HoloLens Development Edition Available for Pre-Order
Microsoft has announced the HoloLens Development Edition is available to pre-order now. Microsoft is seeking a wide range of developers to hop on board and begin creating software for its augmented reality headset and is currently taking applications from Windows Insiders in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada.
HoloLens chief and Windows Apps Studio VP Kudo Tsunoda explained Microsoft is committed to providing the development community with the best experience possible and confirmed the HoloLens Development Edition will ship with all the documentation developers will require and a pile of tutorial videos. Microsoft will also provide a free portfolio of holographic experiences it hopes will illustrate what HoloLens is capable of and inspire developers to create their own 3D content. These experiences include a HoloLens version of Skype and HoloStudio (a program designed to allow people to design in 3D at real-world scale), but also several games. Fragments is a crime drama designed to allow players to investigate crimes that are seemingly occurring in their own living rooms, Young Conker is a platform game that uses rooms in your home as the levels themselves, and RoboRaid is a first-person shooter that will see enemies appearing to crash through the walls of your house.
New Skylanders Help Raise Autism Awareness
Activision Blizzard and Autism Speaks are joining forces for Autism Awareness month.
A new set of Skylander SuperCharger toys in the official blue and white colors of Autism Speaks are available now as part of the campaign.
Splat and TriggerHappy, and their vehicles, the Splatter Splasher and Gold Rusher, are available in blue and white. In-game colors for the characters and their vehicles also change to reflect the special toys.
Autism Speaks is an autism science and advocacy organization dedicated to "funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism." The organization also works to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders.
New Screens for Shenmue 3 Revealed
Yu Suzuki has shared a selection of new screenshots from Shenmue III.
The images were sent out to the 71,000+ Kickstarter backers who have collectively contributed $6.5 million to the Kickstarter and Slacker Backer campaigns, following a presentation at this year's MAGIC (Monaco Anime Game Interview Conferences) show (thanks, Eurogamer).
Unless you are a Kickstarter backer of Shenmue III who shelled out at least $60 in support of the project, you aren't guaranteed a physical copy of the game when it eventually is released. The sequel to Shenmue II followup has found a lot of success through crowdfunding, solidifying its place as one of Kickstarter's top 10 successes.
Bloodborne and Multiplayer: A Surprising Partnership
Bloodborne was one of last year’s crowning achievements; a brutal, beautiful experience that challenged players as only From Software’s games can. What’s so enduring about Bloodborne, however, is just how layered it is. Some of my most memorable moments venturing around Yharnam, for instance, have been driven by leaving the oppressive atmosphere of solo play behind, and venturing into the game’s superb spin on multiplayer.
By way of example, I was playing co-op with a friend recently. We had been through a war together, trekking along the DLC, and made it to the final area relatively unscathed - until now it seemed, as another player invaded our game.
Nice spot for a picnic. Scones with strawberry jam anyone?
All the Winners of the 88th Academy Awards
The 88th Annual Academy Awards were held today in Hollywood.
Chris Rock hosted the celebration, an awards ceremony marred by controversy over the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag and lack of diversity among its nominees.
We'll be updating this article throughout the awards broadcast with the winners marked in red.
Scroll down for the full list of nominees:
Best Picture
- The Big Short
- Bridge of Spies
- Brooklyn
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Martian
- The Revenant
- Room
Fantastic Four Ties for Worst Movie at Razzies
Keeping with their tradition of holding their ceremony the day before the Academy Awards, the Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards announced their winners Saturday for the worst movies and performances of 2015.
Fantastic Four won three awards, including tying with Fifty Shades of Grey as the Worst Movie of 2015.
Fifty Shades of Grey was the biggest recipient, earning five Razzies.
The full list of Razzie Award nominations is below. Winners (ahem) are marked in red.
Gods of Egypt Is 2016’s First Big Box Office Flop
Gods of Egypt bombed at the box office this weekend, opening in second place with an estimated $14 million.
The Alex Proyas-directed fantasy epic -- starring a Scotsman (Gerard Butler) and a Dane (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as two of the titular Egyptian deities -- reportedly cost $140 million to produce.
This poor showing makes Gods of Egypt the first mega-flop of 2016.
Deadpool remained champ this Oscars weekend -- its third straight weekend atop the domestic box office -- earning another $31.5 million. Its domestic total currently stands at $285.6 million, and it's worldwide cume is $609.8 million.
Deadpool is currently the third highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time behind The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper.
Fox Sets Release Dates for 2 New Marvel Movies
20th Century Fox has set new release dates for many of its upcoming movies, including two unnamed Marvel character movies, The Predator, and more.
The first untitled Marvel film will be released on October 6, 2017, and the second on January 12, 2018.
Deadpool 2 is a likely guess for one of these two slots, though we'll have to wait for an official confirmation.
Additionally, Fox has moved Gambit off its schedule for the time being, something many foresaw when the film's production got delayed and directing duties changed, with Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) stepping in for Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). That being the case, one of those new Marvel-movie dates could be used for Gambit - most likely the one in October 2017, given Gambit was going to open this October originally.
Killer Instinct’s Arbiter Is an ‘Amalgam of Arbiters Past’
The Arbiter coming to Killer Instinct's third season is not based on a singular Arbiter, but is instead an "amalgam of Arbiters past," 343 Industries said in its latest Halo Waypoint update.
Arbiter will come with multiple looks, all of which were revealed in yesterday's post.
All Arbiters will use the T-51 Carbine for ranged attacks, and either the energy sword or Prophets' Bane for close encounters. Arbiter will also have sticky grenades on hand. The different armors and costumes are pulled from "a variety of sources," making the character more of an homage to Halo's Hall of Arbiters concept.
Vinyl: Olivia Wilde on Devon’s History and Working With Scorsese
Olivia Wilde has returned to TV for her first series since House in HBO's recently-debuted Vinyl. Wilde plays Devon Finestra, who we first meet in the 1970s, alongside her record producer Richie husband, (Bobby Cannavale), in a music industry-centric series from the impressive trio of Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter and his fellow executive producers Martin Scorsese and Mick Jigger.
I spoke to Wilde about Vinyl and Devon’s intriguing backstory and history -- both with and without Bobby -- and how there is much more to the role than it may seem at a glance.
Olivia Wilde as Devon Finestra in Vinyl.