Incoming
You’ll HATE that you didn’t know these 12 things about the coming year…
Must-remember dates for your digital diary
3 Months away Tech
Amazon Fire TV
The everything store has waltzed up to streaming a bit late, but is already a formidable footage-flinger. Soon its virginal set-top should set its sights on Aus, hooking us into content via a dedicated GPU and four Snapdragon cores.
FIL M
BigEyes
It’s Tim Burton’s most unlikely film yet: a period courtroom biopic. Shy Margaret Keane is a great painter but husband Walter takes all the credit. InglouriousBasterds’ inimitable Christoph Waltz steals the legal limelight.
GAME Halo:TheMaster ChiefCollection
The pickings sure won’t be “Spartan” (ahem) as developer 343 drops remastered Master Chiefs on the next-gen battlefield this spring with Halo1-4 updated, the Halo5 beta and cross-title multiplayer.
EVENT
EB Games Expo
Couldn’t make the trek to E3 this year? Never fear, this is sure to be just as good. Well, almost. At least you can get hands-on with the hottest new titles without having to endure that torturous 15-hour flight.
6 Months away tech
Samsung Galaxy S6
While the Korean king’s last phone still feels hot, or at least lukewarm, off the production line, tech now moves at lightspeed. An upgrade will be with us by April next year. boasting shinier specs and, we hope, touting 4GB of RAM.
FIL M
Chappie
Sharlto “District9” Copley, Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver star in a tale of an adopted “child prodigy” who is actually a robot. Neill Blomkamp of Elysium fame directs, so expect cool tech and notoverly-subtle metaphors.
GAME
Ratchet&Clank
Yet another gaming classic remade? Lombax and his robot sidekick fend off evil-doers again in this PS4 reboot, but the reimagined action platformer will also come in film form, with the Ratchet&Clank movie to debut on PlayStation Now.
EVENT
Cricket World Cup 2015
The unmistakably summery sound of leather on willow makes a welcome return as our boys don their baggy greens and proceed to demolish the best the world has to offer. At least that’s what we’re hoping for.
9 Months away tech
Hexo+ Drone
Pimp your #instas to the max with this upcoming HD extreme sports cam-drone. Capture antics from urban parkour to “dog running round garden” with a dangerous-sounding top speed of 72km/h letting it keep pace with any action.
FIL M
Entourage
Film will eat itself as HBO taps into its self-referential movie-biz comedy as fodder for a full-length movie. Due next June starring Jeremy Piven and pals, it could be the best/worst spin-off since TheInbetweeners Movie (you decide which).
GAME
StarWarsBattlefront
Reboot number three aims to give a leg up to a little-known, cult franchise. Coming courtesy of EA’s DICE, the vet devs behind Battlefield, it’ll have you sticking it to the Empire in next-gen style. Dibs on Admiral “It’s a trap!”Ackbar.
EVENT
Google I/O 2015
The big G’s annual dev orgy is usually a San Franciscan feast of software news. Expect APIs and Android Mars Bar (okay we made that up) in force next June – and, if 2014 was anything to go by, more wearables than your body can bear.