News::Nintendo t-shirt design contest will be judged by Shigeru Miyamoto

In case you didn't own enough gaming tees, Uniqlo has opening its annual tee design competition, this time centered around Nintendo. The UTGP'17 comes with a healthy $10,000 prize pot and the contest is open to global entries. (Yes, even from you.) Notably, the collaboration has ensured Nintendo's legendary Shigeru Miyamoto will be act as a "special judge" for the competition. The winning (and runner-up) designs typically go on to be sold in Uniqlo stores, which adds an incentive worth even more than that prize pot. (Or not. Real talk; it is 10,000 bucks.)

Source: Uniqlo

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News::The game that makes Kinect worthwhile: 'Fru'

When Microsoft announced that it would start selling the Xbox One without the motion-sensing Kinect peripheral in June 2014, Mattia Traverso and his team at Through Games were shocked. They were in the middle of developing a Kinect-exclusive title, Fru, a platformer that used players' silhouettes to uncover hidden ledges and outlets in a Mario-inspired world. The Kinect wasn't off to a roaring start to begin with, but Through Games was down to take a gamble on an innovative idea. Besides, during the first few months of Fru's development, the Kinect was guaranteed to be sold with every new Xbox One. And then, suddenly, that potential was slashed.

"I'd be lying if I said the status of Kinect didn't affect us," Traverso tells me. "The surprise of the unbundling did hit our morale during production, and we had some doubts and worries about whether we would be financially viable at the end."

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News::'BioShock: The Collection' hits PS4, Xbox One and PC in September

Break out the wetsuits -- you're going back to Rapture. BioShock: The Collection contains all three BioShock games and their single-player DLC packs, remastered for current-generation consoles. It's due to hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 13th across North America and Asia (that's September 15th in Australia and September 16th worldwide), and the whole bundle costs $60.

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News::Stream PS Vue's cord-cutting service from your Android device

Sony's attempt at killing your pay-tv subscription is available on Android now -- just like the company promised. What's more, PlayStation Vue also has a few new features on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. On the former, the channel guide has a video window in the upper right now, so you can keep an eye on what you were watching as you scroll through other viewing options. It's essentially what cable and satellite guides have offered for years. If you're using your PS3 as a media machine, the addition of a quick navigation overlay, which offers a "last channel" option among other tweaks, should be welcome; it's also available on PS4.

Source: Google Play, PlayStation Blog

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News::Let people watch you eat, live on Twitch

Not everyone can get famous on Twitch for being good (or terrible) at gaming, but all of us can eat. Twitch has now opened up that very democratic activity with the "social eating" channel. It's under the Twitch Creative umbrella, which launched in style last year with a 200-hour Bob Ross marathon. As Polygon notes, that's despite the fact that Twitch apparently still prohibits "Muk-ban"-style streams focused on food consumption. In that popular Korean trend, people get paid up to $10,000 a month to stream themselves snarfing large meals.

Via: Polygon

Source: Twitch

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News::Intense music game 'Thumper' is a PlayStation VR launch title

Chalk up one more game available day and date alongside PlayStation VR. Drool has revealed that Thumper, its PSVR "rhythm hell" music title, will launch in sync with the headset on October 13th at a reasonable $20 price. As the developers put it, this isn't just a 2D game with virtual reality slapped on top. While regular TV gaming is an option, Thumper is built to create an "overwhelming sense of speed" when you're wearing PSVR. In short: if you take breaks, it may be less about VR queasiness and more about needing a respite from the game's relentless pace.

Source: PlayStation Blog, Iam8bit

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News::PS Plus members get free early access to 'Paragon' on July 5th

In more Games That Aren't Overwatch news, Epic Studios is offering PlayStation Plus members a $20 Starter Pack for its hero brawler Paragon for free. That includes early access to the game over a month before the open beta launches on August 16.

Source: Epic Games blog

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News::Last PlayStation VR pre-orders start on June 30th

Did you miss out on the first round of PlayStation VR pre-orders, but remain determined to get Sony's virtual reality headset on launch day? You have one last (official) chance to make it happen. Sony has reiterated that its final wave of American PSVR pre-orders starts on June 30th at 10AM Eastern, when you can snag the PS4 wearable through GameStop's website. The company is promising that stores will have units on release should you miss out, but let's be honest -- if you're an early adopter, you probably don't want to risk going VR-free come October 13th.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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News::Delays plague PlayStation 4 'Fallout 4' mod update

If you were looking to further explore Fallout 4's modding community as a PlayStation 4 owner, unfortunately you're going to have to wait a little longer. Bethesda has announced a delay to the PS4 Mods Beta, and hasn't yet given an ETA on when we can expect to see them become available.

Via: Destructoid

Source: Twitter

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News::NFL legend Jim Brown settles 'Madden' lawsuit with EA

Nearly eight years after Jim Brown sued EA over the use of his likeness in Madden 09, the two parties are finally settling the case. According to Hagens Berman, the law firm that represents the legendary NFL running back, Brown, 80, will receive a $600,000 compensation from the video game maker in exchange for a dismissal and release of his claims. Back in 2008 the former Cleveland Browns player said EA had asked to feature him in the popular football franchise, but he declined the request.

Via: ESPN

Source: Hagens Berman

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News::The PlayStation 4 revisited: Small improvements for a solid system

Engadget is re-reviewing the current generation of game consoles, each of which has benefited from major firmware updates, price drops and an improved selection of games. We've already revisited the Xbox One, and now it's the PlayStation 4's turn. Though we've raised the score from 83 to 86, you can still find our original PS4 review here, if you're curious to read what we said at launch.

The PlayStation 4 has outsold its closest competition, the Xbox One, for most of the time since the two systems launched in November 2013. In fact, according to recently released sales figures Sony has moved some 40 million units over the past two years. Based on the company's earnings reports, those sales have helped keep Sony afloat -- even after the console's price dropped from $400 to $350.

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News::'Oddworld' creator on how customer feedback changed gaming

When Lorne Lanning released Abe's Oddysee, the 1997 hit PlayStation and PC platformer, "most people didn't know what 'www' meant." 19 years later, the world has changed, and the videogame industry with it.

Abe's Oddysee was the first title set in Oddworld, a fictional universe that Lanning has devoted his career to. He followed it up the next year with a sequel, Abe's Exodus, released Munch's Oddysee in 2001, and Stranger's Wrath in 2005. During this time, the internet developed significantly, but developers had yet to learn how to use it to their advantage.

Lanning and I sat on the floor of a busy conference center, surrounded by developers, fans, other journalists and "terrible, terrible live music." We were supposed to meet to chat about Soulstorm, a follow-up to 2014's Abe's Oddysee remake New 'n' Tasty. Sadly, we're stuck talking around that piece of news, as just a week before our meeting the decision was made to delay the formal unveiling of the game. Luckily, Lanning is nothing if not loquacious, and instead we talk about the changing state of the industry over the past two decades.

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News::Students can get a free Xbox One with a Surface Pro 4

With a new, slimmer Xbox One waiting in the wings, Microsoft is doing everything in its power to get rid of the older model. The original Xbox One is already down to $299, and starting today students can get it for free when they buy a Surface Pro 4 in the US. As the Verge reports, you'll need to step into a retail store to take advantage of the deal -- it runs until August 14th and will be sold as a $300 discount on the pair's combined price. "So basically a free Xbox One with the purchase of a Surface Pro 4," Terry Myerson, head of Windows and devices at Microsoft confirmed.

Source: The Verge

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News::AMD's Radeon RX 480 is the new king of budget video cards

Instead of trying to build the biggest and most powerful video card on the market, AMD aimed at the low end for the Radeon RX 480. But that doesn't make it any less exciting than NVIDIA's recent powerhouse GeForce GTX 1080 and 1070 cards. AMD's pitch for the RX 480 is simple: It's a $200 card that's VR-ready. That's huge, especially since the current batch of GPUs that meet minimum VR specs cost around $350 today. I'll admit, I was skeptical when AMD announced the RX 480 at Computex last month. But after putting one through its paces over the past few days, I feel like Han Solo in The Force Awakens. It's true. All of it.

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News::Solve an FMV mystery with 'Her Story' on Android

It took a year, but Her Story, Sam Barlow's mystery game, has been ported to Android. Her Story is a full-motion video game where you're tasked with piecing together a story through watching short excerpts of interviews. The only mechanic you have at your disposal is a search tool, which lets you bring up clips that contain certain words or phrases. There are hundreds of clips to search through, and by the end of the game you'll have unravelled a fantastic story.

Her Story won many accolades, including the coveted Aaron Souppouris award for Favourite Video Game of 2015. Less prestigious organizations like the BAFTA Game Awards also recognized the game, handing out three prizes for best debut game, best mobile game, and game innovation. It's available from Google Play for $2.99, which is a couple of dollars less than its price on iOS.

Source: Sam Barlow (Google Play)

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News::Abduct four pals for couch co-op in PS4's 'Alienation'

What's better than mowing down (virtual) alien hordes with a buddy sitting right next to you? When it comes to video games, not much. That's why the fine Finnish folks at developer Housemarque are adding local co-op to the top-down, xenophobic shooter Alienation next week. Come July 5th, up to four players can join in on the same-screen mayhem according to a post on the studio's blog. That's not all either, because the update also brings in a competitive play system dubbed "leagues," and a pair of crushing new difficulty levels for the folks who could probably play the game with their eyes shut by now.

Source: Housemarque

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News::'The Banner Saga 2' is making its PS4 debut earlier than expected

The Banner Saga was a gorgeous tactical role-playing game with some of the most attractive art around, akin to that of a great-looking animated movie. Its sequel The Banner Saga 2 was planned originally for a July 26th release, but porting team Shiny Shoe is ahead of schedule, so instead it's actually coming out next Tuesday, July 5th.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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News::Valve's mobile version of Steam finally hits Windows Phone

Steam hasn't forgotten about the remaining Windows Phone faithful. It just seemed that way, with folks on Android and iOS getting a mobile app way back in 2012. The Windows Store listing says that you'll be able to use Stream Guard's authentication system, trade and sell items, keep an eye on the game marketplace and remote download and install games to your PC via the application. Just in time for this year's summer sale; how about that?

Via: Steam Community

Source: Windows Store

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News::Nintendo didn't show the NX at E3 over copycat concerns

Away from the media's prying eyes, Nintendo's investor meeting allowed some people to ask some surprisingly frank questions -- and glean a few more insights into where the company is going -- whether that's smartphones, new consoles, VR, theme parks, movies... or all the above. If you were surprised that Nintendo wasn't showing its incoming NX console (currently pegged to launch in March 2017) at E3, the world's biggest gameshow, earlier this month, there was at least a reason. According to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the company didn't because it feared copycats if it revealed the console so far in advance of the launch.

Source: NStyles (Twitter), Cheesemeister3k (Twitter, translations)

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News::The new 'Doom' gets its first update on June 30th

The new Doom is on the cusp of getting its first major update, and it appears to be worth checking out -- especially if you have fond memories of the original games. The upgrade arrives on June 30th with the option of a classic dead-center weapon view, regardless of the mode you're playing. It's there to evoke nostalgia, of course, but it'll also be helpful if you want more of a visual aid when aiming.

Source: Bethesda

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News::'Batman: Return to Arkham' delayed indefinitely

The cheery news that Batman: Arkham Knight players get a weird new costume has been overshadowed by an update that Batman: Return to Arkham, a remastered collection of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, would be delayed. A post by a WB staff member on the game's forums announced that the game wouldn't come out on its planned release day of July 29th in order to keep refining it. In fact, they don't even have a new release date, leading cynics to wonder if it's all a ploy to release it alongside Batman VR in October. Or if it will be released at all.

Source: WB Games

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News::'System Shock' remake is now live on Kickstarter with free demo

Welcome back to Citadel station. We hope your somnolent healing stage went well. We also hope you've ventured over to the official Kickstarter for Nightdive Studios' reboot of the seminal FPS/RPG hybrid System Shock, because it looks like one hell of a ride.

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News::Sony ends Ustream game broadcasts on PlayStation 4

When Sony released details about the PlayStation 4 ahead of its 2013 launch, it promoted a feature letting gamers broadcast their playing on the streaming service Ustream. Today, Sony announced that that partnership was over: On August 1st, PS4 players will only be able to livestream their gaming on Twitch, YouTube, and DailyMotion.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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News::'Overwatch' Competitive Play mode launches on PCs today

Want to prove to the world that you're a top-notch Overwatch player? You now have your chance. After a quick public beta test, Blizzard is launching the team shooter's Competitive Play mode on PCs. As before, this isn't just about participating in seasonal play. The mode invokes sudden death rounds for tie games, modifies the point system and stiffens penalties for bad behavior (such as ragequitting a match before it's over). In essence, it's all about keeping the game and its players as fair as possible.

Source: Battle.net

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News::The free story mode for 'Street Fighter V' arrives this Friday

Earlier this month, we had a chance to try the first story mode Capcom has ever put into a Street Fighter game. It's a free update for Street Fighter V owners, but there was one detail missing: a release date. Now, we know that the update will arrive on July 1st -- it's a little later than the "late June" timeframe Capcom promised, but we can't quibble too much here.

Source: Capcom

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News::G2A attempts to appease game publishers with royalty payments

After coming under fire for how it handles sales of illegal video game keys, reselling website G2A has introduced a number of new policies that it hopes will appease developers affected by the practice. The company announced that it will let game makers apply for royalty payments for any titles that appear on its marketplace. It comes after SpeedRunners publisher TinyBuild accused G2A of failing to act on $450,000 in potential lost sales, after scammers used stolen credit cards to buy legitimate keys and auction them off for profit.

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News::'Tetris' the movie is going to be a sci-fi trilogy

Empire has interviewed the man tasked with bringing a decades-old falling block game to the big screen -- and he says it's going to be a three-parter. Larry Kasanoff says that "because the story we conceived is so big. This isn't us splitting the last one of our eight movies in two to wring blood out of the stone. It's just a big story." Big story. Huge.

Source: Empire

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News::Microsoft Studios shutters Xbox Fitness at-home workouts

Xbox Fitness has provided an at-home workout with the help of the trusty game console and Microsoft's Kinect since 2013. However, the exercise option won't be around much longer. Microsoft Studios announced that the console-driven workouts would be shuttered July 1, 2017, citing the effort required to ship regular updates to keep the gym routines fresh. The company says it has "given much consideration to the reality updating the service regularly in order to sustain it."

Via: MSPowerUser

Source: Microsoft Studios

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News::'Mass Effect Andromeda' novels tie into the full video game saga

Literary pop culture powerhouse Titan Books will publish four new novels in the Mass Effect universe between August 2016 and March 2018, as outlined in its 2016 Fiction Rights Guide. The books line up with the release of Mass Effect Andromeda in March 2017, but they'll tie into the entire Mass Effect series, serving as prequels and sequels to some events in the games.

"They will focus on key characters and answer the many questions fans have been asking," Titan writes.

The first novel, Mass Effect: Andromeda Initiative, is written by The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms author and three-time Hugo Award nominee NK Jemisin. The final novel will be penned by Mac Walters, creative director of the Mass Effect franchise.

Via: Polygon

Source: Titan Books

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News::My pointless quest to achieve perfect retro console fidelity

​It all started about four years ago when I came into an old Sega Saturn system from the mid-90s. It was an entire console catalog that I completely skipped over back in the day. I hooked it up to my TV and soon I was knee-deep in classic fighting games like Street Fighter vs X-Men, and shoot-em-ups like Thunderforce V. The low-poly art style was gorgeously retro, but I quickly realized that the image was stretched and distorted on my HDTV. I googled "retro console fidelity" and that's where it all went wrong.

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News::Twitch introduces 'Cheering' emotes for tipping streamers

Twitch, the popular game-streaming site, has a funding problem. Not related to the company -- it's owned by Amazon and is just fine -- but its streamers. Like on other video platforms, creators are paid based on ad views and subscriptions, and by all accounts not at a very high rate. While popular streamers make a living -- helped in part by sponsorship deals and the like -- it can be hard for smaller channels to make ends meet. That's why the sub-economy of donations and tips exists, and today, Twitch is trying to formalize that economy with a new feature it calls "Cheering."

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News::'No Man's Sky' soundtrack is going on tour around the world

It's not often a soundtrack associated with a video game, let alone one that's not been released yet, is taken on tour and played to audiences all over the world. That's exactly what's happening with British band 65daysofstatic's No Man's Sky soundtrack, with a world tour beginning in October in the Netherlands.

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News::Bizarre 'Street Fighter' gym gear includes Zangief dumbbells

Want a beach-ready body along the stylings of Chun-Li or Daddy Ryu? Capcom is here to help. In curious exercise of branding, it's announced a selection of gym equipment (loosely) inspired by a few Street Fighter 5 challengers. You can pick from weighted gloves (Ryu or Ken 'flavors'), a training tube that has Guile's endorsement and an M. Bison inflatable punching bag, with targets for high middle and lower attacks. Naturally. There's also delightful yellow- and red-colored dumbbells for everyone's favorite hairy wrestler, Zangief, although a man of his size needed more than a 10kg bicep curl to get that swole.

Via: Engadget Japanese

Source: Capcom (Japanese)

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News::GameCenter CX - Episode 151 - Mansion of Hidden Souls

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News::BitSummit 4 takes over Kyoto with more indie games and devs

BitSummit is back. The annual Japanese indie game festival recently announced its lineup of musicians and speakers including Koji Igarashi of Bloodstained and Castlevania fame, Rez creator Tetsuya Mizguchi, Tom Happ (the man behind Axiom Verge) and Goichi "Suda51" Suda. Oh, and Sony Interactive Entertainment's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida.

Source: BitSummit (Facebook)

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News::Celebrate 20 years of 'Quake' with a brand new game episode

Quake fans have plenty of reasons to celebrate these days. Wolfenstein: The New Order developer MachineGames is championing id Software's classic first-person shooter's 20th anniversary and offering fans a little something special in return: A brand new episode of the game, downloadable for free.

Via: IGN

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News::'Destiny' distances itself from PS3 and Xbox 360 in August

It was bound to happen, the question was just a matter of when. The "it" I'm referring to, of course, is developer Bungie cutting off support for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Destiny. In a post on Bungie.net, the company says that starting in August, progression won't be shared among last-gen hardware and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. "Characters progress separately on two parallel paths," an infographic reads. Importing your character from last-gen hardware to a PS4 or Xbox One and then going back to your old system to play a strike or two with friends means that the experience points and gear earned will no longer carry over.

Source: Bungie.net

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News::Oculus stops preventing VR games from working with HTC's Vive

In a big more for openness in the VR landscape, Oculus has stepped back from its position of blocking its games from working on the HTC Vive. The company quietly issued an update for its desktop software today which strips away the headset exclusivity check that has caused VR fans so much consternation, Ars Technica reports. That limitation pushed the developers of the Revive tool, which lets Vive owners play Oculus games, to completely crack Oculus's DRM last month. But in response to today's news, the Revive devs have dumped their DRM cracking technology.

Via: Ars Technica

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News::'Halo 5: Guardians' is getting Warzone Firefight this July

With the Halo Wars 2 beta freshly ended, Halo fans are likely looking for something solid to sink their teeth into. Halo 5: Guardians developer 343 Industries has come forward with exactly that: The big Warzone Firefight update, which launches next week on July 29th. Get ready to dust off those Needlers.

Source: Xbox Wire

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News::New Gordon Ramsay mobile game brings the heat and profanity

Ever dream of working in a kitchen with Gordon Ramsay breathing down your neck? With the new Gordon Ramsay Dash game, which lands on iOS and Android next week, you can get a taste of cooking in a stressful environment under the chef's watchful eye. I had a chance to speak about the game with Ramsay himself -- who, by the way, is unnervingly calm in person.

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