On November 2, PlayStation Portable game God of War: Ghost of Sparta hit stores. But its developer, Ready at Dawn, is already questioning the rationale for creating PSP games. Don't blame the hardware, blame piracy. Ready at Dawn's Ru Weerasuriya talks to game site VG247 about the PSP's piracy problem. According to the game designer, "It's getting to the point where it doesn't make sense to make games on it." Both the PSP and the Nintendo DS experience rampant piracy; however, Weerasuriya confesses he isn't as familiar with the situation for the DS. He adds that flash cartridges make it possible to pirate "practically every single game that's ever come out for it". A former Blizzard employee, he points out that the PC industry controls piracy through things like online multiplayer and internet connectivity. About the PSP, Weerasuriya says, "It's a tough call right now to say what's going to happen to it and where it's going to go, but it definitely hurts a lot of developers out there who are trying to make great games." Ready at Dawn has developer three PSP titles: Daxter, God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

As we’ve mentioned before, on April 8, Microsoft stopped supporting and releasing updates for one of its most popular operating systems, Windows XP. The only exception the company has made since then was in May, when it released a patch to resolve a major vulnerability in Internet Explorer. P anda Security however, has continued offering protection and support for all our customers with XP installed on their computers. And that’s not all. Recently, put to the test the protection capabilities and performance impact of 23 antivirus products for Windows XP, and, got the perfect score: 18 out of 18. This result confirms it as the best free option for protecting this operating system and comes on top of the excellent results recently obtained in AV-Comparatives and Virus Bulletin. Advice for Windows XP users One of the best tips to prevent attacks from hackers is to keep your system updated. After Microsoft’s termination of support for Windows XP, new vulnerabilities or security holes will start to appear that leave an open door on your computer and increase the risk of infection. That’s why we always recommend installing a good antivirus to monitor these threats, and you should ensure it is always active and updated.

BUNGIE Bungie have promised that Destiny Year Two will see some big changes UPDATE ONE: Having put the wheels in motion for update 2.0 to be revealed in the coming weeks before the launch of the Taken King, Bungie have also put together a growing list of new features players want to see added to the game. The community wish list page on the Bungie forums have been put together so that the studio can acknowledge that although they aren't able to implement all feedback, they are listening to what have to say. "As we monitor the conversation that happens on Bungie.net, we notice recurring themes, " a post from Bungie community manager, David Dague explains. "The list that follows is a reflection of what the players of Destiny have unanimously wished for on many occasions. Please note that this doesn’t represent our To-Do List at Bungie. While we can’t promise that every idea is being worked on, we do want to confirm that you’ve been heard. Our goal is to include you in our process wherever we can." The list includes all kinds of fan ideas, ranging from guardian facial hair, to crucible map voting seen in the Halo series. Here are the most frequent community wishes for Destiny: Transmogrification Private Crucible Matches Gun Skins Guardian Facial Hair Vault Sorting Options Crucible Map Voting Expanding Faction Interaction Aim Assist Toggle Option Rotating Stock on Tower Vendors Dismantle Consumable Items Additional Matchmaking Options Weapon Rebalancing Material Stack Size Increase Additional Storage/Vault Options Speaking on the subject of the new area set to be explored by Destiny fans in the Taken King, Creative Director Luke Smith revealed their plans to make the Dreadnaught the best place to find fresh items. Smith explained that the new Destiny destination was set to be a loot-filled fortress and a new place to go with new activities to do that make you engage more with the game world.

If you are a Mac user and would like your digital files to be saved on a DVD, it is possible using DVD authoring software. This software will not only save your digital files on DVD but it will also allow you to add menus, chapters and a special navigation for your video files. Below is a list of our ten best DVD authoring software applications that you could use: DVD Studio Pro claims to be one of the best DVD authoring software available because of its rich set of features. It can be used to author a huge range of video projects from simple DVD dailies to more complex commercial titles...

Are you a fan of the Call of Duty franchise? Are you perhaps looking forward to playing Black Ops 3 which is scheduled for a release in the next couple of months? If you are and you haven’t gotten yourself a PlayStation 4 yet, perhaps you should, and the good news is that Sony has announced a new bundle for fans. This new bundle is basically a 1TB PlayStation 4 console. However as you can see in the photo above, this PS4 has been themed with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 graphics. Basically it’s a black PS4 with some orange outlining the console in the shape of “III” to signify the third installment of the Black Ops games. The Du...

Despite its many achievements, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will likely go down in history as the game that introduced "Hot Coffee" to the world. You know, that whole pseudo-scandal which promised to corrupt our children via the awkward humping of crude, polygonal humanoids? Forget the fact that this content could only be accessed by third-party hacking devices, along with the M for Mature rating right there on the box. Hell in a handbasket! Living the gang life. It's a shame, then, because San Andreas stands as the one entry in the series where the full Grand Theft Auto experience truly came together. Of course, Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City certainly deserved to set the world on fire, but giving San Andreas an additional year to stew in development made one a hell of a difference. Now that our eyes have absorbed current open-world wonders like The Witcher and Assassin's Creed, the Renderware-powered San Andreas may seem slipshod and clumsy, but its technical competence stands far above the previous two games, making the many options of its sandboxy gameplay far easier to wrangle. (Which is probably why it's the only game of the GTA3 trilogy I've ever been able finish.) Though San Andreas dials back a bit on the amount of player freedom—I'm sure you all remember those missions where you couldn't kill a target until the game removed its invincibility flag—it remains Rockstar's last take on the "old" Grand Theft Auto: a mostly silly mayhem simulator more interested in movie references than statements on the human condition. And the amount of flexibility found in San Andreas' world extends to the protagonist as well. CJ has his own goals and motivations, and makes for a much more sympathetic hero than the previous two games' sociopaths, but still, his "character sheet" (to use Dungeons & Dragons lingo) contains more stats than a Dark Souls character. Rockstar might have gone a little overboard—both diet and exercise play an important part of CJ's development—but as you get through more of the story, CJ's talents naturally improve, making those dozens of hours poured into San Andreas just a little more rewarding. See the sights and slums of Los Santos. More than ten years later, the whole "map littered with hundreds of icons" has become de rigeur for open-world games, but in 2004, the idea of endless activities in a digital world still made for a compelling premise. And Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas holds no shortage of things to do. CJ can take over territory by clearing it of opposing gang members, giving the world a feeling of persistence that past GTA games didn't have. All of the standard vehicle missions are there, of course, along with new additions like driving trucks, trains, and (somewhat regrettably) escorting sex workers to visit their Johns.

Xamarin apps are built with standard, native user interface controls. Apps not only look the way the end user expects, they behave that way too. Xamarin apps have access to the full spectrum of functionality exposed by the underlying platform and device, including platform-specific capabilities like iBeacons and Android Fragments. Xamarin apps leverage platform-specific hardware acceleration, and are compiled for native performance. This can’t be achieved with solutions that interpret code at runtime. MarketWatch is one of the most visited financial news sites in the world. The MarketWatch team was able to reuse their C# skills to deliver a fast, beautiful iOS app. Kimberly-Clark transformed their field sales process with a Xamarin app that reduced product proposal time from 40 hours to 2 hours. Bastion is an award-winning console game that was brought to the iPad using Xamarin. Wired Magazine said it “might be the best console-to-tablet port yet.” Xamarin apps use native UIs on every platform to enable the best possible experiences. Simplify mobile app design with our Android and iOS designers, and build your own app today. Learn more about Xamarin Designers for Visual Studio and Xamarin Studio. Discover a new way to learn iOS, Mac and Android development as well as a fast way to explore new APIs and iterate on features without having to first build and run a project. Sketches display code executing in real-time right from your IDE, and are ideal for experimenting with new language features, exploring APIs, developing algorithms and more.

The mean streets of Ventura Bay are alive with the sounds of revving engines and police sirens. Need for Speed is back in the best way possible by sticking to what it does well. Racing game fans have been spoiled with all ready amazing looking games like Forza Horizon and Driveclub . Some skeptics voiced concerns about how the Need for Speed E3 trailer couldn’t have possibly been in-game. I’m happy to report that the E3 demo was no joke. The transitions from FMV video to actual gameplay was entirely seamless on the PS4. What was even more impressive was the weather and lighting effects, assuming you were driving slow enough to even notice. Fans of Need for Speed Underground will love the level of customization options. Ghost Games worked closely with popular car blog Speedhunters to choose the cars and aftermarket parts that would best fit in EA’s new racer. There seems to a big push for authenticity when it came to finding cars that illegal street racers would actually be caught driving. After customizing my Porsche with a lovely blue matte finish I decided to throw on some real obnoxious race decals to really immerse myself into the underground street culture. They also streamlined the car tuning aspect in NFS with just a few simple sliders to whether you want to your whip to focus more on grip or drift driving. The mode I got to checkout was 8 player Rep Attack. 8 racers are dropped into a section of the open world where each had around 9 minutes to amass as much rep as possible. You can gain rep by simply messing around in the open world. I was happy to hear that Autolog will be returning to Need for Speed where you can compete against your friend top scores and times. There are a couple of event icons throughout the map. Racers can just meet up that the event marker and just compete or they can drive freely around to gather rep on there by either driving really fast or just driving like a madman. I did notice that my gameplay demo had less spastic camera angles than the trailer and thank the good lord for that. It seemed like that odd zoom-in effect every time you drifted seemed like it would given me motion sickness. Thankfully what you saw in the trailer was mostly for more cinematic effect and not in the build I was playing.

"Excitement for the God of War franchise is at an all-time high and we're thrilled to continue that momentum with God of War: Ghost of Sparta, " said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "This new adventure will showcase Kratos on PSP like never before in an experience that fans and newcomers can enjoy on the go, anytime, anywhere." Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a single-player game that has players once more taking on the role of Spartan warrior Kratos. This new adventure picks up after the original God of War concludes, telling the story of Kratos' ascension to power as the God of War. In his quest to rid himself of the nightmares that haunt him, Kratos must embark on a journey that will reveal the origins of lost worlds, and finally answer long-awaited questions about his tattoo, scar and family. Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Chaos, he will have to overcome armies of mythological monsters, legions of undead soldiers, and amazingly dangerous and brutal landscapes throughout his merciless quest. The developers say they have "made significant strides to give players a realistic feel that has never been seen before on PSP or any other portable platform." The game showcases higher quality environments and characters, giving an unmistakable realism to Kratos' newest quest, they say. The game will have more than 25 percent more gameplay than God of War: Chains of Olympus, according to the release. The game will also have a new weapon system, new magical powers, weapons and navigational abilities, many more enemies on screen, and a greater number of boss encounters, truly bringing the experience to life, all while on the go.

It's such a pain jumping on the bandwagon of a brand-new video game console. It's not that it's not fun — playing next-generation games with superior quality is awesome. It's that doggone price. When new video game consoles first hit the market, they're always in the multiple hundreds of dollars. Granted, that's considerably less than it costs to buy a new computer – or heck, even a new smartphone that's just hit the market – but it's no small amount of pocket change. It's made all the more frustrating by knowing that a year or two down the road, that price will drop by a hundred dollars or more. If you're a frugal shopper who's dying to get in on next-generation gaming, this is your lucky day. An online retailer called CowBoom is selling refurbished Xbox One consoles today only (March 30, 2015) at almost half the retail price of $500. Yes, we used the R-word (refurbished), but don't let that scare you. Refurb products are, on the whole, practically as good, quality-wise, as brand-new products. (Photo : Microsoft) CowBoom's "Deal of the Day" includes: • Xbox One console w/ 500GB hard drive • 2nd-generation Kinect sensor • 1 Xbox One wireless controller Considering all you're getting in the box, $260 is an incredible deal. And it's certainly far less than you'd pay for an Xbox One off the shelf, for at least another two or three years. We have no information on how limited CowBoom's inventory may be — so if this deal interests you, don't hesitate.