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Humble Bundle will send you indie games every month for $12
There's yet another interesting roundup of products hitting Humble Bundle's digital shelves tomorrow. The charitable gaming distributor announced on Thursday that it is rolling out a new monthly subscription bundle of online indie games. The subscription service will cost an even $12 each month (with 5 percent of that figure going towards charity) and unlocks on the first Friday of every month. These bundles will feature the company's standard curated mix of marquee and lesser-known gaming titles. To commemorate this new service, anybody that orders the bundle on Thursday October 1st, 2015 will receive a free copy of "Legend of Grimrock 2". Unfortunately, this new bundle is currently only available for Steam users on the PC.
DraftKings is expanding its online gambling services to eSports
Online gambling site DraftKings told Re/code on Wednesday that it will expand its fantasy services beyond professional baseball and American football. Beginning next month, DraftKing users will be able to test their fantasy team management mettle in the rapidly-growing realm of eSports. In fact, the new service is slated to debut in time for the start of the League of Legends World Championship in October. Additionally, the company will partner six eSports teams for in-event promotions.
Staples teams up with Sculpteo to offer online 3D printing services
Staples has been keen to offer its customers access to both 3D printers and printing services for quite some time. Today, though, the company announced that it's teaming up with Sculpteo on a "new online 3D printing platform." In other words, you'll be able to upload your designs or choose from a collection of pre-designed models before adding text or images, selecting from different materials and more. Sculpteo, a 3D-printing outfit with experience in bulk orders, will use its know-how to power the online service that looks to offer a better option for customers. Staples previously managed 3D printing through its own in-house Copy & Print counters. If you'd rather manage the entire process, the retailer sells 3D printers, too. However, if you'd rather not splurge for the whole setup, the new service is scheduled to go live worldwide next week. [Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
PlayStation 3's free-to-play 'Soul Calibur' shuts down in November
There was a brief period when Bandai Namco was trying a free-to-play model for its bigger franchises like the venerable Soul Calibur fighting series and its arcadey Ridge Racer. The latter shut down in 2014, and the former will suffer a similar fate pretty soon. Come November 30th, the PlayStation 3 exclusive Soul Calibur Lost Swords closes its virtual doors while sales of in-game items stop about a month prior on October 27th, according to GamesIndustry.biz. From September 16th to September 30th though, Bandai Namco is hosting some commemorative "ranking quests" to mark the occasion. Are you among the game's over two million players and are already mourning its passing? Let us know in the comments. And hey, who knows, this could point toward a Soul Calibur hitting modern consoles sometime soon -- possible silver lining and all that.
BBC's license fee study muddies the debate it tries to solve
WIth the BBC's funding firmly in the government's sights, the broadcaster has published a new study attempting to highlight its value. With help from research agency MTM, the Beeb removed access to its TV and radio broadcasts, as well as its websites, from 70 households in order to find out whether they would be missed and whether British families would still be prepared to pay for a licence fee after a brief hiatus. While some are claiming the report is a victory for the BBC, its findings aren't as simple as they initially look.
BBC Trust backs plan to make BBC Three online-only
After months of waiting, the BBC Trust appears to have finally driven the knife into the back of BBC Three, or at least as we know it. As part of its "public value assessment" of the BBC's planned television changes, the Trust says it sees "clear long-term potential" in moving the channel from TV to online, allowing the BBC spend £30 million more on BBC One programming and ramp up its bid to engage younger viewers.
Amazon, eBay and others to stop selling Confederate flags (update)
Many prominent online retailers have vowed to remove all items bearing the Confederate flag from their websites following a mass shooting last week at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. So far, eBay, Wal Mart, Sears and Kmart have announced plans to stop selling Confederate flag merchandise online and in their brick-and-mortar stores. CNBC reports that Amazon and Etsy will also remove Confederate flag items from their online marketplaces, though the companies have yet to officially announce any plans. In addition to these online retailers, prominent US flag maker Valley Forge Flag today promised to stop producing and selling Confederate flags, Reuters reports.
The NHS wants to give wearables to hospital patients
To cut costs and improve patient care, the NHS is looking to technology more than ever before. Under its latest proposals, Britain's healthcare service wants to introduce free wi-fi across all of its hospitals, giving doctors and nurses the ability to use tablets on the wards. The hope is that this will reduce paper waste and speed up administrative tasks, giving staff some extra time to visit their patients. It also opens up the possibility for patients to wear wearables, such as skin sensors. Patients with diabetes, for instance, could then be monitored around the clock to help doctors spot early signs of deterioration.
Masterclass offers online lessons with the super famous
If you wanted, say, acting lessons from Dustin Hoffman, you'd probably have to write a check that's bigger than the Empire State Building to make it happen. That's why Masterclass has such an appealing idea, a video-based tutorial site where, unlike those videos on YouTube, the teachers are the best in their field. In addition to acting classes taken by Hoffman, users can opt for tennis coaching from Serena Williams or photography lessons from Annie Leibovitz.
GameStop's going retro with classic consoles and games
GameStop is trying a new tactic as it faces increased competition from the likes of Gamefly, Amazon and other online retailers: It's going old school. IGN reports that beginning April 24th, the company will once again begin accepting classic consoles for trade-in and sale in 250 of its brick-and-mortar locations around NYC and Birmingham, Alabama. Technically, sellers will be able to offload their old consoles in an actual store but buyers will only be able to purchase these units online. Most every console from the 8-bit era on up to PS2's will reportedly be offered. And because the used consoles are first inspected and certified by GameStop before being put back up for sale, they're expected to come with warranties on par with those offered by the original manufacturers. GameStop hopes to roll the service out nationwide by the end of the year.
Frederick's of Hollywood closes stores in shift to web-only sales
One of the big names in bedroom wear is closing all of its retail stores and moving forward on the web. Frederick's of Hollywood announced this week that it plans to close all of its physical shops and transition to an online-only business. The name might be synonymous with lingerie and other intimates shopping for some, having been around for decades, but Frederick's fell way behind the competition -- like Victoria's Secret and others. Moving from brick-and-mortar locations to just selling goods on the web is a move we've seen before, and it's becoming increasingly more common. However, not being able to benefit from curious foot traffic means a massive shift in marketing, which some experts believe was Frederick's problem in recent years. [Image credit: Steve Rhodes/Flickr]
Twitter makes reporting trolls easier, cracks down on repeat offenders
In the ongoing battle agains trolls, abusive users and other rule-breakers, Twitter has expanded how it can attempt to squash tweet-based troubles. If someone is impersonating another through a Twitter account, or leaking sensitive personal data, anyone can now report it -- not just whoever is suffering from it. Perhaps more importantly, new "enforcement actions" will allow the company to deal with regular trouble-makers: those that simply create a new Twitter account when their previous one gets closed down.
Read this novel made of GIFs
A sign of the times. The future of storytelling. An attempt at something a little different. None of the above. Whatever the reasoning, Dennis Cooper has decided to craft a novel entirely in GIFs, each one show-and-telling a little bit more of the (sometimes fragmented) story. You can read it yourself either online or by download to PCs or tablet. "Zac's Haunted House" is made up of a whole load of GIFs that you scroll through to form the narrative of each chapter. Cooper, whose previous work spans both fiction and art, has taken the animations from a wide range of mediums: sometimes they're cribbed from Samurai Jack, other times it's older movie vignettes from long before the birth of the web. While we'd say it's more of a short story than a novel, how long it'll take you to finish will largely depend on your connection speed -- no reading required.
Halo: Master Chief Collection patch aims at stability, matchmaking
Halo: The Master Chief Collection received another patch this week aimed at fixing the game collection's matchmaking, parties, roster and other issues. The latest update is expected to improve the "reliability" of matchmaking and also guarantee that split-screen, local multiplayer friends are always on the same team in Halo 2. Microsoft said that players should have fewer problems when joining or managing their parties as well. The Master Chief Collection's update should improve stability across the game's menus, campaign playlists, matchmaking and custom games. Full patch notes are available on 343 Industries' blog. The four-game Halo collection launched in November for Xbox One and was met with a number of issues, primarily in the game's online components. It led to an apology from 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross, who said the developer did not deliver "the experience [players] deserve," and that the developer would "make this right" with its fans. 343 Industries also received criticism for a promotion earlier this month that gave Xbox Live Rewards members that purchased the collection $15 in marketplace credit. The developer says another update is in the works to fix a "Legacy" control option issue in Halo 2 and Halo 4, and will offer further content updates to improve the collection. [Image: Microsoft]
GTA Online heists breaking and entering 2015 with new trailer
Grand Theft Auto 5 will get its cooperative online heist missions in early 2015, Rockstar Games revealed today. The developer originally expected to add heists to GTA Online this past spring, apologizing for the delay later in June. As of November, Rockstar said online heists would surface in the game's online world following GTA 5's next-gen launch. As the latest trailer for the game shows, the online heist missions appear to feature a number of vehicles, such as planes and helicopters; you can head past the break to sneak a peek. We deemed the updated edition of Grand Theft Auto 5 the "definitive version" of the chaotic open-world game in our review. [Image: Take-Two]
Elite: Dangerous has no offline mode for story reasons
Frontier Developments head honcho David Braben has been working overtime to defend the 11th-hour revelation that Elite: Dangerous will have no offline play option. A recent video interview with Braben includes his response to these issues; he states that it's not off the table, but it's incompatible with the way that the game handles storytelling. The game world is meant to change over time based on player actions, and it wasn't as functional without players being affected by each another. Braben explains that the game's missions are generated in part by aggregates of player activity; if a majority of players choose to support a rebel faction on a given planet, for example, then that faction becomes more powerful, and the nature of missions related to those rebels changes. Keeping the game online ensures that these changes can be reflected in gameplay, making the experience more dynamic and engaging. The full interview also covers the details of beta testing and control setups, if you're not as interested in the fine details of staying online while playing in single-player mode. Elite: Dangerous formally launches tomorrow.
Apple's online store now accepts PayPal, lets you spread the cost
Apple already provides a variety of ways to pay for Macs and iPhones, but there's certainly nothing wrong with adding another alternative. Perhaps that's why the company has decided to add PayPal to its online store in the US and the UK. While you'll now be able to charge the cost of a new iPad to one of your connected PayPal accounts, Apple is also promoting interest-free instalments via PayPal Direct. For orders over $250/£99, the company will let you split payments into equal monthly payments, letting you get your gear now and gradually pay it off by next Christmas.
Sony 'embarrassed' by Driveclub's launch, UK boss says
Driveclub's launch has been rocky, pockmarked with severe server issues, a stream of patches and the delay of the game's free PS Plus version. With all of this in mind, Sony UK Managing Director Fergal Gara told IGN that he and the Driveclub team are "embarrassed" by the game's performance so far. "It's a disappointment," Gara said. "When you lay your soul out as being '4ThePlayers', then what you certainly don't want is games that are not fully ready. It certainly wasn't any ill-intention on behalf of the team. It's ambitious as a game; they're as embarrassed as we are and all you can do in those situations is say sorry. We apologize to any players affected and are doing our damndest to make things right. So that's what we've been doing and the game is pretty near-complete now. We don't want to introduce the PS Plus Edition until we're confident the servers can take the load." In our review, we noted that it was "an infuriating slog to race against" Driveclub's AI, and the game's true joy hinged on its online functionality: "To truly enjoy Driveclub and ignore the demands of its abusive AI, you have to form or join a racing club with friends online." Sony America President and CEO Shawn Layden previously said that Driveclub's issues stemmed from the developer's inability to fully test the game's online systems. "In a connected world, you can't effectively test in your house or in your beta group what it means to have 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 users hit your service," he said. "And the guys [at the studio] are struggling with that. It's throwing up things they had not anticipated." [Image: SCEA]
Elite: Dangerous devs nix offline single-player mode
Elite: Dangerous designer David Braben revealed that studio Frontier Developments has ditched a previously announced offline single-player mode in favor of immersing players in an online persistent universe. "Going forwards, being online lets us constantly both curate and evolve the galaxy, with stories unfolding according to the actions of commanders," Braben explained. "Exploration is also a key factor, too, and it is important that what a single player explores matches what other players explore whether single or multiplayer - a complex, coherent world - something we have achieved." Braben continues: "Galaxy, story, missions, have to match, and it does mean the single player has to connect to the server from time to time, but this has the added advantage that everyone can participate in the activities that can happen in the galaxy. A fully offline experience would be unacceptably limited and static compared to the dynamic, ever unfolding experience we are delivering." A single-player mode was originally announced as part of last year's Elite: Dangerous Kickstarter campaign, which earned more than $2 million in backer pledges. A recent thread on the game's official forums has drawn thousands of responses, many of which express disappointment regarding the game's new direction. A studio representative notes that requests for refunds will be granted on a "case by case basis." Kickstarter backers will get access to a playable version of Elite: Dangerous on November 22. A public release will follow on December 12. [Image: Frontier Developments]
UK wants tougher prison sentences for internet trolls
Online harassers in the UK may soon face much harsher consequences for their scare tactics. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling tells the Daily Mail that a newly proposed measure will let magistrates send cases of internet abuse and threats to crown courts, boosting the maximum prison time for those cases from six months to two years. The measure likely won't intimidate the most determined of trolls if it takes effect, but it could serve as a warning to "casual" abusers who don't think they'll pay a price for their long-distance hate campaigns. Given how nightmarish internet threats have become as of late, the proposed tougher sentencing might be well-timed. [Image credit: Eirik Solheim, Flickr]
