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PlayStation 5 event: $499 with a disc drive, $399 without, on Nov. 12

posted onSeptember 16, 2020
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

As part of a PlayStation 5 showcase today, Sony finally revealed the launch pricing for the PlayStation 5: $499.99 for the standard edition (€499.99, £449.99, ¥49,980) or $399 for the "All-Digital" version without a disc drive (or €399.99, £359.99, ¥39,980).

What the advent of 5G—mmWave and otherwise—will mean for online gaming

posted onAugust 25, 2020
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

There's been a lot of buzz about 5G over the last year—much of it, sadly, none too coherent. Today, we're going to take a detailed, realistic look at how we can expect 5G to improve cellular broadband, with a focus on the impact we might be able to expect on gaming. Surprise: the news is actually not bad!

New hack runs homebrew code from DVD-R on unmodified PlayStation 2

posted onJune 29, 2020
by l33tdawg
Credit: Flickr

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, a hacker has found a way to run homebrew software on an unmodified PlayStation 2 using nothing but a carefully burned DVD-ROM.

Previous efforts to hack the PS2 relied on internal modifications, external hardware (like pre-hacked memory cards and hard drives), or errors found only on very specific models of the system. The newly discovered FreeDVDBoot differs from this previous work by exploiting an error in the console's DVD video player to create a fully software-based method for running arbitrary code on the system.

Valve confirms code leak for two online games, offers assurances for one of them

posted onApril 23, 2020
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

A major source code leak for Valve's biggest competitive PC multiplayer games—Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2—began making the rounds late Tuesday. Amid worries that this code leak for active, online games would lead to hackers finding exploits and developing remote code executions (RCEs), Valve issued a statement on Wednesday that such worries were moot.

There's a catch, however. In an emailed statement to Ars Technica about the nature of the leak, Valve only offered a statement about CS:GO:

Final Fantasy VII Remake demo has leaked, is packed with teases, spoilers

posted onJanuary 3, 2020
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

With less than three months to go before its announced March release date, the upcoming game Final Fantasy VII Remake has already kicked the year off with a bang—though likely not the way its creators at Square Enix intended. Hours before the end of 2019, the game's playable teaser demo leaked before it had even been announced as a freebie for fans. (Most of its 45 minutes of content can still be found at YouTube as of press time, though we've grabbed screens of its 720p footage just in case.)

Coding without a keystroke: The hands-free creation of a full video game

posted onMay 4, 2019
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

Dig Dog is a pretty fun little video game. Call it "Spelunky for kids"—and don't think of that as a backhanded compliment, either. Dig Dog, which launched Thursday on iOS, Xbox, Windows, and Mac, shaves away some of the genre's complications, controls smoothly, and has depth. It's as if the modern wave of randomly generated, dig-for-surprises adventures had existed in early '80s arcades. (And all for only $3!)

Major security flaw found in EA Origin gaming client

posted onApril 17, 2019
by l33tdawg
Credit: Tech Radar

Electronic Arts’ PC gaming platform, Origin has been found to have a security vulnerability that allows hackers to trick users of the service into opening and running malicious software on their system.

EA’s answer to the popular Steam and Epic storefronts is used to launch the publisher’s own gaming titles such as Apex Legends and Anthem, but researchers from Underdog Security found a loophole in the Windows version of the client – installed by tens of millions of gamers.

Dealmaster: Nintendo discounts a bunch of Mario games for “MAR10 Day”

posted onMarch 11, 2019
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

Today is March 10, and for fans of video games and calendar-based puns, that means it’s time to celebrate gaming’s favorite plumber, golfer, race car driver, doctor, boxing referee, and typing instructor: Mario.

Nintendo has declared this date “Mario Day” for the past few years (March 10 = Mar10 = Mario), but today the company is once again paying homage to its most famous character by launching a number of discounts on games featuring the little guy.

The deals include $20 off the following Mario titles for the Nintendo Switch:

Microsoft is bringing all-you-can-play Game Pass subscription to PC

posted onOctober 26, 2018
by l33tdawg
Credit: Arstechnica

Microsoft says PC players will be able to access a version of its all-you-can-download Xbox Game Pass subscription service some time in the future.

The news comes from CEO Satya Nadella, who mentioned the move offhandedly in response to a question about cloud gaming in a recent earnings call. Nadella said "increasing the strength of the community" around the Xbox brand is important to the company's bottom line and that "obviously, bringing Game Pass to even the PC is going to be a big element of that."