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Amazon unveils Fire TV, a set-top box for games and video
Amazon has entered another product market with the announcement of the Fire TV, an Android-powered set-top box that streams audio and video, and plays games. The Fire TV is available now for $99.
According to Amazon, the Fire TV is designed purely to outpace it’s competitors. The 0.7-inch-thick box features a quad-core CPU with 2 GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Adreno 320 GPU, and a dual-band wireless radio with two antennas for 1080p streaming. Long story short, as far as tech specs go, it trounces the Roku 3 and Apple TV with ease.
The gaming aspect of the box is geared more towards non-traditional gamers, people who may already tap about on a smartphone or tablet. To get into the game, players will have to purchase an Xbox-like add-on controller that retails for $39.99. The controller also comes with 1,000 Amazon coins, a digital currency used for buying games from the Fire store. If a game supports it, players can choose to use their smartphone, tablet, or Fire TV Remote instead.
Amazon’s in-house development team, Amazon Games, plans to build exclusive games for the device. Sev Zero, a third-person shooter/tower defense hybrid, is one such title and everyone who purchases the Fire TV Controller will receive it for free. Amazon hopes that by the end of next month “thousands” of games will be available from developers and publishers like 2K Games, Disney, Double Fine Productions, Electronic Arts, Sega, Telltale Games, and Ubisoft. Third party titles like Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne are already available for the device.
Amazon has pegged the average cost of a Fire TV game at $1.85, with prices starting at $0.99. Free-to-play titles will be available as well. But what else can the Fire TV do? (more…)
Square Enix @ PAX East 2014: Hitman Go, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Nosgoth
Square Enix will be bringing a trio of upcoming games to this year’s PAX East expo and not a single one has the words “Final,” “Fantasy,” “Dragon,” Quest,” “Kingdom,” or “Hearts” in its title. From April 11 through April 13, Square Enix will set up shop in Booth #548 with the following games:
Hitman Go – Hitman Go is a turn-based strategy game where you will strategically navigate fixed spaces on a grid to avoid enemies, infiltrate well-guarded locations and take out your target on beautifully rendered diorama-style set pieces. You really have to think about each move and all the Hitman tools of the trade you would expect are included; disguises distractions, sniper rifles and even 47’s iconic Silverballers. Developed by Square Enix Montreal, Hitman Go is set to arrive soon on mobile.
Murdered: Soul Suspect – A new take on the action/adventure genre, players take the role of Ronan O’Connor, a detective with a checkered past, whose life is brought to an untimely end by a brutal and relentless killer. Unable to move on and stuck in the limbo world of Dusk, he won’t find peace until he can bring his killer to justice from the afterlife. Set for release on June 3, Murdered: Soul Suspect will be available for PC, as well as current and next-gen consoles.
Nosgoth – Developed by Psyonix, Nosgoth is a unique team-based third person PvP title pitting a variety of brutal Human and Vampire characters in a fight for survival. The two races have very different play styles: Humans have an arsenal of devastating raged weaponry and lethal devices while Vampires specialize in visceral close-up melee attacks augmented by their inhuman abilities. Nosgoth is set in the dark fantasy world of the Legacy of Kain series and is currently in Closed Beta.
If you plan to attend PAX East and want to learn more about Nosgoth and Murdered: Soul Suspect, Square Enix will also host a pair of panels showcasing each game. The Murdered: Soul Suspect panel will take on Friday, April 11 at 6:00 PM while the Nosgoth panel, “Nosgoth: Vampire vs. Human Action,” will be held on Sunday, April 13 at 12:00 PM.
Kickstart This! The Guinness Aftermath Edition
While most of Ireland went about their business as usual on March 17th, many parts of the world decided to paint themselves green and drink several pints of the black stuff to commemorate the man who drove the snakes from the Emerald Isle. It doesn’t matter that these people are not really Irish, that St. Patrick probably didn’t drive out the snakes (as there were no snakes to begin with), or that the saint’s real colour is blue. The true meaning of St. Paddy’s Day is less about the man and his legend, and more about the celebration and enjoyment of life.
So, with our Guinness hangovers having well and truly dissipated for another year, let us turn our attentions to the viper pit that is Kickstarter, plucking some worthy cobras and prize-winning pythons from the wriggling mess. Hot on the heels of Goat Simulator‘s launch comes a campaign for Bear Simulator. Next is pixel exploration adventure Spirit, followed by 2D point-and-click game Dead Synchronicity. Things get very serious in 2D interactive novel The Seed, before we enter the fantasy realm of Chaos Reborn. Last, but not least, is the beautiful and ambitious turn-based RPG Earthlock: Festival of Magic.
Remember, a snake is for life, not just for St. Paddy’s Day. (more…)
Ubisoft bringing Watch Dogs, The Crew, Child of Light, Trials Fusion, more to PAX East 2014
Several big name publishers won’t be in attendance at this year’s PAX East convention, but you definitely shouldn’t count Ubisoft among their number. The French publishing powerhouse will have a massive booth featuring eight different games at this year’s show:
- Watch Dogs – Con-goers will be able to view a before-seen demo of the game as well as participate in an “eye-opening Watch Dogs experience that lets fans see themselves through the lens of a hacker and get a look at how they could potentially be targeted.”
- The Crew – Ubisoft’s upcoming driving game will be playable on the show floor as “players will be able to the own the road in a massive, open-world re-creation of the United States that is brimming with exciting challenges.”
- Trials Fusion – Scheduled for release on April 16, attendees will get their first chance to play the first next-generation game in the Trials series. In addition to the hands-on demo, professional BMX riders will perform stunts in Ubisoft’s in-booth skate park.
- Child of Light – Players will be able to take control of the game’s main character, Aurora, in a new hands-on demo: “Players will use an active turn-based fight system to uncover mythical dragons and other enchanting creatures, as well as explore the gorgeous watercolor-painted 2D environments in a poetic journey inspired by fairy tales.”
Ubisoft also plans to showcase a playable demo for an unannounced downloadable title as well as a trio of free-to-play titles: online shooter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Phantoms, hack and slash The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot, and collectible card game Might & Magic: Duel of Champions.
PAX East 2014 is less than three weeks away and it’ll be held in Boston, Massachusetts from April 11-13.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Child of Light, PAX East 2014, The Crew, Trials Fusion, Watch Dogs
Blizzard @ PAX East 2014: Heroes of the Storm, Diablo III PS4, Hearthstone, WoW: Draenor
Blizzard will have plenty to showcase at this year’s PAX East expo, including playable demos of the PS4 port of Diablo III, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.
Players who get a chance to visit booth #848 will be able to play as The Crusader in Diablo III’s “Ultimate Evil Edition” with a DualShock 4 controller for the first time. If they slide over to the WoW: Warlords of Draenor demo, they will experience “updated character models” and the expansion’s “intro experience.” A brand-new demo of Heroes of the Storm will also be on hand, with never-before-seen heroes to try out. And finally, the iPad edition of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be playable at Blizzard’s booth.
As always, PAX East will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. This year’s expo will begin on Friday, April 11 and run through Sunday, April 13.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4
Tagged Diablo III, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, PAX East 2014, World of Warcraft
Robotoki will use CryEngine to develop Human Element for PC, PS4, Xbox One
Robotoki and Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s former Community Manager, are hard at work on Human Element, their first game. Yesterday, Bowling confirmed that Human Element will be developed using Crytek’s CryEngine as well revealed the game’s launch plans.
Human Element is currently in development for the PC and will be released in November 2015 (so says Bowling via Twitter). In addition to the PC version, the game is in the works for next-generation consoles (specifically the PS4 and Xbox One), but it is unknown when the console edition will be available. A mobile spinoff of the open world game where players are tasked with rebuilding the world 35 years after a zombie uprising is also in development.
“The ambitious narrative and gameplay of Human Element required an innovative set of features in order to achieve our vision.” said Bowling. “CryEngine is the perfect fit for us because it delivers so many powerful features straight out of the box such as the physical based shading system and the infinite terrain from segmented worlds to create a massive open world experience but still allow the visual fidelity and detail our players expect from a first person experience from our team.”
Bowling also confirmed (again via Twitter) that a Human Element prequel originally in development for the Ouya has been canceled.
Continue Countdown #1 – Project Morpheus, The Last of Us Movie, South Park RPG, More
Welcome to the world premiere of Warp Zoned’s “Continue Countdown.” In each 30-minute episode, the Warp Zoned staff will discuss nine news stories from the week that was.
Get your quarters ready because in this episode Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo, Senior Editor Nicole Kline, and Staff Writer Mike Ryan talk about Sony’s “Project Morpheus” headset, the movie adaptation of The Last of Us, DriveClub’s delay, our expectations for Alien: Isolation, Gone Home’s console port, the epicness quotient of Angry Birds Epic, South Park: The Stick of Truth and the future of the licensed game, used games at Walmart, and our suggestions for the Official Scrabble Dictionary.
Posted in Mobile, PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Angry Birds Epic, DriveClub, Gone Home, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Tabletop Games, The Last of Us
Papers Please wins big at the 2014 Independent Games Festival
Lucas Pope’s Papers Please was the big winner during last night’s Independent Games Festival. The 2014 edition of the annual awards show honoring independent games gave three awards to Pope’s game including “Excellence in Design,” “Excellence in Narrative,” and the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize.” Who knew taking control of a border control agent living under a harsh dictator could be so fun?
Five other games were also honored with awards last night. The “Excellence in Visual Art” award went to Jason Roberts for his puzzler Gorogoa. If you’re more of a sound guy, you’d probably like to know that Simogo was given the “Excellence in Audio” award for their beguiling mobile game, Device 6.
The “Nuovo Award,” which recognizes “abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development,” was given to Tale of Tales for Luxuria Superbia. According to the IGF, Luxuria Superbia is “a musically and visually resplendent title that uses the player’s touch to stimulate in-game sensations of pleasure and joy. Absent any characters or underlying narrative, the game is focused entirely on the experience of traveling through a series of tunnels to make them “feel good” and affect their colors and plumage through the player’s tactile inputs.” Certainly sounds unconventional to me.
The final two awards of the night went to Hopoo Games and Galactic Cage. Hopoo Games is made up of students from the University of Washington and, obviously enough, they took home the “Best Student Game” award for Risk of Rain. Finally, the “Audience Award” went to Galactic Cafe for their work on The Stanley Parable, their heavily-narrated first-person game.
Congratulations to all of this year’s winners.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC
Tagged GDC 2014, Papers Please