DIGITAL LIFE

According to VentureBeat, Microsoft is courting former OnLive employees now that the game-streaming company has entered a period of restructuring that caused layoffs for multiple employees.

According to OXM.uk, the next Xbox might be closer to release than most people think. Currently codenamed “Durango,” the new Microsoft console is said to include a packed-in version of the Kinect motion-control system that has revolutionized body-scanning/reading technology.

Partnering with Rock The Vote, the developers of the smash-hit mobile game “Infinity Blade” have created “Vote!!!” which encourages players to choose either President Obama or rival candidate Mitt Romney and duke it out for the White House.

Rumors of another “Skyrim” DLC release after “Dawnguard” are nothing new for fans of Bethesda’s widely popular “Elder Scrolls” series, but as the summer comes to a close rumors seem to be heating up more than ever.

PC gaming is full of piracy. Ubisoft, one of gaming’s premiere game development companies, is no stranger to seeing their material stolen online.

A major outcry has broken out over AT&T's August 17 move to make more money off customers who use the popular FaceTime feature on their Apple iPhones, drawing criticism from a wide range of sources.

According to Kotaku, Nintendo will be holding a press conference on September 13, 2012 in New York. Kotaku reports that in a press invitation sent to various outlets, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime will be on-hand to discuss "more about how the Wii U will change the future of gaming and entertainment."

According to Eurogamer, Treyarch has high hopes for ?Call of Duty: Black Ops 2??s multiplayer. The series has predominantly established itself as the premiere arcade-style multiplayer experience, offering rapid gameplay, hectic rounds and a solid matchmaking system.

As rumors spread that the Apple iPhone 5 will hit shelves as early as next month, now may very well be the best time to sell your iPhone 4S, The phone's trade-in value is still high, but will likely drop as the iPhone 5 release date nears and phone buyers increasingly stop purchasing existing smartphone models, holding out for the iPhone 5 and its new features.

OnLive, the cloud-streaming online game service, has had its share of difficulties over the past week or so, including potentially having filed for a form of bankruptcy, as well as firing multiple employees.

Fans of video game service OnLive should be concerned about the platform?s future. On Friday, well over half of OnLive?s employees were unceremoniously fired as it was revealed that the Onlive was being sold to an unnamed company in a bid to stay out of bankruptcy.

Steam’s “Big Picture Mode” is entering beta testing in early September. This basically means that, once all the bugs are worked out, users will be able to stream Valve’s ever-popular content delivery service directly to their television sets, with screens automatically optimized for proper resolution and size.

According to MTV Geek, Sony is planning on supporting its beleaguered Vita handheld gaming device. The device launched back in February of this year and was met with massive sales drops in the following weeks, post-release.

Sony Corp. is doing its best to maintain Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita performance in the lead-up to next year's anticipated launch of its next-generation console by cutting costs and introducing a wide range of new intellectual property for the rapidly aging devices.

After the Apple TV failed to capture much market attention, the California tech giant may be looking for a new way to enter the television market. Reports suggest that the new Apple TV could be a set-top box designed to give viewers access to cable programs at any time.

The widely successful camera app Instagram has just received a new update that will incorporate location-based tags. The function, known as Photo Mapping, has rolled out to both Android and iOS-based iterations of the app.

Fans of the “Call of Duty” franchise got a glimpse of what’s to come in the upcoming “Black Ops 2” multiplayer mode at Gamescom 2012. The highly anticipated military shooter will take place during the year 2025 in a post-apocalyptic war-torn Los Angeles of the future.

Gamescom 2012 is officially under way, with press conferences from two of the biggest names in the video game industry already finished. Capcom and Electronic Arts have showcased their current projects in the works, but there are still two days left of the European interactive entertainment trade fair

Video game delays are nothing new to the industry, but the year 2102 has certainly scene its share of disappointing setbacks. From title launches, to DLCs and full console releases, gamers shouldn’t hold their expectation too high for some of these release dates.

“Battlefield 4,” the latest entry in EA/DICE’s smash hit shooter franchise will keep the modern-day setting popularized in titles like “Battlefield: Bad Company 2” and “Battlefield 3,” reports The Verge.

Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind PC gaming sensations “Diablo” and “World of Warcraft,” has warned players that personal information may have been leaked. The company was recently targeted by a network hack, but no financial information is believed to have been stolen.

Just over a week after BioWare announced that “Star Wars: The Old Republic” was going free-to-play, BioWare Austin, lead developers on the high-profile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), have lost their General Manager, Dr. Greg Zeschuk. Zeschuk is one-half of the founding members of BioWare (along with Dr. Ray Muzyka), a company that specializes in immersive storytelling with their “Mass Effect” and “Dragon Age” franchises.

The release date for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 is set to come at the end of this month, but those expecting the smartphone-tablet hybrid to come with Android’s Jelly Bean may be disappointed. The Galaxy Note successor will reportedly launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Impossible Studios, owned by Epic Games, is ready for business, Kotaku reports. The new company, located in Hunt Valley, Md., will be home to the team working on "Infinity Blade: Dungeons" under the direction of studio head Sean Dunn.

“Assassin’s Creed 3” won’t be released until the fall, but the game’s box art has revealed that PlayStation 3 owners will be getting a special bonus. Those playing on Sony’s video game console will receive an exclusive downloadable content that will not be available for the PC, Xbox 360 or Wii U.

As promised, the new multiplayer trailer for “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” has been revealed, giving gamers a glimpse at what’s to come in the next installment of the widely-successful franchise.

“DayZ,” the popular “Arma 2” mod will be getting its own standalone game, according to Rocket’s Development Blog. The mod sees players squaring off against the undead in the super-realistic world of “Arma 2,” where a single bullet can be the difference between life and death. The initial game, “Arma,” is heavily rooted in the reality of gunplay, something most first-person shooters aren’t known for. One bullet can kill, and in the case with “DayZ,” zombies are introduced into the mix to make ...

“Insane,” Guillermo Del Toro’s first foray into video game development, has been canceled at troubled publisher THQ, according to The Escapist. This news comes less than a month after new THQ head Jason Rubin stated in an interview with Game Informer that Del Toro’s title was “still under production.”

With the iPhone 5 rumored to be released in this September, Samsung is taking a new approach in encouraging customers to switch by offering a rebate of up to $300 for old smartphones.