Hasta La Gadget!

Just in case you’ve forgotten (and you’d be forgiven, given the packed fall video game schedule), XCOM: Enemy Unknown is launching tomorrow, October 9. Even better is that it’s available for pre-load on Steam right now, so if you’ve already purchased it, you can load the game on your rig early and be ready to play right when the clock strikes midnight. What’s more exciting than that?

How about this: pre-ordering the game through Steam nets you some very attractive pre-order bonuses. The first bonus is the Elite Soldier Pack, which doesn’t seem to be more than a set of skins for your foot soldiers. The second bonus is a pack of three XCOM-themed items for use in Team Fortress 2, which is nice if not unexpected considering that you’re pre-ordering through Steam. While those two packs aren’t much to write home about, the third bonus is – a free copy of Civilization V which, despite what a handful of very loud dissenters say, is a really good game.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is something of a response to the fan outcry over XCOM, which is an incoming tactical FPS reboot of the series. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a tactical turn-based strategy game, much more similar to the XCOM games of years past, and it’s safe to say that fan enthusiasm is running high. There appears to be good reason for that excitement too, as early reviews of the game are excellent. XCOM: Enemy Unknown currently boasts a 91 out of 100 on Metacritic, so if you want a game that stays true to the franchise, it looks like Enemy Unknown is it.

As for the other upcoming XCOM game, it still doesn’t have a release date. XCOM has been in development since 2006, and though 2K was showing it off back in 2010, it’s been delayed numerous times. If you want to play a brand new XCOM title, it looks like XCOM: Enemy Unknown is your only choice for the time being, though we doubt many die-hard series fans will be complaining about that.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown available for pre-load on Steam is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Skyrim‘s second serving of DLC, Hearthfire, launched on PC today, meaning that eager homebuilders can get to work constructing their dream house (or at least something resembling their dream house). Hearthfire costs the same on Steam as it does on Xbox 360 – $5 – and for that paltry amount, you get to buy up plots of land, collect raw materials, and then use those materials to build a house, which could potentially include things like a greenhouse or an armory. You can also move your spouse into your freshly-built home and, if you really want your Skyrim experience to mirror real life, adopt children.

That’s all well and good, but while Xbox 360 and PC players are enjoying both Dawnguard and Hearthfire, they’re still nowhere to be seen on PS3. Unfortunately, it looks like that will remain the case for a least a while longer, as Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines says that there isn’t anything new to report as far as PS3 DLC is concerned. “I don’t have any info on Hearthfire, Dawnguard, or DLC in general for PS3,” Hines said on Twitter. “We’re still on it. Will share update when I have one.”

Bethesda’s issues with Skyrim on PS3 have been well documented. First, there was that particularly nasty save bug that bloated save files to the point where lag made the game unplayable on PS3, and now, the studio is having some issues porting its Skyrim DLC to the console. Bethesda stays away from specifics when talking about its DLC problems on PS3, so we’re not sure exactly what the studio is dealing with, but we do know that the problems are severe enough that Sony had to step in to lend a helping hand.

Sadly, it’s looking increasingly likely that PS3 players won’t get any Skyrim DLC at all. Bethesda said that it won’t release Dawnguard or Hearthfire on PS3 in a broken state if it can’t solve these issues, and the lack of significant updates suggests that progress is slow-going at best. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed and watching for more updates from Hines and Bethesda, so keep it tuned to SlashGear for more information.

Skyrim: Hearthfire now on PC, no new updates on Dawnguard PS3 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As promised, Valve has launched non-game software offerings on Steam, albeit a little behind schedule. Starting today, you can use Steam to purchase software other than games, though at first, the amount of software on offer is going to be a little bit slim. Game developers will definitely want to check out the Steam storefront today, however, as most of the software that has launched on Steam is aimed directly at them.

There are seven different programs to purchase on Steam today: GameMaker Studio, 3D-Coat, ArtRage Studio Pro, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark 11, Camera Bag 2, and Valve’s Source Filmmaker. GameMaker Studio and the Source Filmmaker are both free (and the Source Filmmaker has been available for a while already), whereas the other programs will cost you some dough. Camera Bag 2 is $14.99, 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11 are $19.99 each, ArtRage Studio Pro is $59.99, and 3D-Coat is $99.

In typical Valve fashion, though, all of this software has been discounted by 10% as part of a launch day promotion. The software will probably remain discounted for at least a few more days, but if you want any of these programs, better to buy now and save some money than wait and possibly pay full price. At the moment, all of these programs are Windows-only, though we expect some software that’s compatible with Macs to begin popping up soon.

Likewise, it won’t be long before there’s a healthy offering of software on Steam. As an added bonus, these games take full advantage of the Steamworks platform, with all programs getting automatic updates through Steam and some (like GameMaker Studio) compatible with the Steam Workshop. We’re definitely excited to see what Valve does with this, so keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more information.

Valve launches non-game software on Steam is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Valve Software — maker of the iconic Half-Life series and proprietor of digital storefront Steam — today released Steam’s first non-video game software (originally scheduled to launch in early September). ArtRage Studio Pro, CameraBag 2, GameMaker: Studio, 3D-Coat, 3DMark Vantage, and 3DMark 11 join Valve’s own Source Filmmaker in the newly minted software section of the Steam store. All non-Valve software is PC-only for now — we imagine Mac software will also show up at some point, but nothing’s available just yet. Like Steam’s games, software titles will receive streamlined updates via the Steam client, and consumers will enjoy similar discount offers to the games section — the first such sale is already on, with launch day software getting a 10 percent discount until week’s end. Bizarrely, the software titles also have Steam achievements. Finally, developers get rewarded for porting their games to Android by something other than crushing piracy!

Continue reading First non-game titles now available on Steam, game dev tools lead the charge

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First non-game titles now available on Steam, game dev tools lead the charge originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s Friday once again folks, with most of you already enjoying the weekend. Today, the iPhone 5 launched in 22 additional regions around the world, setting Apple’s plan to have it in over 100 countries by the end of the year on track. Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the sad state of Apple Maps today (recommending some other Maps apps in the process), and we took a closer look at his words in a new column. Even more surprising is the fact that the iOS App Store now features a download page specifically for other Maps applications.

All of you Apple dissenters will definitely want to watch the iPhone 5 get destroyed by some powerful lasers, and Sharp reassured today that it’s making plenty of iPhone 5 screens, which are rumored to be the bottleneck on production. Today we got a closer look at the vibrator inside the iPhone 5, and learned that it costs less than $1 to charge your iPhone for an entire year. Microsoft has assured that it has tested Windows 8 thoroughly ahead of next month’s launch, and it seems that Kodak will soon be dropping out of the inkjet printer business.

Google now lets YouTube creators re-download their movies in their original format, and the FCC has approved an auction to reclaim broadcast TV spectrum. HP has launched Open webOS 1.0, and Amazon gave us a little video detailing the technology behind the Kindle Paperwhite. Good news for all of you Call of Duty fans: Modern Warfare 3 is free-to-play on Steam this weekend, and there are rumors floating around that HP will soon be jumping back into the mobile market.

Microsoft was spotted lamenting the lack of highly skilled technology workers today, and Notch is refusing to certify Minecraft for Windows 8, despite Microsoft’s requests. For the first time ever, Instagram has beat Twitter when it comes to daily mobile users, Sony has invested $640 million into slowly dying camera company Olympus, and a new BlackBerry 10 video gives us our first look at RIM’s new QWERTY device. Finally tonight, Chris Davies takes an up-close look at RIM’s Q2 results, which were posted yesterday, while Chris Burns has a new review of the movie LOOPER, starring Bruce Willis and Jason Gordon-Levitt. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy your weekend everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 28, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.