Google’s grand social ambitions have mostly tapered down following the failure of the original Google+. The latter social network is now focused on communities, while social features exist in apps like Google Duo and Photos. However, a new report today reveals that Google is working on social games, with a launch as soon as this summer.

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Fuchsia Friday is back with your fix of Fuchsia information. This week, we’re looking at how Fuchsia handles graphics differently and what that might mean for gaming and VR.

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The extent of Google’s current gaming reach is mostly limited to its YouTube Gaming streaming service and of course the Play Store with Android and Daydream VR games. However, the company might have a more direct interest in the space with the hire of gaming veteran Phil Harrison.

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Nvidia’s new Shield TV is one of our favorite new devices in recent memory, mainly due to its extensive capabilities as a set-top box. The main focus of the Shield, though, is gaming. Using GeForce Now and game streaming, the Shield TV is a force to be reckoned with for gaming, and it seems to only get better and better. Now, some Shield users have discovered how to pair Sony’s PlayStation controller with the Shield…

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Over the past year, Google’s enterprise cloud division has been heavily competing with Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. Google Cloud is now expanding into powering multi-player gaming experiences and worlds in a partnership with UK startup Improbable.

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With new platforms that are especially suited for gaming, Google has recently launched a number of efforts to promote indie developers on the Play Store. Its latest effort is the Google Play Indie Games Festival this September in San Francisco. Developers are encouraged to submit games that will be showcased and awarded prizes at the event.

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It’s 2016, billions of smartphones are in use across the globe, and traditional video game companies are only just coming around to the idea that there’s some money to be made from smartphone gaming. Nintendo only recently launched its first mobile app, and plans to release a more familiar character-based game soon. Sony, likewise is about to make another foray in to the world of smartphone-based gaming with its newly-formed corporation, ForwardWorks.

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Over the weekend, Google announced changes to Play Games permissions that are mostly meant for developers, but regular users who game on Android will also see a benefit. Players no longer need their Google accounts upgraded to Google+ to use Play Games and can now automatically be signed-in with a standard Google account.

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If, like me, you grew up in the 90s there’s a very good chance you came across a certain strategy PC game called Age of Empires. In it, your mission was to explore territory, build your kingdom, defeat enemies and make allies. In a lot of ways it was similar to Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise, and it was awesome…

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Ahead of the highly anticipated release of Fallout 4 on November 10th, Bethesda, the company behind the game, has released a new app called Fallout C.H.A.T. While it’s not an actual messaging app, or even an actual keyboard, it’s a neat way for fans of the popular Fallout series to communicate with one another.

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Mobile gaming has come on leaps and bounds as technology advances. And while touch screen games can still be good, you still can’t beat the feel of a full-size gamepad for proper gaming experience. For Android, that means the Stratus XL. It’s the latest mobile controller by SteelSeries and offers everything a gamepad should.

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Samsung showed off a new Gear VR model at the Oculus Connect event today with a friendly price tag, wider compatibility, and an upcoming ship target. The virtual reality headset continues to be powered by Oculus but it’s considerably more affordable at $99 compared to the prior $199 version. Just in time for the holiday quarter, Samsung says its redesigned Gear VR will ship in November. It also boasts wider compatibility as it will work with all 2015 Samsung phones. expand full story

The YouTube Gaming app launched on Android about a month ago, but now we’re already hearing about a significant update that’s on the way. As was first revealed in a teardown done by Android Police earlier this month, Google has now confirmed that it is preparing to introduce Android game broadcasting straight from the app itself… expand full story

Good news, fans of live-streamed gaming: YouTube Gaming is now available for Android from Google Play. YouTube announced that it would be releasing a dedicated app for watching gaming-related live streams and videos hosted on the platform several months back, shortly after Amazon acquired competitor Twitch for nearly $1 billion. Downloading the app from the Play Store is limited to US and UK residents initially.

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Autodesk, the company behind a variety of popular design tools, today has announced a new game engine that it says makes the process of building games considerably more seamless. The program, called Stingray, is based on the Bitsquid engine that it acquired last year, but is entirely revamped with a new, more intuitive interface.

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Kamcord, a popular platform that lets game developers add gameplay recording features to their mobile apps, is today taking its first step into live streaming. The move is a notable one as competitors such as live game streaming service Twitch, now owned by Amazon, move into the mobile space and live streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat begin to gain traction among users. expand full story

A new report today supposedly confirms that Ouya, the company behind the Android-based gaming console, has been bought by Razer, a San Diego-based company best known for its hardware and accessories aimed at serious gamers. We first learned that Ouya was looking to sell the company in late April when a report claimed the company was struggling to manage its debt after less than stellar hardware reviews for its product. expand full story

Google has officially unveiled its plans to take on Amazon-owned video game streaming site Twitch, confirming earlier rumors that the company was working on a game streaming service of its own. The site, called YouTube Gaming, was finally announced today (via TechCrunch).

YouTube Gaming will feature… (Read More)

Back in March, Facebook made much noise with its unveiling of Facebook Messenger Platform, a way through which developers can integrate their third-party apps into the company’s popular Messenger app, creating new uses and features for the messaging service. Now, the platform is seeing its first Android game in the form of Doodle Draw.

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The Android-based OUYA gaming system never panned out quite like everyone expected. After receiving $8.5 million in funding via Kickstater, the device received mixed reviews and never caught on with the average consumer. Now, Forbes reports that OUYA is in desperate need of a buyer. According to the report, investment bank Mesa Global, which also handled Songza’s sale to Google, has been brought in to manage the sale of OUYA.

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According to a report from The Daily Dot, Google is preparing to relaunch the live streaming platform aspect of YouTube with a renewed focus on gaming. YouTube is reportedly looking to take on popular streaming service Twitch and focus on esports and gaming with the refreshed YouTube Live. Google infamously attempted to acquire Twitch last year, but failed as Amazon ended up buying the platform.

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As part of the Game Developers Conference taking place this week in San Francisco, Google is hosting its own Developer Day and updating its AdMob platform and introducing a new Nearby Connections API for developers.

Using the Nearby Connections API, developers will be able to build a connection between Android phones or tablets and Android TV into games. The Android phone or tablet will display on-screen controls, and game playback will be displayed on Android TV creating a console-like experience without a separate controller. expand full story

Today at HTC’s event in Barcelona, Spain, the Taiwanese company announced its “Vive” virtual reality headset made in collaboration with one of the most well-known leaders of the PC gaming industry: Valve.  expand full story

Google has finally made a PlayStation 4 version of its YouTube app available for download. The app can be downloaded for free via the PlayStation Store and enables features that most YouTubers/gamers have been waiting for…

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[protected-iframe id=”3e51c3dc54c1ee6367e316f1acb920fe-22427743-8994189″ info=”https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/concept96ltd/buzzb-a-chromecast-game-for-friends-and-family/widget/video.html” width=”800″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

In what must be one of the smallest Kickstarter campaigns ever, a team of British developers called Concept96 is seeking just £1000 ($1600) to turn Chromecast into a multiplayer games platform. The first planned app is a quiz game, described in the rather charmingly amateurish video above: Buzzb.

The target market is ‘casual gaming’ for those who wouldn’t spend the money to buy a conventional games console but would enjoy occasional games on a device they already own …  expand full story

Kamcord, the mobile gameplay recording platform that offers developers an easy way to implement cross-platform gameplay recording and sharing features, is today announcing its next big push in mobile gaming: competitions.

The company realized that its SDK provides a lot of unique opportunities for app developers interested in hosting competitions or tournament-style contests, so it’s now working with some to host competitive gaming events in their apps. First up: SEGA.  expand full story

Not all Android games are created equally. Some file downloads are massive and well over a gigabyte in size, while others only require a few megabytes to get you up and running. The most perplexing thing about mobile games is that some titles require a connection to the internet, even after you’ve installed the game to your device.

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NVIDIA is reportedly working on a new Android-based gaming platform capable of running PC-level games, according to BBC News. The unannounced device will be powered by the chip maker’s new Tegra K1 processor and it will be able to stream games to televisions via an HDMI-out port and a “budget-priced” controller accessory. In addition to being able to connect to a TV, NVIDIA’s new rig will support mobile gaming and native Android apps, similar to the company’s existing Shield system.

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Typically when a consumer electronic is a hit, it’s eventually rewarded with a follow up. While we probably wouldn’t label NVIDIA’s Shield a runaway success, it managed to make a few waves in world of gaming. So we’re not too surprised to see what looks like a sequel to the chip maker’s Android-powered gaming device passing through the FCC. Listed as the “P2570” (the originally Shield was the P2450) this device bears a strong resemblance to its possible predecessor.

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Google is about to launch a new Android TV platform at its upcoming Google I/O conference in June, according to a new report from GigaOM. The report claims the new platform will be a revamped vision of what Google already has with its Google TV platform and will focus mainly on online content and Android gaming rather than integrating with existing pay TV services:

Android TV won’t be another device, but rather a platform that manufacturers of TVs and set-top boxes can use to bring streaming services to the television. In that way, it is similar to Google TV, the platform the company unveiled at its 2010 Google I/O conference. But while Google TV was focused on marrying existing pay TV services with apps, Android TV will at least initially be all about online media services and Android-based video games.

Google has apparently been making deals with partners in the lead up to launching the new platform, some of which are said to include Netflix and Hulu Plus as well as hardware partners that will build and sell the Android TV devices. The report also shared some details on the Android TV UI: expand full story

Samsung is reportedly developing its own VR headset, a device that will be similar in many ways to the Oculus Rift, for use with its flagship Galaxy smartphones and tablets (via Engadget). This headset is apparently separate from the “Galaxy Glass” project that is slated to be unveiled later this year.

The VR headset is being described as a peripheral, as opposed to a stand-alone product, and will require a connection to a Samsung device in order to function. expand full story

Two of Valve’s most recognizable games are now available for the Android-powered NVIDIA Shield, after being teased last week to several online publications. The above crowbar — a tool that is used throughout Half-Life 2 — was sent to AndroidPolice‘s Michael Crider, depicting both an NVIDIA Shield device and the lambda, which represents the Half-Life series.

Besides Half-Life 2, Valve also released Portal for Android today. Both games are on sale at the Play Store for $9.99, though they are only compatible with the NVIDIA Shield. expand full story

The Kickstarter-funded, Android-based Ouya debuted last year to some so-so reviews, but gaming console isn’t giving up just yet. Ouya, which retails for $99 for an 8GB unit, is making the limited edition, white 16GB unit now a permanent addition to the lineup and making it black according to TechCrunch.

Ouya will maintain the $129 price tag for the storage-increased model, but both versions will see some iteration to the hardware… expand full story

As Samsung works to capture more of the Android gaming market with the release of a new controller, a new analytics study shows Android gaming is on the rise. Apple may be considered the dominant leader in the mobile gaming category and it remains steadily in the driver’s seat, but 2013 indicated the Play Store is moving up fast.

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As the world prepares for the arrival of the XBOX One and Playstation 4, NVIDIA’s CEO reminds us that Android still has a role to play in the future of gaming. Speaking on an investor call, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang pointed at the company’s Shield gaming product as its means of growing the Android gaming ecosystem.

“Shield is our initiative to cultivate the gaming marketplace for Android,” Huang said, as quoted by ZDNet. “We believe that Android is going to be a very important platform for gaming in the future, and to do so we have to create devices that enable great gaming to happen on Android.”

Speaking to that tune, Huang called Android the “most versatile operating system that we’ve ever known.” NVIDIA hopes that the Shield, the small Android tablet connected to a game controller will continue to stare down the portable gaming hardware released by Nintendo and Sony. A recently released software update added more functionality for the device to run games via larger screens including televisions, making it something more in lines with standard living room gaming machines. NVIDIA obviously hopes that it can push developers to build gaming experiences designed specifically for its Tegra platform.

With Qualcomm seemingly dominant in the mobile space, Huang’s comments about Android and gaming may be correct, but the question remains whether or not the Shield is the right product to capitalize Android and its gaming future.

via ZDNet

According to a new report from GameInformer, sources have informed the publication that Amazon is working on a new Android-based gaming console that could land as early as the end of this year. There’s not much to go on other than the fact that the console is said to have its own dedicated hardware controller and take advantage of content already available through the Amazon Appstore. The news follows a report from Bloomberg in April that claimed Amazon is planning to release a set-top-box to compete with Apple and Google.

According to those we spoke with who have knowledge of the in-development hardware, Amazon will be leveraging the titles already available on its platform. Each day, the company offers one productivity or game app for free and stocks a healthy library for its own devices, like the Kindle Fire. The console will also have its own, dedicated controller.

The two reports could very well be describing the same product, and VentureBeat adds that it has heard similar rumors but nothing solid enough to post prior to the GameInformer story. It’s also worth noting that Amazon has continued to hire game developers for its recently launched Amazon Game Studios, which published its first mobile title on iOS and Android last year.

Of course an Android console from Amazon makes us think of the $99 OUYA and the upcoming GamePop consoles, but whether it will be a full-fledged Apple/Google TV competitor or a dedicated gaming system is still unclear. GameInformer says the Amazon Android console will launch “most likely by Black Friday.”  expand full story

Earlier this month, our sister site 9to5Mac reported on a new technology from BlueStacks called “Looking Glass” that brought iOS games to your big screen via a subscription-based console. On Friday, however, the company announced another new console with that technology, but the big selling point here is that it is free and incredibly small. In fact, the company says it is about the size of a pack of gum. Just like with the company’s other Cube console (which isn’t yet released), the BlueStacks Mini does require a subscription commitment, which will run you $7 a month for a year.

It’s worth noting that the BlueStacks Cube is also free with a subscription, but that offer expires on July 1st. The company says that its goal is to always offer a gaming console for free.

“We have always planned on having a free console option,” said BlueStacks CEO, Rosen Sharma. “The biggest value of the GamePop service is its content – not the box. Hardware costs have come down so fast that we’re able to undercut the rest of the market. With the free promotion we’ve been doing in June we’re already seeing a ton of adoption. That volume then attracts more developers and therefore more and better content. It’s building momentum.”

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