Verizon’s FiOS Xbox apps now let you watch ‘The Walking Dead,’ er, live
Verizon’s FiOS app has been leading the way on the Xbox One live-TV front, and now it’s getting a handful more channels in its stable. If you’re a subscriber, you now have access to the likes of AMC HD, Showtime, Encore, Bloomberg TV and ten others. As Verizon tells it, this brings the total channel count to 88 across both the Xbox 360 and its younger brother, the Xbox One. Whether you’re going to use them to keep up with the exploits of the Ricktatorship or Homeland, however, is up to you.
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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Verizon
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Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘The Last of Us: Remastered’ on PS4!
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They’re fun!
Developer Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic opus The Last of Us released last June, delivering at least a few punches to the guts of almost everyone who played it on the PlayStation 3. Despite the some 80 million (and counting) PS3′s sold worldwide, though, Sony estimates that there’s still a bunch of people who haven’t experienced the game. So, with no small amount of effort porting it from the PS3, we now have The Last of Us: Remastered on the PlayStation 4. But, let’s say you’ve already played through the game and its downloadable episode on Sony’s last-gen console, is it worth double dipping? Join me today at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific as I stream it, and find out. I’ll be starting a few hours into the campaign, but bear in mind that there’s a very high chance for spoilers, especially if you missed playing the game last year.
Watch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: Twitch
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‘EA Access’ subscription on Xbox One brings all-you-can-eat gaming for $5 per month
It appears EA and Microsoft have been paying attention to Netflix and PlayStation Now (which opens its doors to all PS4 owners in two days), and are combining to offer a different subscription service for gamers. The EA Access pass is available (currently in beta) for $5 per month or $30 per year and gives subscribers unlimited access to a “Vault” of games. Right now that list covers FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4, with the promise of more titles soon. Not enticed by the promise of last year’s games plus 10 percent discounts on EA games, DLC, and in-game currency? They’re also adding in early access trials for this year’s round of EA sports games (Madden, NHL, NBA Live, FIFA) and Dragon Age: Inquisition that open up five days before the games go on sale and let your progress carry over to the retail version.
EA Access passes will be sold in GameStop stores, EB Games in Canada, and online for European gamers via GameStop and Amazon. You can hit the website for details, and EA says it will become available for everyone on Xbox One “soon.” Considering the discounts, if you were already planning on picking up a sports game or two this fall, the pricing doesn’t seem particularly outrageous, although we will be interested to see what rotates through the “evolving” list of vault games. So, on a scale from Horse Armor DLC to Sim City 4, how excited is everyone about this?
Awesome new way to play more @EA games coming to players on @Xbox http://t.co/XbBzfr2QzE. Great to have @GameStop on board as well!
– Peter Moore (@petermooreEA) July 29, 2014
Welcome to EA Access, a new membership kicking off on Xbox One! Access to The Vault, discounts, & more! Learn More: http://t.co/laaY10bpTf
– EA Access (@EAAccess) July 29, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
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‘The Last of Us’ brought to life in live stage show
Today, The Last of Us is getting ready to take over PlayStation 4 consoles everywhere, and soon it may also be conquering… Broadway. Well, maybe not so much. But Naughty Dog’s popular title did make its debut on the live stage, with a show called “The Last of Us: One Night Live” which took place in Santa Monica, California. Sony explains that the play was in celebration of the game’s arrival on the PlayStation 4, so giving fans a way to experience the story through a theatre performance was an obvious choice ahead of the launch. “The Last of Us: One Night Live,” directed by Neil Druckmann, featured music from the score, read of “key scenes” and a Q&A from the cast and crew involved in the show. Sure, it probably would have been better to actually be there, but Sony was kind enough to let you re-live the performance in the video after the break.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Via: The Verge
Source: PlayStation (YouTube)
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You can now watch Blu-ray 3D movies on your PlayStation 4
Before the newest, shiniest consoles launched late last year, it was the Xbox One that was touted as the complete multimedia machine. It’s slightly ironic, then, that Sony’s beaten Microsoft to the punch in adding Blu-ray 3D support to the PlayStation 4. Last week, we heard the feature was being added in software version 1.75, and today that update’s begun rolling out to PS4s. There are still a few things, like DLNA support, the PS4 needs to usurp other A/V gear in your entertainment center, but on the matter of Blu-ray 3D at least, the Xbone’s now playing catch-up.
PS4 System Software 1.75 is now ready to download. Get downloading.! pic.twitter.com/w1nFA1FHxi
– PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) July 29, 2014
Source: PlayStation Europe (Twitter)
‘The Last of Us’ looks better on PS4 but it’s not perfect
Just over a year ago, Sony and developer Naughty Dog unleashed the emotionally wrenching The Last of Us on the PlayStation 3. And while the post-apocalyptic tale was heralded at the time for its affecting narrative, the game’s technical prowess didn’t go unnoticed either, with many critics impressed by how well the game looked and sounded on the seven year-old PS3. Tomorrow marks the release of The Last of Us: Remastered on the PlayStation 4, which, as the title implies, is last year’s game with a fresh coat of paint afforded by the PS4′s more powerful hardware. How much of a leap is it, though? The tech-minded crew at Digital Foundry has put Naughty Dog’s latest under their microscope and notes that while there are some aspects of the game that best even PS4-native releases, there are still a handful of bits that betray those advancements:
“There are elements that remain far ahead of the majority of next-gen titles, but it is clear that it is a game of its technological era.”
In particular, Digital Foundry calls out the game’s anti-aliasing (smoothing out jagged edges on certain bits of a scene, like power lines or the edge of a door) and certain aspects of its lighting as being relics of TLoU:R‘s original platform. Perhaps the games’ most notable improvement is its doubled framerate, which aims for a Call-of-Duty-esque 60 frames per-second and a boost in resolution to 1080p, natively. Those improvements aren’t without caveats (degraded shadow quality that’s being addressed with a day-one patch), however, as NeoGAF was quick to point out and start a now 50-page thread about.
In my experience playing the game, though, these perceived setbacks are minor once you actually pick up a DualShock 4. Sure, when you’re comparing screenshots — or compressed GIFs — that’s one thing, but if you’re running through the game and not actively looking for any technical shortcomings they’re harder to notice.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Slim down at home with P90X for Xbox Fitness
Sure, there are already options for getting fit with the help of your Xbox console, and now one of the most popular in-home exercise options is offering more sweat soaked material. P90X for Xbox Fitness brings a 30-day version of the three-month slim down to your living room via the Xbox One (sorry, Xbox 360 owners) with five new routines to boot. The video-based workout curriculum will leverage the Kinect to keep an eye on your form along the way as well. As you may recall, trainer Tony Horton has already served up P90X and Insanity workouts for Redmond’s fitness efforts, alongside Jillian Michaels and others. Forking over $60 today gets you the month-long challenge, and there’s a downloadable calendar and nutrition plan coming next moth. Of course, Mr. Horton is along for every second of the action — just in case you thought you were getting off easy.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD
Source: Xbox
Sure enough, you can play ‘Doom’ on an ATM
The quest to play Doom on just about everything won’t be over any time soon, it seems. A team of Australians has torn open and modified an ATM to play id Software’s classic first-person shooter using some of the bank machine’s built-in controls. This isn’t the hardest hack in the world — ATMs like this run Windows XP, after all — but it still required custom software and logic, including a circuit board that can remap buttons meant for deposits instead of demon slaying. What you see in the video below is just the start, too. The group already has the side buttons working for weapon selection, and it hopes to make the number pad usable. There’s also talk of tweaking the game to use the receipt printer; if you wanted, you could have it spit out proof that you finished a tough level. The odds of getting the hardware to recreate this feat are sadly rather slim, but it’s good to know that even your local ATM can handle some proper shoot-’em-up action.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Hack A Day
Source: Aussie50 (YouTube)
Turn your Android phone into a PC gamepad with this new app
So you want a gamepad to play that new platformer on your Windows PC, but you don’t relish the idea of buying an expensive peripheral that will collect dust after you’re done. Are you stuck using the keyboard? Not if Ideum has its way — it’s updating its GestureWorks Gameplay virtual controller app with Android support, letting you use your phone or tablet to steer the action instead of either a real gamepad or on-screen buttons. You can still tailor the controls for specific titles, so you won’t have to settle for a sub-par experience just because you jumped from Castle Crashers to Bastion. The new software supports more graphics standards, too, so more of your favorite games should be compatible.
You’ll have to spend $15 to get the full version of the new Gameplay app, which should be available on Steam either now or very shortly. That’s relatively costly for a utility, but the Android upgrade extends the software’s usefulness beyond tablets — it could save you from buying gamepads for most any Windows PC, and it will visiting friends join in on multiplayer sessions without having to bring dedicated hardware.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Software
Source: GestureWorks
Filmmaker Ridley Scott is tackling a Phillip K. Dick project for Amazon
The works of author Phillip K. Dick have proven fertile ground for classic sci-fi movies like Total Recall and A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle is up next. Except, well, it’s making its debut on the small screen, by way of Amazon Studios and executive producer Ridley Scott (pictured above), according to Deadline. For the unfamiliar, Castle takes place in a 1962 where the Allied Powers were defeated in World War II, and, as a result, Germany and Japan began an occupation of the United States — Scott’s sci-fi phase apparently isn’t stopping anytime soon. With the legendary filmmaker working on Halo: Nightfall, the Prometheus and Blade Runner sequels and now this, we’re even tempted to call it a trend.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
Source: Deadline
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