Why Ive decided to get a Nintendo Switch 2 instead of a PS5 Readers FeatureGameCentralPublished March 15, 2025 1:00am The Nintendo Switch 2 should be out sometime around June (YouTube)A reader reveals hes never owned a Nintendo console before but is now planning to get a Switch 2 instead of a PlayStation 5.These are strange times for just about everything at the moment and while it seems wrong to compare video games to serious world events it feels like the problems are all the same: an overall sense that everythings going in the wrong direction and things we know to be good are being abandoned for no sensible reason.Ill keep my comments limited to video games though and say that I dont like the direction Microsoft or Sony are going at the moment. Sony hasnt done anything to show its given up on live service games (Sony hasnt done anything, period, all year so far) and Microsoft is still running around like a headless chicken.I dont really care about Microsoft because I havent owned an Xbox console since the Xbox 360, but I really dont like where theyre going with AI at the moment. Especially as we got that leak about Sonys AI plans this week as well and, as usual, it was all just about doing artists out of their jobs. I dont own a PlayStation 5 either, just a PlayStation 4, but I was considering getting one. But now I think Ill just go with a Nintendo Switch 2 instead.My filthy secret is that I have never owned a Nintendo console. Ive had them in the house, when borrowing them or when people have brought round their portables, but for one reason or another Ive never actually owned one. I did mean to get around to the Switch but obviously theres no point doing that now, especially when the Switch 2 is backwards compatible.Im in my 40s now so Im not Nintendos target audience, certainly not for things like Kirby and Animal Crossing and whatever (see, I know all the names!) but I am interested in trying Zelda and Metroid and maybe Fire Emblem. The good thing about having never had one of their consoles before is that Ive got so much new stuff open to me, so Im thinking that even if I dont like a lot of it at least itll be fun finding out.Also, there seems a good chance the Switch 2 is going to be able to play a lot of current and last gen games, so its not like Id be stuck only with unfamiliar Nintendo franchises. We already know Microsoft is going to be all over it and if the console is going to be as big as people think I would imagine more or less every publisher will want to be involved.I hear it might be expensive, but thats okay because Id put money aside for the PlayStation 5. Im at a point where I want to see something different and I really liked Nintendos attitude to AI, where they just came out and said theyre not interested and theyre not going to do it.Microsoft and Sony are so corporate nowadays, with not even an attempt to pretend they care about gaming, that its really putting me off. I know theres plenty of good games on their systems, by people that do still care, but I cant shake the feeling.More TrendingA change is as good as a rest they say, and since I dont want to give up on gaming and I certainly dont want to get a PC Ill give the Switch 2 a go. I cant imagine any way in which it would be worse than a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.By reader NeosquashTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5videoUp NextThe readers features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you wont need to send an email.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

By Florence Ion Published March 14, 2025 | Comments (5) | Say goodbye to the Google Assistant. It's all Gemini now, all the time. Florence Ion / Gizmodo Google announced Friday that the Google Assistant is no longer for this world. The company plans to transition most Android devices to Gemini instead. This includes phones, tablets, devices that connect to your phone, headphones, and even the Assistant in the car. The only devices spared will be those limited to 2GB of RAM or that arent on a compatible version of Android. This is the first official declaration from Google that the Google Assistant is on its way out, but its not like we werent expecting it. Gemini is already the default experience on most mainstream Android devices, including Google, Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, and overseas brands. Google also insists that millions of people have already made the switch, though I would challenge them on how many people did so willingly. I did not, for instance, want to make the change initially. I only acquiesced because I realized I had to evolve with the times if I was going to keep writing about smartphones. Im triste about this, because this transition from the Google Assistant to Googles Gemini AI has been messy. Watching Google slowly nerf how Ive trained myself to interact with my smart home and other Google-led devices has been devastating. Im thinking about my precious dongle barely holding on in my old car. But Im also thinking about the Lenovo smart clock I use to wake up every morning and shut off the lights each night. Ive contacted Google and the manufacturers of these devices to see what they recommend. I suspect a ton of disappointment expressed in forum posts across the internet as people realize their Google Assistant devices will become paperweights. Who even has paper to hold down anymore? Gemini is a better digital assistant in many ways. It is much more conversational, and you can use it with yourself to talk out thoughts and whatnot. I recently shared a 15-minute video with my colleague that I took of Gemini and me having a back-and-forth about something I was researching. Gemini didnt net the best results at the end of thatit made me cry a little out of frustration. But I did realize through that experience that the assistants we knew of with the Google Assistant and even Apples Siri are undergoing the next evolution. Digital assistants were always supposed to be more conversational, personal, and interactive. And now that Gemini has achieved it, Google is ready to roll it out.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Thomas Maxwell Published March 14, 2025 By Florence Ion Published March 13, 2025 By Florence Ion Published March 13, 2025 By Jorge Jimenez Published March 12, 2025 By Florence Ion Published March 12, 2025 By Florence Ion Published March 11, 2025

The team behind the delightfully chaotic recent run of Maxs Looney Tunes Cartoons led by director Pete Browngardt have pulled off a masterful bombastic featright under the nose of a real-life Judge Doom behind an exec deskwith the triumphant The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. Believe it or not the film is actually the legendary cartoons first fully animated theatrical feature, and it gives us its all in a sci-fi adventure comedy starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Eric Bauza pulls double duty in a fantastic turn as the odd-couple duo; Candi Milo co-stars as Petunia Pig, a young flavor scientist who gets roped into finding out why aliens have suddenly decided to invade Earth. Youll leave the film wanting more Petunia power and presence in the franchise. The plot harkens back to those retro 50s style invasion films like The Blob or Invasion of the Body Snatchers but with that slapstick Looney Tunes vibe. Here Daffy and Porky find themselves trying to keep their home while going through job after job that theyre just no good at. Right when theyre hired at a chewing gum factory, an extraterrestrial goo accidentally gets into the mass produced gums recipeand soon threatens the worlds very existence. Suddenly, everyone who has chewed it becomes part of an alien hive mind except for Daffy, Porky, and Petunia. Together they team up to take on the threat to the planet in only the very silly ways you could imagine the Looney Tunes would pull. As Looney Tunes fans will immediately notice, theres no Bugs Bunny or Tweety here to carry the movie, and its all the better for it. Porky, Daffy, and Petunia are the heart of the film and offer proof that you can take any of the Looney Tunes from their concentric circle portal 2D world and they can star in their own vehicles. While other efforts within the franchise place the focus on the characters as CG versions of themselves alongside the distraction of celebrity or sports stars and product placements, thats not the case here thankfully. While the film follows a standard cinematic arc over the sketches the Tunes are known for, theres plenty of gags that homage their style of classic comedy. Thats particularly seen in the absurdity of Farmer Jim, a fatherly character who apes the warm, deep-voiced kindly dads from that other studios animated fare; he exists in a flashback where he takes in Porky and Daffy. I dont want to say more because its specifically a set up that works best visually. Seriously, that along with a few other gags really hit the spot in the film making The Day the Earth Blew Up a non-stop ride of delightful nonsense. Ketchup Entertainment The Day the Earth Blew Up made me so nostalgic for those cartoon films weve been missing and you can see the love put in every frame by the Looney Tunes team. This version of the Tunes truly succeeds where The Looney Tunes Show (a series from the early 2010s that put the characters in suburbia) failed. Even though here we start with Daffy and Porky in a domestic setting, their familiar personalities have not been taken over by sitcom tropes or modern comedy sensibilities. Instead, they are true to their iconic archetypesbut theyre given the Bob Clampett treatment of being pushed from normal situational circumstances, like a lack of employment due to Daffys daftness and Porkys shyness, and discovering their job is in fact to save the world by being who they are. And thats what needed from these gold standard characters as they move into their next era of stories.We hope Warner Bros. doesnt forget that and it considers releasing Coyote vs. Acme. The live-action and animation hybrid film still sits on a shelf in a sort of purgatory where it hasnt been deletedbut with no apparent plans to share it with audiences. And its such as shame as it was praised by filmmakers (including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verses Lord and Miller) and insiders who got to see it during the period it was seemingly being shopped around. Fans were left feeling like there was no good reason for the studio to write off a perfectly good movie starring the WBs global cartoon icons. Perhaps the release of The Day the Earth Blew Up, a uniquely authentic, fully 2D animated Looney Tunes classic in the making, will remind audiences of the magic of the art style within the medium and make more room for it once more. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is in theaters now. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Researchers who were curious about when ancient Europeans travelled to Africa followed the DNA. The route they discovered didnt just track migration it revealed pockets of resistance to the Neolithic revolution, as well as signs of sea-faring derring-do. A Societal ShiftDuring that period, starting around 12,000 years ago, societies started shifting from hunter-gatherers to farming. But not all of them. Most farmers from Anatolia (present-day Turkey) went on the move around 7,500 years ago, with a general westward shift from the Fertile Crescent to present-day Europe and the Mediterranean region. The DNA of those migrating farmers is still highly represented in the European population today.But a study in Nature shows that there were holdouts. Archeological data doesnt indicate signs of agriculture in the Maghreb (the Northwest portion of Africa that now contains Morocco until about 3,000 years ago around 7,000 years later than in the Fertile Crescent and about 5,000 years after North Africa. The new genetic data matched that Maghreb gap perfectly, to the point that Giulio Lucarini, an archaeologist with Italy's National Research Council and an author of the paper, jumped out of his chair when he read the genetic testing results.Genetic ConfirmationIt was a 'told you so' moment when I read the email with the genetic testing results, says Lucarini. Archaeological data collected by me and some of my colleagues in the Maghreb and Cyrenaica, Libya, has been demonstrating this for years, and now there was also genetic evidence to support it.The nine genetic samples used in the study came from three Neolithic burial sites in Tunisia and one in Algeria. Some Tunisian samples suggest traces of European ancestry the first genetic link showing that Europeans crossed the Mediterranean Sea.Early Evidence of Sea-FaringRock fragments discovered at one of the burial sites also strongly suggest a crossing since they appear native to a volcanic island in the Strait of Sicily. No archeological evidence of boats has been found in the area, but there is other evidence of sea-faring Sicilians, as well as 7,000-year-old dugout canoes found in Italys Lake Bracciano. Both are pieces of evidence that show crossings were possible.The combination of genetic and archeological evidence shows that civilizations spread and transformation is both more complicated and more fascinating than previously thought.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

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Destruction Technical Artist Micah Berninghausen, whoseprocedural interior generator and Star Wars-themed Nanite-based destruction demo weve featured in the past, is currently working on a sandbox game where you can play as a giantess and do some epic real-time destructions in the city or just observe beneath and from a helicopter.As he shared, this system involves 500 objects tracked by the CPU and an unknown number of GPU particles, which interact with one another, creating complete chaos. This is further amplified by procedural sound effects triggered by the movement of objects and their material properties, enhancing the immersion. Micah also mentioned hed like the lady to have the ability to reach through buildings and grab the viewer, taking this experience to the next level.Follow Micah onX/Twitter for development updates and other cool projects, and visit the GiantessPlaygrounds X/Twitter page to learn more.Also, dont forget to join our 80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Watch Giant Fox Lady Unleash Havoc On The City In Unreal Engine 5 appeared first on CG SHARES.

If you play King of Avalon, you might recognize this girl from the games poster. However, she is slightly different in Shin Aes 3D recreation, but you can finally look at her from various angles.The Winter Girl was inspired by Chunyu Wangs concept art and brought to life using ZBrush, 3ds Max, Substance 3D Painter, Marvelous Designer, Ornatric, and Marmoset Toolbag.Like in the original, she has a cute furry friend with her, hiding in her clothes. The girl looks absolutely gorgeous and might even convince you to play the game.Ae doesnt have many projects in their ArtStation portfolio, but you can still see the progress in the works.Follow the artist and join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post 3D Recreation of Pretty Character with Cute Companion from King of Avalon appeared first on CG SHARES.

PlayStation's steadily growing library of PC ports don't receive meaningful discounts all that often, but many games in the publisher's catalog are included in Steam's annual Spring Sale. A bunch of titles are on sale for 50% off, including The Last of Us Part 1, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. But if you're interested in picking up a PlayStation PC game or two, you'll want to head over to Fanatical instead. The digital storefront, which is a GameSpot sister site, is offering Steam keys for PlayStation games for even lower prices than buying directly from Steam. See all PlayStation Studios PC Game Deals PlayStation PC Game DealsDeath Stranding: Director's Cut -- $16.39 ($40)Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut -- $43.19 ($60)God of War -- $18 ($50)God of War: Ragnarok -- $43.19 ($60)God of War: Ragnarok Digital Deluxe -- $50.39 ($70)Helldivers 2 -- $28.79 ($40)Helldivers 2 Super Citizen Edition -- $43.19 ($60)Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered -- $36 ($50)Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition -- $36 ($60)The Last of Us Part 1 -- $27 ($60)The Last of Us Part 1 Digital Deluxe -- $31.49 ($70)The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered -- $45 ($50) | Releases April 3Lego Horizon Adventures -- $35.39 ($50)Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered -- $27 ($60)Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales -- $22.49 ($50)Marvel's Spider-Man 2 -- $54 ($60)Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Digital Deluxe -- $63 ($70)Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart -- $27 ($60)Returnal -- $27 ($60)Sackboy: A Big Adventure -- $21.59 ($60)Silent Hill 2 -- $36.39 ($70)Silent Hill 2 Digital Deluxe -- $41.59 ($80)Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection -- $18 ($50)Until Dawn -- $40.19 ($50)Most of the deals are for games published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. For instance, you can get Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, or The Last of Us Part 1, and Returnal for $27 each. Older PlayStation exclusives such as God of War and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection are discounted to just $18. For a co-op game for the whole family, check out Sackboy: A Big Adventure for $21.59.God of War / Ratchet & Clank / Returnal / Horizon Zero DawnNot all of Fanatical's discounts eclipse 50%. Newer ports like God of War: Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition are $43.19 and $36, respectively. Until Dawn, which released on PC in October, is on sale for $40.19--five bucks less than Steam's price. One rare exception to the rule that Fanatical is cheaper for PlayStation PC games is Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut: it's $43.19 at Fanatical and $40.19 on Steam.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Although Assassin's Creed Shadows won't be available through Xbox Game Pass, at least at launch, there will be a perk for subscribers. Game Pass Ultimate members who purchase Shadows will have have the ability to play the game through Xbox Cloud Gaming.Microsoft just revealed this feature as part of its stream your own game perk for Ultimate tier subscribers. However, this only applies to digital copies of games, not physical ones. "Stream your own game" is different than Xboxs own Play Anywhere program, which gives players both native Windows PC and Xbox versions of games if they purchase either one.A new addition to the "Stream your own game" library is emerging from the darkness soon.Stay on your toes for @assassinscreed Shadows: https://t.co/6A8eWomFeR pic.twitter.com/eV93KrvpN4 Xbox (@Xbox) March 14, 2025 Certain games in the Game Pass library can be streamed, but not all of them. If a game leaves Game Pass, it can normally no longer be streamed even if it's been purchased. That makes this feature particularly useful, although it remains unclear how widely it will be supported. Some other games that are part of the "stream your own game" feature are Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Gohan has always been Dragon Ball'sbiggest wild card. Unlike Goku, whose entire life revolves around fighting and getting stronger, he has never been obsessed with strength. Yet, whenever the need arises, he almost always manages to outpace his father. Whether it's a spontaneous explosion of rage or an absurdly powerful transformation, he has had several moments where he's left Goku in the dust.