That will mean cross-platform support for both the existing console and its replacement. Messaging systems will work on both models, apparently, allowing gamers to communicate whether they have the 360 or the next-gen model, while beacons and achievements will also supposedly be supported across the board.

The change in the Xbox dashboard will also see the Xbox Points system deprecated, as has previously been rumored, with new currency and gift cards used in its stead.

As for when all this will happen, the first signs could be as early as next month. The initial public beta will take place either late in June or in early July, the sources suggest; assuming all works as expected, that should be followed by the final update in August.

Speculation about the new Xbox – which has colloquially been referred to as the “Xbox 720″ – has been rampant over the past twelve months, particularly in the period since Sony announced the first details of its PlayStation 4 earlier this year. Exactly what hardware will be included is uncertain, though there has been chatter of a smaller overall device with mandatory Kinect motion-gaming control and redesigned gamepads.

Nonetheless, there have been notes of caution from industry insiders, warning that the days of blockbuster game-dedicated consoles may be behind us. Earlier this month, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick warned investors that both the Xbox 720 and the PS4 could face the same sort of gamer apathy that Nintendo has encountered with the Wii U, sales of which have proved underwhelming.

As Kotick sees it, mobile and casual gaming – such as might be played on a smartphone or tablet – has made significant inroads into the segment overall, and that will make for a far tougher market for the next-gen consoles to break into. “We continue to face the uncertainties of the console transition” Kotick told investors.

More details will become clear when Microsoft makes its first public announcement about Xbox 720 this coming week, with an event on May 21 expected to see some – though unlikely all – of the console’s features revealed.

However, 130,000 units is a far cry from March and February, when Microsoft sold 261,000 and 302,000 consoles, respectively. Total revenue brought in for the Xbox 360, including hardware, games, and accessories, adds up to $208 million, which is also more than any other gaming console for the month of April. However, its more than half of what Xbox 360 sales were a month previous, when March brought in $402 million.

During April, the Xbox 360 also held six out of the top 10 console games, which include NBA 2K13, Dead Island: Riptide, BioShock Infinite, Defiance, Injustice: Gods Among Us, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. NBA 2K13, BioShock Infinite, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II were also on the list during March.

The steep drop in sales could be a result of the impending announcement of the so-called Xbox 720, which Microsoft will unveil on May 21. However, the console most likely won’t actually release to the public until later this year in the fall, meaning that if sales are slipping already, it’s going to be a long summer for Microsoft and its Xbox 360.

As for the latest gaming console that has hit the public pipeline (the Wii U), sales aren’t doing so well either. The console has missed Nintendo’s expectations, and it seems many developers and publishers are beginning to rethink their strategy to makes games for the new console, including EA, who has said that they don’t have anything in the making for the Wii U, which could potentially hurt the console even more.

SOURCE: Official Microsoft Blog

Whereas previous E3 appearances have seen Nintendo show off new hardware, Fils-Aime said, the show this time around will be focused solely on new titles. Alongside the official announcements, Best Buy locations in the US and Canada will have demo stations set up in multiple stores so as to give gamers a chance to try well in advance of when they’ll be able to buy.

Exact details on which locations and which games will be participating are unknown at this stage. However, Nintendo’s focus on new titles hardly comes as a surprise, given the company has previously blamed a shortage of games for 3DS and Wii U for underwhelming sales.

What there won’t be is a big E3 press conference. It’s not the first time Nintendo has tried to whet appetites with some sneaky pre-release access. Back in November, ahead of sales of the Wii U, various US retailers offered experience kiosks where the new console could be tried out.

Still, developer confidence in the Wii U particularly is looking patchy. EA, for instance, confirmed this week that it has nothing in the pipeline for the console.

The Nintendo Direct also revealed some release dates for upcoming titles, including Donkey Kong and the Legend of Zelda. SEGA, meanwhile, has inked an exclusive deal with Nintendo for the next Sonic the Hedgehog title – Sonic Lost World – which will only be available on 3DS and Wii U.

The device formerly known as Project SHIELD will be coming from the same set of retail partners as it was when its first availability was announced before Google I/O. This change of heart affects each of the set: NVIDIA’s home page, Newegg, and Gamestop in the USA and Canada Computer in the Great White North. It’s just Micro Center that’s not got a pre-order page prepared at the moment – they’ll be going live inside the next few days.

SHIELD retains its specifications outlined in detail earlier this week, it being an NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor-powered gaming Android clamshell-style gaming handheld device made for both local and streaming game content. Utilizing the Tegra 4′s 72 GPU cores for graphics prowess, this machine is being marketed as both the highest-powered Android gaming device on the market while it brings streaming PC gaming at the same time.

It’s important to note, mind you, that the PC gaming streaming abilities SHIELD employs will not be launched in their full, finalized form when the device ships. Instead, NVIDIA suggests that this part of the equation will remain in Beta for an unspecified amount of time – but not so long that we imagine users will be freaking out.

Have a peek at the PC streaming abilities of this device as well as some Android gaming above in a couple of SlashGear’s several hands-on demos with this device as it inches closer to a final release. Expect shipping to take place sooner than later.

The controller is called the Razer Atrox Arcade Stick. Some manufacturers try and make their hardware as tamper-resistant as possible, but Razer has fully embraced the modding community. This arcade stick is built specifically for enthusiasts to be able to access the inside of the controller and modify the device to their preference.

Razer even offers a template for the top panel to make it easier for you to customize the controller to your liking. The controller opens at the top of the arcade stick revealing access to internal storage compartment where you can store the detachable cable, screwdriver, and space for two more buttons. The joystick itself comes with a ball top and an additional bat-shaped top.

The cable for the controller is 13 feet long and can be removed for portability. Razer uses Sanwa Denshi hardware components that promise to last for a long time including 10 high response buttons and a precision eight way joystick. The top of the controller is designed to allow you to add your own custom artwork.

The arcade stick also has a honeycomb structure on the inside making it easy to attach screws so you can add your own components and hardware. The controller has a 2.5 mm audio jack for use with the Xbox 360. The Atrox will be available for pre-order on May 21 with the launch in Japan set for this month and a global launch in June. The controller will cost $199.99.

SOURCE: Razer

According to the numbers, iOS is now the leading platform for consumer spending on mobile games, overtaking “gaming-optimized handhelds” like the 3DS. Google Play is accelerating fast, however, and while still lags behind iOS, is predicted to exceed traditional gaming spend by the end of the current quarter.

App Annie blames seasonality for most of the slump that Sony and Nintendo are seeing, but warns that ad-revenue isn’t included in its numbers. That could mean even more of a gulf is opening, considering many Android titles follow the so-called freemium model where a free download is offset by in-game marketing.

For traditional platforms, the DS and DSi saw the biggest proportional slump, with App Annie suggesting that gamers are shifting over to 3DS instead. However, that’s not to say the 3DS gaming spend is much more reassuring, almost halving between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Games represent around 40-percent of downloads in both the iOS App Store and Google Play store, the research company says, and are the number one motivator to store growth. In total, spending on games across iOS and Android amounted to nearly 3x that of gaming-optimized handhelds in the three month period.

The disparity is only likely to become more pronounced now that Google has waded fully into mobile gaming. At I/O this week, the company unveiled Google Play Games Services, a cross-platform rival to Apple’s Game Center which leverages Google+ for social leaderboard sharing, among other things.

Google is yet to fully address arguably one of the biggest issues facing Android game studios, however, that of software piracy. Some developers have complained of a 95-percent piracy rate for their Android titles, with users reluctant to pay even $0.99 for a game.

VIA: TUAW

One of the biggest game developers in the gaming universe is EA, which produces franchises such as Madden NFL, The Sims, and the Battlefield franchise. About two years ago, EA announced an “unprecedented partnership” with Nintendo hinting that a number of video games for the console would be coming. Fast forward a few years and EA is now saying that it has not one single game in development for the Nintendo Wii U now.

EA hasn’t ruled out the possibility of developing games for the console in the future, but the company currently has no games in development for Nintendo’s latest hardware. This is a rather surprising revelation by EA considering it and Nintendo were throwing in together to the point that in 2011 at E3 Nintendo’s CEO and EA’s CEO took to the stage together to talk about the Nintendo Wii U and the number of games coming for the console.

EA did develop and launch video games for the Nintendo console early on including versions of hit games such as Mass Effect 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Madden NFL, and FIFA. However, none of those games launched first on Nintendo’s new console or were exclusives. In fact, they had all been available previously on the other game consoles. EA spokesperson Jeff Brown told Kotaku this week that the earlier run of games for the Nintendo console was EA delivering on its E3 2011 content partnership.

If EA saw value in designing and developing games for the Wii U, you could bet that the company would be doing it. If you’re a big fan of the Wii U, EA’s lack of support for the console means you will have no NFL video game to play because EA holds the exclusive license. It ever a console needed a massive first party video game success, the Wii U is it. However, it looks like Nintendo will have to step up and develop any successful games to drive desire for the console itself, and it doesn’t exactly have a strong track record in recent years for developing hit video games.

SOURCE: Kotaku

The movie will be completely developed, produced, and financed by Rovio, with John Cohen and David Maisel hopping on board to help out. Cohen is best known for his role as producer for Universal’s Despicable Me, and Maisel is the former Marvel Studios chairman and executive producer for the Iron Man series, as well as The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America.

Overall, Cohen isn’t a huge name in the movie business, other than his role in Despicable Me, but he did have an executive role in several animated movies, including two Ice Age films and the 2007 remake of Alvin and the Chipmunks. He also served as vice president of production at Twentieth Century Fox Animation, and he also contributed to Horton Hears a Who and Robots, the former of which is a classic Dr. Seuss children’s book.

This will mark the first time that Angry Birds has ventured out into the movie entertainment business. The series recently scored its own animated web show, and has passed out merchandise licensing to several companies to make T-shirts and even plush toys of popular Angry Birds characters. Needless to say, the movie is expected to bring in a lot of sales.

The Angry Birds film first came to light back in 2011 when Maisel joined Rovio, which hinted to the possibility that Rovio was in the act of acquiring movie-focused talent. As for the plot of the movie, we’re left without any details and how the levels of Angry Birds will tie into a full-length film exactly, but Rovio said it will retain “full creative control” over the project by working outside the traditional studio system.

SOURCE: Rovio

The FAQ to the new Trading Card system is a bit confusing, and we recken you’ll have to try it out first before you can really understand it, but Valve says that Trading Cards can be collected in order “to earn items that help you customize your profile and show off your gameplay.” Each game has its own set of trading cards, for which you can earn up to half of them by playing the game, and the other half need to be collected by trading with other users.

Each user will also have “badges” on their profile, and these represent the trading card sets that you’ve collected. Badges also earn you rewards, like profile backgrounds, emoticons, and the chance to earn coupons for things like game discounts and DLC. Whenever you earn another complete set of trading cards, you can “upgrade” your badge.

For the time being, Trading Cards is only available for a select number of games, which include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, Portal 2, Half-Life 2, and Don’t Starve. However, as with any beta program, more games will be added on in the future over the next few months, with eventually all Steam games hopefully supporting Trading Cards, although there was nothing said about support for all games.

Frankly, we’re surprised that Valve has taken this long to introduce a rewards system for Steam. In the past, the company has introduced items that you can trade with other users, including nifty hats in games like Team Fortress 2, but a rewards system is a long time coming. Even if it’s something a bit strange such as Trading Cards, Valve is hoping that gamers will become a bit more invested in their Steam accounts.

VIA: Ars Technica

Beyond that, the plot is somewhat cryptic. There’s what looks to be a surveillance-obsessed society, patrolled by ominous cops in trenchcoats and virtual reality headsets, and the birth of what could end up being the savior of society.

Interspersed with all that are dragons and androids having sword, missile, and projectile-energy battles, on the streets of what looks to be both Japan and London. Cue explosions, huge guns, and uplifting, yearning music.

The word “Panopticon” is Greek for “observe all”, but it’s also the name of a controversial prison design that dates back to late 18th-century England. Intended as an institution that would use the fear and uncertainty of observation just as much as it relied upon locks and cells to maintain order, the Panopticon arrayed stacks of rooms arrayed in a circle around a central “inspection house” where the warden and guards would be based.

From that center point, the prison staff would be able to see into every cell whenever they chose, with no privacy for inmates. Designer Jeremy Bentham described a series of blinds and other arrangements by which the staff would be masked from view, leaving inmates uncertain on who was being watched and when.

The principle of observation certainly seems to fit in with the surveillance-state themes that appear to be laced throughout the Panopticon game trailer, though we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out more. Sony Japan says the next dribble of information will come on May 21.

Sony Japan Panopticon trailer:

Thanks Zak!

The news about the new game was spilled a little earlier than expected, ahead of a Kazunori Yamauch announcement later today at the UK’s Silverstone circuit. That will be one of the seven new locations included in GT6, iafrica reports.

There’ll also be a variety of aerodynamic parts, custom wheels, and other add-ons which drivers will be able to buy in-game and install on their cars. They’ll be offered for “almost all” of the vehicles to choose from, with several thousand components to choose between.

Gran Turismo 6 trailer:

Gran Turismo 6 will also further blur the lines between the gaming racing experience and cars in the real world. Toyota, for instance, will be the first to offer CAN-ECY system integration, with drivers of the GT86 able to download their telemetry from track days, and compare it in the game.

Exactly when GT6 will hit the shelves is unclear, though there’ll be smartphone and tablet integration for social and community features. It’ll also be based on a new, smaller game engine, which promises boosted performance as well as opening up support for extensible content.

Pichai spoke about The Journey of Personal Computing, noting that Android and Chrome remain two separate systems. Android began, he said, as an open system that is now the most popular operating system in the world. Chrome as a web browser, he reminded the audience, is now the world’s most popular web browser. It’s through this web browser and with this system that Google Play game systems will come to life.

Pichai showed the current level of Android activations in the world – 900 million strong. Comparing this number to 2012′s activations at 400 million, it was plain how the operating system was making waves. 48 billion app installs were announced for Google Play by Google’s Hugo Barra. Google’s Vice President of Android Product Management announced further that the company had already paid out more this year to developers through Google Play than they had the entirety of 2012.

Barra continued with updates for the developer community on Google Services updates with APIs for Google Maps. Activity Recognition, power saving, and ease in integration bring this system into the future. Also on tap was Google+ sign-in. This system allows users to log in with Google+ on-the-fly through a series of websites – and all, in the near future, if Google has their way.

Google+ Cross-device Single Sign-on was made clear – Google+ will now be as easy to sign in with as Facebook is in both apps and on your desktop. Signing in on your desktop computer will also have you signed in on your tablet or smartphone if the app is compatible with this system.

But it was Google Play game services that knocked out the most important update to Android without a doubt. Here you’ll find users able to save their game on one device and pick it up from another place without a problem.

This system is both cross-device and cross-platform. It works for both Android and iOS – Apple devices as well as those made by LG, HTC, and all the rest. Connecting through Google+ and the users’ Google account, multi-player games will also be made a snap over the web – more-so than before, that is.

Google Play game services will be rolling out starting this week and we’ll be having more of a close-up look at it each day. Stick around our Google I/O tag portal to see it all, start to finish.

According to The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans for Xbox have said that the Points virtual currency will be shut down, and real currency will be brought in, as well as a new gift card system that is said to be similar to iTunes. Normal cash transactions using credit and debit cards are said to be supported alongside the gift cards.

The new currency system will supposedly work across Microsoft’s various services, including the Windows Store, Windows Phone Store, and Xbox Live, however it’s not said if it will be a universal system that will seamlessly integrate all of these services together (for instance, buying a gift card in the Windows Store, but using it in Xbox Live).

As for when Microsoft plans to unveil this new system, it’s said that it could be as soon as E3 next month, with an official launch later this year that will either coincide with the Xbox 720 launch or just right before the new console’s release. There was no mention of revealing the new system at the company’s May 21 event later this month, so it looks like Microsoft will be keeping some of its new details until E3.

Microsoft will be spreading out its announcements of its next-generation console throughout the year, with the first unveiling of the Xbox 720 on May 21, followed by more details at E3 2013 in June, and an appearance by the company at Gamescom in August, where it’s expected that Microsoft will unveil more games for the new console.

SOURCE: The Verge

Much of the summary is dedicated to how much more straightforward it is to develop titles for the PS4. The console uses the same concurrency model as the PS3, for instance, with a main “orchestrator” thread and then the rest of the code running in jobs across all the cores; on the PS4, though, Guerrilla found that 80-percent of all code could now be run in jobs, versus 20-percent on the current-gen console.

To show how well the game ran, the developers had to cook up their own CPU and GPU profilers, since the official tools still aren’t quite ready. On-screen, there’s a physically-correct lighting model and volumetrics supported on every light, along with real-time reflections. Some of the most obvious improvements are in characters, with far greater detail allowed.

Killzone Shadow Fall PS4 tech demo:

“Our aim for [the] announcement event was to run on PS4 hardware” Guerrilla writes, meaning “1080p, solid 30FPS, [and] no cheats.” The latter is presumably a reference to the Killzone 2 for PS3 demo gaffe, where what was later revealed to be rendered game footage was initially portrayed as running on the console itself.

Killzone Shadow Fall PS4 gameplay demo:

“PS4 is really easy to program for!” lead tech Michal Valient concludes, and the “GPU is really fast” while “GDDR5 bandwith is awesome” assuming you handle the memory mapping properly. “We’ve only scratched the surface” he says.

Sony didn’t show off the final hardware at its PS4 launch event, only the peripherals and some game demos. It did, however, confirm the core specifications: 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, an x86 CPU, an enhanced PC GPU, and a hard-drive; there’s also WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, USB 3.0, gigabit ethernet, and a Blu-ray drive.

Thanks Zak!

In contrast, only 5-percent of iOS users pirated Towelfight 2, Butterscotch revealed on the DroidGamers forums. On both platforms, the game was priced at $0.99; “these numbers are dwarfed by the size of an audience we could get with a free title” the developers suggest.

“While it’s great that the pirates are playing the game, and we’re happy for the exposure, they are operating “off the grid”. That is, our app rank doesn’t jump up in the app stores when a pirate downloads it, they can’t review it, and they tend not to contact us for support if something goes wrong with the game. They play the game in the shadows” Butterscotch Shenanigans

Although the statistics are from one game developer’s experience, and shouldn’t be extrapolated across the entire Android app industry, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Google’s platform criticized for how relatively straightforward it is to find and install unofficial apps. Last year, another developer made headlines by blaming “unbelievably high” piracy rates for being forced to drop the Android version of its game from $0.99 to the “freemium” model, where a free-to-download app is monetized with adverts.

That freemium switch is the approach Butterscotch will be taking with its newest title, the developer team says, with monetization “solely based” on in-app purchases. Progress within the game will be achievable both by beating goals and by paying for access, with cut to the price if partial-progress has already been made.

Attempts have been made to curtail Android piracy – last year, the US Department of Justice and FBI seized and shut down three app pirate sites for instance – but the more open nature of the Google Play store versus Apple’s App Store has meant circuitous routes to find and load titles without paying for them remains a key issue for the OS. Last month, one developer attempted to use irony to highlight the issues of stolen content, lacing a specially-leaked version of their dev-studio simulator game with inescapable failure through piracy, though many players didn’t appear to understand the message.

For Butterscotch, the initial piracy numbers were a tough lesson in how to monetize in different ways on different platforms. “We made a free game” the developers concluded, “we just didn’t know it at the time.”

During a closed-doors gun legislation meeting with 20 religious representatives from around the US, Vice President Biden said that “there’s no legal reason why” the government couldn’t tax media companies for making and distributing violent content, such as video games, movies, etc. It’s said that a majority of reps at the meeting agreed with Biden, and that the government should tax such media companies.

The vice president also said that there needs to be a comprehensive scientific study to research the impact that violent media have on kids. Of course, many studies have been done in the past that attempt to find a correlation between playing violent video games and acting violent in real life, some of which have said that there is no impact, and other studies claiming that there is, in fact, a correlation. We honestly may never come to an agreed upon solution in this case.

Biden wants the tax to go towards a fund that would help the victims of violent crimes, as well as their families. Whether a tax like this will eventually be make it’s way to being a law is still yet to be seen. There’s been a recent influx in the number of lawmakers urging to put an excise tax on violent media, but we’ve yet to hear how much progress these proposed bills have made.

Ever since the Sandy Hook school shooting, Vice President Biden has been focusing more and more on gun violence, and he even recently held a Google+ Hangout to answer questions and state his concerns on the state of gun control and gun violence in the US. However, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the few politicians that is defending violent video games, saying that the research just isn’t there yet to prove that such media cause violence. However, the fingers will undoubtedly still be pointed at violent video games for years to come, and whether or not steps will be taken to control violent video games is still in question.

VIA: Gamespot

SOURCE: Politico

IMAGE CREDIT: Marc Nozell

If you’ve been following email updates about Project SHIELD straight from NVIDIA before today, you’re in luck. Those signed up with the company as a gamer interested in the product as an early adopter will be given the first shot at the device.

A shot at ordering SHIELD as a pre-order, that is. The device itself will be the same, but these earliest pre-orders will be filled first – of that you can be sure.

Hardware

At the head of this device is the NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core A15 CPU with custom 72 code GeForce GPU. That’s a mouthful, and we’re certainly not going to try to explain the full ins and outs of it here. Instead you’ll want to head over to the SlashGear 101: NVIDIA Tegra 4 in detail post we’ve prepared for an occasion just like this. In short: it’s got so much graphics power it’ll be good to go for years to come.

SHIELD works with a 5-inch 720p multi-touch display which flips-up from its hardware controller body. In this shell-opening form-factor, this device allows the user a gaming experience only otherwise given in part by 3rd-party accessories attached to smartphones. With NVIDIA’s solution, the display is made specifically for this setup, while the controls, sound system, and form factor are all made with one final single product in mind.

With SHIELD, users will be working with integrated speakers – both a left and a right – along with two tuned ports for high-end bass response. Each time we’ve handled this machine thus far, the sound has been full and deep, with the ability to get loud enough that it’s necessary to pull the volume back. Don’t want to wake up the upstairs neighbors, after all.

NVIDIA has let it be known that the device has seen a few – not many, but some – changes between its reveal and its final form, that being the one we’re having another look at here today. The device has had a tiny bit of weight added since CES 2013 several months ago – welcome, in this case, as this adjustment allows the device to feel the correct amount of substantial in a user’s hands. The device remains largely plastic, but certainly looks and feels like a high-end product, as it should.

SHIELD will be available for a retail price of $349 USD right out of the gate. This price remains the same no matter how or through whom you’ll be ordering it. Orders will be done through NVIDIA’s own website and through NewEgg and Micro Center here in the USA. Canadian gamers will be able to pick the device up at Canada Computers as well.

Android / TegraZone Games

The device will be delivered with a couple games installed, NVIDIA’s own game portal TegraZone – and that’s it. This delivery essentially counts as a vanilla build of Android Jelly Bean, allowing users to work with as simple and recognizable – and customizable – an experience as possible.

Five new games have been promised for SHIELD and its high-powered processor backing up Android, each of them coming to Android here for the first time. Double Fine will be bringing the games Broken Age and Costume Quest. Broken Age is an epic fantasy tale set in the clouds with flying ships, computers, and oddities galore. Costume Quest is a game that’s appeared on Windows PCs, PlayStation 3, OS X, Linux, and the Xbox in the past, coming to Android for the first time here to show the power of NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 processor.

Above: SHIELD at CES 2013 hands-on with Android gaming (Hawken, specifically).

Flyhunter: Origins is a new Android game coming to SHIELD from the developers at Steel Wool Games. This game will deliver not only a strange miniature storyline, but high-class art as well – NVIDIA has specifically pointed out the lovely artistic abilities of the development group behind this game – bright and pretty!

Dedalord Games will be bringing Skiing Fred with a full free-movement system that will be entirely unique to SHIELD. Don’t get caught in the drift! Developers at Niffler will be bringing Chuck’s Challenge to life on SHIELD as a 3D puzzle game that allows users to create their own levels and share with friends.

Two high-powered Android games will be installed on the device out of the box: Sonic 4 Episode II and Expendable: Rearmed. We’ve had our own hands-on look at Sonic 4 Episode II back a few months ago in all its full super-speed glory while Expandable: Rearmed makes with the massive amounts of firepower.

PC Connectivity with GeForce game streaming / Steam

Valve has joined the party as well for this device’s PC connection. As SHIELD is made to bridge the gap between PC and mobile gaming on Android, Valve’s own Steam gaming experience will be in play. Though GeForce game streaming will be launching as a beta feature, we’ve seen it in action more than once, and it looks pretty rad.

Users will need their own compatible PC and a WiFi network they can connect with to make any and all desktop gaming a reality on SHIELD, Steam included. Once this connection is made, Steam’s Big Picture Mode is the user interface that SHIELD will use. With a healthy handful of PC games (20 games at first, we’re told) optimized and prepared for this cross-device compatibility at launch, user’s should have no problem finding a good title for which to game from their couch.

Controls for these games will be automatically fitted to SHIELD’s own, allowing gamers to, for example, break into Borderlands 2 the first time they open it with the device. This set of games is not a limit for the device, of course, as SHIELD’s controls are able to be fit to any game that’d otherwise be able to work with a controller connecting to your PC with, for example, a USB or Bluetooth connection.

Development

NVIDIA’s SHIELD device will have more details revealed over the next few weeks, and of course the GeForce game streaming bit of this amalgamation will see mighty changes in the near future, but the main bulk of the device and its features are here. This device is a market-ready machine, and in it we’ll be seeing the NVIDIA Tegra 4 in action out in the wild for the first time.

Have a peek at the brief timeline of SHIELD items we’ve collected in the recent past and hit SlashGear’s Tegra hub for more information on NVIDIA’s mobile universe. SlashGear’s Project SHIELD tag portal will also serve to give you an exploratory look at the demonstrations and details that have emerged prior to today, as well.

With SHIELD, two accessories will be available straight from the get-go. The first of these is a Carrying Case that’s hard-packed around the edges to protect the device you’re carrying from any basic harm. This case is custom molded to SHIELD, has a lovely SHIELD name-plate, and is black with green accents.

This carrying case works with a USB port on its back so the user can keep SHIELD plugged in while the case is closed to power up whist on the go. This case also has a strap to hold at the gamers’ side. This case will be available for $39.99 USD in June when SHIELD launches.

Also coming at the same time SHIELD is available are a couple of custom lids. The top of SHIELD is a customizable, replaceable unit called a lid. Custom lids will be available for $19.99 each and, at launch, users will be able to grab a glossy black lid or a carbon fiber lid, these replacing the standard silver that comes with the device.

SHIELD itself has been detailed in its final form and prepared for pre-orders and the like this week along with its accessories. Right in the midst of Google I/O 2013, NVIDIA has revealed launch details along with a push specifically for those most interested in joining the SHIELD party in its first release wave.

Of course the PlayStation 4 and gaming PCs will also have their shot at this title in 2014. This title is being made by the same company that created Halo and has partnered up with Activision, the company that brings you Call of Duty. With such big-name titles on the line, Destiny has a lot to live up to.

The images above and below are only small versions of the actual detail you’ll be able to see, Bungie delivering full-resolution pictures to the public to allow them a taste of full-screen possibilities. Though these images make the game look like a backdrop from a blockbuster film event, the final product will be an online exclusive first-person shooter.

This means that the Xbox 720 and the PlayStation 4 will continue down the road suggested for them in the latter days of their predecessors – this is a very connected future we’re starting soon.

Images of what Bungie calls its Abandoned Earth segment of the game – or environment, however it’ll be presented – have been unveiled as well. In these images its revealed that the planet is not simply a barren wasteland in this distant realm of possibility – it’s a place where nature has taken back what it owned before humans came along. Much like what’s seen in such apocalyptic films as I Am Legend, cities have been overgrown.

Bungie has also revealed information about the plot of this game. One of the several races available for use by you and your compatriots are the Guardians.

“You are a Guardian of the last safe city on Earth, able to wield some of the Traveler’s incredible power. You are taking this mantle just as a new day dawns. Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks have finally returned to our long-lost worlds, only to find out we are not alone. ” – Bungie, on Destiny

There are also Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans, each of which appear like they came directly out of the next Halo title. That or backup robots for Daft Punk. These and the visions of the Moon, also known as a “Forbidden Zone” by the newest reveal of the contents of the game, will provide for some rather interesting waves of unveils when this multi-platform title comes to fruition.

Above see full-sized versions of each of the images in this post for up-close inspection. Also have a peek at SlashGear’s Xbox 720 tag portal as well as our PlayStation 4 tag portal for the race to the finish line. As far as game developers are concerned, these two consoles are bringing the same beast to the party!

SOURCE: Bungie

As the world awaits the PlayStation 4 and its hardware push – at the moment we’ve just got a handheld wireless controller – this video spot shows what could be. Excitement and eyeball-burning swooshes of controller symbols light up the faces of several gaming candidates. Thumping dance music bangs through the spot making it seem like the showing of this box is all that matters to a gamer in the near future.

So what’ll be different from this in the final real-deal set of video spots produced by Sony itself? Probably not a whole lot. It’s already clear that the PlayStation 4 – aka the PS4 – will be another box. It’s certainly not going to be an Okama Gamesphere, nor is it going to be coming in the shape of a P for Playstation. What you’re seeing here won’t be far from the truth.

The in-game footage comes from a game that’s been revealed in the past, but will be appearing on the PlayStation 4 in the future. The game is called inFAMOUS: Second Son, and looks a little something like this:

The real-deal Sony PlayStation 4 has had many of its specifications confirmed by Sony earlier this year immediately following the big PS4 press event that took place in February. The controller for the system – the main, basic controller, at least – has been revealed by Sony along with some of its abilities.

Now all that’s left to see is the actual console itself.

As we said in February: the box might not matter.

VIA: Kotaku

What this demonstration of the game presents is the world promised by early previews, one in which the gamer lives in a sea of information. As citizens of this connected Chicago walk by, the user has the option of hacking their electronic connection to everything. Name, occupation, cash, and all.

Watch as a woman named Chandra Prince walks by the hacker hero of this game and, with a tap of the display of his smartphone, he finds her age, occupation, income, hobbies – and has the option to steal from her bank account digitally. Every citizen of this city has a machine in their pocket or in their hand, and through that machine they’re open to attack.

It’s in this world that Watch Dogs is shown to be not just the silent killer’s playground of games like Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, but one where a villain can – at first – walk around in broad daylight. Of course once the user finds himself on the wrong end of the law, the police make cameras and sound detection tools an all-encompassing web for our hero.

As you’ll remember from SlashGear’s previous investigation into the world of Watch Dogs, this city has Batman-like sound detection capabilities. It’s not safe to speak without a muffler – not if you want to remain anonymous. Fire a gun and you’ll be triangulated – break a window and it’ll be heard by the cops.

Just as it is with any caped crusader-type situation, the player of this game will soon find themselves addicted to making full use of their ability to see and hear all. As “potential criminals” roam the streets with Crime Probability meters attached to them, following them like a Pre-Crime unit will be the gamer’s prerogative.

This video game will be able to be played in an open-world fashion if the user wishes, this the same sort of deal made popular by the Grand Theft Auto series on the original PlayStation. They’ll also be able to follow plotlines that lead them into heavy trouble with both digital crime syndicates and the police, both of which have access to the big brother cover that intertwines the city.

Watch Dogs will be coming to a gaming machine near you on November 19th. It’ll be released to your high-powered gaming PC, WiiU, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and more – those four bases being the first wave only. This game will eventually also have mobile components so the user can continue playing while on-the-go on smartphone and tablet machines, making the game as real as its story – watch yourself! And don’t forget your stealth skill!

The Play Services system is the underlying Android component which all games will be able to tap into, allowing them to share a single notifications path, multiplayer gamer matching, leaderboards and achievements records, and more. Unsurprisingly, the multiplayer duties are shared with Google+, with the social network’s circles used to manage who can invite you to play a game, whose achievements you see, and who your own achievements are shared with.

Meanwhile, there’s also synchronized saved games, meaning if you have a favorite you play on both your Android phone and tablet, you should be able to pick up where you left off on either. Similarly, there are various achievements and leaderboards, with a number of icons to flag top scores and the ability to sort by recent play, by your own position in the charts, and more. All can be pushed over to Google+ to publicize your success.

Currently, the new service isn’t fully functional, leading to suggestions that there could be another, potentially user-facing app which works in conjunction with the background system. That would presumably be the equivalent of iOS’ Game Center app, with its hub of scores and various lobbies for handling multiplayer and gamer-matching based on skill level.

The Android gaming ecosystem has expanded considerably in the past year. Last May, Google was tipped to be working on a Game Center alternative, while even earlier the Google+ team was confirmed to be collaborating with developers on social games for the Facebook competitor.

Several Kickstarter projects have sought to reboot classic titles for Android and other mobile platforms, most recently seeing 90s favorite Carmageddon relaunch after having raised more than $600,000 on the crowdfunding site. Meanwhile, dedicated Android-based gaming hardware has also grown in popularity: OUYA was another Kickstarter success, for instance, while this past week BlueStacks revealed GamePop, a compact games console that borrows the Netflix-style subscription model for title access.

Both OUYA and GamePop have been forced to create their own gaming system on top of Android, to some extent, but with the new Play Games structure, Google could considerably streamline that process for other hardware developers. The system has potential beyond just Android phones and tablets, too; Google TV boxes could instantly become Xbox and PlayStation rivals, with support for second-screen play turning mobile devices into controllers and private status monitors. A hook into Chrome, meanwhile, could bring the system to the desktop and to Chromebooks.

That would leave plenty of room for innovation in pricing. Google could follow BlueStacks’ example with an all-you-can eat gaming subscription, perhaps, with a set monthly fee promising access to hundreds of premium titles across as many devices as are registered to the same account.

We’ll undoubtedly hear more about Google Play Games at I/O this coming week; SlashGear will be there to bring back all the news as it happens.

We’re just days away from Google I/O 2013, this heralding the introduction of new services from the source of Android, if not new products as well. As such, it’s no surprise that companies like NVIDIA are preparing for the storm of excitement with announcements of their own, starting right here with a peek at the production of the device they introduced to the world earlier this year.

What you’re seeing above is a mold used to create the final casing for Project SHIELD as it exists today. As this mold is being presented by NVIDIA as a finished part of this puzzle, we can only assume that the final product is well on its way.

According to NVIDIA, the casing for Project SHIELD is made starting with an injection of polycarbonate material into the the RHCM (Rapid Heat Cycle Molding) tool you see above. This is done at a terrifying 10,800 PSI and 300 degrees Celsius, says NVIDIA, while the mixture is made up of 90% Sabic 500ECR-739 PC and 10% glass. That’s a mixture that’s rough and tough yet lightweight for easy carrying.

This device retains much if not the entirety of the look it did when we first saw it back at CES 2013. There it also had a set of specifications that have stuck – a 5-inch 720p HD touchscreen display, NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor inside, and connectivity with the user’s GeForce GTX-toting gaming PC at home over their wireless network for full-sized PC gaming in a hand-held package.

The NVIDIA Project SHIELD device is the first all-NVIDIA-made mobile device the company has ever made. It’ll be sold by NVIDIA straight to consumers and will be found in retailers across the United States by the end of the year – and likely much sooner than that. Have a peek at SlashGear’s Project SHIELD tag portal for more demonstrations with this device and stick around for more action in the near future as well!

Senior Producer Dominic Guay spoke at a preview of the game this week in San Francisco, letting it be known that the contents could be seen as a warning as much as a normal, every day third-person thriller. Here the player will be working as Pearce, a hacker living in a futuristic Chicago blanketed with a “Smart City” installation that can access essentially any information wirelessly.

What’s more, this new-age Chicago’s smart system doesn’t just work with and control public service systems, it helps police hunt down and capture bad guys. Using systems like the very real SpotShotter, as pointed out by Venture Beat (they also attending this San Francisco preview of the game), the in-game police can track gunshots by triangulating the sounds with city-wide sound recorders.

“The problem is, if you start spying on people in every aspect of their lives, it becomes addictive. hat if you see a woman being mugged in a back alley or a man being extorted? It becomes hard to do nothing.” – Dominic Guay

The game’s hero Pearce will be aiming at and avoiding not only the police, but corrupt 3rd party users and gangs, each of them also taking advantage of the connectedness of the city and its citizens.

Much in the same way Batman is able to hone in on sound signals throughout a city by tapping in to the cellphone signals of its citizens, here too anyone with access will be able to hear all. Batman’s ability to do this appears in the movie The Dark Knight as well as in the video game Batman: Arkham City. In Watch Dogs, this sound system is part of the larger ctOS (City Operating System).

Helping to advance the realism of the game to a point that’s essentially creepy, Kaspersy Lab has been confirmed to be working with the developers of this game in its last phases. Speaking at the game preview this week with Joystiq, Guay made their involvement clear:

“We’re working with Kaspersky Lab, a big security firm. They have really hardcore experts there on hacking. We send them some of our designs and we ask them feedback on it, and it’s interesting to see what gets back. Sometimes they say, ‘Yeah, that’s possible, but change that word,’ or, ‘That’s not the way it works.’” – Dominic Guay

It’s also become clear that this game will not be restricted to your gaming console – it’ll not just be a game you play on Xbox 360, PC, Xbox 720, PlayStation 4, and the rest. Instead you’ll have gameplay expansion available on smartphone systems and on tablets as well. This game will, like the hero of the game, be played on the move, as well.

Expect Watch Dogs to be solidified with detail galore by the time of its final release later this year. At the moment it would appear that Watch Dogs will be set for a November 22nd release date and will be appearing on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC at the start.

Valve programmer and lead developer of the Oculus Rift-ified Team Fortress 2 Joe Ludwig announced support for Half-Life 2 on the Oculus Developer Forums. The beta for the VR version of the game is out now, and Ludwig says that the port should be shipping to everyone “in a few weeks,” allowing Oculus Rift owners to take advantage of the Valve game.

However, Ludwig notes that this particular port is “a bit more raw” than the Team Fortress 2 port when it first was released for the Oculus Rift, so gamers will definitely experience some bugs in the game, and Valve is already aware of a few themselves, including problems with HUD and and the zoomed-in UI.

As for other Valve titles that will make their way through the Oculus Rift development process, Valve says that more of their games will be heading to the VR headset, including the Portal and Left 4 Dead series, which have already gone through some testing phases. However, no more details were given about upcoming games.

[via Polygon]

[Source: Oculus Developer Forums]

The gaming experience itself is carried over directly from the original, developers Stainless Games Ltd. claim, with eleven environments to race in and 28 different opponents to battle with on the track. The initial release has 36 levels, and there are 30 cars that can be unlocked by doing sufficiently well in each round.

The 110MB download (which runs on Android 2.3.4 devices or above) can be controlled either with digital or analog buttons, or by tilting the phone or tablet, or a mixture of the three. In fact, Stainless has built in a control layout editor that can be tweaked mid-game, allowing you to quickly fix any extraneous buttons that might be cramping your driving style.

Both single-player and multiplayer modes are supported, and Carmageddon also has an action-replay mode, the video clips of which can now be shared via YouTube. Facebook and Twitter integration for sharing highscores and game progress is also supported.

Carmageddon for Android will normally be a $1.99 download, though as a launch-day promotion it’s being offered free from the Google Play store today, Friday May 10th.

The game puts players behind the controls of World War I biplane as they battle to take control of the skies. The game is described as a strategic aerial combat title and will work on both the iPhone and the iPad. Players will use their aircraft to defend their base camp and allies.

Players will be able to progress through various campaigns across Europe while the upgrade their skills, improve the aircraft, and perform other tasks. Players will be able to choose from 30 vintage and historical World War I aircraft. The game has a total of over 120 missions and players can choose their team of Aces each offering a special skill to expand options during play.

Players will also be able to upgrade and promote their top pilots throughout the course of the game campaign. The game can be played as a turn-based single-player title, a two-player hot pad game, or as synchronous multiplayer through Game Center. The game is available as a free download on the App Store and as you can imagine the will be hoards of in game purchase options.

[via Take2Games]

This is certainly a unique one from Zynga, as all their past “with Friends” games have been very casual and usually involve some sort of turn-based strategy component, while this one is in the endless-runner genre of sorts, similar to that of Temple Run, which has been a big hit in the App Store for both iOS and Android.

On top of trying to outrun the bulls, players also try to avoid other obstacles that get in the way, and gamers are required to duck and jump over various objects. As with any endless-runner game, it gets harder and harder the longer that you stay alive, but once you eventually hit an obstacle and slow down, it’s game over.

The game was actually developed in collaboration with with Eat Sleep Play (the game studio behind the Twisted Metal video game series and Warhawk), which probably explains the change in tone of this game compared to past Zynga games. However, the graphics are still very reminiscent of classic Zynga games from yesteryear. Running with Friends is only available on iOS currently, but you can grab it at no cost.

The so-called transition Kotick describes is one of an evolving gaming industry, where players aren’t perhaps so wedded to their dedicated, heavy-duty consoles as they were at the launch of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Factor in the remaining questions that surround even Sony’s officially announced PlayStation 4, and Kotick is readying for an uphill struggle.

“There are still many unknown factors,” he explained on the call, “such as pricing, launch dates and quantities, the level of first-party support and, importantly, consumer purchase intent in a world where consoles are no longer just competing with each other, but also with new platforms, such as smartphones and tablets.”

Those mobile platforms have risen in gaming prevalence over the intervening years, with more casual titles at the $0.99 price point in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play market gaining traction on iPhone and Android. Apple’s iPod touch has also become a compelling gaming system, with improvements in the company’s homegrown processors leading to more impressive, near-console-quality titles.

In short, it’s a very different market from what Microsoft and Sony are used to, and one in which Kotick seemingly suspects they may find the reception to the Wii U to be the rule, not the exception. “All of these factors further heighten our concerns heading into the back half of the year,” he concluded, “particularly during the very competitive fourth quarter.”

Activision has already warned that World of Warcraft online multiplayer subscribers are dropping, though the game publisher says it is confident its other projects will maintain sufficient momentum to keep profits up.

[via ExpertReviews]

“Upon launch, the app shows a leaderboard and videogame-like interface, overlaid atop a natural view of the stars and constellations” dSky9 said of the game. “It then challenges users to identify new constellations within a pre-set time limit.”

It’s still early days for the app. The developer’s demo video, which you can watch below, is described as a “pre-visualization” and is effectively a mockup of what players will actually see, complete with iOS icons.

However, it’s a good example of something that a wearable device, like Glass, can do particularly well when you take into account mapping digital graphics over the real-world. Although we’ve seen augmented reality smartphone games before, they’ve generally required the player to hold up their phone and look “through” the digital view from the handset’s camera, a less streamlined approach than glancing at an eyepiece just above your line of sight.

dSky9 hasn’t said when StarFinder might arrive on Glass, though as a native app it will presumably side-step Google’s own Mirror API and require some tinkering on the headset itself in order to run.

[via LivingThruGlass]

Speaking with Eurogamer, Kato says that much of the chip development for the PS4 has already been in place, whereas the PS3 required all-new development processes for the console’s chip. The PS4 will still see a new chip (and development is still happening for that), but Kato says that many existing technologies will be implemented in the PS4, cutting down on R&D costs.

Sony turned its first profitable year since 2008, but its PlayStation division was down during the 12-month period. Sales were down 12.2%, with operating income down a staggering 94% to just $18 million for the year. However, Kato says that income is expected to “increase significantly” for the company, with the PS4′s launch coming later this year.

Operating income is another story, though, as Kato expects it to be stagnant year-over-year due to R&D and marketing costs for the new and upcoming console. However, the PS4 is expected to turn a profit in a shorter amount of time than the PS3, which took several years before the console was finally in the black for Sony.

[via Eurogamer]

The console is available to pre-order now, and you can actually get the console and controller for free throughout this month, but it’ll cost $99 if you order one after May (although the final price hasn’t been finalized yet). The console requires an $83.88-per-year subscription fee as well, which comes out to $6.99 per month. This will get you an all-you-can-play buffet of games to play on your TV without needing to pay for the games individually.

BlueStacks has already managed to get a handful of popular mobile game developers to partner up, including Glu, Halfbrick, Gameloft, Intellijoy, and Deemedya. It’s not said exactly how many games will be available at launch, as the team is still working on getting a final count, but it should give OUYA a run for its money.

Plus, the monthly subscription fee is also an interesting concept, as its essentially the Netflix for games. However, you have to pay by the year (sort of like a contract), but $6.99 per month doesn’t seem that bad at all, especially considering that you can play as many games as you want, which could be a bargain for those who are heavy gamers. As of right now, there’s no word on a ship date for the GamePop console.

[via The Next Web]

The company has announced a couple of important details recently including the fact that the launch for the console has been delayed to June 25. The new launch date of June 25 is delayed three weeks from the previous estimate. Joystiq reports that the delay is also intended to allow the company to fix a nagging issue with the controllers.

Apparently, the buttons of the controller can get stuck under the controller’s faceplate. The official reason according to Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman is to allow the company to “create more units and, basically, have more units on store shelves in June.”

Ouya also announced that it has received a $15 million investment from venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mayfield Fund. However, some say that even with the additional $15 million and the impressive amount raised during the Kickstarter campaign, the company could still require even more funding to be able to market and launch a new game console.

[via Joystiq and [via VentureBeat]

Of course, the domains could be a mix between possible move titles and video game titles, but they give subtle clues as to what the title will be about. Some of the more notable domain names that were registered include Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Wolf Pack, Star Wars Alliance, and our personal favorite: Wookiee Hunters.

Other domain names include Wolf Pack Adventures, Order 67, Bothan Spies, Gungan Frontier 2, Gungan Frontier 3, and Gungan Frontier 4. Of course, further details on these titles is far from unknown, but it at least tells us that Disney and EA are set to kick it into high gear with new Star Wars installments over these next few years.

Disney acquired Lucasfilm and LucasArts back in October, essentially getting full control over everything Star Wars. However, it came at a cost for the Mickey Mouse company, who paid just north of $4 billion for it all. It looks like that investment will come to good use, though, as Disney looks to milk the franchise for everything its worth.

[via Fusible]

At approximately midnight Pacific time here on the 8th of May, 2013, the servers for Diablo III were kept in good standing where a consideration was cut: administrators decided not to roll back the entire game. Where administrators were forced to consider rolling the game back to an earlier point in time this week, they’ve instead made a move to find the creators of the bug and destroy them. Or boot them from the game, that is.

This mess began late last night when a gold duplication bug was identified by Battle.net. It was then that they began cutting all gold trades across the game’s online servers from top to bottom, keeping then normal trades of items where no gold was involved. As maintenance concluded less than an hour later, administrators suggested a fix was in the works that’d be implemented soon after.

“At this time (and after careful consideration), we’ve decided to not move forward with rolling back the servers. We feel that this is the best course of action given the nature of the dupe, how relatively few players used it, and the fact that its effects were fairly limited within the region. We’ve been able to successfully identify players who duplicated gold by using this specific bug, and are focusing on these accounts to make corrections.

While this is a time-consuming and very detailed process, we believe it’s the most appropriate choice given the circumstances. We know that some of you may disagree, but we feel that performing a full roll back would impact the community in an even greater way, as it would require significant downtime as well as revert the progress legitimate players have made since patch 1.0.8 was released this morning.” – Administrator Lylirra for Battle.net

So no worries for those of you out there worrying about the awesome number of levels you’ve jumped since yesterday: you’re good to go. Meanwhile Battle.net will be hunting down the culprits of this terrible economy-wrecking madness non-stop until they are found. This auction house has been under fire since the beginning of the game, having most recently been the subject of scrutiny via former Diablo III director Jay Wilson who made it clear: if they could pull the plug on the real-money part of the auction house, they would.

The event will also celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Gran Turismo series. Sony Europe president Jim Ryan says that “the Gran Turismo franchise continues to be extremely important to PlayStation,” and that the 15 year anniversary was deemed an appropriate time to celebrate the series that’s been exclusive to the PlayStation ever since the game’s conception.

The event looks to be a big one, with multiple auto makers showing up, including Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, KTM, Mercedes, Toyota, and even Tesla. These companies will be showing off their best cars at the event. Furthermore, Nissan PlayStation GT Academy champions will also be there to show off their racing skills on the Silverstone Circuit.

We’ve heard rumors in the past about Gran Turismo 6, and Newegg has a placeholder listing page for the game, although details are scarce at this point, and while box art concepts have popped up, they’ve all turned out to be fakes. However, come next week, we could hear more details, as well as possibly get a look at the official box art.

Inside the iFixit teardown the innards promised by the manufacturers of the OUYA, including – but not limited to – the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor with 4-PLUS-1 technology (meaning there’s 5 CPU cores, not just 4). Under the hood two Samsung 4Gb DD3 SDRAM modules sit next to one another, these two 4Gb modules together creating 1GB total.

Also inside the OUYA box is a single fan, easily removable and attached with just four standard screws and a wire. As noted by iFixit, this is good – especially since its the only moving part in the whole amalgamation of metal and plastic. The fan is, for those of you looking to stock up, a SUNON MagLev HA40101V4 DC brushless and you’ll be rolling with 12 volts at 0.8 W of power.

Perhaps oddest of all is the addition of weights to this machine. Inside the bottom of the console are five miniature metal plates added to keep the device weighed down and solid on a flat surface. Each of the five plates weighs in at 0.39 ounces, creating nearly 2 ounces of staying weight for the bottom of the box. The gaming pad coming with the OUYA is a similar bit of ease in tear down – only a few screws and you’re in!

Have a peek at SlashGear’s OUYA tag portal to see more information on this machine’s innards as well as its connections to the gaming universe at large. You’ll be able to see this device on the deck of your own TV stand later this year, if all goes as planned, and for right around a hundred bucks, too!

[via iFixit]

The ongoing national debate over gun violence and gun control has made a lot of companies rethink the relationships they have with gun makers, including video game developers and publishers. Electronic Arts is one publisher who will be distancing themselves from relationships with gun makers, but will still continue to use real gun names in future games.

EA president of labels Frank Gibeau says that video game developers share the same rights of free speech as authors do, noting that novel writers don’t pay gun makers to use real gun names in their books. Video games are the same way, saying that Electronic Arts is “telling a story” through a point of view.

Video games have been at the forefront of the gun control debate for a while now, and it seems that video game publishers are finally buckling under the pressure and severing ties with gun manufacturers. However, none of that looks to change the ways that violent video games are made, and we’re guessing that war games like Call of Duty and Battlefield will continue on as normal.

[via Reuters]

That’s taking place on May 21, with Microsoft also set to show off a number of launch games alongside the console. Exactly how much detail Microsoft will go into around the new Xbox is unclear – it could well follow Sony’s example, and not actually show off the core hardware itself – but we’re expecting it to open the gates to more titles being demonstrated at E3.

Lucid’s teaser image, meanwhile, would seem to be a heavy-handed nod to a racing game given its “Road Opens 2013″ banner. The UK studio was started by a number of former Bizarre Creations staff, after the Activision-owned firm was shut down at the start of 2011. Rumors back in late 2010 suggested Microsoft was in talks with multiple European studios to try to reboot the Project Gotham Racing series, though since then all has been quiet.

That’s not something the Lucid Games team is doing anything to change, telling Joystiq only that they “can’t say anything at the moment” about the Project Gotham Racing rumors. Nonetheless, it would be a fitting launch-day title: both the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 hit shelves with a game from the franchise alongside.

Going by the image, the new racing game – whatever it launches as – will be set in London, UK, at least in part. That’s already been the venue for at least one previous installment of Project Gotham Racing.

[via Autoblog; via Joystiq]

The game engine in question is called Frostbite 3. DICE Technical Director for Frostbite Johan Anderson recently said that no games using the Frostbite 3 engine would work on Nintendo’s latest game console. Anderson said that the Frostbite 3 engine has never been running on a Wii U console.

He also noted that the game developers did some tests with Frostbite 2 and the results weren’t promising. In fact, the results with Frostbite 2 were so poor that the company chose “not to go down that path.” DICE executives had previously said that the company wasn’t interested in devoting development time to Nintendo’s latest game console.

The crux of the reasoning for DICE is that the Nintendo Wii U lacks the power needed to run the company’s high-end game engines. It’s also worth noting that the Unreal Engine 4 won’t officially support the Wii U either. However, that Unreal engine will be able to run scaled-down games on Nintendo’s console. What do you think is it time for Nintendo to give up or launch a truly high-end console?

[via ArsTechnica]