This week on Snapshots, Geralt in the shadows, a creepy giant worm, swimming lions, lonely train tracks in Days Gone, some curious robots and one big and angry demon.
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Author: dpugh007
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Seattle-Area Video Game Companies Sending Workers Home Amid Coronavirus Concerns
The Seattle area has been a particular area of concern for the growing threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States, and a number of tech and gaming companies have made the challenging decision to adjust their work policies as a result. In just the last couple of days, many of these companies have begun to encourage its employees in the Seattle area (and surrounding cities) to work from home, or have closed up their offices entirely while continuing work remotely.
Yesterday, Bungie announced that it has enacted a plan for a “fully remote work infrastructure” for all its workers worldwide, including its Bellevue studio, which normally acts as the employment home base for several hundred workers. Bungie acknowledges in its statement that the new remote work plan could “affect patching cadence in the short term“ for Destiny 2, and the team’s goal is to keep players informed about shifting schedules. However, the impending launch of the next season of the game on March 10, and the Trials of Osiris relaunch on March 13, should be unaffected.
Other companies are also adjusting plans. Microsoft has encouraged workers to work from home through March 25. Nintendo told Kotaku in a recent statement that it has taken the precaution to allow workers in California and Washington state to work from home.
Many of North America’s largest gaming companies are based on the west coast, in areas like Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area, which are already troubled by the coronavirus threat. Depending on the progress of the disease and its spread, it’s not unrealistic to expect additional game and tech companies to be forced to adjust their working policies.
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Doom Eternal’s Soundtrack Features A Heavy Metal Choir, Hear Them Now
Bethesda Softworks and id Software released a new trailer that shows the assembly and recording of a heavy metal choir for Doom Eternal’s soundtrack. This choir features a variety of different singers and musicians from bands like Ministry and The World I Knew, and is the brain child of Doom Eternal’s composer Mick Gordon and lead audio designer Chad Mossholder.
To get the singers in the mood, Gordon and company tinted the lights red and placed a number of candles in the recording space. The end product sounds cool as hell, which you can hear for yourself at the end of trailer.
Doom Eternal launches on March 20 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. A Switch version is also in the works, but it arrives at a later date in 2020.
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Yacht Club Definitely Interested In A Shovel Knight Sequel, But Is Focused On “New Things” Right Now
After six years the team wants to do something else.
At this year’s PAX East, Yacht Club Games said it was “absolutely” considering a direct sequel to Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.
Now, in a Reddit AMA on the Nintendo subreddit, the talented indie developer and publisher has added to this previous comment – explaining how it’s definitely up for a sequel, but likely won’t be making one any time soon. Here’s the full response from Yacht Club’s programmer David D’Angelo:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
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Square Enix’s Yoshinori Kitase Would Like To Remake Final Fantasy V
Reviving the medieval-fantasy RPG.
Next month is a busy period for Square Enix, with not one but two remakes coming out.
This has got many fans of the company wondering what else could be remade in the future. While Square Enix hasn’t said anything official itself, during a recent interview with Game Reactor, veteran producer Yoshinori Kitase – who has just wrapped up work on the Final Fantasy VII: Remake – was asked what game he would like remake next. Here’s what he had to say:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
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One-of-a-Kind Nintendo PlayStation Prototype Fetches $300,000
Most expensive gaming memorabilia ever.
The ultra-rare Nintendo PlayStation prototype which went to auction several weeks back has sold for $300,000, making it the most expensive piece of gaming memorabilia ever sold. Despite the record, the figure seems low for what is effectively a one-of-a-kind console, which up until recently many assumed didn’t exist in physical form. The buyer will pay around $360,000 when all’s said and done, once the “buyer’s premium” has been factored in.
It’s unclear who the lucky owner of the unit is right now, but Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey did participate in the auction at one point. For those who haven’t followed this story from the start, the prototype was originally owned by former Sony Computer Entertainment America president Olaf Olafsson and was purchased by a man named Terry Diebold at a bankruptcy auction. It cost just $75 at the time. Incredibly it’s still in full working order, although we wouldn’t recommend using such an expensive appliance for a round of Super Mario World.
Read the full article on pushsquare.com
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Resident Evil 3’s Nemesis Can’t Enter Safe Rooms, Spiders Will Return
Oh god, oh man.
Update: Well, it looks like some of us will be able to sleep a little easier at night now. It turns out that the Official Xbox Magazine actually misreported this, mistaking the room they were in for a safe room. Capcom has now confirmed that Nemesis will not be able to break into safe rooms — designated by the ambient, classic music you’ll hear upon entering.
Original story: Just when you thought Nemesis couldn’t get any scarier, it has now been confirmed that the terrifying Tyrant will be able to enter safe rooms in Resident Evil 3. Yes, you read that correctly, the S.T.A.R.S. stalker will be the first enemy in franchise history able to enter the traditionally relaxing areas where Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine would usually take a breather.
Read the full article on pushsquare.com
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Google Home smart speakers lose John Legend’s voice, because the world is cruel
Get ready to play mournful pop songs on your smart speakers, folks – it looks like Google Assistant is losing its John Legend voice option on March 23.
As part of Google’s celebrity cameo program for its popular voice assistant, the All of Me and Ordinary People singer John Legend has been an optional voice to use when chatting with your compatible home smart speakers, such as the Google Home or Google Nest Hub Max.
It’s unclear why John Legend’s voice will no longer be available, though it may be that Google always had a limited-time agreement with the pop singer.
- Best smart speakers to buy today
- Google Assistant: what you need to know
- Should you buy a Google Home?
John Legend first appeared on Google Home smart speakers back in April 2019, and the roughly year-long activation period supports the idea of a limited-time agreement.
What’s going on in that beautiful mind?
The inclusion of John Legend gave some much-needed personality to the Google Assistant, given his famously smooth vocal chords – with some delightfully personal responses to questions around music, serenading, or his partner (and Luigi’s Mansion enthusiast) Chrissy Tiegen.
Legend’s departure may be sad for some – especially given the paucity of voice personalization for most smart assistants, beyond basic gender or language options – though it does suggest we may be seeing another performer / celebrity take his place in the coming months. Until then, it looks like we’ll be having conversations in the dark without him.
For now, we’ll leave you with Chrissy Tiegen’s uncanny impression of Nintendo’s Luigi in this Twitter video, because you deserve something nice today.
- How to change Alexa’s voice – though not, alas, to John Legend
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The best March Madness TV sales: 4K TV deals from Samsung, LG, Sony and more
March Madness is almost here (March 17 to be exact), and to celebrate the big dance retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are discounting its best-selling 4K TVs. You can find incredible deals on a range of televisions from top brands like Samsung, Sony, LG, and more. To help you sort through all the offers, we’ve listed the best March Madness TV deals and sales that are happening now.
Our top March Madness TV picks include everything from a mid-size 43-inch TV to a massive 75-inch set, with prices starting at just $218 and different features like HDR, smart functionality and voice control.
To make things easier for you, we’ve split our selection of TVs into three categories: the outright best TVs for watching your favorite team, the best mid-range TVs, and the best budget TVs. We’ve included a range of different sizes in each category, and we’ve also picked a standout bargain for our March Madness TV deal of the week.
See our top TV deals below and make sure to bookmark this page as we’ll be updating it with all the best TV sales leading up to the big dance.
The best March Madness TV deals 2020:
The Vizio P-Series Quantum X TV is loaded with premium features and provides cinema-like image quality – perfect for watching the big tournament. The Ultra HD TV features Quantum Dot technology, which delivers deep blacks and bright, bold colors for sharp contrast and lifelike images. The smart TV is available in 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes and features voice control support for Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.
Shop more of our top picks for the best TV deals for watching March Madness.
This mid-range TV is available in 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch screen sizes, and is part of the TCL’s 6-series lineup, which means you’ll get a premium picture experience with Dolby Vision HDR, which delivers extreme contrasts and vibrant colors. The smart TV has the Roku experience built in, so you can stream movies and TV shows from the home screen of your TV. The enhanced remote also allows you to use your voice to change the channel, launch movies, turn the TV off, and more.
Shop more of our top picks for the best mid-range TV deals.
The LG UM6900PUA TV comes in a range of sizes, starting at 49 inches and going all the way up to 65 inches. The budget TV features smart capabilities, so you can stream your favorite movies and TV shows all in one place with webOS. You’ll enjoy a stunning picture with realistic images thanks to the quad-core processor, which improves images, action, and color. The LG TV also works with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant and features AirPlay 2, which allows you to stream content from your TV to your iPad, iPhone, or Mac.
Shop more of our top picks for the best budget TV deals.
Shop more TV offers with our roundup of the best cheap TV deals and sales that are happening now.
You can also see the best TVs of 2020: 10 big-screen TVs worth buying this year.Powered by WPeMatico
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Noise Cancelling: the best new tech podcast around?
Well, this is a bit exciting. We’re launching a podcast… well, actually, we’ve launched one, as it’s already here.
Noise Cancelling is going to be your favorite weekly podcast encompassing the world of technology, giving you a new and (hopefully) entertaining alternative look at all the news, reviews and features that we write about here each week.
Our new podcast isn’t just going to be from the top writers from this site though. Joining me, Gareth Beavis (Global Editor in Chief of TechRadar) will be Sherri L. Smith (Editor in Chief of Laptop Mag), as well as regular guests from Tom’s Guide and other brands too as we enlist the best names from the suite of tech sites at Future Publishing (our parent company).
Week one: expensive wheels
In this inaugural episode, we welcome special guest James Peckham, TechRadar’s Phones Editor, to give us the lowdown on why Apple might be forced to pay out $25 to select iPhone users, as well as give us his take on whether the S20 range is going to be a success.
There’s also talk about whether you should have a lock on wheels that cost $400 (we’re looking at you, Apple Mac Pro) and we find out which laptop has set a new benchmark for battery life in the Laptop Mag laboratories.
There’s also a question whether VR is really ever going to make it mainstream, a smackdown on cloud gaming and the key point: does Sherri know how much a wheel costs?
All this and more on the all-new Noise Cancelling podcast – subscribe on Spotify, grab it on Apple podcasts or find us wherever you get your pods.
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