Minecraft: Education Edition launches this summer

MinecraftEdu has been around for a few years now – almost as long as Minecraft itself. Now, though, it’s getting some official support.

Microsoft and Minecraft dev Mojang announced today Minecraft: Education Edition. MinecraftEdu has been acquired by Microsoft and “is building upon its proven success to create a new version of Minecraft that’s dedicated to learning.”

The education edition will be available as a free trial this summer, and anyone already using MinecraftEdu will get a free year of the service. The continued development will be collaborative, according to the announcement, with educators contributing  lesson plans and discussing how they use the game to further education.

MinecraftEdu has been used in over 40 countries already for various applications. Microsoft has been involved in education for as long as I can remember, and the combined power of Minecraft‘s unprecedented success and Microsoft’s far reach make a sensible combination. I’m usually a little concerned about acquisitions, but this one seems to make a lot of sense at a glance. Of course, if they’re going to charge for it, Microsoft will have to justify the cost – teachers aren’t known for having tons of extra cash lying around – so it’ll be interesting to see how the program changes under their control. The bigger budget and backing should help extend the program’s longevity and reach if nothing else.

If you’re an educator, you can head to education.minecraft.net for more information.

source: technobuffalo

Darkest Dungeon finally launches and will steal your sanity

We’ve been fascinated with Darkest Dungeon ever since the announcement trailer knocked us off our feet. Since then, Red Hook Studio’s brutal and mind-melting RPG smashed its Kickstarter campaign and turned out of be just as huge of a success on Steam Early Access. Two years later, we finally have a launch trailer.

Prepare to have your sanity destroyed. Darkest Dungeon launches today on Steam, and its official launch trailer hasn’t lost one step of its power. Whether it’s heart attacks, claustrophobia, or being stabbed in the back by your “ally,” Red Hook’s game is going to penetrate your skull and take pokes at the most sensitive areas of your subconscious.

Seriously, good luck playing this game with the lights off.

I’ve been waiting forever to finally play this game, since I avoid playing unfinished titles, but I might have to wait a bit longer. The free Steam copy I got from backing the campaign is sitting in my library as I write, but I’m holding out for the PS Vita version.

Darkest Dungeon launches today for the PC. It will also launch for the PS Vita and PlayStation 4 on an unspecified date.

source: technobuffalo

Xbox 360 disc-scratching case to be heard by Supreme Court

The highest court in the land is taking a much needed vacation from ground-breaking decisions by focusing on the trivial matter of a video game console that scratched a few DVDs a decade ago. Microsoft has appealed to the Supreme Court over a class-action lawsuit that it is facing regarding a “design flaw” in its Xbox 360 console, and the justices have decided to hear the case.

Microsoft doesn’t contend that the scratches didn’t happen. Instead, the case has reached a point where Microsoft is saying that it shouldn’t even be facing the “class-action” lawsuit at all. It argues this because all of the original plaintiffs have since had their cases dismissed.

What’s also impressive is that even a decade later, this case hasn’t been taken to trial. A 2012 federal judge ruled that there weren’t enough complaints to warrant a class-action lawsuit, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision.

The complaints, which plaintiffs say is close to 55,000, state that the Xbox 360’s disc drive spins too fast, and the discs scratch against other areas if shaken from the tray. The plaintiffs also claim that Microsoft knew about the issue before selling the console.

Microsoft claims that the scratches only occurred because of human error, not because of a design flaw. Indeed, this did happen to me, but that was when I moved my Xbox 360 into a standing position while it was running. That was that big “no-no,” and it never happened again after I stopped touching the machine.

Is that human error or Microsoft’ fault?

source: technobuffalo