Introducing Engadget’s 2016 back-to-school guide!
Oh yes, it’s already that time of year. Temperature are still sitting in the triple digits in some places, but many of you are just four weeks away from a new school year, heralding the end of summer. Once again, Engadget has put together a back-to-school gear guide, but this time, we did something a little different.
This year’s guide was curated with college students in mind (sorry, high schoolers), with sections for five broad archetypes: party kids, academics, jocks, freshmen and study abroad students. (What’s that you say? You’re a scholar-athlete and you’re spending the semester in Madrid? Have we got picks for you!) As always too, we endeavored to recommend things across different price points, with a few free options, some more aspirational objects and lots of stuff in between. Check out the whole guide here, and stay tuned throughout the month as we spotlight different picks for different students.
Source: Engadget’s 2016 Back-to-School Guide
Engadget UK giveaway: Win a Sony Xperia XA courtesy of 32nd Shop
The British summer simply can’t win. Either it’s too hot and muggy to go outside, or it rains all day when you’re trying to host a BBQ. Free stuff, however, is one thing you can’t complain about. Thanks to our friends at 32nd Shop, we’ve got two of Sony’s Xperia XA smartphones up for grabs this week. What’s more, each of the camera-centric mobiles has no less than four different covers to go with it — 32nd Shop being a case and accessory specialist, after all. As always, entries are handled by the Rafflecopter widget below, but before you start throwing your hat into the ring, gives the rules a quick read so you know what’s what.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the UK, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. Two (2) winners will receive one (1) Xperia XA and assorted cases.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Sony, 32nd Shop and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honour warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until August 5th at 11:59PM BST. Good luck!
Source: 32nd Shop
Sony sued for not preventing piracy of movie leaked in 2014 hack
The fall 2014 Sony megahack leaked a massive amount of internal documents and content, resulting in plenty of fallout. Even two years later, they company is still not off the hook. The film To Write Love On Her Arms was one of four movies released online in the colossal data dump, and its producers are suing Sony Pictures failing to safeguard it from piracy thereafter.
Possibility Pictures, the producers of the film, point to a specific clause in their contract with Sony requiring it “to protect the Picture worldwide on the Internet directly or through third party vendors, representative or agents.” In the court brief, the plaintiffs point to an article claiming that the movie was subsequently downloaded 20,000 times, but that doesn’t even fully account for how far it spread thereafter. It was slated to hit theaters in March 2015, but was released Direct-to-DVD instead, a quiet death instead of dumping publicity money on a film that was freely available online.
The producers are asking for all the film’s projected revenue had Sony properly protected the film and released it in theaters normally, which is some $8.7 million. The company declined to give comment to The Hollywood Reporter, but was alleged to have replied to producers that it had no obligation to take any anti-piracy measures. If Possibility Pictures wins, it could set precedent for deciding who is responsible for a film’s performance should hacks and/or leaks cripple its revenue.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Sony’s ‘Driveclub VR’ is a PlayStation VR launch title
Sony will release a virtual reality version of Driveclub just in time for the launch of its upcoming PlayStation VR platform on October 13th. Driveclub VR will feature “brand new tracks” including a city track (pictured above) and let players view vehicles from multiple angles while they trade paint. Sony revealed the news in a blog post (which was subsequently pulled, so it was possibly published too early). Interestingly, other details were tweeted by Paul “Rushy” Rustchynsky, a developer for Codemasters.
@VG_Dave There is a collection of brand new tracks. Not sure I can comment on development yet – I’ll get back to you.
— Paul Rustchynsky (@Rushy33) July 29, 2016
The original Driveclub, from Sony’s first-party studio Evolution, had problems from the day it was launched, and the free PlayStation Plus version was about two years late. As a result, Sony decided to close Evolution, but the team behind it was quickly snapped up by F1 2016 developer Codemasters. Sony didn’t say which studio was behind the VR title (it’s listed as coming from Sony Interactive Entertainment), but on a NeoGAF forum, Rushy said that “the same development team who made Driveclub also made Driveclub VR.”
It’s still not clear whether the Driveclub VR is as big as the original game, or if it’s a smaller experience with a limited number of cars and tracks. Nevertheless, the fact that a triple-A racing game is coming to the PlayStation VR gives the platform an extra shot of legitimacy.
Source: Paul Rustchynsky (Twitter), Sony (Screengrab, translated)
Sony’s mobile division (sorta) makes a profit
Sony’s most recent financial report is out and, if you squint, things almost look good for its moribund mobile division. Sony Mobile posted a profit of $4 million, which the company attributed to the fact that it’s fired enough people to get its costs to break even. If you want to put a positive spin on things, it looks like a greatly-slimmed down phone business might generate just enough money to keep it going. Given that Sony’s had to cover Mobile’s losses with PlayStation’s gains for the last few years, some executives may be reaching for the champagne.
But this is Sony, so there’s no silver lining without some pretty dark clouds covering the horizon in the form of Japan’s currency. The Yen has been getting stronger of late, which means that Sony’s exports are more expensive, and less competitive. That’s important because Sony needs to sell its products to the world — something it expects to get harder in the near future. As for Mobile, the company expects sales of Xperia (and its successor) devices to fall once again, because fewer people are buying smartphones — and when they are, they’re going for cheaper Chinese brands.
Overall, the picture for the company isn’t looking particularly rosy, with falls in performance noted across almost all of its divisions. The only bright spot was PlayStation, which saw profits increase thanks to more people buying PlayStation 4 games. But a drop in image sensor sales, TVs and the fallout from April’s Kumamoto Earthquake mean that profits are down pretty much across the board. So, it’s one step forward, three back for Sony which, at this point, most people would call business as usual.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Sony (.PDF)
Drinkbox’s creeptastic ‘Severed’ arrives on iOS today
The days are basically numbered for Sony’s beleaguered portable console, the PS Vita, and they have been for some time. But that hasn’t stopped indie developer Drinkbox Studios from supporting it. Three of the company’s four games have been released for the Vita (including the excellent Guacamelee!), and the latest (hack-and-slash explorer Severed) came out earlier this year as a Vita exclusive.
However, Drinkbox knows that it needs to move beyond Sony’s aging handheld: That’s why Severed is coming to iOS devices as well as Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS. The iOS port arrives today ready for the iPhone and iPad and costs $6.99. That may be a little expensive for an iOS game, but it’s less than half of what the game costs on the Vita. And it dramatically expands the number of people who’ll get a chance to play Severed.
Previous Drinkbox games eventually made their way to various Xbox and PlayStation consoles, but Severed relies heavily on the touchscreen, making iOS and Nintendo’s platforms a far better match this time out. I played an pre-release version of the game on iOS, and it seems particularly well-suited to the wide expanses of the iPad’s screen (though it works on the phone, as well). Slashing your way through enemies feels great on the big screen, and the two-finger gesture to adjust your character’s first-person view is a totally natural gesture.
Everything about the Vita version of the game is intact here, including Drinkbox’s signature bright and eerie art style and some wonderfully creepy atmospheric music. It may cost more than the average game, but Severed is a pretty extensive experience as far as iOS games go. It also has a number of new iOS features, including cloud save across multiple devices, game center achievements, graphics optimizations using Apple’s Metal technology and an easier “casual” difficulty mode.
If you’re a Vita fan, however, Drinkbox has some sad news: It sounds as if Severed will be the studio’s last game for the handheld. “We’ve talked about if we were ever to do a Kickstarter, the Vita might be a stretch goal,” Drinkbox’s Graham Smith told me. “We have an internal game engine that we use that really works well with iOS now, so now all things being equal it’s just as easy to put out a game on iOS as it is on the Vita,” Chris McQuinn from Drinkbox adds. “We love the Vita, but we also need to survive financially.”
But the good news is that Drinkbox appears to be more than capable of bringing its distinctive style to iOS. The company has made some excellent games thus far, regardless of platform, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens once they start building games from the ground up with iOS in mind. And the company’s support of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 thus far means we’ll likely see new games there in the future as well.
Lithium-ion pioneer Sony is selling its battery arm
Sony is planning to sell its battery division to Murata, a Japanese firm that makes a diverse variety of products like wireless components and robots. Sony started the battery business in 1975 and was the first company to commercialize lithium-ion batteries back in 1991. The electronics giant has been selling off core businesses and assets in an effort to return to profitability — it recently unloaded its VAIO PC division, New York and Tokyo Headquarters, and Sony Online Entertainment game division. It also split off its sensor and TV businesses into separate companies.
Murata will likely acquire the Sony Energy Devices Corporation subsidiary and manufacturing plants in China and Singapore, excluding alkaline batteries and USB chargers. It then intends to “position the global battery business as a core operation within its energy business.” The battery arm is part of Sony’s profitable sensor division, but was a drag on earnings in 2015 to the tune of $270 million.
Sony started the battery business in 1975 and was the first company to commercialize lithium-ion batteries back in 1991.
Sony says that while it focused on improving the profitability of lithium-ion smartphone batteries, it adds that the “competitive environment is significantly changing.” In fact, Samsung claims it is the current leader in small lithium-ion batteries, and has been since 2010. Other players like LG Chem and Panasonic also outsell Sony.
The agreement is non-binding pending “due diligence and negotiation of detailed terms and conditions of the transfer,” Sony says. Executives from both companies are aiming for an agreement by mid-October 2016, with the transfer complete by March 2017.
Source: Sony
‘Yakuza 0’ is coming to brutalize your PS4 in January 2017
Yakuza fans, rejoice! Yakuza 0 has finally been given a release date, and it’s officially on its way as a PlayStation 4 exclusive.
Travel back to 1988 to the streets of Kamurocho on January 24, 2017 with the latest entry in the Yakuza series. It’s a prequel to the previous games in the series, so if you’ve yet to try one of them out this is one of the best ways you could get acquainted.
This PlayStation 4 release will feature chapter titles, character introductions, opponent names and on-screen directions in English rather than offering subtitles for the kanji for the first time since Yakuza 2. In addition, the Japanese voice actors will remain, with the English script retaining Japanese honorifics.
Yakuza 0 will receive both physical and digital copies next year when it rolls out in January. Check out the official website for additional details.
Source: PlayStation 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)
NFL Network and RedZone are coming to PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue just became much more enticing if you’re a fan of American football. Sony has announced that both NFL Network and NFL RedZone will be available by the time the regular NFL season kicks off this fall. It’s not clear what packages will include the channels, but you will get typical Vue features (such as a cloud DVR and simultaneous streams) and access through the NFL’s dedicated apps and websites. Combined with ESPN and other sports coverage on Vue, you may not have much reason to hold on to a conventional TV subscription if you’re all about the gridiron.
Source: PlayStation Blog
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