Since our staff is responsible for covering pretty much everything related to the video game industry on a daily basis, it can be tough to post all the stories we think our readers would like to see. Videos go unwatched, new release dates are missed and silly quotes just float away without ever being heard. So, instead of ignoring the news that slipped through the cracks each week, we decided to put it all in one convenient place!
This week, we get whispers of a possible new Xbox 720 IP, more rumors about the specs for PlayStation 4, and get some info on how the DLC for Aliens: Colonial Marines will work.
Microsoft trademarks ‘Marlow Briggs,’ could be new Xbox 720 IP
Earlier this week, Microsoft filed a trademark called “Marlow Briggs. The trademark was filed under “game software” which points to this being a brand new game. This being the end of this console generation, it’s highly unlikely that a new game series would be started until the next round of consoles. Only time will tell what this actually is, but you can check out the trademark to see what can be gleaned from reading it:
Word Mark MARLOW BRIGGS
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Game software
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85832005
Filing Date January 24, 2013
Current Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Microsoft Corporation CORPORATION WASHINGTON One Microsoft Way Redmond WASHINGTON 980526399
Attorney of Record Lisa M. Martens
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Rumor: PlayStation 4 specs revealed, dual camera mentioned
It seems like every could of days we’re hearing more rumors about what exactly will be under the hood of Sony’s next console. I’ll confess that I know very little about what most of these things mean, but there are lots of numbers, and big ones, so that’s probably a really good sign. This was broken by the site VGLeaks. Again, I don’t know enough about system specs to give any good commentary on these, so I’ll let the numbers do the talking.
CPU:
Orbis contains eight Jaguar cores at 1.6 Ghz, arranged as two “clusters”
Each cluster contains 4 cores and a shared 2MB L2 cache
256-bit SIMD operations, 128-bit SIMD ALU
SSE up to SSE4, as well as Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
One hardware thread per core
Decodes, executes and retires at up to two intructions/cycle
Out of order execution
Per-core dedicated L1-I and L1-D cache (32Kb each)
Two pipes per core yield 12,8 GFlops performance
102.4 GFlops for system
GPU:
GPU is based on AMD’s “R10XX” (Southern Islands) architecture
DirectX 11.1+ feature set
Liverpool is an enhanced version of the architecture
18 Compute Units (CUs)
Hardware balanced at 14 CUs
Shared 512 KB of read/write L2 cache
800 Mhz
1.843 Tflops, 922 GigaOps/s
Dual shader engines
18 texture units
8 Render backends
Memory:
4 GB unified system memory, 176 GB/s
3.5 available to games (estimate)
Storage:
High speed Blu-ray drive
single layer (25 GB) or dual layer (50 GB) discs
Partial constant angular velocity (PCAV)
Outer half of disc 6x (27 MB/s)
Inner half varies, 3.3x to 6x
Internal mass storage
One SKU at launch: 500 GB HDD
There may also be a Flash drive SKU in the future
Networking:
1 Gb/s Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WIFI, and Bluetooth
Peripherals:
Evolved Dualshock controller
Dual Camera
Move controller
Extra:
Audio Processor (ACP)
Video encode and decode (VCE/UVD) units
Display ScanOut Engine (DCE)
Zlib Decompression Hardware
‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ will offer 4 DLC packs under a season pass on PC
Aliens: Colonial Marines will jump on the season pass bandwagon next month, offering four DLC packs for $26.99. This is a markdown from $30, which itself already saves 33% on each pack. According to Gearbox, the DLC packs will include “campaign content, additional multiplayer maps, new modes, character customization and more.” As of this posting, only the PC version has a season pass, and Steam is required to redeem the pass.
‘Escape Goat 2’ announced, will feature new visual style
If you never played the original Escape Goat, it’s worth it to give it a try. The indie platformer about a purple goat with a magic hat was bursting with charm, and it had some clever puzzles to boot. A past-due sequel is now on its way, and it has transitioned from pixelated visuals to a cleaner, more detailed style. The game will feature a wider variety of levels and puzzles, as well as more hats to play with. A level creating/sharing system is also being considered. You can read an interview the game’s designer over at Indie Statik.
Crytek opens a new studio with former Vigil members
Of all the sad news surrounding the death of THQ, few things were arguably more upsetting than the fact that the extremely talented men and women at Vigil (Darksiders & Darksiders II) did not get purchased, leaving them out in the cold with no work. There is a happy ending though, as developer Crytek has opened a new studio in Austin, Texas, and staffed it with the core Vigil team comprising 35 members. This includes Vigil co-founder David Adams, who will be the CEO of what will be called Crytek USA Corp. This is the company’s first USA location. Congratulations to those now working for Crytek, and here’s hoping that any other members of Vigil that didn’t get moved can find work soon.
Spartan Ops Episode 8 trailer
Halo 4′s Spartan Ops co-op mode isn’t known for being the most stellar component of the Xbox 360 shooter, but things might be looking up for the lukewarm series. Below is the trailer for the eighth episode of the free series, which will be available to play February 4.
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