‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ Review: An Overstuffed Joy Ride
The Kingsman are teaming up with the Statesmen and just like in America, they made everything bigger. Not necessarily better.
It’s hard to live up to expectations when the first time around, there were none. Kingsman: The Secret Service was the sleeper hit of 2015, as no one really knew what to expect from the movie going in. While doing press for that film, writer and director Matthew Vaughn kept saying that he had great ideas for a sequel and to build upon the characters we knew in the first one, and just needed the public to like the first one enough to get it made. Flash forward to 2017, with Kingsman: The Golden Circle now in theaters and fans asking themselves, “So where’s that movie?”
It’s been a year since Valentine was defeated by Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong), and Eggsy has settled nicely into his role as Galahad. When a familiar face reappears, the entirety of Kingsman is wiped out, forcing Galahad and Merlin to go into “Doomsday protocol” and team up with the Statesmen, their American cousins. There, Agents Whiskey (Pedro Pascal), Tequila (Channing Tatum), Ginger Ale (Hallie Berry) and Champagne (Jeff Bridges) offer their assistance and resources to the remaining Kingsman agents (and a “surprise” appearance by the original Galahad, Harry Hart (Colin Firth)) to stop the Golden Circle, headed by Poppy (Julianne Moore).
Egerton is once again a driving force in the film, giving audiences the same charm, emotion, and humor that won them over in the first film. Eggsy’s journey to become a Kingsman hasn’t ended yet, as he struggles to hide his emotional response and step into the shoes of a true gentleman spy. But by the end, it’s clear that even his mentor sees his emotion as a strength, not a weakness. Though cliche, it’s a nice touch considering how much Eggsy has changed from the punk he once was, and how Egerton has built such a complex character.
One unexpected positive was the increase of Mark Strong’s role. Merlin was simply a helping hand in the first film, but he feels more like a co-worker in this one. Strong’s chemistry with the other Kingsman agents was great before and becomes stronger as his chemistry is mostly with Eggsy now. With Harry gone for the first half of the film, Merlin fulfills the role of his mentor, and Strong slips into it like he was playing Harry. It was a touching arc for a character that became bigger as the film went on.
Harry Hart’s return was not a surprise to anyone, as they revealed his return with a custom poster back in April 2016. The excuse for the return is just as unoriginal as the idea of bringing back an actor killed off (Think something as ridiculous as the super blood from Star Trek: Into Darkness). Outside of his reappearance, Firth’s return to the role is better than the last time. Eggsy failed to get closure with Harry before his untimely death, and the film recognizes this. There’s a touching conversation between Harry and Eggsy that shows Harry has a little more compassion this time around. If their relationship felt like a father-son relationship before, it even more like that this time around.
It’s hard to rate anyone else’s performance in this film because these actors had little to work with in terms of a script. Though the original Kingsman agents got their own arcs and grew, the Statesmen agents were given the leftovers. The only character trait we really get for Tatum’s Agent Tequila is he’s the agency’s “resident bad boy” as stated by Ginger Ale in the film. Agent Whiskey just feels like a modernized version of Pascal’s character in Game of Thrones and Jeff Bridges as Champagne is just straight up wasted. Even supporting characters like Arthur, Roxy and Charlie from the first film got more characterization than any of the Statesmen. There are so many new additions to the cast that it becomes impossible to flesh out all of these characters properly.
Even though many of the film’s key points were revealed through the various promotional materials, a decision that Vaughn himself criticized, there was still plenty of action and twists to keep audiences entertained. The film chooses to take the favorite pieces of the first film and make them greater, which many critics have been panning. The violence, crude humor, and alcoholism have all been kicked up to a new level, and whether you like it or not, it fits inside the film’s branding. It makes the film fun, whether it gets praised or panned by critics. The film does feel extremely bloated though, with many plot line that seems like they’re starting, but get quickly smashed and forgotten about. According to Vaughn, the film’s first cut was over 3 hours long, so that explains a lot.
The term “sequel fatigue” has been thrown around while talking about the summer box office a lot these past few weeks. Kingsman: The Golden Circle doesn’t avoid this, but it’s the least affected by this curse. It manages to pull a few new punches and offer up a good amount of fun at the theater. The film isn’t original or breaking barriers, but it doesn’t have to. In a summer full of superheroes, animals, bachelorette parties and stunt drivers, it’s good to see the gentlemen spies taking it home.
‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ Review: An Overstuffed Joy Ride
Minecraft cross-platform multiplayer update “Better Together” beta now available on PC and Android
Mojang has announced that the beta version of the cross-platform multiplayer update for Minecraft titled “Better Together” is now available on PC and Android.
The update was announced in June during Microsoft’s E3 2017 press conference and is said to allow players to play together on any of the supported platforms via special multiplayer servers.
According to a recent press release, the “Better Together” update is designed to unify the console, mobile and Windows 10 PC versions of the game under one single Minecraft edition, which will include infinite worlds, the community Marketplace and community servers.
The update also introduces the “biggest collection of new features ever” to players on PC and mobile devices. Players will notice the long awaited and much in demand stained glass, fireworks, customizable banners, armor stands, jukebox and music discs, recipe book and ravines.
For multiplayer, the update adds the ability for hosts to set player permissions and host options, along with other helpful tools, including new 3D model import features.
The beta test is now available on PC and Android and will be available on Xbox One at a later date. The PlayStation 4 version of the game will not be getting cross-platform multiplayer capabilities.
Xbox One and PC beta testers are required to download the Xbox Insider app, and players on Xbox One will need to own a digital copy of Minecraft: Xbox One Edition. Beta testers on Android will need to have a device that support Google Play and own a copy of the game purchased through the Google Play Store.
Minecraft cross-platform multiplayer update “Better Together” beta now available on PC and Android
Minecraft “Better Together” multiplayer update now available
The Better Together update for the building game Minecraft is now available for PC, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The update allows players to play together on any of the supported platforms via special multiplayer servers.
According to a recent press release, the “Better Together” update is designed to unify the console, mobile and PC versions of the game under one single Minecraft edition, which will include infinite worlds, the community Marketplace and community servers.
The update also introduces the “biggest collection of new features ever” to players on PC and mobile devices. Players will notice the long awaited and much in demand stained glass, fireworks, customizable banners, armor stands, jukebox and music discs, recipe book and ravines.
For multiplayer, the update adds the ability for hosts to set player permissions and host options, along with other helpful tools, including new 3D model import features.
The update is now available for PC, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The PlayStation 4 version of the game will not be getting cross-platform multiplayer capabilities because of Sony’s “no crossplay multiplayer” policy.
The Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft is expected to get the update within the next couple of weeks.
Minecraft “Better Together” multiplayer update now available
Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – sneering spy spoof sequel
This is a code-red warning. I repeat, code red. You may be in the mood for a piece of trashy fun this weekend. You might have embraced the slick anarchy of the first Kingsman movie. But on no account let that persuade you to part with your money for a ticket to this sour-spirited and glib sequel. Taron Egerton returns as Eggsy, newest recruit of the elite secret agency Kingsman. He does a decent job of the two key requirements of the role: wearing suits and hitting people. But an early plot twist requires him to emote, at which point the whole house of cards tumbles down.
I didn’t think it was possible for someone to both grieve and smirk at the same time, but apparently it is. In fact, the whole film is a knowing sneer of a movie that shrugs off its plot holes along with a particularly unsavoury attitude to violence and a tendency to use female characters as the decorative punchline to jokes. Most annoying is that the film ignores the basic rules of physics, with a profoundly stupid cable-car action sequence that gave me the absolute rage.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – sneering spy spoof sequel
Fans of Minecraft Are Sure to Dig this Nationwide Museum Fest
The indie hit is the perfect game for a day devoted to unearthing knowledge
A Minecraft rendering of the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. Participants in Minecraft: Education Edition online festivities will be able to let their own imaginations run wild this Museum Day. (Museum Day Live!)
The beauty of the open-world video game Minecraft, which remains wildly popular more than eight years after its release, is the sweeping creative freedom it affords to its players. Given the same basic array of natural resources, different individuals will come up with totally different ideas as to what to build, what materials to build with, and how to expand on their initial concept as days and weeks pass by. Player designs run the gamut from massive medieval fortresses to gleaming metal skyscrapers; the only real limit developer Mojang imposes on players is the imagination.
Minecraft’s exploratory ideal is well realized in Museum Day Live!, the annual nationwide event founded by Smithsonian magazine. This year’s Museum Day Live! festivities—in which upwards of 1,000 distinct museums across the country will be participating on Saturday, September 23—will be complemented by rich Minecraft: Education Edition resources online. Children and adults alike will be able to draw on the museums they visit to create their own worlds, via a series of highly interactive Minecraft lesson plans put together by Smithsonian and Microsoft.
The game perfectly embodies the imaginative optimism of the Museum Day spirit. Museums, like the realm of Minecraft, are full of treasures just waiting to be discovered, and what one makes of those treasures is entirely up to him or her. Just as digging into bedrock in search of valuable metals provides a thrill, so too does entering a museum knowing you’ll emerge with a more complete understanding of the world around you.
Minecraft players place a high value on knowing what things are made of; so too does tinkerer and photographer Todd McLellan, whose traveling “Things Come Apart” exhibition is on view at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Virginia. To produce the images in the exhibition, McLellan deconstructed everyday mechanical devices (computers, hair driers, stereos, wristwatches, you name it), laid out their myriad components in a methodical and aesthetically pleasing way, then photographed the whole ensemble. His work shows visitors the wonder lying beneath the seemingly mundane.
Fans of Minecraft know that the pickaxe is an invaluable tool for unearthing the secrets of the natural world—paleontologists do too. At the Burke Museum in Seattle, a team of paleontologists will spend Museum Day publicly examining a recently unearthed 65 million-year-old T. rex skeleton, focusing on its extremely well-preserved 1.5-ton skull. Dinosaur lovers should take heed—this is only the 15th such skull ever excavated worldwide.
The progression of technology is a central theme in Minecraft—players gradually craft stronger and stronger equipment for themselves, building on their past innovations to carry them into the future. In many ways, this is also the story of America, and the larger world beyond. At the Aviation Museum in College Park, Maryland, Museum Day guests can delve deep into the history of the helicopter, and will get a chance to interact with a revolutionary human-powered copter recently engineered by the University of Maryland’s Aerospace Engineering department. In nearby Baltimore, at the B&O Railroad Museum, a refurbished B&O #25 Civil War-era locomotive will take viewers back to an age of industrial marvels. And at Florida’s St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, a demonstration on the handicraft of ship modeling will illustrate how naval technologies have evolved across time.
Understanding the history of a place is important to Minecraft players, who ask themselves critical questions upon reaching a new location: Who has occupied this space before me? What human and animal life has shaped this land? How can I build on what has already been done here in a responsible way? It is with these sorts of thoughts in mind that we should confront our own histories, both as Americans and as citizens of the world. Museum Day will offer ample opportunities to do so.
At the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, for instance, visitors will be invited to peruse painting, sculpture and photography tying together more than 150 years of Southern U.S. history. Meanwhile, Honolulu, Hawaii’s Pacific Aviation Museum will be enlightening both young and old as to the enduring significance of Pearl Harbor in the national consciousness, and telling the visceral story of the Pacific campaign of World War II through the medium of period photography. And at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, distant memories of the Revolutionary War will be vivified through displays of weapons, uniforms and handwritten letters.
In Minecraft online play, community is everything. The experience of shaping the world around you is most fulfilling when you are among friends, and the opportunity for communities across the Minecraft fandom to engage with one another has contributed immensely to the game’s enduring appeal.
Community will be the focus of Museum Day Live! activities at the Ohio History Center in Columbus—specifically, the LGBTQ community, and its rich history both in the region and all across the U.S. A number of transgender veterans will be reflecting on their experiences overseas with the military, and the stars of the locally made documentary film Kings, Queens and In-Betweens will be discussing their own experiences as a panel following a screening.
Perhaps the most fundamental joy one derives from Minecraft is the creation of something beautiful and original where once there was only empty space. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts will highlight just this sort of achievement on Museum Day, as it welcomes visitors to take in artworks and artifacts spanning more than 300 years of architecture and design history. The bare beauty of the items from each time period will provide a unique look at how taste and style have morphed both in and outside America.
All in all, anyone possessing the exploratory itch celebrated by the game Minecraft will have no shortage of stimulating options to pick from as Museum Day Live! 2017 rolls around. You need only survey the landscape, choose an appealing location, and start digging.
Fans of Minecraft Are Sure to Dig this Nationwide Museum Fest
Five to Try: Minecraft adds cross-platform fun, and XOutOf10 gives Android that iPhone X look
Itching for some fresh fun with your Android phone? Look no further, because our weekly Five to Try column rounds up the week’s biggest new app and game releases, as well as the most impactful updates. In fact, it’s the updated version of Minecraft that leads this week’s roundup, as the new Play Together edition connects various platforms with both solo and multiplayer benefits.
Elsewhere, XOutOf10 is a freebie gag app that mimics the upcoming iPhone X’s rather distinctive top screen notch, MyNBA2K18 turns basketball into a competitive card game, Apple Music adds some needed features, and Terra Battle 2 offers up an even larger fantasy role-playing adventure to dive into. Hit the Play Store and check these apps out this weekend!
Minecraft
IDGMinecraft: Pocket Edition isn’t the Pocket Edition anymore—it’s just Minecraft ($7). Why? Because now there’s parity between the Android version and the other computer and console editions available today, as they’re sharing the same codebase. And more importantly, now they’re all connected together via the new Play Together update.
Released this week, Play Together links together several versions of the game, including Android, Windows 10, iOS, Xbox, and VR, with Nintendo Switch support on the horizon. Now you’ll be able to start your game on one device and pick it up on any other, plus the unified approach makes it easier to get online and play with lots of other people on public servers. It’s still the familiar Minecraft at core, of course, but now it seems a whole lot larger on Android.
XOutOf10
IDGThe upcoming iPhone X looks to be Apple’s larger threat against high-end Android phones, more so than today’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but there’s something a bit… odd… about the screen. It’s the notch. Apple’s phone has a new front-facing camera system with an infrared sensor, and it needs a decent chunk of space on a phone that’s otherwise all-screen on the front—so Apple wrapped the screen around an empty, black notch at the top.
And now you can simulate Apple’s curious notch with the XOutOf10 app, which puts a constant faux camera array at the top of your screen. Why ever would you want such a thing? You wouldn’t, practically, but as a simple (and free) gag app, it’s pretty funny. Use it to playfully taunt (or dissuade) any pals who are holding out for iPhone X.
MyNBA2K18
IDGWe’re still waiting for NBA 2K18 to hit Android after launching on other platforms this week, but if you’re a big hoops fan, at least you can check out MyNBA2K18 in the meantime. Its main attraction is a card-based game that lets you amass a team of NBA stars and then try to outmatch other players in head-to-head battles. Amusingly, you’ll see the cards on the court (not the players), but they’ll still block shots and nail audacious dunks. The whole thing is strongly freemium, however, and you’ll need to spend plenty of time and/or money to find success here.
If you play NBA 2K18 on a console or PC, then the app also serves a second purpose as a companion for the main game. You can use it to snap your photo to create a custom player, for example, or earn extra in-game currency to use in the console experience.
Apple Music
IDGThis week’s release of iOS 11 brought a bunch of new features and tweaks to iPhones and iPads, but Apple also took the opportunity to enhance its Apple Music app on Android. The latest version brings a couple of pretty significant updates that address previous omissions. For example, now Apple Music has voice search, letting you say “OK Google” or hold your phone’s home button to request songs, artists, and more.
The new update also adds an optional home screen widget, plus it brings some new social functionality that lets you link up with friends to share playlists and see what they’ve been listening to. It’s not exactly a revival of Apple’s reviled Ping feature from iTunes years back, but really more akin to what Spotify offers for paired-up pals. All told, however, this is a pretty meaty update for Apple’s streaming music app.
Terra Battle 2
IDGHironobu Sakaguchi created the original Final Fantasy 30 years ago, spawning one of the most beloved franchises in all of gaming. These days, his Mistwalker studio has found another success on mobile with Terra Battle, a streamlined, free-to-play take on tactical role-playing. After notching more than 2.5 million downloads of the original, Terra Battle 2 is here with some tweaks to the formula.
As before, the head-to-head fights take place on a grid-based battlefield using character tiles, which you’ll move around to trigger attacks and abilities. But now there’s an open world map outside of combat, letting you explore the environment and find new fights as you please, as well as freely arrange your characters for a strategic edge in battle. It’s still a free-to-play game, but the first one found plenty of fans, and there’s been some solid hype surrounding this sequel.
Five to Try: Minecraft adds cross-platform fun, and XOutOf10 gives Android that iPhone X look
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition Review
Have you ever heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad pizza?” No matter what, pizza’s good by virtue of being pizza. A similar thing could be said for the many different versions of Minecraft. There really isn’t such a thing as “bad Minecraft,” just versions that aren’t as good as the others. That’s why, in spite of its many shortcomings, the New 3DS version is still an enjoyable Minecraft experience, even though it’s not a great version.
Fitting Minecraft onto the New 3DS is not without its sacrifices, and if nothing else, those sacrifices make up the biggest problems with this new portable version. Graphically, it’s unmistakably Minecraft, but draw distance takes a major blow. I found my time in my Minecraft world almost claustrophobic, even on the surface. I had to make sure to pay close attention to my map early on because if I got a few dozen blocks away from my shelter, it would disappear into the fog. Draw distance looks to be about five chunks, putting it on par with the Vita version. It definitely hindered my desire to explore my surroundings and risk being unable to find my way back home.
Controls in this version also take some getting used to. The jump button isn’t easily tapped when maneuvering with the New 3DS’s right stick, but thankfully there’s an auto-jump option in the menu. Moving around with the right stick feels odd at first, and it never really settled into a place that felt great. Shoulder buttons control actions, like using crafting tables and swinging a pickax, which allows movement while performing actions. Like all the other console versions, the guesswork is gone from crafting thanks to a provided list of items you can create. I feel like this takes away some of the magic of Minecraft, but for the benefit of at a glance convenience.
There are so many different ways to play Minecraft, and the 3DS version fails to set itself apart.
All of the crafting and inventory management is handled on the touchscreen, and it’s exciting that this version takes advantage of that when the Wii U port didn’t. It definitely streamlines the process of moving and crafting things in the inventory, but the small screen size makes it feel cramped. To fully see what’s in a chest requires scrolling down, and double chests require double the scrolling. Oddly, if you aren’t showing an empty row on the screen, it won’t allow you to put more items into the chests or inventory even if there’s room. I found this frustrating when managing my items after a mining session, as I just wanted to dump off my stuff and get back to the search for diamonds.
There are also two huge, head-scratching omissions from the New 3DS version of Minecraft: the Nintendo skins and texture packs that were included on the Switch version. It’s especially odd given the fact there are other skins and texture packs included: Biome Settlers Packs 1 and 2, Redstone Specialists, Journey to the West, and the Holiday Skin Pack from 2015. While I definitely enjoy being able to fight back the zombie hordes in a full Santa Claus outfit, it would have been better to battle and mine as Waluigi. The two texture packs included, Plastic and City, are also an unusual fit.
Perhaps the most disappointing feature missing from Minecraft for New Nintendo 3DS is the lack of 3D. It would be amazing to feel a sense of depth in the Minecraft world, and would be the only official 3D version – unless you count VR on the PC. Supposedly, it’s going to be added in a future patch, and having that feature alone could do a lot to help make up for its other current shortcomings.
Another rough part of Minecraft on New 3DS is the auto-save system, which pauses gameplay entirely as it writes to the MicroSD card. Thankfully, you get plenty of warning beforehand, with messages not much different to playing on an online server, but it’s still annoying to have the flow of playing interrupted every 20 minutes. Additionally, since it writes to the MicroSD card instead of the system or cartridge memory, saves are tied to the system itself.
I’ve been playing Minecraft in one form or another, sometimes several at once, since version 0.6 on PC, so I’m happy to report Minecraft on 3DS is still, at its core, Minecraft. It didn’t take me too long to settle into a familiar pattern of harvesting, mining, and crafting as I build a shelter I’d inevitably abandon for greener pastures. But there are already so many different ways to play Minecraft, and the 3DS version fails to live up to the standards set by the other versions. It’s not a bad slice of pizza, but there are so many better choices.
The Oregon Trail is coming back to schools through Minecraft
The Oregon Trail is perhaps the most beloved educational game ever made — and soon it’ll be getting a new life in schools thanks to Minecraft. A blocky rendition of The Oregon Trail is now available for Minecraft: Education Edition, a version of the game tailored specifically for classrooms. The new Oregon Trail was created by educational publishing company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and features the complete storyline from the original release, as well as a number of new activities that span everything from fine arts to STEM subjects.
It’s also just one of several new partnerships aimed at expanding the educational aspect of Minecraft. Microsoft also partnered with the Roald Dahl Estate recently for a writing competition aimed at elementary and middle school-aged children. The story that won — called Fluffletopolis — is now available as an explorable world in Minecraft. Similarly, the Smithsonian is also contributing to the game, with a new series of lesson plans that utilize Minecraft. “These lesson plans are designed to stimulate STEM activities in a variety of settings,” the institution explains.
Minecraft: Education Edition first launched last year, and according to Microsoft it’s now available in 115 countries. Given the overwhelming popularity of the sandbox game, especially among younger players, it’s an initiative that makes a lot of sense. Of course, Minecraft isn’t the only big game being repurposed for education; historical strategy title Civilization V has also been retooled with schools in mind.
The Oregon Trail is coming back to schools through Minecraft
Microsoft Monday: Xbox One Full HD DVR, Windows 10 Privacy Controls, Minecraft For New Nintendo 3DS
“Microsoft Monday” is a weekly column that focuses on all things Microsoft. This week, Microsoft Monday includes details about Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition, a document scanning feature in the Pix app, new privacy controls coming to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, PWAs coming to the Windows Store, full HD capture coming to the Xbox One and much more!
Minecraft Is Now Available On Nintendo Handhelds
MojangMinecraft for New Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition is now available on the Nintendo eShop. Plus a physical version will be coming soon. You can play Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition on the New 3DS, New 3DS XL and New 2DS XL. But it will not work for the original Nintendo 2DS, 3DS and 3DS XL. The new Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition has creative mode, survival mode, five skin packs and two texture packs. On the lower touchscreen, you can access the crafting, inventory and mapping tools.
“We want to stress that the game is only on the New Nintendo 3DS series, and we’ve used all the technical might of the dual-screened wonder machine to give you world sizes of 2016×2016 and 128 blocks high! Multiplayer won’t be available at launch but we’ll have more to share on the feature later. This edition’s closest equivalent is 0.15.4 of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, and we’ll be continuing to update from there!” said Mojang in a blog post.
New GIX Building In Bellevue Named After Steve Ballmer
Microsoft is a founding partner of the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), which is a partnership in science and technology between the University of Washington and Tsinghua University. And Microsoft announced $40 million in financial support when the partnership was announced in June 2015. By providing support, Microsoft was able to decide the name of a new GIX building in Bellevue, Washington. And Microsoft decided to name the building “The Steve Ballmer Building” in honor of former CEO Steve Ballmer.
The Steve Ballmer Building will be welcoming a 44 student batch later this month. And at the grand opening of the Steve Ballmer Building, current CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith were in attendance.
At the building opening, Nadella told a story about when he first met Steve Ballmer in 1992. “Steve stopped by my desk and gave me one of the infamous high fives that only he can do,” said Nadella via GeekWire. “He expressed his immense enthusiasm for me joining Microsoft. I was an entry level guy at that time at Microsoft and here was the CEO walking by my office and sort of giving me this high five. In some sense, I was a changed person after that.” Nadella added that it was a privilege to learn from Ballmer and witness his “contagious ability to create energy in everything he does, the passion with which he approaches all of his work.”
At the event, the GIX also revealed eight members of the new Academic Network: École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, National Taiwan University, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tecnológico de Monterrey and the University of British Columbia. And there are new members of the Industry Consortium: ARM, Baidu, Boeing HorizonX, and T-Mobile. Plus Hainan Airlines is signed up as a “Valued Partner.”
Microsoft Pix App Can Be Used To Scan Documents
MicrosoftPix app update
Microsoft has updated the Pix camera app for iOS to detect when photos of whiteboards, business cards and documents are being taken. Then the app uses artificial intelligence to improve the images by cropping the edges, boosting the color tones and sharpening the focus. The algorithms used in the Pix app are similar to what is used in the Office Lens app. And then you can save the files in OneDrive or convert it into editable files for Word and PowerPoint.
“We have data that shows people are taking a lot of whiteboard photos at work, they are doing a lot of document scanning,” said Josh Weisberg, a principal program manager in the Computational Photography Group at Microsoft’s research group in a blog post.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update To Include New Privacy Prompts For Apps
According to The Verge, Microsoft is adding some privacy improvements to the Windows 10 privacy controls. In the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, users will be able to see the full privacy statement during setup. And there will be a “learn more” section for every privacy setting during the setup — which will be more understandable. Plus Microsoft will be extending a dialogue box to apps in regards to location-based data. And the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will show prompts for gaining access to the camera, microphone, calendar, contacts and other personal data.
New Redstone 4 Update Reveals Features Coming To Windows Next Year
Last week, Microsoft rolled out a new version of Redstone 4 (Build 16362) to Windows Insiders — which previews some of the features that will be coming to Windows next year. For those of you in the Skip Ahead part of the Windows Insider’s fast ring, you will notice that several improvements have been added to the Windows 10 boot experience, the Windows Shell, the Edge browser, Narrator and the gaming experience.
The lock screen will now display how you personalized it with details like Windows Spotlight, the Calendar, Cortana status, etc. You can customize the Lock Screen under Personalization within Settings. And you can opt out of the personalization feature within the Privacy section of the Sign-in options.
There are also new choices for controlling Narrator. The Narrator feature speaks highlighted text on the screen. You will be able to select the audio channel for Narrator speech output under the Narrator section of Settings. In that section, there is a new option called “Sounds you hear.”
Microsoft Edge has several new improvements like a bug fix that causes multiple apps to crash if users log into Facebook. In some instances, Edge seems to crash after some users try to pin websites to the Start menu. And the build also fixes a number of bugs in the Windows Shell such as issues that affects Action Center and Start.
Progressive Web Apps To Launch On The Windows Store
According to Windows Central, Microsoft announced at the Edge Web Summit 2017 that it will be bringing Progressive Web Apps (PWA) to Edge next year. Microsoft will actually crawl the web for PWAs and add them to the Windows Store. Microsoft Teams will be one of the first PWAs to arrive in the coming months. PWAs can function offline and it has support for Live Tiles and the Action Center.
Xbox One To Be Able To Capture Streams In Full HD
Soon the standard Xbox One Game DVR will be getting an increase to 1080p from 720p at 30 fps. And you will be able to save those full HD recordings to an external hard drive. This is advantageous because it will save storage on your Xbox One and external hard drives previously only worked for saving games and apps.
Currently, this feature is limited to Alpha Insiders. The full HD recording feature should be fully rolled out later this year.
Microsoft To Fix Windows 10 Game Stutter Problem
There are many Windows 10 users that have reported that they are experiencing a stuttering problem while playing Mass Effect, Overwatch and Rocket League. Fortunately, Microsoft is aware of the issue and is actively working on fixing it.
“We have been analyzing the traces from your feedback and have identified several different problem sources surfacing as stutter in games. We have a fix for one of them in the Windows Insider build that flighted to the ‘Fast’ ring (build 16273 and above),” said a Microsoft engineer in the Feedback Hub via Neowin. Build 16273 was released on August 23rd and it seems most likely that a patch will be issued to fix the problem shortly after the Fall Creators Update is released on October.
Beware Of Phishing Scams On LinkedIn
According to researchers at Malwarebytes, hackers are actively running a phishing campaign against LinkedIn users. The hackers are using compromised LinkedIn accounts to send messages containing malicious links to victims in order to steal personal information. So far, the hackers were successful at hijacking several LinkedIn users, including many Premium accounts. The malicious files often appear as a Google Drive link in the form of a shortened URL.
Once the user clicks on the link, they will see a login screen that looks similar to the real version of the website. If the user actually enters their Google, Yahoo! or AOL login information, then that information could be captured by the hacker. It is believed that about 250 people clicked through the phishing link so far.
Google Hires Former Skype Engineers In Stockholm
Back in March, Microsoft announced it would be shutting down the Skype office in Stockholm. Variety learned that Google is hiring a number of those former Skype engineers. And most likely, Google will have those engineers work on its messaging apps such as Duo video chat and the Meet video conferencing service.
Bill And Melinda Gates Release Goalkeepers Report
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has released the first annual Goalkeepers report, which will be published every year until 2030. The Goalkeepers report highlights public health milestones and acknowledges that there is a lot more work to do. On the plus side, there have been significant declines in poverty, childhood mortality and HIV infections. But equality for women and family planning has a lot of room for improvement.
“It’s a huge challenge to reach children in countries in conflict or in remote regions hours away from any infrastructure whatsoever. But it’s doable, and it’s more doable now than ever before,” said Melinda Gates in the report.
Bill Gates said that in the early 2000s, the world made a “huge investment” to address the AIDs crisis. However, the outlook for prevention is concerning because the rate of decline in new infections has been slowing down. AIDs has taken the lives of 35 million people, which Bill Gates says the “worst humanitarian disaster” in his lifetime. “A 10% cut in funding for HIV treatment could cost the lives of an additional 5.6 million people,” said Bill Gates in the report.
Microsoft Says There Are 330 Million Active Monthly Edge Devices
“Microsoft Edge users are active on 330 million monthly devices!” said the Microsoft Edge development team in a tweet. During a webinar, Microsoft also said that this number more than doubled since the Edge summit last year. It is unclear what these numbers are based on because it is unknown what the definition of “active” is in this case. And Microsoft used the words active monthly devices instead of active users.
Xbox One Games Will Not Require A Full Download To Play
According to GameSpot, Microsoft is designing a way to play Xbox One and Xbox One X games while using less hard drive space. The new system is known as Intelligent Delivery and it will essentially split game content into select chunks. And the players will be able to decide which chunks they want to play the game rather than downloading the whole game. This will especially come in handy so users do not have to download substantial 4K digital content for the Xbox One X after buying a game.
Another storage savings opportunity has to do with games with multi-language support. For example, players do not have to download audio assets in languages that they do not want. This is a big storage savings opportunity especially for sports games.
It is unknown when Intelligent Delivery will be arriving. But most likely, it will be released shortly after the Xbox One X launches on November 7th.
Microsoft To Combat Fake News With ‘Fact Check’ Label On Bing
Microsoft is adding “Fact Check” labels to Bing in order to combat fake news. The “Fact Check” labels will inform visitors whether certain news stories have been debunked. This label will either be applied to individual articles or certain websites as a whole.
Microsoft will utilize schema.org ClaimReview markup when scanning pages and stories to determine whether to apply the “Fact Check” labels.
Microsoft Monday: Xbox One Full HD DVR, Windows 10 Privacy Controls, Minecraft For New Nintendo 3DS
Halo is coming to Nintendo Switch… in Minecraft
The skin and texture pack has been available in Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of Minecraft for years – but has never been appeared on a rival console.
That will change later this year when Minecraft’s new cross-platform version – cunningly just dubbed “Minecraft” – launches.
This iteration of Minecraft is the one Microsoft has dubbed the Better Together Update, which will let Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, Android and iOS, Oculus Rift, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Gear VR owners all play together. (Sony turned down PlayStation’s invite to the party.)
The Halo Mash-up Pack will be available to all of these platforms.
Minecraft’s platform-specific DLC has, until now, been a big question mark. It is listed by Microsoft in a recent blog update as something it is “still working on”.
“Custom skins are awesome, and we know you love them! Getting them to work on consoles requires some work on the platform holders’ side to enable things like this,” Microsoft wrote. “We’re working with them to get everything in place to enable this in a future update.”
The most high-profile example now Halo is sorted is perhaps the Mario Mash-up Pack available in Minecraft on Wii U and Nintendo Switch. Would Nintendo allow it on other platforms? It seems unlikely… but with Halo appearing on Switch, perhaps anything is possible.
Minecraft Built a Colossal Machine Inside the Game to Advertise a Special New Update
In-world advertising is always a fun tactic for gaming brands. And now, Minecraft has gotten into the act, enlisting ad agency 215 McCann to build a giant machine inside the Minecraft world—whose mismatched components serve as marketing for a special update to the popular building game.
For years, the various versions of Minecraft—mobile, Xbox One, PCs—haven’t been compatible with each other. If you build your world on platform, and a friend builds a world on another platform, you can’t visit each other.
For the first time in the history of Minecraft, tens of millions of players will be united across different platforms and devices and able to play together regardless of whether they’re playing on mobile, Xbox One, or Windows 10 PCs.
But yesterday, that all changed. Microsoft explains:
The big day is finally here!
It’s probably the most significant update we’ve made in Minecraft’s recent history – we’re releasing a new version of the game that lets players on Xbox, mobile, VR and Windows 10 play together!
And not only that! It lets you access oodles of player-made goodness on Marketplace! It lets you take that Marketplace goodness from one device to another! It lets you play your Realm on console (for example), hop off, then pick up where you left off on your phone! It lets you join massive servers, with communities numbering in millions of players and eccentric minigames to suit every taste!
The new update to the game is called “Better Together.” And to help market it, 215 McCann built a colossal in-game machine—which players will soon be able to visit—that embodies this sense of togetherness. The “Togetherness Machine” uses claws to grab pieces of the game’s separate platforms and brings them together in a unified village.
The point is to remind players that they can engage with building and breaking cities in real time with other players on different platforms.
Here’s footage of the Togetherness Machine:
It’s great placement, as the cross-platform capability is good news for existing players at least as much, or not more so, as it is for would-be players. The machine will be available in-game in about a month.
CREDITS
Client: Microsoft Xbox
Title: “The Togetherness Machine”
Agency: 215 McCann
Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon
Creative Director: Neil Bruce
Copywriter: Andy Holdeman
Art Director: Zach Lepine
Editor: Carson Bell
Producer: Sarah Sweeney
Director of Integrated Production: Alex Spahr
Business Director: Peter Goldstein
Account Director: Drew Porter
Account Executive: Sam Brody
Group Strategy Director: Brian Wakabayashi
Strategy Director: Cassidy Wilber
Communications Strategist: Amy Tucker
Production Company: Blockworks
Recording Studio: One Union Recording
Mixer: Joaby Deal
Original Music: Robot Repair
Minecraft Built a Colossal Machine Inside the Game to Advertise a Special New Update
Minecraft is getting a huge update with new items, achievements, and cross-platform play
Despite being a place of infinite wonder and joy, Minecraft has, for the most part, had a segmented player base. If you’ve been playing on PC, playing alongside those on Xbox One has been impossible. Until now. A new update is allowing players on four different platforms to play together at once.
The Better Together update is one of the largest updates for Minecraft in its history, primarily due to the size of this undertaking. Anyone on Xbox One, PC, mobile, or virtual reality versions of Minecraft will now be able to play together in online servers. Those playing on the Nintendo Switch can expect to receive this update this winter, adding yet another group to the massive pile of Minecraft builders. PS4 isn’t on the books right now, unfortunately, although the Minecraft developers are talking to Sony about it. More on that in the Better Together FAQ.
Also in this update are new features, tweaks, and bugs. Highlights of those features are:
- Stained Glass, Fireworks (with Elytra boost!), Parrots, Banners, Armor Stands, Jukebox and music discs, Recipe Book, and Book & Quill items
- New world start options: Starting Map; Bonus Chest; Trust Players
- New game rules: Show Coordinates; TNT Explodes; Natural Regeneration
- Player permissions
- Zombie Villager spawn egg
- Expanded Xbox Live multiplayer world settings
- New loading screens with funny and helpful tips
- How to Play screen
- New achievements
- Realms invite links
- Mash-up Packs and Texture Packs will now decorate the main menu and in-game HUD
The full list of features tweaks are on the official announcement, while the bug fixes are just labelled as being “too many to mention.” Apparently, llamas could previously turn their head backwards while you ride them before this update, though, which is a terrifying thought.
For those of you on PC – you’ll have to be playing on the version of Minecraft simply called ‘Minecraft’. With this update, the previously-named Minecraft Bedrock Edition no longer exists, there now simply being Minecraft and Minecraft Java. It’s a little complicated, but: Minecraft is the version that’s the same across most platforms, and the one you have to use to get access to the Better Together update.
Minecraft is getting a huge update with new items, achievements, and cross-platform play
The big ‘Minecraft’ cross-platform update is live, but not on Switch
The Better Together update brings the biggest set of changes to hit Minecraft in years, expanding the Community Marketplace, streamlining access to third-party servers and uniting the game across platforms — and it’s all live today. Well, most of it is.
Better Together is rolling out across Xbox One, Windows 10, virtual-reality and mobile versions of Minecraft right now, but it won’t hit the Switch until later this year. Microsoft’s original plan, which it unveiled at E3 in June, was to launch Better Together on Switch at the same time as the other platforms (hence the title of the update).
PlayStation 4 was never part of the equation for this initial rollout.
“We just flat-out couldn’t get those two completely in sync,” Microsoft Studios Corporate Vice President Matt Booty says.
Microsoft, it should be noted, bought Minecraft in 2014 for $2.5 billion, quickly folding the franchise into its lineup of first-party Xbox studios. Xbox One and Windows platforms are the official home of Minecraft, so it makes sense that today’s update definitely includes those devices.
The Switch version will see the Better Together upgrade this year — in time for the holiday season, according to Booty. It’s just a matter of working out last-minute details, apparently.
“There’s no policy or real technical considerations there,” he says. “Nintendo’s been a fantastic partner to work with on this.”
Booty says the same about Microsoft’s partnership with Sony, though don’t expect the PS4 version of Minecraft to work with Xbox or Switch editions anytime soon. Microsoft and Sony are talking about a partnership, but there are no concrete plans for Better Together to hit PS4, Booty explains.
“I know it might seem simple from the outside looking in, and I can certainly understand that from a game player’s point of view,” he says. “From our point of view, on Minecraft, Sony is working with us on this. We are in conversations with them. I think it’s important for us to be respectful to some of the concerns and challenges that Sony is thinking about as we figure out how this could possibly work.”
This is a common refrain on the issue of cross-platform play — Sony is the lone holdout, reluctant to open the PlayStation ecosystem to other platforms. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Nintendo have shown more interest in this space: Rocket League players on Xbox One and Switch are able to play together, for instance. Technically, Rocket League is also playable among PS4 and Xbox One or Switch, but Sony doesn’t want to enable the ability, Psyonix Vice President Jeremy Dunham told Engadget at E3. He said cross-platform play was a matter of life or death for his game, and the team frequently broached the subject with representatives at Sony.
“There have been slight variations on how it’s been presented to us, but essentially it’s the same answer,” Dunham said. “It’s ‘not right now’ or it’s ‘something we’ll consider.’ That’s paraphrasing, but there hasn’t been any movement.”
And then there’s the curious case of Fortnite. Just this past weekend, PS4 and Xbox One players found themselves in games together, and the entire escapade was caught live on Twitch. A spokesperson for Fortnite said the cross-platform capabilities were due to “a configuration issue” that was quickly fixed, but the brief moment of console compatibility only served to remind players of everything that could be. Everything, like playing Minecraft across consoles.
“I certainly don’t want to speak for them, but it absolutely remains our goal to want to bring PlayStation into the mix with this,” Booty says. “I feel confident we’ll figure out a way to make that work. I also just want to really state that Sony is being a good partner with us. We’re in conversations with them, we’re working on this together.”
So far, just one game, Rocket League, is playable across Xbox One and Switch, and Minecraft is on its way to becoming the second. The cross-console ecosystem is in its infancy. Booty sees Microsoft as a leader in this space, just as the company has been in years (and console generations) past.
“It was a game like Halo that really proved you could bring a first-person shooter over to console,” Booty says. “It was Halo that first really led the way and helped people figure out a lot of how multiplayer was going to work over the internet and not just over LAN. This is a similar situation. I think the Minecraft team is proud to be one of the first games figuring out exactly how this is going to work and kind of leading the way.”
If Minecraft, one of the most popular games in the history of humanity, can work across consoles, any game should be able to — eventually, at least.
“That sets the stage for what could possibly then become a broader approach,” Booty says. “Right now we’re very focused on figuring this out with Minecraft. You gotta start somewhere, right?”
The big ‘Minecraft’ cross-platform update is live, but not on Switch
The Nintendo Switch has slowly turned into a fantastic portable multiplayer machine
Do you remember the video Nintendo used to show off the Switch for the first time? The one where hip 20-somethings would bring their Switch consoles everywhere, breaking them out at parties for some local multiplayer action, or playing Mario Kart in the back of a van en route to a real go-kart course. It seemed more aspirational than practical at the time. Sure, the Switch was a machine designed with flexibility, but who would actually use it like that? Turns out, I would. And one of the reasons is the steady stream of solid multiplayer games Nintendo has been releasing since the console debuted back in March.
Local multiplayer has always been a core part of the pitch for Nintendo’s new platform. It’s meant, at least in part, to be a device that you can carry around and use for impromptu gaming sessions with friends. The included Joy-Con controllers are generally serviceable, if not ideal, for two-player action in most games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was the first major release to make good on this concept, though it was preceded by a pair of launch titles, the quirky (and adorable) puzzle game Snipperclips and mini-game collection 1-2-Switch.
Since then, Nintendo has released a handful of titles that further flesh out the lineup. Chief among them are the colorful fighter Arms, which launched in June, and pokémon battler Pokkén Tournament DX, out today. And while paint shooter Splatoon 2 is largely an online-focused experience, it does offer the ability to link up multiple systems for local play.
Both Mario Kart and Pokkén are updated versions of games that originally appeared on the Wii U, Nintendo’s previous console. This makes them perfect examples of how much the Switch hardware can change the experience. Both games were already pretty solid from a design standpoint, and the Switch ports don’t add all that much in that respect. Mario Kart features a few new characters and some useful accessibility features, while Pokkén includes some additional fighters and a handful of game modes. But fundamentally they’re the same games.
What the Switch versions really offer, though, is the ability to easily play these games with your friends, on your own terms. Pokkén, in particular, is a game that doesn’t stand on its own as something you’d want to play much by yourself. It originated as an arcade game, and is at its best when you’re furiously battling against someone sitting right beside you.
The nature of the Switch means it’s much easier to have that kind of experience — there are simply more ways to play. With a console like the Wii U, playing with a friend meant you both had to be sitting in a specific room at a specific time. The Switch is much more flexible. You can play in the living room, on a train, or basically anywhere. It doesn’t have to be something you plan out in advance. It also doesn’t hurt that games like Arms, Mario Kart, and Pokkén Tournament are designed to be easy to get into.
This flexibility also extends to games not made by Nintendo. In fact, a number of ports of third-party games have added multiplayer functionality specifically with the Switch in mind. Venerable adventure game Cave Story was recently updated with a two-player co-op mode that’s exclusive to the Switch, while the ubiquitous Minecraft has a perfectly suited split-screen mode. Cars-meets-soccer game Rocket League is also making a belated debut on the platform. When it does arrive, it will include a two-player split-screen mode that, on the surface, seems like an ideal fit.
There’s also a lot to look forward to on the multiplayer front. An expanded version of Snipperclips, complete with all-new content is coming on November 10th, while the Switch version of FIFA 18 will include split Joy-Con multiplayer support. Even the tentpole release Super Mario Odyssey will feature rudimentary co-op. Then there are the games launching next year and beyond, like the four-player Kirby Star Allies and the inevitable Switch version of Super Smash Bros.
Most of these games would be just fine on another platform. But what the Switch offers is a level of freedom and spontaneity that’s not possible on a traditional console, or even a portable device like the 3DS. At any point, you can pull a Switch out of your bag and start racing on Rainbow Road — and look like you’re in a Nintendo commercial in the process.
The Nintendo Switch has slowly turned into a fantastic portable multiplayer machine
Nintendo is updating Super Mario Run with a new character, mode, and world
Nintendo will issue a new update to its iOS and Android game Super Mario Run on September 29th, which will include a new world, mode, and playable character.
The update will introduce a new mode called Remix 10, which randomly splices together 10 sections from the game’s various levels in quick succession and rewards players with rainbow medals. Completing the various stages will allow players to rescue Princess Daisy and subsequently play as her throughout the rest of the game. Players will also be able to unlock a new world called World Star, which includes nine new levels, enemies and some additional gameplay mechanics.
Polygon notes that there’s some other minor updates: players can get new items to put in their Mushroom Kingdom, and can listen to their own music while they play — when they do so, their runners will wear headphones. Nintendo is also temporarily cutting the price in half starting on September 29th through October 12th.
Nintendo is updating Super Mario Run with a new character, mode, and world
You can now use two-factor authentication to secure your Nintendo account
Nintendo is adding a new layer of security to its online accounts: users can now enable two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access.
To enable the authentication method, users are prompted to download Google Authenticator, which will provide them with a code when logging in.
The move is long overdue. Sony implemented two-factor authentication last year after a number of hacks that compromised user details, while other companies such as Steam and Microsoft have utilized the system for years.
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for online accounts, which verifies a login attempt with a phone or an e-mail. It’s not foolproof, but it does help add some additional protection. Here’s how to add it to your other devices.
You can now use two-factor authentication to secure your Nintendo account
Minecraft’s cross-platform update is now available on Xbox, PC, and mobile
Minecraft has been available on tons of different devices in the past. Now, Microsoft is finally bringing all those platforms together with the “Better Together” update, which is rolling out today for Xbox One, mobile devices, and Windows 10 PCs. The Nintendo Switch is still set to get the Better Together update, too, although that’s been delayed until later in the winter.
The update essentially takes the different versions of Minecraft that have been available on PC, Xbox, iOS, and Android, and consolidates them into one master version, with the same features, functionality, and content no matter where you play. That means that the console versions of Minecraft on Xbox One (and eventually, the Nintendo Switch) will now run the same version of Minecraft as PCs, mobile, and VR, built on what Microsoft calls the Bedrock Engine.
But the biggest advantage to creating a single version of Minecraft across all these platforms is that cross-play will be possible between Minecraft games. This means that you’ll be able to play Minecraft on your PC with a friend playing on an Xbox, while your buddy joins in from their Android phone. Microsoft is calling this the first time a game has offered cross-play across all these platforms, and with the addition of the Nintendo Switch to the mix, Minecraft could be one of the first true platform-agnostic titles, which is an incredible thing.
You may notice that the PlayStation 4 is glaringly absent from that list. That’s because Sony has — once again — decided to sit out on cross-platform play, an unfortunately familiar refrain from the company this console generation. Similar issues have come up with Rocket League, and most recently Fortnight, which accidentally enabled Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cross-play before pulling the feature. Sony has offered numerous explanations for avoiding cross-play in the past, including citing concerns of protecting children online, but given that the console still has a considerable competitive lead when it comes to users and sales, it’s unlikely that it will be budging on that issue anytime soon.
In an interview with Engadget, Microsoft Studios CVP Matt Booty commented, “We just flat-out couldn’t get those two completely in sync,” in regard to getting Minecraft cross-play with the PlayStation 4. Although, he noted that Microsoft is continuing to talk with Sony on the issue.
Also missing are the Mac and Linux versions of Minecraft, which will continue to exist alongside the original PC version as the renamed Java Edition for now. It’s supposed to continue to receive updates and get them along a similar time frame as the Bedrock Engine version.
That said, the unified Bedrock Engine version will be the canonical Minecraft title moving forward, with the original PC title and older console-specific versions getting appended “Edition” names like Minecraft: Wii U Edition and Minecraft: Java Edition to tell them apart from the core Minecraft title.
Minecraft’s cross-platform update is now available on Xbox, PC, and mobile
Minecraft Marketplace community partners have earned over $1m since June
Creators using Mojang’s Minecraft Marketplace have made more than $1 million since the service launched in June, the company has announced.
The program, which allows Minecraft community members to make money from their user-generated in-game content, runs alongside the Minecraft Store, and has seen users create everything from their own adventures, worlds, texture packs and characters skins over the last few months.
Microsoft, who now owns Mojang, also released a statement saying it is continuing to expand the Minecraft Marketplace team. Since the service launched in June, the number of partners has risen from nine to 12, with plans to keep adding more as the months go on.
Highlights from the Minecraft Marketplace so far include Dinosaur Island, which lets players confront wild raptors, tame triceratops and raid ruins while they explore the island’s mysterious ruins, and Infinity Dungeon EX, a randomly generated dungeon adventure. July also saw the release of the colour-coded Cyber Space Team Pack and a pet-themed skin pack, as well as a variety of mini-games and extra kingdoms.
Microsoft recently announced a limited edition Minecraft Xbox One S bundle, which is due to hit shelves on September 12th. The console, which features a unique voxel-based design, also comes with a special Creeper-themed controller.
Minecraft Marketplace community partners have earned over $1m since June
Minecraft’s Better Together Update Delayed to Fall 2017
There were plenty of people who thought the purchase of developer Mojang by mega-publisher Microsoft was signaling the end of Minecraft’s appeal of universality. Speculation within the gaming community was rife with claims that Microsoft may entirely stop developing for anything outside of the Microsoft family of systems — or worse.
With all of those fears trumped up at the time, it seems like a day-and-night difference with how Microsoft is truly handling the property — principally with the Better Together Update, coming free to Windows 10, mobile, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Announced at Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, the news took the gaming community and Minecraft fanbase by storm; as the name implies, gamers would have the option to cross-platform play with friends (as long as they weren’t on the PlayStation family of systems).
While the Better Together Update with the original plan to launch before the end of the summer — it seems that estimation has been pushed back. According to the Minecraft Better Together Update FAQ, the update is planning on coming to Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, mobile and Windows 10 around Fall 2017.
There is no indication why the update has been delayed, but perhaps it has to do with possibly incorporating the PlayStation 4 version into the initial roll out. There is no indication that progress has moved forward, however the FAQ had this to say about their talks with Sony:
we are still in discussions with Sony about PlayStation and have nothing to confirm. We would love to work with Sony to bring players on PlayStation 4 into this ecosystem as well.
Either way, everyone who owns the Windows 10, mobile, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch version of the game can expect to receive the update for free. However, those purchasing Minecraft after the release will have to purchase the new Better Together Edition — the original Minecraft: Console Edition will be removed from the respective marketplaces.
Pfizer puts hemophilia spin on ultrapopular Minecraft to educate young patients
Minecraft is popular—really popular. So it’s no surprise that Pfizer is looking to capitalize on that success.
The pharma giant has launched Hemocraft, a take on the ultrasuccessful video game that’s just for hemophilia patients. Developed in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University and representatives from the hemophilia community, the game is meant to help younger patients—between the ages of eight and 16—learn “the importance of integrating treatment into their routine,” Pfizer said.
How does Hemocraft do that? As part of their quest, game players interact with the so-called “village doctor”—a fictional healthcare professional—to learn how to adhere to their treatment plans and understand how their therapies work. They put that knowledge to use throughout the game, as they’re challenged to monitor factor levels and self-infuse to control bleeding.
If Hemocraft turns out to be a hit even a fraction of the size of Minecraft, Pfizer will be in good shape. The building game has sold more than 1 million copies around the world and ranks high among the most popular games ever created.
But Pfizer isn’t stopping there. It’s also rolled out a new piece of wearable tech: a wristband dubbed HemMobile Striiv. The wearable—the first made for hemophilia patients, Pfizer says—tracks activity levels and heart rate, and the company is offering it free of charge to all U.S. hemophilia patients, no matter what therapy they’re on. To use it, though, patients will likely want to download the HemMobile app—used to log bleeds and infusions, monitor factor supply and set appointment reminders–that Pfizer already offers.
“These new digital innovations can be integrated into everyday routines to help empower people with hemophilia to learn about and track different aspects relevant to their disease so that they can have informed conversations with their health care providers,” Kevin Williams, chief medical officer of Pfizer’s rare-disease unit, said in a statement.
Pfizer, which markets recombinant factor IX treatment BeneFix, is currently battling a host of companies in the hemophilia field, including Bioverativ, Novo Nordisk, Shire and Bayer. And things are only set to get more intense once gene therapies hit the scene.
At that point, though, the New York drugmaker is hoping to be in the thick of things; in late 2014, it struck a gene therapy collaboration with Spark Therapeutics over hemophilia B candidate SPK-FIX.
Pfizer puts hemophilia spin on ultrapopular Minecraft to educate young patients
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