Francis Ford Coppola is taking to Kickstarter to make an ‘Apocalypse Now’ game

 This isn’t the first time Francis Ford Coppola has overhauled Apocalypse Now. In 2001, the director teamed up with long-time editor Walter Murch for Redux, a new cut that added nearly an hour to the classic Vietnam edit. Now the semi-retired director is enlisting a new generation of collaborators to reimagine the 1979 film as a “psychological horror RPG” that puts the player… Read More

Return to simpler, more pixelated times with Sega game soundtracks now on Spotify

 It’s been a rough day, and maybe what you need is a few chiptunes from Sega’s arcade and console hits. Many cartridges’ worth have just been added to the company’s Spotify channel. Read More

Square Enix and Marvel team for multiple games, starting with the Avengers

 Square Enix is working with Marvel on multiple games from the Marvel universe, starting with an Avengers title as the first of its projects. The game is being promoted with the hashtag #Reassemble, and appears to center around the aftermath of the events of Captain America: Civil War, which likely means it’ll either precede or coincide with the next Avengers movie, which is set for… Read More

Myst arrives on Android, Riven to follow soon

 If you are of a certain age you will grin at the sound of the world “Myst,” recalling the game that originally debuted in 1993 and enthralled computer gamers with its weird, atmospheric puzzles and amazing (for the time) graphics. Riven came not too long after, debuting in 1997 and spanned five CDs. Myst is available on Android today, via both the Google Play and Amazon App stores,… Read More

Existing Nvidia Shield TV owners can now update to get 4K HDR streaming

 Nvidia announced a new Shield TV that provides 4K HDR streaming, and boosts its existing gaming capabilities considerably. Now, though, many of the benefits of the updated hardware are available on the original Shield TV, thanks to a free over-the-air software available now. The update delivers 4K HDR streaming via sources like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, as well as 4K movie support for… Read More

Things get a little too real in the latest Nintendo Switch ad

 The Nintendo Switch is getting closer to its launch date, and now it’s also getting real about how we might use these things. Previous promotional materials depicted the Switch being shared around at amazingly photogenic evening rooftop parties, but this new clip shared on Nintendo’s German Facebook page starts right where the Switch will probably get a significant amount of play… Read More

Pokémon launches Duel, a new free iOS and Android strategy battle game

 Pokémon has another official new mobile game that isn’t Pokémon GO – it’s a strategy battle game called Pokémon Duel where you collect virtual figures and fight them in an attempt to take over territory from your rival. The Duel element involves actually battling your figures, which you can select in teams of six. These individual Pokémon have stats, including how many… Read More

Streamer numbers and incomes are rising healthily, according to data from popular tool

 While half the world is coming to grips with the idea that people actually want to watch others play games, the other half is watching people play games. Streamers, watchers, and tips from the latter to the former are all increasing at a good clip, according to streaming companion service Streamlabs. Read More

Training self-driving cars on the streets of Los Santos with GTA V just got easier

 The DeepDrive project has made it possible to use Grand Theft Auto to train self-driving cars for some time now. But today, the work is being integrated and open-sourced with OpenAI’s Universe. The collaboration will cut the once day-long setup time down to just 20 minutes. Training AI frameworks on synthetic data is all the rage these days. Large tech companies and startups alike… Read More

Nintendo Switch pre-orders will open in limited quantity on Friday in New York

 Looks like Friday’s hands-on event isn’t the only big bit of Nintendo Switch business going down in New York City this Friday. The gaming giant’s New York store Twitter account just dropped the news that the eagerly anticipated (though barely seen) convertible console will open for pre-orders at the company’s storefront at 9AM that same day. A limited quantity of… Read More

Elon Musk plays Overwatch, thinks storytelling is neglected in modern games

 Elon Musk spoke to Y Combinator’s Sam Altman in a sit-down interview last year where he discussed, among other things, his apprehensions about the possible implications of developing advanced AI. But when the interview was over and the camera was still rolling, Altman asked Musk for recommendations about good video games to play. Musk’s immediate response was… Read More

DeepMind’s updated AlphaGo has been secretly savaging pro players online

 Pokémon GO might have been the most talked about “Go” game of 2016, but the world of AI remains fixated on another Go — AlphaGo. Last spring, Go-playing AI AlphaGo made headlines when it defeated world champion Lee Sedol. Now AlphaGo is in the news for another reason. DeepMind’s freak of computing has been anonymously vanquishing the world’s top Go players… Read More

I rocked out in Rock Band VR at CES and I liked it

 VR is a tricky medium to do well, but Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band VR might just be the perfect fit. The game has always been about making players feel like they’re real rock stars, living in an alternate reality where they chased their dream and actually did master the guitar and make it big. Virtual reality finally gives Rock Band players the chance to feel real stage presence,… Read More

Hackers successfully add games to the NES Classic Edition

 The greatest hope of retro gamers and the greatest fear of Nintendo have been met simultaneously: The immensely popular NES Classic Edition has been hacked and its 30-game library augmented with new and even homebrewed titles. Read More

CyberPowerPC intros VR-ready PC for $499, or $1,100 with Oculus Rift

 CyberPowerPC has introduced a new entry-level virtual reality-ready pre-built PC with AMD’s Radeon RX 470 on board for $499 at Best Buy and Amazon. That’s a new low for an off-the-shelf VR-capable configuration, and it’s also available as a bundle with Oculus Rift for $1,099.98 — or exactly what you’d pay if you purchased the two separately. Even if there’s… Read More