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.

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.

Amid the sea of overhyped gameplay footage and misleading bullshots, the new Persona 5 trailer is a breath of fresh air that might just be the most stylish bit of preview footage I’ve ever seen.

And based on the wildly enthusiastic reception from most of the gaming world, I’d say I’m not alone in this verdict. In just three days the Persona 5 trailer has been consumed by almost 2 million people (the current YouTube stats total up to 1,986,744 hits).

Wow.

The trailer is a pure extension of the Persona series’ distinct stylish flair that seamlessly and effortlessly blends the worlds of gaming and anime together for 3 minutes of eye-popping wonder.

The merger of these two worlds often leads to superlative works of art that deliver a truly unique and original representation that carries viewers off to another world of fancy, whismy, and badass demon-slaying JRPG action.

Right from the start the footage whisks us away to an artistic rendition of Tokyo that enraptures our eyes. We’re carried off the main character’s Persona, a mask-clad thief known as the Phantom, as he takes on his latest heist.

Like the entire trailer, the Phantom has a kind of liquid grace that flows with the animations, capturing Persona 5‘s new protagonist in a memorable and stylish way.

Then the intro proper takes us across a beautifully rendered monochrome rendition of Tokyo contrasted by a blood red sky. The Phantom leaps like a daredevil in the sky, performing one death-defying stunt after another, his motions sure and quick and perfect.

Then everything just starts to flow, creating a pure visual treat that marries so many different mechanics–from comic-like tearaways during character intros to perfect frame-to-frame transitions. Every single scene is like a work of it in itself, and it plays altogether like a block of some fantastic radical lucid dream.

Throughout the footage our ears are treated to some jazzy bass-lines and guitar solos that bring have a decidedly Cowboy Bebop vibe, with upbeat orchestrations to match its funky licks.

And then there’s the menus. Oh those beautiful menus.

It’s almost as if everything about Persona 5 is going to stand out when compared to the backdrop of today’s humdrum AAA lineup.

Even the in-game menus are works of art, animated with such pizzazz and vitality that it’s hard not to be amazed and bewildered as to why this kind of thing isn’t in other games.

Likewise the in-game footage is presented with that same stylish flair, making even monotonous classroom lectures into entertaining expenditures.

Cast in the dazzling neon glow of Tokyo proper, Persona 5 also makes the everyday cityscape into something dazzlingly beautiful, turning a train ride home into a memorable occasion.

But things get truly interesting once Shujinko and his team cross over into the realms of Personas, showcasing combat sequences and hinting at some mechanics that quick-eyed viewers might be able to catch.

Persona 5 takes place over a year in the life of an everyday student who has a unique ability to summon Personas, that is facets of his personality that manifest in the real world, and eventually allies with others who have the ability.

Gameplay traditionally marries the “real” world with that of the “Persona” world to deliver fantasy-like interactions.

As this game focuses on the main characters being thieves, the party wears masks and takes on heists, but also traditionally battles demons along the way in turn-based JRPG combat.

Many of the characters have thief-like abilities to fit in with their roles. For example, we see Phantom teleport to cover in rapid succession, hinting that there might be an emphasis on stealth.

Also players will be fighting what look to be demons in knight armor rather than the swirling Shadow enemies.

And the quick look at combat revealed that characters have multiple weapon types for each Persona–it’s been known that Phantom will be able to use melee weapons as well as a gun

Persona 5’s cast from left to right: Ryuuji Sakamoto, Anzu Takamaki, Morgana the black cat, and Phantom, the player character protagonist.

Now let’s take a look at Persona 5‘s cast.

First we have the Phantom (aka Shujinko), the leader and protagonist/player character; Anzu Takamaki, a blonde-haired who’s Persona could give Catwoman a run for her money; Ryuji Sakamoto, another agile masked thief who is also Shujinko’s classmate; and then we have Morgana, a whimsical black cat.

All of the characters are presented with highlights of their own unique personalities and traits as part of the stylized footage, but we still don’t know much about them despite getting glimpses at their real-life and Persona depictions.

At the very end of the trailer things get pretty interesting.

From the looks of it Phantom, the main character, somehow transcends into a wicked demonic manifestation of himself. Could this be the a new evil Persona adaptation that’ll be featured in the game? How does this transformation link to the story?

Did Shujinko’s master thief Persona somehow “stick” to his real self?

No one knows for sure, but we do know one thing: everyone who’s seen the trailer can’t wait to find out.

Persona 5 is slated for a release in 2015 across North America, Europe and Japan for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. For more information be sure to visit the game’s official website.

The post Persona 5 Might Be The Most Stylish Game I’ve Ever Seen appeared first on VR World.

Xur, that fleeting merchant who peddles his exotic valuables across the universe, is back again at the Tower of Guardians with a whole new set of rotated gear.

For Week 19 the sable Agent of the Nine is selling the infamous Ice Breaker, which holds the prestige of being (arguably) most powerful sniper rifle in the entire game. The best part about this fiery sharpshooter is that it literally replenishes it’s own ammunition over time, and it deals incredibly potent damage. All in all this gun is one of the most versatile tools of destruction in the entire galaxy, and remains a must-have for all Guardians.

So there’s no excuse for you not to pick it up.

Xur’s other wares aren’t so exciting. We have three different helms for each class, two of which are Dark Below DLC-only items. We’ve gone over this before, but just in case you don’t know, Xur won’t let you buy DLC-marked items unless you own Destiny‘s Dark Below expansion.

If you didn’t shell out an extra $20, then you can only buy 2 of Xur’s 4 exotics.

For Week 19, Xur can be found next to the Crucible Quartermaster right at the exit of the stairs.

Furthermore Bungie has done some very lazy work yet again with Xur’s wares. Once again the Exotic engram is missing (no surprises there), but the most aggravating part of Xur’s new inventory is that he’s not selling Heavy Weapon Syntheses (another nasty surprise).

Why is this such a big deal? Since Bungie has announced that Crota’s End’s long-awaited hard mode is coming next week, Guardians need to prepare. And we all know that heavy weapons can boost performance in any given raid.

By not including the Synthesis modules in Xur’s inventory, gamers can’t easily stock up on these necessities. Sure you can always buy them from the Gunsmith at a whopping 950 Glimmer a pop. But since you need all your Glimmer to upgrade armors and weapons at Xur, chances are you don’t have any space currency to spare.

So what’s a Guardian to do? Nothing. We’re up a rather foul creek, without a paddle. Just another week in Destiny, just another instance in Bungie’s laziness.

In any case, below we have a breakdown of Xur’s wares for Week 19 along with an analysis on whether you should buy them or not.

“Everything is luminous.”

The Glasshouse (DLC Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 113/122
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Quintessence Transfer: Replenish Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
• Bathed in light: Blessing of Light and Weapons of Light last longer.

Should you buy it?

That depends on if you’re a Defender Titan or not. And even still, it’s a yes and no kind of deal. If you have the spare Strange Coins, go ahead and pick it up, as it’s a great utility type of armor.

As a Defender Titan, I’ve used this particular item quite a bit. But if you have the Helm of Saint-14, a nifty exotic helm that blinds enemies who enter your shield dome, you’re not going to really need the Glasshouse.

This item is particular used when Defenders need to spec Weapons of Light, as it’ll make the buff lasts longer, and is very useful to finish off pesky high-level bosses or in PVP where damage is king.

Switching from the Helm of Saint-14 you’ll lose the helpful blinding, but the trade-offs are obvious. Having this helm will make you a more versatile, flexible Guardian that can help out your team in various ways during Strikes, PVP, or Raids.

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 104/112
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Mod 1: Increases Grenade Throw distance
• Mod 2: Replenish Super Energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade
• Mod 3: Golden Gun gains one additional shot per use

Should you buy it?

Are you a hunter? Do you not have this item yet? If you’ve answered yes to both of these, then you should absolutely shell out your Strange Coins for this helm.

The Achlyophage Symbiote is one of the most powerful helms for any hunter, specifically because it gives you an extra shot with your Golden Gun. This is one of the most devastating special skills in the game and can often decimate foes across the board, whether it be treacherous bosses or fellow Guardians in PVP.

And since the Iron Banner is back up, what better time to flex your competitive muscles than now? This helm will give you a nice edge against your opponents.

Also this is a very good roll, with 104 base Discipline, so pick it up if you don’t already have it.

“Power from the ash.”

Obsidian Mind (DLC Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Warlock (Voidwalker)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 49/53
• Strength: 50/54
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Energy Projection: Increases grenade throw distance
• Inverse Shadow: Increased Super energy gained from killing minions of the Darkness.
• Insatiable: Nova Bomb kills reduce the cooldown of your next Nova Bomb.

Should you buy it?

If you’re a Warlock in the Voidwalker subclass, then yes, you definitely need this helm for one key reason: Nova Bomb.

This special is incredibly powerful and can annihilate whole groups of enemies in every mode of play. Although it takes a bit of time to get used to–aiming is a bit tricky–Nova Bomb is exceptional in its capacity for utter destruction. It’s an AoE-type attack that’s best used against clustered baddies, and as you could expect, deals massive Void elemental damage in a specific radius.

Use this helmet in conjunction with the Voidwalker’s Soul Rip talent and Bad Juju to drop tons of Nova Bombs for optimum chaos.

“Please replace these components if use causes fatal damage: HEAT SINK. MAGAZINE. OPERATOR”

Ice Breaker (Sniper Rifle) – 17 Strange Coins

• Class: Any
• Upgrade Mats: Spirit Bloom, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Attack: 302 / 331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 6
• Type: Sniper Rifle
• No Backpack: Cannot be reloaded. Regenerates ammo over time.
• Mulligan: Missing a shot has a chance to return ammo directly to the magazine.
• Quickdraw: This weapon can be drawn unbelievably fast.
• Ice Breaker: Ice Breaker’s victims spontaneously combust, dealing damage to others nearby.

Should you buy it?

YES. 

Ice Breaker is a must-have, I repeat, must-have item for any Guardian. It is one of the most useful items in the entire game, and delivers on all fronts: damage, accuracy, dependability, and just about any other quantifiable measure you can think of.

The beauty of this gun is that it has infinite ammo, but it only has a six-shot magazine. The ammo slowly replenishes over time, about one bullet per 4-5 seconds, and you can’t pick up special weapon ammo packs to refill it.

Essentially it refills its rounds, not its magazine.

It’s a bit strange using the gun at first, but it truly is one of the most powerful items in the game. While it’s mostly effective against Solar shields (you really won’t do much against an Arc shield), headshots against broken-shielded enemies are incredibly devastating–in the 6k+ damage range.

If you only have 17 Strange Coins, pick this up. You don’t want to pass on this one.

Exotic Shard – 7 Strange Coins

Exotic Armor Upgrades

Below we break down what exotic armors that Xur can upgrade for Week 19, and whether or not you should actually invest in them or not. Some of these rolls are pretty bad in terms of randomized stats–Xur’s gear is fully randomized in terms of their boosted stats and upgrade materials.

Check below if these upgrades are actually worth the time and Glimmer it takes to fill out their spec trees. Sometimes you’re better of just saving your Exotic Shards, Strange Coins, and more importantly, your time.

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet)

This is a bad roll. Avoid this one at all costs.

• Cost: 7177 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 95/103
• Defense: 407/447

Lucky Raspberry (Chestpiece)

Nice Intellect roll here, and this armor works great in tandem with the low-ammo Pocket Infinity fusion rifle, and even synergies with the Vex Mythoclast, which is technically a fusion rifle.

• Cost: 7393 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 154/166
• Defense: 444/488

Crest of Alpha Lupi (Chestpiece)

Lesser roll than we’ve seen in the past; you’re better off passing on this one.

• Cost: 7547 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 127/136
• Defense: 444/488

No Backup Plans (Gauntlets)

Bad stat roll here again, so pass this up. The whole purpose of upgrading your gear is to actually boost its effectiveness. Hold out your Exotic Shards unless you have Coins for days.

• Cost: 7759 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 77/83
• Defense: 444/488

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Helmet)

Stellar stat roll here, but you’ll want to grab the Obsidian Helm over this one. Pass it up for now.

• Cost: 7907 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 110/118
• Defense: 407/447

Light Beyond Nemesis (Helmet)

Icky stat roll and honestly this helm has no real benefits for Warlocks. Avoid it at all costs.

• Cost: 7159 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 101/109
• Defense: 407/447

Exotic Weapon Upgrades

This week’s exotic weapon upgrades are phenomenal, giving some incredible boosts to some already incredible guns. The Pocket Infinity, one of the most powerful fusion rifles in the game, is up, along with Plan C and Gjallarhorn. If you have a ton of Strange Coins sitting around pick up a bunch of Exotic Shards and cash in for some high-damage exotic guns.

A lot of these guns synergize quite well with the upgraded armors: Plan C and Pocket Infinity go incredibly well with Lucky Raspberry, and Bad Juju naturally compliments the Obsidian Mind helm for Warlocks.

As we’ve seen in the past, Xur had 2 primary weapons, 2 special weapons, and 2 heavy weapons for upgrades.

Bad Juju (Pulse Rifle)

A great weapon to have for Voidwalker Warlocks, especially when using Obsidian Mind. The boost in super energy helps you generate more Nova Bombs, which will be your main DPS output.

• Cost: 7019 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331
• Magazine: 24

The Last Word (Handcannon)

The Last Word is a fantastic handcannon for all uses, and is an excellent PVP weapon that has high-damage output along with ultra-fast firing. And it barely has to be aimed when it’s fully maxed. Pick this up.

• Cost: 7559 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331
• Magazine: 8

Pocket Infinity (Fusion Rifle)

This weapon is your go-to gun for PVP, as it wrecks the opposition with merciless force. Part of its devastating capacity owes to its ability to fire in “full out”, dishing out utter havoc. And when you use it while wearing Lucky Raspberry, you’ll not only have more ammo thanks to the armor, but you’ll find more ammo thanks to the gun’s own mods.

• Cost: 7309 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 3

Plan C (Fusion Rifle)

• Cost: 7187 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Arc elemental damage)
• Magazine: 5

Plan C is one of my personal favorite fusion rifles. It’s powerful, dependable, and utterly wrecks Fallen as well as the new Hive Knights/Wizards with Arc shields. The best part about the gun is that it’s fast-firing thanks to its high Charge Rate, which is very important when considering a fusion rifle.

Thunderlord (Machine Gun)

A fantastic choice for a machine gun, and devastating when Arc Burn is on for Nightfall Strikes. With the help of its mods the gun becomes more accurate and actually reloads faster after kills, reducing one of the most annoying aspects of this type of heavy weapon.

• Cost: 7681 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Arc elemental damage)
• Magazine: 38

Gjallarhorn (Rocket Launcher)

Not much can be said about Gjallarhorn besides it’s awesome. The launcher’s rockets splits into clusters that literally track enemies, making it near-impossible to miss.

• Glimmer Cost: 7933 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 2

The post Destiny: Xur’s Location And Analysis Of Exotic Wares For 1/16 appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has handed out over $1300 worth of free games this year with every PlayStation Plus subscription, Push Square reports.

PlayStation Plus has always been considered a necessity for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita owners. The service doles out value on a monthly basis, offering a substantial backlog across Sony’s trio of systems and ensures subscribers will always have new games to play for their respective consoles/handhelds.

And if you own all three platforms, Sony has you covered with cross-buys that deliver copies on two different systems.

For $50 a year you get access to two free games every month for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

PS3 owners are getting the major benefit thanks to the system’s age and selection of yesteryear AAA games–titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Borderlands 2 have been offered.

The PS4’s PS Plus offerings are different. Instead of being a major selling point, Sony has taken to offering popular indie games to bolster the PlayStation 4’s retail selection. So far we’ve seen indie greats like Don’t Starve, Outlast, Resogun and Binding of Isaac: Rebirth as free titles.

But how much value does PlayStation Plus really represent? In 2014 Sony dished out a total of $1349 worth of games in North America and £960 in Europe across PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. And that’s just for this year alone.

Despite free games, PS Plus also delivers unique features like the PS4’s innovative Share Play option. You also get exclusive discounts on new and upcoming games as well as online multiplayer.

Considering most of us are playing titles like Bungie’s MMOFPS cross-over Destiny, PS Plus is already required and the free games are an extra perk.

PlayStation Plus has its downside, too. If you interrupt your paid subscription you lose access to your entire library of free games granted by the service. That’s across all three platforms.

Additionally free trials only work at the start of your PS Plus subscription. That means if you’re light on money you can’t float your subscriptions with 30-day free trial codes–you have to cough up money right away or miss out on your collection.

Sony isn’t the only one who is doing this kind of thing, though: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is keen on tapping into this model with their own Xbox LIVE service.

Games With Gold has been going strong on Xbox 360 for some time, but the company has only recently brought it over to the Xbox One. Both systems get two free games a month, with the older Xbox receiving the same weighted content as the PS3 with PS Plus, while Xbox One is left out in the cold with somewhat lackluster indies.

Even though Games With Gold on Xbox One is markedly less substantial than the PS4’s PS Plus offerings, the project continues to gain momentum. To date Microsoft has dished out almost $600 worth of games across both new and old Xbox’s. And you also get discounts with Deals With Gold across both platforms.

But like PS Plus, Xbox LIVE is required for online multiplayer, so for many the free games and discounts are added perks to something they’d be subscribed to anyway.

Earlier this year Microsoft changed their policy so that gamers no longer needed Xbox LIVE Gold memberships to watch Hulu or Netflix, but of course you’re still locked out of your Games With Gold library if the sub is interrupted.

In any case, Microsoft has a ways to go to catch up to Sony’s established and long-running value with PS Plus, but both companies do things a little differently.

In many ways Xbox LIVE Gold and PlayStation Plus are the same, but their differences–mainly in the selection and quantity of free games–remain clear. Sony does have an extra platform with the PlayStation Vita, but who knows?

We might see some interesting action with Windows Phone games thrown into the mix on Microsoft’s side.

The post Sony Gave $1300 In Games With PlayStation Plus This Year appeared first on VR World.

Resident Evil HD will be available starting Jan. 20, 2015, Capcom (TYO: 9697) today reveals.

Announced earlier this year, the remake of the survival horror classic will feature the original game in its entirety with upgraded high-def 1080p visuals and remastered sound with 5.1 surround support.

Other features include a new Very Easy mode for novice gamers and a new control scheme that updates the dated and somewhat finicky controller setup of the classic.

Players will be able to re-live all of those defining moments of terror and brooding suspenseful horror as they explore the hallowed ruins of Raccoon City’s infamous mansion, uncovering the bloody mystery within.

Choosing between well-known S.T.A.R.S. operatives Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, gamers will chronicle their grisly journey into hell itself ane re-experience all of the puzzles and scares of the original.

It’s been 18 years since Resident Evil defined the horror genre for the entire gaming world, igniting a new franchise that would continue to haunt us until this very day. It’ll be interesting to see if the new game can carry the torch for the iconic PlayStation title, but from the screenshots and gameplay video, we think it’s a safe bet to say it can.

Resident Evil HD will release digitally on Jan. 20, 2015 for $19.99 across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The post Resident Evil HD Remake Launches January 2015 appeared first on VR World.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is -25% off over at online retailer Amazon.

Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day discounts Dragon Age: Inquisition to a very appealing $44.99, which is a steal for a newly released high-profile AAA game.

The deal is good for all platforms–PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC–and is only available for today only so be sure to snag your copy as soon as possible.

Inquisition has proven to be BioWare’s latest and greatest open-world RPG adventure set in the landmark fantasy series, incorporating an incredible amount in-game content to explore. The developers went so far as to claim that Inquisition will take over 200 hours of playtime to complete, and based on my personal experiences in the game, I’d say this is pretty accurate.

As for the game’s dynamic combat systems, Dragon Age: Inquisition affords a vast amount of strategic and tactical customization.

For more on how to make the ultimate party be sure to check out our skill combos combat guide to find out everything you need to know about spell synergies and what skills are worth picking up.

This one is definitely game of the year material–even after dozens and dozens of hours you’ll still find something new and exciting across your adventures in Thedas. Dragon Age: Inquisition is a must-have for any gaming generation, and for just $44 there’s never been a better time to buy then now.

The post Dragon Age: Inquisition Is On Sale For $44 On Amazon appeared first on VR World.

Creating the ultimate dream-team party in Dragon Age: Inquisition is something that all players want to experience, and in BioWare games, mixing and matching party members is half of the fun.

Finding that perfect balance between Rogues, Mages and Warriors can be a long-winded process full of experimentation and testing. Sometimes you won’t know if a particular skill is worth getting, or if a passive is too good to be true.

In a sprawling RPG game like Dragon Age: Inquisition, it helps to know what you’re doing and be on the top of your game as soon as possible–otherwise you’ll feel the need to re-spec or even restart the game and lose your progress.

If you want to go toe-to-toe with towering dragons and take on the fiercest demons of the Fade, you’ll need to arm yourself with knowledge. Luckily we’ve come across an immensely handy guide courtesy of Reddit user Legacy_Raider, which reveals the dynamics of spell combos.

We’ve broken down the basics and fundamentals of combos, and tell you everything you need to know about status effects, detonators and the resulting bonus chaos so you can take on the biggest and baddest in Thedas.

Anatomy Of A Spell Combo

Certain skills in Inquisition are must-haves that can set up devastatingly powerful combos that wreak havoc on foes. Experimenting with class abilities can lead to some pretty surprising results (like Whirlwind with Static Cage) and decimate baddies with substantial damage bonuses.

But first we have to understand what status effects are, and how they work in tandem with “detonation” skills to pull off high damage.

Every class–Rogue, Mage and Warrior–has its own set of skills that inflict varying status effects as well as specific detonation skills. Combos essentially begin with incapacitating an enemy with a status effect followed up with a “detonator ability”.

Essentially combos are just a specific rotation of skills that deliver bonus damage and affects when properly executed, and keeping things simple is the key to understanding how they work.

Status Effects: Combo Starters

There are four basic status effects–Stun, Sleep, Freeze and Paralyze–and below we have a breakdown of the classes and skills that inflict them. Note that these abilities are also synonymous with “incapacitating” effects and the “disabled” status.

Incapacitating Effect –> Class –> Skill (Skill Tree)

• Stun –> Warrior –> Pommel Strike (Two-Handed Tree)

• Sleep –> Rogue –> Knockout Powder (Subterfuge Tree)

• Freeze –> Mage –> Winter’s Grasp // Flask of Frost (Tempest Rogue)

• Paralyze –> Mage –> Lightning Bolt (Storm Tree)

The above skills are essential abilities to pick up for all classes in some mixture or another. It’s advised that you spread out and vary your party members, but they’ll all need some form of combo starter skill. You can’t go wrong with any of the above, but the passives can get a bit tricky.

Let’s just stick with combos for right now.

Detonators: Combo Finishers

Now that we know how to start a combo, let’s explore some basic finishers.

Just like the status effects, detonators are typified by the class they belong to and are made up of three basic types: Impact, Precision and Eldritch. All of these lead to different combo outcomes and can afford tremendous strategic advantage.

Detonator –> Class –> Skill 

• Impact –> Warrior –>
  • Lunge and Slash
  • Shield Bash (Weapon & Shield Tree)
  • Mighty Blow, Whirlwind (Two-Handed Tree)
  • Spell Purge (Templar)

• Precision –> Rogue –>
  • Longshot (Archery),
  • Twin Fangs, Death Blow (Double Daggers Tree)
  • Shadow Strike (Subterfuge)

• Eldritch –> Mage –>
  • Mind Blast, Dispel (Spirit)
  • Energy Barrage (Storm)
  • Immolate (Inferno)
  • Spirit Blade (Knight-Enchanter)
  • Stonefist (doubles as Impact, Rift Mage)

Combos are all about strategy, and to effectively use them, you’ll need to hop into the freeze-frame tactical menu to plot your party’s actions. Having full step-by-step control over your party is essential to pulling off the combos, and the RTS-style tactical view is a fantastic way to learn the basics of this craft.

Learning the flow of battle is paramount to successful execution of spell synergies, but with time you’ll get the hang of it.

Now let’s move on to the advanced course in spell combos 101.

Combo Effects

Incapacitating skills set the bomb in place, detonators light the fuse and combo effects are the resulting explosion.

The most amazing thing about combos in Dragon Age: Inquisition is that status and detonator spells can be mixed and matched to deliver different explosive results. This is the advanced course, and we’ll be taking a look at the true dynamics of spell combos as tactical tools of destruction.

After successful detonation, certain combo sets will hit enemies with powerful afflictions that can weaken baddies, dish out huge elemental damage, or even send them in a crazed panic of fear. These debilitating statuses are the key to tackling strong bosses or playing on higher difficulties.

Essentially the formula is like this, along with a breakdown of each of the combo effects and what they do.

Incapacitating Spell + Detonator = Combo Effect

• Basic Combo –> Moderate bonus damage, no bonus status effect.

• Rupture –> High damage over time (DoT) that ignores armor, similar to a bleed effect.

• Shatter–> High cold elemental damage.

• Nightmare –> High damage, inflicts Panic effect (enemy stops attacking and moves randomly around the battlefield).

• Discharge –> High AoE lightning damage to enemies within range.

• Weakness –> High damage bonus and inflicts Weakness effect (target’s attacks do less damage)

Now that we know all the basics of the incapacitating spells, detonators and the combo effects, let’s go over some sample combos and their respective results in battle. Every detonator will trigger different outcomes, all of which can be the difference between life and death in those tough situations.

It’s best to start out with the simple combos like Pommel Strike + Lunge and Slash, then work your way to using Mage skills like Winter’s Grasp and Lightning Bolt to start off your combos.

One of the more effective starter synergies is just Winter’s Grasp + Shield Bash, which works incredibly well if the opponent is shielded or heavily armored. Varric or Cole’s Knockout Powder is an excellent combo starter as well, as it puts baddies to sleep and allows you to kick off the bleeding effects of Rupture or terrorizing them with Nightmare.

If you happen to unlock the Templar specialization, he can actually combo off of his own skills: the  Wrath of Heaven ability–which delivers a Stun AoE attack–can be detonated by the Spell Purge attack, dealing huge damage.

If we consult the table above, a Stun starter combined with an Eldritch detonator kicks off Weakness, and for an added bonus, Spell Purge also dispels and de-buffs baddies of all their bonuses.

Another amazing combo is using Knockout Powder on group of clustered enemies then rampaging in with a two-handed Warrior’s Whirlwind ability. This will combo off of the entire group, dealing impressive damage across the board.

Static Cage also works exceptionally well with Whirlwind.

The former is a spell from the Mage’s Storm tree, and essentially traps enemies and paralyzes them in a given space. Once paralyzed, two-handed Warriors can jump in and stir up a frenzy with Whirlwind, rending the poor hapless souls to bits.

To take full advantage of these synergies you’ll want to pay attention to enemy strengths and weaknesses. These can be seen at any time when you use the tactical menu, where you can hover over a demon or Red Templar and see their stats.

Should an enemy not have any weaknesses, well you can just fire up a recipe like Pommel Strike (Stun) + Mind Blast (Eldritch Detonator) and Weaken them yourself.

At their core combos are strategic advantages that can sway any battle in your favor. Using the right conjunction of spells at the right time can lead to an ultimate victory against the strongest foes of Thedas.

With the power of combos every party member has the capacity to be a huge asset for the entire team. Be sure to pick up all of the combo starters and check through the detonators to find which you like the most. But be careful as you’ll want to invest in passives to round out your characters.

Now that you know the basics of combos be sure to give them a try! At first it’ll be slow-going, but once you get all the rotations and Tactics down pat, battle will flow like a finely tuned machine.

We hope you’ve learned a thing or two with this guide, and be sure to let us know in the comments section below if you’ve found any other interesting character class skill combos!

The post Dragon Age: Inquisition Skill Combo Guide appeared first on VR World.

Dark Souls 2 is officially coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via a remastered edition entitled Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, From Software and Namco Bandai have announced.

The Scholar of the First Sin compilation will feature the original Dark Souls 2 along with its three accompanying DLC packs as well as a bevy of new tweaks, additions and enhancements across the board. PC is also a listed platform for the collection.

As for the PS4 and Xbox One flavors, the edition promises high-fidelity graphics as well as a host of in-game updates including new in-game events, a myriad of ferocious and deadly enemies, and new NPC characters. It comes with the DLC’s Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King pre-installed.

Scholar of the First Sin will tap into the power of DirectX 11 on PC’s to deliver higher-end visuals and performance, Namco Bandai affirms.

The re-release will also be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC’s running DirectX 9, but there are reports that this version won’t have the enhanced bells and whistles of its next-gen/DX11 counterpart.

Apparently there will be some disparities between the remastered and last-gen ports, but both will get access to a new content update patch.

To mark the content’s launch From Software will introduce a massive patch entitled update 1.10 that adds in a plethora of extra in-game bonuses like improved balance, additional matchmaking slots, new events and more. Next-gen versions of Scholar of the First Sin will come with the update pre-installed, but all owners of Dark Souls 2 will be able to download the update when it’s released.

It appears that last-gen versions won’t come with update 1.10 installed, but users should just be able to download it at their leisure considering the patch will be accessible to everyone who owns the game.

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin is slated to release on April 7, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Thanks, Polygon.

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Bungie is now offering a free demo for their online-only shooter Destiny, giving players the chance to try the game out before they pull the trigger.

The demo is available for free on all platforms–PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360–as digital downloads on the Xbox Games Store and PlayStation Network.

The trial period is limited in ways quite like Destiny‘s alpha and beta tests, and offers “a sampling of character creation and progression, story mission content, along with cooperative and social activities”.

Your Guardian won’t be able to progress past level 7 in the demo, and you’ll get to tackle five story missions on Earth as well as check out the Tower that looms over the Last City.

As far as social interactions go, demo’ers can only take part in the Den of Devils Strike  (possibly a variation of Devil’s Lair?) along with a fireteam of two other players, but do note that PlayStation Plus/Xbox LIVE Gold are required for this.

Unlike the alpha and beta tests, character progression from the trial can carry over to the full game, which is pretty fantastic.

The only catch is that you can’t import cross-console data. For example Guardians created on PS4 can’t be migrated to Xbox One, vice-versa in any number of combinations between next- and last-gen systems.

Another kicker is that the demo download is actually the same size as the actual game. For PlayStation 4 owners that means 22GB’s worth of data will be intruding your hard-drive. That’s a pretty damn big demo.

In Bungie’s handy FAQ the devs explain that the full-game install allows users to seamlessly upgrade to the final version without missing a beat:

Free Destiny trial now available: http://t.co/wyBlL6Ahuw Then bring your Guardian into the full game on PS4 pic.twitter.com/asE5bRnLiJ

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) November 19, 2014

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Soon PlayStation owners will be able to watch live cable TV on PS3’s and PS4’s.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has recently announced PlayStation Vue, a landmark service that’s built around internet-powered television that will bring a number of big networks to the PlayStation 3 & 4 (with iPad support and other devices coming later).

“PlayStation Vue reinvents the traditional viewing experience so your programming effortlessly finds you, enabling you to watch much more of what you want and search a lot less,” Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House said.

“PlayStation Vue brings the best of live TV and a robust catalog of the latest content, always keeping you connected to what’s popular, new and trending.”

PS Vue is uniquely tailored to users who have internet instead of a TV subscription, furthering the popular trend of web-based entertainment options.

Sony’s bold plan to reinvent TV

Powered by internet streaming similar to Hulu Plus and Netflix, PlayStation Vue sets itself apart by offering live up-to-the-minute broadcasts of TV shows across a range of networks.

As far as cost the service will be subscription-based on a month-to-month basis much like its predecessors, but Sony has yet to reveal any pricing models.

On-demand content will be available on PlayStation Vue, with the last three days of select titles available for streaming.

Another service feature allows subscribers to save their favorite shows to the cloud for close to a month. Subscribers can also schedule recordings that go straight to the cloud, essentially turning their console into a light-data DVR.

Channel Selection

As for channels, Sony affirms that the new service is planned to launch “with about 75 channels per market”. Below we have a listing of all of the content that will be available on PlayStation Vue’s launch, straight from the press release:

• 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.

Assessing the risks

Sony has the widespread launch of PS Vue planned for 2015, but closed-beta invites will be sent out on a regional basis, starting in major cities across the United States like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

It’ll be interesting to see how much Sony will charge for PlayStation Vue, but the console-maker doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to entertainment services.

Sony’s on-demand Music Unlimited ($59.99/year) and pay-per-view Video Unlimited services have been trampled by streaming juggernauts like Netflix and Google Play Music. The services aren’t too popular with gamers as well, who, for the most part, are sticking with the cheaper more affordable content streaming services.

To get PS Vue running smoothly the price has to be just right. Competing against Netflix and top-tier cable providers won’t be easy, but the service will undoubtedly pave the road to a new sans cable TV revolution.

Other bright-idea subscription services that were badly executed by Sony include PlayStation Now, a back-catalog of games that replaces backwards compatibility, which has still been met with cold reception from gamers.

PS Now is largely seen as a redundant waste of money, and if the price isn’t right for PS Vue, Sony runs the risk of losing a huge investment and falling into the same trap.

If Sony wants to hit it big with Vue, then it’d be wise to implement a discount for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Music Unlimited offers a discount for PS Plus members, and it’d be a great concession/entry point to get people talking.

One thing to consider is the bandwidth of Sony’s servers. Constrained as they are with games, PS Now and the multimedia offered by Video and Music Unlimited, the extra burden of a massive series of live TV streams could compromise performance quite a bit.

It’ll be interesting to see how Sony plans to mitigate this burden, and if their cloud infrastructure is adequate to withstand a huge library of HD video content.

Basically PlayStation Vue is a novel idea that could very well turn into something great.

Essentially Sony is making strides in turning their PlayStation brand more into their rival’s all-in-one entertainment nexus. But there’s things to consider like internet speeds, bandwidth, cost factors, TV subscription cancellations and host of other inconveniences yet to be revealed.

Furthermore if you already have a TV service then there’s really no need to pick up Vue, especially if you have a consolidated all-in-one network package–TV, phone and internet.

Sony’s plan is an interesting one, but challenging industry giants like Netflix, AT&T, Comcast, and Hulu at their own game might not end well for the Japanese console-maker.

The post With PlayStation Vue, Sony Brings Live Cable TV To The PS4 appeared first on VR World.

The newly launched shooter Destiny has grossed more than $300 million in its first five days of availability, Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) has announced today.

Sales across the five-day period are estimated at $325 million, and include worldwide

According the publisher, this is just one of the numerous sales milestones and records that the popular MMO-esque shooter has smashed. Other noteworthy achievements pin Destiny as the best-selling new video game franchise of all time, and it even holds the prestige as the highest day-one digital console release in history.

Bungie has also stepped forward to deliver some pretty impressive statistics on Destiny‘s online play.

According to the developers, gamers have played over 100 million hours in the first week alone. Players have also taken part in over 137 million in-game activities over this same period, ranging from co-operative Strikes, Story missions and PvP-style Crucible matches.

That’s a lot of intergalactic firefighting.

“Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours [in the first week]. That’s on par with our Call of Duty games…” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.

“…This is just the beginning. Destiny is a platform that will grow and evolve and we will continue to work closely with our partners at Bungie to bring a long line of new experiences and content to life in the game.”

These reports are curious when compared to last week’s announcement that Destiny hit over $500 million in day-one sales.

We may be able to assume that the current sales figure of $325 million is after the initial launch sales, and that Destiny has sold a combined estimated total of $825 million in worldwide purchases to date.

In any case, the online shooter-slash-RPG has received quite a bit of acclaim from gamers since its release, but has garnered mixed reception from critics. We’ll have out official Destiny review up on VR-World here soon, so be on the look out for that in the next few days.

Destiny is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 for $59.99. For more information be sure to drop by Bungie’s official website.

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Destiny is less than a week away, and PlayStation has just detailed the exclusive map Exodus Blue in a new video.

The PlayStation exclusive multiplayer map is optimized for 3-on-3 and 6-on-6 matches in Destiny‘s Crucible PVP mode. It supports five gametypes including Skirmish, Control, Salvage, Clash and Rumble. Skirmish, a 4-on-4 team deathmatch mode, is shown during the footage.

In terms of aesthetics, Blue Exodus heralds a return to Old Russia, a region scattered with broken buildings and breathtaking sun-lit vistas that all beta players will remember. The map itself is built around an old colony ship called Exodus Blue that served Earth during the Golden Age of expansion brought on by the gifts of the Traveler.

The PlayStation exclusives for Destiny include some nifty extras like guns, armor, ships and multiplayer maps.

Sony’s partnership with Bungie for exclusive content provides access to some other interesting additions, ranging from specialized weapons, class-specific armor sets, and even customized starships.

PlayStation gamers will get rare armor sets like the Warlock’s Manifold Gear, the Titan’s Vanir plateguards, and (my personal favorite) the Argus gear for the stealthy Hunter.

There will always be paths to tread and methods to try. Roll with it.

The Monte Carlo Auto-Rifle is one of the two platform-exclusive weapons offered to PlayStation owners. While we don’t know its level range or damage, the Monte Carlo is an exotic, which is one of the higher-tiered item classes in the game.

Traditionally auto-rifles will do less damage that Scout Rifles, but have high rates of fire and often have their own varying traits. As found in the image above the auto-rifle sports two mods, but we might be able to expect a few extras to make sure every PS3/PS4 gamer doesn’t have the same gun.

Stalk thy prey and let loose thy talons upon the Darkness.

The Hawkmoon hand-cannon is the other exotic-grade PlayStation exclusive weapon. As the keepsake of Hunters, these revolvers unleash devastating damage but are limited to six shots–making it an effective choice for any futuristic gunslinger.

The six-shooter’s exotic mods are substantially impressive and should provide some hefty damage bonuses for those dangerous firefights–but like the Monte Carlo, we’re not sure what the level is or its base damage.

Both the Hawkmoon and Monte Carlo may very well be “starter” exotics that are unlocked as soon as a new character is made, thus cutting some of their lethality and effectiveness.

The Dust Palace Strike mission takes place on Mars and features an interesting look at a brand new enemy.

Other incentives include the Dust Palace, an exclusive Strike mission that pits three guardians together against hordes of baddies. Strikes are my favorite part of the game, and really celebrate that team dynamic that’s essential for any co-op gameplay mode.

This gametype is a lot like Firefight in Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach, and can be played with friends or random players with matchmaking.

The Dust Palace Strike takes place on Mars, where players track a deadly Cabal team across a ruined manmade city. It is here where Guardians will face a brand new enemy known as the Psion Flayers:

“Deep in the Dust Palace, a skyscraper buried deeply in the sands of Mars, the Cabal have captured a human Golden Age artificial intelligence construct that still hums with life. Fight through the Cabal army. Defeat the Psion layers. Reclaim the construct.”

PS gamers will also get three unique starship variants: the Aurora Wake, Crypt Hammer and Outrageous Fortune.

Finally we have the three ship options: the Aurora Wake, Crypt Hammer, and Outrageous Fortune, all of which are tailored to each of the three Guardian classes. The Outrageous Fortune, for example, leans towards Hunters who are  “ready to gamble everything in search of ancient secrets and alien power”.

All of these extras go lengths to convince gamers that PlayStation is the optimum platforms for bungie’s new magnum opus, and coupled with retailer-specific pre-order content, PS owners stand to get a nice boost when their journeys begin in less than a week’s time.

The gear sets, weapons, strike missions and ships are all PlayStation timed-exclusives and won’t appear anywhere else until “at least Fall 2015″.

Destiny launches on September 9 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. For more information be sure to drop by the game’s official website.

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Update 2: The PlayStation Network is now online, but Xbox LIVE support is still reporting that “gaming and social” features are limited.

Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners are still unable to play games online and communicate over party chat, and the support team says that it’s “working alongside our partner to get these issues fixed ASAP”.

Update: As promised by both hacking groups, Xbox LIVE has been compromised.

This affects both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms, cutting off services like social chatting and online gaming. Gamers can still buy and play owned content, view the website, and watch media across a host of different apps, but online play will not be available.

Original story as follows:

The PlayStation Network in North America has reportedly been targeted by a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack that has rendered the service offline, preventing users from access the PlayStation Store and other features.

President of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley confirmed the attack in a Tweet:

We are under attack by a large scale ddos. Being dealt with but it will impact games until its handled.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014

In a recent update Sony Computer Entertainment of America confirms that both the PlayStation and Sony Entertainment networks have been struck by attempts to “overwhelm the networks with artificially high traffic”.

Sony planned to take the network down for “routine maintenance” tomorrow, and the outage led many to believe that the maintenance had just been launched a day early.

Sony insists that no personal information has been jeopardized by the DDoS attacks–credit card info, personal data, e-mails and login passwords should be safe.

Network update: our engineers are aware of the issues and are working to resolve them. We’ll keep you posted – sorry for the inconvenience

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) August 24, 2014

ShackNews reports that the hacker group Lizard Squad has taken responsibility for the PSN outage on their Twitter account.

The squad made waves by recently hacking Blizzard’s networks that power popular online games like World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, and Hearthstone. The hackers soon escalated their attacks to other popular games including the free-to-play MMO Path of Exile and the ultra-popular MOBA League of Legends.

Lizard Squad, a hacker collective, has taken responsibility for the DDoS attacks and even went so far as to call in a bomb threat on a Sony exec’s flight.

In another line of strike, Lizard Squad made a fake bomb threat on the flight that housed Sony Online exec John Smedley. The SOE President had confirmed the PSN DDoS just hours before this incident.

The threat was sent via Twitter, and resulted in the flight being diverted. The offense sent an eerie message that was felt by gamers and the corporation itself, and Smedley confirmed that “at this time the FBI is handling this directly“.

Yes. My plane was diverted. Not going to discuss more than that. Justice will find these guys.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014

FamedGod, another hacker that may have ties with Anonymous, appears to be behind the attacks. The hacktivist admonishes Lizard Squad for taking the credit for the DDoS attacks, and even went so far as to publicly reveal the squad’s IP addresses on Twitter.

You guys are offline but im online on sonys administrator servers.

— Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014

Proof im online. Im on their administrative server. pic.twitter.com/t9Q4TMBafX

— Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014

Hopefully you learn your lesson SONY. Retweet. @FamedGod & @FearTuX. pic.twitter.com/5fJ7QfnkF8

— Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014

Both FamedGod and Lizard Squad appear to be going after Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE servers next, and it is difficult to tell who is responsible for these attacks–or who is really planning them.

Xbox is Next. #ProjectMicro

— Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014

Is anyone having issues with the Xbox Live Login servers?

— Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) August 24, 2014

This recent breach in security hearkens back to 2011’s PlayStation Network cyberattack that saw some 77 million users unable to connect to the service for 24 days.

The past network invasion has been counted as one of the largest data breaches in history, with “personally identifiable information” compromised from nearly all those affected.

As of the time of writing I am able to access the PlayStation Store on PS4, mobile and the web. PlayStation Network features such as voice chatting and multiplayer appear to be working, but service access may continue to be spotty and/or unreliable.

Although access may be returned soon, it’s a good idea to change your passwords and unlink your credit cards from both services until further notice. Gamers can avoid linking their credit card info by buying PSN vouchers that give you digital cash on your account, and the same can be picked up for Xbox LIVE.

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The Race for a New Game Machine is a fantastic title, an absolute must read. The book was penned by David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, disclosing bombastic details about the development of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It effectively shows that IBM betrayed Sony and Toshiba and took Sony’s and Tosh’s money to develop the CPU for Microsoft Xbox 360 console. Yes, you’ve read that right. The topic of this book could have ended in court if Sony and Toshiba managed to find any loopholes in their contracts with IBM – sadly for them, IBM was all too wise to sign a contract that would not give them enough free space to play with.

Long story short, IBM’s Cell PowerPC core ended up tripled and landed itself inside Microsoft Xbox 360, without Toshiba and Sony learning the truth until the bicker end. This is an excerpt from this bombastic title:

IBM provided the bulk of the manpower, with the design team headquartered at its Austin, Texas, offices. Sony and Toshiba sent teams of engineers to Austin to live and work with their partners in an effort to have the Cell ready for the Playstation 3’s target launch, Christmas 2005. But a funny thing happened along the way: A new “partner” entered the picture. In late 2002, Microsoft approached IBM about making the chip for Microsoft’s rival game console, the (as yet unnamed) Xbox 360. In 2003, IBM’s Adam Bennett showed Microsoft specs for the still-in-development Cell core. Microsoft was interested and contracted with IBM for their own chip, to be built around the core that IBM was still building with Sony.

All three of the original partners had agreed that IBM would eventually sell the Cell to other clients. But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony’s primary videogame-console competitor. The result was that Sony’s R&D money was spent creating a component for Microsoft to use against it.

IBM employees were hiding their work from Sony and Toshiba engineers in the cubicles next to them; the Xbox chip being tested a few floors above the Cell design teams. Mr. Shippy says that he felt “contaminated” as he sat down with the Microsoft engineers, helping them to sketch out their architectural requirements with lessons learned from his earlier work on Playstation.

MSFT: We'll just take things in red, and leave Sony and Tosh to cope with the rest.

You can buy the book for mere 15 bucks on Amazon.com and trust me, it will give you more hours of fun that most of games that came out in 2008.

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Syncing four consoles to get 1080p@240fps... or actually, 4K in 60fps

Sony provided the SRX-S110 digital cinema projector, outputting resolution of 3840×2160, also known as “the 4K”. In order to be able to show 4K resolution, Sony linked four PS3 consoles that provided four 1920×1080 images at 60fps each. Every console was in charge for 25% of the total screen resolution, providing breathtaking gaming experience.

In layman

I hope that this technology will be brought forward to the final version of the game. Judging by statements made by some Polyphony Digital representatives over the past year, we might not see GT5 in 2009, forcing us to wait until first half of 2010. By 2010, 4K will be a reality in a lot of Japanese homes, and PS3 will not be enough to capture hearts and minds of consumers that want 4K experience.
The 4K resolution development will follow the trail left by HD, FullHD and many others before: CES #1: Prototypes, CES #2: First Devices, CES #3: Mass Production, CES #4: It is everywhere. CES 2008 saw first devices, CES 2009 will witness first production devices, CES 2010 will see Samsung, Sony and other heavy-weights launching 4K LCDs and by 2011, 4K will be everywhere.

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GPU Physics unleashed
Theo: The PhysX pack had an excellent response since its launch in August. Recently, 178.24 drivers were released, containing a new PhysX library (btw, installation of the driver can occasionally hang due to PhysX v8.09.04.exe not loading up). Did Nvidia positioned a limit or at least recommended what would be the minimum GPU would be for decent acceleration of physics effects?

Roy's uncanny tongue recently deserved a spot in art's gallery. Guess where the piece of art is exhibited? ;-)

Roy: The experience will vary in the same way it varies with graphics. Some users are able to put in more AntiAliasing, more filtering, enhance image quality… and others less. Same is true with PhysX. In terms of minimum spec, I don’t think we have one. I know that we didn’t plan to [impose any limits]. It is a case of try… users should try for themselves. Every system has a level of settings where users should be comfortable with, that being graphics or physics. Upcoming Big Bang II will offer even more choice in configuring what levels of PhysX can be used by physics engine.

Theo: So, any GeForce 8 product will do?
Roy: Yeah.

Theo: When it comes to developers, how do you feel about developers reacting to all of the changes that are now happening with the expansion of GeForce line, implementation of GPU-accelerated Physics… can you share what is coming from the content side?
Roy: You asked couple of questions. First one is “How are they reacting to [GPU-accelerated PhysX]?” The answer is simple: they love it. We are preparing a lot of big announcements right now. Over the next couple of months, you are going to see more really wonderful announcements.
The reason why developers are so excited over Physics is being so successful is couple of things. First is our announcement to them that we are supporting PhysX on all platforms they’re working on. We are supporting consoles in the same way we’re supporting PC platform. Our PS3 performance on PhysX is now excellent. It’s fantastic. We optimized PhysX API for Cell processor and only recently, got an excellent jump in performance. And we are supported directly by Sony. That is a big deal for us, because if we take a look at recent market data [I advise you to check NPD Group market research, VGchartz.com is also a good source of information], Xbox 360 is starting to decline a bit, Wii is leading the pack and now PS3 woke up. PlayStation 3 is definitely picking up and we’re heading into a very interesting Christmas season. The fact that we have a physics solution for PS3, which is fast a well supported, is just by itself important. Also, you should not forget the fact that we have native PhysX implementation in Xbox 360, and with those two truly high-end consoles, we have excellent coverage of the console market.
If we discounted every other factor, we would be successful just from that (PS3 share). But PS3 is just one of the platforms we support.

Theo: Care to elaborate a bit more on the developer support side?
Roy: Of course. Developers have always liked Nvidia’s DevRel and DevTech support. The fact that they can now get that [support] for the consoles as well is really popular. We’re investing heavily in helping developers to develop the content in best possible manner and squash bugs as they come along.
If we move back from the console world back to the PC, we have GeForce GPU leading market share and that is a really big deal for developers. Let me explain why – most of the developers and publishers will sell anywhere between 2-7 million copies of a good console game. They will sell on average anywhere between 0.5-1.2 million copies of the PC version… they do that because the PC version is very profitable (its cost of development is already paid for). All they believe is that the GPU Physics gives them a second bite at the apple. It is those additional effects in the PC version, which means that the PC version might now sell in two million copies more, because if offers effects consoles just cannot process. Or even more. Those are estimates publishers are telling us about.
So, the value of GPU-accelerated physics can add the differentiating factor between the console and the PC version, giving gamers reasons to opt and buy the PC version. If you have Physics levels on consoles, only thing you do is add additional graphics and physics features or scale them for the PC version. It is worth to be straight-forward. That’s the big deal for them.
First of all, they have the console support. Second of all, they like the fact that because of PhysX accelerates on the GPU, they can ultra-easy and straight-forwardly add functionality and features to the PC version which will add reality and help sell additional copies.

Theo: What is Nvidia’s target when it comes to number of titles that you guys want to push? Ageia’s PhysX was adopted by 100-150 titles, mostly on consoles. What is the “sweet spot” that you would like to capture?
Roy: We want every single PC title going forward, to have Physics from now on. On average, throughout The Way It’s Meant to Be Played program, we support about 150 PC titles a year. In couple of years, we expect to have 500-600 titles. So, going forward, every title we work and support on will have Physics on. We hope that in all of those cases, physics API will be our PhysX.

Theo: How do you actually see Physics effects balancing themselves out in a mix between PC, Xbox and PlayStation 3? GPU can obviously do much more than any CPU in distant future, so how are you going to evolve the Physics-scaling? How do you rank the performance for PhysX?
Roy: What we have today is a rough equivalent of 3D world in 1992. Everything that we see is very rudimentary. Imagine the year 1992 and you were trying to guess where 3D is going to go from there. We cannot have any concept or idea how fast Physics is going to take off in the next 10-15 years, but it is likely to have as dramatic influence on the market as 3D graphics had and still has. All physics effects that exist today are very rudimentary and the key phrase is what we call “fixed state”. What that means is that if you can blow up an object, you can blow up a car in 10 pieces on Xbox 360. Well, you can blow up the same car into 10 pieces on PS3 and you can blow it up in 10 pieces on the PC [using a CPU]. But with the release of our driver last month, we introduced GPU-scaling physics, which means now you can blow up that car in hundreds of pieces, if you have the right GPU. So, we are seeing a transition from fixed-state physics into a fully blown scalable physics. Biggest problem today are faces, since model animation is only animated through fixed-state physics. And PhysX is very scalable physics [API].

Theo: How do you plan to develop PhysX in the future? While AGEIA was running the show, I got the opportunity to see their future roadmap and things that they want to develop. You know, neither PhysX or Havok are complete physics engines by a mile, there is a lot of things that need to be implemented to have a very compelling and realistic physics experience. What is Nvidia doing to enhanced future implementation of PhysX? We can call if PhysX 1.5, or 2.0 or something like that…
Roy: Yes, there are two parts of the answer. First one is of course, the actual hardware. For obvious reasons, we cannot disclose what are we working on in the future GPU parts, nor we can comment on unannounced products, but you don’t need to own a crystal ball to see that we are going to implement even more PhysX-optimized units in the future. And yes, we are going to add more cores to our processors. What cores – that remains to be seen. From the hardware point of view, we are going to see greater levels of parallelism, and Physics is a massive parallel problem. From hardware standpoint, we’re going to add more hardware acceleration to solve complex parallel mathematical problem which is physics.
In terms of software problems, things are going extremely well, and we’re really satisfied with the way how PhysX is expanding. What we are going to do are two things: firstly, we’re going to enhance the implementation of effects that we already do well. This will of course, be done with our APEX – Advanced Physics EXtensions. APEX is going to be a big deal. Secondly, we’ll develop tools that will enable developers to implement PhysX more easily, and put much more physics effects into the game. What we need for that is a very strong tool-chain. We now have hundreds of engineers working on PhysX. Literally, we’re not fooling around. We have hundreds of engineers that extended Manju’s (Manju Hegde, co-founder of AGEIA) original team of engineers and the APEX Tool is another reason why we are being successful with the developers. It will put the power into artists’ hands, not limitations. By using APEX, you are able to apply physical attributes to a number of different elements. That can be vegetation, or destruction or vehicles, or whatever element or object in the game you want to apply PhysX attributes to.
The APEX itself, APEX Tool and ApPerfMon are doing wonders for tweaking the PhysX performance and that is really important for the success of Physics. We are going to have a number of announcements about the tool chain coming up in the near future. Our roadmap is built upon APEX, ApPerfMon and some other to be announced tools that are aiding in the introduction of greater physics into the existing environments.
Key to adding more physics is also further separation of Physics development are two stages: first one stage is PhysX Effects, second stage is PhysX gameplay. Let me give you couple of examples. Water in Crysis is beautiful, but you can’t splash anyone. Nor can you go to a river and scoop some water into your water-canister. You can’t pour water on anyone. In terms of weather, we have some really cool weather effects coming in STALKER: Clear Sky and Far Cry 2, but there are still some limitations. You cannot stand in the water and wash your hair, for example. You could not have the rain flood the river… you cannot have lightening strike a straw hut and catch it on fire.
So, there are some limitations that game developers are facing. What we are going to do is remove those limitations. Good example is also destruction. We have destruction in games today, but it is really rudimentary. We were all impressed with the fact that you can shoot a tree in Crysis, but you cannot take a machete and start chopping down the vegetation to clear your path. These are just some examples of physics effects that developers want to see implemented in their games.
Physics Gameplay is whole another ballgame. This requires a lot of work on developer side, so we expect that it will take time to implement. Physics Gameplay is introducing the in-game physics at a higher level, so that you can entirely change the game. For instance, if we take the game Hitman, you noticed that he never-ever changes his suit. Don’t you think that if someone is assassin, assassin should be able to change the clothes quickly and blend with the regular crowd? In physics gameplay effects, you’re going to able to change your clothes. Or, rip your clothes. Or even, put hat on. Have you ever noticed that you cannot put a hat on a character in a game? Or put a beard on… there are plenty of games where you can shoot off a hat from the head of a soldier…but you never see a soldier put that helmet back on. In physics gameplay, these dynamic changes will enable a change how characters interact with environment.
We’ll be able to destroy clothes, burn them, rip them off… getting them soiled and dirty. Also, let’s talk about racing games. There are plenty of car games on the market, and you see cars crashing into each other. For example, you’re in a racing game, and you lose a wheel. In a game, that might be the end. But in reality, or in physics gameplay, it might be that the wheel is just damaged and you can continue to drive the car in a way… or you might be able to spin the car over and over and over and still keep driving it. Or you might have some components coming off from the car.
Let’s give another example – how about, in terms of physics gameplay, that you go into the city and you can go into every building, see through every window, open every door? Imagine trying to find a sniper when the shooter can move inside the whole building… and if every single window could be opened? We might end up with a game that has no locked doors…or if the doors are locked, you have the ability to open them up, either by lock picking or just kicking them down.
These [effects] are what we call physics effects, and these were just the examples coming from the games we’re working on. And they’re just limited by your imagination.

Theo: Yes, I am aware of several titles that feature physics in a whole new light. Just like with the appearance of 3D, we would expect that there are game developers out there that will use physics effects in a ways we did not expect…
Roy: When people think about gameplay, what they really think about is interactivity. Gameplay means interactivity. The more I can do inside the game, more I can interact with [the virtual world]… the more fun I find it. If I can drive any vehicle, or any plane, or interact with any object, it’s fun. And that interactivity is physics. So equation to me is: Gameplay = Interactivity = Physics.

Theo: You’ve mentioned game developers and publishers that are enabling physics in games. Can you tell my readers a bit more about those developers?
Roy: All of the announcements are left for partners, but we’re working closely with them and very soon, we will have some very exciting announcements. Examples I gave are just a small taste of what’s coming…

Roy issues an open invitation to developers

Roy thinks that PC games can take much larger chunk of overall game sales than is the case right now... current situation is demonstrated in this picture

Theo: AGEIA used to support development of free games such as Warmonger, Cell Factor: Revolution. Will Nvidia support teams like these ones in the future, or just focus on bringing the PhysX to market with big guns?
Roy: Absolutely. We are supporting some small guys. We’re supporting developers like Ascaron in Germany (Sacred II), we’re supporting Metropolis (Day), Black Lion (Shadow harvest)… in fact, any developer which reads your article, I am happy to print an open invitation to any… you can put my e-mail address in your article, it is rtaylor @ nvidia.com (please remove two spaces between before sending). I am using this space to invite any game developer out there who is interested in using physics. Any developer can send me an e-mail and I guarantee you that I will return that e-mail to every single developer.

Theo: Consider it done, though bear in mind that I cannot promise that this e-mail address will not be picked up by a lot of spam bots that are hovering around popular websites
Roy: I would be only too happy to anyone that wants to use physics and enhance his virtual world. We all need new level of interactivity inside games and entertaining applications.

Theo: At the end of the day, we’re bound by the world we live in. That world has its limitations we all have to endure. But, every time someone pushes those boundaries, regardless of that being skaters or bikers pulling incredible stunts, racing cars, pilots undergoing insane G forces for fun [Red Bull Air Race], those are experiences that matter. Seeing a game and not being able to destroy a trash can with a tank really demoralizes the player.
Roy: Exactly. This is why I said that we’re living in 1992 when it comes to physics in games. The new world of physics started last month, with the introduction of our beta driver that did GPU-accelerated physics scaling. Now, developers are going to have a whole new world to think about when it comes to physics development. We need new levels of interactivity, and we strongly believe that physics is the only viable way to enhance interactivity.

Conclusion
In the end I wish to thank Roy for this interview; I know it’s been a while since we made it. It looks like Nvidia is betting a lot of things on the adoption of physics engine, and in all honesty, we need it. Upcoming touch-screen and 3D glasses will change the way we play and experience computing, regardless of that being Windows 7 UI, 3D game or a movie. Physics is an integral part of enhancing computing experience, removing a lot of limitations that we have in our current configuration, consisting mostly out of a keyboard and a mouse.

Disclaimer: Photos were “borrowed” from Facebook in terms with FB’s EULA ;-). Roy Taylor was not hurt during shooting of these images

The post INTERVIEW: PhysX can double PC game sales appeared first on VR World.

Wii Projector otherwise carries a dull name of MP512ST ;-)

What makes this projector interesting is the fact that it is capable of projecting a 140cm (55″) image at only one meter (100cm, 40 inches) distance from the screen. This is really an impressive feat. Price in UK is set at 430 squids ($740) and will be available at the end of October.

The post How to name a SVGA projector today? It’s a Wii projector! appeared first on VR World.