I absolutely adore PowerWash Simulator. I’ve adored it for three years now. It’s the console game I keep coming back to; curling up on the couch, putting on a podcast, and cleaning the muck off an ice rink or UFO. It got me through a horrible bout of covid, it offers me comfort when I’m feeling down, and it keeps…
The developers behind Palworld have re-revealed their furry high school dating sim (almost) nobody asked for. It’s called Pal♡world! ~More Than Just Pals~ and was almost certainly an April Fools’ joke the first time it was teased in 2024, but might actually be a real thing now?
An award-winning former Nintendo Switch shooter is headed to the PS5 and PS4 “soon,” its developer has announced. Digital Cybercherries’ Hypercharge: Unboxed — an intriguing first and third-person action figure shooter — originally released in 2020. The game will release on PlayStation sometime in 2025.
Following its launch as a Switch console exclusive Hypercharge: Unboxed headed to the PC followed by an Xbox launch last year. “We’ve had thousands of fans on social media asking us if and when it would be coming to PlayStation,” Digital Cybercherries said in a press release. “You asked, so we’ve delivered and are so pleased to announce that PlayStation players will get to join in on the fun soon.”
Hypercharge: Unboxed, which went on to become “smash hit,” will feature cross-play when it launches on PS5 and PS4. The game features co-op, offline solo, and competitive multiplayer modes.
“There was once an ancient line of action figures, who created a magical power source that would allow humans to keep their favorite childhood memories of their toys. This ancient power source is known as the Hypercore,” reads an official description. “Grab your friends, complete objectives, defend the Hypercore against waves of weaponized toys, and defeat Major Evil together in the story campaign.”
We’ll update our readers when a release date is announced.
The post PS5, PS4 Getting Award-Winning Former Switch Exclusive Shooter appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
The man, the myth, the Sandman. Adam Sandler is easily one of the biggest comedy stars ever in Hollywood. Though he’s run afoul of critics for years, Sandler has enjoyed a loyal following due to his everyman persona that thumbs the nose of well-dressed muckity mucks. His recent cameo at the 2025 Oscars says it all:…
Following months of reports from players, a detailed tech analysis has confirmed ongoing PS5 and PS5 Pro VRR (variable refresh rate) stuttering issues impacting both first-party and third-party games. We first reported on this issue back in February when a significant number of LG TV owners lodged complaints. But folks over at Digital Foundry have confirmed that the problem isn’t specific to LG TVs. In fact, it’s an issue on Sony’s end.
Digital Foundry ran extensive tests across 19 games on various displays, and found that the issue mostly occurs in games that support 120Hz VRR with unlocked frame rates. After about 20 minutes of gameplay, there’s a noticeable stutter that happens frequently enough that it’s bothersome.
Digital Foundry noticed that when the issue occurs, there’s a momentary refresh rate spike to 120Hz. They reckon that games with more varying frame rates temporarily drop out of VRR, returning to a fixed refresh rate, and thus causing the stutter.
Based on Digital Foundry’s testing, the following games are confirmed to be impacted by the issue:
Of the above games, third-party titles tested on Xbox do not suffer from VRR stuttering.
Sony has yet to acknowledge the issue. The good news is, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny is often a guest on Digital Foundry and we’re pretty sure he’ll be reading this analysis sooner or later.
Here’s hoping a fix comes soon.
The post PS5/PS5 Pro VRR Stuttering Issue Confirmed by Tech Experts appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Sony has yet to confirm the list of games leaving PS Plus Extra and Premium in May 2025, but as usual, we’re sharing predictions for upcoming departures. These predictions are based on established departure patterns as always, and have a very high degree of accuracy every month. We highly recommend players prioritize the following games, especially the new Tomb Raider trilogy.
As pointed out by Reddit user kayrakaanonline, Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider were all added to PS Plus 24 months ago. While we don’t know the specifics of Sony’s deal with Crystal Dynamics/Embracer Group, a large number of games depart around the two-year mark, so players are advised to wrap these games up.
Similarly, PS Plus day-one game Humanity joined the catalog two years ago, and is one to keep an eye on. Most day-one games tend to depart around the 12-month mark, and Humanity is already well beyond that point.
In terms of Sony first-party and exclusive games, prioritize the likes of Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, and Death Stranding as they all have new releases coming up.
Other than that, RPG games Cat Quest 1 and 2 joined the service 12 months ago along with Crime Boss: Rockay City, so if you’re interested in these games, now is the time to check them out.
Last but not least, GTA V is approaching the six-month mark again, which is typically when it leaves the service with a chance of being re-added at some point. It’s similar to how the same Bethesda games continue to join and depart PS Plus, except they stay longer than six months.
Other games to keep an eye on include Watch Dogs (approaching 12 months), Watch Dogs Legion (24 months), and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (24 months). Bethesda games approaching 24 months include Dishonored games, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and The Evil Within 2.
As a reminder, here are the departures Sony has confirmed for April.
The post Games Leaving PS Plus in May Expected to Include Popular Trilogy appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Whether you want to know how to use Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ level scaling to your advantage, get rich quick in feudal Japan, or make your hideout as pretty as it can be, we’ve got the tips for you this week. In addition to that, we’ll also help you get started in Atomfall and tell you what to expect out of AI Limit,…
This week, we raved about the new action-RPG The First Berserker: Khazan, voiced our critiques of the new Pokémon TCG set Journey Together, and shared some thoughts on the uselessness of game genres and the discourse around Daredevil: Born Again. Read on for these takes and more.
The big event of the week was Thursday’s Nintendo Direct, the last one focused on the original Switch before the curtain gets pulled back on its successor next Tuesday. However, we also have details on some great games that are a steal right now on PSN during Sony’s spring sale, the lowdown on a big structural shakeup…
Nintendo’s live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda now has a release date, but you’d only know that if you’ve downloaded the company’s recently announced news app, Nintendo Today. The Zelda movie isn’t due out until 2027, and in the meantime it seems like Nintendo is training fans to stay glued to its new app to…
Following Sony’s recent licensing deals with Bandai Namco Entertainment, fans are hoping for more PlayStation IP revival, especially when it comes to beloved franchises that have been dormant for a while. During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, it emerged that Sony has tasked Bandai Namco with bringing back another pair of first-party franchises, but this time, to multiple platforms.
The deal between Sony and Bandai Namco — which hasn’t been formally disclosed — covers three games thus far: Patapon 1+2 Replay, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, and the previously released Freedom Wars Remastered. It’s unclear if Sony plans to extend the agreement to more games, but that hasn’t stopped fans from hoping that this is the case.
“Namco, please license Tokyo Jungle from Sony and port it to modern platforms,” begged one ResetEra user. “Praying Soul Sacrifice is saved from the Vita,” wrote another. “Bring this, bring Puppeteer, and bring The Last Guy,” read one response.
And yes, Bloodborne came up too, in case you were wondering.
We can’t fault players for wanting third parties to step in and rescue beloved franchises. Sony has a treasure trove of IP that players would prefer over remakes and remasters like Days Gone and Horizon Zero Dawn.
Do our readers have any wish lists?
The post Fans Want Dormant PlayStation IP Rescued After New Sony Deals appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Sony’s sending out emails to PSN users, notifying them that they’ve received their five days of free PS Plus as compensation for the massive February outage. However, the emails have left some players frustrated due to their odd timing. For some unsuspecting folks, the free PS Plus days kicked off on March 24, but Sony notified them of the compensation several days later.
Our readers will recall that Sony began rolling out the compensation almost a month ago, and the only way to find out if you received it was to manually check your PS Plus subscription expiry date.
Here’s the problem: not all folks eligible for the compensation were subscribed to PS Plus while the five days were being applied to PSN accounts, and due to the staggered rollout, there was no way of knowing when they’d receive them.
Well, Sony decided to do these people a solid and send out emails notifying them that they’ve received five free days of PS Plus effective March 24. But for some reason, the emails were scheduled to go out on March 27, which means quite a few people only found out about it with a day or two left while others are going to miss the freebie altogether.
We can imagine how annoying that is, but this is so Sony that I can’t say I’m personally surprised.
Anyway, check your emails. You might have one day of free PS Plus left.
The post Sony’s Sending Out Free PS Plus Emails, But There’s a Catch appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
A day without a company announcing some new way AI can supposedly make our lives better is rare. Today it's Amazon, which has announced a new AI-powered feature called "Interests." It lets you enter personalized shopping prompts based on your, well, interests and price limits — and it arrives just in time for Amazon's Spring Sale.
Interests can handle prompts with everyday language, like "Brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" or "Natural makeup products for summer glow from top brands." The AI-powered feature will then look through Amazon's store to see current offerings and send you notifications about any deals, new products or restocks that are relevant to your prompt. Shopping on Amazon can sometimes feel like a never-ending pit of decent enough options, so hopefully this feature provides a more tailored selection.
Amazon has only released Interests to a small group of customers in the US and only through the app or mobile website. You can check if it's available to you by looking under the "Me" tab in the Amazon shopping app. Otherwise, Amazon plans to roll out Interests to all of its US users in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/V8fxzvJ
Two more PS6 games have practically been confirmed, although their developers have yet to officially mention the console. Based on development times and release windows, players have already been making educated guesses about which games are likely headed to PS6, but they can rest assured now that both The Witcher 4 and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet are cross-gen games, at the very least, if not fully next-gen.
CD Projekt RED’s chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz confirmed in a recent earnings presentation that the earliest The Witcher 4 can potentially release is sometime in 2027, but even that isn’t set in stone. Prior to this, known journalist and insider Jason Schreier said that neither The Witcher 4 nor Intergalactic will release before 2027.
Considering the PS6 is expected around 2028, it’s certainly not a stretch to say that these two titles are headed to the console.
The following games are virtually confirmed for the PS6:
Fall 2025 marks PS5’s fifth year in the market. PS6 is already well into development, but we’re unlikely to hear anything official until early 2028.
The post Two More PS6 Games Seemingly Confirmed appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Rumor has it that PS5 exclusives in 2025 will include a smaller, stand-alone game from a major franchise, similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Sony has been toying with stopgap releases amid an increasingly lengthy wait in between major games, and it looks like 2025 will get an “expand-alone” title too.
Rumors have been swirling for a while that the original God of War trilogy is being remastered. As we said before, it looks like wires were crossed somewhere because known insider Tom Henderson had claimed that a God of War game starring young Kratos in Greece was indeed in the works, but it was a new game rather than a remaster.
Now, journalist Jeff Grubb has corrborated Henderson’s report, and claims to have heard from his source that “there’s still a Greek God of War thing coming out this year, but it’s not a remaster collection. It’s a new side-story project.”
We’re guessing that it’ll be a stand-alone expansion of sorts (or expand-alone, as some call them) similar to Miles Morales and The Lost Legacy. In a separate post on Bluesky, Grubb reiterated that the God of War project he’s referring to is a video game.
We won’t be surprised if this turns out to be true, but don’t hold your breath just yet.
The post Major Unannounced PS5 Exclusive for 2025 Possibly Leaked appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
We’ve been hearing for some time that Apple is working on a version of the Apple Watch SE with a plastic shell to offer a cheaper and more kid-friendly option, but it seems bringing that vision to life is a bit more complicated than expected. After Apple’s September event last year came and went with no new Apple Watch SE announced, Mark Gurman reported that the team had run into some “cost and quality” challenges with the plastic design, but that it was still happening. Now, in this week’s Power On newsletter, Gurman says the plastic Apple Watch SE is “in serious jeopardy.”
According to Gurman, “The design team doesn’t like the look, and the operations team is finding it difficult to make the casing materially cheaper than the current aluminum chassis.” It’s been over two years since Apple released the second generation Apple Watch SE, and that model now feels “bland,” as Engadget’s Amy Skorheim wrote after revisiting the device recently. A refresh is due, but it's now looking like the plastic design may not be in the cards just yet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/3BanhwiApple is working on adding cameras to future Apple Watch models in order to make them function more like AI wearables, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter. Gurman reports that the company “is considering adding cameras to both its standard Series watches and Ultra models,” with plans for a 2027 launch. The move would allow the Apple Watch to support AI features like Visual Intelligence, which can provide on-the-spot information about whatever the user points the camera at.
Gurman previously reported that Apple is developing AirPods with a built-in camera for the same purpose, and he notes this week that these are expected to launch around the same time as the camera-equipped Apple Watches. Camera placement would likely vary among the different watch models. According to Gurman, the Series watches could get a camera in the display, while the camera in the Ultra would be on the side of the device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/FBnDWwc
Gamers are a passionate bunch, and we’re no exception. These are the week’s most interesting perspectives on the wild, wonderful, and sometimes weird world of video game news.
The US Federal Communications Commission has launched what it describes as a "sweeping investigation" on Chinese companies already on its "Covered List." Those companies include Huawei, ZTE and China Telecom, which the US government believes are aligned with the Chinese Communist Party. In 2022, the Biden administration banned the sale of communications equipment, video surveillance gear and services from those companies in an effort to protect the country's national security and ensure that "untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within [US] borders."
According to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the agency has reason to believe that some of the entities in the Covered List are still operating in the US, because they don't think the ban covers "particular types of operations or otherwise." These companies are "trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or 'unregulated' basis," he said.
This investigation is the first major initiative under the Council for National Security that Carr recently established within the FCC. The new council's main purposes is to reduce American technology and telecommunications sectors' reliance on foreign adversaries, mitigate the country's vulnerability to cyberattacks and espionage, as well as to ensure that the US "wins the strategic competition with China over critical technologies."
The FCC intends to gather a wide range of information on entities in the Covered List, including details about their ongoing business in the US and the business of companies that may be aiding their operations. It said it will "close any loopholes that have permitted untrustworthy, foreign adversary state-backed actors to skirt [its] rules."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/SXi6dLe
This week, we take a look at FBC: Firebreak, the new multiplayer shooter and Control spin-off from Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment. We also recommend some outstanding games you can grab for dirt cheap right now on PSN, report on how the market for artisanal, hardware-based Nintendo 64 clones is heating up,…
If you think about it, Severance's "innies" — the people trapped in an endless cycle of office work — should genuinely hate their "outies" — their other halves who exist everywhere else. While outies are free to live a seemingly carefree existence, unburdened by the labor, boredom and indignities of office life, innies have no escape. Every time they enter the elevator at the end of their shifts, which triggers the switch to their outie persona, innies just blink and return to the sterile hallways of nefarious biotechnology firm Lumon Industries. There are no weekends or holidays, there isn't even time to sleep.
Spoilers ahead for Severance season 2. No spoilers for the finale, "Cold Harbor."
Severance's first season arrived as we were all reeling from the initial onslaught of the COVID pandemic and many of us were dealing with our own work-life balance issues. It introduced the show's core concept — that Lumon pioneered the ability to completely separate work and life experiences — and it made the terms "innie" and "outie" a new cultural shorthand. But the debut season also leaned heavily on the outie perspective, sometimes to a fault. In its second season, Severance became even stronger by focusing more on the innie perspective. Do they deserve whole lives, or just the labor their outies don't want to deal with? Are they allowed to fall in love? Are they even real people?
These are all concepts the show previously touched on, but the innie experience became all the more tragic as season two went on. We watched as Adam Scott's Mark S. wrestled with the dueling desires to rescue Lumon's wellness counselor, Ms. Casey, who was revealed to be his outie's supposedly dead wife, and also nurture a budding romance with fellow innie Hellie R. (Britt Lower). John Turturro's Irving B. spent the entire season nursing a broken heart, after the innie he fell in love with disappeared. And Zach Cherry's Dylan G. ended up falling in love with his outie's wife (Merritt Wever), who saw the best aspects of her floundering husband through his innie.
Innies owe their lives to their outies, but lead a tortured existence that basically just makes everything easier for outies. Season two made it clear that the process of severance, which involves a brain injection that splits the innie and outie personas, essentially creates an adult child who only exists to work. Innies have no understanding of science, history or the greater world beyond what Lumon tells them. And naturally, the company's messaging to innies is purely focused on efficiency, output and the cult-like adoration of its founder, Kier Eagan. (It's as if Apple based its entire internal culture on worshipping Steve Jobs as a god, complete with archaic rituals and holy texts.)
While we spent less time with outies in this season, the show still had a sharper take on their side of the severed experience. There's a funny nod to the "return to office" phenomenon, where Tramell Tillman's Milchick practically had to beg the outies to come back to Lumon, following their innie revolt at the end of season one. In our world, RTO is mostly a phenomenon where executives are eager to witness their employees toiling away, rather than allowing them to potentially slack off while working at home.
We also get a sense of what outies lose by giving up their work life to their innies. When Dylan G.'s outie, Dylan George, is turned down for a basic job outside of Lumon, he learns he can't count his innie's work time, since he didn't actually experience it. (In some ways it feels reminiscent of what we could lose by outsourcing work to AI tools.) Severance isn't just a trap for the innies stuck in Lumon's offices, their outies will also have a tough time landing a job anywhere else. The only choice is to stay loyal to Lumon, and its dear founder Kier, until you retire. Or die.
According to Dan Erickson, the creator and showrunner of Severance, this season was partially inspired by the recent Hollywood writer's strike. "We were all talking to our guilds and having conversations about workers rights and what we owe our employers and what we should reasonably expect back in return... And how much of ourselves and our lives and our energy we should be willing to give up for the sake of a job," he said in an interview on episode 252 of the Engadget Podcast.
While much of the second season was written before the strike, "consciously or unconsciously, I think that the tone of that, of those conversations made their way into the story," Erickson said. "And certainly I think that they'll be on people's minds as they're watching the show. Because at the end of the day... it is a show about the rights of workers and what they deserve as human beings."
As I watched this season of Severance, and processed the events of its explosive finale, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Kazuo Ishiguro’s heartbreaking novel Never Let Me Go. It’s set in a strict boarding school where students are raised to serve one specific purpose, and their own lives are devalued in the process. But they still love, learn and dream. They have hopes and desires. Every innie should be so lucky.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/EUpwceK
PS Plus Premium members can directly stream nearly all of March 2025’s PS Plus games on the PS Portal, taking the handheld yet another step closer to being a stand-alone portable console rather than a remote player. Only two games in the lineup require players to turn on their PS5 but all major games can be streamed directly.
At the time of this writing, the following games can be streamed without a PS5:
PS Plus March games not available to stream at this time include:
As we’ve frequently reported over the last month, Sony has been quietly updating PS Portal’s cloud streaming beta with more and more games, including beloved classics. At this point, the handheld is an easy recommendation as a stand-alone device if players don’t mind purchasing a PS Plus Premium membership.
Cloud streaming is not available with the Extra tier or as part of the Deluxe tier offered in some regions.
The post PS Portal Can Stream Almost All of PS Plus March Games Without PS5 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Fujifilm has unveiled one of the wilder cameras I've seen in awhile, the 102MP medium-format GFX100RF compact camera. Yes, you read that right — this is a carrying-around street camera with a massive sensor and fixed 35mm f4 lens (28mm full-frame equivalent) that can shoot 11,648 x 8,736 photos. If that wasn't enough, it has features we've rarely seen on compact cameras, like a built-in ND filter and dedicated aspect ratio dial.
The GFX100RF uses the same 102MP CMOS II HS medium format sensor found on the GFX100 II mirrorless camera. As Fujifilm teased last week, it can be thought of as a higher-resolution version of its popular X100 VI APS-C compact. Though smaller than any other GFX camera, it's heavier than many full-frame mirrorless cameras at 1.62 pounds (735 grams). For a premium feel, the camera is "machined from a single block of aluminum and the lens ring, dials, bottom plate, and other details are all precision-machined from aluminum as well," Fujifilm wrote in a press release.
Like the X100 VI, it's designed as a street camera with the shutter speed, exposure compensation and aperture settings quickly visible and adjustable. However, the GFX100RF has a new dial on the back that lets you choose from nine aspect ratios including 7:6, 1:1, 3:4, 16:9, 17:6 and the 65:24 "XPan" widescreen ratio found on other GFX models.
It also has a tele-converter selector/lever on the front of the camera to digitally change the focal length from the native 35mm to 45mm, 63mm and 80mm (35mm, 50mm and 65mm full-frame equivalent), with a corresponding loss of resolution. When using those modes, a new "Surround View" function can be selected that displays the area outside the image range as a semi-transparent frame.
Fujifilm says the all-important fixed lens can suppress spherical aberration and field curvature thanks to a 10-element, eight-group configuration that includes two aspherical lenses. It uses a newly developed "nano-GI" coating optimized to suppress internal reflections, even at the edges. Despite the large sensor size, it can focus as close as 7.9 inches, allowing for some interesting high-res macro possibilities.
The shutter itself is a leaf instead of focal plane type to reduce size, and the GFX100RF is Fujifilm's first GFX model with a built-in four-stop ND filter. That's a handy feature on a medium format camera for bright light shooting, as it allows for slower shutter speeds to add motion blur or wider apertures for shallower depth of field.
The GFX100RF has a similar autofocus system to the GFX100 II including an AF prediction function and face/eye AF that can recognize subjects like animals, vehicles, birds, and airplanes. Burst speeds are a fairly decent 6 fps with the mechanical shutter at full resolution, a bit slower than the GFX100S II. It has a 5.76-million-dot offset electronic viewfinder like the one on the X100VI and a 3.1-inch 2-axis tilting 2.1-million-dot rear display.
It can even shoot 4K 30fps 4:2:2 10-bit video (likely with some pixel binning), and Fujifilm says it'll deliver up to 13+ stops of dynamic range when using the FLog-2 setting. Other features include an SDXC UHS-II card slot, 20 built-in film simulations, SSD recording, mic and headphone ports and a microHDMI connector. One feature noticeably lacking compared to the X100VI is in-body stabilization.
The GFX100RF is likely to appeal highly to street and travel photographers considering its capabilities. It's not cheap at $4,900, but that price is less than its main competition, the $6,660 Leica Q3, while offering a larger sensor and 40 extra megapixels. It'll be available in black or silver when it arrives in late April 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/nyg26DACarl Erik Rinsch, the director of 47 Ronin, has been charged for defrauding a streaming service out of $11 million, according to the Southern District of New York's US Attorney's Office. While the court documents didn't name the service, an old report from The New York Times made it obvious that it was none other than Netflix. In 2018, Rinsch pitched a sci-fi series called White Horse, referencing the first horseman of the apocalypse, to several services, namely Amazon, Apple, HBO, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. The Times' report said that Amazon had already won the bidding war, but Netflix's former VP of Original Content, Cindy Holland, called Rinsch on a weekend and offered millions more, along with the privilege of making a director's cut.
In its announcement of the indictment, the US Attorney's Office explained that Netflix had paid $44 million for the development of White Horse, which had been renamed to Conquest, between 2018 and 2019. Some of that money went to paying off the project's earliest investors. (Keanu Reeves, the star of 47 Ronin, sank his own money into the project after Rinsch got in trouble with 30West, one of the project's first investors, for not reaching a deadline.) Between late 2019 and early 2020, Rinsch asked Netflix for more funding, and the company gave him $11 million more to complete the series. But Rinsch never finished the show, and Netflix accused him of using those funds to make "personal and speculative purchases of securities."
The director allegedly lost most of the $11 million to trading, but he made it back and earned more from investing the rest on cryptocurrency. Rinsch allegedly went on a shopping spree after that, spending almost $4 million on furniture and antiques, $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari, as well as $652,000 on luxury watches and clothing. The indictment also said that Rinsch spent over $1 million to sue Netflix for more money. According to The Times' report, Rinsch claimed in his lawsuit that Netflix broke its contract and owed him several more payments worth $14 million. In the midst of all of these, Rinsch reportedly displayed erratic behavior: He allegedly claimed to have discovered Covid-19’s secret transmission mechanism, treated the show's staff horribly and accused his wife of plotting his assassination.
Conquest was supposed to be about a genius who invented a human-like species called Organic Intelligent. These OIs are deployed to solve problems and provide humanitarian aid around the world, but they are, of course, not what they seem and are hiding a darker nature. Rinsch has been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, both of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was also charged with five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, each count carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/UNSjo5qPlaydate, the little yellow gaming machine with a crank, is getting a price increase in a few days. In a newsletter that Panic has sent out, the developer said that Playdates will cost $229 starting on March 25 but that you can still get the device for $199 until then. Apparently, Panic moved to a new factory, and it would "cost quite a bit more" to manufacture the devices there than at the company's old facility. Panic cited manufacturing costs, as well, when it raised the handheld's price from $179 to $199 last year.
On the day the Playdate is getting a price hike, Panic is also dropping "an (extremely) limited stock" of systems that are either fully refurbished at its factory or have "very minor cosmetic issues." The refurbished units will sell for $179, and Panic says that they "work great," can "play games perfectly" and come with a six-month warranty. "If price has kept you from buying a Playdate, we're hopeful these great systems might help," the company has written in its announcement.
The handheld gaming console came out in 2022. It has a black-and-white screen with over 150 games that you can download from its Catalog. While the device has the traditional arrow and gaming buttons, it also has a crank that developers incorporate into their games — in Chopter Copter, for instance, you'll have to turn the Playdate on its side to use the crank as a helicopter-style rotor. If you already have a Playdate, the company is having a Catalog Anniversary Sale right now until March 20, where you can stock up on more titles for the handheld. Panic also reconfirmed that it's working with developers to put together a Season 2 bundle, which will deliver a set number of games in a curated collection to buyers' devices over a certain period.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/K08OhAm
One of the best and most widely-praised PS5 exclusives is half price in a limited-time PS Store deal that ends soon. The Digital Deluxe Edition of Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart can be yours for just $39.99, down from $79.99.
Rift Apart’s Digital Deluxe Edition comes with the following:
Unfortunately, the standard edition isn’t currently on sale. The aforementioned offer will end next week on March 27.
As an added bonus for PS Plus Premium members, Rift Apart can be streamed directly and doesn’t require a download. PS Portal owners with Premium membership can also stream the game directly, bypassing the PS5.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is one of the earliest PS5 exclusives that was later ported over to PC. The game is widely regarded as a technical masterpiece that fully utilizes PS5’s features, especially the power of its SSD and DualSense controller.
The latest PS Store March Madness promotion offers discounts on quite a few first-party titles, with R&C: Rift Apart an easy recommendation among them. The game also comes with a fun Platinum trophy for completionists.
The post One of the Best PS5 Exclusives Is 50% Off on PS Store appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
Bend Studio has confirmed that Days Gone Remastered PS5 Platinum trophy will automatically pop for existing PS4 owners. However, those who don’t want to automatically earn all the trophies without playing the game have the option to do just that.
Simply import your PS4 save file before starting Days Gone Remastered on PS5, and if you’ve unlocked the Platinum trophy in the original game, it’ll pop up in the newer version as well. Those who want to earn all the trophies from scratch again should avoid importing their save file and start a new game instead.
The easiest way to transfer your save file between PS4 and PS5 is to use the PS Plus cloud feature. Upload your PS4 save onto the cloud and download it on the PS5. If you’re not a PS Plus member, you can transfer save data using a USB stick.
Days Gone Remastered will release on April 25, 2025. Those who own the game on the PS4 can upgrade for $10, with past physical owners required to insert their disc into the PS5 every time they want to play. Disc owners with a digital-only PS5 and those who claimed the game via PS Plus are not eligible to claim the $10 upgrade.
The post Days Gone PS5 Platinum Trophy Will Auto Pop for PS4 Players appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
The so-called iPhone 17 Air, which is rumored to be coming this fall, is said to be Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever. But, if the company had gone through some of its earlier plans for the device, slimness may not have been the most talked-about element. In the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes that Apple at one time planned to ditch the USB-C port “to make the Air device Apple’s first completely port-free iPhone.”
The company reportedly shelved the idea to avoid sparking fresh problems with EU regulators. According to Gurman, however, Apple is still holding onto it for future slim iPhones depending on the success of the iPhone 17 Air. Apple is expected to release four iPhones this year, in line with its strategy of the last few years, with the one currently nicknamed the iPhone 17 Air being roughly 2 millimeters thinner than the rest. Leaker Sonny Dickson this weekend shared a series of photos said to be of iPhone 17 dummies, showing just how slim the Air could look alongside the rest of the family.
Here’s your first look at the iPhone 17 dummies, Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/WnOjD71Iba
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) March 16, 2025
Gurman reports that the iPhone 17 Air will be priced at around $900, sitting between the entry-level iPhone 17 and the two higher-end models with similar battery life to what we’re already used to, a roughly 6.6-inch screen, Dynamic Island and the Camera Control button. Of course, nothing’s been confirmed officially yet, but the iPhone 17 rumors and leaks are sure to keep coming over the next few months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/dASpPsJWe’ve recently heard rumors that Apple is working on the next generation of its Studio Display, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman now reports that there may actually be two new models in the works. Building on his previous reporting about a potential update to the 2022 Studio Display that could be released next year, Gurman writes this weekend in the Power On newsletter that sources have told him “Apple is working on a second new monitor.” The first is code-named J427, while the second is reportedly being referred to as J527.
It’s been three years since Apple introduced the $1,599 27-inch Studio Display and twice that since the release of the $5,000 Pro Display XDR. Considering the age of both monitors, Gurman says one of two scenarios may play out, either that “Apple is developing both and will choose one to launch, or it’s a second model with a different screen size or set of specifications.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/9nPzIU0
This week, our Avowed tips will help you survive the Living Lands as we’ll guide you to the best armor, no matter what class you’re playing. We’ll also help you make the most of Monster Hunter Wilds’ best weapon, give you some pointers for Civilization VII, and fill you in on Suikoden I & II HD Remaster. Read on for…
Google’s update to the Find My Device app, which adds a “People” tab showing contacts who have shared their location with you (and vice versa), is now available for Android users. The company announced the feature at the beginning of the month with the March Pixel Drop, and it started rolling out this week, as spotted by 9to5Google. With the update, you can now see your approved contacts’ real-time locations on the map, above a list that displays the addresses of their current positions, their distance from you and the time since that information was last refreshed.
While Google Maps already let users manage location sharing and keep track of trusted contacts, the Find My Device update makes all this information easier to find, with a more straightforward presentation. In the People tab, you can choose to see the contacts who have shared their location with you, and those you’ve shared your location with. You can also switch Google accounts and change your Location Sharing settings at any time from within the app using the tab at the top right. The update comes almost a year after Google first launched Find My Device, and brings the service more in line with Apple’s Find My app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/gczI4dASpaceX's Crew-10 mission has successfully launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03PM Eastern on March 14. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are onboard and will join the ISS crew after the spacecraft docks with the orbiting lab at 11:30PM Eastern time on March 15. The new crew's arrival will allow NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to fly back home after their supposed week-long stay on the ISS had turned into a nine-month stint.
Williams and Wilmore flew to the ISS aboard the Boeing Starliner's first crewed flight meant to prove its readiness to ferry astronauts to orbit. On the way to the station, however, the Starliner started leaking helium, and some of its thrusters had malfunctioned. While the astronauts and ground engineers tried to solve the issue, NASA had ultimately decided to have the Starliner fly back home uncrewed. The spacecraft returned back to Earth in September, leaving Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS.
Before Boeing's Starliner flew back, NASA had already decided that Williams and Wilmore will be coming home with the SpaceX Crew-9 personnel. The mission headed to the station with only two astronauts onboard to leave two seats open for its return. They were originally scheduled to fly back in February, but Crew-10's launch was ultimately delayed to give SpaceX enough time to process a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission. Williams and Wilmore are now expected to fly back to Earth with Crew-9's Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov as soon as March 19.
Watch Falcon 9 launch Dragon and Crew-10 to the @Space_Station → https://t.co/VPdhVwQFNJ https://t.co/ZeAFaKzKD0
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2025
This week saw Pokémon Go become the property of the Saudi government as Scopely, the mobile game maker owned by Savvy Games Group which itself was founded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, acquired POGO developer Niantic for the tidy sum of $3.5 billion. In other news, Steam has launched one of its best sales…
It's both a great and bad week for Apple. In this episode, we dive into Devindra's review of the excellent M4-equipped MacBook Air (and briefly chat about the new Mac Studio). We also discuss Apple's surprise announcement that it's delaying its smarter, AI-infused Siri, which may not arrive until next year. Did Apple over-promise last year, or is it wise to hold off on advanced AI features until they're ready? After all, Apple doesn't want a fiasco like Microsoft's Recall announcement.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
The MacBook Air M4 refresh maintains Apple’s seat on the ultraportable throne – 1:40
…but the delay on a Siri upgrade could spell trouble long-term – 15:32
Xbox’s first handheld might not be made by Microsoft – 34:29
The White House turns into a Tesla dealership – 41:30
Meta attempts to block unflattering expose book already on sale – 45:52
Around Engadget: Ninja Swirl and Eero Pro 7 router reviews – 46:38
Working on – 49:21
Pop culture picks – 50:26
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
It's no secret that Spotify isn't a big money maker for most artists. But, in its annual Loud & Clear report, the music streamer is trying to change the narrative, reiterating an earlier claim that it paid artists $10 billion in 2024 ($60 million since launching) and adding that these payments increased tenfold over the last 10 years.
Spotify throws in quite a few other big numbers into the 2024 report. It claims that the 100,000th most streamed artist also saw a tenfold increase over a decade, receiving $6,000, up from $600. Meanwhile, the 10,000th most streamed artist reportedly received $131,000, up from $34,000. Plus, it reports that almost 1,500 artists generated over $1 million.
Despite these numbers, Spotify still doesn't hold much goodwill from artists. For starters, a report from music catalog buyer Duetti found that Spotify paid out $3 per 1,000 streams in 2024, while the same figure gave artists $4.80 at YouTube, $6.20 at Apple Music and $8.80 at Amazon Music. In a statement after the report's release, Spotify told TechCrunch, "These claims are ridiculous and unfounded," and argued that music platforms don't pay by stream.
In January, Billboard reported that four of the five artists nominated at the Grammys for songwriter of the year chose to skip Spotify's Grammy party for songwriters — all of Spotify's Grammy parties were eventually canceled because of the Los Angeles wildfires. Songwriters, including Jesse Jo Dillon and Amy Allen, both cited Spotify's decision last year to bundle audiobooks and songs in subscription tiers. The publication had previously reported that the new premium, duo and family tiers meant songwriters got paid a discounted bundle rate, losing an estimated $150 million in US mechanical royalties over the first 12 months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/zGB7AfrWe've come a long way from the days of discarding smartphones as soon as a new model comes out. Many shoppers are now demanding devices that will last for years, and they are being more conscientious about what happens to those gadgets when the need for an upgrade does arrive.
You may want to trade in your smartphone or sell it when the time comes; either option can keep your device out of a landfill in addition to scoring you some extra cash. There are also options to recycle part or all of your phone if it's too old to make a trade-in worthwhile. Whatever path you choose, there are important steps to take to prepare a phone you're about to get rid of. These instructions apply to any model you might have, including both iPhones and Android phones. Here's what you need to know.
Let's start with a very important reminder to do regular backups for all of your gear, not just your phone. It's a task you should keep up with routinely even when you aren't about to recycle or trade-in a device.
Most hardware manufacturers have an automatic cloud backup system, but you'll like your new phone a lot less if it doesn't have your full, up-to-date library of contacts, photos and other information. This is the time to manually back everything up with all of your latest data.
Also, before you get any further into the process, make sure that you know the critical details for your phone and the main accounts associated with it. Halfway through is the worst time to lose access to your device because you can't remember your username or password.
Most people connect their phone to many other gadgets via Bluetooth. There are obvious ones, like smartwatches and wireless headphones, but you might also have your phone paired with something like a car stereo or a portable speaker. All of them should be unpaired from the phone you're about to trade in.
If you use your phone in two-factor authentication for sensitive accounts, you'll want to make sure that you disconnect the device from those services, too.
Next, you'll sign out of the device's cloud-based service. For iPhone owners, that's iCloud, and on Android, it's the Google suite. This will avoid any confusion with your new device. You'll also want to turn off Find My on iPhones or Find My Device on Android phones. iPhone users should also deregister iMessage on their old iPhone, particularly if they’re moving to a non-Apple smartphone. These steps might seem unnecessary when you'll end up wiping your device entirely, but you don't want to risk having your personal information accidentally made available to whoever might get your phone next.
Also, if you are under a plan that protects your phone, such as Apple Care or Preferred Care, you can usually cancel that coverage early. You'll get a refund on any unexpired coverage, and given how expensive gadgets can be now, it's worth getting that money back if you can.
At this point, your to-do list will vary. If you're planning to trade up to a newer model from the same manufacturer and you already have your new phone, then you'll want to transfer your data before moving on to wiping your old phone. Either in the store or on your own, in most cases you can wirelessly migrate your data from the old device to the new one.
If you're changing lanes between the Apple and Google universes, you can also do most data swapping yourself. There's a Google Play app called Move to iOS and one in the App Store called Android Switch that can walk you through the process. Just be sure that your device meets the requirements to use those programs.
However, if you aren't immediately setting up a new device, then you can skip this and move on to the next phase.
Once you double-check that you have everything backed up (seriously, don't take chances on this), then it's time to perform a factory reset. This will remove all of your data and apps, and bring the phone back to its original state. It’s ideal to do this reset as the final step of trading in, selling or recycling a device.
Whatever phone model you have, the reset option will be in the Settings app. It will commonly be nested under a tab like General or About, or you can search “reset” within Settings to find exactly where it is on your device.
This might seem obvious, but right before handing off your phone, make sure that you remove any accessories. Cases, grips and screen protectors should stay with you, not with the phone when it goes to its new home.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/yegTloK
As you start your pirate journey in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii—an absolute fever dream of an experience—you’ll find your meager pirate crew proves initially lackluster. Sure, you have a washed-up drunken father who can navigate, and a cook wielding the most enormous cleaver I’ve ever seen, but what about…
An internal PlayStation character tech demo has leaked, and it’s already causing some restlessness among players. It’s an unusual leak in that we rarely ever see in-development prototypes like these, but The Verge has somehow gotten its hands on a video that shows Sony dabbling into artificial intelligence for game development.
Gifs from the video, which has since been hit by a copyright strike, can be found hosted on The Verge. Footage is also circulating on X. It shows an AI-powered version of Horizon franchise protagonist Aloy, who’s talking to players and responding to queries with an AI-generated voice and facial movements as opposed to a real voiceover with motion capture.
The Verge claims that the video also showed AI Aloy within the “full Horizon Forbidden West game,” suggesting that the tech is pretty far advanced.
“This is just a glimpse of what is possible,” says SIE director of software engineering Sharwin Raghoebardajal in the video, leaving players concerned that Sony will be leaning into AI for character development in future games.
It has long been argued that removing real voices and motion capture from characters kills personal touch and immersion, and puts the games industry at risk. Every forum that the video and its gifs are circulating on is full of players expressing concerns.
What do our readers think?
The post An Internal PlayStation Tech Demo Has Leaked, Causing a Stir appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
