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Sonic Lost World was only announced last week during Nintendo's May Nintendo Direct event, but they don't seem willing to let your forget about it so quickly. A second teaser image has been released featuring six shadowy figured overset on a close-up of the odd hexagonal world shown in the previous teaser. Who are these shadowy villains? Are they villains at all? Where's Eggman? Also, why does it look like Miles is going to fly his plane into that volcano storm area? Oddly enough, someone in the comments on that original news post mentioned that a second image was also released showing six figures, but was quickly taken down. I searched the Internet over looking for that image, but couldn't find it anywhere. Boom, here it is. Whoever it was who saw this image initially a week ago, I apologize for ever doubting you. Expect more news on Sonic Lost World as well as Sega's new three-game partnership with Nintendo as we head into the weeks before E3. I wouldn't doubt we'd see another teaser image, or maybe even a trailer, soon. Sonic is back, y'all!Comment on this article (0)

Foxit Software's PhantomPDF (in both Standard and Business editions) make a good choice for basic office needs, but it suffers from an identity crisis once you get to the high-end features. Foxit's download page makes the bold claim that it is "Better than Adobe Reader and Acrobat," but a more accurate statement would be that it might be better, in very specific circumstances that may or may not apply to you. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Who says the announcement of next-generation hardware has to force the elder version out to pasture? Microsoft may still have a trick or two up its sleeves for Xbox 360.Ubergizmo reported Thursday that Microsoft doesn't plan to abandon its faithful Xbox 360 owners just because new hardware is coming down the pipeline.In an interview with GameSpot Asia, Microsoft Game Studios Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer revealed that existing Xbox 360 hardware will continue to be supported, even as the Xbox One now grabs the spotlight."I think the [Xbox 360] is going to be very vibrant for many years," Spencer elaborated.Just how huge?To make his point, Spencer claims the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will be worth the wait for Xbox 360 owners."We have a huge, I think it's huge, [Xbox 360] announcement for E3 that I keep wanting to talk about, but I can't," Spencer teased.The Microsoft VP followed up the Xbox One event by describing the E3 announcement as one that "will surprise people."New hardware or software? Thankfully, Xbox 360ers won't have to wait long to find out: This year's E3 event kicks off June 11.Read more about Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's time has come. After the game's temporary closure starting at the end of last year, the servers go back up starting August 27 for both PC and PlayStation 3 players. Final stages of the closed beta begin in June and there's likely to be an open beta somewhere in-between then and the launch. It has been a long process to get from the original Final Fantasy XIV to here, but we're almost there. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida offered the following thoughts to mark the announcement: It gives me great pleasure to announce the release date of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. It has been a long road from the game’s inception to the beta, but thanks to your fervent support and invaluable feedback, the world of Eorzea will soon complete its journey of rebirth. We have endeavoured to make the game affordable so that adventurers will be able to experience the vibrant world of Eorzea. We have also prepared a collector's edition version of the game, which includes a veritable assortment of premium items. The new adventure begins on 27th August, 2013. I hope to see you all then! Regarding the Collector's Edition, there will be three different versions available at three different prices: A PlayStation 3 version, a PC retail version, and a PC digital version. The digital version will include all of the assorted in-game bonuses, but not the outstanding out-of-game loot. Since we're already on that subject, here's what's included in A Realm Reborn's CE: Collector’s box designed by Yoshitaka Amano, legendary Final Fantasy artist 80-page “Art of Eorzea” hardcover art book featuring never-before-seen concept art “The Waning of the Sixth Sun,” a special bonus video disc that takes a cinematic look at the events that led up to the realm being reborn “Sounds of Eorzea” album that features musical scores by renowned Final Fantasy series composers Five collectable character art cards A Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn-branded security token to secure user accounts In-game bonus items: Helm of Light, Baby Behemoth Minion, Coeurl Mount and Behemoth Barding As far as prices go, the PS3 Collector's Edition will cost $79.99, the PC $69.99 and the digital $49.99. That's compared to the standard pricing of $49.99 and $29.99 for PlayStation 3 and PC respectively. Don't forget those preorder bonuses either. You can preorder now on the Final Fantasy XIV website: Early Access: Access the game servers ahead of the official launch. Get your head start and make your mark in the realm of Eorzea! Cait Sith Doll Minion: On sabbatical from Shinra Inc. and looking for adventure, Cait Sith will join your party as a non-combat pet. Mog Cap: Show your love of Final Fantasy and strut around the world of Eorzea in this Moogle themed hat. Kupo! Oof! There's so many details to burn through. Previous owners of Final Fantasy XIV will be pleased to know that they can download A Realm Reborn without purchasing a new copy of the game. If you've got the Collector's Edition, all new in-game items from the CE will be provided to you via in-game mail. However, in order be a part of the preorder exclusive early access program, you'll have to have completed the Legacy Campaign. Now the final detail. Yes, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will have subscriptions -- it's not some cheap-o free-to-play from overseas and it's not a once solid MMO grasping for money. "Monthly subscriptions for the game will start at £7.69/€10.99/$12.99." Take it or leave it, subscriptions are still my preferred method of running an MMO. Okay, now that that's all out of the way, have a soothing tour of Eorzea on me. Hopefully it will be a positive when you're considering whether or not to give Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn a second (or first) chance. Comment on this

Box has acquired an unreleased application called Folders, designed to give iPhone and iPad users a mobile front-end interface for the cloud storage and file management and sharing service as well as for competitors Google Drive and Dropbox.The Folders technology will be deeply integrated with Box's own iOS application, which will be upgraded with the Folders improvements later this year, Box's Vice President of Engineering Sam Schillace said in a blog post on Thursday."When we saw Folders we saw a beautiful experience and set of design patterns that we had to bring to Box's users," he wrote, adding that Box's iOS app will become "cleaner, faster and more beautiful."Folders includes a PDF viewer, a music player, document, photo and video viewers, a photo and video recording tool and the capability to create and edit notes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Brooklyn mobile app design and development shop Thumb Labs has been acquired — or acqui-hired — by Adobe. Thumb Labs is the group behind the mobile apps for Behance, the design community startup that was bought by Adobe late last year, and Thumb Labs says it specializes in stylish and hip apps for iOS. Details about the price of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. Adobe acquired Behance for close to $150 million, we reported last year. Thumb Labs says in a release: At the end of this month, the Thumb Labs team will begin focusing our mobile talents on a united mission to empower the creative world. Thumb Labs has worked on apps like Bondsy, an iPhone app for buying, selling and trading stuff with your friends. Fast.co.design described it recently as eBay for the Instagram set. The mobile app design purchase is part of Adobe’s vision of using the cloud to empower designers and the design tech community. Adobe has been integrating Behance into its own Creative Cloud community and tool-sharing site that it launched for designers and developers early last year. Designers are officially the rockstars of the tech industry. We’ll be featuring the tech industry’s most innovative and forward-thinking experience designers at our RoadMap event in November in San Francisco (tickets will go on sale this Summer, and sign up here to get first access to them). Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Social fourth-quarter 2012 analysisThe 2013 task management tools marketThe state of cross-platform media measurement

NVIDIA today released GeForce 320.18 WHQL video card drivers, which is the first driver to support the new GeForce GTX 780 video card. This is also the GeForce Game Ready...

Penguin will pay $75 million to settle claims that it engaged in a conspiracy with other publishers and Apple to raise e-book prices. "Penguin has reached a comprehensive agreement with the US state attorneys general and private class plaintiffs to pay $75 million in consumer damages plus costs and fees to resolve all antitrust claims relating to eBook pricing," the Pearson-owned company announced yesterday. The money will be distributed to consumers, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced. “Price collusion among competitors is unacceptable,” Coakley said. “This settlement will reimburse consumers harmed in this e-book scheme and bring an end to the unlawful practices that caused these overcharges.” Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

OCZ today announced the release of the Vertex 450 SATA III SSD Series featuring the company’s proprietary Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10 Series controller. As part of the...

Apple is well known for not putting a whole lot of effort into its D.C. lobbying game. But after a week that saw it unwittingly become the poster child for tax-dodging multinational corporations, it might need to step it up — if only to get some politicians off its back. But according to a report on Thursday, Apple is already on pace to spread more money around Washington this year than ever before. Apple may spend almost $4 million on lobbying this year as in 2012, reports Reuters. That’s low of course, but for Apple it’s a pretty hefty increase: The company spent about $2 million on lobbying last year, up from $180,000 in 1999, records show. This year it is on pace to nearly double last year’s figure. As the report notes, what Apple is spending on policy efforts is tiny compared to its peers Google and Microsoft, which spent $16.5 million and $8.1 million, respectively, on lobbying efforts last year. But having a larger presence in the nation’s capital and making friends with the policymakers that can wield great power over its reputation and fortunes may just be something Apple has to do. (One political reporter described Apple’s tax hearing as simply a “shakedown” by politicians angered by Apple’s proud D.C. outsider stance.) CEO Tim Cook fared very well under questioning from senators on Tuesday, deflecting questions patiently about his company’s legal tax practices. He said he wanted people to hear Apple’s story directly from him, which is why he appeared before a Senate subcommittee this week. But it’s probably not something he wants to do on a regular basis. And making suggestions about corporate tax policy changes, as he did, may not be enough. What money Apple decides to spend on lobbying in the future will probably need to support his policy proposals if he wants to see any of them taken seriously — and keep Apple out of the spotlight. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Forecast: Tablet App Sales To Hit $8B by 2015How consumer media will change in 2013The state of cross-platform media measurement