Epic Games Freebie Crashes
Epic is currently drowning in Fortnite cash, and it’s using this opportunity to mount a challenge to Steam. For more than a decade, Steam has been the uncontested king of online game distribution, and developers have been griping about that with increasing frequency. The Epic game store offers some free titles (in addition Fortnite) to entice users, but one recent release has been crashing because it was missing some “steam” files. No, not Steam files, but files called “steam.”
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The Original Diablo Is Now Up for Sale
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I remember the first time I heard about Diablo. The game had actually already been ought for a year, but I and my college-age friends didn’t hear about it until the beginning of 1997. Most of our college campus shut down in January for Winter Term, but freshman were required to stay on campus to complete a course of our choosing. I don’t remember what I studied. I do remember Diablo.
That’s why it’s more than a little odd to see Diablo returning to the screen in all its pixelated glory on GoG. Not that there’s anything wrong with GoG — in fact, up until Epic launched its own game store earlier this year, GoG was the closest thing in existence to a Steam competitor. But it’s a little odd to see Blizzard, which owns its own digital distribution service, ponying up to put one of its own games on a competitor’s storefront.
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Nvidia Dropping Support for 3D Glasses
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It’s hard to predict what the next big trend in consumer technology will be. A few years ago, everyone was convinced it would be home 3D displays. Companies raced to get 3D TVs and monitors into stores so we could all watch Avatar and play 3D games. Even smartphones started to launch with 3D screens. It’s unlikely you have any 3D displays in your home because they were expensive, impractical, and lacking content. Nvidia is finally admitting defeat in 3D — it will end support for 3D Vision after the next driver update in April 2019. That driver will also be the last for Kepler mobile GPUs.
There are several ways to do 3D on the small screen, and that was actually one of the problems. You had to commit to one version of the technology, and getting matching devices and content could be a real hassle. Heaven help you if you wanted to buy a 3D Blu-ray player. What little interest there is in 3D gaming has moved on to VR, but even that has limited consumer appeal.
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Nintendo Will Release Two New Switch Models
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Numerous rumors have pointed to Nintendo’s intention to launch a revamped Switch hardware variant as the console enters its crucial third year. The rumors have bounced back and forth between a more powerful Switch and a budget model. Now, a report from the Wall Street Journal claims that both devices are coming later this year.
The third year of a console’s life cycle is considered make or break for its long-term success. Most gamers have made their choices for that generation, so it gets harder to attract new customers. This is usually when new hardware variants launch, generally with smaller form factors and lower prices. However, there have also been some more expensive and powerful mid-cycle consoles like the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.
Nintendo has reportedly been in talks with partners about the new hardware for months. Those who have used the new Switches say they include numerous feature changes. So, this isn’t just a Switch “Slim” release. One or both consoles will likely have a new LCD from Sharp instead of the current JDI screens.
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The First Trailer for Star Wars
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The trailer for Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker has dropped. When we last saw our heroes, the Rebellion — excuse me, the Resistance — had seemingly been reduced to something that could fit inside a YT-1300 freighter. One of the questions for Episode IX has been how the Resistance could possibly mount a credible assault on the First Order in this kind of condition.
The new trailer does not answer this question. In fact, it doesn’t really tell us much about the final chapter of the Skywalker saga, beyond that this is the final chapter of the Skywalker saga.
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