Monthly Archives: January 2014
Broken Age Coming to Steam Early Access Tomorrow (UPDATE: Changed Release Date and Plan)
UPDATE: Double Fine has announced on their Broken Age Kickstarter page that Broken Age would not be coming to Steam on January 14 as a Steam Early Access release. Plans changed just hours before launch and now Broken Age will be released in two acts as a Season Pass bundle. The release date will be announced later on January 28th.
In explaining the change, Double Fine said, “For various logistical reasons, and because we believe Act 1 is a polished and satisfying piece of content in its own right, Broken Age will be a standard Steam release that includes a ‘Season Pass’ granting access to Act 2 once it is complete.”
The original story follows and is included for information purposes only.
Share this:
Star Wars: Episode VII Undergoing Massive Changes in Pre-Production
Remember when you were excited for a new Star Wars trilogy to continue the story beyond what was already in the Expanded Universe. Noted Star Wars fan J.J. Abrams was directing. Oscar-winner Michael Arndt was tabbed to write the script. Everyone and their mother was meeting with Abrams. Some of the top behind the camera in Hollywood were onboard, including John Williams and Ben Burtt.
Now, the latest rumours about Episode VII are a little less promising. Nothing is confirmed or set in stone but rumours that indicate retconning established Star Wars canon concerns me.
Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
CES 2014 Roundup
With the annual Consumer Electronics Show come and gone for another year, it’s time for us to look at the best and most interesting bits of news and technology. We’ve already looked at the Valve-endorsed Steam Machines and Sony’s PlayStation Now cloud gaming service but there’s so much more to CES than those two things.
So here are five new pieces of hardware and software that I thought were the most interesting.
Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
Geek Links of the Week
The hacker who reopened the Steubenville rape case could face a prison term that’s up to five times longer than the rapists. The law doesn’t always equal justice. [HackRead]
Last weekend, Mega boss Kim Dotcom was the subject of two very different profiles by 60 Minutes and Vice. Interestingly contrasting views of the man. [Warming Glow]
Mashable just raised $13 million to fund an expansion effort. Anybody want to give et geekera even 1% of that to hire some writers, produce more content, move off of WP.com, make the site look better and turn this into a cutting edge operation? No? Just thought I’d ask. [CNN Money]
Apparently a recent episode of Agents of SHIELD quietly incorporated a piece of Mass Effect 3 concept art. Who knew? [Eurogamer]
Which actor is the deadliest in Hollywood? Not as in who has killed the most careers but who has killed the most people on-screen. [Randal S. Olson]
Share this:
Gone Home Review: A House is Not a Home
This year’s surprise hit game was a little indie game called Gone Home. The debut effort of a small indie dev made up of BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den devs is in a way inspired by BioShock but much simpler and focused. For many critics, the straight-forward focus on story made it near-perfect and the game of the year. Many gamers, though, didn’t find it as good as it was hyped up to be. So where does it fall on the spectrum?
Read the rest of this entry
Share this:
China Lifts Ban on Games Consoles
Just in time for the start of a new console generation, the Chinese government has rescinded a 14-year-old ban on the sale of video game consoles in the country. The temporary ban will allow Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to sell their consoles in China for the first time since 2000.
Share this:
The Economics of Steam Trading Cards and the Steam Wallet
It’s been six months since Steam introduced their Trading Cards. When they first launched, I was utterly confused as to why anyone would be interested in virtual trading cards that had no purpose and no value. It just seemed like a way for Valve to make some money that no one would buy into.
However, having just completed the Steam Holiday Sale, it’s readily apparent that Valve has hit a home run with the Trading Cards. It’s not just the transaction fees that are making Valve money. The spin-off effect from Trading Cards does just as much to make Steam even more profitable.
Share this:
Sony Officially Reveals PlayStation Now Cloud Gaming Service
The cloud gaming service formerly called Gaikai and informally referred to by gaming news writers as PlayStation Cloud was officially announced by Sony at CES. The service is now called PlayStation Now and is going to be available on just about every device that you can imagine.
Share this:
Sony’s New Patent to Add Content to Classic Games Played in the Cloud
When Sony rolls out its PlayStation Cloud service on the PlayStation 4 later this year, you might see some new content in your favourite classic games. A newly revealed Sony patent indicates that Sony is planning introduce new content into emulated games, including those emulated and streamed by Gaikai.
Share this:
Valve Unveils Thirteen Steam Machines at CES 2014
We came into CES 2014 expecting Valve to show off some of the Steam Machines that various third parties were making. However, I don’t think we expected over a dozen Steam Machines to choose from when they start rolling out. According to Valve, each of these machines will come loaded with Steam OS and will include a Steam Controller.
So let’s look at all of the Steam Machine manufacturers and what they’re offering.
et geekera 