It’s back to school time and I’m sure you want to get in as many games as possible before that first bell rings. That said, let’s not waste anytime getting into the video game realm’s latest developments. In today’s Gaming Daily: yet another Unreal Engine 4 demo has arrived to blow your mind, the world championships for Heroes of the Storm have been set, new features to be included in the next PlayStation 4 firmware update may have been leaked, and more. Grab your popcorn, ladies and gents!
Can you believe your eyes?
Okay Unreal Engine 4, this is getting out of hand. I feel as if the lines between the virtual world and reality have been viciously crossed with this tech demo, which recently surfaced on the web. And while half of me is astounded, amused, and totally excited by what this level of detail could mean for the future of video games, the other half of me is flat out terrified. Check out the video at top of the page to have your breath taken.
Youtube user CryZENx definitely has a channel worth keeping up with if you want to see a lot of cool Unreal Engine 4 showcases, like the Star Fox-themed kite demo right above. How far off are we from AAA releases looking this mind-blowing? It’s no longer a question of if this can happen, but rather, when. It’ll be even more interesting to see this level of graphical detail fused together with virtual reality. We know it’s coming, and when it does: nope! Keep me away from it.
HT: Youtube
Skulls of the Shogun animated web series debuts today on Nerdist
Skulls of the Shogun was a solid indie title, with witty dialogue, turn-based gameplay and a unique art-style. The game was able to gain a decent following, and now, a nice little web series has been crafted around its characters for your viewing pleasure. You can check out the first episode, which premiered today, right here.
HT: Nerdist
Heroes of the Storm American Championships head to Vegas next month
As we draw closer to November 6, the final stops on the road to BlizzCon are at a viewable distance. One of those stops pits us on the brightly lit streets of Las Vegas, where the American Championships will be held for Heroes of the Storm. Eight teams will battle over a $100,000 prize pool, and a chance to move on to the World Championships at BlizzCon, where $500,000 will be on the line. Makes you want to reconsider your day job a little bit, doesn’t it?
Three teams out of the eight that will compete at the American Championships have already been decided, those being Tempo Storm, Cloud 9 Maelstrom and COGnitive Gaming. Tempo Storm has been stream-rolling the competition as of late, but I expect the championships to be a lot more competitive with the slew of new characters and patch updates that will fall between now and the Las Vegas event.
HT: Battle.net
Pokemon World Championships inbound
We’ve got more global competition coming up soon, this time for the mega popular video and trading card franchise, Pokémon. The Pokémon World Championships are set to take place later this month, with more than $500,000 worth of scholarships and prizes on the line. Yeesh! Find out how you can tune in for the festivities in our full article on this, right here.
HT: Nerdist
PlayStation Firmware 3.00’s rumored details.
The PlayStation 4 has followed a similar format to the Xbox’s dashboard, with yearly updates being something else for owners of the console to look forward to. The 3.00 update for the PS4, which is due out this holiday, already has a ton of rumors and buzz circulating around it. According to rumors that surfaced on NeoGAF, the 3.00 update will include Youtube broadcasting, Twitter clip uploading, and an events section that will consolidate all of the PlayStation-related dealings into one place. These are highly sought after features, and likely just a portion of a potentially large update packed with upgrades of this caliber.
The last PS4 firmware upgrade, which was codenamed Masamune, brought along now-frequently-used features such as Share Play, USB music support, the “players you may know” section, improvements to the appearance of the user interface, and several enhancements to the system’s broadcasting abilities. Now all we need is to add an instant GIF maker for small shareable gameplay moments. Then we’ll all be set.
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That about wraps it for Tuesday’s Gaming Daily. Always keep it parked here on Nerdist for all of the juicy video game developments, and to chat about our beloved medium, I’m only one tweet away: @Malik4play.
