‘Back To The Future’ Hoverboard Teased

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Back to the Future II promised hoverboards by the year 2014, and celebrities like Moby, Terrell Owens, Tony Hawk and Dr. Emmett Brown in the flesh are appearing in this video to make it seem like that magical day is actually here (it’s not). There’s been great viral traction on these videos and millions of views, and people are already speculating on whether it’s for a new Tony Hawk game or Back to the Future IV. It was, however, all a joke by website Funny or Die – and Christopher Lloyd apologizes, turning it into a promotional opportunity where you could win the celebrity-signed hoverboard . . Well played, Funny or Die, well played.

 

Marijuana’s First U.S. TV Ad Debuts

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MarijuanaDoctors.com is responsible for the first Marijuana Commercial that will be shown on a major network . . . and it’s surprisingly low key. The intent of the ad is to demonstrate how there a better way to acquire legal marijuana for medicinal purposes, showing a maturation in the marijuana selling business as a whole.Source: Mashable.com

 

 

Twitch Enables Mobile Game Broadcasting

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Twitch has already established itself as a priority streaming service for console and PC games, and now mobile players will get a turn.

The company has announced that its latest SDK allows users to stream their mobile games through its website.  It not only captures the audio and video directly from these games, but also activates a front camera, so users can show off while they play them.

Things such as audio and broadcast quality can be adjusted, and videos will also be archived, in case players want to search for specific items – like runs on Flappy Bird and Angry Birds.

The service will work alongside the company’s mobile app, which recently surpassed its ten millionth install between both Android and iOS. Congrats to the team!

Source: GigaOm

Image source: NewPSVitaGames

 

Women Lead On Social Media

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Finances Online and Ruby Media put together this insightful infographic combining research from the Pew Research Center, Burst Media and Nielsen into one place showing how women are leading the way to the “visual web.” While it’s no surprise women comprise the majority of users on Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, it might surprise you that they use virtually every major social site more, with one exception: LinkedIn.

Woman are also more likely to use social media on a daily basis and therefore it makes sense that they might engage with brands on a more frequent basis. Take a gander below to see the gender disparity online.

 

Source: MediaBistro; Image Source: Soshable

PlayStation Plus Getting AAA PS4 Games

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The PlayStation Plus program has been very beneficial for PlayStation 3 owners, getting such titles as Metro: Last Light and Bioshock Infinite free of charge. However, PlayStation 4 owners haven’t gotten major titles as of yet, although indie offerings like Outlast, Don’t Starve and Resogun have certainly filled the void.

Not to worry, though. An inside source has indicated that Sony will start including AAA games with the Instant Game Collection later this year.

Industry insider Ahsan Rasheed and Sony had a conversation, where Rasheed complained about his frustration with PS Plus, and he tweeted the response: “I’m told “Good stuff is coming, be patient this is the typical Sony cycle.” I’ve also been told later this year PS Plus on PS4 will have AAA”

Sony hasn’t announced any changes to the program yet, but considering that over six million PlayStation 4’s have been sold, big additions to the PlayStation Plus program are looking likely. We may know more as soon as E3, where Sony will no doubt have a press conference before the gaming show in June.

Source: VG247

Ubisoft’s ‘Watch Dogs’ Chase Licensed Gear

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Summer is looking like a good time for Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, a game where you unleash technical-based havoc around the city of Chicago, all in the name of the greater good. However, gamers will be able to do a lot more than play the game – they’ll be able to buy gear as well.

Ubisoft is planning a huge licensing push to go alongside the game when it releases in a few months, including books, t-shirts, scarves, caps and hoodies, all based around what the main character wears in the game.

“It’s great to have a game as highly anticipated as Watch Dogs out this year and observe the number of licensed deals that have been agreed considering it’s a new IP,” said Ubisoft commercial manager Chris Marcus. “Over time, we have developed strong relationships with some key licensing partners who have shared the vision we possess with some of our brands. Ensuring we are represented in categories like collectibles, apparel and print have provided a solid foundation to extend into other areas and assess how wide the interest to purchase game merchandise can be.”

Marcus also added, “We have experienced great results with the Assassin’s Creed brand and it has reflected the work of many talented teams from creation through to customer experience. This framework opens the door for us to create quality merchandise that can be enjoyed at various levels of interest.”

Watch Dogs is set to launch for various consoles, including Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U.

Source: MCV UK

Image Source: Ubisoft

‘GTA IV’: An Artistic View

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Duncan Harris knows his way around video game journalism, but he also takes part in a side project known as Dead End Thrills. Here, he works his magic on screenshots and virtual photographs from video games, and his latest work is no exception.

Harris recently posted a series of photos from the Rockstar Games release Grand Theft Auto IV, which originally released in 2008. However, he didn’t just post typical screenshots. Instead, he recreated them in stark black-and-white colors, showing just how seedy the city looks without the benefit of color.

Barely any human subjects appear in the photos, leaving room for the ambience to tell its own story, between wrecked vehicles, low-end businesses and looming landmarks. They really show a side to Liberty City that players might have missed playing through the game a few years ago.

Harris’ work can be found here. It’s well worth a look.

Source: Motherboard

Sega And 7-11’s ‘Phantasy Star’ Promotion

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Phantasy Star Online 2 is making big waves for Sega in Japan – and with its latest promotion, it’s likely to get even more so.

Sega has teamed up with 7-11 for a new promotion that will provide downloadable goodies to players of PSO2 that purchase a Slurpee. The promotion, which kicks off tomorrow, enables users to log into their account and input a code from the side of a Slurpee cup to unlock exclusive content for the game.

Once the code is inputted, players can don a special 7-11 themed costume and play through a special quest, between March 6th and 19th. If players manage to complete it between the 19th and 31st, they’ll unlock a 7-11 worker uniform to wear in the game.

In addition, 7-11 will hold a lottery, where players can win random items within the game. It costs 575 yen ($5.75) to take part, but fans will get a lot out of it – and the chance to win a limited edition PSO2 figurine.

The promotion is only taking place in Japan, as PSO2 hasn’t even been released in the US as of yet.

Source: Games In Asia