Final Fantasy 15 Environment Trailer

Square-Enix has built a gorgeous, diverse world for its upcoming RPG. Take a look.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/canuck/final-fantasy-15-environment-trailer

AnomalyCon 2016

Some steampunky stuff.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/CrookedTale/anomalycon-2016

Bandai Namco is Opening a VR Arcade in Tokyo - VRScout

Now you can save a kitty from a skyscraper ledge or pilot a giant robot in VR. We’ve had our minds blown at The Void in Utah and were hyped to hear Starbreeze is bringing a VR arcade to our home here in Los Angeles.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/bandai-namco-is-opening-a-vr-arcade-in-tokyo-vrscout

The rare games that can make you rich

As video gaming moves closer and closer to a purely digital software distribution service, retro games are become more and more collectable. To younger players weaned on Steam and iOS, the idea of having a game on a bulky cartridge or easily-scratched disc that you have to insert every time you want to play might seem like a throwback from the past, and even video gaming veterans will admit that aside from that warm fuzzy feeling you get from buying a physical product...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/the-rare-games-that-can-make-you-rich

Star Wars Holo-Chess Creator Announces VR Board Game

If you're a fan of the Star Wars films, you've probably seen the awesome 3D holographic chess game that Chewbacca was quite fond of (Let the wookie win!)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/star-wars-holo-chess-creator-announces-vr-board-game

Sony is open to bringing PlayStation VR to PCs

You might not have to pick up a PS4 to give it a shot.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/sony-is-open-to-bringing-playstation-vr-to-pcs

Potential Battlefield 5 leak suggests June reveal and December release date

Upon closer inspection it seems that this leak might not be referencing a WW1 setting but a futuristic one, possibly in the vein of Battlefield 2142. Still a leak, though, and it claims to be BF5 and not a sequel to 2142 so take it for what it is. Who’s up for some Battlefield 5 news? Well, perhaps ‘news’ isn’t the best term here since we’re talking about a leak that may or may not be legit, but you get the idea.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/aj0690/potential-battlefield-5-leak-suggests-june-reveal-and-december-release-date

The Flame in the Flood: A Great Metaphor for Life

Every now and again a game comes along that (whether it realizes it or not) has a lot to say about this river that we all flow down.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/the-flame-in-the-flood-a-great-metaphor-for-life

Oculus Rift review: Virtual reality is always almost here

After nearly four years, the finished Oculus Rift has shipped to its very first group of customers, and it’s time to see whether the headset that started it all is still pushing the cutting edge of virtual reality. For a long time, the hopes and dreams of many virtual reality fans could be summed up with two words: Oculus Rift. Helped by the rise of cheap smartphone displays, Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey took a technology that...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/socialiguana/oculus-rift-review-virtual-reality-is-always-almost-here

Dystopian Virtual Reality Is Finally Here

And it’s stranger than science fiction.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/dystopian-virtual-reality-is-finally-here

Video games alter your consciousness without drugs

A whopping 96.6% of "hard-core" gamers have experienced altered visual, auditory, and body perceptions as a result of playing games.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/sjvn/video-games-alter-your-consciousness-without-drugs

War of Currents, A Shocking Arcade Game Where Nikola Tesla & Thomas Edison Face Off in a Street Fighter Style Battle

The innovative group of Dayton, Ohio creatives at Real Art have designed War of Currents, a shocking custom-built arcade game where inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison face off in a Street Fighter style battle.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/CatLady/war-of-currents-a-shocking-arcade-game-where-nikola-tesla-thomas-edison-face-off-in-a-street-fighter-style-battle

Can you find the egg amongst the bunnies?

Hungarian cartoonist Gergely Dudás has done it again. Here's his latest challenge!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/can-you-find-the-egg-amongst-the-bunnies

Palmer Luckey Hand-Delivers First Oculus Rift CV1

A couple of days before the official launch of the Oculus Rift, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey hand-delivered an Oculus Rift to a customer in Anchorage, Alaska.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/palmer-luckey-hand-delivers-first-oculus-rift-cv1

Atari Vault on Steam

Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/atari-vault-on-steam

The mobile games industry is kept afloat by less than 1% of users

Getting your mobile game to the top of the app charts isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s the simplest ones that become an instant hit. For that reason, creators often use a free-to-play model, allowing users to play a good chunk of the game before having to pay for access to additional levels or features. However, that’s risky business because there is no guarantee that the users will ever pay.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/spacepopper/the-mobile-games-industry-is-kept-afloat-by-less-than-1-of-users

When Your Day Job Is Also Your Favorite Video Game

Meet the people who play games that resemble their 9-to-5s. Dave Werdan always wanted to be a truck driver. On Middle America road trips with his family, Werdan as a child would gaze out the window and watch the trucks go by, giddily imagining himself driving one. “It was just the adventure behind it,” he said. “You go everywhere!” A dozen years later, behind the wheel of his 2010 Peterbilt 579, the life of a trucker isn’t so glamorous.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/when-your-day-job-is-also-your-favorite-video-game

Lost SNES Game Starring Bill Clinton's Cat Set for Release: The Return of ‘Socks The Cat Rocks The Hill’

How gamemaker Kaneko’s long-lost masterpiece will finally be coming to a gaming console near you.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Zeus/the-return-of-socks-the-cat-rocks-the-hill

Video Gaming Is Entirely Beneficial for Cognitive Functioning, Says New Study

The stereotype of videogamers as isolated, socially awkward losers hiding out their basements is wrong, says a new study. Using psychological and game-playing data derived from more than 3,000 European kids between the ages of 6 and 11 years, a team of psychologists led by Viviane Kovess-Masfety from Paris Descartes University, reports that playing video games is associated with lots of positive cognitive and mental health outcomes. In fact, more video game play was generally associated with...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/video-gaming-is-entirely-beneficial-for-cognitive-functioning-says-new-study

Nintendo's first ever mobile game is blowing up in Japan

In Miitomo, which will be available outside Japan this month, players create and customize avatars that can be used to interact with friends and other players.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/nintendos-first-ever-mobile-game-is-blowing-up-in-japan

Trump Clicker Game

Click on Donald Trump, earn money and help him win elections. Play this funny idle clicker parody game today!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/SMcIntyre/trump-clicker-game

Inside The World Of A Prison Chess Player

Robert Booker, a Detroit native currently serving a 30-year sentence for distributing crack cocaine, has been down for almost two decades. In that time, he’s played thousands of games of chess. I saw it firsthand when I was on the yard with Booker at FCI Gilmer, a medium-security prison in Virginia. The incarcerated population in the US numbers more than 2 million and since that population is largely barred from access to higher education...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jackthetripper/inside-the-world-of-a-prison-chess-player

Gamasutra: Ben Weber's Blog - DeepMind Challenges for StarCraft

AlphaGo recently played against 9-dan professional Go player Lee Sedol. The AI won the first three games against the human opponent, achieving victory in the best-of-five tournament. With this challenge accomplished, the DeepMind team is looking for new problems to use as a testbed for the system. Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind, expressed interest in StarCraft as a challenge.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/canuck/gamasutra-ben-webers-blog-deepmind-challenges-for-starcraft

No Man's Sky preview: GTA meets Minecraft in space

Your universe just got a whole lot bigger.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lostwonder/no-mans-sky-preview-gta-meets-minecraft-in-space

Horrifying Website Shows You Just How Easily You'll Die in the Viral Apocalypse

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you became infected with a supervirus that ultimately led to the worldwide collapse of human society? Well wonder no more. A new online simulator called Collapse is now making the rounds online that documents, as "scientifically" as possible, a day-by-day playbook of exactly how that might go down. Game developer Ubisoft designed the nightmarish...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/horrifying-website-shows-you-just-how-easily-youll-die-in-the-viral-apocalypse

The Division Angry Review

AngryJoe & OtherJoe are activated as Agents for The Division, what do they think of the organization? Find out!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/the-division-angry-review

My Sensual Journey into Japan's $90 Million Fake Anime Boyfriend Market

In the interest of journalism, I spent over $60 flirting with emotionally manipulative anime characters, and it fucking ruled.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/my-sensual-journey-into-japans-90-million-fake-anime-boyfriend-market

Sony's PlayStation VR bundle is $499, includes camera and Move controllers

Sony has announced that a PlayStation VR "launch bundle" will be available for preorder beginning Tuesday, and it'll be priced at $499. The bundle, Sony claims, is "exclusively for pre-sale and in limited quantities." You'll be able to get it from all the retailers you'd expect (Best Buy, GameStop, etc.), and it includes the core PlayStation VR device plus a PlayStation Camera and two PlayStation Move controllers.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/sonys-playstation-vr-bundle-is-499-includes-camera-and-move-controllers

Sony is reportedly making a 4K PlayStation 4

Sony may be working on a new version of the PlayStation 4 that's able to output 4K graphics for games. Kotaku reports hearing about the PlayStation 4 upgrade from several developers, who Sony has briefed on the plans. It's not stated when the upgraded PlayStation will be ready or how it would be sold, but the implication is that Sony could, potentially in the next year or so, begin selling a 4K-compatible PlayStation alongside the existing PS4.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Borska/sony-is-reportedly-making-a-4k-playstation-4

The 25 hardest video games of all time

From the darkest corners of gaming history, here are the shooters, platformers and beat-’em-ups that took no prisoners
Read more: http://snapzu.com/sjvn/the-25-hardest-video-games-of-all-time

This is your brain on virtual reality

You may doubt that you’ll ever fall for the illusion of virtual reality, but your brain is already working against you. Kimberly Voll has a Ph.D. in computer science, specializing in artificial intelligence, and an honors degree in cognitive science. She is also one of the developers of the puzzle game Fantastic Contraption, built in virtual reality for the HTC Vive. Voll knows how your brain works, and at the 2016 Game Developers Conference she explained how it's specifically affected by VR.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/manix/this-is-your-brain-on-virtual-reality

Google's Go victory shows AI thinking can be unpredictable, and that's a concern

Google's artificial intelligence made a surprise move in the recent Go challenge that has some people worried about what happens when AI makes a non-human decision that we could not anticipate.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/googles-go-victory-shows-ai-thinking-can-be-unpredictable-and-thats-a-concern

Metro 2033 author partners with Hollywood for film

Hollywood is working to make a film based on Metro 2033.Variety reports a film based on the book, which spawned two video games, is in the works.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Chubros/metro-2033-author-partners-with-hollywood-for-film

Playstation VR Price, Release Date Announced - $399

During the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco today, Sony announced that the Playstation VR headset will cost $399 USD.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/playstation-vr-price-release-date-announced-399

Star Wars Battlefront is coming exclusively to PlayStation VR

More force is coming to virtual reality. At today's PlayStation VR press event, Sony CEO Andrew House teased onstage that Playstation will be partnering..
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/star-wars-battlefront-is-coming-exclusively-to-playstationvr

Rocket League to Become First Xbox One Game with Cross-Platform Play

As confirmed by Microsoft at GDC today, the Xbox One version of Rocket League will have cross-platform with the PC version of the game- and the door is open for the PS4.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/rocket-league-to-become-first-xbox-one-game-with-cross-platform-play

Microsoft Is Training AI In Minecraft

And opening it up for everybody this summer
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Gozzin/microsoft-is-training-ai-in-minecraft

Microsoft is using Minecraft to develop artificial intelligence tech for the real world

Yet more proof that Minecraft is more than just a game comes our way today. Microsoft already has plans to use the platform, which it bought for $2.5 billion, to help kids learn and for virtual reality, and now we can add artificial intelligence development to that list, too. Today, Microsoft announced a project that enables artificial intelligence researchers to tap into the hit title to sculpt and develop their tech. AIX is a new software development platform that researchers can use to...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/microsoft-is-using-minecraft-to-develop-artificial-intelligence-tech-for-the-realworld

Crowdfunded Game Console Is Made Out of Tape, Cardboard, and Fake Circuits

There's something very suspicious about this crowdfunded retro games console named after the Colecovision.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Jourdy288/crowdfunded-game-console-is-made-out-of-tape-cardboard-and-fake-circuits

Why Women Are Choosing Virtual Boyfriends Over Real Ones

Virtual romance, once a niche Japanese subculture, has mushroomed into a lucrative global industry. By Pip Usher.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/why-women-are-choosing-virtual-boyfriends-over-real-ones

When Gordon Met Chell

Take two silent protagonists from two different Valve game series. Mix in two very interesting weapons of choice. Voilà. You get one of the more amusing fan game films, one where Gordon from Half-Life meets Chell from Portal.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/sjvn/when-gordon-met-chell

Rocket League developer teases basketball mode

Rocket League, Psyonix's wildly successful combination of cars and soccer, is apparently trading the pitch for the court, based on a tease tweeted by the developer last night. Yes, basketball is coming to Rocket League. Psyonix tweeted the teaser image last night, hinting that a "Rocket League Hoops" mode is in the works, just in time for the NCAA college basketball tournament...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/dianep/rocket-league-developer-teases-basketball-mode

Clueless Gamer: "UFC 2" With Conor McGregor

CONAN Highlight: Conan goes toe-to-toe with the UFC Featherweight Champion in EA Sports' latest MMA fighting game—and he’s got the bruised face to prove it.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/funhonestdude/clueless-gamer-ufc-2-with-conor-mcgregor

Heed the Whispers of the Old Gods

Ancient evils have woken from their ageless slumber! Beware their tentacled grasp as they spread mayhem amongst mortals in Hearthstone’s third expansion: Whispers of the Old Gods!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/heed-the-whispers-of-the-old-gods

The making of PlayStation VR

When Richard Marks was in 10th grade, his father opened a video game store that was ahead of its time. It was the early ’80s; used game sales weren’t common, and the store — Video Exchange — ran on the gimmick that customers could trade in their games. The store didn’t last long. But for the young Marks, who held the title of chief demo officer, working there was like living in an arcade. Surrounded by open boxes...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/manix/the-making-of-playstation-vr

What Would Jesus Bet?

A math whiz hones the optimal poker strategy. “You might get lucky and beat me, but you’ll never outplay me.”, says Chris Ferguson. [An excellent 2009 article]
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/what-would-jesus-bet

Whispers of the Old Gods

Whispers of the Old Gods /u/That_Azzin on reddit discovered a hand painted advertisement in the works for Hearthstone on their way to work today. The expansion still has not been officially announced, but there have been several leaks over the past couple of weeks pointing to this as being the next Hearthstone expansion. Awesome logo, and great work to the artists who are working on it!
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/whispers-of-the-old-gods

Nvidia replaces its Game Ready driver for The Division with something less terrorizing

Earlier this week, we reported on version 364.47 of Nvidia’s ‘Game Ready’ GeForce driver that quickly added support for Vulkan as well as some freshly instated optimizations for new and upcoming games such as Tom Clancy’s The Division and Need for Speed. Unfortunately, it appears the graphics company may have released the driver prematurely, as a number of users are reporting various technical issues on its official feedback thread.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/8mm/nvidia-replaces-its-game-ready-driver-for-the-division-with-something-less-terrorizing

12 things today's gamers don't remember about old games

We look back on video game history with rose-tinted nostalgia, but some things tend to get overlooked amid those misty-eyed tales of gaming yore
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jenjen1352/12-things-todays-gamers-dont-remember-about-old-games

Making the Case for Paperless Monopoly

Much as we love the idea of paperless anything, doesn't paperless Monopoly take the fun out of it? Well...maybe not.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/sjvn/making-the-case-for-paperless-monopoly-laserfiche