Watch Dogs is Ubisoft’s fastest selling game ever
There was little doubt that Watch Dogs was going to be a success based on the unprecedented hype and inescapable marketing campaign, but even Ubisoft was pleasantly surprised by the sales figures after just 24 hours. According to a post on the Ubisoft blog, Watch Dogs sold more copies in 24 hours than any other title in the history of the company.
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First 500 European Ford Mustangs reserved in 30 seconds [w/video]
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We’re pretty sure that any initial concerns Ford had about selling the redesigned Mustang in Europe have been lessened considerably, after the first 500 Euro-spec 2015 Mustangs were been reserved in just 30 seconds. Moreover, 9,300 people attempted to snag one of the coveted orders for the all-new muscle car. Yes, Mustang, you should do quite well across the pond.
The registration event was held during the UEFA (pronounced yu-eh-fa) Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.
“We knew there was huge excitement building for the new Ford Mustang coming to Europe, but the response during the UCL Final was overwhelming,” said Roelant de Waard, VP of marketing, sales and service for Ford’s European outfit. “It was a truly special way to kick off the Ford Mustang era in Europe.”
Customers who successfully reserved a slot haven’t been notified just yet – that will come in the next few weeks – although we do know that the 500 cars were available to drivers in 20 different European countries. The specs, though, were limited.
Hardtop fans are limited to Race Red, while Convertible drivers will get Magnetic Silver – the 2015 Mustang’s launch colors. Despite the lack of a choice on color, owners will be able to choose between the Mustang’s two European engines, the 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and the brawny, 5.0-liter V8. The initial run of cars will include MyFord Touch with Sync and navigation, black leather seats with heating and ventilation functions, park assist and 19-inch wheels. It’s unclear how much these launch cars will cost European consumers.
Ford, which is the official vehicle supplier for the Champions League, promoted its registration event with a series of videos, depicting the Mustang in front of major landmarks from London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, as well as a final video showing the Mustang inside Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, where the final match was played.
Take a look below for the official press release from Ford, as well as the promotional videos for the Mustang registration, which we’ve embedded for your viewing pleasure.
First 500 European Ford Mustangs reserved in 30 seconds [w/video]
First 500 European Ford Mustangs reserved in 30 seconds [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 May 2014 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple’s M&A mastermind profiled for first time ever
Apple finally announced yesterday that it is buying Beats for $3 billion. This is by far the largest acquisition Apple has made, but is representative of a recent uptick in purchases by Apple, and this can largely be attributed to a man by the name of Adrian Perica, the head of mergers and acquisitions at Apple.
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Apple’s Beats buy might not be good news for musicians
Apple on Wednesday confirmed it plans to purchase Beats for $3 billion, just as rumored in previous weeks. But the deal isn’t necessarily good news for all music creators, Bloomberg reports, especially for smaller artists who fear that Apple’s music streaming service will negatively impact their earnings.
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Ford announces four recalls, 1.4M vehicles affected
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Ford is taking a bit of the spotlight away from General Motors, announcing a major group of recall campaigns, covering a total of 1.4 million vehicles built between 2006 and 2013.
Let’s start with the big one, which covers the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and, according to The Detroit News, Ford-built Mazda Tribute CUVs. 915,216 vehicles are covered, all of which were built in model years 2008 to 2011. 736,000 vehicles are in the US, while Canada then Mexico make up the vast majority of the remainder. The problem is due to an issue with the torque sensor in the steering column, which could lead to sudden power steering failure. Manual steering would still be available, though.
“Dealers will perform one of three service fixes, depending upon what diagnostic codes are shown when the vehicle is taken to the dealer,” Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker wrote to Autoblog in an email. “They will either update software for the power steering control module and the instrument cluster module; replace the torque sensor; or replace the steering column, which includes upgraded power steering control module software.”
The most recent generation of the Ford Explorer is suffering from a similar malady, thanks to an intermittent electrical connection (we think that means short circuit) in the steering column. Like the Escape and Mariner, manual steering would still be available in the event of a power failure. Ford will recall 195,527 examples of its Explorer, 177,500 of which are in the US. This recall covers model years 2011 to 2013. According to Automotive News, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stated that Ford will inform owners of affected vehicles by July 25.
Ford is also recalling 200,000 Taurus sedans, over a corrosion issue in the license plate lamp. This particular recall, which covers vehicles from model years 2010 to 2014, is limited to drivers in northern climes. Vehicle owners in southern states are free to pass on the recall.
Finally, 82,576 Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ sedans from 2006 to 2011 are being recalled because of floormats that can interfere with the accelerator pedal. Dealers will replace the offensive floormats with newer examples.
“Ford is committed to providing our customers with top quality vehicles. We are equally committed to addressing potential issues and responding quickly for our customers,” Felker wrote.
As of publication time, there isn’t an official press release official or bulletin on either Ford’s media page or the NHTSA website. We’ll be sure to update this story as soon as that becomes available.
Ford announces four recalls, 1.4M vehicles affected
Ford announces four recalls, 1.4M vehicles affected originally appeared on Autoblog Canada on Thu, 29 May 2014 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Does the Comcast-TWC merger hinge on Comcast’s empty promise?
One of the more dubious arguments that Comcast has made in selling us on its merger with Time Warner Cable has been that the deal will be particularly good for low-income Americans. Why would giving Comcast what it wants help poor people, you ask? According to Comcast, they’ll benefit from the expansion of its Internet Essentials program that’s designed to make broadband services more affordable to people who don’t have a lot of money. However, some new numbers crunched by the Center for Public Integrity shows that Comcast’s program has had little to no impact on closing the digital divide.
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WWDC 2014 just got even more boring – iOS 8′s split-screen multitasking isn’t ready to demo yet
Microsoft can keep making fun of the iPad for not letting you multitask for a little while longer. The New York Times’ Brian X. Chen writes on Twitter that he’s been told “that the split-screen feature for iOS 8 isn’t ready yet and won’t be shown at WWDC.” Split-screen multitasking is one of the most anticipated features coming to iOS 8 and it’s something iPad users have wanted to have for a while now. Chen says that the new feature is still “a work in progress” at this point and we can only hope that it will be ready for whenever iOS 8 actually comes out, which will likely be in the fall with the launch of the iPhone 6. No matter how you slice it, however, this doesn’t seem to be a very exciting WWDC as far as new products are concerned and at this point we’re hoping iOS 8 has some added surprises for us that we haven’t yet heard about.
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PS4 owners will get 2 free games every month if they subscribe to PS Plus
PlayStation Plus has been one of the best deals in gaming for four years running, but Sony wants to make it ever better. Starting in June, any PS4 owners with an active subscription to PS Plus will be able to download two free titles from the PlayStation Store. Next month’s offerings include Trine 2: Complete Story and PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate.
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Check out these 5 gorgeous Moto 360 concepts from Motorola’s design competition
With Android Wear, the future of the smartwatch is finally looking bright. Many vendors have already announced their intent to implement the software within their unreleased products, but we haven’t had a great look at exactly what Android Wear is capable of quite yet. In order to create some buzz for the Moto 360, and give the community a chance to decide what their version of Android Wear could look like, Motorola has put together a face design contest for the upcoming smartwatch.
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This is the Galaxy S5 Active
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S5 Active model complete with AT&T branding has been leaked by @evleaks, although it’s not clear when the device will actually be made available in stores.
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