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NBA 2K15's 'Yakkem' trailer is red hot
2K Sports' latest trailer for NBA 2K15 includes voiceover work by the basketball sim's pre-game commentary team Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal, the latter coining the phrase "Yakkem." Set to "Suck my Kiss" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the video shows the player models of a number of athletes, including LeBron James in his Cavaliers uniform. The publisher issued a second video late last week in which NBA players Steph Curry, James Harden, Anthony Davis and NBA 2K15 cover athlete Kevin Durant discuss the NBA 2K series. NBA 2K15 will launch October 7 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. 2K Sports added 11 new Euroleague teams to this year's game, which features a soundtrack hand-picked by Pharrell Williams. [Image: 2K Sports]
WWE SuperCard superkicks 1.5 million downloads
2K's free mobile trading card game WWE SuperCard has been downloaded over 1.5 million times, the publisher revealed today. In the game, players put together a deck of cards composed of WWE superstars, then pit their stable against other players in both exhibition matches and King of the Ring-themed tournaments. WWE SuperCard launched roughly a week and a half ago for iOS and Android. The publisher noted that over 82 million victories were recorded in exhibition mode, and that over 575,000 King of the Ring tournaments were kicked off since the game launched. Players logged in to the game for over 18 million unique play sessions, which averaged about 14 minutes each time. The free-to-play game allows players to purchase in-game currency that unlocks card packs, which range in price from $1.99 to $25, to acquire the game's 400-plus unique cards. 2K said it intends to update the game's roster and introduce new cards in the future. [Image: 2K]
2K launches WWE card game for iOS, Android
2K unveiled a new game today that puts pro wrestling and trading cards in the same ring, WWE SuperCard. The game is available now on iOS and Android via Google Play for free, and has players building teams of WWE superstars to compete against other players' decks in exhibition and King of the Ring matches. The card battler features somewhat humorous animations in which two trading cards twirl and body slam one another after a simple comparison of their power, charisma and other skills. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, WWE SuperCard also features the combining and training of cards in order to build players' stables of wrestlers, in addition to paid card packs. By purchasing in-game credits at a minimum rate of 200 for $1.99, players can pick up Superstar Packs that offer one random card of "common" or "epic" rarity for roughly one dollar. The most expensive bundles are Epic Packs, which cost 2,500 credits ($25) and dish out one random superstar card of "epic" or "legendary" rarity. [Image: 2K]
Team up, hunt down Evolve's beta beasts on Xbox One [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
We can't hunt what lurks in Evolve's winding maps until February 10, but at least now Xbox One owners have a sense of when they can get some practice in: During Microsoft's Gamescom presentation, it was announced that beta access will be available in January, with DLC arriving first on Xbox One later on. [Image: Major Nelson]
WWE 2K15's historical rivalry mode stars CM Punk, Shawn Michaels
WWE 2K15 will feature a 2K Showcase career mode that spotlights two wrestling rivalries in WWE's history, 2K Sports announced. The mode will focus on the feud between Triple H and Shawn Michaels from 2002 to 2004 as well as the more recent rivalry between CM Punk and cover star John Cena from 2011 to 2013. CM Punk's contract with WWE recently ended, so the Chicago-born wrestler's inclusion in the upcoming game was previously in question. The 2K Showcase mode will span 33 matches across the two rivalries in a mini-documentary style similar to WWE 13's Attitude Era mode and 30 Years of WrestleMania in WWE 2K14, complete with video packages and scripted commentary as well as historically-accurate characters and events. By playing through the rivalry mode, players will unlock wrestlers, alternate attire and championship titles that can be accessed throughout the rest of the game. Additionally, 2K Sports will build on the 2K Showcase mode after the game's launch by introducing more rivalries as DLC packs, though it did not say what feuds will be included (fingers crossed for Heath Slater's series of losses in 2012 to various WWE legends). WWE 2K15 will launch October 28 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360. [Image: 2K Sports]
Take-Two revenue drops 12% in Q1 2015
Take-Two reported $125.4 million in net revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2015, a three-month period of time that ended on June 30. That represents a 12 percent decline compared to the same quarter last year ($142.7 million), and a 35.8 percent drop from the previous quarter. The publisher also reported a net loss of $35.4 million, a 14.9 percent jump from its $30.8 million losses reported last quarter. That also compares favorably to the same quarter one year ago, as Take-Two's reported losses are a 42.8 percent decrease from the $61.9 million losses for fiscal Q1 2014. The publisher also announced a delay for one of its major upcoming releases, Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve, which will now launch on February 10, 2015. [Image: Take-Two Interactive]
Lenovo's new flagship features Quad HD screen, metal body and huge battery
Lenovo isn't exactly well-known for its smartphones this side of the Pacific, but it's got a solid following in Asia. Now, Motorola's soon-to-be parent company is showing off more of its mobile chops with a six-inch Quad HD (2,560x1,440) flagship device called the Vibe Z2 Pro. Besides the super high-res display, the Pro's not lacking in other features: For starters, it'll come with a metallic brushed-weave unibody frame and 4,000mAh battery, which is more than generous even with the phone's large chassis (to compare, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is 3,200mAh and the HTC One Max is 3,300).
WWE 2K15 collector's edition has 24-inch pythons, brother
The special collector's edition of WWE 2K15 costs $100 and is exclusive to the game's PS4 and Xbox One versions, 2K Sports announced today. In addition to a copy of the latest wrestling game from Yuke's and Visual Concepts, the Hulkamania Edition features pre-order-exclusive Hulk Hogan and Hollywood Hulk Hogan playable characters for the game plus the two bonus versions of WCW star Sting, another pre-order extra for WWE 2K15. WWE 2K15's Hulkamania Edition also features tangible goodies only found in the collector's box (and on eBay shortly after launch for what will surely be ludicrous prices). Hulkamaniacs will receive a collectible art card personally signed by the Hulkster himself as well as a piece of the ring canvas Hogan strutted on in his Monday Night Raw appearance on March 10, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee. Lastly, the special edition will include a vinyl figure of Hogan's "Hollywood" gimmick made by Funko.
Check your mail, Evolve alpha invites are out in the wild
You may want to investigate your inbox for signs of evolution, because 2K announced it's sent out invites for the Evolve alpha. According to images posted online, the alpha PC test will run this weekend between Friday, August 1 and Sunday, August 3. If you signed up but didn't get an invite, 2K says there'll be more opportunities in "future alphas." In the meantime, you can live Turtle Rock's Kraken-cracking shooter through our video preview. In it, Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann describes the game as similar to that Jurassic Park scene where Robert Muldoon is alone hunting the velociraptor, but now there are four Robert Muldoons and the velociraptor is Godzilla. But no Jeff Goldblum, sadly. If you'd rather wait for the game proper, Evolve hits PS4, Xbox One and PC on October 21. [Image: 2K]
Evolve wants you to try its alpha
Today of all days, America needs you to sign up and do your duty. By which we mean sign up to try the Evolve alpha, which this Euro reporter sadly notes is limited to North America. Personal grievances aside, here's what you need to do for a chance of being selected. Head to the sign-up site, and when asked enter the password "happyhunting" and referral code "JoinTheHunt" along with all required details. Also, make sure you have a Steam account as you'll need one. 2K Games aims to have its participant list nailed down by tomorrow, July 5, so don't procrastinate before you celebrate today.
Civilization: Beyond Earth ships October 24th with maps based on real planets
If you're eager to play the first Civilization game set in space (not counting Alpha Centauri), you now have a date to mark on your calendar: Beyond Earth will reach Windows-based PCs on October 24th. That's a long time to wait, although Firaxis is sweetening the pot with astronomy-themed bonus content. If you pre-order the space colonization game from certain stores, you'll get a map pack based loosely on real, potentially inhabitable exoplanets like Kepler 186f and Rigil Khantoris (aka Rigel Kentaurus) Bb. It's hard to say if the extra terrain will be worth plunking down cash in advance, but we suspect that you've already pulled the trigger if you're a die-hard Civ fan -- this is just icing on the extraterrestrial cake.
Lenovo's next flagship phone is all about metal, a quad HD screen and a big battery
Lenovo's current flagship phone, the Vibe Z (K910), opted for plastic instead of metal like its predecessor, so it's nice to see metal making a comeback on the next model, dubbed the Vibe Z2 Pro. This is according to several photos that have been making the rounds on Sina Weibo, and our sources have since confirmed that these were taken at an internal event, so someone's been a bit naughty. The specs are top notch: 6-inch quad HD display, 16-megapixel OIS camera (with dual LED flash), massive 4,000mAh battery and 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 chip. These are all wrapped inside a 7.7mm-thick metallic body that also supports NFC.
NBA 2K15 expands Euroleague lineup with 11 more teams
NBA 2K15 will feature a total of 25 Euroleague teams thanks to the addition of 11 more this year, 2K Sports announced today. The highest level of professional basketball in Europe will be better represented in the basketball sim thanks to the inclusion of teams like Germany's FC Bayern Munich, France's JSF Nanterre and Serbia's Partizan NIS Belgrade. The full list of Euroleague teams in the game can be found after the break. NBA 2K15 will be the first simultaneous release in the series for current and next-gen systems, as it is due out October 7 in North America (October 10 internationally) for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3. Xbox 360 and PC. 2K Sports' last entry was also the first on PS4 and Xbox One, and it coped with significant online server issues that locked players out of game content. Oklahoma City Thunder small forward and the NBA's Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant will be featured as NBA 2K15's cover athlete.
Now you can play XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Android, too
Android gamers who've been yearning for XCOM's deep, turn-based tactics just got their wish: 2K has released a version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for Google's mobile platform. Much like last year's iOS edition, you'll get to fight off invading aliens and build your bases in an interface optimized for touch. This is one of the pricier Android games on the market at $10, but our pals at Joystiq are already fans of the mobile version. It's likely worth the cash if you're looking for something engrossing to play on your spring vacation -- especially if you can't get enough of it on your PC or console.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets acquainted with Android, out now
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is out now on Google Play, commander. The new Android port is priced $10/£7.14, and according to a message from XCOM HQ, an advance on the Amazon Appstore is expected "soon." Despite claiming the lives of many of our best friends - or at least a bunch of soldiers named after them - we ranked Enemy Unknown as our second-best game of 2012. The good news: Firaxis transitioned the console and PC release into a "slick, portable package" on iOS, and hopefully that'll pan out the same way on Android. [Image: 2K Games]
LG's top-end G3 phone will rock a Quad HD display
So far, we've only come across beyond-1080p panels in a couple of Chinese phones, like the Oppo Find 7 and the Vivo Xplay 3S. But the spec is definitely about to go mainstream, as LG has just confirmed to us that the successor to the G2 will deliver a "Quad HD" resolution, with four times as many pixels as 720p (that's 2,560 x 1,440, if you want to count 'em). Based on earlier leaks, it's likely that the G3 will have a 5.5-inch display, which means we'll be looking at a pixel density of around 530 ppi -- not far off double what you'd get from a printed glossy magazine.
Ultrakam lets your iPhone capture higher resolution film-like video clips
While Sony and Samsung are busy making phones with 4K recording capabilities, one developer has worked its pixel magic to get more from iPhone cameras. Ultrakam is the first iOS app capable of recording "2K" resolution with a film-like 24p frame rate, letting iPhone 5s owners shoot 2240 x 1672 pixel video (around 75 percent more pixels than regular HD) to output higher-quality footage than the default camera app. There's support for the iPhone 5 and 5c, as well as the the iPad mini and iPad with Retina display, but the app is limited to high-definition and "2K" at 20fps on less-equipped devices.
Oppo's 2K-ready Find 7 makes first appearance, lets you swap batteries
Remember when Chinese smartphone outfit Oppo promised two versions of its Find 7 handset? The first of the pair has just passed through China's telecoms regulator, spec list in tow. Sadly, this isn't the Quad-HD (aka: 2K) version of the device, but the 5.5-inch 1080p screen shouldn't be sniffed at. Inside, you'll find a 2.26GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, microSD card slot, a 2,700mAh removable battery, TD-LTE and Android 4.3. Weighing in at just 165 grams and only 9.2mm thick, we're looking forward to putting this thing through its paces on March 19th.
Oppo's next smartphone due in March with Quad HD and 1080p display options
You may cringe at this "Find 7 [are] coming" line, but it's actually an intentional typo, as Oppo's releasing its Find 5 follow-up with two screen resolutions. You see, back in December, the Chinese company teased that its next flagship phone will be using JDI's (not LG's) 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 (538 ppi) panel, which is even sharper than the 6-inch counterpart on the Vivo Xplay 3S. Then to confuse us, earlier this week a Find 7 benchmark showed up on GFXBench with a 1080p display instead, along with a Snapdragon 800 SoC and Android 4.3. We've since checked with our own sources, and we can now confirm that said device will indeed be offered with more than one display option to please everyone: 2K aka Quad HD for the spec chasers, and 1080p for the humble users. We also understand that other specs may differ between the two versions, so if all goes well, we'll take a closer look at the Find 7 variants in Beijing's 798 Art Zone on March 19th.
NBA 2K14 shipments eclipse 5 million
NBA 2K14 is Take-Two's most successful basketball game yet. The latest entry in Visual Concepts basketball sim series has sold-in (see: shipped) over five million copies, Take-Two announced today. Take-Two has shipped over 35 million NBA 2K games to date. NBA 2K14 first launched on PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 1. Next-generation versions followed in November to correspond with the launch of the Xbox One and PS4. According to data provided by the NPD, NBA 2K14 was the top-selling sports game on both next-generation platforms in November. [Image: Take-Two]
