Twitch now makes highlight clips on any channel
Twitch has so far been limiting its Clips sharing feature to partnered channels, but no longer: as of now, you can create those bite-sized highlights on any channel. If a friend pulls off a slick move during a live stream, you can share it just as easily as you would the footage from a big tournament. As before, you don’t need exceptional timing. A Clip will capture the 25 seconds before you hit the button to start, and 5 seconds after. While that won’t cover every situation, it’ll be enough to preserve a game-winning moment… and the cheering that follows.
Source: Twitch Blog
PlayStation’s Adam Boyes now runs the ‘Killer Instinct’ studio
Key PlayStation exec Adam Boyes already said he was leaving Sony to return to game development, but it’s now clear that he’s making this switch in style. Iron Galaxy Studios has confirmed that Boyes will become its CEO as of August 8th. That’s right — one of the PlayStation world’s best-known figures is now working for a developer whose best-known work involves the Microsoft-exclusive Killer Instinct reboot. It also created Wreckateer, an early showcase for Kinect, and played a big role in producing the hilariously simple fighting game Divekick.
As to why Boyes is coming aboard? Iron Galaxy founder Dave Lang says it’s all about helping the company spread its wings. Boyes can “expand and evolve” the studio’s publishing work, freeing Lang and new Chief Product Officer Chelsea Blasko (an Iron Galaxy veteran) to focus on in-house game creation. You might just see the company become a bigger player in the game business.
Source: Iron Galaxy Studios (PDF)
Oculus update preps Rift for room-scale VR, motion controls
When virtual reality fanatics argue about what headset is best, two arguments tend to prevail: “The Oculus Rift is more comfortable,” and “only the HTC Vive does roomscale VR.” Soon, that second argument won’t matter as much. Thanks to a recent update, the Rift’s Oculus Home software now boasts support for up to four tracking sensors — doubling one of the basic requirements the hardware needs to be used for accurate, room-scale virtual reality.
It’s great to see the support for room-scale VR show up in Oculus’ software suite, but it doesn’t mean a lot just yet. The Rift only shipped with a single tracking sensor, and there’s currently no way for consumers to purchase extra sensors directly from Oculus — at least not without buying another Rift headset, too. Still, developers who happen to have multiple sensors (and the unreleased Oculus Touch controllers) have already tested the new functionality out, and have confirmed that room-scale SteamVR games can now be played with Oculus hardware.
Still, it’s a good indicator that Oculus is getting closer to launching its long-awaited Touch controllers — the other half of the Rift’s room-scale puzzle. For Rift owners, that’s great news.
Watch ‘South Park’ creators explain why their next game is better
Now that the long-in-development South Park: The Fractured But Whole is close at hand, Ubisoft and South Park Studios are finally opening up about its creation. To start, they’ve posted a behind-the-scenes video that isn’t quite the usual puff piece. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone not only why the game exists, how it was made and what’s new, but how they got some of their feedback on The Stick of Truth. They apparently got plenty of helpful input by watching PewDiePie’s playthrough — after all, the YouTube star is telling you what he thinks at any given moment.
Also, you might not want to count on downloadable content reaching Fractured But Whole any time soon. Parker and Stone explain to IGN that they fought against including DLC in Stick of Truth for a reason — they didn’t think that anything they cut was worth playing. That might change with the newer release (there are a couple of ideas), but the creative duo isn’t going to produce DLC strictly for its own sake. In short, it shouldn’t feel like the developers are purposefully holding back to wring out some extra cash.
Source: Ubiblog, IGN
‘Gears of War 4’ will have plenty of PC-specific features
The history of Microsoft-backed Xbox One games coming to the PC isn’t exactly stellar. When Remedy’s Quantum Break reached Windows, it was saddled with limitations that were partly dictated by the Universal Windows Platform’s own limits, such as frame rate issues and an overall lack of features. You shouldn’t run into those problems when Gears of War 4 rolls around, though. As part of a Eurogamer interview, The Coalition has revealed that the cover-based shooter will have ample PC-specific features. You’ll get much deeper video settings that include dynamic resolutions, so your ultra-wide display won’t go to waste. It’ll also take advantage of many-core PC processors, higher-resolution textures and UWP’s recently unlocked frame rates, offering a distinct visual advantage to playing on a brawny computer.
Other perks? There’s a benchmarking mode to make you feel good about your hardware upgrades, and you have full control over the keyboard and mouse input. In short, this should feel like a PC-native game even though it’s likely to be the definitive Xbox One title for 2016. That’s still not going to make everyone happy (developers have railed against UWP’s closed ecosystem for years), but it beats having to deal with console-like limitations just to play some big Xbox hits on your Windows gaming rig.
Source: Eurogamer (1), (2)
Microsoft’s 2TB Xbox One S arrives on August 2nd
You don’t have to wait much longer to get Microsoft’s higher-end 2TB Xbox One S. Microsoft has confirmed that the capacious console will reach both pre-order customers and retail shelves on August 2nd. As before, the $399 you’ll pay largely reflects that 2TB of storage. You’ll get 4K (and HDR) video playback, the Bluetooth-capable controller and that more compact design on all Xbox One S models, including the more affordable 500GB and 1TB versions arriving sometime later this year. There’s a bigger question looming, though: do you buy this and enjoy it right away, or wait for the supercharged Project Scorpio late in 2017?
Source: Xbox Wire
‘Kerbal Space Program’ arrives on Xbox One
Squad teased that Kerbal Space Program was reaching the Xbox One when it announced the PS4 launch, and it made good on its word just a few days later. The spacecraft construction and exploration game is now available through the Xbox Store. As with the PS4 version, this port preserves the challenge of designing and flying ships across the Kerbals’ star system, often with unintentionally hilarious results — the biggest change is simply adapting KSP to the realities of playing with a gamepad. There’s no mention of when the promised Wii U edition will arrive, but it might not be far behind given that Squad aimed to ship that title at the same time as the PS4 and Xbox One versions.
Source: Xbox Wire, Xbox Store
Ben Heck tears down the legendary Nintendo PlayStation
We got a good, close look at the Nintendo PlayStation last year and even talked to Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida about it, but have you ever wondered about everything inside the ill-fated game console? Ben Heckendorn, aka Ben Heck, is happy to show you. The homebrew gadget expert has conducted an extensive teardown of the cancelled system (the same one we saw, even) that shows exactly what it’s made of. While it’s evident that Sony had the largest role in the machine, this was very much a collaboration — you’ll find a mix of both Nintendo and Sony chips in this prototype, on top of the occasional third-party component.
Ben also suspects that this PlayStation wouldn’t have fared well even if Nintendo and Sony had put their differences aside. Although it would have had a much faster CD drive than the Sega CD (a whopping 2X!), it otherwise wouldn’t have been any more powerful than the cartridge-only Super Nintendo. That would have put it on par with Sega’s rival unit, or even slightly behind.
This isn’t the end of it. Ben believes he knows enough that he might have a shot at repairing the console (the CD drive wasn’t working when we saw it). If so, it raises the possibility that you’ll witness a fully functional device before long. You might not ever see it play native CD titles, but it’ll bring new life to an important part of video game history.
Source: The Ben Heck Show (YouTube)
‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ add-on will tie into ‘Rogue One’
EA and DICE are determined to wrap up Star Wars: Battlefront’s year of add-ons with a bang. The developers have used Star Wars Celebration to reveal that the fourth DLC pack will revolve around the Rogue One storyline. Rogue One: Scarif will let you play as rebel Jyn Erso or her Imperial nemesis, Director Krennic, as you fight for the original Death Star’s plans on the planet Scarif. While you’re not getting a look at actual gameplay just yet, EA vows that the add-on will be available in time for the movie’s mid-December debut. Season Pass holders will get to play two weeks early.
But what about the previously announced Death Star pack? You’re finally getting a good look at that, too. The new content will see you fighting both inside and outside of the giant space station (flight combat plays a much stronger role, clearly). And you can play as either the bounty hunter Bossk or Chewbacca — Han finally has his best friend at his side. The Death Star extras arrive in September, so you’ll definitely have something to play while you’re waiting for Jyn and company.
Via: GamesRadar
Source: EA
‘Star Wars’ VR experiment comes to HTC Vive on July 18th
You don’t have to wait much longer to live out you dreams of wielding a lightsaber in virtual reality. HTC and Lucasfilm have revealed that Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, their VR gaming experiment, will be available on July 18th through Steam. And it’s free as long as you have an HTC Vive, so it won’t cost more to role-play a Padawan. The no-cost move isn’t surprising (this isn’t an in-depth game), but it’s welcome if you’ve been hoping to find a new showcase for your headset.
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