Steam Machine Prototype Design & Price Revealed

Now that both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One have been released for sale to the general public, everyone can weigh in on the great debate over which one is the best. Despite the differences in size, the two consoles do look somewhat similar, with their boxy designs and sleek black palettes. How much more black could they be? The answer is none. None more black.

As the eighth console generation settles into place with the PS4 and Xbox One snuggling up alongside the Wii U and Ouya, another contender is on the horizon. Valve, not content with dominating the world of digital PC games sales, this year announced plans to launch a line of Steam Machines that are designed to boost the living room entertainment experience. Last month, Valve outlined the specsfor the prototype Steam Machine, which will run on the Linux-based Steam OS and be built out of high-end PC parts, enabling it to play games at 60fps and 1080p.

Now Engadget has offered the first look at a new prototype of the console, which is most definitely not black. Instead, the Steam Machine is a sleek white box with the Valve logo embossed into the top and a light bar with a customizable color running through the middle. The prototype, which was built by iBuyPower, is smaller than an Xbox One, but larger than a PS4, and has an integrated power supply that negates the need for an external power brick. Check out the design below.

CLICK TO VIEW FULL SIZE IMAGE

It might be accused of looking at Apple’s notes, but in design terms that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This Steam Machine looks like it could easily blend with the decor in the bridge of the rebooted Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, and is very different from the simple black design that we saw earlier this month. The next important question however, is whether or not the average gamer will be able to afford it.

The Verge has further details on the pricing of this Steam Machine, and the good news is that it won’t cost as much as a high-end PC. Instead, Valve’s first console comes with a price tag of $499, the same as the Xbox One, as part of a package deal that also includes the Steam controller and comes standard with Wi-fi, Bluetooth and a 500GB hard drive.

Since Valve has said that there are no plans to develop exclusives for the Steam Machine (so no enticing gamers to buy with the promise of Half-Life 3), the hardware itself needs to be pretty special in order to compete with the latest versions of established products like Xbox and PlayStation. With the release of the first Steam Machine set for next year, tell us if you think Valve has what it takes to play in the console big leagues.

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Sources: Engadget, The Verge

Mo-Cap Underway for ‘Uncharted’ on PS4, Still No Nathan Drake Confirmation

It’s been less than two weeks since Sony shocked the world and announced a new Uncharted game was in development for the PS4. Well, it’s certainly been less than two weeks since the announcement.
Since that time, the rumor mills have been working overtime, pouring of the reveal trailer for any and every clue, but few substantial tidbits have been gleaned – although this may be a Pirate-themed adventure. Today, however, we have some additional Uncharted 4 teases that are fairly straightforward, but are nonetheless exciting.
The majority of the info comes courtesy of actor Todd Stashwick, who narrated the Uncharted teaser trailer and is clearly a key component of the sequel. In the trailer, Stashwick’s character talks about revenge, among other things, which many believe positions him as the main villain.
Along with voicing the villain, Stashwick, in typical Naughty Dog fashion, is also serving as mo-cap actor for the unnamed character. He provided some images of himself “in action,” which can be seen below.

Unfortunately, there are no Nolan North spottings in the images, so speculation about Nathan Drake’s return is still up in the air. With Uncharted creator Amy Hennig still on board, and serving as creative director on this next game, we don’t expect the franchise to venture too far off the beaten path, but it’s strange that Stashwick’s character is the centerpiece of marketing thus far.
If you’ll remember from our interview with Hennig back when Uncharted 3 was getting ready to release, Hennig said that she still wants to “continue exploring facets of Drake that we haven’t seen before,” and would do so by “putting people in his world that inspire or provoke different aspects of his character that we haven’t seen yet.” At the time of that interview, Hennig was still uncertain if there was to be an Uncharted 4 – and The Last of Us was not yet announced – but if she is still on that line of thinking we might have further confirmation that Drake will return. Moreover, Stashwick’s character’s connections to Drake, or his lineage, are irrefutable.
Clearly, this next Uncharted is still a work in progress, and there’s presumably much more for Naughty Dog to announce – not just about characters, but about titles, release dates, and all that. For now, though, we have Stashwick’s Twitter account over which to keep a watchful eye.
What do you make of the mo-cap images from Stashwick? Can you see any clues? How do you hope his character ties into the Uncharted universe?
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Source: Twitter – Todd Stashwick

Sony Announces PS Vita TV: Stream PS4 Games to Another TV

In addition to announcing a Japanese release for the PS4 and a new, slimmer PS Vita model, Sony also announced something completely unexpected at their pre-Tokyo Game Show Conference. And, coincidentally, Sony‘s latest creation unites their two most recent consoles in some interesting ways.

So, what is this new device you ask? Well, it’s called the PS Vita TV and it may just be the hottest new gaming device this side of a next-gen console.

The PS Vita TV is, in the simplest of terms, a console for playing Vita games on your TV. It boasts an HDMI output port, a slot for Vita cartridges, and a slot for the Vita’s proprietary memory cards. In other words, it’s a Vita without the screen and controls.

Obviously, any TV will replicate the Vita’s screen, and as far as controls are concerned the PS Vita TV can sync with any DualShock 3 controller. Once everything is set-up (i.e. Vita TV plugged in and controller synced), gamers can play any Vita game, or any game a Vita can play (PS One Classic, PSP title) on their TV.

Moreover, the PS Vita TV serves as a decent substitute for an Apple TV or a Roku box in that it can handle a variety of streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Gamers likely have plenty of solutions for their streaming needs, so what’s one more?

But where the PS Vita TV will most impress gamers is with its Remote Playfeatures. Although it won’t be available at launch, the Vita TV can use Remote Play almost exactly like the handheld Vita will be able to, albeit with one key difference.

Instead of streaming PS4 games to the Vita’s OLED screen, however, the Vita TV will stream games to an additional TV and will use the DualShock 4 for control. That means gamers can stream their PS4 console gameplay to another TV through the PS Vita TV. With this feature, the PS Vita TV ostensibly becomes a Slingbox for your PS4 gaming.

Unfortunately, there are two downsides to this very exciting PS Vita TV announcement. First, the device has only been announced for the Japanese market (launch date: November 14th). There’s no reason to think Sony isn’t developing a version for North America and Europe, but the announcement was specifically geared towards Japanese gamers.

The second downside to the announcement is that the Remote Play functionality will be added at a later date through a system update. It’s unclear if that’s because the PS4 launches much later in Japan on February 22nd, or if the functionality is still in development, so that’s something to keep an eye on. We should know more about Remote Play’s timeline when the PS4 hits North American store shelveson November 15th.

Overall, the PS Vita TV sounds like just the thing for gamers who were interested in the Vita’s Remote Play features, but weren’t sold on the Vita as a handheld. With this much cheaper device (about $100), gamers can access their PS4 from nearly any room in their house, and if the mood strikes they can check out what the Vita has to offer in terms of its own experiences.

Does the PS Vita TV sound like something you would be interested in? What do you think the device is missing/needs, if anything?

The PS Vita TV launches November 14, 2013 in Japan. No North American or European release dates have been announced.

[April Fool] Microsoft Skipping Next-Gen Console War; Will Focus on Game Publishing

2013 was long thought to be the year the next generation of video game consoles becomes a reality, and after Sony’s official unveiling of the PS4, that future has finally become all the more real. Sony’s reveal was only one part of the equation though, with the other being Microsoft’s new console.

Many believed that gamers might see a next-gen unveiling from Microsoft at this year’s E3, while a more recent rumor suggested the publisher was taking a page from its competitor’s book and staging its own April event. As it turns out, though, neither are true.

In a sudden turn of events, Microsoft today confirmed they will NOT be releasing an Xbox 360 successor, but will be sticking to software development and publishing for the foreseeable future. After seeing what the PS4 was capable of, and looking at their own in-development next-gen hardware, Microsoft realized there was no way they could compete in the necessary time frame. And so, they have followed the old adage of, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Microsoft broke the news in a Press Release earlier today, which said the company was “very impressed” with what Sony had unveiled, and thought it best not to split the market for the next-gen:

“We looked at what Sony was doing, took a concerted look at our own console, and then decided it was in our best interests not to move forward with our next-gen console. Instead we plan to move into the development and publishing space, and have put into place the early phases of a partnership with Sony whereby all of our content would appear on the PS4.”

When asked what this would mean for in-development projects like the nextGears of War and Halo 5, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wouldn’t say much, but hinted that gamers should keep their eyes peeled to Sony’s E3 press conference for more news.

This means that future iterations of Microsoft’s prized franchises are all headed to PC and most surprisingly, Sony’s console, crossing a boundary that has never before been crossed. More gamers than ever will be able to experience some of this past generation’s most successful franchises.

This unexpected revelation should put gamers in a tailspin as they no longer have to save up for multiple consoles. Additionally, the “console wars” that have been fought for over a decade has lost one of its key combatants. With Nintendo losing favor among the next-gen crowd, it’s now down to the PS4 and PC in the battle for next-gen supremacy.

What do you think about Microsoft skipping the next-gen and moving into games publishing exclusively? Is this a smart move on their part?

The ‘Starhawk’ beta is coming to a close this month, but Lightbox has just released the latest update. Version 1.3 brings a new map, larger battles and two new vehicles

 

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These days betas get a bad rap for being nothing more than a glorified demo, but if one game has bucked the trend, it’s Lightbox Interactive’s Starkhawk. The game has just entered version 1.3, bringing new vehicles, more players and a sweet trailer.
If you haven’t already booted up the Starhawk beta, you’ll be prompted to download the 1.3 update. This update will add two new vehicles to the game: the Ox Tank and the Sidewinder Jet Bike. The tank has a bit more of a futuristic look than what we’ve seen inWarhawk; it has six wheels as opposed to treads and two fire modes to boot.

DICE has announced that a fix is coming to the PS3 version of ‘Back to Karkand’ for ‘Battlefield 3.’ At issue are two weapons that aren’t working properly

Now that the Back to Karkand map pack for Battlefield 3 is available to everyone, fans are rejoicing to revisit some of their favorite maps from Battlefield 2. Unfortunately, two weapons are not acting properly for PlayStation 3 users. Namely, the QBU-88 sniper rifle and the MG36 LMG. DICE has identified the problems and is working on a fix right now.Battlefield 3 is still finding its way into many people’s consoles. Even though it has not reached the top three played games on Xbox LIVE, the community is still very much behind the game. DICE is working to ensure that everyone’s BF3 experience is as good as it can be.

There is no current date set for the weapons fix to release, but given that DICE has released the information, it should be coming relatively soon. In comparison, the weapon fixes seem very secondary to the voice chat problems PS3 users are experiencing, which DICE is also continuing to work on. Obviously, larger problems should be the focus of the company, but the fact DICE is pretty steady on patching the game shouldn’t be discounted.
While the main priority of DICE is still Battlefield 3, there is also the matter of the Battlefield 2143 Easter egg. Unfortunately, this could simply be an Easter egg. However, considering the popularity of the future-based FPS game, there can be little doubt that some ideas have been kicked around the office. Combined with the powerful Frostbite 2 engine, shouldBattlefield 2143 come out, it would be more than amazing looking. Not to mention, DICE is also teasing the fact that gamers are ready to experience Mirror’s Edge 2, a sequel to DICE’s ambitious first person free running game.
Aside from the obvious VOIP issues, what would you want to see fixed in Battlefield 3?