Microsoft Job Posting Gives First Clue About Future Xbox Tech

The next Xbox console may use GDDR6 or flash storage, if two recent Microsoft job postings give any indication.

A posting made on the Microsoft Career site on April 10 reveals the company is looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer to help lead development for existing and “leading-edge memory” tech for “currently shipping and future Xbox design projects.”

In addition to requiring a “deep understanding of current DDR3 and GDDR5” tech, those solutions include the more powerful GDDR6, as well as “future DRAM technologies.”

The company posted another job opening for an Xbox Storage Architect the same day, searching for a team leader to help develop solutions for hard drives, solid state drives, and even flash based tech in future Xbox consoles.

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Shenmue I & II Re-Release in the Works Before Shenmue III Announcement

Ever since the reveal of Shenmue III at E3 2015, fans have held high hopes that the first two games in the series, until now consigned to the obsolete Dreamcast and original Xbox, would be remastered for modern consoles. In fact, discussions at Sega were underway even before the Kickstarter campaign for the forthcoming sequel began.

Speaking just hours after the announcement of new console and PC ports of Shenmue I & II, John Clark, Sega Europe’s executive vice president of publishing told IGN that the project has been under discussion internally for several years – but that the announcement of Shemmue III helped Sega Europe to prove there was global demand for the original games.

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Arrow Proves It Doesn’t Need Heroes

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

It’s interesting to note just how many similarities there are between The Flash: Season 3 and Arrow: Season 6. Both seasons squandered a lot of good will right out of the gate by failing to capitalize on a major plot twist. Both suffered under the weight of too many characters and too many poor storytelling decisions. And both suddenly became better very late in the game. It’s a shame we had to wait until the spring for Arrow’s sixth season to start living up to its potential, but better late than not at all.

“The Dragon” certainly had the novelty factor going for it. This is the rare Arrow episode to feature almost no scenes with Oliver Queen. Instead, Ricardo Diaz hogged the spotlight as we got a better feel for what he wants, what motivates him and who he was before becoming “The Dragon.” In fact, other than a few brief scenes featuring Felicity and Curtis, this episode was very laser-focused on Diaz and Laurel.

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Fortnite Is Coming To China, And That’s A Big Deal

The hugely popular battle royale game, Fortnite, is coming to China, it appears. Developer Epic posted a drawing on Twitter today of the fictional Fortnite character Jonesy’s passport, which is stamped for entry into China on April 23. That could be the day the game is due to launch in China.

China is a massive market for games, so there is a lot of potential for Fortnite to succeed in the market. However, as PUBG discovered, cheating and hacking are serious concerns in China (and other parts of the world). So it will be interesting to see how Fortnite fares.

It’s unclear if Epic is bringing Fortnite to China by itself or through a partner. If it’s through a partner, it seems like Tencent would make sense, given that Chinese giant Tencent owns 40 percent of Epic and already has major connections in China. We also don’t know if Fortnite will be available on all platforms (console, PC, and mobile) in China. In China, mobile and PC gaming are known to be more popular than console. Also unclear is if there are any differences between the Western and Chinese versions of Fortnite.

We have contacted Epic in an attempt to get more details; we’ll update this post with anything we hear back.

In news about Fortnite the game, the Battle Royale game’s newest update came out today. It added a 50v50 limited-time mode and a new Light Machine Gun, among other things. To mark the launch, developer Epic is holding a Double XP weekend, so now is a really good time to jump in an get extra rewards.

Valve Loses Appeal For $3 Million Fine In Australia

Valve’s latest appeal over an Australian regulator’s order for the company to pay $3 million on claims that it misled or deceived gamers in matters related to Steam’s refund policy has been dismissed. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced the decision today, stating that it is an important precedent related to overseas companies that do business in Australia. Specifically, the court said this decision affirms that Valve, which is based in the United States, is bound by Australian laws when selling to Australian gamers.

“This important precedent confirms the ACCC’s view that overseas-based companies selling to Australian consumers must abide by our laws,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said. “If customers buy a product online that is faulty, they are entitled to the same right to a repair, replacement or refund as if they’d walked in to a store.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s legal action against Valve dates back to 2014, which is when the process began. Two years later, in 2016, Australia’s Federal Court ruled that Valve misled or deceived consumers. And later that year, Valve was ordered to pay penalties amounting to $3 million.

Valve’s initial appeal was dismissed, so this is just the latest setback for Valve. The company is arguing that it never properly did business in Australia because it sells its products through a virtual marketplace, Steam. As such, Valve contends that Steam does not fall into the definition of “goods,” as it is defined by Australian Consumer Law.

According to the ACCC, Steam has 2.2 million users in Australia. We have contacted Valve in an attempt to get a comment on this latest appeal; we’ll update this post if we hear anything back.

NFL Team Uses Fortnite To Announce 2018 Schedule

Fortnite sure is popular. The NFL’s Buffalo Bills have created a silly new video where they announced their 2018 schedule by way of Fortnite. Really.

“All aboard the Battle Bus,” reads a tweet from the studio with the video. The video shows Fortnite’s famous Battle Bus flying across the map, but instead of places like Tilted Towers, you see locations like Bill’s Badlands. It’s expected at this point for big brands and teams to try to connect with the audiences through Fortnite, which is one of the most popular games on Earth right now. But really, all of these forced Fortnite branding opportunities are getting to be a bit much, if you ask me.

In news about Fortnite the game, the Battle Royale game’s newest update came out today. It added a 50v50 limited-time mode and a new Light Machine Gun, among other things. To mark the launch, developer Epic is holding a Double XP weekend, so now is a really good time to jump in an get extra rewards.

Nintendo Labo: The First 15 Hours Hands-On

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on IGN sister-site Mashable.com. Find them on Facebook, and check out their article on why The Nintendo Switch is the best console for gaming in comfort.

At its surface, Nintendo Labo is a fun and innovative blend of building and gaming, but more importantly, it’s a concept that’s changing the way we think about video game consoles and what exactly defines a video game.

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Ant-Man and the Wasp Story Details Revealed

New story details and images for Ant-Man and the Wasp have been revealed.

Per Entertainment Weekly, the Ant-Man sequel will follow Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) trying to rescue Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) — Hope’s mother and Hank’s wife — from the Quantum Realm. Janet got trapped in the alternate dimension decades ago.

Ant-Man and the Wasp new image, via EW

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Hearthstone Details Witchwood’s Monster Hunt Mode

Hearthstone‘s latest expansion, The Witchwood, was released last week. A little piece of it was held for after launch, though, and Blizzard is beginning to open up about it. The single-player portion of the expansion is coming next Thursday at 10 AM PT. The new Monster Hunt mode will be similar to Dungeon Run from Kobolds & Catacombs, with a few significant differences.

Rather than your regular Hearthstone classes, Monster Hunts will be undertaken as one of four characters with their own unique hero power. Tess Greymane is a Rogue-type with Scavenge, which lets you Discover a class spell that has been cast during the game. Darius Crowley has a cannon that fires at enemies positioned directly across from it, and if it kills them, it refreshes and can be used again. The other two are Houndmaster Shaw and Toki the Time-Tinker, but Blizzard didn’t reveal their powers yet. Similarly, there are new treasure cards as well as some returning from Dungeon Run.

The Monster Hunt will also introduce 45 new boss characters, each with their own unique powers and dialogue. The big new addition comes in the Nemesis characters, unique bosses that match up with the four playable characters. The final boss, Hagatha the Witch, will unlock after each Nemesis has been defeated. Blizzard teased that it will take all four heroes together to beat her, but it stayed mum on what exactly that means.

Presumably defeating Hagatha and completing Monster Hunt will unlock some special reward. Finishing Dungeon Run with all nine classes unlocked a special card back, for example.

If you haven’t tried The Witchwood yet, Hearthstone is still offering three packs and a class Legendary for logging in during the launch event. You can check out all 135 Witchwood cards to start formulating your strategies, and read up on why this expansion may be the best time to get on-board.

New Halloween Movie: Check Out Spooky First Poster

The first poster for the reboot of horror classic Halloween has been released. The movie arrives in October and sees original star Jamie Lee Curtis return to the franchise that made her famous. It’s directed by acclaimed indie director David Gordon Green (George Washington, Pineapple Express), with a script co-written by comedian and actor Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down, Alien Covenant).

The poster is simple and moody, featuring a close-up of the masked face of Michael Myers, the iconic killer of the Halloween series. The mask has seen better days and it certainly suggests that the movie is going for a seriously scary vibe. Check it out below.

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Halloween hits theaters on October 19. It’s produced by Blumhouse Films, which has released some of the most successful horror movies of recent years, including Get Out, Split, and the Purge and Paranormal Activity franchises. John Carpenter, who directed the original 1978 Halloween, is involved as a story advisor and is reportedly composing the movie’s score. Although nothing is known about the story, last year Carpenter revealed the movie will be a direct sequel to the original, ignoring all the other sequels and remakes that have been released over the past 40 years.

In a recent interview with Charleston City Paper, McBride spoke about his and Green’s approach to the movie, and how they were tapping into the more subtle scares of the first film. “The original is all about tension,” he said. “Laurie Strode [Curtis’ character] doesn’t even know that Michael Myers exists until the last minutes of the movie. So much of it you’re in anticipation of what’s going to happen and the dread that Carpenter spins so effortlessly in that film, I think we were really trying to get it back to that.

“We’re trying to mine that dread. Mine that tension and not just go for gore and ultra-violence that you see some horror movies lean on. To us, it was all about bringing back the creep factor and trying to find the horror in your own backyard, in our own homes.”