Saturday, May 18, 2013

0 Dell Starts Shipping Project Ophelia in July

Dell will be shipping their thumb-sized PC, Project Ophelia, to developers, wanting to write apps for it, in July. It will ship to cable companies, to package with data and cable deals, in August. Then shortly after will be available to consumers on Dell's website.

Ophelia is an Android based PC that will plug directly into any HDMI port; will have WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities; will be able to download apps, games, movies, and TV shows from the Google Play store; will allow users to stream movies from Hulu or Netflix; and will include Wyse's PocketCloud software that allows users to access files from other PCs, servers or mobile devices with PocketCloud software.

"We want to make sure when we release the product that it's perfect. The enterprise is one market we understand," - Dell's Jeff McNaught, executive director of cloud computing.

Dell will be demonstrating the device on 19-inch and 55-inch screens at Citrix Synergy conference, next week, in Los Angeles.

0 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Confirmed Release for PC

Metal Gear Rising PC fans; your wishes have been answered. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was released for the PS3 and 360 earlier this year, and the conversation as to whether or not they'll make a PC version can finally end peacefully.


In 2010 there was a reveal of Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. In 2011, after the development duties for the game switched from Kojima Productions to PlatinumGames, there was a re-reveal that lacked the PC platform support. Last year, at Gamescom, Yuji Korekado (Kojima Productions creative producer) stated "right now, honestly, we are doing our best to complete at the same time the PlayStation 3 version and the Xbox 360 version. For the PC version, we will contemplate making it or not once we reach this goal of completing the PS3 and 360 versions."

This announcement of PC release was brought by Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear series) in his latest episode of Hideradio, posted on Kojima Productions' Hideoblog. It was confirmed by PlatinumGames creative producer JP Kellams on Twitter; and again by Konami, after being contacted by Eurogamer. Eurogamer also stated that Konami has no scheduled release date, but we'll get that to you once it's announced.




Thursday, May 16, 2013

0 Ubisoft Does Not Expect Assassin's Creed 4 to Outsell its Predecessor.

Ubisoft revealed today that they do not expect this year's Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag to outsell last year's Assassin's Creed 3. CEO Yves Guillemot said today that he does not expect annual franchise sales to increase.

While speaking to an analyst, Guillemot said, "To come back to Assassin's Creed IV, in our numbers we have…we expect less than last year."

Assassin's Creed 3 has now shipped and digitally sold a combined total of over 12.5 million copies since its release last November. Guillemot may believe that the AC 4 may not sell as well as this, though he does believe that the game has greater potential than its precursor. He says that the pirate theme of the game will likely appeal to a wider audience and be more relatable than the American Revolution setting and revealed that the "low expectations" are more due to wanting to be modest, rather than a belief that the game will be inadequate.

He said, "We are actually pushing to achieve more than last year because we think the pirate segment is a great segment that can generate a lot more on a worldwide basis than what was achieved last year. But we wanted to be prudent on our expectations so that it can probably be a bonus if it comes."

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

0 Major Sony Shareholder Asks the Company to Split.


A hedge fund investor who happens to be a massive shareholder at Sony has called for a breakup of the entertainment corporation. The New York Times has reported that the investor, Daniel S. Loeb, has invested over $1.1 billion in Sony and is one of the largest shareholders in the company. Loeb is said to have personally contacted Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai in a letter regarding the matter.

The letter to Sony said, "Sony has stood for innovative engineering and consumer satisfaction for decades. From televisions to gaming consoles to handsets, Sony epitomizes the proud legacy of Japanese manufacturing ingenuity, superior product design, and excellent user experience."

"However, many casual observers would be surprised to learn that while Sony is electronics, much of its current value is derived from a hidden gem--Sony's Entertainment division. Like many conglomerates [Third Point has] invested in previously, Sony has two strong businesses facing different challenges side by side, each obscuring the other's true worth."

"To maximize Sony's overall success, we believe the Company should change the structure of its ownership of Sony Entertainment. Doing so will strengthen Sony by reducing its burdensome debt, thereby providing additional resources and capital to focus on revitalizing the resurgent Sony Electronics."

A spokesperson from Sony replied to the letter by saying that the company is "focused on creating shareholder value by executing on our plan to revitalize and grow the electronics business, while further strengthening the stable business foundations of the entertainment and financial services businesses.”

Kazuo Hirai plans to discuss the future of the company in the coming days.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

0 Tales of Symphonia May Get a PS3 HD Remake.

The hit Gamecube RPG Tales of Symphonia may be getting a Playstation 3 HD remake.

Manager of the Tales series Hideo Baba told the Spanish website Koi-Nya that the game would be "a representation of the dreams and hopes of the fans, who have long been wanting it". He did not offer any further details as he could not officially confirm the existence of the game however.

What he was able to reveal was that the HD release would include both the original Tales of Symphonia from the Gamecube as well as the Wii sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World. The two-game package would release on the Playstation 3 titled Tales of Symphonia: Perfect Edition.

0 Bioware Shares Thoughts on Mass Effect Spin-offs.

Bioware has recently been discussing the possibility of spin-offs in the Mass Effect franchise. Casey Hudson, executive producer at Bioware who is leading the development of the next entry in the series, told OXM that "it would be cool" to tell a story that is entirely new and is independent from the rest of the series.

While speaking to OXM, Hudson said,"There's so much that could be told in the Mass Effect universe. It'd be cool to do something completely unrelated to the larger storyline, like a story about a private investigator on the Citadel. Or maybe something detailing Garrus' time in C-Sec."

Other members of Bioware such as Dusty Everman (level designer), Mac Walters (lead writer), Mike Gamble (producer), and Preston Watamaniuk (lead designer) have their own ideas. For example: Everman would love to see a game starring Garrus Vakarian, stating that "he's a hero in his own right" already. However, Watamaniuk thinks that a game featuring a Krogan might have more intense melee combat and be much more exciting.

The next Mass Effect game was announced by Bioware last September. The game will not feature Commander Shepard since their story was finished after the end of Mass Effect 3, which released March of last year. The game will run on the Frostbite 3 game engine.