Justin has been a gamer since the Intellivision days back in the early 80′s. He started writing about and covering the video game industry in 2008. In his spare time he is also a bit of a gun-nut and Star Wars nerd.
This past week EA Maxis revealed that the studio is currently "exploring the possibility" of making an offline mode for the notoriously always online SimCity.
Valve has announced the specifications for the prototype Steam Machine that will be sent out to 300 lucky Steam users for testing later this year. While we have yet to see a picture of the actual box, the specs reveal a small, but fairly high-end system, that Valve hopes is something "that a significant percentage of Steam users would actually want to purchase."
Outside of briefly mentioning that there will be an iOS/Android PlayStation App that will work with the PlayStation 4, Sony has remained relatively silent on exactly what users will be able to do after they download the free application. With the launch of the PS4 coming up fast, the first details about the mobile software are starting to roll out and it sounds as if it will provide a nice set of features for users.
Xi3 Corporation has announced that their "not a Steam Box" living room PC, the Piston, will officially launch in North America on November 29th for $999. As a bonus, those who pre-order the tiny gaming box will get it delivered two weeks earlier "on or before November 15th."
The digital pinball wizards over Zen Studios have announced that the second set of Star Wars Pinball DLC tables, titled Balance of the Force, will be available to download starting on October 15th. Currently, the launch schedule for all their various platforms is as follows:
Earlier today during the latest Nintendo Direct Presentation, The Big N announced that Sonic will return as one of the playable characters in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U and 3DS.
Ubisoft has announced that the PC port of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will be released on November 19th. This puts it in very close proximity the day one launch target for the next-gen console versions (PlayStation 4 on November 15th, and Xbox One on November 22nd), and three weeks behind its October 29th release on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U.
Sony has announced that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be added to PlayStation Plus members' free Instant Game Collection when the PS Store updates tomorrow, October 1, 2013.
Precursor Games has announced that Shadow of the Eternals, the self-proclaimed spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness, is officially no longer in development.