Skyrim

Bethesda teases Skyrim expansion

Those of you craving more details about the upcoming Skyrim expansion -- officially titled Dawnguard -- are going to have to sit tight until the E3 gaming convention on June 5-7.

The only information available so far suggests the expansion will arrive this summer and will be first available exclusively on the Xbox 360. Other gaming consoles (PlayStation 3 and PC) will get it a month later, according to Eurogamer. Bethesda did not announce any sort of pricing scheme.

Looking at the teaser image, everything seems standard about the picture of Dragonborn except his eyes. In the original Skyrim images … Read more

At long last, a credible 3D gaming chip from Intel

A truism of Intel chip announcements: Intel releases a new CPU, and with it a new graphics chip or, since Sandy Bridge, a new graphics core embedded in the CPU silicon. Intel then claims said chip/core will provide at least a baseline PC gaming experience. This claim is never true.

Only now it is.

With its new Ivy Bridge CPUs, Intel has introduced two new graphics cores, the Intel HD 4000 and a lower-end HD 2500 core. You will still have a better gaming experience with a budget graphics card, but for at least the HD 4000, Intel finally has an onboard graphics processor with some 3D processing muscle.… Read more

Xbox 360 scores huge sales win in January

The Xbox 360 is still scoring big amidst a slump in overall gaming sales.

Microsoft's hot gaming console was the best-selling platform in the U.S. in January, its 13th month in a row at the top of the charts, NPD Group said yesterday.

For January, Microsoft sold 270,000 Xbox 360s,  grabbing 49 percent of the console market last month. The Xbox accounted for $310 million in total sales (hardware, software, and accessories), the highest number for any console in the U.S. January also marked the 11th month in a row in which the Xbox grabbed … Read more

The 404 953: Where we cut the blue wire (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 Podcast episode:

An Xbox Live dashboard update coming in two weeks enables gestures and voice control, along with a redesign and cloud storage for profiles and game saves. The Xbox 720 is rumored to be announced at CES next year, but our guest Russ Frushtick thinks it's more likely to be unveiled at E3. Updates include a faster CPU, more RAM, and a significant size reduction. A nerd cheater builds a Lego machine that autotaps his PS3 controller to level up in Skyrim. Universal Music is suing Grooveshark for copyright infringement, claiming CEO Sam Tarantino and other executives required employees to upload protected tracks. An energy drink based on Facebook, called Facedrink, infringes on Facebook's trademark of last year that prevents anyone from using the word "face" in a telecommunications context.… Read more

The 404 951: Where we undo a huge mistake (podcast)

Leaked from today's episode of The 404 Podcast:

Five years after its series finale, Netflix seals a deal for exclusive rights to a new season of "Arrested Development." Molly Wood fears the minefield of links spreading through Facebook's Open Graph sharing program. Publishers with Facebook apps like The Guardian are requesting access to your feed that automatically show your friends the articles, images, and music you consume. More than 200 independent record labels pull their music from streaming sites like Spotify, Rdio, Simfy, and Napster. Studies show that consumers care less about owning the music than about unlimited access to streaming tracks. Apple will open a flagship store in Grand Central Station tomorrow that spans 23,000 square feet and costs $800,000 a year in rent to the MTA.… Read more

The 404 946: Where our hand is on Fire (podcast)

We're going hands-on with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, released ahead of schedule to a few lucky customers today.

Also leaked from today's 404 podcast: Apple replacing original iPod Nanos, breaking up on Facebook, waging war on infographics, and tap-to-pay apps coming to Ultrabook laptops.

Also, a big congrats to CNET's Bonnie Cha, the new chief correspondent at Crave!

Stream the podcast on audio or video after the page break!… Read more

The making of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Tomorrow, the highly anticipated role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim debuts for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, marking the fifth chapter in the 17-year-old saga.

Game creator Bethesda Softworks has released a series of videos over the last week detailing more of the sights and sounds of the epic experience, and we've collected some of the clips together for your enjoyment.… Read more

The 404 944: Where Skyrim? We hardly know him! (podcast)

We predicted that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 release would cause some trouble, but there's three stories in particular we report today that put a dent in Jeff's argument that video games don't cause violence in real life.

If you're looking for a way to distract your kids while you play said games, though, Toys 'R Us is offering an Android tablet made just for kids that can browse the Web, read e-books aloud, among other time-wasters. It can even play 1080p HD video using a dual-core processor and a build-in Wi-Fi antenna.

Other stories leaked from today's podcast episode include Ashton Kutcher finally taking a step back from Twitter, the strange celebrity photos from the SKYRIM launch party, and the start of super-inflated hard drive prices as a result of the floods in Thailand.… Read more

Make plenty of room for Skyrim

Bethesda Game Studios has a knack for creating enormous playable worlds that give gamers hundreds of hours worth of play time. Just like what we saw in Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls franchise gives players an incredible amount of freedom to do whatever they want, even if that doesn't include following the main story arc.

The follow-up (though notably not a direct sequel) to 2006's Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has easily been one of the most anticipated role-playing games in recent memory. It's the genre standout for this holiday season, and we've already been racking up the hours in the enormous land of Skyrim. … Read more