Hi there, and welcome to a very mobile episode of Missing Pieces! Today I am rolling down the highway on the way to this weekend's Oculus Connect conference, where we'll hopefully be hearing some exciting news about our cyberpunk future!
But in the meantime, this broadcast is brought to you by this bus's 56k modem. Here's all the most important gaming news for the week of September 15.
Consumer Oculus release rumors
I've been asking the same question of Oculus now for almost eighteen months: "Hey, so...when's that consumer version coming?" Oculus is still tight-lipped on the subject.
In the meantime, we've got rumors. Both TechRadar and VRFocus claim a beta of the consumer version (CV1) will roll out in mid-2015.
Harmonix still hasn't given up on Rock Band
Okay, at this point I think it's safe to say Harmonix is like that guy who has that super-obvious crush on that girl in high school and she likes him back but they just keep teasing each other and having "tickle fights" and all sorts of crap and you want to just scream " KISS HER ALREADY, HARMONIX. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" But then you would be insensitive.
Harmonix shut down Rock Band Network this week, which was its hosting service for community-created Rock Band songs. In the wake of the shutdown, Harmonix againreiterated, "Rock Band remains a huge part of the culture here at Harmonix, and there’s not a day that goes by where someone in the office isn’t talking about Rock Band, or planning for the future of the franchise."
Get a room, Harmonix.
We must protect this house
If you played Gone Home last year and thought "Well, this is a nice map but there just isn't enough murder to satiate my ever-present rage," first of all you might want to check out an anger management program.
But if the doctors say, "I'm sorry, there's no saving you," then you might as well check out this Counter-Strike: GO map a modder made, which faithfully recreates Gone Home's 90s Portland nostalgia.
Say my name, say my name
Take a moment and think back: How long has it been since you last logged into World of WarCraft?
If the answer is "Prior to November 13, 2008" (a.k.a. the week Slumdog Millionaire andQuantum of Solace were released) then quick! Log in to World of WarCraft! Otherwise Blizzard may steal your character name !
Oh, what's that? You don't care? Well, don't say I didn't warn you.
Repackage and resell
In November you'll finally be able to purchase the "Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows" according to a new Microsoft product page.
Dirty little secret: You could literally plug your existing off-the-shelf Xbox One controllerinto your PC right this moment with any MicroUSB cable and get the exact same experience, and there's still no wireless Xbox One PC solution.
Considering how prevalent the Xbox 360 controller is with PCs, it's astounding how much Microsoft has dropped the ball on this.
EA in Pamplona
Did you know EA delayed Battlefield: Hardline so it could add "more innovation"? That's what CEO Andrew Wilson said at GamesBeat this week!
Oh man! I can't wait to see what results from having "more than zero" innovation in the game!
Good news: You don't even have to wait. You can check out this new trailer for the "Hotwire" multiplayer mode, where you score points by driving a car around while the other team tries to shoot you and what the heck am I even writing am I having a stroke?
I scream for ice cream
And finally, combating this week's batch of cynical punches to the face is Marin County, which is offering to buy back your violent video games and toy guns on Saturdays in October in exchange for—I swear I'm not making this up—Ben & Jerry's ice cream. "What do these fat gaming kids enjoy more than games?" they asked. "Oh yeah, ice cream."
The question now is, "How do I turn in my Steam library?"
More reading
Did you hear Microsoft bought Minecraft?
We also have previews with a game (new Rollercoaster Tycoon!) and a piece of hardware (Logitech's new G910 Orion Spark mechanical keyboard), a modder turned an Xbox One into a "laptop" of sorts, Shadowrun's Dragonfall expansion got releasedas a standalone product, and we've got reviews of both Spacecom and Wasteland 2.
And if you're confused what games are still coming out in 2014, we've charted out therest of the year's release calendar.
Stay tuned this weekend to the site and to my Twitter feed for more Oculus news! Hopefully this'll be a big one. Otherwise I'm really going to regret this long bus ride.
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