Square-Enix hints at a new sequel in the works, with Deus Ex: Human Defiance

2012 was not a great year for Square-Enix’s console game business. The calendar year started strong thanks to swift sales of Final Fantasy XIII-2, but investors don’t care about games that come out in January! The fiscal year ends in March, and Square’s big guns from March 2012 to December, namely Sleeping Dogs and Hitman: Absolution, didn’t hit the mark. Square-Enix reported a $61 million loss for the period. If only it were still 2011 when Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out and “favorably grew sales of packaged software” as the earnings report at the time put it. Looks like Square’s going back to the cybernetic well, as a trademark for a new Deus Ex game appeared online on Tuesday.

Square-Enix registered a trademark for Deus Ex: Human Defiance on Tuesday in the UK, a trademark that covers first and foremost “computer games software,” but also “printed matter” like books and “entertainment services.”

 Given how the Eidos Montreal-made game helped Square-Enix weather some tumultuous financial times two years back, it’s no wonder the company is interested in continuing the series. Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada said as much in November 2011, confirming that Deus Ex was one of ten core intellectual properties that would become franchises for the company. There is also a Deus Ex: Human Revolution movie in the works that is currently being helmed by horror director Scott Derrickson. 

Games industry hawk Superannuation also spotted a number of job postings last summer for a “semi open-world action adventure title that responds to player choice and interaction” developed by a “major Canadian company.” Since Eidos Montreal has already discussed its work on Thief 4, another semi-open world game that responds to choice, Superannuation pegged this as a sign that Deus Ex 4 was in active development.

There are other possibilities, though. Straight Right games, the Australian studio behind the Wii U port of Mass Effect 3, confirmed in October that it’s working on a port of a major franchise from Square-Enix for Nintendo’s console. Studio head Tom Crago said that it was a 2013 title from Square-Enix. With Tomb Raider out next week and no word of a Wii U port in sight, it could be an updated version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution given a fancy new name, possibly even upgraded for new consoles like PlayStation 4.

There’s another possibility as well. With the initials “HD” in the subtitle, Human Defiance could always be an HD remake of the 2000 original Deus Ex.

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. His work has appeared in The AV Club, Salon, Edge, and many others. He is patiently waiting for Namco to finish Klonoa 3.

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Volvo unveils Active High Beam Control technology ahead of Geneva, hints at another safety tech premiere

Volvo has built a stellar reputation for being obsessed with safety. Volvo engineers and designers realize the safest way for drivers to navigate roadways at night is with the brightest possible lights. So the Swedish automaker set to work figuring a way to allow drivers to keep the high-beam headlights on as often as possible without blinding or “dazzling” other drivers – as Volvo puts it. Keeping the high beams on all the time illuminates otherwise unseen road hazards such as parked cars,  pedestrians, and animals.

Using a forward-facing video camera mounted into the space in front of the rearview mirror (at the top of the windshield), which is used for other safety systems such as auto brake, Active High Beam Control watches for oncoming vehicles and those directly ahead in the same lane.

When another vehicle is detected, the system turns a tiny cylinder fitted with metal fins inside the headlight unit, blocking out just the right amount of light. Volvo says the system is accurate up to a 1.5-degree margin.

Just last week we reported on a similar technology – among many others – from Audi. Unlike Audi’s matrix headlights, though, Volvo’s doesn’t involve the intricate fading in and out of LEDs but rather the refocusing of Xenon beams. Just like Audi’s matrix headlight system, however, Volvo’s Active High Beam Control is not currently legal in the U.S. market. We reached out to Volvo and a company representative told us that the system is currently held up due to “legislative restrictions.” So until regulators update or reinterpret decades old headlight laws we won’t be seeing Active High Beam Control on American shores. 

International buyers interested in the Active High Beam Control are in luck, though, and will be able to find the feature on new S60 and XC60 models starting in spring 2013.

At the end of its press release, Volvo hinted it would also be unveiling a brand-new safety technology at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. When we know what that exciting new safety feature will be, we’ll be sure to report on it.

Nick Jaynes developed a passion for writing about cars working his way through Journalism School as a Volvo mechanic. When he's not writing, Nick can be seen hosting the popular automotive web-show DownForce Motoring. In his free-time, Nick collects vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

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President of HTC China reveals more info behind Windows Phone 8X and 8S, hints at Zenith.

Mr. Ren Weiguang on Windows Phone 7.5 Chinese launch event. Image credit to evolife.cn

Chinese site WPDang managed to interview Mr. Ren Weiguang, the president of HTC China, after the manufacturer's September 19th announcing of the very colorful Windows Phone 8X and 8S range. The interview reveals what's probably mixed news about HTC's products.

In summary, Mr. Ren told the journalist the following:

HTC won't ditch Windows Phone or Android. The company adopted Windows Phone before it was mature, and won't abandon Android when things are starting to go sour along that path.HTC Titan, the company's only Windows Phone legally released in China, has sold "not very well", but "as we expected". With this I totally agree. When you sell a device only in a selected few channels and don't advertise about it, this is to be expected all right...Beats Audio was brought to Android devices with dedicated audio chips. But on Windows Phone (both 8S and 8X), it was implemented through software enhancement, because Microsoft doesn't allow the manufacturer to alter the standard circuit design. This sounds a bit cheap. Not sure how the audio performance of 8S and 8X will be, when pitched against their Android counterparts, although the addition of an amplifier in the 8X may help.As you've found out, HTC indeed is considering colors a key differentiator. Outside the default choices, there might be new "carrier-exclusive" color patterns too. According to WPDang's informant, HTC's 8S has got unique colors to all three Chinese carriers: red for China Mobile, blue for China Unicom, and grey+yellow combo for China Telecom.Besides 8S and 8X, HTC is working on a phone with "even bigger screen" right this moment. This could be the previously rumored quad-core device "Zenith". In another post, WPDang speculated the potentially mother of all Windows Phone 8 devices will hit the market by the very end of 2012, or early 2013.

I can't help but wonder though... If adding an audio chip alters the circuit beyond Microsoft's limit, how about Nokia? The Finnish company threw a whole optical image stablization system, complete with specially designed hardware and customized driver, into the Lumia 920. Does that mean Microsoft is granting Nokia power beyond power, allowing it to manipulate Windows Phone (the OS and specifications) in any technical fashion it likes?

Does HTC's repeated statement about "we have invented a thoroughly sound marketing strategy together with Microsoft" (dead curious about what exactly it is) mean Redmond is trying to compensate the "unfair effect" from Nokia's especially favorable treatment? If Nokia gets all the technical power, and HTC the full marketing support and naming privilege ("Windows Phone 8 series" running on Windows Phone 8 OS), then what's left for other Windows Phone manufacturers?

What about guys like ZTE and Huawei, who typically won't move until they have a clear path and objective? And Samsung, the company left in the cold with an Ativ S whose screen couldn't be lit up?

So... what do you make of the interview? Do you feel colors as a selling proposition convincing enough? Are you excited about the "even bigger" thing yet to come? Let us know in the comment field.

Sauce: WPDang (1), WPDang (2)

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Nokia 'Stay Tuned' teaser trailer hits the web hints at augmented reality

With one short day to go before we finally see what Nokia has in its bag of tricks for us, they release yet another teaser, its too much, we know. Tomorrow of course is go day for the Nokia and Microsoft announcement in New York.

This one is very short at sixteen seconds, a lady walks down the street with her cans on whilst images of deals are superimposed on the shops. The information conveys the shops rating from Style Magazine along with “likes” from friends. The obvious thing to think here is of augmented reality, perhaps like that of Nokia City Lens that has just left beta.

Nokia might of course choose to highlight the final version of City Lens tomorrow to show it’s still fully supporting Windows Phone 7. What has us interested is the inclusion of “likes” on this teaser, there are currently no Facebook interactions in the augmented reality app. We wonder if that's on the way or just part of Windows Phone 8 on a core level. Exciting stuff.

We’d love to know what you guys think of this, do let us know in the comments bellow.

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