Kenilworth Castle rebuilt Minecraft-style
The ruins of Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire have been “rebuilt” using the computer game Minecraft.
English Heritage commissioned the project as part of its Love Castles season.
Samsung has a new Odyssey+ Mixed Reality headset on the way
A new FCC filing shows that Samsung may be prepping to release an updated version of the HMD Odyssey, its Windows Mixed Reality headset launched at the end of last year. The new headset will be called the HMD Odyssey+, and there doesn’t appear to be many changes, except for some cosmetic differences to make the headset more comfortable to wear.
The filing shows that the headset’s display size remains the same with dual 3.5-inch screens with a 1440 x 1600 resolution per eye, but now the eye box is wider to prevent fogging. The specs chart below does mention a new acronym we haven’t seen before with “AMOLED+SFS” listed as the display type, but it’s not yet clear what SFS is.
KCTL
Senior reporter Adi Robertson’s first impression of the HMD Odyssey was that the core VR experience was as good as the Rift or Vive, but that its design was pretty mediocre and navigating Windows desktop apps was an “exercise in pointless misery.” The Odyssey retailed for $500 at launch but has since been lowered to $400. It probably won’t be long until we can get more details on the upcoming Odyssey+.
The flame red HTC U12 Plus is now available in the US and Canada
HTC is bringing the U12 Plus in flame red to the US and Canada. It’s now available for preorder from the company’s website and ships next month. The other colors, blue and black, were already available for purchase, but it’s the flame red one that stands out.
The flame red color changes depending on what light it’s under, sometimes looking violet or gold in photos. A bunch of smartphones have appeared in iridescent shades lately, like the Huawei P20’s twilight color that can look purple or blue under different lighting and the Motorola P30’s similar “aurora” tone. The HTC U11 might have been among the phones responsible for sparking the trend.
All things considered, the U12 Plus is a pretty typical flagship phone for 2018, but its color and cameras are probably the most stand-out features about it. In our review of the phone, The Verge’s senior editor Vlad Savov found its more attractive aspects were overshadowed by dismal software and faux buttons that are difficult to use.
For the basic storage option, it costs $799 and also comes in blue or black. The 128GB version costs $849 in the US. In Canada, the U12 Plus costs C$1,099 with 64GB or C$1,169 with 128GB.
Amazon is reportedly working on a Tivo competitor
Bloomberg reports today that Amazon is reportedly working on a new device that’ll record live TV with the goal of letting users play content back on their phones later. The device, which is internally called “Frank,” would have physical storage and connect to Fire TV boxes. It’d rely on the same wireless technology that allows Amazon’s Echo speakers to pair with those boxes. Bloomberg’s source says the product isn’t official yet and might not roll out.
Additionally, the company reportedly plans to update its Fire TV stick with new software and is also exploring the possibility of expanding its Fire TV software and video content to outside TV makers, beyond its current manufacturing partners. This would be similar to Roku’s efforts that have its interface being used across TVs from multiple makers.
Overall, it sounds like Amazon is brainstorming ideas for how it can totally own the living room space and compete even more directly with Tivo and Roku. It’s also gunning for content makers, like Netflix and HBO, with exclusive shows and movies. All its devices point to wanting to create a full setup for users, from the TV itself, to the DVR, to the content.
June 2018’s top 10 Minecraft Marketplace creations: Enter the Summer Sale (correction)
The Minecraft Marketplace is about to get the followup on a serious 1-2 punch that could boost creator’s revenues and downloads through the end of July. The Minecraft Team at Microsoft launched the first Minecraft Summer Sale today. As part of this event, most of the content on the Marketplace is getting a steep discount.
While the Summer Sale may get fans downloading more content this month, last month it was the Nintendo Switch that helped fuel sales. The Minecraft Marketplace had 396,511 downloads in June, which is up from 285,816 in April. With the Marketplace hitting Switch for the first time beginning June 26, it’s likely that Nintendo’s platform contributed significantly to that total. You can see past results by tracking the Minecraft Marketplace sales charts here.
But now that Switch is integrated into the Minecraft platform, developers can focus on making their content and the Summer Sale. Some, like Gamemode One founder Sean Davidson, thinks discounts are exactly what some players are waiting for before they spend their money on Minecraft microtransactions.
“We hope and expect that the Minecraft Summer Sale will increase player accessibility to content and potentially drive increased traffic over the remainder of the year,” said Davidson. “Access to products at a discounted rate is a great way to give players and buyers on the fence a chance to see what the Marketplace has to offer.”
Developer Imagiverse has even spent the last few weeks preparing its Lapis Lagoon waterpark map for the sale (it’s already out). This update will roll out to everyone who owns it, and Imagiverse wants positive word-of-mouth to help it perform well in the sale.
“We focused on making sure Lapis Lagoon was going to give the player the best possible waterpark experience they could have in-game,” a spokesperson for Imagiverse explained in a note to GamesBeat. “Old and new players alike will appreciate the work we put into the map getting it ready for the sale.”
Let’s do the charts. Here are the 10 most downloaded pieces of content from the Minecraft Marketplace for June 2018:
10.) Lucky Block Escape
10. Lucky Block Escape
Here it is in list form:
City Life
Mineville Highschool
Dinosaur Park
Planes
Dinosaur Island
Monsters of the Deep
Wildlife: Savanna
Mutant Battle Arena
Prison Escape
Lucky Block Escape
And here are the 10 highest-grossing pieces of content for June 2018:
10.) Lucky Block Escape
10. Lucky Block Escape
List:
City Life
Dinosaur Park
Planes
Dinosaur Island
Monsters of the Deep
Wildlife: Savanna
Mutant Battle Arena
Mineville Highschool
Super Racers
Lucky Block Escape
Next month, we’ll get to see how the Summer Sale affects the charts. This is a big chance for Marketplace partners, and it could turn into one of the biggest months for the Minecraft store so far.
Correction, 12:14 p.m.: Sean Davidson’s name was misspelled as Sean David in the original article. We have corrected the error, and we apologize.
The Sims 4’s audience grows 35% from 2017
Electronic Arts’ The Sims 4 continues to go strong, thanks to content updates that add fluffy friends and changing leaves. As part of its Q1 of fiscal year 2019 report, EA noted that The Sims 4’s players have grown 35 percent year-over-year.
The developer reported $1.14 billion in GAAP revenue for Q1, and though live services was a major driver in the past, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that its contributions for this quarter were relatively weak. However, The Sims 4 is benefiting from its steady drip of content — like its most recent expansion, Seasons, which sold around 800,000 copies on PC, according to market researcher SuperData.
The Sims 4 released in 2014, and since then, it has released expansions and DLC every year. This year, the developer rolled out Jungle Adventure, which added a new location and activities, as well as item packs, like My First Pet Stuff, which introduced small animals like hamsters. The latter works in conjunction with its best-selling expansion, Cats & Dogs, which launched in November on PC and will arrive on consoles on July 31.