Describing her as the company’s “first and unanimous choice”, Microsoft Corp named 22-year company veteran Satya Nadella as its next chief executive officer on Tuesday, ending a five-month search following the announcement of Steve Ballmer’s retirement. Additionally, Bill Gates is said to be stepping down as chairman to act as his technology advisor.

Previously, Nadella had spearheaded the creation of Microsoft’s Internet Services division to push the company into the recent “cloud computing” trend of offering services entirely over the internet. With mobile computing becoming more popular, it appears Microsoft felt that Satya’s prior experience made him the perfect candidate for pushing the company into being prepared for the upcoming shift in the way we use computers.

Satya’s got the right background to lead the company during this era … There’s a challenge in mobile computing. There’s an opportunity in the cloud.

 

– Bill Gates

The 46-year old Indian marks only the third change of CEO in the company’s 39 year history, having first had Bill Gates as CEO until 2000; then Steve Ballmer until his retirement last year.

Though Bill Gates reduced his role in the company in 2008 to focus on philanthropic work through his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sataya is supposed to have asked Bill to “step up” and involve himself in Microsoft more, by working with him in devising the next generation of products from Microsoft. Gates has pledged to have “over a third of my time available to meet with product groups”; though he states that the charity remains his main job. Sataya also stated in a video interview he would focus on “ruthlessly” removing any obstacles to innovation at the company.

Investor confidence in the new CEO appears high, with shares of Microsoft rising 0.2 percent at $36.54 at market close today; and though most agree on him being a safe pair of hands to drive the company forward, only time will tell if the new products and Microsoft’s choice of direction in his hands will once again make the company popular again, both with customers who were disillusioned with Windows 8 and the Surface tablets; and impatient shareholders who will be eagerly awaiting the company’s turn around and the release of the “next big thing”.

After a short wait Pokemon Bank has finally become available in Europe, Australia and New Zealand today.

Pokemon Bank is Nintendo’s subscription cloud storage system for the Pokemon X and Y games, costing £4.49/€4.99 a month. It comes with the space to store up to 3000 different Pokemon in the 100 provided boxes for each paying player as well as a one-way transfer to bring prized Pokemon forward from the Gen 5 games to use in both X and Y (see diagram below).

Users can download the Bank from the Nintendo eShop and try it for free until March 14^th after which the subscription fee comes into action. Anyone who tries it before September also get a free super-rare Celebi as a present.

Pokemon Bank originally had been scheduled for a December release but was pushed back after the release in Japan put unexpected strain on the servers used. As of yet there has been no word on a release date for North America but the subscription fee is said to be $4.99 a month.

[UPDATE FROM SEGA]

SEGA has released a response to rumours of a new Sonic for PS4, XBOX One and Wii U in 2015, “SEGA is yet to announce details of upcoming console video games for Sonic the Hedgehog or further details regarding the new Sonic CG TV series. “The recent information coming out of Nuremburg Toy Fair was incorrect.”

SEGA also reminded everyone that “For official and up to date news regarding Sonic the Hedgehog please go to www.sonicthehedgehog.com or follow Sonic on Twitter (@sonic_hedgehog).”

It seems Sonic Adventure 3 may not be coming as soon as we thought. Sorry fanboys.

[ORIGINAL STORY]

Looks like Sonic may be speeding onto a Next-Gen console near you in 2015! A display spotted at the Nuremberg Toy Fair shows a new title for the Wii U, PS4 and XBOX ONE. Of course, the name of the game is TBA. Curiously, no mention of the third Nintendo exclusive title was found.

Nintendo and SEGA entered an exclusive partnership in 2013 to produce three Sonic titles for Nintendo’s home console and handheld. The first was Sonic Galax…I mean Sonic: Lost world. The second was, of course, the dismally un-fun Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. (On a side note, can we get shorter titles for those things? PLEASE?)

The third game is nowhere to be seen. The deal certainly could have changed as it did with the so called “Capcom Five” back in the Gamecube games. Popular speculation seems to be that this is a new game instead.

With the abysmal track record Sonic has had recently, is a new Sonic game a good idea? Or is SEGA just milking it’s half dead hedgehog for all the money it’s worth?

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Developer: FuturLab

Release Date: 5th February 2014 (EU PSN)

All Hail PlayStation!

If you own a PlayStation 3 or a PlayStation Vita then, you should have heard of FuturLab, as they are a dedicated developer for these platforms.

My first foray into the neon coloured world delivered by FuturLab was through Velocity Ultra on the PlayStation Vita at the beginning of 2013. A year on, and we have a new upgraded game from these developers entitled Surge Deluxe.

Velocity Ultra and Surge Deluxe are quite different genres but they have in common a retro twist, bright colours and are both upgrades from PlayStation Mini titles.

Surging

As Velocity Ultra is now a year old Surge Deluxe is the focus of this write up and will be released on the PlayStation Vita on the 5th February 2013.

If you put Tetris in a Delorean and thrust it into a re-imagined future, you would probably be thinking along the right lines for what sort of game Surge Deluxe is. A block puzzle game essentially, where the only real similarity to Tetris is that you have blocks which you have to clear, the rest is a unique game which uses the advantages of the Vita’s touch and OLED screen to create a frantic feast for the eyes, ears and fingers.

For the ears, it also has a futuristic soundtrack which was created by Joris de Man, the award winning composer who made his name on the Killzone series.

Senses

Surge Deluxe takes a simple block puzzle game and makes it addictive by progressive learning and trying to beat your own personal best and the score of others, via the leader board. Coloured blocks are also uniquely shaped so that it is friendly to colour blind players.

The simple shapes and neon colours add to the blocks vibrancy against the dark background. The blocks are easy to differentiate between meaning you grab the concept of the game quickly.

I gave this game the niece test, their ages being 4 and 11. Although the high scoring concept may not have been as prevalent in their minds. The game was very appealing to them and they enjoyed making chains and linking the coloured shapes together. This is a game suitable for all ages.

Under Pressure

The objective is to clear the blocks, this is simple enough to do but clearing the stage and scoring big is key. This takes quick thinking and quick reactions to clear the board as the game progresses in levels.

To make rewarding chains, (electrical currents) it is ideal to include multiplier or starred blocks (which offer more points) as well as linking blocks (which can allow two or sometimes more colours / shapes to be cleared) is what takes the quick thinking. As the pressure gauge, on the right and left hand sides build, this is essentially your timer. If pressure rises to the top it is game over. To relieve pressure you need to clear a space, left to right, so that you can then create an additional link (the vent) between the two sides to relieve pressure.

This is easy to do in the beginning stages as the gauge rises slowly but soon picks up speed as you progress through the levels. Managing the levels, blocks, colours, making electrical current links and relieving pressure is essentially what will help you to complete the levels.

I found linking the blocks very responsive. It is easy to drag your finger backwards and forwards over the screen as if your finger was a light pen in the air. It’s very easy to create a massive squiggly link that crosses over itself, backwards and forwards to create massive chains. The difficulty comes when you have to make quick decisions using the colours and bonus blocks to complete each stage. A certain panic arises as the game delivers a pressure warning.

Each time you should progress as you learn and find your own pace, hopefully a quick one.

New Modes

A new mode for the upgraded title is Puzzle Mode. Where a set puzzle layout will test how good you are at the game and your understanding of clearing each level to meet the target score. As well as leaderboards and trophies which aid the addiction.

Conclusion

A perfect quick game for a handheld console such as the PS Vita, is one you can pick up and play. Surge Deluxe does exactly that. Jump straight into the game’s action with the Play mode or a quick go at the Puzzle mode. Although, solving the puzzle mode may not be as quick, which gives you a sense of re-playability and perhaps a little frustration for those who don’t get them.

The larger sized screen of the PS Vita means that the precision of selecting the blocks is effortless. It is very easy to make a selection and for it to be executed.

If you would like to play for a few minutes to fill some spare time or to perfect your combos then Surge Deluxe is the perfect answer.

Colourful, vibrant, responsive and competitive. A must have for your Vita collection! 7.5/10

Watch Dogs is a game that a lot of people are looking forward to, so when it was delayed it upset a few people who already had it on pre-order. Rumours about it being cancelled on the Wii U caused more waves and those waves might have had a part of play in this latest incident related to the game, strange as it seems.

It seems that someone claiming to be Ubisoft submitted a Request for Express Abandonment for the trademark on the ‘Watch Dogs’ name to the US Patent & Trademark Office, supposedly signed by the Ubisoft Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot. The only problem? Ubisoft says they never submitted this request.

Ubisoft Entertainment submits this Petition to the Director under Trademark Rule 2.146 to prevent the abandonment of Application Serial No. 85642398. A fraudulent Request for Express Abandonment was recently filed in connection with Application Serial No. 85642398.

 

Facts

On February 1, 2014, Ubisoft Entertainment received an email from TEAS@uspto.gov notifying Ubisoft Entertainment that a Request for Express Abandonment had been filed in connection with Application Serial No. 85642398. The Request for Express Abandonment purports to be signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft Entertainment, Yves Guillemot.

Mr. Guillemot, however, did not sign the Request for Express Abandonment, nor did Ubisoft Entertainment file the Request for Express Abandonment. The Request for Express Abandonment is fraudulent and was not filed by Ubisoft Entertainment or its representative

Ubisoft say that they are now working with the USPTO to reinstate the trademark and that it should once again be active in the coming days, reassuring the players who have been disappointed once before with a delay that this shouldn’t cause any further delay on the game’s release.

Makes you wonder who would go to so much trouble though to try and remove the trademark from Ubisoft, and why. It’s a lot of effort to go to for the sake of a trolling attempt…