| Destiny Darts to $325 Million in Five Days, Online Players Log 100 Million Posted: 17 Sep 2014 10:29 AM PDT  Activision Blizzard has another lucrative franchise on its hands
Though some early reviews have criticized Destiny for its repetitive game play and vague storyline, it's still raking in a lot of money for publisher Activision Blizzard. Citing Chart-Track figures, Activision Blizzard says Destiny has sold through more than $325 million worldwide in its first five days, which underscores that it's the best selling new video game franchise launch of all time. Developer Bungie claims Destiny players have logged over 100 million of online play through the first week and participated in 137 million activities. In addition, Destiny has won over 180 awards and nominations. "Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours of the game in the first week. That's on par with the engagement levels of our most popular Call of Duty games, which obviously is an industry leader," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing. "Millions of gamers are having a great time playing Destiny and can't put down their controllers. And this is just the beginning. Destiny is a platform that will grow and evolve and we will continue to work closely with our partners at Bungie to bring a long line of new experiences and content to life in the game." Destiny became one of the most highly anticipated titles of the year as gamers were eager to see what the developers of Halo, another hugely popular franchise, would come up with. Last week, Activision announced that it had shipped $500 million worth of copies to retail. Having now grossed $325 million from those sales, the sales estimate sits at over 5 million copies in circulation so far. Microsoft undoubtedly helped put copies into the hands of gamers when it ran a promotion from September 7 to 13 in which anyone who purchased a new Xbox One console from a participating retailer, including the Madden NFL 15 and Forza bundles, would be eligible for a free game priced $59.99 or less. As of right now, there aren't any plans to port Destiny over to PC, though Activision Publishing CEO Erik Hirshberg left the door open back at E3 when he said it's "something we're talking about and looking at very carefully." Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| GammaTech Announces Durabook R11 Tablet Posted: 17 Sep 2014 09:16 AM PDT  The lightest 11.6-inch rugged tablet in its class, GammaTech says
Tablets aren't exactly known for their durability. Can you image dropping your Android slate or iPad down a flight of stairs? If the stairs are carpeted, you might get away with it (we don't recommend testing this out), otherwise there's a good chance the screen will end up busted. GammaTech's new Durabook R11 is a rugged slate that would probably survive such a tumble, as well as other harsh situations. According to GammaTech, the Durabook R11 is the lightest 11.6-inch rugged tablet in its class. The slate weighs 2.73 pounds (with battery) and measures 11.4 inches (W) by 7.48 inches (D) by 0.78 inches (H), or 290mm (W) by 190mm (D) by 20mm (H) if you prefer metric. It boasts Military Standard 810G and IP65 certifications for drop, shock, dust, and water resistance, and is MIL-STD 461F certified for operation in hazardous locations. According to GammaTech, it can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -14F to around 131F degrees. As to the hardware, the Durabook R11 features an Intel Haswell Y Series CPU, up to 8GB of DDR3L 1600 RAM, 64GB or 128GB M.2 SATA SSD, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1080p front-facing camera, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, SDXC card reader, SIM card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and various other odds and ends. On the software side, there are various options, including Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1. Those interested can create an account at GammaTech's website to get pricing and customization options. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Asus May Sue X99 Motherboard Competitors Over OC Socket Design Posted: 17 Sep 2014 08:09 AM PDT  A suppy chain leak may have led to patent infringement
It's said that all is fair in love and war, but in the motherboard war that's currently taking place, some companies may have went too far. That's the reported opinion of Asus, anyway, Apparently Asus thinks competing motherboard makers infringed on pending patents related to its OC Socket technology found in boards based on Intel's X99 chipset for Haswell-E. Asus developed its OC Socket technology in-house. What is OC Socket? It has more pins than a standard LGA 2011 socket. The six additional pins are strategically spread out around the socket and allow you to tap into additional Haswell-E voltage lanes to enable higher and more stable overclocks. "Designed to break performance barriers, Asus OC Socket utilizes extra pins to connect a proprietary circuit to contacts found on Haswell-E's land grid array (LGA). Combined with our customized UEFI, this exclusive feature enables higher DDR4 memory frequencies, lower latencies, and enhanced stability while overclocking, extending all the way to extreme overclocking conditions, such as Liquid Nitrogen (LN2). OC Socket is 100 percent compatible with new Haswell-E LGA 2011-v3 CPUs, ensuring the ideal combination of overclocking performance and compatibility," Asus explains. According to Digitimes, an investigation by Asus has lead the company to believe that supply chain makers leaked confidential OC Socket designs to competitors. As a result, Asus is considering legal action against competing motherboard makers, including ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte. Stay tuned, as we'll be watching to see how this develops. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Xotic PC's Aggressive Looking Phantom X1 Laptop Takes Flight with Haswell Posted: 17 Sep 2014 07:41 AM PDT  Not a laptop for boardroom meetings
If you're looking for a business laptop to bring into the boardroom and take notes with, there's nothing for you to see here (unless you want to make a splash in front of your colleagues and bosses). However, if it's an aggressive design and affordable price tag you're after, Xotic PC may have something of interest. Meet the Phantom X1, Xotic PC's latest 15.6-inch gaming laptop starting at $1,159. From the available press images we've seen, the overall aesthetic reminds us of a few Asus ROG laptops -- it's sort of a stealth fighter jet theme. On the inside, things are a bit more standard fare. The Phantom X1 comes stock with a 15.6-inch Full HD 1080 IPS display powered by an Intel Core i7 4710HQ processor (Haswell), 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics, 1TB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, memory card reader, webcam, backlit keyboard and a few other tidbits. Not included is an operating system, which you can add starting at $105. The Phantom X1 is available now to configure and order. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Logitech Develops Custom Romer-G Switches for G910 Orion Spark Mechanical Keyboard Posted: 17 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT  A feature rich mechanical keyboard with one-of-a-kind key switches
Logitech just announced the G910 Orion Spark RGB, a mechanical keyboard and successor to the G710. Unlike its predecessor, however, the G910 boasts Logitech's exclusive new Romer-G mechanical key switches, offering 25 percent faster actuation than any other mechanical switch out there with an actuation point of 1.5mm, Logitech says. It's also supposedly a more durable plank -- Logitech claims it can withstand 70 million keystrokes. "This keyboard is the culmination of years of ongoing development by our engineering team, incorporating feedback from gamers and eSports athletes to develop a next-generation mechanical key," said Vincent Tucker, director of Logitech gaming. "Our team was charged with developing a keyboard that truly improves the gaming experience, and Orion Spark delivers." Each key of the Orion Spark can be individually customized from a selection of 16.8 million colors. This opens up the possibility of marking keys by color to keep track of spells and other commands, or you can simply change the color to match your overall setup. There are nine programmable G-keys on the Orion Spark, and when spread across three profiles, there's the potential to create up to 27 macros using the Logitech Gaming Software. The Orion Spark can also communicate with your mobile device using a new app called Arx Control. This allows your mobile device to display in-game intelligence, system performance stats, media controls, and more. To make such a thing feasible, the Orion Spark features a pull-out tray that supports most iOS and Android devices. Logitech says the Orion Spark will be available in November for $180; you can place a pre-order now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Asus 23.6-inch LED Monitor, WD Purple 4TB SATA HDD, and More! Posted: 17 Sep 2014 05:30 AM PDT  
Top Deal: Billy went and spent all his savings on a 4K monitor. He then had to work overtime to pay for a pair of graphics cards that could game at the resolution, only to discover he'd need a beefier power supply too. Before he knew, poor Billy was in debt, his girlfriend left him, and even his dog Rover rebelled by refusing to bring him his slippers in the morning. But he got a 4K monitor! Which was cool, except that Dell came out with a 5K panel, so there went his bragging rights. All that said, if you can comfortably afford a 4K monitor and understand the pros and cons, then have it. If not, why not treat yourself to an affordable 1080p panel? We happen to know of one -- check out today's top deal for an Asus VE247H 23.6-inch LED Monitor for $120 with free shipping (normally $160 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWD56]; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). This stylish Full HD 1080p panel sports a 2ms response time, built-in speakers, and three connectivity options (D-Sub, DVI-D, and HDMI). Other Deals: WD Purple 4TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Hard Drive for $170 with free shipping (normally $188 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWD42]) G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory for $79 with free shipping (normally $87 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWD44]) Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Vapor-X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card for $445 with free shipping PNY Attaché 2 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $25 with free shipping (normally $30 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWD74]) |
