Fully Charged: Sony buys/closes OnLive, and HTC One M9 software hits older models

Sony buys (and shutters) OnLive

OnLive was an early pioneer of cloud-streamed PC games, but after accruing a load of debt and suffering through a rough bankruptcy filing, the service seemed left for dead. But here’s Sony to the rescue, to… well, purchase its remains and put the final nail in the coffin.

Truly, that’s the case, as OnLive announced yesterday that Sony has purchased its patents and other assets and that the service will shut down on 30 April. Anyone charged for a subscription after 28 March will receive a refund, and no new charges will be made. Unfortunately, the move means that PlayPass games will be inaccessible after the month ends, and any hardware you bought will soon be totally useless. Ah, digital gaming.

Of course, cloud streaming is a huge point of focus for Sony: the company already purchased Gaikai a few years back for a huge chunk of money, and funneled that tech into PlayStation Now, which streams PlayStation 3 games to PS4 and other devices. Bringing OnLive’s patents into the fold should only strengthen Sony’s cloud platform going forward – and/or make it more difficult for competitors to take hold.

[Source: OnLive]

HTC One M9 features hit older models

Itching to tap into some of the HTC One M9‘s features, but not quite ready to upgrade from your M8 (or even M7)? Luckily, HTC has made some of that software functionality available by updating and rebranding the BlinkFeed Launcher on the Play Store to HTC Sense Home.

Sense Home includes the great themes and the refreshed home screen with predictive elements, and BlinkFeed is still included, despite the name change. (The above images from Android Police are running on an M7.) And if you want the latest HTC Lock Screen, there’s a separate app available for that, as well.

[Source: Android Police]

Pacapong is a must-play retro remix

Play

What, Pac-Man in Google Maps wasn’t enough for you? Well, then don’t miss Pacapong, a fan remix of a few classic games in one: we’re talking Pac-Man and Pong, obviously, but also Space Invaders and Donkey Kong. It’s free to download on PC, Mac, and Linux, and if the mere description wasn’t enough to get you to download it, scope out the video above. It’s just the right kind of ridiculous.

[Source: Pacapong]

House of Cards returns in 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULwUzF1q5w4

If you were worried about facing an extended break from House of Cards, don’t get too worked up about it: Netflix has announced that the original political series will return in 2016 for its fourth season. That’s all we know for now, aside from the fact that it’ll start shooting this summer, and we imagine it’ll all be available at once again. But at least it’s something to look forward to for next year.

[Source: Time]