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Posted by Joystiq May 23 2013 15:15 GMT
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Need for Speed Rivals - the franchise's first turn into the new world of next-gen consoles - is also coming to the PC. In crafting the PC version, Ghost Games executive producer Marcus Nilsson promises "Need for Speed Rivals will look easily as good on PC as next-generation consoles."

The original press release for Need for Speed Rivals made no mention of a PC version; however, the PR has since been amended revealing the PC version will arrive on November 19 alongside the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Xbox One and PS4 versions will launch "later this year."

Other than differences in graphical fidelity and online player count, Rivals features differences in its new marquee feature "AllDrive" across current- and next-gen systems. AllDrive is the ability for the game to "seamlessly" adapt to player interaction as they cross paths in the open-world space. On next-gen consoles, players will have unspecified exclusive ways to interact with the game using other devices.

Nilsson would not detail if the PC version's feature-set would be based on the current- or next-gen platform versions.

Expanding on how AllDrive would work, Nilsson offered an example of how the game would react to friends in the same world engaged in separate chases that come across each other. With the new feature, Need for Speed Rivals would recognize player proximity and any current missions and automatically shift objectives and scoring to that of a traditional co-op encounter. Players can enter and exit each other's worlds to race and interact "on-the-fly." The core features of AllDrive will be available on all platforms.

For more on Need for Speed Rivals, read our reveal post with additional comments from the game's executive producer.

[Ed. Note: This post was updated to reflect changes to the announcement press release.]

Posted by Joystiq May 23 2013 15:15 GMT
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Need for Speed Rivals - the franchise's first turn into the new world of next-gen consoles - is also coming to the PC, Ghost Games executive producer Marcus Nilsson confirmed to Joystiq. In a press release announcing the game, EA noted Rivals would find its way on current-generation systems on November 19, with Xbox One and PS4 versions launching "later this year." No PC version was originally announced.

Other than differences in graphical fidelity and online player count, Rivals features differences in its new marquee feature "AllDrive" across current- and next-gen systems. AllDrive is the ability for the game to "seamlessly" adapt to player interaction as they cross paths in the open-world space. On next-gen consoles, players will have unspecified exclusive ways to interact with the game using other devices.

"Need for Speed Rivals will look easily as good on PC as next-generation consoles," Nilsson added, though he wouldn't reveal whether or not the PC version would include the same feature-set as the current-gen or next-gen versions.

Expanding on how AllDrive would work, Nilsson offered an example of how the game would react to friends in the same world engaged in separate chases that come across each other. With the new feature, Need for Speed Rivals would recognize player proximity and any current missions and automatically shift objectives and scoring to that of a traditional co-op encounter. Players can enter and exit each other's worlds to race and interact "on-the-fly." The core features of AllDrive will be available on all platforms.

For more on Need for Speed Rivals, read our reveal post with additional comments from the game's executive producer.

Posted by Giant Bomb May 23 2013 14:00 GMT
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With Patrick headed back to Chicago next month, it seems like the right time to try and break a webcam's face tracking technology.

Posted by Joystiq May 23 2013 14:30 GMT
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As of today, you can join Sam, Ash, Brock, Claptrap, and dealer GLaDOS at the table via iPads and iPhones. Telltale Games launched Poker Night at the Inventory 2 on iOS this morning, where it's priced $4.99. Just don't bring anything less than an iPhone 4 or iPad 2, 'cos it ain't getting through the door.

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Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 13:20 GMT
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This happens when you leave someone who enjoys the anime series Attack on Titan and who has some dancing skills alone in an empty room. The Japanese edits and remixes of the powerful opening were already hilarious, but with this take, originally posted on NicoNico Douga, just reached a whole new level. Crazy skills! 【涼宮あつき】Shingeki no Kyojin OP 進撃の巨人OP【踊ってみた?】[YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to gergovas@kotaku.com

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 12:35 GMT
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A spiritual successor to the sharp-looking Super Stardust shoot-em-up franchise is in development for the PS4 in addition to another unannounced title for Sony’s upcoming console, development studio Housemarque announced today. Their last PlayStation game was Super Stardust Delta for the Vita.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 12:00 GMT
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Recently on 2ch, Japan's largest forum, people have begun collecting images of college students decked out in similar outfits. Online in Japan, this largely became a way to poke fun at college students—because, hey, making fun of college students is universal, no? Not all these photos depict college students (though, most seem to). What's more, it's not clear if all the photos show "accidental" same clothes—or if some of them are just people screwing around on the internet. And, of course, not all college students in Japan dress the same! College in Japan, like college pretty much anywhere, is an opportunity for young people to strike out on their own, reinvent themselves, and well, try to pick up dates. Thus, youth pay attention to fashion. Over 95 percent of Japanese teens wear uniforms in high school. That might make it seem like they are more susceptible to following fashion magazine trends—maybe they are. But aren't Western kids just as susceptible? Aren't kids anywhere? Some Japanese students have always been fashion savvy, ditching high school uniforms for cool threads on the weekends. Others might not have that same sense of style. It's the same for most Western college students; I remember thinking most people in college dressed the same! I also remember accidentally wearing the same clothes as other students in school—it happens! There is a stereotype in Japan that college students equal plaid. According to Japanese site Byoukan Sunday, there's also a rumor that students studying the sciences are more prone to wear plaid shirts. Commenters wrote that these students were all wearing similar clothes because either they all shopped at Uniqlo or they were all reading the same fashion magazines. Uniqlo might be likely; it's not expensive, making it ideal for college students' budgets. And if you look at the Uniqlo online shop, it sure has a lot of plaid—and stripes. Still, this is all speculation. It looks like blue shirts are mentioned in fashion magazines for guys, which could explain the excess denim. As Japanese site Byoukan Sunday points out, these photos—some of which were retweeted hundreds of times on Twitter—have made the leap to English language sites, where much seems lost in translation. The phenomenon is now a "strange new trend" among Japanese college students. Ugh... Hang on there, just a second. What is for sure is that wherever there are people buying clothes, there are people accidentally wearing the same outfits. Heck, in the West, there are English language Tumblr sites like We Look the Same and I Like Looking Like Other People that chronicle similar outfits. And in the West, isn't the stereotype that all hipsters dress the same? And aren't Hollywood stars always wearing the same outfits? This isn't a strange new trend. This is mass-market fashion. 大学生のチェック率が高いのはユニクロの影響!海外サイトで話題に [Byoukan Sunday] Photos: itoden0727, mamikus, hax_oxo, 41_ego, in_lasvegas, ikakitaira, akkiak1, obkdaisuki, sunnnnnnnny_hrk, cann_13, nyon_69、nakai1126, tommy4s2, onedddddn, gorisa_413, ballboysatake To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 10:05 GMT
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MCV reports that Capcom has cancelled the "blood-filled swimming pool" promo event celebrating the launch of Resident Evil Revelations that they were planning to throw this weekend in London. The event was called off in reaction to yesterday's terrorist attack in Woolwich, London.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 10:00 GMT
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The Twin Famicom is an interesting game console. Produced by Sharp, it was Nintendo's Famicom console and Disk System melded into a single console. While it looked nice enough, there is a way to make it look better: Lots and lots of gloss. Via Tiny Cartridge, this is the work of Slovenian artist Zoki64, who is famous for painting video game hardware and making it look truly slick. Previously, Kotaku featured Zoki64's work. It was lovely then, and it's lovely now. Zoki64 [DeviantArt via Tiny Cartridge] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 09:30 GMT
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In South Korea, Japanese anime Jin-Roh is being turned into a feature film with Kim Ji-woon (The Last Stand) directing. According to Hankooki (via tipster Sang), actor Kang Dong-won is being floated as the possible lead. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 08:30 GMT
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Remember Bases Loaded? And Wii role-playing game Ougon no Kizuna (above)? Or that Japanese truck driving game? The company known for those titles, Jaleco, seems to have fallen off the map. This afternoon, Kotaku phoned Jaleco's Tokyo office. There was no answer, and a recording said the number was "no longer in service". As noted via Biglobe News, the official blog for Jaleco president, Takayasu Katou, is also no longer online. First reported back in 2009, "Jaleco" was sold off to another company called Game Yarou. Around that time, Jaleco claimed that it was working on new titles. Later that same year, Jaleco did invite users to submit designs for a game called Wizman's World—a stunt that apparently backfired in an amusing way. But since summer 2011, Jaleco hasn't updated its website. It's unclear wasn't going on. Jaleco president Katou was also one of the industry's more outspoken characters. Online in Japan, people seem worried about this seemingly sudden disappearance. If Jaleco went under in 2011 and is no more, one of the sad things is how long it took the internet to realize this. Kotaku will update this post, should Jaleco comment on its status. ジャレコ加藤社長のブログが消滅 / ジャレコの電話も不通で社長の生存確認できず [Biglobe] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 07:00 GMT
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Well, this is bizarre. Amazon has announced Kindle Worlds, which it calls a "place for you to publish fan fiction inspired by popular books, shows, movies, comics, music, and games". You might be thinking, well, there already is a place, and that place is the internet, but they key here is that Amazon has signed deals with companies like Warner Bros. so that it can sell your fan-fiction, and that you can make royalties off it. It's a fantastic idea, one that embraces the fan community and lets them make a buck or two from both their talents and their love of a property/universe. If only video games could do the same. Could you imagine if, instead of shutting projects down and issuing legal threats, companies like Nintendo embraced a community of fan games, mods and tributes by giving them a pat on the back and a place in the eShop? It'd be the best thing ever. Kindle Worlds [Amazon]

Posted by Joystiq May 23 2013 07:30 GMT
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Executioner and Killer is Dead protagonist Mondo Zapper has new stuff to stab in another stylish batch of screens, freshly taken from the upcoming Suda 51 action game.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 05:30 GMT
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Frames-per-second. Motion blur. They're terms you're probably familiar with if you've ever tinkered with game settings or even casually followed games hardware, but just what do those terms actually mean, and how do the laws that govern them actually work? This is how. Frames-per-second [Site, via Josh Sawyer]

Posted by Giant Bomb May 23 2013 06:00 GMT
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I'm starting to think this game might be the pinnacle of all media and expression.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 04:30 GMT
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Map packs? Please. The future of Call of Duty DLC must surely be new dogs. Hopefully the first will be this Corgi, done by French artist Diana Da Costa, that is so cuddly I am about to die. Collar of Duty [Rated R]

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 05:00 GMT
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Today's Fine Art is all about the work of Robin Chyo. An artist who's mostly worked in the games business, Chyo has either worked for or contracted with clients such as Activision, Fantasy Flight, Microsoft and Universal Pictures. If you remember we actually featured his Modern Warfare 3 work a few years ago. You can see more of Robin's work at his personal site, Tumblr and CGHub profile. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the bottom-right corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 02:30 GMT
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If you're anything like me, you're pretty psyched about the ever-nearing premiere of Netflix's new season of Arrested Development. That said, it's been a little while since the last episode aired, and the show is a complex web of in-jokes and callbacks, tricky for newcomers (or rusty oldcomers) to decipher. Of course, Arrested Development's tightly interwoven writing is a big part of what makes it great. This Slacktory supercut of in-jokes, masterfully edited by Bryan Menegus, is a solid refresher for those who haven't watched the show in a while, and a great trip down memory lane for those who have. Everyone good? Still digesting the Xbox One announcement? Sound off about the Bluth family, Ann Veal, the Cornballer, or anything else, here or over at TAY. No touching, etc. (Via Laughing Squid)

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 01:15 GMT
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Curious what a Call of Duty game might be like if it actually starred Call of Duty Dog? Check out Brandon Sheffield's interactive-fiction game Call of Doggy: Ghosts. Oorah.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 00:00 GMT
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When I was growing up, I was barely allowed to own any video games. Contrast that with Redditor Mertzlufft, whose father teamed up with him to construct this bananas-looking underground compound, stuffed with more games than any single human could hope to handle. Mertzlufft, now in college, says that the project has been in the works for 5 years. It sure looks like a labor of love to me. I'm guessing that when they power this sucker up, the lights in their neighborhood dim for a bit. And can you imagine the noise? It must sound like the freeplay room at PAX. What I'm saying is, I want to go there. - The arcade my father and I made in the basement (imgur via Geekologie)
Gold Prognosticus
Okay, that is pretty amazing.

Posted by Joystiq May 23 2013 02:00 GMT
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It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future. What's your game called and what's it about?

Our game is called Jamsouls. We took inspiration from the famous tale of Pandora's Box to create crazy battles between naughty evil creatures in a vivid and colourful arena!

How have sales and visibility been on XBLIG? Is $1 a good price point for Jamsouls?

XBLIG has poor visibility compared to other games featured on the Xbox Marketplace. We feel that the platform is dying slowly, and that Microsoft is not really interested in this indie scene anymore, which is a shame.

We chose the price of $1 because we wanted the game to have maximum exposure. The price of 80 points is very reasonable for anyone wanting to try the game out.

Posted by Kotaku May 23 2013 00:30 GMT
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I can't say I've ever wanted to play as a badger, but the more I see of Shelter—the game where you play as a mother badger protecting her litter—the more I want to. Here's some early footage, which shows gameplay elements like food hunting, as well as showcase some of the dangers players can expect while playing. But, more importantly, we get a closer look at the beauty of the game. It's difficult not to look at everything in Shelter with a sense of wonder when it features visuals like that. Shelter releases on PC and Mac sometime in 2013.

Posted by Giant Bomb May 23 2013 00:29 GMT
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What is there to do after two straight abandons? Unbox a bunch of dupes, of course.

Posted by Giant Bomb May 21 2013 21:21 GMT
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UPDATE: The used games stuff only gets weirder and weirder. Xbox exec Phil Harrison told Eurogamer there's a fee associated with used games, while Xbox Support is saying the exact opposite on Twitter. On the other hand, Kotaku also talked to Harrison, who said Microsoft is working out an online trade system that's yet to be announced, and games will be playable on all user accounts on an individual system. According to Harrison, you will have to pay a fee if you borrow a game disc from a friend, a fee that, at least for new games, will be the same cost your friend probably paid.

--

As more details on Microsoft’s newly announced Xbox One filter out, we'll bring you the ones that matter.

The company tossed up a FAQ up to address some pressing questions.

I’ve highlighted the most important answers below, which address the rumors about Xbox One being an “always on” console, the transferring of gamerscore and achievements, backwards compatibility, and if used games are a thing anymore. There aren’t great answers to the first and last questions, unfortunately, but that’s where we’re at right now.

Q: Does Xbox One require an “always on” Internet connection?

A: No, it does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet. We’re designing Xbox One to be your all-in-one entertainment system that is connected to the cloud and always ready. We are also designing it so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection.

Q: Can I use my current gamertag on Xbox One and will my Gamerscore and Achievements transfer?

A: Yes. Your current Xbox Live Gamertag will stay with you on Xbox One if you choose to keep it, and your hard-earned Gamerscore and Achievements will indeed carry over from Xbox 360.

Q: Will Xbox One be backward compatible with my existing games?

A: Xbox One hardware is not compatible with Xbox 360 games. We designed Xbox One to play an entirely new generation of games—games that are architected to take full advantage of state-of-the-art processors and the infinite power of the cloud. We care very much about the investment you have made in Xbox 360 and will continue to support it with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future.

Q: Will Xbox One allow players to trade in, purchase and play pre-owned games?

A: We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We’ll have more details to share later.

We also know Xbox Live will now support up to 1,000 friends, a far cry from the current service's 100-person limit.

Additionally, Engadget reports the machine will come with a 500GB hard drive that is non-replaceable, but the USB 3.0 slots can be used for external storage.

Gold Prognosticus
Interesting that they'll still be maintaining the 360 even through the life cycle of the One - this is something I've commented on in the past with regards to underwhelming 3DS/Wii U sales shortly after launch.

Posted by IGN May 22 2013 23:15 GMT
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We asked you what games you want to see announced at Microsoft's E3 conference.

Posted by Kotaku May 22 2013 22:30 GMT
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deviantART user LeFay00 makes a ton of Amigurumi, which according to Wikipedia is the "Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals." Often, Amigurumi are adorable. So it should be no surprise that LeFay's collection of chibi Pokémon Amigurumi are rather charming. The cuteness. It's almost too much. Take a look: I want them all. For now, I'll have to settle for looking at all the pretty pictures on LeFay's page.

Posted by IGN May 22 2013 22:23 GMT
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Microsoft says that downloadable games may not be called “Xbox Live Arcade” on the Xbox One.

Posted by IGN May 22 2013 22:06 GMT
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Peter Molyneux and nine IGN fans stop by to discuss the Xbox One reveal event with Ryan and Destin. Buckle up for a 90-minute ride!

Posted by IGN May 22 2013 22:02 GMT
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How much do you think the Xbox One should cost? We asked a few Xbox fans how much they would be willing to pay for the console.

Posted by Kotaku May 22 2013 21:30 GMT
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Kirby! He's so cute, so cuddly, so… bloodthirsty and brains-starved. In this speed-drawing by Shanna May, the little guy comes to life (or undeath) in a grisly yet adorable way. You can order a print or poster of the little brain-eater here.