Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 1/12/14
By Nick Tylwalk
"“We’re going to need a lot of therapists specializing in virtual reality withdrawals.” That was my first thought after reluctantly handing Oculus VR’s new Crystal Cove prototype (one of four in existence) back to the representative. We’ll talk about the unmatched immersion and the genius technological advancements in a bit, but that initial thought drove home just how powerful and profoundly important the Oculus Rift headset will be not just for video games, but for any industry that chooses to adopt the technology.12 months ago I tried a version of the Oculus Rift adorned with duct tape and foam. I was forced to abruptly end the demo 3 minutes in after “sim sickness” set in and my stomach threatened a messy revolt. This year I went from nauseous, cautious skeptic to an enthusiastic believer. That’s because Oculus VR’s weeks-old Crystal Cove prototype is eons ahead of what the press demoed even 6 months ago at E3."
"Web browsers are evolving all the time and not all of these updates necessarily play nice withQuake Live. Bethesda is stepping forward and solving this issue by replacing browser-based play with a new standalone client for id’s free-to-play version of Quake 3, meaning you’ll never have to worry about what part of the latest Chrome update is making the game cry.You can grab the standalone client from the Quake Live website. Unfortunately, it’ll only work for PC, as Bethesda says the client will not work for Mac or Linux."
"Boris Sofman, chief executive of Anki, gave us our own personal demo of the newest upgrades for the Anki Drive racing game, where humans try to beat artificial-intelligence-based cars in combat racing matches.Anki now has 20 major upgrades for its cars.The company launched its iPhone-controlled racing game in October and it has launched a major software upgrade for the game. Anki showed off these new features at the 2014 International CES tech trade show in Las Vegas. The company was in the gaming showcase at CES and showed off demos of the cars behind closed doors.With Anki Drive, you use your iPhone to control a race car in competition with other artificial intelligence-driven cars speeding around a physical track. The track detects the car’s location and movement 500 times a second."