Xbox Live and PlayStation Network are both having issues, but Nintendo Network is fine
Excited to play the Destiny on PlayStation Network? You’re not the only one, and demand as the game’s beta opened its doors today seems to have the service stumbling. A message on the PlayStation Knowledge Center says PSN access is “Intermittently available” so if it’s working, great but don’t be surprised if you notice some odd behavior. Xbox fans shouldn’t be too quick to point fingers though, since besides waiting another week to try out an early version of Bungie’s next big game you may also experience issues with Xbox Live. The Xbox Live Dashboard points out problems for some users signing in or accessing the Video and Music services, but says there is a team working on it and promises another updated within the half hour. Since Nintendo Network appears to be running just fine, we can only assume which culprit is behind this.
Update: The PlayStation Network status has been upgraded to “online” so go forth and beta test freely.
Having Xbox Live connectivity issues on the Xbox One? The proper teams are on it! More updates being posted here: http://t.co/99xfLNeme4 ^AC
– Xbox Support (1-5) (@XboxSupport) July 17, 2014
If you are having issues connecting to PSN, please try again later. Thanks for your patience as we look into it.
– Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) July 17, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony, Microsoft
Via: Joystiq (1), (2)
PlayStation 4 still best-selling console, six months running
It looks like Sony still has bragging rights that the PlayStation 4 is the top-selling console. Not to be outdone by the latest NPD report, the PlayStation Twitter account announced that the Sony’s new console is still outselling the Xbox One, for the sixth month in a row. Yesterday, Microsoft said that following the Xbox One’s $100 price drop it’d seen a “strong spike in interest” and sales of the console jumped by “more than double” the previous month. It’s worth noting however, that Redmond didn’t release specific sales numbers for May and, to be fair, neither did Sony. The latest report from the NPD Group plays it a bit vague, too, but says that combined sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were higher than combined totals for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. What’s more, compared to last June, hardware sales saw a 106 percent increase overall. Sales of home consoles combined represented a 200 percent jump compared to last year, which is likely due to the two new consoles being available.
In terms of software, the reason most people buy new consoles in the first place, six of the same games from last month’s top ten remain the same. including Mario Kart 8, Wolfenstein: The New Order and Watch Dogs. However, overall software sales for June dipped some 67 percent compared to last year, which the NPD group attributes to last June’s launches of The Last of Us on PS3, Animal Crossing: New Leaf on Nintendo’s 3DS handheld and the disc-based version of Minecraft for the Xbox 360. It seems like the summer drought is a bit drier this year than last, but hey, at least we’ve got the Destiny beta now, right?
Breaking news: PS4 is #1 top-selling US next-gen console in June, 6th month in a row. Thanks for your support! ❤ pic.twitter.com/r5bTKg4wYf
– PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 17, 2014
Ok, #NPD time: Hardware sales still jumping (up 106% to $292.7M) while game sales fall again (down 5% to $298.2M). Accessories were up 1%
– Ian Sherr (@iansherr) July 17, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
Source: PlayStation (Twitter), Xbox Wire
The Wii U tears itself apart so you don’t have to
YouTuber Vsauce3 is at it again, and this time he’s tearing down Nintendo’s latest console via the always neat-looking stop-motion animation. The Wii U’s hardware specs are pretty well known by this point, but what this video does is gives some context to the silicon. The console’s 2GB of RAM is much less impressive compared to both the PlayStation 4′s and the Xbox One’s 8GB, but that’s 23 times the amount of memory that was packed into the original Wii. Similarly, the Wii U’s 32GB hard drive sounds pretty paltry on paper, but it’s apparently big enough to hold every NES, Super NES and N64 game. Pretty cool, right? The video below has a few more bits of trivia contained therein, and watching it will make the wait for the next Legend of Zelda exactly two minutes shorter.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Nintendo
Via: Kotaku
Source: YouTube
Nintendo’s 3DS gets its first streaming game this September
We’ve seen quite a bit of game streaming on PlayStation-branded products, but it looks like Sony will gain some possibly unexpected competition. In Japan, at least. When Nintendo 3DS owners in the region play Dragon Quest X Online (DQXO) come its September 4th launch, they won’t be popping a cartridge into the system. No, like the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game’s mobile version, DQXO on Nintendo’s handheld will use streaming tech along the lines of PlayStation Now or OnLive instead of playing from a local cart or internal storage. As Tiny Cartridge reports, you won’t be able to play in 3D as a result, and you’ll constantly need a WiFi connection to access the game — considering that this is an MMO, that should be expected anyway. However, if you’d rather lay down your cash for a physical bit of DQ gear instead, well, there’s always this Metal Slime smartphone.
Via: Tiny Cartridge
Source: 4Gamer (Japanese)
Build your own Game Boy with a Raspberry Pi, SNES pad and 3D printer
What’s a maker to do when they don’t have access to a classic Game Boy but happen to have a 3D printer and a few other parts laying around? Craft their own, no Legos required, of course. With some patience, you too can build a copy of Nintendo’s 25 year-old handheld using an Raspberry Pi, Super NES controller (for its buttons and circuit board) and a few other bits and bobs. Adafruit has print-files for the iconic portable’s case as well as step-by-step instructions for how it all goes together, but, as 3DPrint points out, it likely won’t be easy and the project requires a decent grasp on soldering and circuitry. Emulated games run off of an SD card, and the DIY-Game Boy can even play any classic Nintendo ROMs you might find online too. We’ll leave wading through the legalities of that whole process up to you, though.
Via: 3DPrint
Source: Adafruit
The forgotten losers of the console wars
History is written by the victors, but for all those generations of console wars we’ve managed to weather through, what about the other guys? Opening this week, a new games museum in southern Japan houses 56 different consoles of varying fame (or infamy). For every NES / Famicom, there’s curiosities like the huge “Pocket Home PC”, failing on the very definition of its name. Remember the Sega Game 1000? We didn’t, but we should probably cut these (mostly) beige consoles some slack. While most of the devices toured here weren’t a commercial success, each helped gently push gaming towards its current state — if only by firmly demonstrating what we didn’t want. And yeah, we wish the Dreamcast was still around too. Here’s to the games consoles we’ve loved and lost over the last 40 years.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nokia, Nintendo
Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘Shovel Knight’ for Wii U!
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!
In Shovel Knight, you’re a knight with a shovel. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, that’s kind of the point. The latest from developer Yacht Club Games is a trip back to the 8-bit days of yore, and it aims to scratch that nostalgic itch without requiring you to dig the Nintendo Entertainment System out of your closet. Depending on how you spend your gaming time, though, you might have to dust off your Wii U before giving this retro platformer a spin. Shovel Knight takes the best parts of classics like Mega Man, Castlevania, Legend of Zelda and a handful of others, tosses them in a blender and adds a few modern conveniences. Curious to see the outcome? Well, come back here at 4 PM Pacific/7 PM Eastern and watch as I hit everything with a shovel and try not to die whilst doing so.
Watch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Nintendo
Korg DSN-12 turns your Nintendo handheld into a synthesizer, again
As we’ve seen before, Korg has a knack for bringing classic synth sounds to the screens of Nintendo’s handhelds. Teaming up with Detune once again, the outfit is bringing the tones with the likeness of yet another iconic instrument to those wielding a 2DS, 3DS or 3DS XL. The new effort, Korg DSN-12, takes its inspiration from the company’s MS-10 analog synth — one that’s fondly remembered for its bass and percussion chops. Here, a dozen monophonic sythesizers can be employed with a smattering of effects alongside a 64-step sequencer. There are multiple interfaces to sort through as well, including sequencer, synth knobs, patch panel, mixer and two oscilloscope sections to make use of Nintendo’s dual-screen setup. What’s more, thanks the 3DS’ three-dimensional abilities, those oscilloscopes are rendered in 3D for even more eye candy. As you might expect, the stylus can be used to wrangle the app that stores up to 64 different sequences to recall later. No word on pricing for the software just yet, but expect it to arrive in September for your sample building pleasure.
Via: Fact Magazine
Nintendo wants a future where consoles and handhelds run the same games
Nintendo’s financial struggles are well noted, but a new interview with the gaming giant’s Shigeru Miyamoto reveals that its experiencing some creative hardships too. For example, the differences in architecture between the Wii U and the 3DS handheld have made developing games that are playable on both systems (a la what Sony has been doing with certain PlayStation 3/4 and Vita titles for the past few years) a pain for the company, according to Kotaku. Miyamoto says that moving forward, Nintendo is looking at what it can do to bring the two development environments together — something that could open the door to buying a game once and playing it on either a home console or a handheld.
If you have a more unified development environment and you’re able to make one game that runs on both systems instead of having to make a game for each system, that’s an area of opportunity for us.
Considering how the company has addressed the complaints leveled at it recently, specifically regarding the shortcomings of the Wii U, this bodes well for whatever Nintendo has planned for the future. It’s important to note, however, that when Miyamoto speaks about these new possibilities that he doesn’t specify if they’ll make it to current hardware. Whether that means they’re features that’ll appear on the in-development new console or something else entirely is anyone’s guess.
[Image credit: MIGUEL RIOPA / Getty Images]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Nintendo
Source: Kotaku
Watch 168 hours of great games played live, really fast, right here
You can’t complete Super Mario 64 in under 10 minutes. Okay, it’s technically possible, but you almost assuredly cannot. That’s okay! We can’t either, but groups like Games Done Quick make it so we can watch the best of the best without any of the hard work. Of course, it’s not just Super Mario 64; as the group’s name implies, they play all types of games, and they play them quickly. Maybe you’ve heard of this practice before? It’s called “speedrunning,” and the result of said practice is, naturally, “speedruns.” We’re gonna just be straight up here: we heart speedruns. They’re the best. And twice each year, Games Done Quick has a week-long blowout where they stream live speedruns of awesome games all day, every day. But why? For charity! This summer, it’s Doctors Without Borders.
As such, we’re dropping this pin in Engadget for you to watch the stream all week. Lest you forget, we’ll remind you daily on social media that the madness is still going. Head below and see for yourself!
Wondering when your favorite game is coming? The schedule is right here, and the stream runs non-stop until June 29th. If the games don’t do it for you, the amazing commentary should. And hey, it’s for charity you monster!
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
Source: Games Done Quick
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