Rockstar released two new trailers on Grand Theft Auto IV showcasing the next installment of the series in the works at Rockstar North and due to be released worldwide on April 29th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
2008-03-26
Grand Theft Auto IV Trailers
Bioshock 2
Take Two has announced that BioShock 2 will be released in fiscal Q4 2009. The publisher's financial year is two months ahead of the calendar year, so that means we'll see the game somewhere in the August-October 2009 period.
Interestingly, Take Two hasn't set Ken Levine's 2K Boston (formerly Irrational Games) to work on this one, preferring recently-formed studio 2K Marin, based in Novato, California, for what's inevitably going to be among the most highly anticipated sequels of 2009.
When Take Two announced 2K Marin's formation in December, the company said the studio would "build upon [2K's] success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises". Go team leverage! BioShock has now sold over 2 million units worldwide, Take Two pointed out today.
Platforms and other details were not mentioned (the first one was PC and 360, if you've already forgotten), and nor were details of what the "new IP" Levine/2K Boston are working on is. We'll let you know when we do.
It will certainly be interesting to see how 2K Marin approaches a BioShock follow-up. Events in the first game would suggest it's unlikely we'll see a return to Rapture unless we're in prequel territory. What do you reckon ?
Ubisoft Acquires the Tom Clancy Name
French publisher Ubisoft has announced that it has acquired all intellectual property rights to the name 'Tom Clancy' from the thriller author (Rainbow Six Vegas 2 etc). These newly acquired rights, which help to guarantee an important multi-franchise product for the publisher, extend on a perpetual basis, free of any future royalty payments, and include use in video games and related products including books, movies and merchandising. The price of the all cash acquisition has not been disclosed explicitly, but Ubisoft implied in its announcement that the initial payment in this fiscal year was of 20 million euros ($30 million). Additional payments are to also be made in the fiscal years of 2008-09 and 2009-10. Hot on the heels of this announcement comes word that they are using that name to build themselves a Tom Clancy MMO.
S3 Graphics Chrome 430 GT launched in the U.S. Market
The S3 Graphics Chrome 430 GT outperforms the current market leader in its class by over 20% in 3D benchmarks and rendered frames-per-second in the most popular DX10 and DX9 games. Using proven low power 65nm process technology from Fujitsu, the Chrome 430 GT remains power efficient with low thermal emissions when rendering Microsoft DirectX 10.1/OpenGL 2.1 graphics applications or providing users with true Hi-Def 1080p Blu-ray entertainment. The S3 Graphics Chrome 430GT is priced at $59 and is currently available online from GStore, S3 Graphics’ retail affiliate.
Panasonic Toughbook 19
While Panasonic's rugged Toughbook 30 has been strutting its stuff with a Core 2 Duo within, the poor, poor Toughbook 19 has been going without. No more, however, as Panny has just announced that it'll be boosting the speed and expanding the memory available in the beastly convertible tablet. Available now, the 5.1-pound rig is stuffed with a 1.06GHz U7500 processor (2MB L2 cache), up to 4GB of SDRAM, 80GB shock-mounted HDD, 10.4-inch daylight-readable display, a battery good for around seven hours, optional integrated WWAN / GPS / 2-megapixel webcam and a magnesium alloy case that won't mind getting trampled. So, what's the price for such an (almost) impossible-to-destroy machine? $3,199 and up, we're afraid. Toughbook 19 joins flagship rugged Toughbook 30 in delivering Core 2 Duo technology for mission-critical applications in extreme environments; Eleven independently-verified mil-spec tests and more than 500 internal quality checks combine for unparalleled Panasonic reliability
Secaucus, NJ, March 25, 2008 – Panasonic Computer Solutions Company, manufacturer of durable, reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers, today introduced upgrades to its Panasonic Toughbook 19 rugged convertible tablet computer. The next generation Toughbook 19F convertible tablet PC joins Panasonic's flagship Toughbook 30F clamshell notebook with its incorporation of the Core 2 Duo processor and expanded memory capabilities. The 5.1 lb Toughbook 19 also offers an optional integrated camera for use in inspection and incident documentation applications for which the convertible tablet has become widely deployed in military, government and commercial applications.
These MIL-SPEC-certified notebooks incorporate the rugged features-such as magnesium alloy cases, sealed keyboards and ports, hard drive heaters, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounting-that combine to deliver the highest levels of reliability in the industry. Both the Toughbook 19 convertible tablet and the Toughbook 30 notebook include an anti-glare, anti-reflective sunlight viewable display, WiFi 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, a mobile broadband-ready (WWAN) design, along with backlit keyboard, GPS wireless and many more options.
ASUS Splendid HD1 video card
We're still a little hazy as to exactly what ASUS's new Splendid HD1 "video enhance card" actually does differently than most other 2D-enhanced devices, but the company claims it ratchets up 1080p video quality on both digital and analog outputs, and it'll fit in right along side those Splendid-based Xondar cards. Of course, it's also got HDCP (which is a start), but it's starting to smell a little gimmicky around here, splendid or not. With the implementation of Asus’ exclusive Splendid technology into a video add-on card, users will be able to enjoy full 1080P entertainment on their monitors. Able to provide an authentic Asus LCDTV video solution to any PC, this card helps fill in the gap between viewing content on the PC and traditional Consumer Electronic devices. Asus Splendid HD1 video enhance card is also able to provide HDMI upgrades with true Audio & HDCP certified protection – allowing users to enjoy enhanced PC video and audio quality to easily change your generic PCs into true HTPCs for an outstanding multimedia experience. The Asus Splendid HD1 is able to automatically select the best possible display modes to deliver quality visuals.
Toshiba volume production of 128GB SSD
It's such good news to see broader SSD support. Toshiba announced it started mass production of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND memory based solid state drives. The first models to begin shipping this month have a capacity of 128GB and will feature a lightweight, 15 gram embedded module form factor. To achieve performance levels of 100MB/second read and 40MB/second write in these first generation drives, Toshiba utilized a SATA II interface and an innovative MLC controller supporting fast read-write speed, parallel data transfer, and wear-leveling. As a result, Toshiba SSDs achieve overall PC Benchmark scores that are better than 5400 rpm and 7200rpm HDDs and comparable to selected SATA SLC NAND SSDs.
The SSD drives excel in Windows Vista boot speed, application loading, general usage and virus scan operations. Compared to hard disk drives, SSDs realize a number of advantages that address needs in the mobile computing market for performance, ruggedness, and lightweight, compact form factors.
2008-02-26
Far Cry 2 in demo videos
Appearantly Intel's booth during GDC the PC processor company was showing off a brief graphical tech demo of Far Cry 2, the upcoming "sequel" to the first person shooter. Check it out, pretty interesting for sure.
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