Last-gen systems aren’t getting new ‘Call of Duty’ maps
If you’re still feeling salty over Activision nixing Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s campaign mode on last-gen systems the next bit of news won’t do much to make the situation any better. In an announcement about the latest set of downloadable content, the “Awakening” pack which includes a quartet of adversarial multiplayer maps and the first episode of a new “zombies” tale, the company writes that the DLC will launch next February 2nd on PlayStation 4 first with “other next-gen platforms to follow.”
Semantics aside (“next-gen” is a misnomer here as the PS4 and Xbox One just celebrated their second birthdays), what we’ve left is that Activision is leaving folks who haven’t upgraded to new gaming consoles pretty far behind.
To be fair, even the official E3 announcement from Sony that PlayStation would get future map packs first didn’t specify which PlayStation they’d appear on. After Activision and developer Treyarch announced that the last-gen version Black Ops III would ship sans its slightly unorthodox campaign, I guess this isn’t all too surprising but it’s no less disappointing. Especially considering that earlier this year, Activision announced that on a monthly basis nearly 12 million people were still actively playing the three year-old Black Ops II — the game sitting at the top of the heap for Xbox One backwards compatibility requests by fans.
Via: Kotaku
Source: Businesswire
Video game tie-ins shouldn’t feel ‘cheap’
It used to be that if you loved a video game, your options for showing it beyond buying the cartridge or disc were pretty limited. Now there’s a whole cottage industry for gaming fandom. Want a rad vinyl soundtrack for a hyper-violent indie game? Say no more. How about an evocative statue showcasing the duality of a game’s strong, female protagonist? You’re covered there, too.
But for every one of the former, there were seemingly a dozen tasteless cash-ins. When these brand extensions are done right, we wind up with heartfelt keepsakes or ways to keep a game in our lives while we’re away from the controller. But when a company blows it, you get crap like tacky game-branded mini-fridges.
There have been video game soundtracks released on vinyl before, but they were few and far between; 2015 was the year that they went mainstream. The year started with incredible vinyl releases for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Journey and The Last of Us soundtracks, but the strategy soon devolved into just another bullet point for corporate suits to hit.
Now we have games with less-than-memorable scores getting careless vinyl releases because it’s just another revenue stream to be mined. It’s actually kind of impressive how quickly it all happened: Wrong Number released in March for $60 with killer packaging and a download code for the game. By November, we had a bare-bones pressing of the score for Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection up for pre-order.
Publishers want to gauge interest and ensure you’ll pre-order their games as far in advance as possible, so tying pricey — and limited — editions to them is one way of ensuring that. Publisher Bethesda Softworks likely knew it had the most anticipated release of the year on its hands with Fallout 4 and could’ve slapped the series’ iconic Vault Boy character on anything — like what Disney is doing with Star Wars — and made a fortune.
Instead, its big-ticket item was a real-world version of the franchise’s wrist-worn computer. The Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition sold out multiple times because publisher Bethesda couldn’t keep up with demand for the $120 smartphone holster. But the hunk of plastic was a heartfelt nod to fans of the studio and franchise. The Pip-Boy wasn’t some random widget from the game world. It’d been a part of the series for almost two decades, something fans interacted with in-game frequently.
Contrast that with the $200 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Juggernog Edition that features a mini-fridge from the game’s “zombies” multiplayer mode. Because there’s a new Call of Duty every year, each with its own overpriced premium edition and throw-away “big” item, the Perk-A-Cola fridge rings hollow. Sure, something to keep a dozen cans of your gaming fuel of choice might be genuinely useful, but at that price you’d be better off buying a regular beer-fridge for your living room.
If this year’s taught us anything, it’s that video game publishers don’t hold much sacred when it comes to beefing up their bottom line. And that’s incredibly apparent when even the best ideas get run into the ground. Maybe 2016 will fix that. Or maybe we’ll get another run of hideous-looking game consoles.
Sony is developing a new battery tech that lasts 40% longer
Battery life is one of the most needed improvements in the tech industry. A number of manufacturers have done extended research on how to improve battery life but none have made a substantial difference. Based on a report, Sony might be up to something worth talking about.
Sony is working on a new lithium-ion battery composed of a sulfur compound. Sony thinks that they have discovered a solution that makes batteries drain at a slower rate. The batteries will also last longer (health standpoint) and the newly used substance will allow batteries to be much larger in capacity without added size. Thus meaning a smartphone with a 3000mAh battery may be able to fit up to 4300mAh without an added thickness.
The technology is still in the testing phase so don’t get too excited just yet.
Come comment on this article: Sony is developing a new battery tech that lasts 40% longer
Playdate: Giving away the Force
It’s been a long wait, but today’s the day: Star Wars is back in theaters. We’ve seen it. No, we’re not going to talk about it (well, not much. Spoilers, you know) — but we are celebrating its release by playing our favorite games from the series now-defunct expanded universe. We’re closing out our Star Wars week with games from the Dark Forces and Jedi Knight franchises, the Star Wars: Force Unleashed games as well as the past and present of Star Wars: Battlefront.
Want more? You got it: we’re also you a chance to win a Limited Edition Star Wars: Battlefront PlayStation 4 –just check out the contest widget below. As for the show? You can join in at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific at Twitch.tv/Joystiq to nerd out with us. You also watch the show on the Engadget Gaming homepage, right here in this post or, as always, in our archives at a later date. And again, no spoilers, please.
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Sony working on phone batteries that last 40 percent longer
Recent history has taught us we can’t expect our smartphones to last more than a day on a single charge. Bigger batteries are an uninspired solution and fast-charging a minor consolation, so it’s no wonder researchers and companies alike are trying to develop new, more efficient battery tech. As Nikkei reports, Sony’s in the same boat, working on new types of batteries that could carry 40 percent more energy than lithium-ion counterparts (fun fact: Sony developed the first commercial Li-ion battery).
Key to Sony’s next-gen batteries are sulfur-based electrodes. Lithium-sulfur cells are well known to have better capacities, but the sulfur degrades so rapidly in this environment that commercial, rechargeable batteries of this kind have been out of the question. Presumably, Sony’s solved or is close to solving this issue. More interesting, though, is that the company is also developing magnesium-sulfur batteries, removing lithium from the equation altogether. Magnesium is the significantly more abundant element, making for cheaper batteries that also last longer. They should be safer, too, since lithium-based batteries degenerate over time to the point of becoming a fire risk.
All next-gen battery promises seem to come with a long wait attached, and Sony’s are no different. The company is aiming to make its sulfur-based batteries available in 2020, with smartphones being the first to benefit before other types of devices. It’s likely, then, that we’re gonna have to wait until the Xperia Z10 before that 40 percent battery life improvement comes true (if at all).
Source: Nikkei
Sony working on battery that lasts 40% longer, report claims
Sony is currently working on a high-capacity battery that lasts 40% longer on a single charge, says a report from Japanese news group Nikkei.
According to information from Nikkei, Sony has managed to develop a battery containing a sulphur compound, which stores ‘more electricity than other models’. The technology is said to be scheduled for a 2020 release, with Sony hoping to make a huge impact in the battery market.
Nikkei’s report speaks on the impact of the rumoured battery, explaining:
“Sony’s [battery] could power the latest Apple iPhone, the 6s, for 14 hours while the device is connected to the Internet, calculations show. Batteries could also be made 30% more compact while maintaining current run times, letting manufacturers build smaller devices.”
Various attempts to develop sulphur-bearing batteries in the past have resulted in shrinking capacity, but it looks like Sony has managed to overcome the issue, in part by ‘reformulating its electrolyte solution’.
Nikkei adds that the tech company now aims to improve the safety of the product and come up with a plan concerning mass production.
Potentially, Sony’s recipe for an improved battery could also result in a smaller one, which is good news for folk that like their smartphones thin.
It will certainly be interesting to see how much difference Sony’s battery makes if the rumours are true. However, if estimates of a 2020 release are accurate, we’ve got quite a wait on our hands.
Source: Nikkei
Come comment on this article: Sony working on battery that lasts 40% longer, report claims
Sony’s new Alpha A68 camera is coming to the US next April
Sony introduced the Alpha A68 last month, but that announcement was geared toward the UK market. Today, however, the electronics company announced that its new DSLR-esque camera will be coming to the US next April, with pre-orders expected to open in March. The Alpha A68 features a 24.2-megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, a Bionz X image processor and an ISO range of 100-25,600. To help you frame your subject or view pictures, meanwhile, you get a hybrid OLED electronic viewfinder and a 2.7-inch tilting LCD.
As we noted in November, the A68’s main feature is its translucent mirror, which Sony is calling D4 Focus and consists of a 79-point phase-detection AF that works continuously at up to 8fps. Unlike Sony’s latest cameras, such as the A7S II or A7R II, the Alpha A68 doesn’t shoot 4K, but you do have the option of 1080p at 24, 25 and 30fps. It’ll be available for $600 body-only or $700 with an 18-55mm kit lens.Slideshow-349123
Samsung, LG pause from chase for 4K displays
In the spec wars for smartphones, it looks like LG and Samsung may have finally reached the tipping point, at least when it comes to display resolutions. Over the years, smartphone manufacturers have chased different metrics when it comes to displays, first pixels per inch (PPI) and then resolutions, from 720p HD to full 1080p HD and more recently to QHD (2560 x 1440 resolution). The next step would be 4K, or Ultra HD, displays running at 3840 x 2160 resolution. Although Sony has already taken that leap with the release of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, a new report says Samsung and LG are not ready to make the move with their 2016 devices.
According to sources, Samsung and LG are easing up on the push to UHD displays for a couple primary reasons. First, they are still battling issues like overheating and trying to address the additional energy consumed by such a high resolution display. The second issue involves 4K content. For the present, there is not a lot of 4K content available in the market right now, not enough to help drive demand for devices with 4K screens. The manufacturers may also want to wait for network providers to be able to deliver 4K content using 5G connections, which are not expected to be available until 2018. In addition to these reasons, sources point to a lack of orders for existing suppliers of 4K displays as a sign that the market is not yet ready for companies like Samsung and LG to jump in.
If you were thinking ahead about picking up a 4K equipped device in 2016, you probably will need to look for devices from someone other than Samsung and LG.
source: DigiTimes
via: G for Games
Come comment on this article: Samsung, LG pause from chase for 4K displays
Report: Sony battery boasts 40 percent longer use time
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the complaint that smartphone batteries just don’t seem to last long enough, offering only a few hours of screen-on time before running out. While quick charge technologies are helping to sidestep the problem, what we really need is extra capacity in our gadget-sized battery cells.
Fortunately, Sony is one of a growing list of companies that is working on improving battery capacities. According to a report from Nikkei, Sony plans to introduce a new high capacity battery in 2020 that should last 40 percent longer than lithium ion batteries currently on the market. Alternately, batteries and devices could be made smaller and still provide the same length of use as today’s hardware.
The new battery cell is said to be based on a sulfur compound, rather than lithium cobalt oxide found in the positive electrodes in most mainstream gadget batteries, allowing it to store additional energy. The trouble with sulfur-based batteries is that they typically suffer from substantially reduced capacity over repeated recharge cycles. However, Sony has managed to overcome this issue by formulating a new electrolyte solution. The next step is to test the battery to ensure that it is safe for mass production and use in mainstream electronics.
2020 is still a bit of a long time to wait, so in the mean time check out Gary Sims’ rundown of the fastest charging smartphones.
Chromecast support arrives for PlayStation Vue TV streaming service
Sony has added Chromecast support for PlayStation Vue, its TV streaming service. It’s no big surprise really, since Sony had teased the coming of this feature back in November. However, the caveat is that this feature can only be enjoyed by iOS users. Why? That’s because PlayStation Vue doesn’t have an Android app as of yet, and there’s no word on when we’re getting one.
At launch, PlayStation Vue was only available to PS3 and PS4 users. Since then, Sony worked hard to bring their subscription TV streaming service to more platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, iPhone, and iPad. The subscription service differentiates itself from others by allowing users to pick the TV channels that they would like to watch, and pay for them accordingly. It is more economical though to go for one of the various TV packages listed on Sony’s website.
Chromecast support for #PSVue available today; access content via the PS Vue Mobile app from compatible iOS devices: https://t.co/GV1ms8yl00
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) December 15, 2015
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A $49.99/month plan would grant you access to over 50 top channels from live TV, movies, and sports genres. Have a larger appetite for watching TV shows? You could go for the $64.99/month Elite plan, which gives you access to over 85 channels. What’s more, you can save thousands of hours of your favourite shows to Sony’s cloud DVR, from where you can stream it later.
See also: 10 best video streaming apps for Android
Are you a PlayStation Vue subscriber? Do share your experience with us in the comments below!
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