Ubisoft has released a new gameplay trailer from their upcoming Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will be available December 1, 2015 for the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC.
Author - Jerry Paxton
IRVINE, Calif. and MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 21, 2015 — Western Digital® Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Western Digital will acquire all of the outstanding shares of SanDisk for a combination of cash and stock. The offer values SanDisk common stock at $86.50 per share or a total equity value of approximately $19 billion, using a five-day volume weighted average price ending on October 20, 2015 of $79.60 per share of Western Digital common stock. If the previously announced investment in Western Digital by Unisplendour Corporation Limited closes prior to this acquisition, Western Digital will pay $85.10 per share in cash and 0.0176 shares of Western Digital common stock per share of SanDisk common stock; and if the Unisplendour transaction has not closed or has been terminated, $67.50 in cash and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock per share of SanDisk common stock. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The combination is the next step in the transformation of Western Digital into a storage solutions company with global scale, extensive product and technology assets, and deep expertise in non-volatile memory (NVM). With this transaction, Western Digital will double its addressable market and expand its participation in higher-growth segments. SanDisk brings a 27-year history of innovation and expertise in NVM, systems solutions and manufacturing. The combination also enables Western Digital to vertically integrate into NAND, securing long-term access to solid state technology at lower cost.
The proposed combination creates significant value for both SanDisk and Western Digital shareholders. Western Digital brings a successful track record of M&A with a number of acquisitions over the last several years helping to fuel innovation, create value and strongly position the company to capture higher-growth opportunities. In addition, Western Digital’s operational excellence, coupled with the recently announced decision by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) allowing Western Digital to integrate substantial portions of its WD and HGST businesses, is expected to generate additional cost synergies.
“This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer, Western Digital. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry. I’m excited to welcome the SanDisk team as we look to create additional value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders and employees.”
“Western Digital is globally recognized as a leading provider of storage solutions and has a 45-year legacy of developing and manufacturing cutting-edge solutions, making the company the ideal strategic partner for SanDisk,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief executive officer, SanDisk. “Importantly, this combination also creates an even stronger partner for our customers. Joining forces with Western Digital will enable the combined company to offer the broadest portfolio of industry-leading, innovative storage solutions to customers across a wide range of markets and applications.”
Western Digital and SanDisk’s complementary product lines, including hard disk drives (“HDDs”), solid-state drives (“SSDs”), cloud datacenter storage solutions and flash storage solutions, will provide the foundation for a broader set of products and technologies from consumer to datacenter. Both companies have strong R&D and engineering capabilities and a rich base of fundamental technologies with over 15,000 combined patents issued or pending worldwide.
Toshiba has been a long-term strategic partner to SanDisk for 15 years. The joint venture (JV) with Toshiba will be ongoing, enabling vertical integration through a technology partnership driven by deep collaboration across design and process capabilities. The JV provides stable NAND supply at scale through a time-tested business model and extends across NVM technologies such as 3D NAND.
Steve Milligan will continue to serve as chief executive officer of the combined company, and the company will remain headquartered in Irvine, California. Upon closing, Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join the Western Digital Board of Directors.
Led by a seasoned management team, Western Digital has a strong track record of integrating acquisitions to create value. The company expects to achieve full annual run-rate synergies of $500 million within 18 months post-closing. The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive on a non-GAAP basis within 12 months of the transaction close. Pending the closing of the transaction, Western Digital expects to continue paying its quarterly dividend and plans to suspend its share buyback program.
The transaction will be financed by a mix of cash, new debt financing and Western Digital stock. In connection with the transaction, Western Digital expects to enter into new debt facilities totaling $18.4 billion, including a $1.0 billion revolving credit facility. The proceeds from the new debt facilities are expected to be used to pay part of the purchase price, refinance existing debt of Western Digital and SanDisk and pay transaction related fees and expenses. If SanDisk’s cash balance falls below certain thresholds at the time of transaction close, the merger agreement provides for an adjustment to the mix of cash and stock consideration.
The transaction is subject to approval by SanDisk shareholders and, in the event that the Unisplendor transaction does not close, Western Digital shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016.
BofA Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan are acting as lead financial advisors to Western Digital and will provide committed financing for the transaction. Also, Credit Suisse is acting as a financial advisor and providing committed financing, and RBC Capital Markets is providing committed financing. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Baker & McKenzie are acting as legal advisors to Western Digital.
Goldman Sachs is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to SanDisk. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as the exclusive legal advisor to SanDisk.
BUENA PARK, Calif. – Knott’s Berry Farm continues its tradition of honoring the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. military, both past and present, with free admission during its 26th annual Military Tribute. Knott’s is the only theme park that has continuously offered free admission to veterans and active military personnel in honor of our nation’s Veteran’s Day holiday.
The free-admission offer applies to all U.S. veterans, retired and active military personnel and their spouse (or one guest.) Up to six additional tickets may be purchased at Knott’s Ticket Booths for only $25 each fromNovember 1 – November 20 and for $30 each November 21 through December 20, 2015. Military personnel may also purchase additional tickets at a participating local Military ticket office.
U.S. veterans, retired and active military personnel must present military ID or proof of U.S. military service at Knott’s ticket booths to receive the complimentary tribute tickets. Veteran, retired and active military personnel must be present.
U.S. veterans, retired and active military can also take advantage of a great $89 a night rate at the Knott’s Hotel, plus free parking. Rate is based upon a standard room and subject to availability. For reservations, call (866) 752-2444, or visit knottshotel.com or your local military base. For information on Park operating hours, please call Knott’s Information at (714) 220-5200 or visit knotts.com.
Universal City, CA, October 20, 2015 – The terror of “Halloween Horror Nights” seeps into November for the first time ever as Universal Studios Hollywood extends its popular event with the addition of Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, inviting guests to brave Southern California’s most extreme horror event one last time. The cutting-edge Halloween event marks new nights with all-new content, including performances by the versatile dance group, Academy of Villains, and the talented DJ Ricky Rocks.
Hailed as the scariest, most gruesome annual Halloween theme park experience in Southern California, “Halloween Horror Nights” brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror inspired by TV and film’s most compelling horror properties.
Energetic hip-hop dance performances by the Jabbawockeez headlining this year’s new show have proven so popular that Universal Studios Hollywood has added a special meet and greet opportunity for fans as part of its “Halloween Horror Nights” experience. These additional nights also provide guests with a last chance to see the award-winning dance crew before they depart Los Angeles for sold-out performances at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
The additional “Halloween Horror Nights” will keep its pulse on the beat with the inclusion of the multitalented and versatile Academy of Villains theatrical dance company renowned for their intense choreography, jaw-dropping stunts and spectacular illusions. Innovative DJ, drummer and percussionist Ricky Rocks will also add to the spellbinding atmosphere when he brings his distinctive sounds to the final days of “Halloween Horror Nights” and further amplifies the energy of the event.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com/hollywood, including a Front of Line ticket option which enables guests to enjoy priority access to each “Halloween Horror Nights” maze, “Terror Tram,” Jabbawockeez show and theme park attractions. Advance purchase is recommended as event nights will sell out.
“Halloween Horror Nights” continues on October 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, and November 1, 6 and 7.
This year’s mazes feature “Guillermo del Toro Presents Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness,” “The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” “Insidious: Return to the Further,” “This is the End 3D,” “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home,” “AVP: Alien vs. Predator,” and “Terror Tram: Survive the Purge.”
Imaginative scare zones continue to weave the terror together as guests navigate the mazes and include “The Purge: Urban Nightmare,” “Exterminatorz,” “Corpz” and “Dark Christmas.”
As a complement to the nighttime event, Universal’s most popular rides and attractions are open to guests.
For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com. Join the “Halloween Horror Nights” conversation using #UniversalHHN on Facebook at Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood and Instagram, Twitter and Periscope @HorrorNights. Add username HorrorNights on Snapchat for nightly live content and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.
STOCKHOLM – Oct. 20, 2015 – Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of masterwork games, today released Knights of Pen & Paper 2 for PC, Mac, and Linux. Forged and smithed by KYY Games, Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is the sequel to Knights of Pen & Paper +1 Edition, featuring new in-game races and feats, randomly generated dungeons, retro-styled graphics and music from a new era of gaming, and more jokes and humor than you can fit in a bag of holding. The PC version, available for $9.99, is out today, and includes added features to help players enjoy their player-characters on their personal computers.
Roll Perception to spot this trailer:
Concoct a group of fictional friends in Knights of Pen & Paper 2, and use your knowledge of genre tropes to save the world of Paperos in a turn-based adventure of monster-slaying and loot-hoarding. The newly released version, for PC, Mac, and Linux, includes support for gamepads, keyboards, and mice, along with a completely necessary 1080p 60fps presentation of the game’s pixelated 16-bit world. The PC version also includes the story expansion, “Fist of +1 Fury,” which challenges players to face an onslaught of monsters and cultural references from the Far East of Paperos.
A Digital Deluxe Edition of Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is also available for $14.99, which includes an art book, soundtrack, and new in-game features such as an Epic Mount, and more in-game content to explore and plunder.
For more information about Knights of Pen & Paper 2, visit https://www.paradoxplaza.com/knights-of-pen-paper-2
The Los Angeles Live Steamers have brought their incredibly fun and spooky Ghost Train back again for the 2015 Halloween season. This fundraising haunt has been going strong for 15 seasons now and it is one of the only kid-friendly haunted events in Southern California that offers an equal amount of fun for adults as well. Guests will straddle and ride incredibly small-scale recreations of full-size trains – not models, mind you, but actual, working trains. These babies run on gas, electric, and steam power! The attention to detail put into their construction is an awe-inspiring sight to behold in the daytime – but the trains become your spooky conveyance for the run on the Ghost Train and that is half the fun of the event.
Tickets cost $15 a rider and the proceeds go into keeping these little trains working as well as the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum operational. Walking up to the train station, you will be treated to a fun display of Halloween decorations, fire effects, and spooky songs playing to ring in the Halloween spirit. Once you straddle your box car and the conductor has everything squared away, your train will embark on its journey around the grounds. An interesting aside: The grounds are also the present-day home of Walt Disney’s Carolwood Barn, where Disney himself used to house his mini steam train fleet.
You will pass by a huge assortment of spooky vignettes during your ride on the rails and the amount of decoration put into the experience is staggering. Everyone volunteering their time to help bring the LA Ghost Train to life should be very proud of themselves. The ride is outstanding and I couldn’t believe some of the practical effects and gimmicks employed by the event – it’s “shocking” really (you’ll see)… This is thanks to a number of the members of the Live Steamers being in, or close to, the film industry – having access to some Hollywood level props and effects. Additionally, there are a ton of projector-driven effects thanks to digital horror effects house, Spectral Illusions, which helps add a lot of “wow” factor to the sets you travel through.
One of the most amazing things to take into account while making your choice to trek out to the Ghost Train is that the train ride itself takes about 25 minutes to complete. So, you are getting a lot of proverbial bang for your $15 dollars. Some haunted houses cost more and give much less. The ride is completely kid and adult-friendly and does not feature any live monsters hiding in the dark – it’s all animatronics and statues. Just be sure to keep your hands and arms at your side during the run and not flailing about. As this is a working, small-scale railroad, their are small lights dotting the track and you don’t want to get smacked. The one thing I would love to see the LA Ghost Train implement is asking some food vendors or trucks to setup camp in the park outside the main gates. The line queue goes out into the park and people can get hungry while they wait.
Overall, the LA Ghost Train is an amazing, family-friendly haunted event with tons of spooky fun to go around. Make sure you line up early, however, as there can be quite the wait – especially on a Saturday night. On the Saturday night we went, the event estimated the line at around two hours long. Also, there is only one bathroom at the event and it opens at 7pm along with the gates, so be sure to have your little ones take care of that prior to arrival. We’d like to thank the Ghost Train’s Gary Baker for helping us get the access to come out and review this event. We had a terrific time and can’t wait for Ghost Train 2016!
Ghost Train 2015 Dates:
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday October 16,17,18 and 23,24,25
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday October 29-31 and November 1
The event runs from 7-10 pm and is located at:
5202 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Photo Gallery
We had a great time at Evil Twin Studios Raymond Hill Mortuary last year in Pasadena, CA. The Evil Twin Studios production crew brought some serious scares as well as delightfully uncomfortable moments, and we couldn’t wait to experience their haunted house for the 2015 Halloween season. Enter: WARD 13. The Raymond Hill Sanitarium (ran by the same owners of the aforementioned, ill-fated mortuary) is now open for tours after a troubled history and we got the chance to go in for what would turn out to be a wild ride. As you can imagine, the tour devolves fairly quickly into anarchy and we ended up at the mercy of a whole cadre of mental hospital patients.
Focusing less on monsters/paranormal entities and more on, for lack of a better word, “crazy” people, WARD 13 goes for more twisted scares than last year’s Raymond Hill Mortuary. WARD 13 is also a little more physically-demanding of able bodied guests as you will have to crawl as well as fit through small doors and access ways. If you are unable to perform any of these tasks (as one of our party members was) just pull a “monster” aside and let them know you need to use the disabled pass-through and they will direct you around. WARD 13 makes heavy use of character actors right from the beginning of the experience onward, with the monsters of the house committing to their roles of being, well, committed.
Groups are another reason why Evil Twin Studios is tops in my book – they understand the need to space out groups so everyone gets the best experience possible. In WARD 13, you will enter the sanitarium in groups of no more than 6 people at a time. This isn’t some cattle run where you are but one in a huge assembly line of guests. You and your groupmates are placed central in the experience. The sanitarium patients interact heavily with guests, all while balancing the need to move groups along. Another thing I love about WARD 13 is that Evil Twin Studios is great at being thrilling and twisted while not pushing into the realm of more “extreme” haunted houses that require guests to sign waivers. At times, we were taken to the outskirts of our comfort zones, but never so much as to feel violated or angered – they keep the boundary pushing fun!
Overall, Evil Twin Studios WARD 13 haunted house in Pasadena, CA is a wonderfully twisted tour through the scary cells of the Raymond Hill Sanitarium that will leave you breathless. Evil Twin Studios has done a fantastic job this year and we can’t wait to see what their twisted minds can think up for next season!
WARD 13 runs from 7pm to 11pm on the following dates:
October 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31
1020 El Centro, South Pasadena, CA
Photo Gallery
October 17, 2015 – Larian Studios’ multi-award winning RPG is nearing release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Having revealed the online and offline cooperative features with its Co-op Trailer, today’s Combat Trailer introduces a new generation to the combat of Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition. Discover how turn-based combat performs effortlessly on gamepads thanks to the intuitive control system and UI designed for consoles.
The combat in Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition, is both torturously tactical, or bright and breezy! It just depends on your play-style and the level of difficulty you picked. The Enhanced Edition comes with three new difficulty modes: Honor, Tactician, and Explorer, each offering a new, tailor-made experience honing on different play-styles.
Take advantage of crowd control spells such as petrify, charm, and freeze – required in the harder difficulty settings, or simply ignite, enflame, poison, and electrify your way through the world – zapping water under-foot to shock, or engulfing the enemy in flames by igniting a near-by oil barrel.
It’s all about using the skills at your party’s disposal to supplement each of their player-defined roles. Although featuring 12 classes (including a new class, the Inquisitor), Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition is really classless. You can mix and match as you develop your characters, chaining abilities and taking advantage of environmental aspects such as water, ice, oil on the floor, and steam clouds, things like that.
Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 27.
Discover the pre-order offers
October 15, 2015 – In Developer Diaries #9 learn about the unique vessels that exist apart from the Tech Tree of the standard World of Warships fleet: Premium ships. For a vessel to attain this status, it must possess specific requirements that can be described in a single word: legendary. Premium warships are selected based on different aspects: it can be as famous as the German Tirpitz or have a distinguished service record like the Soviet Gremyashchy.
Premium ships all require original performance characteristics such as special designs or peculiar armaments that offer a new approach to the fight. With these characteristics in mind, explore how testers took to the first Premium ships featured in the game: Atlanta and Kitakami. Viewers will find out how the feedback from testers helped mold what these ships would become.
Finally, learn about the mechanics of Premium vessels: what they excel at, what advantages they bestow players and the ever-popular abilities to transfer experience earned and train crew.
To learn more about World of Warships, visit:
- http://worldofwarships.com (North America)
October 15 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark – Today Campfire Games is pleased to announce the launch of their Kickstarter for American Civil War FPS game, War of Rights.
War of Rights is a multiplayer game set around the tumultuous period of the American Civil War, during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Campfire Games is devoted to presenting the gruesome and glorious elements of the period, while maintaining the highest level of historical accuracy and realism as possible thanks to the wonders of CRYENGINE. Having been in development for over three years, the team at Campfire Games is taking to Kickstarter to aim to secure the funds needed to complete the game.
Kickstarter: https://www.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/z5snMNkXdoo
Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/
Twitter: @WarofRights
Facebook: War of Rights
Players will be able to take on the multiple battlefields of the campaign, from the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, where the Siege of Harper’s Ferry took place, to the ridgelines of South Mountain, to the meandering waters of Antietam Creek at the Battle of Antietam. Additionally, players will also be able to choose from a list of regiments that fought in each battle, as well as what rank to fight as, whether they want to slog it out as a lowly private, or orchestrate the carnage and mayhem as a Major General.
“With War of Rights having now been in development for over three years, we felt it was the right time to finally get the game to Kickstarter to secure the required funds.” said Emil Alexander Hansen, co-founder and technical artist at Campfire Games. “War of Rights is something very special to us, we’re incredibly passionate for historical accuracy and so with a successful crowdfunding campaign, we’ll be able to dedicate the time and attention the game needs to be and with the power of CRYENGINE, it’ll allow us to deliver something that’s truly authentic.”
Each map contains a period reconstruction of the buildings, farms, forests, roads and rocks that existed so that players can fight through the streets of Harper’s Ferry, in the wooded heights of Fox’s Gap at South Mountain, or in the wheat fields and Bloody Lanes of Antietam with great accuracy. Players can feel the whiz of each deadly shot and shell fly by their bodies, or hitting their comrades, or themselves, as they scream in a bloody hail from their wounds.
Campfire Games brings the fighting of the Civil War right to the player’s computer screen!
About Campfire Games
Campfire Games is a Danish indie developer founded by Emil Alexander Hansen and Mads Støjko Larsen. They’re currently working on War of Rights, a game set during the American Civil War. The team consists of talented people from all over the world, including both newcomers as well as veterans of the industry. Amongst the current team members are people who have been involved in Verdun and Space Hulk, as well as on other American Civil War themed game projects.
About Crytek
Crytek is an independent videogame developer, publisher and technology provider with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and seven other studios around the world. Established in 1999, Crytek has created multiple award-winning titles, including the original Far Cry, the Crysis series, Ryse: Son of Rome and Warface. All of Crytek’s games are developed using CRYENGINE, the company’s cutting-edge 3D game technology, which is also the first choice of other leading developers and licensees when creating games for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Wii UTM, iOS and Android. Crytek’s ongoing growth in the games-as-a-service market has extended the company’s reach as they continue to deliver top quality interactive experiences to players through self-publishing platforms