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'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II' multiplayer reveal set for September 15th
Activision and Infinity Ward are set to reveal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's multiplayer mode along with other details on September 15th.
Xbox and Bethesda will host a second games showcase on June 14th
Want even more trailers after Sunday's main event? You got 'em.
Devolver Digital will host a not-E3 games showcase on June 9th
The offbeat publisher will announce at least four titles.
Xbox and Bethesda will hold a games showcase on June 12th
No E3? No problem for Microsoft.
THQ Nordic will announce six new games at a September 17th event
It's the latest in a long line of publishers to host its own digital showcase.
Sony will hold a PlayStation showcase on September 9th
The stream will run for around 40 minutes and feature first- and third-party PS5 games.
Watch the Xbox Gamescom stream here at 1PM ET
Expect updates on big upcoming games from Xbox Game Studios and third-party developers.
Watch the latest Nintendo Direct Mini here at 10AM ET
Nintendo's latest Direct Mini showcase begins at 10AM ET.
Dropbox's Showcase presentation tools are faster and more flexible
Since going public earlier this year, Dropbox has been steadily rolling out new features to its all-important business customers. Earlier this month, the company's Smart Sync feature had a wide release after several years of testing, and today Dropbox is announcing an expansion of the visual "Showcase" portfolio-sharing tools it introduced last fall. If you haven't seen it, Showcases are meant to be a more distinctive way to share a group of files; instead of just providing links to folders, Showcases feature large images and headers alongside rich previews of the files contained inside.
Amazon postpones Prime Video showcase after suspending studio head
More and more companies are dealing with the the poor behavior of their executives. According to a report at Variety, Amazon is cancelling a scheduled Prime Video showcase in Europe next week that was reportedly headlined by Roy Price, disgraced chief of Amazon Studios. Both decisions come in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein debacle, which has raised a ton of important awareness of the rampant sexual harassment perpetrated by powerful men in the entertainment industry.
'Need for Speed' becomes a little more social next week
Need for Speed's next Living Game update, dubbed "Showcase," arrives next week, and with it comes a handful of improvements both paint-level and a bit deeper. Taking screenshots has always been pretty easy in the game (click the right stick), but developer Ghost Games is going one step further and adding something that should've been in the game at the outset: A real photo mode with focus, depth of field and other effects that've become all the rage since Infamous: Second Son busted the feature wide open in 2014.
PAX 10 spotlights Framed and Duet
This year's PAX 10, a collection of games from independent developers, has been determined and will be highlighted at next month's PAX Prime convention. The ten games were hand-picked by 50 industry experts, starting with Duet, Kumobius' elegant arcade-style action game for iOS. Duet is joined by LoveShack's Framed, a narrative puzzle game trapped in a comic world. Both Duet and Framed received attention earlier this year when the games were among six total mobile titles in the PAX East Indie Showcase. Those two games are joined by an abstract 2D PC platformer from DigiPen's Neat Snake known as Flickers. Infinity Monkeys' Life Goes On is also in the mix, in which players set out to find the Cup of Life by ironically sacrificing knights to the game's deathly contraptions. Untame's amorphous puzzler Mushroom 11 will be included in the showcase, as will Funktronic Labs' sci-fi, turn-based adventure game Nova-111.
Here is IndieCade's E3 showcase lineup
With E3 just over a week away, IndieCade revealed its lineup of games at the event. The "Showcase @ E3" will feature 34 games and installations, marked by Dennaton Games' top-down shooter sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Spry Fox's Road Not Taken for PS4, Vita, PC and Mac and Hohokum. Sony Santa Monica revealed earlier this month that Hohokum will launch this summer for PS4, PS3 and Vita. Games included in the showcase were selected from submissions for the upcoming IndieCade Festival, slated to be held in Culver City, CA in October. IndieCade will also host a Sportsfriends PS4 tournament at its booth during the week, which qualifier periods held on Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11 with the tournament planned for the morning of Thursday, June 12. Head past the break to see the full list of games in the showcase. [Image: Dennaton Games]
Landmark replaces its trading post with the showcase
Say goodbye to Landmark's trading post; the closed beta sandbox has replaced the old TP for a new and improved showcase. The showcase will not only sell items, but will allow players to vote in item competitions and browse through claims. SOE has even made the showcase available outside of the game for you work slackers out there. Today's Landmark update also contains an expansion of the claim system. Players now have the ability to own two root and three attached claims. While you're claiming choice spots left and right, you can check out the new pink lumicite crafting material and swappable hotbars as well.
IndieCade returns to L.A. in October, now accepting submissions
IndieCade is accepting entries for this year's independent games showcase event ahead of its October debut in Culver City, California. Developers interested in having their works featured and judged by IndieCade's panel of more than 100 industry judges can submit their entries here. Event organizers note that all types of games are accepted, "from video games to tabletop board and card games to experiential inventions." The deadline for entry is May 15. This year's IndieCade Festival will kick off on October 9, and will extend through October 12. All developers who submit entries will be given access to IndieCade's IndieXchange Summit, a business-oriented workshop and panel discussion event on October 9. [Image: IndieCade]
Gen 2 lilitab adds easy on/off, MagKey to iPad kiosk
When we last checked in on the lilitab tablet kiosk product 18 months ago, the sturdy and economical stand delivered a sleek, minimalist look for retail and exhibit environments. Rolling forward to new tablet models, however, required replacing the entire head unit, and the fixed viewing angle wasn't ideal for some environments. It was also not particularly easy to turn off a tablet at night when it was encased with the high-security faceplate on the original lilitab. Now creator Adam Aaronson and the lilitab team have rethought the entire product for the lilitab Gen 2 kiosk, which began shipping late in Q3 of this year. The lilitab Gen 2 works perfectly with the iPad 2, which many kiosk implementations choose for its lower price; it also works great with the 3rd and 4th gen units, and iPad Air support is on the way soon. The lilitab kiosks are assembled in California under Apple's "Made for iPad" certification program; the company claims to be the only tablet kiosk manufacturer that has achieved Level 6 MFi certification in the program, allowing it to put together final products featuring the Lightning device connector. (Of note, as the lilitabers have been working on supporting the iPad Air, they discovered that the new Smart Cover for the Air follows the example of the iPad mini model and uses two reverse-polarity magnets to trigger device sleep, versus the single magnet sensor on the older iPads. That config, says Aaronson, means that almost all pre-release "works with iPad Air" third-party cases will actually not sleep the device properly -- if you bought one, be sure to test it out.) In rethinking the lilitab kiosk, one of the first things that got improved was the setup process. Gone is the complex threading/wedging of the power adapter into the support base; now the stand includes a straightforward USB pigtail cable, which can be attached directly to power or to an extension cable. The overall assembly process is quite a bit faster, as the baseplate attaches much more easily than before. In addition to the self-standing floor models, there are countertop, surface and wall-mount options. It's on the business end of the kiosk where you'll find the most noticeable improvements in the Gen 2. Rather than a cable passthru from the stalk to the iPad head unit, the Pro version of the head unit sports a custom, lockable magnetic connector. Need to pack up your kiosks for the night? Simply unlock them and pull them easily off the stalk in seconds. Another advantage of the custom connector: you can quickly spin your tablet from landscape to portrait mode. The head unit and connector also now sit on an articulated joint, so it's much easier to adjust display angle when needed. The company also offers a basic, no-tilt version of the head unit. Inside the cradle, adjustable brackets, silicon bumpers and a swappable power module support the use of most full-size tablets with minimal adjustment (with the exception of the iPad 1, which is too thick to fit properly under the top cover). The really magical gadget, though, is the MagKey; this slender magnetic strip can slide into a slot on the back of the lilitab cradle, where it triggers the iPad 2/3/4 Smart Cover sleep sensor. In a snap, the iPad is asleep for the night, and can be awoken for business the next day just by pulling out the MagKey again. For point-of-sale or commerce applications, the lilitab head unit can be expanded with either a Square reader mount point or the liliswipe secure card reader. In fact, lilitab is teaming up with credit card processing giant VeriFone to deliver the Pro-V kiosk with an integrated VeriFone card reading solution. The big advantage there is the ability to leverage VeriFone's end-to-end security model, which reduces the effort involved in certifying the retail environment for PCI-DSS compliance (the industry standard governing the handling of payment card data). The lilitab Floor Basic model starts at $245, while the Pro comes in at $395. Beyond the standard black or white, the company offers a full line of custom skinning and branding options to help your kiosk match your business look.
Screen Grabs: Continuum scrubs the Acer off an Iconia W500
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. TV producers always think they can sneak a fast one by us and our eagle-eyed readers. Little do they realize that together we are a near unstoppable force, capable of spotting, identifying and mocking nearly every use (and misuse) of tech on TV. A tipster caught this un-branded tablet on a recent episode of Continuum and, after a little bit of sleuthing, we were able to identify it as the Iconia Tab W500. Without the company's branding it was a little tough to pick out exactly what this slate was, but the off-center placement of the Windows logo and unique looking webcam gave its identity away. Sorry Canadian television, you'll have to try harder to sneak a device by us. [Thanks, Reece]
Lilitab iPad kiosk hits the mark on price, simplicity
Having the iPad serve as a portable, simple display kiosk or showcase is terribly tempting. For one thing, now that the 16GB iPad 2 has dropped in price due to the new iPad launch, it's more affordable than ever. For another, getting that touch interaction right in front of your customers or exhibit viewers is a great way to increase their engagement and focus. Rule #1 of iPad kiosks is, of course, make sure we don't lose the iPad. That's among the strengths of lilitab's kiosk line, which keeps device security top-of-mind throughout the design without giving up ground on ease of assembly, looks or price. I tested out the lilitab standard kiosk model, which comes in either white or black and retails for US$495. In white, the lilitab looks a little bit like a section of a high-end shower assembly. The heavy steel baseplate keeps the unit steady and vertical once the iPad is installed (it can be bolted to the floor too, if desired), and the top section encloses the device easily and without fuss. The top enclosure comes with a set of security screws (and an Allen wrench to set them) so that nobody else can come along and abscond with your iPad. You have a choice of frontplates with or without a camera opening, and with or without a home button pinhole -- you can lock in your chosen app with the fully closed frontplate and it won't get changed inadvertently or purposefully. Down at the base, the main pipe stalk slides into a corresponding section welded to the baseplate. That's also where the included iPad charging cable meets up with the user-supplied iPad AC adapter and Apple charger extension cord -- you do have to bring your own on those. Getting the power adapter installed was really the only tricky bit of the assembly, as it requires you to feed the AC cord into the base at a sharp angle so that both pieces fit into the available space. Once the power is plugged in, the next security step is the two-piece cowling that attaches around the pipe fitting. Another pair of security screws keep it firmly attached. The base also has a lock fitting for both Kensington-style and conventional 3/8" steel cable attachments. With all items set up, the iPad can be fitted into the enclosure and mounted either in landscape or portrait mode. The enclosure itself includes foam supports that can be adjusted to house any model of iPad (current or future, as long as it's the same screen size); there's also no metal at all around the iPad's RF antennas, so WiFi and 3G performance should be unimpaired. You can get additional options and branding kits from lilitab, but even the spare and unadorned kiosk made a positive impression on everyone I showed it to. Aside from the tight tolerances on the power adapter in the base, there's not much to criticize and a lot to admire about this product; if you're looking for a good way to get your iPad kiosks to look professional and sleek, give them a call.
Screen Grabs: Engadget makes its prime time TV debut on XIII
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. It's been a long time coming but after years of cataloging various gadgets in TV and movies, we finally got our own starring role on the small screen. Our HTML code stood in for the usual computer gibberish pretending to be a dangerous hacking program on an episode of the French / Canadian TV series XIII and was spotted by a keen-eyed (and HDTV-equipped) reader as seen above. US viewers might recognize the title since it was also the source of a videogame in 2003 and a miniseries that aired on NBC in 2009; in its current iteration, the tale of a conspiracy in the US government airs strictly outside our borders. A clip of the scene is included after the break, check for the "5 years old, highly encrypted source code" at about 1:29. Nice job Prodigy Pictures but next time we expect a speaking role, two scenes with co-star Aisha Tyler, a trailer and a bowl of M&Ms -- but only the green ones. Have your people talk to our people, we've been looking for a new career. [Thanks, Dennis] %Gallery-127870%
Samsung announces availability, pricing for 2011 HDTVs, Blu-ray players and HTIB
It's coming a little late in the game since many of these models have already started shipping, but Samsung has finally seen fit to reveal prices and approximate shipping dates for its 2011 HDTVs (both LCD and plasma), Blu-ray players, and home theater in a box systems. There's no surprises as far as features from what we saw at CES, both plasma and LCD HDTV lines have new slim bezeled models, with new LED lighting tech for the LCDs and "Real Black" panels for the plasmas that have grown an inch in size this year. Meanwhile, the Blu-ray players have predictably gotten slimmer and faster, booting up in just three seconds. 3D and Smart TV features are standard on the majority of the new products this time around, check after the break for more details on what's new and how much they'll cost to start out.
