Xbox one

Festive cheer can feel like a distant hope for many people, such as the homeless or elderly. This is where big-hearted, ­selfless volunteers step in and give up their own Christmas Day to help ease the heartache of others. Here, they explain why. Mary Deery Mum-of-six Mary had dedicated her life to raising her kids and when they started to leave home she found a new focus. For the past 14 years she has manned the phones for the Samaritans on Christmas Day. She said: “Perhaps the most common call we get over Christmas is people saying they’re just lonely and sad. “Often it’s the run-up to Christmas that’s worst for them, having nobody to buy presents for, seeing everyone else ­excited and happy.” Mary, 61, from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is sure that ­a sympathetic ear and a friendly chat can ­improve someone’s Christmas. At times, callers face more specific problems, such as the woman who discovered her husband was … [Read more...] about Meet the kind-hearted crew who transform Christmas for those less fortunate

Northern Ireland Screen has made its biggest investment in a single video game to date.The industry body has provided £218,000 in production funding towards the game Paleo Pines. It is being developed by the County Down game development studio, Italic Pig, and the UK publisher, the Irregular Corporation.The total cost of the production has not been disclosed but is more than £1m.Paleo Pines is a simulation game where players become dinosaur ranchers.They befriend dinosaurs and accompany them to discover new worlds.'Hugely important' for NI games industryThe game was originally conceived by Jordan Bradley, a game artist at Italic Pig, and has already attracted interest on social media.It is expected to be ready in 2021, following an 18-month production period.Northern Ireland Screen chief executive Richard Williams said: "As the first seven-figure game to be produced locally, Paleo Pines is hugely important to the development of the video games industry in Northern … [Read more...] about Paleo Pines: NI Screen makes biggest video game investment

GOOGLE STADIA hits shelves today in the UK, Canada and the US and 10 new games have just been added to the launch list. This brings the amount of games that will be available on the streaming service up to 22. Excited to announce that we are INCREASING the Day One launch line-up of titles for @GoogleStadia - we now have TWENTY TWO games launching with the platform on Tuesday. Huge thank you to our game developer and publisher partners for bringing more titles #stadia— Phil Harrison (@MrPhilHarrison) November 18, 2019 The announcement that Google Stadia would initially be launching with only 12 games was met by a lot of disappointment from gamers. Potentially in a bid to appease disappointed fans, Google's vice president and general manager recently tweeted: "Excited to announce that we are INCREASING the Day One launch line-up of titles for @GoogleStadia. "We now have TWENTY TWO games launching with the platform on Tuesday. Huge thank you to our game developer and publisher … [Read more...] about Google Stadia adds 10 new games to its launch list including Final Fantasy XV and Football Manager 2020

A boy whose doctor, teachers and parents believed he was lying about being ill was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour.   Charlie Card, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, began missing school regularly at the start of the year after complaining of not feeling well.  His teachers allegedly advised him to 'pull his socks up' because they grew fed up of him being off school. The 11-year-old also suffered from neck stiffness and tiredness. However, his parents believed playing Xbox was the most likely cause.  They claim doctors diagnosed Charlie with a virus and suggested he needed to see a psychologist because he had anxiety or was lying about his symptoms. Eventually, on April 22, an eye specialist noticed pressure on the nerves of his eyes - a tell-tale sign of a brain tumour. Scans confirmed their suspicion.  Charlie was told the mass had been growing for six months, and he had surgery to remove the majority of the malignant tumour the next day. His father Gary Card … [Read more...] about Boy, 11, is diagnosed with brain cancer after his doctor, teachers and parents accused him of faking his stiff neck and tiredness for four months

More than a quarter of all primary school kids have sent rude or sexually explicit content online, according to shocking new research. The same study found a further fifth have received rude or risky messages or even sexually explicit photographs. But despite these alarming stats, two thirds of parents are not worried about what their children could be exposed to on their smart devices. And almost a fifth of parents don't monitor what their children do online at all The finds came from a survey of 2,000 parents commissioned by insurance firm Row.co.uk . The data revealed girls were more likely to be caught sexting, with one in six sending rude messages, compared to just one in twenty boys. The research also revealed that almost half of six to eleven-year-olds have been exposed to foul language online . On average, parents said they planned to speak with their kids about online security when they were nine. But the fresh findings suggest that one in six children had already been … [Read more...] about Sexting fears as more than a quarter of PRIMARY SCHOOL children have sent rude or sexually explicit messages