Monthly Archives: July 2015
Xbox Division Shines Despite Microsoft’s $2.1 Billion Loss
Microsoft released its earnings report for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. The company saw an operating loss of $2.1 billion USD for the period, but its Xbox and Surface divisions saw growth during the quarter.
According to Microsoft, total Xbox revenue grew by 27%. It credited this growth to "strong console sales," as well as Xbox Live transactions and sales of first-party games.
Another bright spot for the company was its Surface line, which saw 117% growth over the same period the year prior. Total revenue for Surface was driven by the the Surface Pro 3 and the launch of the Surface 3 and came in at $888 million.
What to Expect from QuakeCon 2015
Get excited! New Fallout 4, Doom, and Elder Scrolls Online news is coming soon.
QuakeCon 2015 begins this week, and from July 23-26 IGN will bring you all the news you need from the show's panels, presentations, and demos.
Here's the big stuff we know about so far, thanks to the QuakeCon 2015 schedule.
July 23: 11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET, 7pm BT, 4am AET July 24
Bethesda's Pete Hines and Id Software's Tim Willits kick off QuakeCon 2015 with a half-hour intro, which we'll air live on IGN. If you can't catch the video, we'll break out any big news you might miss.
Kill Things in New Ways With This Week’s Free Wild Hunt DLC
Developer CD Projekt Red has revealed this week's free DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will introduce new finishing animations for main character Geralt of Rivia.
They announced via Twitter that the update will be available later this week, adding the below teaser image for what fans can expect.
Spelunky Speedrunner Just Barely Beats World Record
The world record for the fastest Spelunky speedrun has been beaten by a fraction of a second.
With a total time of 1:45:072, Speedrunner Spelunky God beat the previous world record by less than 0.1 second.
Spelunky God claims that a teleporter is what helped them beat the previous world record, explaining that they had "been checking crates like a monster recently, so finding a random teleporter really isn't that shocking."
It should be noted that although Spelunky God holds the current world record speedrun, previous holder Pibonacci still holds the roguelike's Hell speedrun world record.
Apple Reports $50 Billion in Revenue for Third Quarter
Apple has reported its financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year. The company posted a quarterly revenue of $49.6 billion USD and its net profit for the same period came in at $10.7 billion.
The company credits its success on record Q3 sales of iPhone and Mac and all-time record revenue from "services," which include its App Store. Revenue for iPhone alone was up 59% over the same period last year.
The Apple Watch was mentioned only as a "successful launch" in helping to drive Apple's revenues for the spring quarter. No hard sales numbers were given by the company.
As a result of its positive report, Apple has adjusted its forecast for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, expecting the final three months of the year will see revenue between $49 and $51 billion. "We’re looking forward to releasing iOS 9, OS X El Capitan and watchOS 2 to customers in the fall," Apple CEO Tim Cook said.
Chrysler Releases Update to Prevent Remote Vehicle Hacking
A number of Chrysler vehicles have a bit of a security flaw in them, but it's nothing to be too concerned about - it just allows someone to hack into its systems and basically turn it into a giant RC car.
The exploit, as reported by Wired after a terrifying live demonstration, lies within the optional Chrysler Uconnect feature. Anyone that manages to gain access to the feature could do anything ranging from cutting the transmission to turning on wiper fluid. How does disabling the brakes, enabling and tracking GPS, or simply changing the radio station sound? Because a skilled hacker could do that as well.
New Extant Trailer Previews What’s to Come
The Halle Berry sci-fi series Extant is moving to a new timeslot this week, and IGN has an exclusive new trailer showing the story so far this season and giving some major teases on what's to come.
Season 2 has seen the addition of Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) and David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), as Berry's Molly Woods has discovered just how far-reaching the situation is involving a potential alien invasion. Extant now airs Wednesdays at 9:00pm ET/PT on CBS, beginning this week, on July 22nd.
Check out the new trailer below!
Viewers should also take note that Halle Berry will be tweeting along with the new episode this week during the east coast broadcast, using the official Twitter account: @Extant_CBS.
We Play with He-Man, GI Joe, and Ezio in Toy Soldiers: War Chest
The first two Toy Soldiers games were fun representations of playing war, even though your choice of action figures was almost exclusively out of the 1950s. If you're like me and didn't ban your weirder action figures from combat, you'll dig Toy Solders: War Chest's bigger selection. Whether you're a child of the 1980s who misses their old GI Joe and He-Man toys or a modern gamer who can't get enough Assassin's Creed, this multiplatform action-strategy hybrid now has a great roster to complement the improvements on the battlefield.
Let's talk about the big-name cameos first. The attention to detail on every guest starring toy is to be admired; the stitches and stickers adorning the He-Man heroes match the old-school figures, and if you couldn't afford GI Joe and Cobra's assortment of military vehicles, you'll find them here. You'll also see many of the famous contemporaries of these classic characters in action as ground troops. When I took in a battle featuring He-Man, I was pleased to see Orko and Man-At-Arms amongst the allies.
Evo Player’s Mistake Featured on ESPN SportsCenter
Evo 2015, the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, finally received coverage on ESPN. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of Japanese Guilty Gear Xrd Sign player Woshige.
In the middle of a Guilty Gear Xrd Sign winners semi-finals match, Woshige scored an amazing come from behind win in the second round of a game against Ogawa. Woshige was so overcome with the round victory he stood up with his arms raised and walked a circle on the stage.
That’s when he realized he’d made the ultimate mistake.
EVO 2015 on SC from ESPN Interactive Games on Vimeo.
Cause of SpaceX Explosion Determined
The unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded nearly three minutes into its ascent into the heavens, and Space X now believes they have determined the cause.
At a news conference on Monday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the preliminary conclusion is a "strut in the second stage liquid oxygen tank" broke free during the rocket's flight.
Musk said the SpaceX teams believes that the helium bottle broke free and twisted, which may "have pinched off the line to the helium manifold." This would have restored pressure in the helium system, but it would have "released enough helium into the liquid oxygen tank to cause the liquid oxygen tank to fail."
For future launches, Musk said each strut will be individually tested. "This will result in some cost increase to the rocket, but not, we believe, of a significant amount."