Playcast launches beta trial for Ouya
Ouya began life as a Kickstarter darling that everyone was talking about. However, since its actual launch, the little Android gaming console has largely been a non-factor in the market.
Now Playcast may bring a bit more legitimacy to the platform, as the service has begun beta testing on the Ouya box. Playcast, if you aren't familiar, is a cloud gaming service that licenses and offers console-level games, from shooters to action, sports, and more.
Sony's new PS4 update makes it easier for gamers to edit and share videos
At GDC last month Sony announced update 1.70 for the PlayStation 4 gaming console. Now some details are beginning to trickle out about what customers can expect from the update, the biggest of which seems to be a new method for editing and sharing gaming videos.
Known as SHAREfactory, the service will let gamers edit and customize these clips before sharing them with everyone. This isn't just simple editing either, it will allow the customer to utilize filters, transitions, and even add text and stickers.
Amazon unveils Fire TV -- a set-top box with streaming video and games
The rather crowded market of set-top boxes out there just got a bit larger with the announcement from Amazon that it will be joining the battle for control of your living room. Competing with the likes of Roku, Google TV and Apple TV is not easy, but Amazon is the equivalent of a 600-pound gorilla in the room.
The online retail giant already operates a popular TV and movie streaming service through its Prime program, and also has seen success in the hardware market with Kindle -- both e-readers and tablets. Now it attempts to take that experience and roll it into a device that it hopes will be welcomed into your daily entertainment experience.
Keepin' it virtually real -- Facebook buys Oculus VR for $2 billion
It has been a day of purchases today. If Intel purchasing wearable tech outfit Basis was not enough, everyone's favorite social network (or something like that), Facebook has splashed the cash on virtual reality startup Oculus VR. In a deal worth $2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg's company will hand over $400 million in greenbacks, in addition to 23.1 million Facebook shares. The purchase comes just weeks after Facebook bought messaging service Whatsapp for $19 billion.
Oculus VR is most readily associated with gaming, but Zuckerberg is more interested in the communication potential. Millions of people use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, celebrities and companies, but the firm wants to take things further. "We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences", says Zuckerberg in a statement on Facebook.
Yahoo introduces Games Network with touch-friendly playable classics
The gaming industry continues to move forward. While consoles and PCs are still popular platforms, mobile has become a growing force for game developers, with smartphones and tablets providing the perfect platforms for casual touch-based entertainment. The market becomes a bit more crowded today, as one more major name jumps into the ring.
Yahoo announces a new Games Network that will feature classic titles that it hopes will spark interest and nostalgia. It comes in two parts, really, because it is also for developers who wish to distribute new titles.
Alienware and Crytek join forces for Linux gaming
It used to be that if you were a gamer, you needed to run Windows or buy a console. For the most part, that is still true -- Windows is the king of PC gaming. However, gaming on OS X and Linux has made incredible progress. One of the biggest game-changers for Linux gaming has been Valve's SteamOS. This is a specialized Linux distribution that focuses on game playing and management.
While Valve deserves the appreciation of the Linux community, it is never a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. The old saying is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. With that said, the future of Linux gaming cannot be trusted with Valve alone -- nothing against the company, of course. Today, Dell's Alienware division announces a partnership with game-developer Crytek to further the progress of Linux-gaming.
Fixya reveals top problems affecting Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U consoles
Games consoles, like any complicated piece of hardware, can go wrong in myriad ways, and usually at the most inappropriate moment -- when your wife’s out for the evening and you’ve got a freshly purchased copy of Titanfall, and a group of trigger-happy friends standing by, for example.
Popular product Q&A service Fixya has sifted through over 40,000 troubleshooting requests relating to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U and put together a report detailing the top five commonly encountered problems for each of the next-gen consoles. It doesn’t break down the number of problems per console (thereby neatly sidestepping fanboy accusations of one being shoddier than the other) but does still make for interesting reading.
OpenClonk is a free, multiplayer -- and strangely familiar -- action game
It’s now almost 20 years since Clonk first appeared, a fun multiplayer platform and real-time strategy game.
The core program gave you control over "Clonks", "small but nimble humanoid beings". You moved them around a 2D horizontally scrolling world, reworking the landscape, setting up mining operations, managing your economy and taking part in "fast and fiddly melees".
Mozilla and Epic show-off Unreal Engine 4 running in Firefox
As the world trends toward Google's Chrome, it is easy to forget about trusty old Firefox. After all, Google's browser has more features and is arguably faster. However, while Google Chrome is based on the open-source Chromium project, it is not fully open-source. Conversely, Firefox remains open and well maintained. It is reliable and trustworthy.
However, Firefox shouldn't just be relegated to the role of stagnation -- quite the contrary. Mozilla is still pushing along and improving the speed and experience. To drive that message home, today it is revealed that the Unreal Engine 4 is running in Firefox without plugins. Wow.
Discover the answer to life, the universe and everything 30 years on
Gamers of yore will remember the delight that could come from playing a text-based computer game. Forget pushing polygons around the screen as fast as a GPU's legs can pump, these were games where words were king. Back in 1984, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game took the gaming world by storm and now, thirty years later the BBC has resurrected the classic title in an exclusive online version that's free for anyone to play.
This accessible and hilarious sci-fi classic translated well into a game, and whether you missed it the first time around or you like the idea of reliving the mid-80s, warm up your keyboard and prepare to type your way to victory -- and immense frustration. This is not the first time the game has been revived, but this time around there is an HTML5 version to enjoy and there are some comedic touches right from the start. The game developers decided to replace the $, % and ^ symbols with symbols for the Altarian Dollar, Flanian Pobble Bead and the Triganic Pu, "not because they are needed in the game, but just because we felt like it."
Mad Catz M.O.J.O. gains access to entire OUYA game catalogue
While the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are all the rage nowadays, not everyone can afford them. After all, the economy is still weak and those consoles cost between $400 and $500. However, even financially-challenged people enjoy video games. And so, the invention of Android-based micro-consoles has been a godsend.
The OUYA has been the most popular such console thus far, thanks to a successful crowdsourcing campaign and low price. However, even though the console runs Android, it does not natively have access to the Play Store. Instead, OUYA has a mix of original and shared content in its own store. Today, Mad Catz announces an agreement with OUYA to gain access to all of that game content for its own micro-console, called M.O.J.O.
Tots and tech -- survey shows media and technology essential to preparatory learning
Not to date myself, but when I was growing up, technology consisted of TV and radio. A large part of that TV, aside from Gilligan's Island reruns, was PBS content. Apparently that experience gave me good preparation for my educational start in life, or at least that is what a new survey claims.
A study conducted by the Public Broadcast System reveals that parents of children aged between two and six think that both media and technology is an important factor in preparing children for elementary school. Unsurprisingly, PBS was revealed to be one the top choices.
Titanfall is coming to Xbox One, and bringing a bundle with it
2014 is still young, but the tech news has been hot, and much of it surrounds the two new gaming systems on the market. Some of that news has been hype for the upcoming Titanfall, a title that is generating a lot buzz from the gaming community. Microsoft fueled that fire last week with a beta release, now it is stoking the blaze with more news.
Today Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb, better known to gamers as Major Nelson, unveils the new limited edition Titanfall bundle for Xbox One. What can you expect from this offer?
FlightGear 3 improves scenery and aircraft models, now faster, easier to use
The FlightGear team has announced the availability of FlightGear 3.0, the latest edition of its powerful open source flight simulator.
A host of scenery enhancements mean the program looks better than ever. Smarter atmosphere rendering delivers more natural haze and fog, a global sea map ensures that ocean color now changes with depth, there are improved random building textures, and the new Scenery 2.0 delivers improved road and terrain data.
The Flappy Bird files: is the truth out there?
Death threats, inflated eBay auctions, clever marketing, lawsuits, app cloning, IP cloaking and bots -- the departure of Flappy Bird from app stores at the weekend has sparked an array of rumours, accusations and conspiracies.
A notoriously tricky and addictive game, Flappy Bird had been downloaded more than 50 million times since May 2013, and was the number one free game in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store charts.
Recent Headlines
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.