News::Razer's gaming Ultrabook lets you bring your own video card

If you're a gamer, you don't have it easy when buying laptops: you may want a sleek, lightweight Ultrabook when you're traveling, but you also want the big, powerful desktop replacement when you're home. What to do? Razer thinks you can have both. It's launching the Blade Stealth, a 12.5-inch ultraportable with some proper gaming cred. Its centerpiece is an optional Thunderbolt 3-powered dock, the Core (below), that lets you use most any modern desktop graphics card when integrated video won't cut it -- if you just have to play Battlefront at max detail with a GeForce GTX 980 Ti, you can. It has Ethernet and four USB 3.0 ports, too, so you only need to plug in one cable to get all your usual peripherals.

Source: Razer

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1IPXne1

News::Intel is taking its fight against GamerGate even further

The most important news from last year's CES was Intel's $300 million response to GamerGate, the caustic online movement that targeted women with vicious harassment. But talk is cheap, even with that high of a price-tag on it. How has the tech titan fared since that announcement? Some 43 percent of its new hires were women and underrepresented minorities since, CEO Brian Krzanich said near the end of the company's media briefing.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1VHeqRc

News::HP's Envy Phoenix gaming desktop will support HTC's new VR headset

If the events of the past year have proven anything, it's that VR is going to be a big, big deal. HP certainly gets it, and that's why it inked a curious partnership with HTC — they of the new, improved Vive headset — to build a high-end machine called the Envy Phoenix meant specifically for virtual reality gaming. And hey, it's a little cheaper than one might expect too: we're told prices will start at $1,700 when the Phoenix officially launches on January 16th.

Dana Wollman contributed to this report.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1mEIMrs

News::PlayStation Now just got 40-plus new PS3 games

Sony announced the addition of more than 40 PS3 games to its Now service, bringing the total number of available PS3 games to 300, 100 of which are PS3 exclusives. Additionally, Sony's offering a pretty steep discount on the Now service itself for the holidays -- $100 for a full year's subscription. That's more than half off what they normally charge. The discount offer runs through Monday, January 11th.

[Image Credit: Getty]

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1OyfyVY

News::'Rise of the Tomb Raider' officially hits PCs this month

The latest Lara Croft game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, launches on Steam, the Windows store and other retailers on January 28th, Square Enix announced today. Rise of the Tomb Raider popped up on Steam last month with a vague promise to hit PC sometime in January. It wasn't the most complicated clue to figure out, but at least it turned out to be accurate.

Source: Square Enix

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1PICKQo

News::The Engadget CES stage show kicks off at 1:05PM ET tomorrow

Sure, here at CES we're scouring the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center (and hotel suites in a roughly three miles radius) for all the latest tech toys to write about. But that part of our work isn't exactly fun to watch. Fortunately, we have you covered with live news and entertainment from our stage all week long. From daily previews and recaps, video game competitions, interviews with tech's biggest names and even a chance for our dear readers to join in the fun, there's pretty much always going to be something to watch. Best of all, it'll take you no effort at all to It all to keep on top of all the goings ons. You'll be able to watch every minute of our stage programing right on the homepage. And it all kicks off here in 24 hours. Check out our entire schedule for the week below.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1Z63p1b

News::Play as Ronda Rousey in EA Sports' 'UFC 2' in March

UFC 2 lands on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 15th, and pre-orders are open right now. Pre-ordering grants players day-one access to UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten, "The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba and one mystery fighter.

Source: YouTube

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1PKYblL

News::PlayStation 4 sales top 35 million after a huge holiday

If you had a hunch that the PlayStation 4 would keep up its gangbuster sales rate through the holiday season... well, you guessed correctly. Sony is crowing that lifetime sales of the PS4 have reached 35.9 million, 5.7 million of which were sold this holiday alone. In other words, a sixth of all PS4 owners joined in just the past few months. Many of these customers are online, too -- PlayStation Plus subscriptions jumped 60 percent compared to a year earlier.

Source: PlayStation Blog (translated)

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1PKPEPx

News::Oculus gives Kickstarter backers the finished Rift for free

Sometimes, it pays to be an early adopter. Oculus just revealed that it's handing out free Kickstarter Editions of the finished Rift headset to everyone who pledged enough money to get the development kit during the original crowdfunding drive. Yes, you heard that right -- you won't have to pre-order the completed virtual reality goggles if you were eager to get a prototype in 2012. The hardware ships with the copies of Eve: Valkyrie and Lucky's Tale that regular customers get, too.

Source: Oculus

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1OJGPXt

News::HTC's making virtual reality safe for the home with Chaperone

I was standing with my back facing a large glass window, the mammoth casinos that punctuate Vegas' vast expanse of excess and desert showboating behind me. Here, on the top floor of the Wynn's opulent Tower suite, a staff photographer, moving around the room looking like some sort of bluish, 2D negative image, was instructing me to strike various poses of the decidedly unsexy sort. I was outfitted with the head-mounted display and wand controllers that make up HTC's revamped virtual reality developer kit, the Vive Pre, which it recently unveiled at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. It wasn't the first time I found myself looking ridiculous while modeling bulky VR hardware for a photographer, but it was the first time I managed to avoid doing it blindly.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1kImSlK

News::Origin has an all-in-one gaming PC, too

One trend we didn't expect to see at CES this week was all-in-one gaming PCs. But here we are with another, this time from the folks at Origin PC. Dubbed the "Omni," the machine packs quite a bit of customization for its class. The company's calling it the "world's most powerful and customizable" device of its kind, saying that there's room for up to an Intel Core i7 5960X processor and a 12GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X under its 34-inch Ultra-wide 3K display (3440 x 1440 resolution).

Source: Origin PC

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1Sx8k6g

News::Maingear proves that all-in-ones can be monster gaming PCs

Ask gamers why they don't buy all-in-one PCs and they'll usually give you two main reasons: the hardware isn't beefy enough, and it's rare that you can upgrade after the fact. Well, Maingear might have both issues licked. Its new Alpha 34 crams genuinely good hardware behind a curved, 34-inch 1440p display -- we're talking up to an 8-core Intel Core i7 processor (or an 18-core Xeon chip), NVIDIA Titan X graphics and other parts you'd normally expect in a big tower. You can still expand it with desktop-sized parts, and there's optional liquid cooling to spare you from listening to fans all day.

Source: Maingear

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1PcB4f1

News::PlayStation Network is down, Sony confirms (update)

It's a rough Monday for Sony, as the PlayStation Network appears to be experiencing widespread issues. Sony acknowledge that it's aware of the problems, which have affected PS4, PS3 and Vita users for pretty much the entire morning. The company's network status tracker also notes that all of PSN's services are having issues. There's no word when service will be restored, but we'd imagine Sony is working feverishly to get things sorted ahead of its CES press conference tomorrow. We've reached out to Sony for additional comment and will update if we hear back.

We're aware that some users are having trouble accessing PSN. Thanks for your patience as we investigate. https://t.co/8hMUSl2cCe

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) January 4, 2016

Update: Judging by Twitter, PSN services are back in action, with head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida confirming as much.

As people are tweeting, PSN is back online. Very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. https://t.co/y3aO5iiWfn

— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) January 5, 2016

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1MPG33I

News::The 3DRudder is a $175 VR controller for your feet

Last year 3DRudder let us put our kicks on its feet-based motion controller, but it wasn't quite ready for the full VR demo. This year the team is back with an Oculus headset attached so we can get the proper experience of its device. From my experience, the balance board isn't much different than what we've seen, as itis embedded gyroscope, accelerometer and pressure sensors gave me hands-free control through a 3D environment with six-degrees of freedom. I picked up the controls pretty quickly, and I could definitely see using this in combination with a mouse/keyboard or game controller. The 3DRudder VR Edition is supposed to ship by the end of March, and pre-orders are open now for $175/€175.

Source: 3DRudder

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1ZLaEIQ

News::Mekamon is a battle bot with an augmented reality twist

A couple of little four-legged battle bots could be the future of gaming. Reach Robotics, a UK-based company, is pushing for mixed reality gaming with modular robots called Mekamons that will face off both in the digital and physical worlds. They're building an augmented reality game with these intelligent bots that are capable of launching a full-blown attack on each other. Their existing prototype at CES has infrared, bluetooth and an in-built compass to help it detect the exact location of an opponent for an accurate attack in a multi-player game. For now, they're using an app to control, arm and level up the bot in a single player game (the only working format at the event).

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1S0Z9vt

News::Lenovo Y900 'Razer Edition' gaming desktop to launch in June

Project Christine, Razer's boldly designed modular gaming PC, still hasn't surfaced as a commercial product -- but that doesn't mean you can't get a Razer-branded gaming desktop. Lenovo just announced that its Ideacenter Y900 gaming rig will be getting its Razer makeover this summer, equipping it with revised case lighting, a mouse and a keyboard that all work on Razer's Chroma system.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1PJidNm

News::Lenovo's new gaming laptop has one-touch overclocking

Lenovo announced the release of a new 17-inch gaming laptop on Monday, dubbed the Y900. It's part of the Y Series of gaming devices and features some impressive specs. It boasts a quad core 6th Gen Intel Core i7, an NVIDIA GTX 980M graphics card and a mechanical keyboard. What's more, the Y900 will reportedly include a One Touch Turbo button that further boosts the laptop's performance. It will retail for $2,000 when it debuts in June.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1Uryeqq

News::It's official: Activision buys legendary eSports company MLG

Mike Sepso co-founded the eSports organization Major League Gaming in 2002. In October 2015, he left MLG to work for Activision Blizzard -- the studio behind Destiny, Call of Duty and Hearthstone -- as Senior Vice President of its new competitive-gaming business led by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein. In the division's first major move, Activision today announced its purchase of MLG's eSports staff and assets in a deal reported to be worth $46 million. Sepso just helped Activision acquire the business he founded 13 years ago.

Did he ever dream of ending up in a situation like this?

"No one could have put that together," Sepso tells me, laughing. "And if you'd asked me four months ago, I would have said no."

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1OHQsja

News::AMD's new graphics core is built for laptop gaming

For all the talk of fast graphics in thin laptops, the technology isn't quite there yet. You typically have to choose between a bulky gaming machine and a thin system with pokey low-end video. AMD thinks it might have the cure, however. It just offered a peek at a new graphics architecture, Polaris, that promises gaming-grade performance without the power draw. In Star Wars Battlefront, one of AMD's future chipsets is 61 percent more energy-efficient than a GeForce GTX 950 with similar performance -- in the mobile world, that could make the difference between a slim portable and a big desktop replacement. Even if AMD is cherry-picking the results, this could still lead to speedier visual in laptops and any other small PCs where heat and power are problems.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: AMD

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1RcoDX4

News::Mysterious adventure game 'ReCore' heads to PC, too

ReCore is a mysterious project from Mega Man and Mighty No. 9 legend Keiji Inafune, but today we get a sliver of fresh information -- it's launching on PC as well as Xbox One. Microsoft quietly dropped the PC news in a post on Xbox Wire. ReCore is due to launch in 2016 on both platforms, Microsoft says, though the game's previous release window was a more specific, "spring 2016." We've reached out to Microsoft for clarification on ReCore's expected release date.

Source: Xbox Wire

via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/1JTzb5m