Author: Trafficblast

Microsoft might be rolling out new upgrades to its Xbox One controller in the future. The company filed two patents for its controller’s triggers back in June 2017–the first for triggers with an input device with linear geared feedback and the second for triggers with motor-driven adjustable tension–and both were granted in December 2018.

Together, both patents focus on providing greater feedback when pulling the trigger on an Xbox One controller, which should increase the level of responsiveness in games where the triggers are used for action-specific tasks, like shooting or running. Both patents only include a diagram of the Xbox One controller, but if these upgrades were to roll out, Microsoft would potentially implement them in Xbox One Elite controllers as well. Windows Latest, which first reported on the patents, theorized these designs might also be for entirely new controllers instead of upgrades to existing ones.

In 2018, the Xbox One faced another year without many noteworthy first-party console exclusives. However, Microsoft did take steps to improve how people play games with release of both the Xbox Adaptive Controller and mouse and keyboard support for the console. Games Pass also now allows people to play all first-party titles on the day they release for a fraction of their combined retail cost. Between that service, Games With Gold, and EA Access, Xbox One supplies players with a game library of hundreds of digital titles. So, all in all, it wasn’t all that bad of a year for Xbox One.

Looking ahead, there are a bunch of games coming to Xbox One in 2019. Plenty of them release early in the year, such as Crackdown 3 and Anthem, but there are others, like Doom Eternal and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, scheduled for later. It’s not all triple-A titles in 2019 either, as Xbox One sees the release of smaller games like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Indivisible as well.

After making her debut during the “Elseworlds” Arrow-verse crossover, Batwoman is ready to take center stage. The CW has officially ordered a pilot for the potential spin-off series, which will see Ruby Rose (The Meg) return once again in the title role of Batwoman/Kate Kane.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Batwoman pilot will be directed by David Nutter, who has previously directed episodes of Arrow, The Flash, and Game of Thrones. Caroline Dries serves as showrunner on the project with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Geoff Johns executive producing.

Batwoman’s Arrow-verse debut in “Elseworlds” also introduced Gotham City for the first time on The CW, as well as Arkham Asylum and a few interesting characters that could potentially return at some point. At the moment, however, only Rose has been confirmed as appearing in the pilot.

In the Arrow-verse, Kate Kane has been revealed as the cousin of Bruce Wayne. After Wayne/Batman left Gotham, she rose up under a cowl of her own as Batwoman in an attempt to save her city from collapsing. The “Elseworlds” crossover planted seeds for what could eventually some plot details for the spin-off series, including Kane’s revelation that she’s launching her own real estate development firm.

It’s important to note that the pilot order does not mean a series will happen, just that a first episode will be made. However, when GameSpot and TV Guide teamed up to discuss the possibility of a Batwoman standalone series, the decision was unanimous that it’s something that needs to happen. Now the waiting game to see if it gets ordered to series for the fall begins.

CES is almost upon us, ushering in the year’s biggest event for the consumer tech industry. We’re bound to see lots of announcements that impact the game industry, along with broader tech trends and innovations. Read on for all you need to know before this year’s event kicks off.

What is CES?

CES, once an acronym for the Consumer Electronics Show, is the showcase of the latest technology innovations going back 50 years. The show includes a broad range of tech fields, so while it includes video game topics and technologies like esports, VR, and mobile devices, it is just as focused on the wide array of tech including cryptocurrency, smart homes, and self-driving cars.

The show was sporadically held for several decades before switching to an annual format. Various formats of the show have been held in cities like New York and Chicago, but now it has settled on Las Vegas as its home locale.

When and where is CES?

CES is traditionally held in early- to mid-January every year. CES 2019 will take place January 8-11. It is based on Las Vegas, but the conference is spread out among several different venues throughout the city. For that reason, CES officially recognizes three separate blocks of venues as distinct parts: Tech East, Tech West, and Tech South.

Tech East encompasses the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the Westgate and Renaissance hotels. Tech West includes the Sands Expo, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, and Encore hotels. Tech South takes place in the Aria, Park MGM, and Vdara.

How do I attend CES?

CES is a trade event, and access is restricted to registrants who can submit credentials that prove their affiliation with a consumer tech industry. Applications are not approved on-site. Even with proper credentials, passes cost $300, $900, or $1,700 depending on the style of package.

What events are planned for CES?

This year’s event will include keynote addresses from LG, IBM, Verizon, AMD, along with general keynote topics on The New Mobility Revolution and New Frontiers in Mobile. The Consumer Technology Association, which puts on the event, will also host its own State of the Industry address. The event is also planning various “Supersessions,” talks from tech leaders and influential figures outside of the keynote label.

Separately, several companies and partners are holding their own events throughout the various venues. You can check the full schedule for all the events. Plus the show floor itself has booths for tech professionals to explore current trends.

Can I watch CES remotely?

Several of the large tech companies like Samsung and Sony host livestreams of their own talks or keynotes, as they debut new products or talk about future plans. Separately, the CES YouTube page puts up videos of several talks a few months after the event.

Prior to CES 2019, HTC tweeted an image of some of the new VR gear that it’s bringing to the tech event. All of the products are boxed away in their cases, so it’s still a mystery as to what HTC will be announcing.

In the tweet, there are some hints–both in the image and the accompanying text–that shed some light on what might be announced though. The tweet refers to the new announcements as “gear” so HTC is probably focusing on Vive hardware reveals for CES this year. And although HTC blurred the logos on the cases in the image, they’re not completely ineligible. CNET believes one of the cases says “Vive Port” and another reads “Vive Gloves” or “Vive Cloud.” We’ll have to wait for CES to find out for sure, however.

First held in New York City in 1967, CES became an annual Las Vegas event in 1998. Usually a series of presentations for upcoming technological and electronic products, CES covers everything from 3D printing to robotics. As seen at CES 2018, the event has become a great place to try out the latest in PC tech, test VR headsets, and experiment with new ways to play retro games.

CES 2019 will be held January 8-11.

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CES 2019 in Las Vegas is still a few days away, but you won’t have to wait until the trade show starts on January 8 to get a load of what LG has to offer. The electronics maker has already put out a press release about at least some of what it means to show off in Vegas–and it’s mostly big, powerful TVs.

LG put out a press release detailing the big improvements to its TV sets it means to show off at CES this year. Specifically, the company is introducing its new ThinQ AI, a “deep learning algorithm” that looks to make content look and sound as good as possible on your LG TV, no matter what’s going on in the room you’re watching in.

ThinQ makes use of the Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor in LG’s newer sets and “recognizes content source quality and determines the best upgrade method for optimal visual output,” according to LG’s press release. It’ll also use the TV’s ambient light sensor to take into account conditions in the room it’s in, adjusting screen brightness and refining the way it displays HDR content to make sure scenes and images are always clear. ThinQ is also supposed to be able to improve sound quality, mixing up two-channel audio to make it sound like 5.1 surround sound.

While LG hopes to interest customers with the under-the-hood improvements to its sets, it’s the size and resolution that are likely to wow anyone headed to Vegas. The Alpha 9 Gen 2 and ThinQ are in a number of LG’s new set models, most notably its huge 88-inch 8K Z9 OLED TV and 75-inch 8K LCD TV (model SM99). The LG is also continuing its partnership with Amazon in 2019, with all its new ThinQ models featuring support for Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant app.

You can read more about what LG is bringing to CES in its press release. Other potential hints and teasers are starting to trickle in about what else might show up in Las Vegas during the show, starting with HTC tweeting a photo suggesting new products in its Vive VR line. Stay tuned for all our CES coverage during the show, which runs from January 8 to 11.

The UK’s best-selling physical video games of 2018 have been revealed, with the usual suspects leading the charts. FIFA 19 came out on top, selling just under 1.9m units.

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 was the second-biggest seller, shifting 1.75m copies, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 found its way into 1.2m UK homes, placing it at No.3. Sales monitor GfK Chart-Track says the PS4 exclusive Spider-Man–which finished at No.4 in the overall chart–sold more copies than any other exclusive game in 2018. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (No.5), God of War (No.8), and Forza Horizon 4 (No.9) were the other exclusive games to sell well.

Overall, video games now generate more revenue than any other entertainment medium in the UK. The games market has more than doubled in value since 2007, with a large portion of that growth coming from digital sources such as DLC and microtransactions. Digital sales make up over 80% of the UK games market.

“The games industry has been incredibly effective in taking advantage of the potential of digital technology to offer new and compelling forms of entertainment, said CEO of the Entertainment Retailers Association, Kim Bayley. “Despite being the youngest of our three sectors, it is now by far the biggest.”

Take a look at the top 20 biggest-selling boxed games of 2018 below. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.