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It’s official: Titanfall is now on Xbox One and PCs

Mar11
by on March 11, 2014 at 4:03 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Product Launches, titanfall, xbox one

169194789 520x245 Its official: Titanfall is now on Xbox One and PCs

Titanfall, one of the most anticipated gaming titles for 2014, has officially landed on Xbox One.

Microsoft welcomed the game in an event at SXSW tonight. Given the hype surrounding Titanfall and its exclusivity to Microsoft platforms, it’s vital that Microsoft is able to market its quality and broad appeal as effectively as possible, as it seeks to up its sales of the Xbox One.

While the Xbox One is selling well, in these early months it’s started lagging behind its key rival, Sony’s PlayStation 4, in crucial markets such as the US.

To coincide with the Titanfall launch, Twitch announced it was bringing video game streaming to the Xbox One today as well, a feature which is already available on the PlayStation 4. With Twitch streaming, Microsoft will now have millions of potential players who can set up their own streams, quickly join broadcasters’ sessions and trigger their own broadcasts with Kinect-enabled voice commands.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced it would be dropping the price of the Xbox One by £30 in the UK, and offering the same price for a console bundle that included a pre-order of Titanfall.

Image Credit: GLENN CHAPMAN/AFP/Getty Images

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The five-year-long Getty Images-Flickr partnership has come to an end

Mar11
by on March 11, 2014 at 3:59 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, photos, Product Updates

111656500 520x245 The five year long Getty Images Flickr partnership has come to an end

A five-year partnership between Getty Images and Yahoo-owned photo service Flickr has officially come to an end, PetaPixel reports.

The partnership, which was inked in 2008, saw Getty Images going through Flickr content and inviting Flickr members to contribute their photos, which would then be made available for licensing to Getty Images’ creative, commercial and editorial customers.

PetaPixel reports that according to an email from Getty Images sent in by a reader, the original agreement with Flickr has reached its end and a new partnership has not been inked — though Getty Images says it is still ”open to working with Yahoo!/Flickr.”

A Yahoo spokesperson sort of confirmed the termination of the agreement to us, saying: “We’ve enjoyed partnering with Getty for the past five years to provide Flickr users licensing opportunities through Getty Images.”

According to PetaPixel’s report, the Flickr collection on Getty Images will now form the basis of a new house collection called ‘Moment.’

Getty Images will no longer be searching and browsing through Flickr photostreams to invite users to submit their photos — instead Flickr users have to use the same procedure as the other Getty and iStock contributors and send in full-sized, captioned and released images to them for review and selection.

Getty Images is also increasing its focus on mobile images by letting users submit pictures submit pictures shot on their phones to its new Moment-Mobile App — to which all Flickr collection contributors will be invited. The app is iOS only for now, but Android will be coming soon.

Headline image via LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

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Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

Mar11
by on March 11, 2014 at 2:36 am
Posted In: Around the Web

ScreenLRPreorder31 520x245 Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

weiss CE FOB220 150x150 Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII original Lightning.

With the excitement surrounding Square Enix’s release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the creative denizens of the DeviantArt community outdid themselves in a unique contest to create their own version of Lightning, the main character of this role-playing adventure game.

Tetsuya Nomura, the principal character designer for Final Fantasy and the Kingdom Hearts series, was the special judge for this contest and today announced DeviantArt prizewinners, Randis Albion, Marga Donaire, and Nicolas Barge from a total of 4655 entries.

“There were so many well-drawn pieces, that it was very difficult to pick just three. I was blown away by the overall level of quality,” Nomura said. This contest marks a first for Square Enix, which has never before participated in a user generated content program.

881929c86aaf68ae03e3d82139eed822 d77b9dh 2 520x143 Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

Willing to Protect by Marga Donaire

Nomura was enthralled with Marga Donaire’s entry, Willing to Protect. “With one look I was hooked,” he said. “The costume itself is sophisticated, and it’s also very well done as an illustration. The background that reminded me of the Japanese flag (Hinomaru) matched well with the piece and was beautiful. As an artist, when I look at different works of art, I think to myself, ‘If it were up to me, I would do it differently,’ but that thought didn’t cross my mind once when I saw this picture.”

forbidden gateway by arist0te d770zp5 520x143 Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

Forbidden Gateway by Nicolas Barge

Nomura was equally impressed with Nicolas Barge’s Forbidden Gateway. “At first glance it looks like a CG, and it has a level of quality that makes it look like it was captured as a screenshot,” he said. “While there were many heroic costumes for Lightning, I was drawn to the femininity of this costume and her hairstyle.”

lightning mythril scorpion armor by randis d77asd3 520x143 Check out how three artists reimagined a Final Fantasy heroine

Lightning – Mythril Scorpion Armor by Randis Albion

Nomura found Randis Albion’s entry, Mythril Scorpion Armor, equally striking. “It’s wonderful as an illustration, but in addition to that, the artist drew in both the front and back views, so I felt the artist’s clear intent when they created this piece,” said Nomura, adding, “The red and blue color scheme was very beautiful, too.”

Prizes include an original sketch from Final Fantasy character designer Tetsuya Nomura, a custom Xbox 360 console & controller, $1,000 cash, among others.  Each winner is also featured at the top of deviantArt’s homepage for a full day. Check out the complete submission gallery.

➤ Square Enix

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Is modular tech a new trend? After the modular smartphone, here’s the modular wristband

Mar10
by on March 10, 2014 at 11:01 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider, Profiles and Interviews

Nex Band 520x245 Is modular tech a new trend? After the modular smartphone, heres the modular wristband

The term ‘modular tech’ used to invoke thoughts of synthesizers from the 1970s. Now it’s making a comeback, not least because of Google’s Project Ara smartphone. Beyond that though, there’s Mighty Cast’s upcoming Nex Band.

Aimed at teenagers and young adults, the Nex Band is a charm bracelet that communicates wirelessly with your smartphone via Bluetooth LE. Its capabilities depend on the modules (‘Mods’) that you attach to it. So, perhaps you might want notifications from your favorite social network, the ability to share proximity information with your friends or extra power-ups for a mobile game.

Different Mods are loaded with their own abilities, and you can have up to five Mods plugged into your Nex Band at any time. A neat touch is that if you give away any of your Mods, you’ll be able to track their ownership status in the future, and see how far they’ve traveled around the world. Mods interact with a dedicated Nex smartphone app, but third-party developers will be able to work with them too.

Priced at $99 (or $49 for early pre-orders), the Nex Band is set to ship in Q4 2014. Mighty Cast is going for a ‘razor blade’ model, where the band is relatively inexpensive in the hope that owners buy lots of Mods in the future. There’s a fashion element too, and a range of branded Mods are planned, in collaboration with a number of partner companies.

At SXSW in Austin, Texas, I caught up with Mighty Cast’s CEO Adam Adelman to find out more about the wristband he hopes will become a major youth trend. You can listen to the interview below.

➤ Nex Band

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Instagram for iOS app gets a slider for its ‘Lux’ enhancement tool

Mar10
by on March 10, 2014 at 8:44 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Product Updates

If you’ve tried the Lux filter in the Instagram for iOS app before, you’ll know that its effects can be quite harsh and overbearing. Today, the app has been updated with a custom slider so that you can tweak the intensity of the effect.

That’s pretty much all there is to it. Once you’ve taken a picture or selected a photo from the Camera Roll, you can tap the Lux icon (denoted by a half-filled sun) and then drag the slider as needed. Moving it to the right increases the vibrance and details in the shot, while moving it to the left reverses the effect.

insta1 Instagram for iOS app gets a slider for its Lux enhancement tool

While Instagram is still considered the go-to mobile app for sharing photos, its editing credentials are being challenged by alternatives such as VSCO Cam, EyeEm and Snapseed. The Lux slider is only a small update for the iOS app, but it’s a welcome one nonetheless. We expect it’ll arrive in the Android app soon.

➤ Instagram | App Store

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