This year has been filled of dozens of copies of the most popular Snapchat features across most social media platforms, which hasn’t been too beneficial for Snap. Since users had these options available everywhere, their interest to the service which introduced them decreased. Therefore, the company decided to win them back by bringing Stories to the web.

Snapchat wants to win new users

This new feature is called Stories Everywhere, and seeks to make them shareable. The main idea behind it is to make Stories available even outside of Snapchat, which should definitely raise the engagement to the platform.

At the moment, you can only view Snapchat Stories within the parent app. If you want to share them with your friends who don’t use the platform, you can either download the file under a video format, or convince them so start using Snap. This represented one disadvantage this service had when compared with other platforms.

Stories Everywhere will make Stories shareable across the web

You can embed a tweet, a Facebook or an Instagram post anywhere you like by sharing the link to it. However, you cannot embed a Snap Story. With Stories Everywhere, you will get the possibility to insert it in other posts on different platforms.

This way, Snapchat will no longer be a regular mobile app, but will work more as a universal social media platform. This way, sharing news or other stories of interest will get easier, and will make it more appealing both for people and for businesses. Before this can be done, there is still one more challenge to overcome.

Stories are created by users, and have been created to be only temporary. Now, the engineers have to figure out a way to make them shareable. The company has already hired experts who will start working on the Stories Everywhere project, and they hope it will soon become a reality.
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Atlus and Studio Zero are bringing back a classic Xbox 360 and PS3 as a modern remake. We are talking about Catherine, a strange but appealing puzzle which got released in 2011. Six years later, the game will receive a new version compatible with PS4 and PS Vita.

The Catherine remake features a new character and new action

The remake is actually a special edition for Catherine fans, as it contains some surprises. Apart from the classic game, it will also include an entirely new episode. Also, this episode will bring a new character, called Rin. As you already know, most part of the action of the game takes place in a bar, and Rin will work as a pianist at the place.

Of course, the new character will interact a lot with Vincent and his friends. This means players will get the chance to explore some new action and, based on the interactions, they will experience a series of endings.

Catherine will see a lot of improvements in terms of graphics and gameplay

Since the game is fit for a more modern console, the graphics and visual effects will be greatly improved. This means the resolution, textures, and shadow effects will get impressive. However, this applies only to PS4. PS Vita is not as sophisticated, and its capabilities won’t allow for advanced visuals. Of course, the remake will get a new name as well, Catherine Full Body.

The puzzles will remain present, as they were what made Catherine the game people loved. If you didn’t find them challenging enough, the remake will feature a new difficulty which will require more clever moves. Also, it will bring an online multiplayer mode, giving you the chance to compete both with your friends and with strangers, and show everyone your impressive skills.

Unfortunately for PC and Xbox owners, they will be left out this time. The wait will remain long for PS4 players, too, as there is no information on when the remake should come out. Studio Zero and Atlus only said it should get here in 2018, so we at least now we won’t have to wait more than a year for it.
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In 2015, the popular GTA V received a Heists Update, which allowed the game to get some new content. For the first time since that update, the developer Rockstar will offer the first extra mission, called the Doomsday Heist. This heist will be available online starting December 12^th.

The Doomsday Heist lets you be the one that saves San Andreas from the apocalypse

GTA players are used to rob banks, escape prison, or steal some lab data for such heists. This time, the Doomsday Heist wants to make things a little harder, and let the fate of the world depend on the players. As the title suggests, they will have to go out and stop the end of the world from happening.

In the Doomsday Heist, San Andreas is condemned to be annihilated, so a series of characters need to form one of the most unlikely collaborations. This alliance will bring together a supercomputer, a conspiracy theorist, a billionaire, and an intelligence agent. Together, the crew has to stop the threats while unraveling mysteries starting downtown and going all the way up to Mount Chiliad.

This was the last major GTA update before moving to Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar warned people that GTA Online won’t receive as many updates once Red Dead Redemption 2 is released. This means that the Doomsday Heist would be the last major attention given to the game before choosing the next title as a priority. Fortunately, as the trailer shows, the developer but its best effort to deliver one of the best experiences in the online history of the franchise.

The trailer contains both gameplay instances, as well as cutscenes showing extreme action, with cars flying through the air, jetpacks, and submarines. It seems to be one of the most spectacular heists released so far, which fits perfectly the new GTA V status as the best-selling video game.

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In case you were waiting for the release of the upcoming Ubisoft games, you’ll have to be patient and wait a little more, as two titles have already been delayed. Scheduled for the beginning of 2018, Far Cry 5 and The Crew 2 have been moved for March 2018, and for somewhere in the 2018 fiscal year, respectively.

Far Cry 5, delayed a month

Those who were waiting for Far Cry 5 are the happier ones, as the delay hasn’t been that big. From February 27^th, the release moved to March 27^th. Ubisoft wanted that everything that ended up in the game to perfectly fit their vision, so they needed some extra time to refine the game and make it memorable.

As its name says, Far Cry 5 is the fifth main title of the franchise, but the 11^th reiteration of an open-world universe. Previous games presented exquisite locations, while the fifth one adopted a rural setting full of religious fanatics. The action takes place in a small village in Montana, with the main character being a sheriff who had to combat the preacher turned apocalypse cult leader.

The Crew 2, delayed for an unknown period of time

Players are never happy when their favorite games get delayed but, after all, it’s not a long wait. That month might really count for the overall gaming experience, so it will definitely be worth it. However, the things are a little shady with The Crew 2.

At first, it had to be released on March 16^th. However, the 2018 fiscal year only starts on April 1^st, so the release will definitely take place after that date, but no one can tell when. Therefore, it might take only one month, or as much as six months to get this game going. Also, one more game has been delayed from the 2018 fiscal year to the 2019 one. However, its title was unannounced, so it won’t be that hard a wait.
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Great news for Five Nights at Freddy’s fans, as a new game in the franchise has just been released. Scott Cawthon, the developer, launched the game quite silently. This means he didn’t make a big announcement, and put it directly on Steam. The new title is called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator, and is available for free.

A Pizzeria Simulator game in the Five Nights at Freddy’s Franchise

The game is presented as no more than a pizzeria simulator. Cawthon wanted to create something fun and easy fit for the holidays, while preserving the Five Nights at Freddy’s vibe. The graphics are also simple, as the screenshots from Steam present it as an 8-bit low resolution game.

What you have to do is open your own pizza place and take care of it. The description of the game gets players ready for what they have to engage in, namely pizza preparation, taking care of the kids, and the quest for high scores. If this description for the Pizzeria Simulator managed to trick you, then you have to find out that the game is more than meets the eye.

The game is full of surprises

At first, the game will look like a true pizzeria simulator, where you manage a restaurant while playing other integrated minigames. However, this soon turns into something else, and becomes what fans have been looking for. The game is the new Five Nights at Freddy’s.

In June, Cawthon talked the possibility of a new Five Nights at Freddy’s game. Back then, he disappointed the fans by saying there was no sixth game in progress. For this, he blamed the huge pressure concentrating around the game, and the expectations that only get bigger.

Fans knew this must have been a prank, but he continued claiming he needed something lighter. To make everything convincing, he disguised the game into a Pizzeria Simulator, and released it for free. This is one of the greatest surprises of the year, and the troll around it only made it better.
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Aibo, the lovable robotic dog, was first released by Sony in 1999, and gathered tons of fans who wanted to practice how it is to take care by a puppy. Now, they get the chance to try a new and more advanced pup, as the company announced the release of a new version of the robo-pet.

The new Aibo comes with a battery life of about two hours of intense playtime, as well as a quad-core CPU of 64 bits. Also, the design and the mechanics have been improved a lot. The new model is more flexible, as it can perform more moves on 22 independent axes.

In other words, its movements will look more like those performed by a real dog. So, if you want a little friend which synchronizes its mouth with the sounds it makes, moves its ears and tail like a real dog, but spares you the possible damage it might do to your home, Aibo is the perfect toy for you.

The new Aibo will feel just like a real dog

However, the good things don’t end here. Aibo will contain two cameras attached to it, one in its nose, and the other one somewhere close to its tail. By using advanced AI techniques, it will be able to recognize faces, facial expressions, and gestures. Also, several sensors will help it tell when the owner is petting it.

Aibo should also understand spoken words and commands and, soon enough, Sony wants to improve the display available in the robotic dog’s eyes. This way, the toy will behave a lot like a real dog, and users won’t even be able to tell the difference.

Since updates will make it function properly, Aibo will come equipped with a special SIM card which will allow it to connect to the internet anywhere. This means that you can take the dog out for a walk while it downloads all the necessary updates.

At the moment, Aibo will be available only in Japan at the beginning of next year. If Sony gets convinced the new robo-dog is successful enough, they will launch it in other parts of the world as well.
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Pornhub, the popular platform of adult videos, has recently announced it would make use of AI technology to improve its tagging system. By using facial recognition, the mechanism aims to tag actors and improve its search tool. Also, the algorithm will recognize different positions or themes which appear in the videos, allowing users to easily find what they are interested in. However, this tool raises some privacy questions.

The new tagging system will offer a better content classification

Corey Price, the Vice President of Pornhub, says 50,000 have already been scanned and tagged according to the performers or traits they display. Now, the platform plans to continue analyzing videos, until they exceed 5 million. However, this method poses some problems in the porn industry, when it comes to privacy and making one’s identity public.

According to some reports, the AI will tag only those actors who have already agreed to be included in the Pornhub databases. Therefore, those who want their name to remain unknown cannot be tagged in the videos. However, there are still different opinions circulating among the adult performers.

Pornhub didn’t reveal who owns the AI software behind the tagging

Some of them want to be recognized, and wish as many people as possible would watch their videos. Therefore, tagging can help them get the exposure they desire. However, others are not big fans of the content usually displayed by Pornhub, as some videos might be degrading for women or for sexual and racial minorities.

Even so, Pornhub remains the most popular adult video platform, with 80 million daily viewers. This is why the owners felt it was time to improve the tagging service, and offer a better classification of the content on the website. However, they haven’t revealed who is the creator of the software, and who will own the tags and the information collected from the videos.
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