GamesBeat weekly roundup: Fake NX controllers, and Sony targets mobile

Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, we tried free VR porn, the Oculus Rift starts shipping, and we learned the origins of Diablo (the game, not the devil).

Have a great weekend!

Pieces of flair and opinion

• The DeanBeat: At the Upload Collective, investors and entrepreneurs gather to evangelize VR
• How PlayStation’s ForwardWorks can succeed — or drown — on smartphones
• Gamers put their heads together to solve the case of the rumored NX controller
• I went hands-on with PornHub’s new free ‘VR’ category
• Why ‘crunch time’ is still a problem in the video game industry
• What to expect from virtual reality in 2016
• PlayStation 4 & Xbox One adopting Nintendo’s handheld update strategy makes sense to analysts
• How Diablo found inspiration in hockey, Star Wars, and X-Com

Above: Eyefluence CEO Jim Marggraff wears an Oculus Rift VR headset.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

News

• The first Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets start to ship to backers
• At least one of the alleged NX controller images is a hoax, according to original leaker
• Esports attracts $325M from brand marketers desperate for a young audience
• Xbox Live’s Games With Gold for April impresses with Sunset Overdrive, Dead Space
• Bethesda teams YouTube stars with sports athletes in Day of Doom tournament
• Street Fighter V’s March update finally launches next week — and without a real-money store
• EA promotes Laura Miele to head of global publishing as Peter Moore moves to esports role
• Digital gaming rakes in $6.2B in February thanks to PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• EarthBound, Donkey Kong Country, and Super Mario Kart are on 3DS today
• Yoshi’s Story is hitting Wii U’s Virtual Console tomorrow
• Unity’s John Riccitiello takes on AR, VR, and games at GamesBeat Summit
• Xbox One March update rolling out now — here’s what’s new
• Visionary VR raises $6 million to make it easier to create stories in VR
• Tamagotchi designer strikes again with Jumo’s Infinite Arms toy-game hybrid
• Esports Hero raises $1M to get gamers competing for cash
• Microsoft knows you hate Universal Windows Platform’s framerate lock and a fix is coming
• Why Nintendo NX having a 2016 release date makes sense
• Nvidia pursues ‘Netflix of gaming’ strategy with GeForce Now
• China’s Youzu Interactive buys German online game developer Bigpoint for $89.7M
• Ex-Halo devs set up Gunslinger Studios and show off two new games
• Nintendo will reportedly stop Wii U production this year (updated)
• Gaming analyst: Oculus Rift will sell half of what other experts predict
• Apple’s Tim Cook bids farewell to old HQ and signals future events in ‘spaceship’
• Games Developer Conference 2016 breaks attendance record
• Halo 5 veterans create First Strike Games studio
• Halo 5: Guardians will get massive co-op battles with Warzone Firefight multiplayer
• World of Tanks publisher Wargaming talks about accelerating change in the game business
• How Unity is pushing VR and better 3D graphics with its game engine
• Terminator and Gronk roll over Paper Mario, Tom Clancy, & the UFC in February’s game ads

Above: Pokemon Go could be a bit mobile hit.

Image Credit: Niantic/Nintendo

Mobile and social

• Pokémon Go trains you on how you’ll catch, evolve, and hatch ’em
• Candy Crush Saga dev Tommy Palm launches Bait! fishing app to lure gamers to the Samsung Gear VR
• This Game Studio is Nexon’s latest stab at breaking into the West’s mobile game market
• Touch-a, touch-a, touch-a, touch play to see first footage of the Rocky Horror game
• Angry Birds maker Rovio bringing its ToonsTV cartoon app to Apple TV
• Sony launches new business to build PlayStation games for smartphones
• Half of all mobile games revenue reportedly comes from only 0.19% of players
• As free-to-play mobile games go global, so does South Korea’s Netmarble
• Miitomo isn’t printing money for Nintendo yet, but investors don’t care
• ClicksMob and AppGrade to create combined ad tech platform for video mobile marketing
• 2K’s WWE SuperTokens blend physical collectibles with digital mobile game
• Oculus shows developers how it’s making the app store for VR
• PlayStation VR’s $400 camera-less package goes up for preorder next week
• Miitomo’s fun image-creation tool should fuel discovery of Nintendo’s first mobile app
• How Disney is rebooting its mobile game business
• Here’s why King gave away its 2D mobile game engine Defold

Previews, Reviews, and interviews

• The Mustards dish on Shadow Complex Remastered and working with J.J. Abrams on Spyjinx
• Minecraft for Gear VR in 2 words: pixelated claustrophobia
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered makes this silly classic shine for a new age