North America
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White House confirms Tesla is working on an 'open' Supercharger network in North America
In 2021, Elon Musk tweeted that the company's European open-access Supercharger pilot program would soon be coming to the US. A recent White House fact sheet suggests that it could arrive by the end of this year.
Elon Musk says North American Bitcoin miners will publish their energy usage
Elon Musk and executives from leading North American bitcoin miners pledge to publish mining energy use.
Motorola’s $399 One Fusion+ lands in North America tomorrow
Motorola's $399 One Fusion+ arrives in North America tomorrow.
Honda will offset 60 percent of its US electricity use with wind and solar
Honda plans to cover 60 percent of the electricity used at its North American manufacturing plants with renewable energy. Beginning next fall, Honda will purchase 530,000 MWh per year from the Boiling Spring Wind Farm in Oklahoma. In fall 2021, it will begin receiving 482,000 MWh per year from a Texas solar facility. According to Honda, this deal is the largest single purchase of solar and wind power by any automaker.
Daimler is going all-electric with 'Smart' cars in North America
Smart, a subsidiary of Daimler AG, announced on Tuesday that starting in 2018 all of its vehicles sold in North America will be of the electric variety. The company plans to stop selling the gas-powered Fortwo and Fortwo Cabrio in the US and Canada at the end of the 2017 model year.
The Philadelphia 76ers just bought a pair of eSports teams
The Philadelphia 76ers' ownership group announced on Monday that it has acquired two eSports teams, Team Apex and Team Dignatas, and will merge them into a single organization under the Dignatas banner. The team will compete in League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm while the 76ers will handle the day-to-day operations including player recruitment, marketing and sales.
Sharp abandons TVs in the US, hands keys to China's Hisense
Sharp's financial problems have forced it to leave the LCD TV business in North America. Chinese TV maker Hisense has paid a mere $23.7 million for the company's Mexican factory and the right to use the Sharp brand in North and South America. Sharp lost 34 billion yen ($274 million) last quarter and $13.4 billion over the last four years, according to Bloomberg. Though the Japanese company recently received a $1.8 billion bailout, president Kozo Takahashi said "we have to consider all options, including a spinoff of the LCD business. The LCD market is changing very rapidly."
LG busts out budget and Note-style versions of the G4
LG's leather-clad flagship hits stores this week, but no blockbuster device can come to the party without its squad in tow. That's why, in addition to the G4, the company is outing the Galaxy Note-troubling G4 Stylus and the budget-level G4c. Much like its immediate rival, the G4 Stylus comes with a 5.7-inch display and that famous Rubberdium(TM) pencil for scribbling. You may, however, be upset to spot that the device comes with a few downgrades on its relative, with the 13-megapixel camera a small downgrade on the 16-megapixel lens on the original. Oh, and if you're looking to pick one up in North America or Korea, you'll have to ask the assistant for a G Stylo, because someone in a marketing department was paid too much money.
Scientists fully decode a pair of mammoth DNA genomes
A team of Harvard Medical School geneticists have deciphered the complete genomes of not one but two individual woolly mammoths. The results, recently published in the journal Current Biology, are already providing valuable insights into how the species initially died out.
Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition announced [update]
Do not adjust your monitors, do not wipe your glasses clean. You're 100 percent looking at a Super Mario-glossed entry in GungHo's incredibly popular Puzzle & Dragons series, and it's coming to 3DS in Japan this April. GungHo America also notes an "overseas release" of the thus-titled Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition through Nintendo. [Update: A Nintendo spokesperson told Digital Spy that currently Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is a "Japanese-only announcement." So it's unclear what exactly GungHo America's referring to by "overseas release." We've reached out to GungHo for clarification.] Details are limited at the moment - according to Gematsu the match-3 game features both local multiplayer and StreetPass functionality. From another angle, the most important details lie in the numbers. GungHo just revealed that the original mobile Puzzle & Dragons surpassed 6 million downloads in North America, taking the free-to-play game's worldwide tally to more than a staggering 41 million. To put that in perspective, in April 2013 Puzzle & Dragons raked in $3.76 million per day. Furthermore, it's well established that Mario likes gold coins. If you still puzzled, check out GungHo's announcement trailer below the break.
Disgaea 5 wings West in 2015
The now-dubbed Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is coming to North America and Europe in fall 2015, NIS America announced this week. The newly revealed subtitle is tied to the game's Alliance Attack battle system. According to NIS, it lets main characters - and main characters only - use special moves when their "relationships are appropriately aligned." NIS' announcement also reveals the PS4 tactics RPG features more than 40 races and jobs, as well as a new stats-boosting system called Revenge Mode. It's just a hunch, but we're guessing that's a shot of it above. As NIS puts it, "Revenge Mode empowers your characters with bonus stats when they've become fed up of their allies being beat on."
Nintendo: Amiibo sales on par with Smash in the US
Nintendo's amiibo toys are selling 1 for 1 in the US with Super Smash Bros. Wii U, according to the publisher. In November, the console fighter sold "nearly 710,000" units going by NPD data, and Nintendo of America said amiibo sales are "approximately equal" to those of the game. This week's seen Nintendo tiptoe around the subject of some amiibo not returning to market, but the company's kept firm on the most popular toys staying available. Nintendo of America reported the best-sellers to date are, in order, Link, Mario and Pikachu. Sorry, Wii Fit Trainer.
Nintendo issues further statement on Amiibo shortage
"Certain sold-out Amiibo may return" to store shelves at some point, according to a new Nintendo of America statement provided to Joystiq last night. That may offer hope to those hunting down the rarest toys, but it doesn't necessarily run counter to earlier statements indicating "other [less popular] figures likely will not return to the market once they have sold through their initial shipment." Nintendo of America's full statement reads: "Some Amiibo were very popular at launch, and it is possible that some Amiibo in the United States, Canada and Latin America may not be available right now due to high demand and our efforts to manage shelf space during the launch period. Certain sold-out Amiibo may return to these markets at a later stage. We are continually aiming to always have a regular supply of Amiibo in the marketplace and there are many waves of Amiibo to come."
Nintendo: We'll 'likely' phase out some Amiibo after first run
Nintendo of America confirmed this week some Amiibo toys "likely will not return to market," following a retailer's claim that the publisher had officially discontinued the Marth, Wii Fit Trainer and Villager figures. In a statement provided to several sites including Wired, Kotaku and Destructoid, Nintendo said it'll aim to keep the "most popular" figures available, but that there's only so much shelf space to go around. "We will aim for certain Amiibo to always be available," reads the statement. "These will be for our most popular characters like Mario and Link. Due to shelf space constraints, other figures likely will not return to the market once they have sold through their initial shipment."
Color in your calendars for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Nintendo's lining up Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for February 13, 2015, according the publisher's Facebook page. The big N previously outlined the Wii U game for February, but it's always good to draw a line under things with a specific date. So, you'll all be lining up outside stores... alright, we'll stop with the line thing. If you hadn't guessed, in Rainbow Curse you draw multicolor lines on the GamePad for Kirby to roll along as the pink puffball traverses weird and wonderful worlds. Talking of the weird and wonderful, check out the game's adorable Japanese box art below the break.
Foresee a trip to GameStop if you want the Shulk Amiibo
Shulk is the first Amiibo unearthed as retailer-exclusive in the US, according to a listing on GameStop. The figurine of the Xenoblade hero is one of 11 coming to North America in February 2015, and yesterday Nintendo said "some of our retail partners will be releasing a certain number of these as exclusive figures, so stay tuned for details." Nintendo didn't say which Amiibos are exclusive to which retailers, but we're guessing that "certain number" isn't 1. Anyhow, the other ten toys due in February are Rosalina & Luma, Bowser, Lucario, Toon Link, Sheik, Ike, Meta Knight, Sonic, King Dedede and Mega Man.
It's that Nintendo Direct time again, broadcasting tomorrow
Nintendo will peel the proverbial banana that is its line-up of upcoming games in a new Direct streaming tomorrow, November 5. The Nintendo of America broadcast will provide "updates about upcoming games for 3DS and Wii U," and it's set to go out at 2PM PT/5PM ET. As ever, Nintendo's European and Japanese branches are running simultaneous broadcasts for their respective regions; that's 10PM UK time tomorrow and 7AM in Japan on November 6.
Get a sweater for the holidays with Ace Attorney Trilogy 3DS
Capcom announced court dates for the 3DS redrawn, higher-res Ace Attorney Trilogy, with eShop orders scheduled for December 9 in North America and December 11 in Europe. The constitutional compilation includes the first three GBA/DS games starring sweat-soaked defense attorney Phoenix Wright, namely Ace Attorney, Ace Attorney: Justice for All and Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. Legal fees are $30 in North America and 30 euros/£25 across the pond, and like Dual Destinies the game is eShop-only, with no physical release in the West.
Minecraft Vita rolls into EU next week, NA date still unconfirmed
Minecraft continues its charge onto new systems with a European launch for Vita on October 15. 4J Studios, the UK team porting the sandbox game, tweeted there isn't a confirmed date as yet for North America, adding "hopefully we'll hear soon." The portable version of Minecraft is cross-buy with its PS3 sibling, meaning if you've already bought the game on PSN for PS3, you can also get it free on Vita, and vice-versa. Back in May, developer Mojang said the asking price is $20 as per PS3, you can transfer saves between PS3 and Vita, and DLC purchases are active across both editions.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate gets a Metroid injection
It's more of the Samus, but not as you might expect. As revealed in today's Nintendo Direct for Japan, the latest Nintendo collaboration for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate brings Metroid-style gear to Capcom's multiplayer action-RPG. Capcom Unity along with Nintendo of Europe then indicated the Metroquipment is headed to the Western versions of the 3DS game, too. Details are sparse at present, but as Siliconera reports, Nintendo's Direct stream tied the collaboration to Wii title Metroid: Other M. According to Siliconera, players can undertake quests to hunt down what's needed to make both the Varia and Zero suit as well as the Arm Cannon-like weapon featured in a new trailer - you can check out the vid below the break.
