Monthly Archives: December 2015
Changes Coming to Steam’s Trading System
Valve has released a statement defending its decision to implement trading holds, saying that Steam Trading Card holds are "absolutely necessary" in protecting its users. They're also revealing a few new changes. Check them out below.
Valve considered taking away the trading system, as it would be easiest solution for the problem. The other option, the company notes, would be requiring two-factor authorization. Neither solution worked in the end. Starting yesterday, Steam began implementing the following changes:
- Anyone losing items in a trade will need to have a Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator enabled on their account for at least 7 days and have trade confirmations turned on. Otherwise, items will be held by Steam for up to 3 days before delivery.
HBO Renews the Leftovers for a Third and Final Season
The Leftovers will return for a third and final season, according to president of HBO programming Michael Lombardo.
Series co-creator Damon Lindelof explained the decision to end the series, saying that each season was designed "with beginnings, middles and ends." The same apparently goes for the show itself, which the creative team decided to give a "definite" end in its third outing.
"And by ‘definitive,’ we mean ‘wildly ambiguous but hopefully mega-emotional,’ as all things related to this show are destined to be," Lindelof added.
The divisive series was created by Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, and largely based on a book by the same name. The story catalogs a world without major organized religion, following the spontaneous disappearance of 140 million people across the globe.
The Walking Dead’s Tony Moore Returns for #150 Variant Cover
The Walking Dead #150 will have three variant covers by artists Tony Moore, Jason Latour, and Ryan Ottley.
Variant by Tony Moore
“It's indisputable that reaching issue 150 is a huge achievement in comics,” series writer Robert Kirkman said in a press release. “Charlie Adlard and Team Walking Dead have been working tirelessly for over a decade to get us to this milestone and now it's time to celebrate. It's an honor to have comic book pals Jason Latour and Ryan Ottley bringing their vision to these iconic characters. Additionally, words cannot describe how excited I am to have Tony Moore, artist of the first 6 issues, returning to provide a cover for this special event.”
EA Announces Competitive Gaming Division Led by Peter Moore
Electronic Arts has announced a new focus on esports by creating a new Competitive Gaming Division led by Peter Moore, who’s moving from COO to Executive Vice President and Chief Competition Officer. Battlefield, Madden NFL, FIFA, and other unspecified games will lead their own "global esports competitions."
Peter Moore told IGN, "We’re already very engaged with our development teams around the world to make sure our games have got modes that lend themselves very well to competitive gaming, built-in from the get-go. Not as something that’s put in as an add-on mode or a last-minute afterthought."
New Details on Fable Legends Coming Soon
More information on Fable Legends will be revealed "in the coming weeks," Microsoft has confirmed.
"As a service-based title in closed beta, we’re always working to make sure that when we open Fable Legends to everyone, that it’s a great gameplay experience," a company representative told Game Informer. "We are continuing to expand our closed beta and will have more details to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!"
Fable Legends was originally slated for release this holiday season, but with 2015 coming to a close and no firm release date, it looks like Xbox One and PC owners may be waiting a bit longer.
Funko Donates 50,000 Toys To Toys For Tots Foundation
Funko, the creators of the Pop! vinyl figure series, announced that it will be donating $500,000 worth of toys to the Toys for Tots Foundation this holiday season.
The donation amounts to over 50,000 toys that will be delivered to underprivileged children through the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve campaign.
Last year, Toys for Tots had a total revenue of over $284 million, and distributed 18 million toys to 7 million children.
Despite 2014 being their most successful year, the company’s 2014 Annual Report mentions recent economic issues causing corporate sponsors to be “behind in their support”.
Halo 5 REQ Cards Revealed for Cartographer’s Gift
Microsoft and 343 Industries have pulled the cover off the REQs coming to Halo 5: Guardians with the free Cartographer's Gift update.
Teased last month, the Cartographer's Gift will bring new weapons, armor and emblems to the Xbox One exclusive, including the SPNKr rocket launcher. The power weapon will be available in four different flavors, along with the Mark IV and Raijin armor sets.
Who Is Final Fantasy 7 Remake Developer CyberConnect2?
CyberConnect2’s expertise lies in beautiful, well-adapted anime fighters, but its next project partners it with Square Enix and other studios to recreate Final Fantasy VII.
The development studio from Fukuoka, Japan has primarily worked with Bandai. Originally opened as CyberConnect, the studio was formed in 1996 and released Tail Concerto and Silent Bomber with Bandai for the PlayStation in the late ‘90s.
After development of those games, CyberConnect rebranded to CyberConnect2 and began focusing development on long-running series of games.
Daily Deals: Xbox One Elite With $100 Credit, 25% Off Any Book or Comic, Witcher 3
$50 off the Xbox One Elite and $100 in Store Credit
This is easily the best deal I've seen for the 1TB Xbox One Elite. Use code JFGGP479G1Q6J8 to get a $50 discount, and $100 in Dell store credit. The credit shows up after the product ships and you can put it towards some Xbox One games, maybe even a PS4 or a Wii U, or a new TV. Here's our Xbox One Elite review for more: basically, the performance gain from the SSHD is marginal, but it comes with that awesome controller that's $150 on its own, it has twice the space of the launch system, and looks totally sweet.
IDW Reveals Details for Rom the Space Knight Reboot
IDW Publishing has announced details for its upcoming revival of Rom the Space Knight.
The comic book series will return in May with Rom the Space Knight #0 as part of Free Comic Book Day. The series will then launch in earnest sometime in June. Christos Gage and Chris Ryall will handle writing duties, while David Messina and Paolo Villamelli have been announced as artists.
“It’s no hyperbole for me to say that launching a new Rom comic is one of the things we’ve most wanted to make happen for fans,” Ryall said in the announcement from IDW. "I know this because I’m one of them."