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OnePlus downsizes European teams to focus on key markets
Engadget reached out to OnePlus regarding the latest layoffs, and a spokesperson referred those as part of a “normal restructuring” in Europe in order to focus on key markets. Before this announcement, OnePlus had around 2,000 employees worldwide.
Google open-sources the tools needed to make 2FA security keys
Security keys are designed to make logging in to devices simpler and more secure, but not everyone has access to them, or the inclination to use them. Until now. Today, Google has launched an open source project that will help hobbyists and hardware vendors build their own security keys, and contribute to the technology's ongoing development.
Hyperloop One 'proves' it's cheaper than high-speed rail
Since its conception, Hyperloop pioneers have been unable to answer the one question that matters: how much cheaper will it be compared to high-speed rail? Hyperloop One now feels confident enough to publish a feasibility study that makes the case that zooming across the globe in vacuum tubes is affordable. This particular examination concerns a project to connect Stockholm and Helsinki as one super-sized metro area. Suffice to say, the headline stat is this: the per-mile cost of building this loop is pegged at around $40 million per kilometer. By comparison, the World Bank estimates that California's slower, less efficient High Speed rail project will cost $56 million per km.
Nordic acquires adventure games from Awesomenauts publisher
Nordic Games continued its spending spree today, picking up a few properties from Awesomenauts publisher DTP Entertainment. Nordic purchased three intellectual properties from the German publisher: The Moment of Silence (seen above), The Mystery of the Druids and Curse of the Ghost Ship. DTP also agreed to hand over commercial use of Overclocked and 15 Days to Nordic Games. Each of the five properties listed in the purchase agreement were developed by House of Tales, a Bremen, Germany-based PC adventure game developer. Nordic said its adventure games division, The Adventure Company, "gets a considerable increase" thanks to the IP acquisition, adding that it "will make good use of these new opportunities." The publisher completed its purchase of the de Blob series from THQ last month, over a year and a half after the Austrian company bought dozens of other THQ properties such as Darksiders, Red Faction and MX vs. ATV for $4.9 million. [Image: DTP Entertainment, err, Nordic Games]
Red Faction: Guerrilla opens Steamworks public beta
Red Faction: Guerrilla is the latest game to completely shed its Games for Windows Live coat, and will now begin testing full Steam support features, Nordic Games announced. The publisher invited players to participate in a public beta of the game's new Steam-based functionality, which includes matchmaking and multiplayer support via Steamworks. The game's public beta will also feature leaderboards, voice chat and achievements via Valve's PC gaming service. Those interested in participating in the beta are instructed to follow this guide, selecting Red Faction: Guerrilla in step one and using the password "nordicrfgbeta" and the beta branch "publicbeta." First launching in 2009, Red Faction: Guerrilla was part of the $4.9 million set of intellectual properties purchased by Nordic Games in THQ's liquidation auction in April 2013, seeing itself as a "middle man" for potential sequels in its new series. The publisher told Joystiq at Gamescom in August that it's "not the right time" for Red Faction: Guerrilla 2. [Image: Nordic Games]
Humble's Nordic Bundle 2 delivers Darksiders, Titan Quest
Publisher Nordic Games headlines its second Humble Bundle this week with digital copies of Darksiders, Titan Quest Gold, and 10 additional PC games for a buyer-chosen price. Pay $1 or more for the collection and you'll get Volition's action-RPG Summoner, dark adventure game Black Mirror, both entries in the AquaNox series, and Supreme Commander Gold Edition and the Forged Alliance expansion. Beat the average (currently $6.18) and you'll unlock Darksiders, Red Faction: Armageddon, MX vs. ATV Reflex, and Titan Quest Gold. Pitch in $10 or more and you'll also get Darksiders 2, SpellForce 2, and Deadfall Adventures. Humble's Nordic Games Bundle 2 will be available through October 14. [Video: Nordic Games / Humble Bundle]
'Why not' release Planetary Annihilation Early Access at retail, says dev
Early Access is in something of a delicate situation right now; a pickle, if you will. A dill, kosher, crunchy pickle, with some people excited over the pickle and some people disgusted. Either way, pickle juice is leaking out of the digital world and getting stores shelves just a little bit sticky; a copy of Planetary Annihilation, the successfully-Kickstarted game by Uber Entertainment, was spotted at a retail outlet and posted on Reddit today, igniting a debate about where, when and how games should be sold. Game Informer reached out to Uber, and asked why they would sell an unfinished game at retail. "The real question is, why not?" asked Jon Mavor, one of the game's directors. "After all, they are getting the same game, just earlier. It's a changing world and we hope to continue trying out new and innovative ways to make games." Planetary Annihilation currently exists in "gamma" state, a post-beta-but-not-quite-full-release stage not often used to describe a game's development. Of course, you could always wait until the game is complete and makes a full launch, which Uber says will happen "when it's done." [Image: kamauaf / Reddit]
Nordic Games partners with Uber for release of Planetary Annihilation
Publisher Nordic Games will team up with Planetary Annihilation developer Uber Entertainment to bring the real-time-strategy game to Earthly retail shops, a press release announced this week. Nordic will also be involved in a "non-exclusive partnership" regarding PA's digital release. When said partnership will result in finished copies for everyone is currently up in the air though, as Uber's "when it's done" mentality is focused on launching PA when the developer feels "confident about its level of polish." Nordic purchased the Darksiders, Titan Quest, Red Faction and MX vs ATV properties from THQ's auction earlier this year. It also bought the rights to Costume Quest and Stacking, but Nordic gave those licenses back to their developer, Double Fine, in a heist-free transaction that totally wasn't in Vienna.
The Elder Scrolls Online celebrates 1M Facebook likes with new armor concept art and videos
Zenimax Online and Bethesda Softworks were feeling generous on this Valentine's Day by giving us a bit of a peek at some concept designs for heavy armor in the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls Online MMO. The armor concept shows off High Elven, Nordic, and Breton heavy armors. In addition, the developers celebrated one million Likes on their Facebook page by releasing a short tribute video. And speaking of videos, one more from the TESO team: the eleventh edition of "Developer Question of the Week" features UI designer Kristy Keaton. Check out all the new goodies over at the game's Facebook page.
Netflix Watch Instantly is live in Finland, completes Nordic sweep with Norway, Denmark and Sweden
Thanks to a rapid pace of one country per day Netflix has made light work of its Nordic roll out. The internet movie service is launching its final Scandinavian flag today in Finland after starting Monday in Sweden, then notching Denmark and Norway (pictured above) in between. As with the others there's extensive device and app support from the start, and although the content selection may vary Netflix is the exclusive streaming home of Iron Sky, for all your Nazis-on-the-moon viewing needs. Not enough? Hey, there's always HBO Nordic, and you don't even need cable or satellite to get it.
SMITE enlists Freya, Queen of the Valkyries
SMITE's mining the Nordic pantheon for its starting lineup these days, as Hi-Rez Studios has revealed the newest playable character: Freya, Queen of the Valkyries. No, kids, Freya's not just a lingerie brand; she's a kick-butt warrior with a very long sword. Hi-Rez released a five-minute video on this tattooed protagonist to get players up to speed. "Every rose bears thorns, but this one wields swords," the video narrator begins before launching into a rundown of the character. Freya is a melee magical fighter who can use her magical power to beef up her physical attacks. Freya boasts abilities such as Irradiate, Pulse, and Banish, although her Valkyrie's Discretion is perhaps the coolest. This ultimate ability allows her to fly above the battlefield and attack without fear of reprisal. Check out Freya's video after the jump!
Netflix streaming launches in Sweden, lets you get your Bron on
Sweden is home to some of the world's better known movie makers and some very high speed data connections, but it has only had so much love from movie streaming services that you'd think would be a natural match. Netflix is making that union a reality today through the launch of its Watch Instantly service in the country. Pay 79 kronor ($12) a month and you'll get access to a mix of both international and domestic movies and TV shows on any device that can take Netflix in the country, which includes at least computers as well as Android and iOS devices. Other Nordic territories are still promised as coming soon; although that won't be much help to Danes, Finns or Norwegians, we're sure Swedes won't mind having one more excuse to flaunt their cheap fiber internet access.
Nordic retailers list a Galaxy S III 'Mini,' insider info or wishful thinking?
While it's not as complex as one of the region's twisty crime dramas, the story surrounding the Galaxy S III Mini has taken another turn. Retailers in Europe's northernmost countries are now listing such a device with the codename GT-I8190 in blue and white, with or without an NFC chip, for $540 and $560, respectively. Given that the company is planning an announcement about a "little sensation" on Thursday, it's certainly less likely that we'll see the Galaxy Ace III turn up.
HBO Nordic to offer internet streaming subscriptions, no cable or satellite service required
While in the US, requests for an HBO Go subscription option that brings the channel's programming without being tethered to a cable or satellite-TV package go unheeded, HBO revealed today that its Scandinavian offering will do just that. While the HBO Nordic joint venture between HBO and Parsifal International will be available over "local distribution partners," it is also available strictly as an over-the-top service for VOD and subscription access to premium content for less than €10 when it launches in October. It brings all the HBO current and catalog content you'd expect (subtitled for the local markets in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark) and it's also tossing in content from other providers, like the popular Canadian show Continuum. CEO Hervé Payan says it will be available on "any" internet connected device, and says the decision to go over the top is because its target group of viewer have changed their consumption to multiple screens. Netflix revealed its own plans to expand to the region this fall on the same day HBO Nordic was originally announced, and CEO Reed Hastings welcomed the competition with a message on Facebook asking when HBO would bring the service to the USA, and joking that it expected the first match-up to be in Albania. In case you forgot, that last dig was a reference to Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes 2010 statement comparing Netflix to the possibility of the Albanian army taking over the world. The battle is on this fall, we'll see if it's just a dry run for other regions soon.
Netflix Watch Instantly streaming coming to Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland this year
Netflix mentioned during its most recent earnings call that it had identified an attractive European market to launch its streaming video service in during Q4 2012 and now we know where that is: Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. There's no word yet on pricing or which devices the service will be available on, but Nordic viewers can expect the usual assortment of movies and TV shows for a flat rate, with many available in HD and surround sound. Judging by the languages of support personnel Netflix was looking for last year, Asia is next on its world domination map (after Canada, Latin America and UK & Ireland) although how investors will react to the hit expansion makes on its earnings in the short term.
GOG takes half off Nordic catalog pricing; plus Witcher for $5
From now until April 23 at 11:59pm ET, digital distributor of vintage PC titles GOG.com is offering discounts across the entire Nordic catalog. Games like Painkiller, Spellforce, Dark Fall and the Gothic series are all half-off until next week.On top of the Nordic discounts, GOG.com is offering the original The Witcher for a paltry $5. Of course, if you're in a rush to get to The Witcher 2 you could just go for the wrap-up video. But that's not really the same, is it?
HTC rolls out Sense 3.6 to the Nordics, Sensation users get first crack at ICS
That's right, folks, HTC is finally rolling out Sense 3.6 -- Ice Cream Sandwich for HTC's "legacy devices" -- in a limited campaign. Who are the lucky folks to be among the first to enjoy the upgrade? Owners of the Sensation and Sensation XE in the Nordic countries, it turns out. We first heard about the rollout on XDA, but have now received the official confirmation directly from HTC headquarters; according to the Taiwanese manufacturer, "broader availability will come later this month." That definitely lines up with what the company's told us before, but we're glad to see it reaching out to users earlier -- even if it's in limited quantities. We hope the rollout goes smoothly and prompts HTC to begin pushing it out to the rest of the world. Fingers crossed.Note: As always, if you meet the criteria listed above and haven't seen the update arrive yet, don't panic -- these things take time to get to everyone.
Alan Wake PC editions illuminated, not scary anymore
Nordic Games has revealed the contents of its Alan Wake PC editions -- collector's and standard -- which are set to hit Steam on February 16 and retail shelves on March 2. The standard edition includes the full game and The Signal and The Writer DLC packs on one disc, the original soundtrack on a second, six post cards, seven stickers, a poster and a manual.The collector's edition includes everything in the standard edition, plus audio commentary and background information from developer Remedy Entertainment that can be switched on during the main game. It also has "The Alan Wake Files," 144 pages of evidence complied by in-game author Clay Steward, and a third disc with a making-of feature, the history of Remedy, trailers and behind-the-scenes content.Alan Wake is set to hit Steam in downloadable form on February 16, at $30 for the standard edition and $35 for the collector's edition, though without the discs and "premium packaging" promised in both retail forms.
League of Legends splits European servers into two regions
Riot Games made the decision this week to split up its European server into two separate platforms in order to help out with lag and other issues. The company is now running both "EU West" and "EU Nordic and East" servers on the Old Continent, each offering League of Legends matches and services to their various regions. Feedback on the official forums is mostly positive (and the split should provide faster games to those on either of the new servers), though a lot of players seem concerned that there's another division between the two regions. You can read the full press release after the jump -- Riot says each server is designed to support "hundreds of thousands of concurrent players." Just between us, though, if they could send a little extra lag to Evelyn players, there'd be no problems with that.
Bluetooth SIG takes aim at sensor market, adds Apple and Nordic to board of directors
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (aka Bluetooth SIG) has some fairly grand plans for the future of its wireless technology, and it's now recruited some big players to help get it there. The group announced yesterday that it's added both Apple and Nordic Semiconductor to its board of directors -- companies that it says will help it "drive Bluetooth technology's expansion into platform and sensor markets." In particular, the group is setting its sights on wireless health sensors, which it hopes to finally gain a real foothold in thanks the lower power requirements of the Bluetooth 4.0 standard, and thanks to the experience of Nordic, which has a long history of working with such devices. Full press release is after the break.
