers much better audio quality. The build quality is also better, you get a durable carrying case, and playback controls on the left earcup. A no-brainer if you travel a lot.

$289 Buy Now

Mi Robot Vacuum

I bought Xiaomi’s Mi Robot Vacuum on a whim, and it turned out to be a great purchase. The vacuum has the same motor as a Roomba 980, and comes with a navigation system that automatically maps out the interior of your house. You can control it from your phone, set automated cleaning schedules, and monitor it in real-time as it cleans your house. How cool is that?

$319 Buy Now

Zotac Magnus EN1070

My primary PC is running a GTX 1080, and I picked up a Magnus EN1070 a few months ago to as a living room gaming machine. I needed a beefy PC in a compact form factor, and the Magnus EN1070 is ideal in that regard. The device is barely larger than my router, but it comes with a 2.7GHz Kaby Lake Core i5-7500T CPU, GeForce GTX 1070, slots for two SSDs (one M.2 and one 2.5-inch), up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM, two HDMI 2.0 out, USB-C port, USB 3.1 Gen2 port, and two USB 3.0 ports. And you get Wi-Fi ac as well as Bluetooth 4.2.

I ended up buying a barebones edition and slotting in 8GB of RAM, a Samsung 960 Evo M.2 SSD, and a 1TB mechanical drive. You’re looking at around $1,500 including the memory and storage, but it is absolutely worth it.

$1,099 Buy Now

ASUS RT-AC5300

I’m not sold on mesh networking yet, and until there’s a beefier option available, I’m continuing with ASUS’ arachnid-wannabe RT-AC5300. I switched to a Gigabit internet plan six months ago, and upgraded from my trusty AC1900-class RT-AC87. The AC5300 has excellent range, insane throughput, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and two 5GHz bands. I managed to significantly increase the throughput to my work machine — going from 300Mbps to around 500Mbps — with the AC5300.

$297 Buy Now

Yeelight LED bulbs

Yi Technology’s Yeelight LED bulbs effectively undercut Hue while still offering a similar feature-set. The main differentiator is that you don’t need a centralized hub to get started with the Yeelight bulbs, significantly lowering the barrier to entry. You can also control the bulbs via either Alexa or Google Assistant.

$25 Buy Now

All New Titles Announced At The Game Awards 2017

The Game Awards 2017 was chock full of things for us to all ruminate on for the next few weeks.

Granted a lot of those things come down to developers having a few too many drinks and telling the viewing public how things really are. EA was definitely in front of the firing squad from a couple of speakers whether it was directly or indirectly.

In addition to a few verbal firebrands, there was a lot of announcements for games that were not necessarily new. There was a new trailer for A Way Out which may or may not be getting distribution from EA in 2018. An all-new mode was announced for Fornite Battle Royal wherein two fifty player teams battle it out for dominance. We got to see a good length trailer for Metro: Exodus and it actually looked pretty intriguing. We also got to see that PUBG, one of the most beloved games of 2017, will most decidedly not be making an appearance on PlayStation 4 because you should never cross the platforms lest you experience total protonic reversal. Probably the most thought-provoking update was for Death Stranding by Hideo Kojima. One might think that the game would start to make a little more sense as the released longer trailers. Not really

There was however, a few all-new titles announced that will be coming to the PlayStation 4 in the not too distant future. There wasn’t anything totally mind blowing as far as I was concerned but there was certainly a few titles that piqued my interest. Here is a list of all the totally new games announced at The Game Awards 2017

World War Z

Accounting+ (PSVR)

Vacation Simulator (PSVR)

Soul Caliber VI

Fade to silence

Witchfire

GTFO

Shadows Die Twice (No platform announced but maybe PS4)

What was your favorite moment of The Game Awards 2017? Any of these titles jump out to you in particular? Let us know in the comments!

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‘Dreams,’ the new game from ‘LittleBigPlanet’ devs, lands in 2018

We’ve been wondering about Dreams for a while now. First announced in 2015 as a trippy, user-controlled kind of world-creating game, Dreams is the new title from LittleBigPlanet studio Media Molecule and it’s due to hit PlayStation 4 in 2018. The release date is new — Media Molecule has been remarkably silent about Dreams over the past few years, but the studio revealed its launch window tonight during The Game Awards.

Despite the secrecy, there are a few details about Dreams out in the wild. Much of the game revolves around players creating their own unique worlds and scenarios, but it’ll definitely have a traditional campaign as well.

“We want people to be able to access all the tools without them feeling like they’re editing,” Art Director Kareem Ettouney told Engadget in 2015. “It should feel like spells, like magic.”

Our hearts were beating very fast. So excited to share this with people and start sharing more info about the project ❤️ https://t.co/8K4DqqGxxO

— siobhan (@siobhanreddy) December 8, 2017

2018 iPhone X Successor Could Feature Up to 10% More Powerful Battery With New 1-Cell Design

Next year’s version of the iPhone X could feature up to 10 percent more battery power if Apple and LG Chem are able to deploy a one-cell design for the device’s L-shaped battery, as opposed to the two-cell battery used in the iPhone X, according to a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was obtained by MacRumors.

Kuo says the more space efficient two-cell design would allow Apple to boost battery capacity from 2716 mAh in the iPhone X to somewhere between 2900 and 3000 mAh for next year’s 5.8-inch iPhone.

As he previously claimed, Kuo believes Apple will release three new iPhones with TrueDepth cameras next year: a larger 6.5-inch OLED model that can be thought of as an “iPhone X Plus”, a 5.8-inch OLED successor to the iPhone X, and a 6.1-inch LCD model. Today’s report says that Apple is likely to use a two-cell battery design in the 6.5-inch model, but the larger size of the device will still allow it to have a capacity in the range of 3300 to 3400 mAh.

Two new 2H18 iPhone models could adopt L-shaped battery (6.5” & 5.8” OLED models), with capacity upgraded for all models. In order to extend battery life, we believe it is necessary to expand battery capacity because all three new 2H18 models will be equipped with TrueDepth Camera, which consumes more power. We think Apple (US) is developing a 1-cell L-shaped battery in collaboration with LGC (KR). If the new battery enters mass production on time, the 5.8” OLED iPhone model will come with a battery with larger capacity (2,900-3,000mAh with higher RFPCB ASP $2.1-2.4). For the 6.1” LCD model, we expect Apple to keep the rectangular battery design to keep a better cost structure, and we expect capacity could be larger than those of the iPhone 8 series.

Some observers were surprised to see a two-cell battery inside the iPhone X when it was opened up by iFixit just after its launch, but there are technical challenges involved in producing non-rectangular battery cells, challenges Apple was unable to overcome in time for the iPhone X.

iPhone X battery from iFixit’s teardown
With device space at a premium and a number of power-hungry components like the TrueDepth camera, however, it’s unsurprising that Apple and its supply chain partners are pushing forward to develop a one-cell design to provide more battery capacity within the same volume.

Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo
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