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.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Bandai Namco (YouTube)

Tags: bandainamco, freetoplay, hdpostcross, online, playstation, playstation3, psn, shutdown, soulcalibur, soulcaliburlostsword, video

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Game-tech powerhouse Epic Games and its Unreal Engine are capable of some seriously impressive stuff, and now the North Carolina-based outfit wants you to experience what it's capable of in the virtual reality space. "Showdown" is the demo that the outfit's been showing off at industry events for the past year or so (I got to try it at CES back in January) and it's by far the most bad-ass bullet-time walk toward a hulking, missile-happy, bipedal robot I've ever experienced. The path is predetermined, sure, but as the street explodes into chaos around you, it's entirely possible to duck down or peer around objects like pop cans or even cars as they hurtle toward you in slow motion.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD

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Source: Unreal Engine

Tags: bullettime, demo, epicgames, free, gaming, hd, hdpostcross, oculus, oculusrift, showdown, unreal, video, vr

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The November release Valve's fancy Steam Controller is right around the corner, and the company seems to be getting the rest of its platform ready for launch day. Specifically, Valve is giving Steam's Big Picture Mode a visual overhaul, redesigning UI navigation in the TV-interface's game library with a more dynamic layout, making tweaks to game-specific pages within that library and updating the look of user profile pages. Valve is also adding FLAC, OGG, Vorbis and M4A support to its music player, as well as experimental Streaming-host support for Macs. Curious? Try it out for yourself by opting into the Steam beta client in your settings menu, or simply check out the gallery below.
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Source: Valve

Tags: beta, gaming, pcgaming, steam, steambigpicture, SteamBigPictureMode, valve, videogames

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Ever watch a YouTube review of a game or console and worry that the reviewer was a little too enthusiastic? You're not alone. Machinima has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it mislead gamers by failing to disclose that Xbox One reviews from YouTube "influencers" (read: popular channels) were really paid promos. Under the terms of the deal, Machinima has to make sure that any promos are clearly disclosed, refuse to pay for those that aren't, and check in on campaigns to make sure that the disclosures haven't vanished. And in case you're wondering: while the FTC has determined that Microsoft and its ad agency were partly responsible, it believes these promos were "isolated incidents" that didn't reflect those two companies' policies.

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Source: FTC (1), (2)

Tags: ads, advertising, endorsements, ftc, gaming, internet, machinima, payola, regulation, videogames, xboxone, youtube

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Lenovo probably isn't the first brand you think of when you're looking for a gaming PC, between its reputation for business PCs and its frequently frugal designs. However, it's definitely trying to improve its gamer cred today. The system builder has rolled out three Y-series computers that match the requisite speed boosts with more flair than you're used to from Lenovo. The IdeaPad Y700 laptop you see above has the expected choices of the latest Intel (6th-generation Core) or AMD (Carrizo-based A10) processors, but it also sports more angular, attention-getting 15- and 17-inch designs. Those red JBL speakers are bound to catch your eye, even if the Y700 isn't quite as ostentatious as other portable gaming rigs. Slideshow-316904

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops, Lenovo

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Source: Lenovo

Tags: amd, carrizo, computer, desktop, gaming, ideacentre, ideacentrey700, ideacentrey900, ideapad, ideapady700, ifa, ifa2015, laptop, lenovo, pc, skylake, windows10, y700, y900

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Tom Clancy is gone, but Ubisoft definitely hasn't forgotten the military-centric author or his legacy of branded video games. Neither have the folks at Humble Bundle for that matter. Pledging at least $1 will get you Rainbow Six, Rainbow Six 3 Gold, Rainbow Six: Vegas, access to the Rainbow Six Siege multiplayer beta, the original Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory on PC. Drop more than the average price (currently $7.99) and you'll pick up Rainbow Six Vegas 2, the first Splinter Cell and the one that changed things up considerably, Splinter Cell: Conviction. But wait, there's even more: A $10 donation adds the latest Sam Fisher adventure, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to the mix.

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Via: Ubi Blog

Source: Humble Bundle

Tags: gaming, ghostrecon, hd, hdpostcross, humble, humblebundle, rainbowsix, rainbowsixsiege, splintercell, tomclancy, ubisoft

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There are basically no downsides to using Android anymore, but one of the few remaining bummers is that most great mobile games hit the iPhone first. That was the case with the wonderfully tranquil and beautiful snowboarding game Alto's Adventure that came out this past February, but fortunately that'll be rectified soon. Developer NoodleCake is working with the team that originally created Alto's Adventure to port the game over to Android and the Kindle Fire, and it should be ready to go soon. Unfortunately, that's not now, but you can stay tuned to the Alto's Adventure Twitter feed for updates. And if you're an iOS user and haven't tried this game yet, do yourself a favor and give it a go -- it's an endless runner that manages to somehow be relaxing, a rare combo.

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile

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Via: The Verge

Source: Noodlecake Studios

Tags: alto, altosadventure, endlessrunner, gaming, mobilepostcross, noodlecake, snowboarding

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Sony's press events at IFA are the very model of efficiency, with nearly every division of the company announcing some new product in just under an hour. The highlight of the show is likely to be the the Xperia Z5, a premium device that was unfortunately leaked last week. Still, while the headline act may not be a surprise, there should still be plenty of exciting things for the company to whip out on stage. If that sounds like fun, then come back to this page at 4:00pm CEST / 3:00pm GMT / 10:00am ET / 7:00am PT for the madness to begin.

[Image Credit: AP Photo/Steffi Loos]

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Gaming, Tablets, Sony

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Tags: 2015, Event, IFA, IFA2015, liveblog, sony

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ASUS is one a rare few companies that's both a mainstream PC manufacturer and a respected name among the gaming community. Its ROG (Republic Of Gamers) line is a favorite, with giant laptops like the G751 earning top marks from gamers and reviewers alike. We're looking forward to its replacement, the ROG G752, but first let's talk about the GX700 in the image above. ASUS is only teasing this laptop, but it's going to have an overclockable Intel K-series Skylake processor, the latest graphics from Nvidia, and, a 17-inch 4K display. Oh... and that giant thing you see next to it? That's apparently a water-cooling system. Details are scant, but an educated guess would suggest you'll only be able to overclock the GX700's processor and graphics when you're docked to it. I don't know whether to laugh or take out my wallet.

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Tags: asus, G572, G751, GX700, RepublicOfGamers, ROG

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Acer's at IFA in force this year, showing off a wide array of gaming PCs, laptops, tablets, and now, a phone. The Predator 6 looks a lot like the company's new gaming tablet, with some super-gnarly black-and-red styling and four front-facing speakers. Details are thin on the ground at the moment, but inside is an unspecificied MediaTek deca-core processor with 4GB of RAM and dual haptic feedback motors for rumbles. It has a 6-inch HD display, it runs Android, and around the back there's a 21-megapixel camera. We don't have pricing or release date on this just yet, but rest assured we'll keep on poking Acer until someone gives us more info.

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile, Acer

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Tags: acer, android, gnarly, mobilepostcross, predator, predator6, xtreme

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Acer revealed an aggressive new design for its duo of Predator gaming desktops earlier this month, but at IFA today, the company's focusing on powerful portability. Acer's been pretty open about its plan to introduce Predator laptops and a gaming-centric tablet, but until now, details have been sparse. Now, we've got the full skinny, starting with the new Predator 15 and Predator 17 notebooks. If you hadn't guessed already, the main difference between the two is their screen sizes. The Predator 17 sports a 17.3-inch 1080p display, while the smaller model's 15.6-inch screen comes in full HD and 4K options. Slideshow-316636

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops, Tablets, Acer

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Tags: acer, ifa2015, predator15, predator17, predator8

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Acer has revealed its latest Aspire V Nitro notebooks that are aimed at gamers without looking like gamer laptops. Dressed in basic-black, tapered cases, the 15- and 17-inch models still bring the latest Intel Skylake sixth-gen core i7 and i5 mobile chips and NVIDIA GTX960M graphics with up to 4GB of RAM. You also get up to 512GB of M.4 SSD storage (2GB if you opt for hard disks), 32GB max of DDR4 RAM, USB 3.1 Type-C ports and 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 on the top-end "Black Edition" models. All models can also be had with up to 4K screens. Slideshow-316654

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops, Acer

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Tags: 15-inch, 17-inch, 4K, acer, AspireVNitro, BlackEdition, GTX960M, NVIDIA, Skylake, UltraHD

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