PC gaming company Razer has announced the latest addition to its Chroma series of gaming keyboards, the Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma Keyboard.
Available now from the company’s website for $140, the Tournament Edition Chroma Keyboard has 16.8 million customizable color options, a detachable USB cable, and all the keys you’d expect, of course. This is all packed into a “sleek, compact form factor,” Razer writes.
“Users can define their own key zones, customize lighting effects, and add multiple effects layers on each zone for a personalized lighting display using Razer Synapse,” the company explains.
Head to the keyboard’s website to tinker with the color options to see what it has to offer.
The Tournament Edition Chroma keyboard also comes with mechanical switches that have “optimized actuation” and a “distinct tactile feel” that should help players have better reaction times in gaming sessions. Finally, the keyboard has been rated to withstand up to 60 million keystrokes, Razer said.
For a closer look at Razer’s new keyboard, check out some images in the gallery below.
Not long after a modder showed us what Grand Theft Auto V would look like in virtual reality, someone else has gone even further with the concept. Virtuix, makes of the omnidirectional virtual reality treadmill Omni, has published a video showing off GTA V in virtual reality using the upcoming treadmill technology.
Watch as the player, wearing an Oculus Rift headset and wielding a gun controller, actually runs on the treadmill to virtually move around the world of Rockstar’s Los Santos.
During this demonstration, he enters a convenience store and kills the clerk. After that he goes outside and guns down more people. Virtuix notes in the video’s description that, “We do not condone the violence in this video.”
Would you ever want to play GTA V in this manner? Let us know in the comments below.
Virtuix successfully crowdfunded the Omni treadmill on Kickstarter, raising more than $1 million. The Omni treadmill starts at $700, and you can pre-order one today from the company’s website.
GameSpot’s GTA V PC review praised the game’s improved visuals and frame rate.
“It looked great on PS4 and Xbox One, but GTA V shines on PC thanks to 4K-grade textures, the availability of additional post-processing effects, and an unlocked frame rate,” reviewer Peter Brown said. “Previous versions of the game played just fine at 30 frames per second, but you quickly appreciate the added fluidity of playing at 60 FPS (if not more) on PC.”
Following its release last year for PC and iOS, wacky be-a-goat game Goat Simulator is now available for Xbox One. The game–developed by Double Eleven (Limbo ports) and original creator Coffee Stain Studios–launched Friday, and is available now for $10.
“You no longer have to fantasize about being a goat, your dreams have finally come true,” reads a line from the game’s official description.”
In terms of gameplay, Goat Simulator has players causing as much mayhem and destruction as possible while playing as a goat. It uses a scoring system that bears a resemblance to the Tony Hawk skateboarding series. But, “instead of being a skater, you’re a goat, and instead of doing tricks, you wreck stuff.”
Double Eleven also warns that Goat Simulator for Xbox One contains “MILLIONS OF BUGS!” and other physics issues. The studio only plans to fix the major, game-breaking bugs–which makes sense, given that the bugs and oddities are part of the charm.
Goat Simulator won’t take up much space on your hard drive, as it’s only a 878.25 MB download. For a closer look at the Xbox One version of Goat Simulation, check out some images in the gallery below.
Now that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has gone gold, the open-world role-playing game has been made available for pre-order and pre-load on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Developer CD Projekt Red is not only offering the game at a nice discount for people who pre-order, but PS4 and Xbox One users can start playing at 4 PM PDT / 7 PM EDT on May 18, a few hours before the game is scheduled to launch on May 19.
It’s unclear if the PC edition of The Witcher 3 will also unlock on May 18 at 4 PM PDT. We’ve followed up with CD Projekt Red for clarification.
In addition to getting to play a few hours early, anyone who pre-orders The Witcher 3 on PS4, Xbox One, or PC now through May 18 will save 10 percent, meaning they can buy the game for $54 instead of $60.
We also now know the file sizes for the three versions of The Witcher 3. According to the game’s product pages, the PC and PS4 editions weigh in at around 35 GB, while the Xbox One version is about 25 GB. It’s not clear why the Xbox One version is a full 10 GB smaller than its counterparts.
For a closer look at The Witcher 3, check out some images in the gallery below.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS — 110,000 units in March; lifetime sales total 2.4 million units
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U — lifetime sales of nearly 1.6 million units
Nintendo hardware sales, meanwhile–including Wii U and 3DS systems–jumped by 60 percent for the first three months of 2015 compared to the same time period last year.
For more on March NPDs, check out the stories below:
Julian Assange’s Wikileaks on Thursday published thousands of files stemming from the Sony Pictures hack. In all, the group released more than 30,000 documents by way of a searchable database titled “The Sony Archives.” Some of these files, mainly emails sent between staffers including former Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal, even have ties to video games–specifically the Uncharted movie.
We’ve pored over the leaked emails and some of the most interesting findings are listed below.
Regarding the release of the documents–which were originally exposed last year reportedly by North Korean hackers–Assange said in a statement: “It is newsworthy and at the center of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there.”
But Sony Pictures isn’t thrilled. In a statement to TheLos Angeles Times, a representative for the film company said it was unfortunate that Wikileaks decided to release the documents today.
“The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort,” a Sony Pictures spokesperson said. “We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks’ assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees.”
With that out of the way…
The Uncharted Movie:
Comparisons to National Treasure:
In an October 2014 email sent to Pascal and other Sony executives, Columbia Pictures senior vice president Jonathan Kadin outlined how he thought the Nicolas Cage movie National Treasure was a “softer” and “sillier” movie than the script in the works for Uncharted.
“National Treasure is certainly a fun movie with an engaging historical mystery (and Uncharted can deliver on those elements), but the action sequences are softer, mostly wide shots and very little physical mano-a-mano fights, gunfire, or up close intensity,” he said. “They aren’t inspired. They don’t feel real.”
Kadin went on to say that that National Treasure‘s opening scene, which depicted Nicolas Cage and Sean Bean duking it out in a “dialogue-heavy scene,” didn’t have enough action. But Uncharted will, Kadin said.
“Compare this to our opening scene with Drake on the plane teetering on the mountain, taking on armed men as the plane slides soft the cliff,” he said. “It should be intense and more engaging for adults, and of course young teens as well.”
“Nathan Drake has a sense of humor and fun banter with Sully, or clever verbal sparring with Elena, but the script never feels goofy or silly,” he adds.
Kadin also says that the Uncharted movie would have a better romantic story than National Treasure, which saw Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger falling in love after Kruger’s character initially shows no interest–and even disdain–for Cage’s character, Benjamin Gates. “It’s also worth noting that the Nate and Elena relationship is a lot sexier and more fun than the Nic Cage-Diane Kruger relationship in National Treasure. A lot more!! The romantic tension in National Treasure was pretty lame.”
“National Treasure is fun no doubt, but Uncharted takes the action adventure movie to a more grounded, contemporary and visceral level, and we need to do that given what audiences have been exposed to since the National Treasure movies,” he added. “So, we’ll get the kids for sure, but we’ll have a movie that can be strong enough–and ‘cool’ enough–for adults.”
Early Thoughts on the Story:
Sony Pictures creative executive Adam North, in a November 2013 email, describes the Uncharted movie as a “really fun summer adventure film like the Lara Croft movies (with a little bit of Dan Brown thrown in).” Dan Brown, of course, is the author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, among others.
His thoughts on the script at that point: “Drake needs to have more aching questions about his past and where his family comes from so that this discovery that he’s related to Francis Drake has personal meaning for him. Right now it’s a surprise, but it doesn’t feel emotional.”
The Script:
Safe House writer David Guggenheim sent a script to Amy Pascal in July 2014. You can read the entire 124-page script here. It’s fascinating, at least the parts I read. Check out one page below. But it’s worth noting that The Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal has since come aboard to write a new draft.
Script Revisions:
In response to notes from Mark Wahlberg, at one point the frontrunner to play Nathan Drake, the script was updated with a number of changes later in July 2014, Kadin says in an email sent to Pascal and Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad. Chief among the changes were adjustments that dialed back the film’s “buddy movie” nature to make it more clearly “Drake’s story.”
In addition, “We’ve added more to Elena’s story with Drake so their relationship feels like the primary relationship in the story,” Kadin said. There’s loads more details to be found in the document here.
Uncharted Not as Big as Assassin’s Creed, and Why That Doesn’t Matter:
Belgrad openly admits in a July 2014 email to Pascal that the Assassin’s Creed series–a multiplatform franchise–may be bigger than the PlayStation-only Uncharted series in terms of units sold–3X as big, according to his estimation. But he says this won’t stop the Uncharted movie from being a success.
“Assassin’s has sold like 3x more games worldwide on all platforms than Uncharted and had a more recent release that was huge,” he said. “But we don’t need to be bigger than Assassin’s Creed to justify an Uncharted movie.”
Belgrad writes in this May 2014 email that the company was pushing for Thor actor Chris Hemsworth to play Nathan Drake, with Wahlberg and Channing Tatum also in the running.
Money:
It’s unclear if the offer was ever put in front of Wahlberg, but Sony discussed a $15 million package for the actor to appear in Uncharted, according to a June 2014 email from Columbia Pictures business head Michael Marshall.
Shooting Locations:
Kadin says in a June 2014 email to Pascal and other Sony Pictures executives that Australia and Mexico were potential filming locations for the Uncharted movie, in addition to a sound stage in Toronto.
“[Mark Wahlberg] said he doesn’t want to do a lot of green screen,” Kadin said. “He wants as much locations as possible. Wants NATE to feel more like Bourne than Indy and of course [director Seth Gordon] agreed.”
The NPD today released physical sales date for the video games in the US during March. And much like February’s top-selling games, last month had a varied assortment of titles covering the full range of consoles.
The ordering of consoles in the list below indicates which platform each game sold the most on. Thus, Battlefield Hardline and Grand Theft Auto V sold the most on Xbox One, while Bloodborne and Mario Party 10 were console-exclusives that performed strongly.
NPD Group’s US Games Industry Sales (New, Physical Only)
The NPD Group’s Liam Callahan noted in a statement, “March 2015 software sales showed growth across all three eighth generation consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Wii U), collectively increasing by 58 percent versus March 2014. This is a sign of the health of the eight generation console space; especially when considering the strong March 2014 software releases (as a comparison) such as Titanfall and inFamous: Second Son.”
The NPD’s statement also mentions that last month’s number one title, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D “would make the top ten software list when ranked on a SKU basis rather than a title basis. “One thing that the list above does not take into account is the full range of digital sales. Retail giant GameStop mentioned last month that digital sales had risen 41%.
The momentum for Nintendo software and systems should continue over the next few months thanks to a strong lineup of software that includes the just-released Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (New Nintendo 3DS XL, April 10) and Splatoon (Wii U, May 29) games.
The NPD today released its regular report for the month of March, revealing the PlayStation 4 has returned to the top of the sales charts in the United States.
It was Nintendo’s 3DS that came out on top in February thanks to the debut of the New 3DS. But that performance would last only a single month, as the PS4 is again number one, according to a Sony statement issued alongside the NPDs (which cover March 1 through April 4).
Overall, the month was not as strong as March of 2014 for hardware; sales of consoles and handhelds totaled $311.1 million this year, compared with $393.4 million last year. The NPD Group’s Liam Callahan notes unit sales were down only 9 percent year-over-year, but lower prices account for the 21 percent drop in dollar sales.
“Console hardware was the primary culprit responsible for the March 2015 sales decline, with a 29 percent, or $104 million decrease, in spending while portable hardware rose by 71 percent over last year,” Callahan noted.
Specific sales figures for each platform were not announced.
In a statement, Microsoft chose to focus on how Xbox One sales “continued to outpace Xbox 360 sales at the same point in its lifecycle.”
As for Nintendo, it stated that total hardware sales of the 3DS in 2015 have increased 80 percent compared with the first three months of 2014. Likewise, total Wii U hardware sales are up 20 percent year-over-year during the first quarter of the year.
Electronic Arts today announced the release date for this year’s football sim, Madden NFL 16: August 25, 2015.
EA delivered the shocking news that “Madden NFL 16 is in development” in a brief blog post, promising we’ll start to learn something of substance in May. I put it that way because the company offered literally nothing beyond the release date and logo above–there are no screenshots, teaser trailers, platforms (the usual consoles seem like a safe bet, but that’s no guarantee of continued Xbox 360/PS3 support), or indications of what developer EA Tiburon’s focus will be on this year.
