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Headlines

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  Netflix says all users now have access to Super HD video

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  All of 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy' season two is now on YouTube

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  EA won't be releasing a college football game in 2014 after all

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  Nissan granted license to test self-driving cars on Japan's public roads

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  As NIN prepares to hit the road, Trent Reznor looks back on electronic music's evolution

Latest Media

• The Vergecast 095 - September 26th, 2013

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• Google garage

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• Kindle Fire HDX, Steam Box prototype, and Commissioner Gordon: 90 Seconds on The Verge

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  Longform category - THANK YOU

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  To the Verge staff: You guys are AWESOME.

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The game's treatment of dogs as faithful companions, at least, is spot on.

The week of Grand Theft Auto V's launch could have been a controversy cash-in for the publicity lovers at Rockstar Games. The game's checklist of features reads like Tipper Gore's personal hell: savage murders, psychotic heroes, strip clubs, an interactive torture sequence, and enough swears and offensive terms to do George Carlin proud.

And, the day before the game's launch, a man shot up a Navy yard in Washington DC. Shortly afterward, reporters dug up comments from acquaintances about the shooter's predilection for “violent video games.” We've seen where that combination can lead.

Yet largely, GTA V has been denied its relatively worthy spot on the pop-culture controversy throne. Its most unsavory bits didn't budge Miley Cyrus' twerking off of any trending lists, even as the game raked in billions.

In 2007, the CableCard was designed to spur innovation in the set-top boxes, giving third parties a chance to plug into the cable ecosystem by installing a single card that would handle all the necessary encryption. But because of cable industry intransigence, it was a disaster. The result was too complex to properly implement and created huge headaches for both consumers and would-be box operators.

Today, Congressmen Bob Latta (R-OH) and Gene Green (D-TX) introduced a bill that would end the ban on integrated security, removing the need for Cablecards but also potentially muscling out third-party operators like Tivo. A new piece of bipartisan legislation would let cable boxes decrypt signals without a CableCard, lowering the bar for anyone looking to enter the market and hopefully opening the door for smaller companies to enter the cable box game. It's a rehash of an earlier bill from August, which aimed to limit the FCC's authority over cable programming boxes, but sank before reaching the president. This new bill was revised to end the requirement while preserving the FCC's authority to regulate the market, which will hopefully give it a better chance as it approaches a vote.

Apparently Martha Stewart doesn't get her Apple products repaired like the rest of us. Last night, Stewart took to Twitter to complain that she had dropped and shattered the glass front on an iPad given to her by Steve Jobs himself. But while most of us would take a trip to the Apple Store, Stewart consulted her legion of nearly three million followers for advice. "What to do?" writes Stewart. "Does one call Apple to come and pick it up or do I take it?"

"Steve Jobs gave it to me!"

Though Stewart may sound woefully unfamiliar with how most consumer electronics companies service products, we're told that on rare occasions certain Apple Stores will perform service calls for VIPs or for an elderly or disabled person in particular need of assistance. At one point, Stewart bemoaned that a serviceperson was yet to arrive, "I am still waiting for an Apple rep to come pick up my iPad. No action yey [she writes. "Steve Jobs gave it to me!"

Stewart later explained the series of tweets as a matter of frustration over letting her iPad fall from her car, noting that she was concerned that the glass was sharp and could possibly cut someone. While it sounds like Stewart's iPad is still without repair, it appears she's now taking it all in stride: "I will deal with it all silently and hope that Apple will fix everything so I can function again with proper tools."

Cloud Imperium's space combat and exploration sim Star Citizen surpassed $20 million in funding, securing first-person combat "on select lawless planets."

"What this means is that we're expanding the FPS mechanic we've already created for the ship boarding system to apply to more areas of the game," Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander and Cloud Imperium's founder, wrote on the game's official site. "Join an ongoing battle on a contested world, launch an attack on a pirate base, come to the rescue of distant colonists and fend off Vanduul raiders ... the possibilities are endless."

Roberts revealed that the community will receive an extra reward, a fish tank decoration for hangars. Fish tanks will be added to accounts "very soon," along with the hangar in an upcoming patch.

"Included in your fish tank is a rare gold Midas fish, found on the planet Cassel in the Goss System (pictured above)," Robersts wrote. "Star Citizen will allow you to add more fish to your tank by exploring distant planets and collecting new species."

The next stretch goal sits at $21 million for the addition of a salvage mechanic, a career that features its own story elements and "universe-shaping endgames." The career is exploration and scavenge-focused utilizing the game's flight and first-person shooter features to scour the game's universe for its secrets.

A $22 million stretch goal will introduce a facial capture system, which uses a series of cameras to capture real heads for in-game characters.

"This will let the team more easily create a variety of realistic characters," Roberts wrote. "In addition, the technology is mobile enough to allow us to take it on the road and capture select fans during special events!"

Funding for Star Citizen began on the site in October. A week later, Cloud Imperium launched a Star Citizen Kickstarter campaign to contribute to the crowdfunding efforts. For more information about Star Citizen and Cloud Imperium, be sure to read our recent interview with Roberts.