Skylanders Swap Force launches October 13th, headed next-gen as well

The Skylanders aren’t just evolving into combinable characters in their next entry, they’re also heading to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Skylanders Swap Force was given an October 13th release date today, alongside news of its two new platforms (in addition to being on basically every other video game platform in existence).

Like previous entries in the Skylanders series, Swap Force employs a wired power pad where physical Skylanders toys (Swap Force versions seen above), power-ups, and new levels can be placed and then played in-game. This October’s entry allows for toys from both the original Skylanders game and Giants to work with it; that also applies to PS4 and Xbox One versions. As for the launch date of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions … well, that’s a question of when Microsoft and Sony launch their consoles. The game will otherwise launch on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Wii and Wii U on October 13th.

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E3 2013: What we know and what to expect from the big three

E3 2013: What we know and what to expect from the big three

The annual game industry trade show that’s spawned thousands of memes is just around the corner: E3 2013 kicks off on Monday morning with a quartet of press briefings. In another 72 hours, we’ll have a full day of liveblogs for you that’ll no doubt reveal much more about Microsoft’s and Sony’s intentions with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively, along with Nintendo’s press not-so-much-a-conference event the following day addressing the Wii U.

Though the latter is a somewhat known quantity at this point, there’s considerable promise of major game announcements and a first look at the much-anticipated next Smash Bros. entry. Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, have a lot more blank space to fill in. We’re here to explore what we know about all three, but more importantly, to identify what we expect to find out at the big show. Join us past the break and dive into the next wave of the console wars.

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Diablo 3 bedevils consoles on September 3rd, heading to Xbox 360 as well

Diablo 3 isn’t a Sony console exclusive anymore, it seems, with Blizzard Entertainment today announcing it’s heading to Xbox 360 as well on September 3rd. The game will arrive for the PlayStation 3 on the same day as the 360 version, with the PlayStation 4 version arriving at an unknown point afterward. It’s unknown if the game is also headed to Microsoft’s next-gen console, Xbox One, though Blizzard told our friends at Joystiq, “We don’t have any further platform announcements to share at this time.” Not exactly a straight up “no!” The console version of the game is said to contain all the updates that PC / Mac users have enjoyed thus far, not to mention much needed relief for your clicking finger.

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Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Joystiq

The Daily Roundup for 05.29.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Sony’s Yoshida confirms all PlayStation 4 games work with Vita via Remote Play (with minor exceptions)

Sony’s PlayStation Vita is getting a major content boost when the PlayStation 4 launches later this year, as all PlayStation 4 games will run on the Vita via Remote Play. The only exceptions offered by Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida were, “unless the game requires specific hardware like the camera [PS4 Eye].” It also stands to reason that PlayStation Move-specific titles won’t run via Remote Play, nor anything else that requires peripheral hardware (the Buzz! series, for example).

The PlayStation 4’s Remote Play functionality with the Vita is said to be far more robust than its previous PlayStation 3 / PlayStation Portable iteration. Developers can even put Vita-specific controls in their PS4 games, enabling Wii U-esque second screen functionality, Yoshida told us earlier this year. We’ll have our Vitas on-hand at E3 in a few weeks when we expect Sony will offer first hands-on with its next gaming console.

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Via: Joystiq

Source: Twitter

PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 controller passes through the FCC solo

PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 controller passes through the FCC solo

We still haven’t actually touched the redesigned DualShock 4 destined to ship with Sony’s PlayStation 4, but we’re getting another look at it in this FCC filing. Appearing in wireframe form to show off where its FCC label will be placed, what’s available reveals very little. As we were told, it’s still a Bluetooth 2.1+EDR device and carries a CUH-ZCT1U model number, and its PS Eye-compatible light bar can be seen in the diagram. Of course, what we’re really waiting to see is the system that will accompany this remote control and do battle with the Xbox One for console supremacy, but barring a leak or unexpected revelation that will have to wait until E3. Hit the source link to check out the docs yourself, or get a better angle on it in our galleries below.

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Source: FCC

Xbox One vs Xbox 360 vs PS4: fight!

Xbox One vs Xbox 360 vs PS4 fight!

The Xbox One has finally arrived to serve up all of your living room entertainment in one place. But before you ready to open your wallet for Microsoft’s next-gen console, you’d probably like to how the new Xbox stacks up against the old, and how its hardware compares to the next-gen competition from Sony, right? Well, a chart with comparable specs aplenty awaits you after the break.

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Sony’s not showing its new PlayStation 4 just yet, but here’s a taste (video)

What does the PlayStation 4 look like? We didn’t find out back at Sony’s big New York City reveal gala in February, but it looks like we’re edging ever closer to that moment: June 10th at 6PM PT seems to be exactly when we’ll find out. Hey, wouldn’t you know it, that lines up with Sony’s E3 2013 press conference, which we’ll be liveblogging right here on Engadget. The coincidences simply won’t stop! A new tease video today gives us a few glimpses at what we might see in a few weeks, but for now you’ll have to be sated by looking through individual video frames. Take a look (and then another, and then another) just below the break.

The PlayStation 4 has a projected launch of “Holiday 2013,” and is Sony’s next entry in its long-running PlayStation line of game consoles. The company’s already shown off its new DualShock 4 controller, as well as its PlayStation 4 Eye motion camera (akin to Microsoft’s Kinect), and we expect to see not just the console, but a smattering of other PlayStation-related news at the June 10th press conference. Today’s tease comes just one day before Microsoft’s expected next-gen Xbox reveal event kicks off in Redmond. Oh you guys!

Update: Intrepid commenter GoldenRabbit snatched all the stills from the tease and put them all in one place, right here. Thanks dude!

Update 2: And gaming forum NeoGAF goes even deeper in this thread. We’re pretty sure it’s a game console. Or a fancy scale. Or maybe a panini press?

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Source: Sony

Ubisoft working with Kaspersky Lab to make Watch Dogs’ hacking more true to life

Ubisoft working with Kaspersky Lab to make Watch Dogs' hacking more true to life

Upcoming third-person action game Watch Dogs is set in a near-future environment modeled on Chicago, a city that’s overseen by computers that can be manipulated. And while the game has some instances of fantastical hacking perpetrated by main character Aiden Pearce, Ubisoft’s creative team is also working with security firm Kaspersky Lab to bring an air of realism to the game’s hacking themes.

“They have really hardcore experts there on hacking. We send them some of our designs and we ask them [for] feedback on it, and it’s interesting to see what gets back,” Ubisoft Montreal senior producer Dominic Guay told our sister site, Joystiq. “Sometimes they say, ‘Yeah, that’s possible, but change that word,’ or, ‘That’s not the way it works.'” Check out the full piece right here.

Along with a new Assassin’s Creed game, Ubisoft is bringing Watch Dogs to next-gen consoles this year (as well as current-gen and PC), leading its next-gen push.

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Source: Joystiq

Call of Duty: Ghosts is this year’s CoD entry, headed to 360, PS3, PC and ‘next-gen consoles’ on November 5 (video)

STUB 'Call of Duty Ghosts' is this year's CoD entry, headed to 360, PS3, PC, and nextgen consoles

Like Punxsutawney Phil’s shadowgazing, we can rightfully expect a new Call of Duty game to be announced annually and available at the holidays. Also like our groundhog friend, the only annual questions we must ask are in the details — what is this year’s Call of Duty about, and who’s making it? It turns out that this year’s Duty development, unsurprisingly, falls on Infinity Ward’s shoulders — the folks who created the much lauded Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — and it’s named “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” The first-person shooter is arriving on a whole mess of platforms this November 5th, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, but also PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox — given that we don’t know release dates for the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox, it stands to reason that Ghosts will arrive on a different date for those platforms. It’s also likely we’ll see a handheld version on Nintendo’s 3DS made by someone other than Infinity Ward, but we’ve got no direct word on that just yet. More ambiguous, Nintendo’s Wii U isn’t listed, but it stands to reason it’ll head that way as well (the last series entry, Black Ops 2, got a Wii U version).

The “Ghosts” in the title references … well, we’re not entirely sure. Previous CoD games featured a character named “Ghost” fairly prominently, though the plurality indicates a game about more than one individual. Infinity Ward head Mark Rubin calls Ghosts “a new sub-brand” in the CoD franchise, and it’s getting a new (unnamed) game engine to boot — another indicator that previous characters aren’t involved. We’re holding out hope that the often overserious, dramatic tone of previous CoD games is being completely thrown out in favor of a goofy game about hunting ghosts. The bullets pass right through their ethereal form! Run for your life! We’ll hear more about Call of Duty: Ghosts at Microsoft’s big next-gen console unveiling on May 21st, so hold tight. The first teaser video is just below the jump.

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Source: YouTube