The Gamers Nation

Thursday, 23 June 2022

Sony Finally Acknowledges PS Plus Classics Performance Issues in Some Regions

Sony has finally acknowledged performance issues plaguing PS Plus classics in regions where players are stuck with PAL versions, promising to offer the superior NTSC option soon. Although this problem has been highlighted multiple times since the revamped service first rolled out in Asia, it wasn’t until yesterday’s launch in Europe that the company released a statement on the matter.

What’s going on with PS Plus classics performance?

As previously explained, the European PAL versions of classic games are being offered in Asia, Europe, Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Unfortunately, these games only support 50Hz making them a stutter-fest especially on the PS5 which supports a minimum of 60Hz. This isn’t a new issue as Sony’s older PAL games have always been a step below NTSC and Japanese versions quality and performance wise.

The tweet below is good news then because we’re finally going to get our money’s worth out of PS Plus Premium/Deluxe.

We’re planning to roll out NTSC options for a majority of classic games offered on the PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe plan in Asia, Europe, Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand regions. More PlayStation Plus info: https://t.co/KkPZyUdUd7

— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) June 23, 2022

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the NTSC options will become available but now that the new PS Plus has been rolled out everywhere, here’s hoping that the performance issues plaguing the beloved classics are on the list of priorities.

As always, we’ll update our non-US readers when the NTSC option becomes available.

In other news, Alien Isolation developer Creative Assembly finally unveiled its long-rumored first-person shooter and it didn’t exactly excite. And Sony has confirmed that PlayStation won’t be making an appearance at this year’s Gamescom, with fans hoping this means that a new State of Play is on its way.

The post Sony Finally Acknowledges PS Plus Classics Performance Issues in Some Regions appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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TikTok's big-screen app lands on Vizio TVs

TikTok users now have another way to catch up on their For You page. The app is available on Vizio smart TVs starting today and you'll be able to watch TikTok TV content directly from the home screen.

The app, which landed on smart TVs from the likes of Samsung and LG last November, reworks the TikTok experience for big-screen viewing. TikTok TV features popular videos from categories including gaming, comedy, food and animals. If you have a TikTok account, you can log in to view videos from your Following and For You feeds. The app has an autoplay feature as well, so you'll be able to watch an endless string of TikToks without interruption if you wish.

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‘Near-Impossible’ No Man’s Sky Switch Port Coming October 7

Hello Games is bringing massive spacefaring sim No Man’s Sky and most of its updates from the past six years to Switch on October 7, the company announced this morning. A physical edition of the complete, remastered PlayStation 5 version is also planned for the same day.

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Nothing's transparent Phone 1 won't be coming to North America

Nothing's debut Phone 1 smartphone won't be coming to the US, the company confirmed to PCMag. "While we’d love to bring Phone 1 to the entire community around the world, we're focusing on home markets, including the UK and Europe," the company said in a statement. However, it added that "a limited number of our private community investors" could get one in the US through a closed beta program.

Nothing showed off the device for the first time last week on Twitter following a tease by founder Carl Pei. The most noticeable feature is a transparent back, revealing a wireless charging coil and a mysterious pattern that lights up. The company has also promised "an open and diverse product ecosystem" and the pure Android Nothing OS.

The company further explained that "it takes a lot to launch a smartphone... from ensuring the handset is supported by the country's cellular technologies to carrier partnerships and local regulation, and as we're still a young brand we need to be strategic about it." Even folks in the closed beta program are likely to have issues with coverage and a lack of support of features like voice over LTE, according to PCMag. A similar disclosure was given by Nothing when the first 100 phones went up for bid on StockX.

Still, Nothing does have North American ambitions. "We have big plans to launch a US supported smartphone in the future," the company wrote. The Nothing Phone 1 is set to debut in London on July 12th — you can catch it via a livestream if you RSVP in advance.

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The Morning After: Cryptocurrency may be more centralized than you thought

One of the boons of cryptocurrency is meant to be that no particular company, central bank or government has control. Er, right?

That might not be true. Researchers for a report commissioned by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) found there can be "unintended centralities" in these supposed decentralized systems.

Cryptocurrency power is concentrated among people or organizations with a large chunk of the pie. Almost like any other capitalist system? Gasp.

"Unintended centralities" was the term used, defined as circumstances where an entity has sway over a so-called decentralized system. This could give them the opportunity to tamper with records of ownership. The report also notes three ISPs handle 60 percent of all bitcoin traffic.

The report said 21 percent of nodes are running an old, vulnerable version of the core bitcoin client. Attackers could target these nodes and take over the majority of a blockchain network. Theoretically, at least. But there have been plenty of cryptocurrency attacks in the last few years. Nothing wrong with some skepticism.

Real-life examples already exist: Read CNBC’s report on lending platform Solend. It’s had issues with one major account holder wielding influence over the entire platform.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Proteus is Amazon's first fully autonomous warehouse robot

Amazon has also introduced a new robotic arm at its fulfillment centers.

It’s an imposing name for Amazon’s first autonomous warehouse robot, but it still looks like an industrial Roomba. Proteus can move around Amazon's facilities on its own while carrying carts full of packages. The company said the robot uses an "advanced safety, perception and navigation technology," so it can do its work without getting in the way of human employees.

Continue reading.

Microsoft will phase out facial recognition AI that could detect emotions

The move comes as Microsoft pushes for more responsible uses of AI.

Microsoft will "retire" facial recognition technology it said could infer emotions as well as characteristics like age, gender and hair. The AI raised privacy questions, Microsoft said, and offering a framework created the potential for discrimination and other abuses. There was also no clear consensus on the definition of emotions.

Continue reading.

New Philips Hue smart lights include its first portable rechargeable smart lamp

Signify has also launched a new sunrise effect for Philips Hue lights.

Signify (the company responsible for Hue lighting) has introduced a bunch of new Philips Hue smart lighting products, including its first portable rechargeable lamp designed for both indoors and outdoors. The Philips Hue Go portable table lamp has a silicone grip so you can take it with you wherever you go. It can last for up to 48 hours on a single charge. The lamp will be available by the end of summer for $160 in the US and £130 in the UK. The company has new sunrise lighting effects, brighter downlights and even a new floor lamp. For all your smart lighting desires, read on.

Continue reading.

The best smart displays you can buy

Plus our advice on how to choose one.

Smart displays are the second-wave devices born out of the success of the Amazon Echo, Google Home and other smart speakers. Adding visual and tactile components to what were once devices you could only bark orders at makes them more functional and intriguing. Amazon and Google dominate the space, and we’ve just updated our guide to buying a smart display, and we have opinions!

Continue reading.

NASA finally succeeds with its Artemis 1 wet launch test

It has fully fueled the Space Launch System for the first time.

NASA encountered a couple of issues while conducting the Artemis 1 wet dress rehearsal, but it still checked off a major milestone by the end of the test. The agency was able to fully fuel all the Space Launch System's propellant tanks for the first time and proceed to terminal launch countdown. Wet dress rehearsals are tests that simulate a rocket launch without the rocket actually lifting off.

Continue reading.

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Meta, Microsoft, Epic Games and others join forces to develop metaverse standards

A group of companies, including some of the biggest names in tech and the internet, have banded together to develop interoperability standards needed to achieve an open metaverse. The organization is called Metaverse Standards Forum, and its founding members include Meta, Microsoft, Huawei, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Epic Games, Unity and Adobe. As Reuters notes, one company that's conspicuously missing from the list is Apple. Multiple reports have come come out these past few years that Apple is releasing its own virtual or augmented reality headset, and it's expected to become a major player in the metaverse when the device becomes available.

Yet another big name that's missing from the list is Google, which is also reportedly working on an AR headset codenamed Project Iris. Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go, and Roblox aren't in the list of members, as well. That said, membership is free and open to any organization, so more companies could join later on. As with any standard, one for the metaverse would only be considered a success if companies, especially the biggest players in the industry, adopt them. "Multiple industry leaders have stated that the potential of the metaverse will be best realized if it is built on a foundation of open standards," the forum wrote in its press release.

The group also said that it will focus on "pragmatic, action-based projects." Those include conducting hackathons and working on open-source tools designed to accelerate the testing and adoption of metaverse standards. And while companies can join anytime, members are expected to start forum meetings this July.

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Read This Before You Break Up Over Video Games

Video games provide an opportunity for team building, relaxation, and vicarious experiences you couldn’t have anywhere else, but for couples where one person is more interested in them than the other, video games might only produce the inconvenient question: should we break up? In a relationship, the video game…