Xbox One doubles storage to a terabyte, gets jacked-up controller

Microsoft's game console makes the leap to a terabyte of disk space, meaning more room for more games. Plus: a new controller fits in a stereo headset jack.

                                                                                              

A new Xbox One is launching next week with a slightly modified design and double the storage, putting the onus on PlayStation maker Sony to respond.

An Xbox One game console with 1TB of onboard storage will launch on June 16 in the US, Microsoft announced Tuesday. The console, which will feature twice the storage of the previous model, will also boast a matte finish across the top, rather than the half-glossy finish that previously topped the console. The 1TB Xbox One will set customers back $399/AU$549. For a limited time, Microsoft will also include Halo: The Master Chief Collection with the console.

A 1TB Xbox One was previously only available as part of the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare bundled offered last fall.

Microsoft also on Tuesday announced an update to its Xbox One wireless controller. The new version, which will ship with all versions of the Xbox One, comes with a 3.5mm stereo headset jack -- a conspicuous omission from the previous version that launched with the Xbox One. The addition means users can pick whatever headset they'd like to use with the console, rather than only those that would plug into the Xbox One's micro-USB port.

The addition of 500GB of storage to the Xbox One is likely to be well-received among the hard-core gaming cohort that plays dozens of titles. In a world where digital game downloads are increasingly popular and even disc-based titles are downloaded to hard drives, 500GB gets filled up rather quickly. With 1TB of space, gamers will have more room to keep games that are several gigabytes in size on their consoles.

The launch of the 1TB console also means that the previous version of Microsoft's Xbox One, featuring 500GB of storage, is now cheaper. Microsoft said Tuesday that the 500GB Xbox One will remain at $349 permanently. The console has been offered at $349 as a "special" price. Its official price was previously set at $399.

The timing of the announcement might come as a surprise, though a brief listing on Amazon last week gave a heads-up that change was coming. New consoles or additions to product lineups are often announced at the E3 Gaming Expo. This year's edition of the event, which is one of the biggest gaming shows of the year, is scheduled to be held next week in Los Angeles.

By making the announcement a week before E3, Microsoft is firing an early salvo against Sony's PlayStation 4, which is also rumored to be getting a 1TB version. That model is expected to be announced at E3 next week.

Game development 

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Sony is bringing streamable PS3 games … to the PS3

Don't retire your PS3 just yet, Sony has announced that its subscription game-streaming service PlayStation Now is officially coming to the gracefully aging system starting in the US on May 12.

The service, already available on the PS4 and select phones, will supposedly also have a PS Vita version "coming soon" according to the Tokyo-based company.

If you're not a member already, pricing starts at $20 for the all-you-can play subscription tier that has over 100 games available to stream instantly or an a la carte option for individual titles that starts around $1.99 for four hours of game time.

Game development 

The employees at Pixotri Game Studio have vast experience in creating games and are always trying to push the boundaries of technology and creativity. The games are created using the most popular game enigine Unity, which provides robust, high performance, platform independent solution to creating games.

Pixotri technology is a  creative house developing quality web designs, E-Commerce solution. SEO services and Gaming development .

Contact us for your mobile gaming requirements email-info@pixotritechnologies.com. Visit our website: www.pixotritechnologies.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9xSWDsTYC8

Samsung's Profit Hit by Bigger iPhones, Sinks 39 Percent

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics Co. said its first quarter net profit plunged 39 percent as consumers switched to bigger iPhones, squeezing earnings from its mobile business to less than half from a year earlier.

The company reported Wednesday that its January-March net profit was 4.63 trillion won ($4.35 billion), compared with 7.49 trillion won a year earlier. That was lower than the forecast of 4.97 trillion won in a survey of analysts by financial data provider FactSet.

The bigger-than-expected drop was due to a big profit plunge in Samsung's mobile business. The maker of Galaxy smartphones said its mobile division generated 2.74 trillion won in quarterly profit compared with 6.43 trillion won a year earlier.

Analysts estimate Samsung sold more smartphones than Apple during the quarter. But the Korean firm lost ground in the high-end market to Apple after the maker of the iPhone began offering models with bigger screens last fall.

Apple on Tuesday reported that it sold 61 million iPhones in the first three months of the year, which drove another quarter of blow-out profits.

Samsung, which does not disclose its smartphone shipments, is estimated to have sold 81 million smartphones during the quarter according to analysts. But most of the sales increase came from mid-level handsets like the Galaxy A series, which are sold at a cheaper price than its flagship models. The period preceded the launch of the latest versions of Samsung's flagship smartphones.

Samsung said is quarterly revenue fell 12 percent from a year earlier to 47.12 trillion won while operating income dropped 30 percent to 5.98 trillion won, in line with Samsung's earnings preview earlier this month.

The Korean company said its profits will increase during the second quarter as the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with curved screens expand sales after their global launch this month. But the shipments of those high-end phones will not be big enough to offset an expected decrease in sales of middle- to low-end models, it said. Marketing expenses will also go up, pressuring its profit margin.

The initial sales of the S6 were "great" but the pre-orders of Samsung's new smartphones were "no match to the iPhone 6," said Tom Kang, director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Samsung is betting big on the Galaxy S6 series to claw back sales in key markets such as China, where it lost its leading position to Apple and Xiaomi. As part of its push to make new smartphones more attractive, Samsung acquired mobile-payment startup LoopPay this year and introduced Samsung Pay, a mobile payment system on the latest Galaxy phones. The company also introduced new design elements to the S6 Edge phone, which has screens that curve.

Samsung said demand for the S6 Edge has exceeded expectations but the limited supply for the curved displays restricted sales. Park Jinyoung, vice president at Samsung's mobile communications business, said supplies of the curved displays will improve during the second quarter.

Analysts said the improvement in Samsung's mobile profit hinges on how quickly the company can catch up with demand for the S6 Edge smartphones, which are about $100 more expensive than the S6 model.

But even then, they questioned if the Galaxy S6 series would be strong enough to stave off competition from the bigger iPhone models.

"The shipments of the plain S6 model and the Edge model will be not bad, but it won't be surprising," said Peter Yu, an analyst at BNP Paribas. "What is important is how many they can sell during the second half of this year."

The only business that saw an improvement in profit during the first three months of this year was Samsung's component division that supplies chips and displays for makers of smartphones and televisions, including Apple Inc. Samsung's consumer electronics division that makes television sets had a bad quarter, losing 140 billion won.

Looking ahead, Samsung said its overall earnings will increase during the second quarter from the previous three months, as sales of premium smartphones such as its Galaxy series as well as the iPhones drive demand for its semiconductor products and display panels.

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