Google I/O 2015 Keynote Live Blog
This Thursday at 9:30am Pacific (Thursday 12:30 ET/4:30pm GMT | Friday 2:30am AET), Google will kick off its developers' conference. We'll be on-site to bring you all the details during the keynote, so if you want to keep with all the news but can't watch the live stream, keep your browsers pointed at this page. We'll be live blogging the event right here.
In the meantime, what can you expect? Right now, we're anticipating details on updates for Android, Android Wear, Android TV, and Chrome OS, among other things—but there's likely to be a surprise or two thrown in. If there's something you're looking forward to in particular, let us know in the comments below!
Hong Kong Pizza Hut Debuts Movie Projector Pizza Box
Pizzas and movies are being bundled together in a more convenient package than ever before.
Pizza Hut in Hong Kong has partnered with ad firm Ogilvy & Hather HK to create the Blockbuster Box, a pizza box doubling as a film projector.
Upon delivery, the box contains a lens that is inserted into a perforated hole on its side. Users are then instructed to scan a code using their smartphone and place the device inside the box. Any video being played on the smartphone's screen will be displayed on the wall via the large projector lens.
Endgadget reports this is currently only available in Hong Kong and no details regarding whether or not it will release anywhere else in the world have been made public.
Sony Acknowledges 2015 PS4 First Party Lineup Is “Sparse”
During today's annual Investor Day conference, PlayStation President Andrew House addressed head-on the lack of first-party games coming to the PS4 in 2015.
"Our first party lineup is a little sparse this year, so I think this places even greater emphasis on getting good third party support," House said.
In March, Sony announced that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was delayed until the first half of 2016. Another popular franchise, Ratchet and Clank, was also pushed to 2016, timed to release with the upcoming movie.
Ninja Turtles 2 Casts Shredder’s Daughter Karai
The sequel to last year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has found its Karai, the daughter of iconic villain Shredder.
Shredder's daughter will be played by Brittany Ishibashi (Grace and Frankie, Bones) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, according to Deadline. We previously learned Shredder himself will be played by Brian Tee.
Ishibashi joins Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman, Stephen Amell as Casey Jones, Megan Fox as April O'Neil, Will Arnett as Vern Fenwick, and Gary Anthony Williams as Bebop in the Paramount film. We still don't know who will be playing Rocksteady, who is also reportedly in the film. Meanwhile, Krang may make his live-action on-screen debut in the picture as well.
Among the Sleep Headed to Xbox One
Among the Sleep is a first-person horror game that puts players in the role of a two-year-old child.
The game, which is itself only a year old, was announced for PlayStation 4 just before its launch on PC in 2014. Now it'll be coming to Xbox One as well.
To celebrate the upcoming Xbox One version, Krillbite Studio also opened up sales for Among the Sleep's OST to everyone. Before, it was available only to Kickstarter backers.
Our review of Among the Sleep called it a "poignant horror adventure" that focuses more on the "nature of trauma" than simple scare tactics, which is owed mostly to the game's unconventional and extremely vulnerable protagonist.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Adding Daily Runs
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be adding daily, scored runs in an upcoming update.
With daily runs, players gets to take on the same level as everyone else based on a randomly generated seed, then get their score ranked against others in official leaderboards.
Spelunky and Nuclear Throne, similarly challenging games, have the same feature, which designer Edmund McMillen says he's always wanted to bring to The Binding of Isaac.
In the same blog post, McMillen also includes GIFs of some upcoming items, including Dead Eye and Continuum.
Check out our Binding of Isaac items wiki for tips on what each one does.
Bravely Second Trademarked in Europe, Western Release Imminent?
Square Enix has filed a trademark for Bravely Second in Europe.
The trademark, which was filed earlier today, gives Japanese role-playing fans plenty of hope that Square's sequel will come to not only Europe, but North America as well—especially when considering how close this news falls ahead of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.
With Square Enix set to hold a press conference at E3 immediately following Nintendo's Digital Event, there's a good chance we'll hear something about Bravely Second for the western audience that Tuesday morning.
Tilda Swinton May Play Doctor Strange’s Ancient One
Marvel Studios is reportedly looking to cast Oscar winner Tilda Swinton in their Doctor Strange movie.
According to THR, Swinton is in "negotiations" to play Strange's mystic mentor the Ancient One, a character who was an elderly Tibetan male in the comics.
"Marvel Studios initially was searching for a male actor," claims the trade. "But the studio rethought the role and has now made it female. If a deal makes, Swinton will play the Ancient One."
Console and PC Gaming Will Likely Outsell Mobile in 2015
While the mobile gaming market may be booming, its console and PC counterparts are still generating the bulk of the video game industry's revenue.
A recent report form SuperData Research estimates the global gaming market (including both consoles, PC, and mobile) will earn $74.2 billion in 2015. Of that number, mobile is expected to earn $22.3 billion worldwide, while the combined sales of retail games, digital console games, and PC downloadable content adds up to $30.3 billion. This does not include virtual reality, eSports, video content, Free-to-Play MMOs, or subscription-based MMOs.
App Store Update: May 27
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Biz Builder DX – ($4.99)
The latest sim from Kairosoft takes a slightly different approach from normal, as you aren't tasked with running just one type of business – rather, you're running multiple different businesses as you try to build up an entire town.