Warner Bros. has just acquired the rights to create a Five Nights at Freddy‘s movie from game creator Scott Cawthon, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee will produce the feature-length adaptation, along with Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg of KatzSmith Productions. Both producers at KatzSmith Productions are also working on a Beetlejuice sequel.

The producers will work closely along with the game’s developer Scott Cawthon to keep the distinct horror thrills intact, and make sure the movie is an authentic extension of the beloved creepy series.

“We’re looking forward to working with Scott to make an insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable movie,” produce Grahame-Smith shared.

“The story really lends itself to being a movie and it taps into a largely unexplored niche of horror that a lot of people will be able to relate to,” Scott Cawthon, the game’s renown creator, said.

The Five Nights at Freddy’s games have a distinct cult following, and have become some of the most acclaimed indies of all time.

Taking place in a haunted Chuck E. Cheese-type restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, the games tell a truly eerie and chilling tale while utilizing some of the most original horror elements in the industry. There are currently three games in the Five Nights at Freddy‘s series, with a possible fourth chapter in the works.

It’ll be interesting to see how the movie will take shape over the coming months, but since Cawthon is involved, we think that the film will stay true to the mystique that’s enthralled millions of gamers.

No details on a release date have been revealed, and we should expect updates later this year.

The post Warner Bros. Making Five Nights At Freddy’s Movie appeared first on VR World.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is no stranger to the press. He’s appeared in dozens of interviews with major media outlets as well as an Oscar nominated documentary called Citizen Four.

But HBO funnyman John Oliver provided what is no doubt the toughest interview yet for Snowden. Granted there was plenty of light banter, such as if the NSA can intercept your “dick picks”, but there were a number of sharp, pointed questions on whether Snowden’s mass disclosure of documents was well-warranted whistleblowing or reckless behavior.

John Oliver – Edward Snowden interview

“How many of those documents have you actually read?” Oliver asked.

“I’ve evaluated all the documents that are in the archive,” Snowden responded.

Pressed he elaborated further: “I do understand what I turned over.”

But for Oliver that wasn’t good enough.

“There’s a difference between understanding what’s in the documents and reading what’s in the documents. Because when you’re handing over thousands of NSA documents the last thing you’d want to do is read them,” Oliver said. “So The New York Times took a slide, didn’t redact it properly, and in the end it was possible for people to see that something was being used in Mosul on al Qaeda.”

“That is a problem,” Snowden replied.

“Well, that’s a fuckup,” said Oliver.

The interview is hard hitting and well worth the watch. Check it out in the video embedded above.

The post John Oliver Grills Edward Snowden on ‘Last Week Tonight’ appeared first on VR World.

Online retailer Amazon has opened up pre-orders for Razer’s new surprisingly beefy Android-powered micro-console, the Forge TV.

Since Razer has opted to sell controller-less retail versions for $99, Amazon’s $149.99 listing bundles the device alongside the new Android-optimized Serval controller. The controllers normally retail at $79 so you’re actually saving money going this route.

The Forge TV is scheduled to release May 1, 2015.

Here’s what the device has under the hood:

• CPU: 2.7 GHz Snapdragon 805 (quad-core)
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 16GB
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, wireless 802.11ac, gigabit Ethernet
• Ports: HDMI 1.4 output, USB 3.0, DC Power
• OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop

Forging a New Path

Micro-consoles have started crowding the hardware market over the last year or so, and they ultimately aim to deliver a console gaming experience without the premium console price. We’ve seen devices like the MadCatz Mojo, the Gamestick

Tapping the versatility of Android has been the key, as the OS not only games via Google Play but a wealth of multimedia and entertainment apps like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go.

With just about every major player throwing their hat into the ring of Android set-top boxes, it’s not so surprising to see Razer jump in as well.

The Razer Forge TV has access to Google Play’s wide array of apps and features, making it a multimedia portal as well as a mini games console.

With so many options on the market, Razer plans to woo gamers with an attractive performance versus value ratio.

As far as performance and functionality goes the Forge TV beats out competitors like the Ouya, which retails for the same price, and delivers a fractured games marketplace compared to the huge open-ended Google Play store.

Beating Ouya is just the start. Razer’s Forge TV will take on key competitors like Valve’s new Steam Link and Nvidia’s 4K TV- ready Shield Console.

How well it’ll fair against the big contenders like Valve and Nvidia remains to be seen. That being said the Forge TV is $50 cheaper than the Shield Console, and since gamers already own PC’s, picking up a higher performance micro-console is a bit redundant.

Apart from price, Razer does have additional aces up its sleeve: the multiplatform-capable Serval controller, and the Cortex game streaming ecosystem.

The Serval controller is quite flexible and can transform into a MOGA-like controller for on-the-go mobile gaming.

The Serval controller is basically a refined Sabertooth controller that can duo as a Moga controller. It can be paired to four different devices including PCs, tablets, mobile phones and the Forge TV, making it a versatile and flexible solution.

You can also hook up four Serval controllers up to the micro-console, making for some epic couch co-op sessions.

Razer even has a stylish “Turret” keyboard and mouse combo that’s designed for use in your living room, which is a pretty great idea.

Cortex is Razer’s unified games streaming ecosystem that will bring PC gaming to your living room.

Cortex is Razer’s answer to Steam Link, and represents a major ecosystem that will unify Razer’s array of gaming hardware.

Using Cortex you’ll be able to stream games from your centralized PC to the Forge TV via LAN connectivity. It’s a lot like the PS4’s Remote Play function only with PC games.

No release date has been finalized for the PC-to-mobile games streaming service, but Razer has targeted a Q2 2015 release window.

If you’re thinking about picking one up be sure to check out some reviews. The major consensus seems to indicate that the Forge TV’s full potential won’t manifest until Cortex is made available.

Until then it’s just another middle-grade set-top box in a sea of Android micro-consoles.

Source: Amazon

Via: Talk Android

The post Pre-Orders Open For Razer’s Forge TV Micro-Console appeared first on VR World.

In an interview with the Gaming Business Review, an online site ran by M2 Publishing, Tim Sweeney detailed recent developments in Epic Games, as well as his visions of the future.

The interview obviously took place during Game Developer’s Conference 2015, which is traditionally held in San Francisco, CA. We highly recommend that you head there and read the whole interview, but we could not miss out on a question that is shaping the industry right now:

GBR: How big do you see virtual reality becoming over the next five to ten years as a business?

TS: Virtual reality and Augmented Reality will literally change the world. They will be the next computing platform.  There’s a market for billions of these devices because everybody who has a smartphone today will — perhaps in as much as decade from now — much prefer entertainment in a completely immersive experience that takes advantage of your entire field of view and has full body input through miniaturized cameras and other technologies.  But we’re in the early days of it now.  Let’s be clear, everything is in the development kit stage.  It is for early adopters and what we’re seeing now is really just the Palm Pilot to the platform that will evolve into something iPhone-like in its quality.

There’s no point in denying it, after seeing billions of dollars earned by 3D movies which rely on ‘cheap tricks’ to achieve depth (try finding animated feature movies without 3D being the ‘default’ option), next step will bring us technologies such as Microsoft Hololens, production versions of Facebook-owned Oculus VR (John Carmack keynote) and second-generation Google Glass, which is developed in near-secrecy by the search giant and a practical monopoly in glasses, Italian giant Luxottica.

After operating for almost 20 years as an independent studio, Epic Games made waves across the gaming and development community when they accepted an investment from Tencent Holdings (HKG:0700) last June (2014). The Chinese powerhouse paid up $330 million for 48.4% of the company, setting the valuation just a bit below $680 million.

Tim Sweeney continued to be the CEO, while his lifelong business partner Mark Rein still continues as in his role of Vice President.  Not selling themselves outright like idSoftware did with ZeniMax Media, Epic Games continues to be independent studio, consisting out of product (games) and technology development units. Their recent announcement about making Unreal Engine ‘free’ opens a path for even more ‘premium freemium’ titles which base their revenue model on microtransactions.

The post Tim Sweeney: Virtual Reality will Literally Change the World appeared first on VR World.

The last hours of April Fools’ Day are ticking away in the US.

As is tradition many tech companies ran elaborate April Fools’ Day pranks, with plausible or downright ridiculous gags.

Here’s a round-up of the top 10 April Fools’ Day pranks we found on the web.

Nvidia acquires Valve, Half-Life 3 confirmed

Any news involving Half-Life 3 is a surefire way to get clicks. Gamers around the world are eagerly awaiting more news on how Gordon Freeman’s journey will continue, as it’s been over a decade since Half-Life 2 was released. Since then we’ve only had three episodic mini-games, but they are nowhere near as satisfying as a real Half-Life adventure.

Our friends at TweakTown decided to have some laugh on April 1, and published a piece claiming that Valve had been acquired by Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Half-Life 3 had been scheduled for a 2016 release. Very funny.

A Steam Box. With Steam

We’ve heard a lot about Valve’s Steam Machine, which promises to create a console-like experience for PC gamers.

But what about a PC box, powered by steam?

That’s a new product that ThinkGeek was advertising on April 1. Given that some gamers are looking to save on their power bills, bhit might be the perfect solution.

Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge

While Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) has a product strategy of focusing on a few key products, its rival Samsung (KRX: 005930) has a strategy of flooding the market with products. For every iPhone, there’s seemingly three or four Galaxy smartphones.

Samsung announced on April 1 that it was expanding the Galaxy line into the kitchen. Not with an appliance like a toaster or fridge, but rather with a knife.

MS-DOS for mobile

Everyone knows that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) needs all the help it can get when it comes to mobile platforms.

Maybe the mobile revolution Microsoft needs is a new operating system? We all know that consumers aren’t that interested in Windows 8 on mobile. Or, perhaps, what about re-branding an old, stoic operating system for modern mobile platforms?

Presenting MS-DOS Mobile.

While this is a joke, you can actually download the app from Microsoft’s Windows mobile app store. Check it out.

Selfie sticks for pets

Selfie sticks are all the rage these days. They are so popular that some tourist attractions and museums have outrighted banned them.

But what about a selfie stick for pets?

Instead of using a bluetooth powered button, these selfie sticks are activated by a bark or a meow.

The post 2015: Top Five April Fools’ Day Pranks on the Web appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has announced that the long-awaited Spotify app will launch on PS3 and PS4 later today, and that the app will be exclusive to PlayStation systems “for the foreseeable future”.

The PlayStation Music app, which taps the power of the music-streaming service Spotify, is free on both PlayStation consoles.

An active PlayStation Plus isn’t required and it’s free to listen to music, however a premium subscription is offered for $9.99 a month that blocks out ads and improves stream quality. Sony is offering a free 30-day trial for the service.

The app will be available to download on the PlayStation Store, but most users will find it already on their console, replacing the Music Unlimited app on the main menu.

Using PlayStation’s new Spotify app, users can easily listen to customized playlists and music tracks without going through the hassle of switching between the pesky Music Unlimited and the game session.

Sony has locked down exclusivity rights for Spotify as well, signalling that app software has joined as a major contributor of the timed exclusivity console wars.

“PlayStation [consoles] have gaming exclusivity,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe UK marketing director Murray Pannell told Eurogamer.

But how long with the timed exclusivity last? “That’s to be decided exactly, but certainly for the foreseeable [future].”

While Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox One won’t get access to Spotify, it does have its own premium console-based music streaming service called Xbox Music Pass. The service is priced at $9.99 a month and features cross-platform streaming across various devices, and even supports offline streaming.

The Spotify PS4 and PS3 is a win for Sony because it replaces their awful Music Unlimited service and lets users actually listen to music while playing a game. But in terms of competition, it isn’t a big deal to Microsoft, considering it has its own unique multi-platform music service.

Along with the live TV streaming service PlayStation Vue, this move into a more consolidated music streaming service fits in with Sony’s major new rebranding focus.

It’ll be interesting to see how app software is leveraged in the future to bolster each console brand, and how it fits in with each company’s growing ecosystem.

Also before you hand over your credit card information to Sony, be aware that the company doesn’t have the best track record in regards to protecting your info, and is constantly hit by hackers. Buyer beware!

The post Spotify PS4 And PS3 App Launches Today, Is Timed Exclusive appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: Microsoft has released the second live-action advertisement through the eyes of the Master Chief.

“You’ve completed your mission, Agent Locke. Mine is just beginning.”

If things weren’t any more cryptic or mysterious, it looks like both of the trailers are an endgame scenario that might hint at alternate endings for Halo 5.

Original story is as follows.

In an advertisement during tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced the Halo 5 release date for October 27, 2015 exclusively for the Xbox One.

Microsoft will be publishing two different live action trailers, one in the perspective of Agent Locke, and the other through the eyes of Master Chief. The footage is part of Halo 5‘s #HuntTheTruth Twitter campaign and showcases plot points from the game’s storyline.

You have only seen 1 of 2 @Halo 5 ads tonight, stay tuned….

— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) March 30, 2015

The first trailer release was from the point of view of Agent Locke, the ONI Spartan operative charged with finding Master Chief. Spartan 117’s trailer will be released later tonight, and we’ll be sure to update the post when it goes live.

Locke’s ad is a rather tantalizing live-action trailer that features the ONI agent menacingly chiding a disheveled Master Chief, who sits broken among disastrous ruins. This isn’t a side of the Chief we’ve ever seen before, and it’s strange to see him sit and accept his fate like this.

Locke appears to be sentencing Spartan 117 as a traitor, repeatedly referring to him as a betrayer, revealing key tidbits about the plot to Halo 5: Guardians.

“All hail the conquering hero, the one who was supposed to save us all. But now I must save us, from you.”

The Halo 5 #HuntTheTruth ARG campaign has also received a new update, chronicling another chapter of UNSC war journalist Benjamin Giraud’s investigation into the truth behind the nebulous Master Chief.

It’ll be interesting to see what other details are unearthed in the ARG campaign, and what actually happened to Master Chief’s stalwart resolve.

On a more humorous note, industry veteran Wario64 noticed that 343i actually “revealed” Halo 5‘s launch date during the game’s beta test. The beta was 10.27GB, which matches up with newly revealed release date.

Halo 5 release date was revealed months ago in beta download size. pic.twitter.com/PfdSkpChF7

— Wario64 (@Wario64) March 30, 2015

Halo 5: Guardians is scheduled to release on October 27, 2015 exclusively for the Xbox One.

The post Halo 5 Release Date Is October 27, 2015 on Xbox One appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: Nintendo has confirmed that the Legend of Zelda Wii U port won’t be showcased at E3 2015.

Original story is as follows.

The Legend of Zelda Wii U port has been delayed, and won’t be releasing in 2015 after all.

The news comes straight from game producer Eiji Aonuma who announced the push back in a recent video update.

Aonuma cites the reason for the delay is that the development team has “discovered new possibilities for the game”, and the timeframe constricts on the new content they could add to make Zelda on Wii U the “complete and ultimate Zelda game”.

“Since I declared at The Game Awards in December that the game would launch in 2015, the directors and the many members of the development team have been working hard developing the game to make it the best it can be.

“In the last three months, as the team has experienced firsthand the freedom of exploration that hasn’t existed in any Zelda game to date,we have discovered several new possibilities for this game.

“As we have worked to turn these possibilities into realities, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds even my own expectations.

“As I have watched our development progress, I have come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as our main objective, and releasing a game that reflects only what we can create within that scheduled time…

“I feel strongly that our focus should be to bring all these ideas to life in a way that will best make The Legend of zelda on Wii U to be the best game it can possibly be.

“So, I must apologize to you all that were expecting the game by year’s end, but we are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority.

“Instead, our priority is to make the most complete and ultimate Zelda game.

“I hope to use the added time to make The Legend of Zelda for Wii U into a game that will reward you for your patience, so thank you for your continued support.”

The news comes as a big disappointment to Wii U fans that were looking forward to the game this year, myself included. Some fans even rushed to buy the console after seeing the footage, and will undoubtedly be let down with the news.

The new open-world Legend of Zelda on Wii U represents a huge leap forward for the franchise, and Aonuma showcased an playthrough at The Game Awards 2014 that delved into the game’s expansive feel.

Seeing how huge the scope is for the game, it’s not surprising to see it get delayed. Creating and shaping such a substantial game world is no easy feat, and hopefully Aonuma can provided more

Many are speculating that the delay signifies that the new Zelda port will see a release on Nintendo’s mysterious new NX console, but the Japanese company hasn’t revealed anything yet and probably won’t until 2016.

At least Xenoblade Chronicles X is still on schedule for a 2015 release, and we’ll have Splatoon in May, but the new Zelda was one of this year’s premiere Wii U titles.

The post Zelda Wii U Delayed, Isn’t Coming in 2015 appeared first on VR World.

While 4K certainly has its uses and benefits on larger displays, the potential use cases on such a small smartphone screen are negligible at best. On an average smartphone screen, which is usually around 5.5-6 inches, the resolution of QHD — let alone 4K — is too great for the eye to appreciate. Apple’s Retina display has a pixel-per inch density of 326. A QHD display on a smartphone would equal something in the range of 538.

A PPI of 538 is far beyond the maximum resolution that the human eye can recognize. There is a bit of controversy as to what the highest practical PPI is for a 5.5 inch screen held 12-18 inches away from the eye, but the consensus holds that it’s 477 PPI at 12 inches and 318 PPI at 18 inches. Of course, holding it closer than 12 inches away from your face would make it difficult to properly focus.

So this means that the iPhone’s Retina resolution introduced in 2010 is the highest practical resolution for a smartphone sized screen. Of course with bigger screens found on phablets and full-on tablets this figure jumps.

QHD and 4K smartphones are impractical

The other issue with QHD and 4K displays on smartphones is the substantial battery drain that comes as a result. Battery technology has reached a ceiling, yet the demands keep on increasing. A QHD or 4K screen requires substantially more push from the SoC to drive a screen of that resolution, which means the SoC will require more battery power for all tasks.

Before the 2015 Mobile World Congress kicked off, Huawei (SHE:002502) announced that it would not be producing 4K smartphones because it simply is not worth the battery drain.

“4K needs a lot of power, so if you use it you have to make compromises. A 4K display on a smartphone may give you half a day of battery life but a 2K display can give you maybe one day or more,” President of the Handset Product Line Kevin Ho is quoted as saying. “4K has four times the pixels of Full HD so the power consumption is maybe 4 or 8 times as much as Full HD so the smartphone has to have compromises with battery life.”

All about competition

Pushing up the resolution of smartphone displays  is not the only way to improve the quality of the screen. There’s much to be done to improve color depth, backlight quality, and the ability for the screen to display in bright conditions.

But the resolution race is a way for vendors to compete with each other. The screen resolution of a device is an easy and digestible metric to understand. But for consumers this resolution race isn’t, in the end, a value add as it does little to increase productivity or performance.   

The post Resolution Overkill: Why QHD and 4K are Too Much for Smartphones appeared first on VR World.

A new trailer for Halo Online gives us a brief look at the game’s built-in microtransactions, revealing an extensive pay-to-win style structure.

While the footage for 343 Industries’ brand new free-to-play PC shooter does indeed look pretty, it showcases something quite troubling that manifests as a cheap cash grab. Halo Online pay to win microtransactions are a thing, and its something I predicted in my recent editorial.

Halo Online is set up like Halo: Reach, where you earn credits from matches to spend on armor permutations and such.

But in the Russian PC shooter, players will get to customize every little thing about their Spartan: weapon loadouts, armor sets, and even equip a number of extra attachments to make your weapons stronger.

Check the upper right hand corner to see the Gold and Silver currency, and it looks like all the armor will be priced in different tiers in terms of its effectiveness in battle.

And you’ll have to pay for every little bit of it–every scope augmentation, every armor set, every little change to your Spartan will be monetized. The real balance is how much silver you can earn per match, and if that’s handled just right, the skewed ratio won’t be so bad.

But if you earn hardly any silver? You’ll be pushed and pushed to just snag the gear for cash. Plus the game has weapon rentals.

That’s right, you can rent your weapons for 30 minutes, 6 hours, or 24 hour periods.

Anyway, let’s take a look at the microtransactions and their rates.

It looks like Halo Online will have Silver, which can be earned by free players, and Gold, which is the game’s premium currency. Some of the ratios are pretty exorbitant, sometimes ranging to 50,000Silver to 50 Gold.

The trailer didn’t show us how much the premium currency will cost, but it’s a bit unsettling to know that the game embraces such an obvious pay-to-win structure.

The main Spartan hub screen showcases a variety of different sections that act as their own different marketplaces:

• Bundles
• Weapons
• Tactical Packages
• Armory
• Restock

In the footage we only ever get to see the Weapons and Armory section. The Bundles section is probably straight-forward, having a variety of pre-sorted bundles that come with weapons, tactical packages, and armor sets.

Strangely enough you can rent weapons, as well as attach a number of different upgrades to them–all of which can be bought with premium Gold currency.

The Weapons section is a tailored marketplace for all the destructive weaponry in Halo, and to the game’s benefit, there is an amazing array of guns. There’s Primary and Secondary slots that include just about every gun in the franchise, along with a slew of different grenades

But you have the opportunity to pay cash for all of them, as well as a number of different accessories. You can, of course, earn them the hard way, but you’ll be grinding for quite some time I’m sure.

The Tactical Packages is a bit worrying, considering Halo 4 had a considerable RPG structure that let gamers customize their Spartan with a number of passive abilities.

Considering the game uses the Halo 3 engine, and we see instances of Bubble Shields and the like used in-game, this might be a marketplace for Halo 3 equipment (Rengerators, Bubble Shield, Trip Mines, etc) rather than actual Halo 4-style passives, but we really don’t know.

The Armory is where you buy your stylized armor. It looks like the armor will have passive bonuses like increased melee damage or boosted shield recovery, further incentivizing the pay-to-win structure.

Restock might be where you can buy grenades, ammo and such, but again we weren’t shown this screen so there’s no telling.

Halo Online has primary, secondary and grenade slots–all of which will probably cost silver or the premium gold currency.

So far this is like Halo from hell, where combat is just abysmally skewed towards players who are willing to shell out cash for victory.

This isn’t the Halo I grew up with. Although there’s a substantial RPG presence going on here, the whole game looks like it was optimized to get you to spend as much money as possible in order to win–a concept that should be abolished in any competitive PVP space.

The Halo Online beta is scheduled to start this Spring exclusively in Russia, but 343 Industries hasn’t ruled out an expansion across the globe.

So we might see this pay-to-win shooter make its way to North America and Europe, but at this point I’m glad it’s an overseas exclusive.

The post Halo Online Pay To Win Microtransactions Revealed appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: A new trailer for the game has revealed a peek at the game’s microtransactions, confirming a shameless pay-to-win scheme.

In Halo Online Russian gamers will get the opportunity to pay for every little thing, including weapons, armor sets that give passive bonuses, Spartan passives, and even attachments that boost weapon damage.

Original story is as follows.

In a quite confusing move, 343 Industries has announced Halo Online, a brand new free-to-play game for PC.

Even more strange is the news that Halo Online free-to-play PC game will be tested exclusively in Russia via an upcoming closed beta test.

The game itself is built on Halo 3‘s engine and is a multiplayer-only PVP style game that plans to bring all the definitive FPS chaos to the PC world. The beta test is planned to start “this spring” in Russia, which means sometime soon.

Since it’s free-to-play it’s fair to assume microtransactions will be involved, and maybe a horrible pay-to-win style to boot.

Also there’s a chance Halo Online could come to other regions, although it won’t ever be released on Xbox One (of course not, you’ll have to shell out premium cash to play Halo in console form).

In the FAQ listed below, 343i doesn’t explicitly rule out a release in North America or Europe, but they’re more worried about learning what they can from Russian players before the game launches overseas.

Halo Online looks like it’ll have all of the PVP staples, but how many armor sets will be locked behind premium paywalls?

This is probably the worst time for 343i to take on a project like this.

Instead of focusing on fixing the Xbox One’s still-awkward Master Chief Collection or even wholly devoting the team to polishing up Halo 5 for its impending launch, they’ve decided to splinter precious resources to focus on a F2P Halo game.

I personally think this is an awful idea that could destroy the very soul of Halo itself.

Halo has always been a big win for the Xbox brand. Microsoft has made concessions by bringing the original Halo: Combat Evolved to PC, along with Halo 2 years later, but this kind of game isn’t Halo: it’s a bastardized attempt at a cheap cash grab.

Now if the microtransactions are entirely cosmetic, that won’t be so bad.

With a huge arsenal of armor permutations to choose from, we can see how this could work. But if the game starts charging premiums for skill sets straight out Reach, that’s when things get terrible.

343 Industries needs to be careful how they proceed here or they risk alienating themselves from the game’s fanbase–something they’ve accomplished with the abysmal Master Chief Collection launch.

No one likes microtransactions, especially the pay-to-win variety. Although it’s a lucrative structure for publishers it becomes a roadblock for gamers and locks off a portion of content behind paywalls.

And paywalls are eroding gaming.

Halo Online is tailor-made for Russian PC gamers, but we might see it cross over to other regions…which could be a good or bad thing.

That being said, 343i could take Halo Online in an interesting direction, maybe even making a distinct MMOFPS mashup. The Halo universe is so massive and full of wonder, splendor and depth, and it’s so much more than just competitive PVP multiplayer action.

Imagine a subscription-based MMO based in the Halo universe that has the depth of, say, Final Fantasy XIV? Imagine combining Halo Wars with the dynamism of the first-person shooter elements, along with a winding story arc.

There’s so much potential with a Halo Online game. But instead, it looks like 343 Industries want to go the cheap, easy way.

Below we have the Halo Online FAQ published on Halo Waypoint that might answer some questions you have.

Halo Online FAQ

Q: What type of game is Halo Online?

A: Halo Online is a free multiplayer-only PC experience that we’re launching as a closed beta test in Russia.

Q: Does Halo Online represent your future plans for the franchise on PC?

A: Halo Online is a learning opportunity for us as we explore ways to welcome new fans to the “Halo” universe. We’re excited to release a “Halo” multiplayer-only PC experience tailored for Russian gamers.

Q: When will Halo Online be available?

A: The closed beta period will begin in Russia later this spring. There is no definitive launch date at this time.

Q: Are you planning on bringing Halo Online to the Xbox One?

A: Halo Online was built from the ground up specifically for the PC. There are no plans to bring Halo Online to the Xbox One.

Q: Will gamers in other regions like North America and Europe be able to play Halo Online?

A: Right now our focus is on learning as much as we can from the closed beta period in Russia. Theoretically, any expansion outside of Russia would have to go through region-specific changes to address player expectations.

Q: Are you planning to officially launch this year?

A: There is no definitive launch date at this time as we proceed in our closed beta period in Russia.

The post The New Halo Online Free-To-Play PC Game Is A Bad Idea appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: TV Guide reports that the X-Files revival is planned to air this summer on FOX network and will consist of a six-episode run.

Original article is as follows.

Special Agent Dana Scully and Fox “Spooky” Mulder are arguably two of the most iconic characters in television history.

Scully and Mulder’s escapades in unraveling hidden extraterrestrial conspiracies in The X-Files have since become the stuff of legend, and defined a good portion of 90’s pop culture.

After thirteen years of being off-screen, they’re coming back.

FOX today reveals that The X-Files is coming back on air with David Duchovy and Gillian Anderson reprising their original roles.

To assure things feel authentically weird, FOX has tapped Chris Carter to be intimately involved in the project.

“I think of it as a 13-year commercial break,” Chris Carter said in a recent statement. “The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories.”

The network has approved a limited six-episode run so far, which is considerably smaller than the show’s original titanic 20-odd episode seasons.

No plot details have been discussed, but the news alone has just about everyone who grew up in the 90’s eagerly speculating on possible storylines, occult episode premises and the possibility of the show being picked back up for a full run.

We’re not sure of the convoluted overarching conspiracy motif will return (it just wouldn’t be X-Files without it!) or if the series will focus on re-kindling the magic in the “monster of the week” type episodes that saw Mulder and Scully investigating bizarre phenomenon.

I’m personally hoping for the latter. Thirteen years is a quite a long time for strange occurrences to rack up, and who knows what new themes Carter will tackle next.

Also we’re not sure when it’ll premiere, as FOX has yet to outline an official airdate for the show.

It looks like the network is trying to gauge excitement and test the waters with the news, and perhaps react accordingly. If there’s enough interest–and I can’t see how there wouldn’t be–we might see Mulder and Scully back on TV for good, or maybe an exclusive run on Netflix.

The X-Files isn’t the only 90’s cult hit that’s to be resurrected; David Lynch’s campy/otherworldy drama Twin Peaks will get its own limited nine-episode run on Showtime.

Lynch will be directing every episode with original screenwriter Mark Frost penning the series.

The post Scully and Mulder Return For New X-Files Run appeared first on VR World.

Remember when the internet exploded with reports of a live-action Netflix series based in Hyrule? Not only did it look like we’d see the iconic fairy tale world come to life before our eyes, but it looked like the show would have distinct Game of Thrones elements to boot.

Imagine a Legend of Zelda TV show with real-world actors reenacting some of the most storied events in gaming history. The IP is prime source material to tap, providing a rich vein of interweaving lore, iconic characters, and unique locales for any expanded medium.

Ahhh…it seemed to good to be true. And why? Because it actually is to good to be true.

In a recent interview with TIME, Nintendo (TYO: 7974) president Satoru Iwata pretty much put an end to these reports.

“As of now, I have nothing new to share with you in regard to the use of our IPs for any TV shows or films, but I can at least confirm that the article in question is not based on correct information,” the Japanese executive told the publication.

Ouch. Why would Nintendo be against expanding the Legend of Zelda IP into new territories? There was a brief cartoon that ran for a single season back in 1989, but since then, there has been nothing at all outside of games.

We’ll just leave this here just in case you still think the Zelda cartoon was all bad.

It looks like Nintendo wants to channel all of the Hyrulian hype into the games themselves, and not risk any sort of expansion to other mediums like film and television.

If you can only get Link’s adventures in game form, it provides a steady stream of guaranteed revenue–which is something Nintendo could use.

Plus there’s the worry of over saturating the market. Most of us wouldn’t believe it to be true, but there probably is such a thing as too much Zelda, and Nintendo knows that the franchise still burns bright even after all these years.

Although we won’t seen Link in a TV show any time soon, he’ll star in the new Zelda Wii U exclusive coming later this year.

Hopefully we’ll see Iwata and his overseas gaming giant come around, but that might not happen until Nintendo gets back on its feet. Even then it would be rare to see them break the near 20-year absence of Zelda content outside of games…but you never know.

I mean who thought we’d ever seen Nintendo embrace mobile gaming, or move outside of its own consolidated hardware? Times are a changin’, and that might mean we’ll see Link on the big screen or streamed across the net.

But Iwata affirms that won’t happen any time soon. Considering there’s a brand new Zelda Wii U game coming this year, I think that’s okay.

The post Zelda Netflix Show Not Happening, Says Nintendo appeared first on VR World.

After four successful entries in the franchise, it’s time to reveal yet another showcase of spy stuff, gadgets, vehicles, characters, technology and explosions, all wrapped into approximately two hours of great fun.

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation heads to theaters on July 31st. It will feature Tom Cruise playing the lead role, the Ethan Hunt man of danger, spearheading the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) which was disbanded and neglected by vengeful Washington bureaucrats such as the CIA chief.

The plot revolves around Hunt and his team of spies (Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and newcomer Rebecca Ferguson) taking on the secretive and shadowy organization called the Syndicate, lead by the yet even more shadowy type of a main character – played by Sean Harris (we don’t know his character’s name for now). The trailer is actually a teaser for a trailer that will be released later today.

The release date for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation has been pushed forward by a few months. The movie was supposed to be released on December 25th but that would battle the new installment of Star Wars saga, creating a rather difficult situation for both movies it seems. The July 31st timeline is fine by us though! It gives this summer yet another blockbuster to look forward to. Check out the trailer below.

UPDATE – Full trailer has been released, check it out down below. Enjoy it!

The post Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Trailer Is All Kinds Of Awesome appeared first on VR World.

If there is one summer movie you should seriously consider, the answer just might be a movie starring Adam Sandler, whose career pitches him competing against Rob Scheider for ‘worst summer movies ever’.

Pixels (2015) Movie Poster shows Pac-Man eating San Francisco

Produced by Chris Columbus, Pixels pitches an unlikely story that Carl Sagan and his Cosmos documentary series ended in a NASA project that was destined to destroy us all – Voyager 1 and 2 carried messages of humanity, and code for computer games of the era. Aliens got the message, figured we’re challenging them to war and sent back… what we send them. In a larger form.

Can Adam “Grown Ups 1-2-…” Sandler, Peter “Game of Thrones” Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan and other star-studded cast prevent the games from eating us all? Watch the trailer to see the cameo appearance of no other than prof. Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man.

See the trailer here:

The post Is Pixels Adam Sandler’s Best Movie Yet? appeared first on VR World.

PlayStation Vue, Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) web-based service that brings live TV broadcasts to PlayStation consoles, is now available today in New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago.

PS Vue “aims to take the burden out of watching television”, and essentially unifies all the functionality of a cable set-top box with a customized Netflix-like subscription model.

Subscribers can schedule, record and save their favorite TV shows thanks to Vue’s DVR, and since the content goes directly to Sony’s cloud network, you won’t have to worry about all that HD video eating up your precious hard drive space.

The service also has a considerable on-demand presence that taps into Sony’s established PlayStation Store content. “Vuers” get the further benefit of a “smart customization” feature that learns what you like and adapts to your preferences, tailoring to your specific tastes.

Subscription fees are on a month-by-month basis, and there are three different plans: $50 a month for Access, $60 a month for Core and $70 monthly for Elite.

Each successive tier delivers more channel options, and Core brings a dedicated sports package whereas the Elite plan includes everything in the previous tiers along with extra lifestyle, music and family channels

If you live in the trio of launch cities you can get a free 7-day trial to PlayStation Vue.

The service launches today with “over 75 channels” including major content providers like Fox, CBS, Comedy Central, Bravo, Nickelodeon and even AMC, which will be available next month. Below we have a handy list of what you can expect from the service:

• CBS – At launch, PlayStation®Vue will offer the live linear signal from CBS Television Network’s owned-and-operated TV stations in select leading markets in addition to on-demand prime-time programming.

• Discovery Communications – Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Family Channel and 11 more brands.

• Fox – FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. Additionally FOX Sports’ national and regional programming services – FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, BTN, Fox’s regional sports networks, including YES Network and Prime Ticket. The agreement also covers Fox’s owned and operated television stations.

• NBCUniversal – All local offerings from NBC, Telemundo and regional sports networks as well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more.

• Scripps Networks Interactive – HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel.

• Viacom – BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more.

Sony’s bold gambit to circumvent cable and satellite providers might pave the way for other console-makers to follow suit. With PlayStation Vue, Sony’s home consoles become decidedly all-in-one style systems that embrace a new frontier of TV-over-internet streaming on a games console.

It’ll be interesting to see how the market responds to the service, and what kinks and follies arise on the way. First and foremost is Sony’s problem with securing customer’s credit card info with it’s shaky online framework, whose security has been make a mockery of time and time again.

It might be possible to use prepaid PS Store cards to pay for the recurring monthly fee, but odds are that you’ll need to use a credit card, and that means entrusting Sony with a responsibility it’s proven it’s not so ready to handle.

Be sure to drop by the official PS Vue website for more info.

The post Sony’s PlayStation Vue Live TV Service Launches In Select Cities appeared first on VR World.

The very popular automotive TV show Top Gear will not air this Sunday, as it has been postponed due to allegations that host Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer.

This is from a report by the Radio Times and it is unclear what actions led to this alleged altercation. The whole situation allegedly happened last week, but it was only brought to the attention of BBC yesterday afternoon. For now, there is no indication who the male producer might be, where with Top Gear there are several of these involved.

The BBC already confirmed that this Sunday’s episode has been postponed. The same is currently happening for the last two episodes as well, all pending an internal investigation into the matter. Many Top Gear watching individuals will undoubtedly be sad with this situation. However, we can realistically presume that BBC is not a network that will cancel or postpone indefinitely one of their most watched shows, specially one with a worldwide audience.

This season of Top Gear has been one interesting showcase of both motoring, amazing scenery and perfectly executed jokes, all that entertained petrolheads everywhere. It would definitely be sad if this situation can’t be resolved in a timely fashion.

The post Top Gear Postponed: Jeremy Clarkson Threw A Punch At A Producer appeared first on VR World.

During its Spring forward event, Apple announced that it will be acting as the launch partner for HBO’s streaming service. In addition, the Cupertino giant stated that CarPlay will be available with “all major car brands”, with over 40 models set to launch by the end of the year.

ResearchKit

Apple highlighted the changes introduced in the health sector thanks to the launch of a ResearchKit program. The open source initiative will give users the ability to lead “better and healthier lives,” and works in conjunction with an iPhone.

Users will be able to make use of sensors built into the iPhone to gauge their vitals and conduct basic tests. Talking about iPhones, Apple has mentioned that over 700 million devices have been sold since the launch of the first generation model back in 2007.

Apple TV

Coming onto Apple TV, the vendor announced that the price of the entry-level model is being slashed to $69 following sales in excess of 25 million units. HBO’s streaming service — HBO Now — will be available exclusively on Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. The service will launch sometime in April, and will cost $14.99 a month. Customers registering in the month of April will be able to watch episodes for free during the first month.

All of HBO’s catalog of TV shows and movies will be available for streaming on-demand to subscribed customers.

CarPlay

Coming over to CarPlay, Apple has announced that the infotainment system will be available in over 40 car models in the US. The car vendors that will be offering the service as standard were not mentioned, although Tim Cook said that all major car companies were on board.

Apple Pay

After launching the Apple Pay NFC-based payments service last year, Apple has announced that the service has over 2,500 banks participating, with over 700,000 retail locations accepting the touchless payments method. The next move for Apple Pay is into vending machines, with Coca-Cola integrating the service in its vending machines.

The post Apple Spring Forward Event: Apple TV, CarPlay and Health appeared first on VR World.

In a very special Xenoblade-themed Nintendo Direct, the Japanese gaming giant showcased a half-hour of straight gameplay footage for the upcoming Wii U exclusive JPRG Xenoblade Chronicles X.

The footage gives a delightful overview the RPG’s expansive battle system, which is a real-time action-based active system very much akin to the combat mechanics found in the original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii.

Fighting sequences are pretty immersive, painting a distinct picture of being able to drop in and out of combat within the game’s wide-scaled environments. The UI is sleek and MMO-like, featuring a hotbar with various abilities balanced out by active cooldowns, as well as a dynamic party-based system for strategic and tactical battles.

Combat will be fluid and different characters will have “Arts” (as Gamingbolt notes these are very similar to Monado Arts featured in the first game) which are color-coded skillsets determined by various battle stances and techniques. There are four different kinds of arts: fighting, shooting, support and weakening.

Combos are an important part of combat, and you’ll be able to thread together attacks between various party members for spectacular high-damage finishing moves.

Plus every character has a sort of Limit Break-like Super Saiyan-esque boosted-damage status called an “Overclock”, which can raise damage output and unlock various other abilities.

Apart from combat sequences, the new 30 minute video gives us a decent glimpse at Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s class change system, and gamers can expect to see a multitude of different jobs and classes each with their own set of unique roles and abilities.

Nintendo still hasn’t revealed a release date for North America and Europe, and hopefully we’ll hear something on that account soon. I don’t know about you but I’m incredibly hyped for this game, and it looks to be a strong contender for 2015’s best RPG of the year.

Since were betting some of you don’t speak Japanese, Cheesemeister3k translated some of the more important facts from the video:

• Last time, we introduced Planet Mira. This time, we’ll explain the battle system. Tatsu can’t battle, so has to stay at home.

• You’d be in trouble without Tatsu. Need info? Ask him. You won’t get any info without him. He’ll keep things going smoothly.

• Now introducing beasts near NLA (New Los Angeles). Switch between sword and gun for simple attacks, activated by auto attack.

• More advanced techniques are called arts. They’re categorized into fighting, shooting, support, and weakening arts.

• Be careful when using arts: you have to wait a certain amount of time before you’re allowed to recast the same art.

• It’s important to balance usage of auto attack and arts. Soul Voice lets you communicate with your party to use specified arts.
• Soul Voice settings let you plan out strategies in advance of battle. The characters will use the ones you select
  Combos increase damage. Learn arts to generate combos. Doing a combo will let you deal 1.5x damage. Hit from behind.

• Shooting from above or below will increase your accuracy. You can target parts of an enemy to break defenses piece by piece.

• Double recast, waiting for the recast meter to refill a second time after becoming available again, will boost arts strength.

• You can bring your fallen party members back by resuscitating them. You can use auto attack while waiting for double recast.

• Overclock Gear reduces recast waiting times. Using the same arts consecutively ups damage. Triple recast is stronger still.

• Enemy Icons display their level, other info. An eye indicates visual search. A bolt means seismic sensitivity (tread lightly).

• Enemies with a circle around the eye icon hunt in packs, and will call others when they see you.

• Equipment. Weapons come in melee and shooting varieties. Armor: helmets, body armor, left arm, right arm, and leg armor.

• As you use weapons and armor, the supplying company will develop new equipment products for you.

• Equipment slots allow you to customize your weapons and armor with stat-modifying items.

• Leveling up. Gain experience not just from battle, but by finding treasure, etc. Unlocked the arts in your class to open more.

• Choose which class and set of arts to unlock and change to.

• You can form teams of 4 characters. Here’s Ilina. Guin has youthful strength. Doug uses heavy equipment, and is kind.

• This is Lao. Many characters will surprise you with what they bring to battles.

• How are you supposed to fight this big robot? Use your battle skills to win. There’s another weapon at your disposal: dolls.

• Next presentation will be about Dolls

The post Xenoblade Chronicles X Gets New 30 Minute Combat Trailer appeared first on VR World.

3D Realms was once a publishing powerhouse in the gaming business. This is the studio responsible for some of the classic titles of the 90’s such as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Rise of the Triad, Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem, Max Payne and Prey.

Before the political correctness and false decency that is present in this day we had games that made players laugh and moralists cringe. Macho Duke Nukem snuffed aliens and made girls shake it while Lo Wang the Shadow Warrior pushed every Asian stereotype to the maximum.

For its return 3D Realms has teamed up with a Denmark based game studio Interceptor Entertainment, known for their Rise of the Triad remake from 2013, to work on a new title called Bombshell.

Bombshell comes from minds of the creators and producers of Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem and Max Payne. A new larger than life movie action star like character Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison is a former bomb technician that chose a mercenary career. Quick on both trigger and mouth and packing a classical 90s stereotype, powerful mechanical arm she is ready to blow away any alien scumsucker standing in her way.

Shelly was discharged from the Global Defence Force after “The Washington Incident”, a horrible event that caused her to lose her arm and squad. An otherworld bomb was placed in the Washington and failing to disarm it resulted in a catastrophe she was blamed for. Now working for a private military contractor she is given a second chance at redemption. Technological remnants left over by the aliens after the incident are used to outfit her with a new powerful mechanical arm.

Shelly’s mission is to travel through crazy otherworldy alien places to rescue the President and save the Earth from certain doom. Using her arm and huge amounts of destructive weaponry she will face a diabolical mad scientist Jadus Haskel, the mastermind behind the alien invasion.

Bombshell is an isometric fast paced shooter game that uses roleplaying elements like special skills, tech-tree upgrades and tons of customizable arm configurations to spice up the usual “blow stuff to hell” gameplay.

With Bombshell 3D Realms plans an explosive return to the gaming scene, one that involves massive destruction, action and a story full of twists and turns. Having a punk cyborg chick hero also does not hurt.

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