GTA Online Launches Today

Rockstar has announced that the update that sends GTA Online will be available today. In fact, the update should available right now with Rockstar having said this morning that the update was expected to be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation gamers by 7 AM Eastern Time.

gta online1magnify

Once you have a copy of the game, you can download a small online update and then get access to the GTA Online world. The world of GTA Online is set a few months prior to the events that happened in GTA 5. The online world you see now isn’t all players will have access to, with Rockstar planning significant enhnancements in the future.

Sometime this fall Rockstar plans to launch a Content Creator tool that will allow players to set up custom Race and Deathmatch Jobs. The online game also offers an extensive character creation system that lets players fine-tune every aspect of the character from looks to personality.

You can find more details of GTA Online over on Rockstar’s website, or if you already own the game, you should be able to dive right in by now. And if you have any issues accessing the game, check out this page for status updates.

Father Hired In-Game Assassins to Save Son from Gaming Obsession

MMORPGs and other kinds of online games can take over your life, if you’re not careful. Just like most things, there’s something to be said about moderation. In order to save his son from his growing gaming addiction, a father in China decided to take matters into his virtual hands – hiring some online hitmen to go after his son’s character.

in game online hitmen

Mr. Feng wanted his grown son to spend less time on video games and get a job. The 23-year old is addicted to MMORPGs and RPGs. Mr. Feng decided to hire some online help to frag his son’s player character. The assassins were of higher level than his son, and they would kill his son’s character each time he joined the game. The father is hopeful that his son will eventually be discouraged from playing games as a result of the regular beat-down.

Apparently, it has started to work. The son has stated that he wants take time to find a job that suited him. The game that he’s been playing wasn’t disclosed.

[Sanqing Daily via Kotaku]

More OnLive management moves: Perlman out, as investor Lauder settles for Chairman

More OnLive management moves, Perlman out as investor Lauder settles for Chairman

As the OnLive storm continues to ride itself out, details of who the winners and losers are (mainly losers) keep washing up on the shore. Today's casualty seems to be CEO Steve Perlman himself, who -- just days after the firm reinventing itself -- is "departing to work on his myriad of other projects." In his place the former COO, Charlie Jablonski, is temporarily taking the reins, as well as continuing his role as head of operations in the new organization. Finally, completing this wave of announcements, is the news that chief investor, Gary lauder, will officially take the title of Chairman. So, as the new incarnation settles into its new structure, we'll just have to sit tight, waiting to see what the next chapter in the OnLive story is.

Continue reading More OnLive management moves: Perlman out, as investor Lauder settles for Chairman

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More OnLive management moves: Perlman out, as investor Lauder settles for Chairman originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive officially announces asset acquisition, notes that its newly formed company will keep OnLive name

OnLive officially announces asset transfer, notes that its newly formed company will keep OnLive name

Amid the rumors, sourced reports and statements, it was easy to lose track of the facts surrounding OnLive's recent restructuring efforts. No surprise then, that the newly formed outfit has issued a press release and FAQ (after the break) in hopes will clear things up. First and foremost, the firm reiterates that the streaming game service will continue operating uninterrupted, and that the "newly formed company" that acquired the firm's assets will continue to do business under the OnLive name. The announcement also mentions the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) process OnLive used to settle its debts, noting that "an affiliate" of Lauder Partners, a technology investment firm, was the new OnLive's first investor. Finally, the firm laments the necessity of laying off its staff, stating that "neither OnLive, Inc. shares nor OnLive staff could transfer under this type of transaction," confirming that nearly half of the previous staff had been offered positions at the new company, and optimistically projecting future hires culled from both previous and new employees. The new OnLive calls the asset acquisition "a heartbreaking transition for everyone involved," but looks optimistically to a future of "transforming the OnLive vision into reality." Check out OnLive's full, official word on the matter below.

Continue reading OnLive officially announces asset acquisition, notes that its newly formed company will keep OnLive name

OnLive officially announces asset acquisition, notes that its newly formed company will keep OnLive name originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive reportedly shutting down, new company forming in its wake (update: OnLive says ‘of course not’)

Well, here's a bit of a shocker. After a strong showing at E3 and partnerships with companies like OUYA, gaming service OnLive is reportedly closing down, with an entire staff layoff resulting. At a glance, this sure feels a lot like the similar rise and fall of InstantAction, which was attempting to pull off something similar with cloud-based gaming. Polygon is reporting the story as relayed to the site by game developer Brian Fargo. We've reached out to the company and received a non-comment comment, "We don't respond to rumors and have no comment." Our OnLive contact also used the opportunity to plug its Google TV tie-ins and few giveaways -- so, for the moment at least, things seem to be moving along as usual.

Update: Joystiq has reached out for comment as well, getting a similar, yet decidedly more blunt response: "We don't respond to rumors, but of course not." Blunt response or no, we're sure this isn't the last we'll be hearing about this one.

Update 2: We reached out to OnLive again for clarification on whether the denial pertained to both the shutdown and layoff rumors. The response reads thusly: "I have no comment on the news other than to say the OnLive service is not shutting down. I'm sorry I cannot be more specific."

Update 3: Martyn Williams from IDG has reported there are employees leaving the OnLive offices with moving boxes.

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OnLive reportedly shutting down, new company forming in its wake (update: OnLive says 'of course not') originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: PlayStation Network scheduled maintenance in Europe starts tomorrow

PSA: PlayStation Network scheduled maintenace in Europe starts tomorrowEuropean gamers are warned to get something else to do from Thursday afternoon. Sony's PlayStation Network is set to go offline on that side of the Atlantic starting from 4PM GMT tomorrow, through to 8AM Friday. Maintenance work will pull the PlayStation Store, account management and registration offline for this time, although anyone looking to play online can still do so -- as long as they're signed in to PSN before network... work begins. Updates on Sony's network tinkering will be posted on both on its own blog and twitter -- linked below for your convenience.

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PSA: PlayStation Network scheduled maintenance in Europe starts tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo takes on Disney veteran as senior VP for digital in US, gets serious about this whole internet thing

Netflix on Wii U

Nintendo hinted it was improving its notoriously rudimentary online access with word of the Nintendo Network early this year, and was even more adamant at E3 about making a big push into digital video. Some have accused the company of nothing but flag-waving -- if that's true, the waving is about to turn into a full parade through a new hire. As of July 1st, Nintendo is bringing on Disney's former Interactive Media Group senior VP Duncan Orrell-Jones to take on the just-minted role of senior VP for the company's Network Business group in the US. He'll be handling the overall American digital strategy, which covers both gaming as well as content. We'll need to wait awhile before we see the results, but if it helps make sure friend codes never rise from the dead to haunt our Wii U, we're all for it.

Continue reading Nintendo takes on Disney veteran as senior VP for digital in US, gets serious about this whole internet thing

Nintendo takes on Disney veteran as senior VP for digital in US, gets serious about this whole internet thing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on)

DNP Sony SOEmote handson

Sony's PlayStation division may have been the main focus this week at E3, but Sony Online Entertainment has something unique of its own to show off for MMORG players. Specifically, folks who are into the PC title Everquest II will soon be able to access a facial recognition feature called SOEmote (S-O Emote). It's no secret that these types of games require massive amounts of communication between players, and SOEmote is an attempt to make in-game conversations more personal than ever. Utilizing any webcam, the software is able map and track your noggin at 64 points, allowing your onscreen character to replicate any facial movements you make. We got a chance to mess around with a beta version of the software, and the results are impressive to say the least -- pretty much all of our facial expressions were accurately recreated. Join us past the break for more details and a hands-on faces-on video demo of it in action.

Continue reading SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on)

SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony’s own efforts (video)

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Sony made much ado of the PSP's position as one of the first online gaming consoles, but unless your idea of online play involves Skype calls, there hasn't been a lot to go on since 2004. Team PRO is addressing that deficit through Prometheus, a completely community-driven rival to PSN. The hack lets PSP games with support for ad hoc WiFi play go online by wrapping the normal local-only multiplayer in an emulator library that broadcasts to other Prometheus players. It requires a second-generation or newer PSP as well as a wireless router that can expose the PSP in DMZ mode, but there's a live who's-playing board and even an in-game chat mode to coordinate that round of Fat Princess as it happens. Of course, using a wholly separate gaming network outside of Sony's rubric involves a whole lot of warranty-voiding risk; if you're willing to live on the edge, though, Internet games of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will let you put off that possible PlayStation Vita purchase for a little longer.

Continue reading PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video)

PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says ‘no thanks’ to console gaming, isn’t worried about a life detached from Facebook

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus

Zynga CEO and founder Mark Pincus just took the stage here at D10, and in a wide-ranging interview with Kara Swisher, he sidestepped conversation about Words With Friends and Farmville long enough to touch on the murky world of console gaming. In a bid to quell any potential surprises at E3 next month, Mark said outrightly that his company is not interested in getting into the console world. "We're aiming for you," he said while pointing at Swisher. "We're going after the mainstream market. There's too much friction [in the console world]."

He also made clear that he tries to not look too far ahead of where the world really is. When talking about the undeniable shift to mobile, he made clear that there's still a huge amount of desktop traffic on Zynga's games -- "lots of people play while bored on conference calls at work," he quipped. It's an interesting viewpoint in a world where PSN and Xbox Live Arcade has given independent developers all new distribution platforms to reach users, but it also highlights the outfit's intrinsic attachment to Facebook in particular.

Continue reading Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says 'no thanks' to console gaming, isn't worried about a life detached from Facebook

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says 'no thanks' to console gaming, isn't worried about a life detached from Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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