The Morning After: Did Sony just reveal the PS5 Pro design?

Sony shared a first glimpse of its plans to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, and it seems PS5 Pro is coming to the party. Its decorative logo includes an image of the rumored upgrade to the current-gen PS5 console. Zoom between the S of the PlayStation logo and the 3, to reveal a different rectangle to the PS5s that appears elsewhere. The main change appears to be a differently proportioned console — if this is the Pro, it’ll be shorter than the OG PS5 — and have more stripes across the body, making it look a lot like the PS5 Pro rendering leaked in late August. How much, though? And how much more powerful?

— Mat Smith

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DJI Neo hands-on

A powerful and lightweight $200 drone.

Engadget

DJI’s much-leaked $200 drone is for content creators and casual users alike. It’s tiny and easy to use thanks to novice-friendly propeller guards, palm takeoff and voice control. It has a suite of powerful features, like ActiveTrack, Quick Shots, FPV controller support, smartphone control and the ability to record yourself with the DJI Mic 2. The Neo’s 1,435mAh lithium-ion battery is incredibly light but supports up to 17 minutes of fly time, or around 13 to 14 minutes in the real world. It’s reasonably priced too.

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Astro Bot PS5 review

One of the best games Sony has ever made.

Sony

Sony might have finally made a cute in-house official PlayStation mascot. It may have found its Mario. However, Astro Bot is not just for kids. It feels purpose-built for video game fans. According to Engadget’s Jessica Conditt, it’s a skill-driven celebration of everything that makes the format so memorable and joyful, and an excellent introduction to the language of games.

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Even the NSA has a podcast

You can access No Such Podcast on all major platforms.

The National Security Agency has a podcast to bring “people to the table from across the agency to discuss our role as a combat support agency, our foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity missions, and so much more.” The podcast is far from Edward Snowden-level sharing. The NSA’s chief of strategic communications, Sara Siegle, is quick to add that some of the agency’s work is too sensitive to discuss. The first episodes have focused on cybersecurity and the agency’s role in finding Osama Bin Laden.

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Balatro is coming to iOS and Android later this month.

Say goodbye to your free time.

Get ready to get addicted.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/stZj8dH

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How to watch Boeing Starliner's uncrewed flight back to Earth

The Starliner is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station and to make its way back to Earth at 6:04PM Eastern time today, September 6. If the weather cooperates and the spacecraft leaves the ISS as planned, it will be landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico with the help of parachutes to slow its descent and inflated airbags at around 12:03AM ET on September 7. While the ground teams at Starliner Mission Control in Houston and at Boeing Mission Control Center in Florida can control the spacecraft remotely if needed, it will be an uncrewed, fully autonomous flight for the Starliner. 

NASA recently announced that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts that headed to the ISS aboard the Starliner for its first crewed flight, will be coming home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead. Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS in June and were only supposed to spend a little more than a week on the orbiting laboratory. On the way there, however, five of the spacecraft's maneuvering thrusters had failed, and its helium leak problem that previously caused its launch to be pushed back had worsened. Engineers on the ground conducted tests with help from the astronauts on the ISS to determine whether the Starliner was safe for the crew to ride back to Earth. In the end, NASA decided that it's safer for Wilmore and Williams to come home on a SpaceX vehicle, because "there was too much uncertainty" around the Starliner's thrusters. 

The space agency will cover Starliner's return live on NASA+, the NASA app, its website, and you can also watch it below. Coverage of the undocking procedure will start at 5:45PM ET, while coverage for the spacecraft's deorbit burn, entry and landing will start at 10:50PM. NASA will also livestream Starliner's landing on September 7, starting at 12AM ET.

As for the SpaceX Crew-9 mission that's replacing the Boeing's vehicle on the ISS, it's scheduled to launch no earlier than September 24. Instead of flying with four astronauts as planned, it will fly with two — NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — to leave two seats empty for its return flight with Wilmore and Williams in February 2025. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/ScWN9h7

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Glintstone Nails Are The Best Sorcery In Shadow Of The Erdtree

Glintstone Nail and Glintstone Nails are Sorceries that can be purchased exclusively in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. These similar spells are some of the best Sorceries in the game and very much worth seeking out. One fires a single glintstone nail for a low FP cost, while the other fires multiple…

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PS5 Has Exclusive GTA 6 Marketing Rights, Wild Reports Claim

A wild new report claims that Sony has secured exclusive GTA 6 PS5, PS5 Pro marketing rights. We’d normally dismiss such rumors given Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest multiplatform franchises in video game history, but so is Call of Duty and Sony does need solid marketing for the PS5 Pro, especially if it’ll come with a hefty price tag.

How likely is it for Sony to have secured exclusive GTA 6 marketing rights for PS5 and PS5 Pro?

The idea of Sony potentially coinciding the launch of PS5 Pro with GTA 6 marketing activities is nothing new. Analysts expected as much back in February 2024. However, two outlets have since come out to say that this isn’t mere speculation, it’s actually true.

One of the outlets is Xbox News Cast Podcast on YouTube, and the other is tech YouTuber RedGamingTech.

Can confirm I've heard (and mentioned in a video) that Sony is going to use GTA6 for heavy marketing of the PS5 Pro.

Don't take as confirmation though – pinch of salt until it's announced. https://t.co/kSCxOwNoda

— RedGamingTech (@RedGamingTech) September 3, 2024

Since we can’t verify the authenticity of these claims, and these outlets seem to have a mixed reputation, we advise taking this with a grain of salt. It’s possible that both insiders’ sources simply regurgitated analysts’ speculations about GTA 6 and PS5 Pro.

However, we won’t be surprised if this rumor turns out to be true. We can’t think of anything else that would perfectly market the PS5 Pro’s hardware, and Sony’s first-party AAA blockbuster output is AWOL right now.

The post PS5 Has Exclusive GTA 6 Marketing Rights, Wild Reports Claim appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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PS5 Has Secret Exclusivity for Major Game, Microsoft Implies Yet Again

Microsoft has once again implied that Sony signed an unusual, secret PS5 exclusive deal for a major new game. You’ll get no prizes for guessing which game this is, but we’ll give you a hint: it features a monkey. That’s right, we’re back to square one with this Black Myth: Wukong PS5 exclusivity fiasco.

Microsoft denies Black Myth: Wukong is PS5 exclusive because of Xbox limitations

Black Myth: Wukong’s limited-time PS5 exclusivity came under the microscope after Game Science said that the game has been delayed on Xbox Series X|S due to optimization work. Not long afterwards, Microsoft provided a vague statement to Windows Central, which made it sound like Sony had moneyhatted the game.

Last week, drama ensued when Forbes contributor Paul Tassi claimed to have heard that Sony had indeed signed an unusual deal for Black Myth: Wukong, which IGN corroborated. However, fellow journalist Jeff Grubb and at least two other insiders disputed these claims.

Now, Microsoft has provided a second statement to Forbes on the matter, and has said in no uncertain terms that Black Myth: Wukong’s delay isn’t because of Xbox limitations. The statement reads:

As we have said before, we’re excited for the launch of Black Myth Wukong on Xbox Series X|S and are working with Game Science to bring the game to our platforms. We’d prefer not to comment on the deals made by our partners with other platform holders but we can confirm that the delay is not due to Xbox platform limitations that have been raised to us.

We have no idea what and who to believe at this point, so make of this what you will.

The post PS5 Has Secret Exclusivity for Major Game, Microsoft Implies Yet Again appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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As Expected, PS Plus Is Losing 4 More Games With Little Notice

It looks like one-month notice for games leaving PS Plus Extra and Premium is truly a thing of the past. Over the last couple of months, Sony has repeatedly removed games with notices as little as a few days, or gone ahead and quietly removed games without any warning. Unfortunately, September 2024 is no exception.

Updated list of games leaving PS Plus Extra, Premium (as of September 4, 2024)

Within the next two weeks, players will lose 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 2, Unpacking, and Planet Coaster. This is in addition to the previously announced list, which includes Horizon Forbidden West. The full list of departures as of today is as follows:

• Horizon Forbidden West
• Star Ocean: First Departure R
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope
• Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
• Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
• NieR: Replicant
• Marvel’s Midnight Suns
• Alien: Isolation
• Cloudpunk
• Spiritfarer
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts 2
• Unpacking
• Planet Coaster

Players are understandably voicing their frustration within PS Plus communities as they’re constantly having to guess what’s leaving. Starting a game and then losing it mid-campaign is certainly annoying, especially for those playing multiple games from the catalogs.

Unfortunately, it looks like this is the new norm, so expect more sudden departures.

The post As Expected, PS Plus Is Losing 4 More Games With Little Notice appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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Lyft’s new price lock feature caps the cost of rides, even during peak hours

Lyft is rolling out a new price lock feature that caps the cost of rides, in an attempt to solve the problem of cost unpredictability for those who rely on the platform for daily commutes. The company says this tool will even work during peak hours, when rides are usually at their most expensive. There are, however, some caveats.

First of all, there’s a required monthly subscription price to use this service, though it’s only $3 per month. There’s also a curious lack of details regarding how exactly the cap works. Does it just average past rides and exclude peak pricing? Is there a limit to just how much can be capped? We reached out to Lyft and will update this post if we hear anything.

Lyft

One thing is certain. Lyft is planning on this feature being a hit. It has suggested that commuters will take 40 percent more rides once the price lock tool becomes commonplace. However, it's worth noting that Lyft is the one that sets the prices in the first place, so it caused the instability that this tool sets out to solve. 

There’s also a promotion to advertise the price lock mechanism: 100 customers who are starting new jobs will receive free “first day” rides. This will be handled via LinkedIn. Just 100 rides? That seems pretty stingy for a company as large as Lyft, but what do I know?

This isn’t the first time Lyft has tried its hand at a subscription-based service. The company’s Pink subscription service has been an on-again/off-again thing for years. This is more or less a bundle of add-ons at this point. Pink stopped offering ride discounts but began offering perks like free priority pickups and three free cancellations per month. This program is still live, at $10 per month or $100 per year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://ift.tt/hkH7ran

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