Nintendo not only succeeded in adapting its largest property to the big screen, it soared to new heights by making The Super Mario Bros. Movie the highest-grossing film to ever be based on a video game. However, The Legend of Zelda is the company's next challenge in film adaptation, and it may not be as easy to get right.

Modern God of War is defined by several factors, not the least of which being its radical shift away from Greece and into the realms of the Nordic gods. In retrospect, this was a rather elegant creative choice by Santa Monica Studios, introducing a slew of interesting new ideas to the God of War lore while also ensuring that this distinct chapter of the franchise doesn't retread old ground.

By TREVOR HOGGImages courtesy of Netflix.The reliance on visual effects surpassed what Anthony and Joe Russo had previously done in the MCU.Even though the term retro-future is nothing new, Swedish artist and musician Simon Stlenhag has been able to create a unique vision where discarded technology is scattered across vast landscapes situated in an alternative universe. His illustrations and accompanying narratives have captured the attention of filmmakers such as Nathaniel Halpern with Tales from the Loop for Prime Video and siblings Anthony and Joe Russo with TheElectric State for Netflix, which they spent seven years developing. The latter revolves around the aftermath of a robot uprising where an orphaned teenager goes on a cross-country journey to find her lost brother. The human cast consists of Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Ke Huy Quan and Jason Alexander. At the same time, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Alan Tudyk, Hank Azaria and Colman Domingo voiced the many mechanical co-stars.Simon Stlenhags original artwork electrified us, producer/ director Anthony Russo remarks. Its this strange feeling of familiarity in what hes drawn and also strangeness. Its a historical period that you can recognize whether or not you lived through it, but its not exactly what that period was. There are elements from the 1990s. The story is a parable, producer/director Joe Russo notes. Its less about nostalgia than it is about the idea that technology could have developed faster and maybe deviated humanity from its main path. That was the fun part, thinking through those little elements that allowed us to create a new interpretation of the 1990s. The story taps into the present-day fears of AI usurping its human creators. Part of what we want to do is explore the fact that you can find humanity in technology and inhumanity in humans, states Anthony Russo. We have both of those experiences in our lives and world. Joe and I are technologists. We use technology throughout our lives to tell stories, but at the same time, we all know that technology is powerful and can cause problems, whether the nuclear bomb or social media. Its us recognizing the complex relationship that we all have with technology as human beings.A complex sequence to execute was 20-foot Herman carrying a Volkswagen campervan containing Michelle, Keats and Cosmo on his shoulder.Determining how the robots would be created and executed was a major topic of discussion as they are 80% of the cast. This istrue for all of our projects when youre dealing with a fantasy world that needs to be created from whole cloth that doesnt exist, states Anthony Russo. The methodology used to create that is always a question. It is driven by how Joe and I see the movie. What are we trying to achieve? What do we want to do with the scenes? How do we want to stage things? How do we want the actors to interact with other characters in the movie who may not be played on the screen by physical actors? These all become questions in terms of what is the right methodology to use to create the film. We were involved with our Visual Effects Supervisor, Matthew Butler, to determine the proper methodologies. Because there are so many characters in it that dont exist in reality, we had to rely upon visual effects to create a huge portion of the film.Dennis Gassner and Richard Johnson, who consulted robotic companies, shared production designer duties. I was in charge of making a real walking and moving Cosmo, states Production Designer Richard Johnson. I had to go to every robotics company in the world that would listen to me. The immediate refrain was. The head is a deal-breaker. It throws him immediately out of balance. If you look at all of the real robots that are popping up on the Internet today, they all have tiny heads. The other limiting factor was height. They were all in the zone of 5 7 or less. I now know more about real robots than I ever expected to know my entire life! The robots had to be distinct in their own right. We felt the robots with more screen time needed to be more iconic-looking, so we looked at iconic products or services or things from the last two, three or four decades. Mr. Peanut is very well-known brand name. We thought, He could be a robot. Baseball player. Very iconic. Be a robot.The drones went through a major design change where the heads resemble neurocasters and had a screen that projected the face of the pilot.The drones went through a major design change where the heads resemble neurocasters and had a screen that projected the face of the pilot.Inspiring the imagery was Swedish artist-musician Simon Stlenhag, who has developed a retro-tech and alternative-world visual aesthetic.Digital Domain was responsible for the shot in which Michelle, Keats, Herman and Cosmo are captured and taken into a mall that has become a communal place for exiled robots.Wireframe pass of Herman taking Keats (Chris Pratt) for a ride.Animation pass of Herman taking Keats (Chris Pratt) for a ride.Final composite pass of Herman taking Keats (Chris Pratt) for a ride.Approximately 2,000 visual effects shots are in the final film, with Digital Domain and ILM being the main vendors, followed by Storm Studios, One of Us, Lola VFX and an in-house team.Were not in a world of magic, observes Visual Effects Supervisor Matthew Butler. The idea is that these robots were often designed to make us feel comfortable about them serving us. I fought tooth and nail to put in little piston rod push-pulls and things that could justify that Cosmo could actually move. If we designed a particular ball joint or cylindrical actuator or pitch actuator, we made sure that the motion of these robots was restricted to what that could do. Artistic license was taken with the original design by Simon Stlenhag. I wanted Cosmos eyes to have some emotion. Rather than be just a painted pupil as in the book, we made a smoked glass lens for the pupil that you can see behind it that there is a camera. Artistically, we let those eyes have a gratuitous green light to them. Now, you have a twinkle of an eye and can get emotion into that eye. That was another tricky thing. It was about getting enough emotion into them without breaking the silhouette of the design of the robots that we needed to adhere to that was hard, Butler says.Keatss (Chris Pratt) robot sidekick, Herman, comes in different sizes. It was always the Russian doll thing where the one size smaller fits into the one size bigger, Butler remarks. We did honor the style and personality but not at the expense of physics. Mostof the movie is four-foot Herman with Anthony Mackies [vocal] and Martin Klebbas [mocap] performances. Its also coming out of the script. Hes this sarcastic character. I love his personality, and it came through extremely well. Herman borrowed the power extension cable for his devices and forgot to return it. Meanwhile, all of Keats food in the fridge has gone bad. Herman has messed up, and hes like a guilty teenager shuffling around on the couch, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Keats because hes this busted little kid. That character is amazing, and it carries through the movie well. Chris Pratt was perfect for this, and it works so well for the two of them. Its most peoples favorite relationship in the movie.Remnants from the robot rebellion are scattered throughout the landscapes.Following the example of animated features, Lead Storyboard Artist Darrin Denlinger storyboarded and assembled the entire film into an animatic. I had a version of the movie before we started shooting, or close to when we started shooting, that was a layout, states Jeffrey Ford, Executive Producer and Editor. It had all the storyboards cut together in sequence with sound, music and subtitles instead of dialogue. I used that as a layout to guideus throughout production so we knew roughly how scenes would play out. Of course, things change on the day; actors re-block the scenes. The amount of footage captured surpassed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Ford explains, This film that had to be made multiple times because when you deal withanimated characters carrying this much weight dramatically, those performances are created in passes. You may shoot a proxy pass where Millie interacts with Cosmo, and its a motion capture actor. Then you may shoot a pass where she is interacting with nothing. We might go back and shoot that same performance on the mocap stage multiple times. We may end up with various iterations of those visual effects as they come in over the months. An enormous number of iterations go on, and when you do that, you generate enormous amounts of footage.Atlanta doubled as the American Southwest. Tumbleweeds and sagebrush, the basic things a person sees in the Southwest, do not exist in Atlanta or anywhere near there, Johnson notes. We had to fill several trucks with all that stuff and bring it into Atlanta. Parts of Atlanta have not changed for years. Through the cameras eye, if you wanted to say that it was the 1970s or 1980s, it waseasy because nobody had built modern or contemporary homes in those neighborhoods for whatever reason. The same thing happened when selecting the locations for the battles in the city. If you put in the right period of car, voil! Youre in that era. A question that had to be answered was where exiled robots responsible for the uprising would live. The X was in the script and is a large area in the Southwest. Where would these guys go? A country club? A department store? Football stadium? We landed on a shopping mall. It dawned on me one day that the only reason they would go to a place like this is to recharge themselves or maybe for repairs. Thats why in the shopping mall, you see a lot of wires, batteries and charging stations.Remnants from the robot rebellion are scattered throughout the landscapes.It was imperative for believability that Hermans movements be grounded in real physics.Approximately 2,000 visual effects shots are in the final film, with Digital Domain and ILM being the main vendors, followed by Storm Studios, One of Us, Lola VFX and an in-house team.Lighting played a key role in seamlessly integrating live-action Michelle with CG Cosmo.Humans become more robotic because of their addiction to the neurocaster, which can transmit ideas and feelings via a virtual network.Along with the final battle, which is almost entirely synthetic apart from the Keatss interaction with the grass, a virtual meeting occurs between antagonists Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) and Colonel Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito). Its where Ethan pitches the Colonel to go into the X to get Cosmo back, Butler recalls. Bradbury puts on the neurocaster and teleports into this virtualenvironment that takes place in this beautiful mountain lake scene. Skate is standing in the middle of the lake while Bradbury is on terra firma and gently steps out to have a conversation with him. Production didnt go to Norway. Its just a couple of guys and girls from Storm Studios [located in Oslo] with some backpacks hiking out into some beautiful locations in the summer for reference. We had a shallow pool with plexiglass an inch under the surface so we could have Stanley and Giancarlo stand in the water. The only thing that we kept was the little bit of interaction of water locally right at their feet while the rest was digital water. The ripples needed to come out and propagate out into the lake as it would for real. Its absolutely stunning work.The hardest shot to execute was when Cosmo, Herman, Keats and Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) have been captured andare escorted into the mall. They walk into this forecourt and finally see that the whole mall is filled with robots, Ford recalls. That shot was incredibly hard and took us months to do. The only things in that shot are Chris Pratt, Millie Bobby Brown and an empty mall. I drew maps of each frame, and we did a whole progression. We talked about where the different robots were, what they were doing, what their day was like, where they were going next and why they were moving in a certain way. We wanted it to feel like a real city. If you were to block out extras, those people would all come up with all of their mini-stories, and they would work it out. But we didnt have that. We had to figure it all out as animators. It was fun but brutal. Digital Domain did an incredible job on it. I hope people will stop and rewind the shot because its beautifully detailed and feels completely real.

By CHRIS McGOWANThe Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts. (Image courtesy of Tisch School of the Arts)As far as VFX education, we are constantly seeing new pieces of software and technology being implemented into the pipeline. That is something we are always grappling with when it comes to learning, says Professor Flip Phillips of The School of Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Each VFX and animation school explores the implementation of new tech differently, such as virtual production and AI.The film and media industry is experiencing a significant shift toward LED stages and virtual production technologies, fundamentally changing how stories are told and content is created, comments Patrick Alexander, Department Head at Ringling College Film Program. Real-time visualization capabilities, combined with the seamless integration of physical and digital elements, provide creators with unprecedented creative control and production efficiency. At Ringling College, weve recognized this industry transformation by installing LED walls this semester and are actively developing a series of virtual production courses. From our campus in Sarasota, Florida, we can now create entire worlds and environments once thought impossible to achieve, enabling students to realize their creative visions in real-time. This curriculum development paired with our new technology will prepare students for the rapidly evolving production land-scape, where virtual production technologies enhance creative possibilities while maintaining the fundamental principles of cinematic craft.The Savannah College of Art and Design has two full-size LED volume stages. (Image courtesy of SCAD)We have a soundstage in the MAGIC Center that houses a 32 x 16 LED wall, and the center provides technical support for motion capture, camera tracking, virtual art department and real-time in-camera visual effects. Having the opportunity to see and work with a virtualproduction stage is a great asset for our graduates.Professor Flip Phillips, The School of Film and Animation, Rochester Institute of TechnologyRIT has worked to ensure our students have experience working in virtual production before they leave our campus,Phillips states. We have a soundstage in the MAGIC Centerthat houses a 32 x 16 LED wall, and the center provides technical support for motion capture, camera tracking, virtual art department and real-time in-camera visual effects. Having the opportunity to see and work with a virtual production stage is a great asset for our graduates.To meet the growing emphasis on LED stages and virtual production, Vancouver Film School is launching a VP course alongside Pixomondo in 2025 to meet the industry needs in this area, says Colin Giles, Head of The School for Animation & VFX at Vancouver Film School. The 12-week certificate program will teach the fundamentals of content creation for virtual production in VFX.NYUs Tisch School of the Arts has opened the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, made possible by a major donationfrom the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundations by Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and filmmaker George Lucas. The facility features two 3,500-square-foot double-height, column-free virtual production stages, with motion capture and VP technology outfitted by Vicon and Lux Machina, and two 1,800-square-foot television studios and state-of-the-art broadcast and control rooms.Savannah College of Art and Design has two full-size LED volume stages where students can get their hands on Mandalorian-style production techniques, as well as classes in virtual production, photogrammetry and real-time lighting, according to Gray Marshall, Chair of Visual Effects at SCAD. We have even launched a multidisciplinary minor in virtual production, bringing visual effects, production design and film students together to create complete and inventive in-camera VFX projects.Working at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. (Image courtesy of SVA)A VR session at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. (Image courtesy of SVA)The amount of class time devoted to AI is also rapidly growing. Educational institutions have a unique opportunity to learn fromindustry standards and histories while pushing the boundaries through emerging technologies, notes Jimmy Calhoun, Chair of BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Our students understand this responsibility. Theyre not only exploring the potential of AI but also reflecting on its impact on their rights as artists, the future of their mentors jobs and the environment.SCADs Marshall comments, AI is the most exciting trend in VFX since the advent of the computer itself. AI has already found itself ingrained in many aspects of our day-to-day tools and will continue to do so. It also creates new opportunities to rapidly try ideas, modify them and get stimulated in new directions, but it is still all under your control. Yes, there are some challenges to be faced, both regarding IP and resource utilization, but those can be worked out. I am not one of those who feels well lose jobs.Marshall continues, I watched as computers displaced some older-style workers, only for a whole new style of artist to emerge in greater numbers, driving greater demands for their services. Computers have always been good at replacing repetitive jobs, and I dont think losing that class of jobs will be a loss. Since the basic premise of AI-generated images is to aggregate toward the middle ground, if youre concerned it will take your creative job, I wouldnt be. If you are truly creative, then AI isnt an exit ramp, its a launch ramp.Virtual production at the Savannah College of Art and Design. (Image courtesy of SCAD)Currently, I think there are two groups of educators that I am seeing when it comes to AI, says RITs Phillips. There is one group that is hesitant to adopt AI into their curriculum due to the lack of knowledge of how it could benefit them and their students, and another group that sees the benefits of using AI to make the VFX pipeline more efficient. I am part of the latter group. I have seen many use cases for AI to allow me and my students to deal with problems that are tedious or inefficient. There will be manymore beneficial situations for AI in the VFX field, but we still have to be mindful of the ethical issues that arise.We embrace emerging technologies like AI as valuable tools to be utilized when appropriate, notes Christian Huthmacher, Professor, The Department of Motion Design, specializing in VFX at Ringling College of Art and Design. In our Visual Effects courses, students are introduced to cutting-edge tools such as The Foundrys CopyCat and Topaz AI. However, our approach goes beyond merely teaching technical proficiency. We engage students in critical discussions about the ethical considerations, potential biases and security implications surrounding AI usage. By addressing these complex topics, we ensure our students are uniquely equipped to navigate the evolving landscape of AI in the industry.On an XR Stage at the Savannah School of Art and Design. (Image courtesy of SCAD)We are embracing [AI] when it makes sense, says Ria Ambrose Benard, Director/Senior Educational Administrator at The Rookies Academy (formerly Los Boys Studios). Tools are being created to help artists with the mundane portion of the job and offer more time for the more difficult and rewarding shots. Much like spell check, it is a tool people use regularly, and sometimesit is great, but sometimes it is not. AI is a tool that can be utilized correctly. Its not always the best solution, and often an artist will get better results faster, but it is a tool that can be used in some circumstances to make things easier for the artists.One goal that I always strive for in my classrooms is allowing students to problem-solve using any and all tools available, comments RITs Phillips. I believe this will allow for the industry to continue to evolve and become a place where creativity, design and innovation will help tell the stories in a more unique and beautiful way. Our field is constantly evolving, and that is what makes it exciting. The unknown can be a scary place for some, but I see it as an opportunity to make great strides in VFX.

The developers of Dress to Impress are running a short April Fools Day event that will allow players to get unique items like a flamethrower. The April Fools Day event in Dress to Impress will only be 24 hours. It started at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, April 1, and will finish at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, April 2. After that, you wont be able to access the special April Fools Day-related content. This guide contains all the April Fools Day codes for Dress to Impress and will show you how to complete the quest. All Dress to Impress April Fools Day codesThe developers of Dress to Impress have added two codes to unlock new items in the April Fools Day update. You can use one of them right away without doing the April Fools Day event, but you have to do a scavenger hunt to unlock the other. Here is the code that you can enter and redeem right away:BADDIE4LIFE a pair of stiletto heels that have bows on themHow to get a flamethrower code in Dress to Impress April Fools eventYou need to do a scavenger hunt to discover the flamethrower code in the Dress to Impress April Fools Day event. Each code (and the emoji locations to find each digit in your code) is unique to every player, so we cant give you a one-solution-fits-all guide. However, well explain how to discover your unique code.To start, you must play the normal version of the game (not the Style Showdown mode) and wait until intermission. Once your character is in the lobby, look directly at the leaderboard and you should see five emojis above it. In our game, we got a sparkle emoji, heart emoji, sparkle emoji, blue dress emoji, and sparkle emoji. Yours will be different.You must now walk around and look for the emojis listed you saw above your leaderboard. You can find themIn VIP (its free VIP for the duration of the event)The main dressing sectionThe intermission lobbyEach emoji looks like little clipart stickers that were layered on top of furniture and walls. Some are hidden in some tough-to-spot parts of each area, so make sure you look very carefully.Searching for the hidden emojis can get pretty annoying if youre being interrupted by fashion shows. Because of this, we suggest you enter Freeplay mode to search without the time limits of regular rounds (we were able to find our emojis in Freeplay mode). However, make sure you search your lobby as well since they can be hidden there.When you find an emoji, there will be a number next to it. The number you see corresponds to that emoji in your code. For example, our game showed the sparkle emoji with the number five, the heart emoji with the number three, and the dress emoji with the number two. Once you know which number goes with each emoji, you can deduce your code. Our original string of emojis listed above the leaderboard was sparkle, heart, sparkle, blue dress, and sparkle. When we swapped each emoji out for the number we saw next to it, we got the code 53525. Thats the code we entered to get our flamethrower. Once you figure out your code, enter it using the code redemption menu, and youll have a very fashionable flamethrower to accessorize with. All you need to do is equip it and use it by pressing 1 on your keyboard and youll be flamin hot in no time.

Its the dawn of the final day. On Wednesday, April 2, Nintendo promises to give its fans a closer look at Switch 2, the successor to its wildly popular portable-console hybrid. And while Nintendo is famously secretive and unpredictable, theres a lot we already know about Switch 2.Still, there are many unanswered questions about Switch 2, and Nintendos ability to keep information under wraps and preserve surprises means that what we think we know about the next-generation Switch likely pales in comparison to what this weeks 60-minute Nintendo Direct will reveal.That said, here are our best predictions for the impending Nintendo Direct thats all about Switch 2.Nintendo announces Switch 2 release date, price, and pre-ordersWith the Switch 2 expected to launch as early as June, Nintendo will likely reveal the release date, price, and when customers can pre-order the system. Based on what weve heard, Switch 2 pre-orders should go live at most retailers on April 9, giving Nintendo fans a window to consider their purchases and not have to scramble to pre-order one immediately after the Nintendo Direct. (In some territories, like Nintendos home base in Japan, the Direct wont conclude until late at night.)Switch 2, based on what weve heard, is expected to launch in the first half of June.We expect the price to be somewhere between $399 and $449. Nintendo may be waiting until the very last minute to decide price, which in this economy seems like a tough decision to make.Switch 2s C button mystery revealedNintendo not only added a brand-new button to the Switch 2 Joy-Cons, its been teasing that new C buttons functionality ahead of time on its recently launched Nintendo Today app. What the C button does is still a mystery for now, but all signs point to a new chat tool or community-focused feature.Well find out what the C button is for, officially, on Wednesday. But based on Nintendos increasing fascination with big multiplayer games, and last years Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program, which tested the boundaries of mass multiplayer functionality and gameplay on Nintendos servers, we expect some sort of big, Nintendo-controlled community feature or MMO-scale game to be shown and that would be a great opportunity to showcase the new C button functionality, if it is indeed chat- or community-focused.Switch 2 games, new and oldWere getting a new Mario Kart, thats for sure. But what else Nintendo has planned for Switch 2 is a big mystery. We expect at least one game to show off the Switch 2 Joy-Cons new mouse-control features and probably a new Super Mario game.Nintendo also has to give Switch owners a long list of reasons to upgrade to Switch 2, and the best way to do that is through compelling software. Mario Kart 9 would be a big deal, of course, but we expect Nintendo to show up with a teaser or announcement of at least one other big franchise, like Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., or Splatoon.But Nintendo will also likely showcase how well Switch games run on Switch 2. Maybe the best way to do that would be to show The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom running on Switch 2, at higher resolution and with better frame rates. First details on Switch 2 Edition versions of games will definitely be a talking point.Select third parties show upThird-party software publishers will likely open the floodgates of their back catalogs to bring games from PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X to a new console. But dont expect that flood of ports to be showcased at the Nintendo Direct. Instead, we anticipate that only a handful of major third-party publishers like Capcom, Sega, Microsoft, and Ubisoft will get some space during the Direct to show their support for Switch 2.Nintendo is reportedly being cautious about which third-party developers are getting Switch 2 development kits ahead of launch, but we expect that to change once details about the new system are in the wild.

On Wednesday, April 2, Nintendo will finally host its first Direct entirely dedicated to Nintendo Switch 2. While we all know what the console looks like by now, there are still plenty of questions left for Nintendo to answer (and I'm expecting answers.) Here's what I'm looking out for, and where you can watch the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.The truth is, we really don't know what Nintendo is going to share during Wednesday's Direct. What we know for sure is this: The presentation itself is going to run about 60 minutes. That's a long time for a Nintendo Direct. The company's last presentation on March 27, for example, was just under 37 minutes, which means Nintendo must have quite a bit to share about the Switch 2. But aside from that, Nintendo is tight-lipped about the actual content of its upcoming Direct.What we know about the Switch 2 That said, Nintendo has already shown off quite a bit about the Switch 2. In its original announcement earlier this year, the company unveiled the new hardware, revealing a larger display and console, and a redesigned kickstand that offers steeper angles to play in handheld mode. It also sports two USB-C ports instead of one (the new one is on the top of the console), and the dock now sports a "2," so you know you're playing on the latest Switch. The most noticeable change in the announcement video, perhaps, was the Joy-Cons: These Switch 2 controllers are beefier, with larger shoulder buttons and an adjusted shape. In case you didn't notice those adjustments, you could probably tell these Joy-Cons have a different color design than the originals, as these new controllers are mostly black, with color accents under the joysticks and along the rails. (The Switch 1 Joy-Cons, of course, are the opposite: very colorful, with black rails and accents.) These Joy-Cons connect to the Switch 2 magnetically, as opposed to the slide-rail mechanism of the original console. I'm sure Nintendo will show off more about this functionality tomorrow.The video did confirm a rumor that Nintendo would add a new "C" button to the console, but Nintendo did not elaborate further. What does it do? We simply don't know. We also know that Switch 2 will be backwards-compatible with Switch 1, which gives players a lot of flexibility. Of course, Switch 1 players likely won't be able to play Switch 2 games (though you never know), so the new Mario Kart that Nintendo teased in its announcement might just be a new-console exclusive.What we've learned since the announcementWhile Nintendo confirmed many of the leaks and rumors that had been circulating online for some time, there were still many questions left unanswered. While there are still plenty of unknowns here, we have learned more in the months since the official Switch 2 announcement. In February, a Nintendo patent surfaced showing off a feature that lets you use your Joy-Con as a computer mouse. It seems to track with the Switch 2 announcement video, which shows the new Joy-Cons dragging along a surfacelike a mouse. While Nintendo hasn't publicly acknowledged this functionality yet, it could open up different kinds of gameplay mechanics. (Perhaps we'll have touchscreen-based DS and 3DS game support on Switch 2.) Then, last month, Nintendo submitted a number of filings with the FCC, which revealed three key things about the Switch 2: The new console supports NFC, Wi-Fi 6, and charging via both USB-C ports. What's left to learnIn all, we know a lot here: We know what the console looks like, many of its features, and that there's at least one new game in the works. But there's still plenty to learn. We don't know, for example, the console's true specs yet, nor do we know how powerful it really is. While analysts think the Switch 2 could be significantly more powerful than the original Switch, it's all speculation until Nintendo demos the games the console can run. Will we finally get a Nintendo console to run at 4K (preferably at 60fps)? Speaking of games, what will we actually be able to play on Nintendo's shiny new console? Rumors suggest third-party developers are planning titles including Assassin's Creed, Halo, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, while previously announced first-party Nintendo titles that haven't released yet, like Pokmon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 will likely have a Switch 2 debut. We also don't know about the price. Rumors had suggested a $399 MSRP, which would seem reasonable when compared to the Switch's $299 price tag, but Nintendo hasn't confirmed one way or another. We also don't have an official release date. Hopefully, we will learn all these details tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo has some wild-card announcements to generate buzz for the Switch 2. Could there be a 3D Zelda announcement? Will the company announce high-performance modes for older Switch titles? It's really a guessing game at this point. But it won't be for long.How to watch the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct Nintendo is going to stream live starting at 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, April 2. You can catch the show from Nintendo's official YouTube page.

If you're out and about with your laptop, or just in a different room than your charging cable, you want to eke out as much time as possible before the next rechargeand an important part of that is knowing which apps are draining the battery the quickest.Once you know who the worst offenders are as far as battery drain is concerned, you can do something about it. Maybe you can use the programs in question less often, enable any battery-saving features (if they're available), or uninstall them altogether and switch to less power-hungry alternatives.Take Google Chrome, for instancenot a program known for its light touch on system resources. If you find it's putting a lot of stress on your battery, you can turn on the Energy Saver feature, or perhaps just be more careful about how many tabs you've got open at any one time.Here's how to track down the apps using most battery life on Windows and macOS.Tracking apps on WindowsLoad up the Settings screen from the Start menu, then choose System and Power & Battery. If you click Battery Usage, you'll see how your laptop battery level has dropped over the last 24 hours or the last seven days (open the drop-down menu on the right to switch between the two time periods).Underneath the main graph, you should see a list of the programs that have been responsible for the battery drain over the last day or the last week, with the biggest battery hogs listed at the top. If you can't immediately see an app you want to check up on, scroll down the list or use the search box just above the list. If an app doesn't show up, then it hasn't affected the battery level for the chosen time period. Windows will list apps by battery usage. Credit: Lifehacker The drop-down menu under Sort by lets you order the apps by name rather than by battery usage. You can also choose to see programs based on how much battery life they've used up while in use, while running in the background, or both together (which is probably the most useful metric).With certain apps, you can click the three dots next to them and choose Manage background activity to reduce the demands they place on the battery when they're not being used. This feature is mostly available with native Windows applications, including Notepad and Paint, and will take you to the settings for that app.Tracking apps on macOSOver on macOS, you can start your investigations by clicking on the battery icon on the menu bar up in the top right corner of the screen. This will tell you which of the apps that you currently have open are "using significant energy"so you're most likely going to see your web browser or your video editing software here.Click Battery Settings from the same pop-out dialog and you can see how your MacBook's battery has drained over the last 24 hours or the last 10 days (use the tab switcher just above to change between these two views). You can also turn on Low Power Mode and other battery options (like dimming the screen when on battery power). Head to Activity Monitor on macOS to check battery usage. Credit: Lifehacker What you can't do from this screen is see any more about which apps are using up batterythere's no simple list as there is on Windows. Instead, load up Activity Monitor from Spotlight or the Utilities folder in Finder, then switch to the Energy tab: You get to see which apps are currently using up most battery life, and which have been the most demanding in terms of energy use over the last 12 hours.To limit which apps can run in the background as well as in the foreground on your MacBookwhich again can affect battery lifeyou need to go back to System Settings (via the Apple menu). Open the General tab, then click Login Items & Extensions, and you've got a series of permission toggle switches for all the installed programs that have requested to run in the background.

An Arkansas law requiring social media companies to verify the ages of their users has been struck down by a federal judge who ruled that it was unconstitutional. The decision is a significant victory for the social media companies and digital rights groups that have opposed the law and others like it.Arkansas became the second state (after Utah) to pass an age verification law for social media in 2023. The Social Media Safety Act required companies to verify the games of users under 18 and get permission from their parents. The law was challenged by NetChoice, a lobbying group representing the tech industry whose membership includes Meta, Snap, X, Reddit and YouTube. NetChoice has also challenged laws restricting social media access in Utah, Texas and California.In a ruling, Judge Timothy Brooks said that the law, known as Act 689, was overly broad. Act 689 is a content-based restriction on speech, and it is not targeted to address the harms the State has identified, Brooks wrote in his decision. Arkansas takes a hatchet to adults and minors protected speech alike though the Constitution demands it use a scalpel. Brooks also highlighted the unconstitutionally vague applicability of the law, which seemingly created obligations for some online services, but may have exempted services which had the "predominant or exclusive function [of]... direct messaging" like Snapchat.The court confirms what we have been arguing from the start: laws restricting access to protected speech violate the First Amendment, NetChoices Chris Marchese said in a statement. This ruling protects Americans from having to hand over their IDs or biometric data just to access constitutionally protected speech online.Its not clear if state officials in Arkansas will appeal the ruling. I respect the courts decision, and we are evaluating our options, Arkansas Attorney general Tim Griffin said in a statement.Even with NetChoices latest victory, it seems that age verification laws are unlikely to go away anytime soon. Utah recently passed an age verification requirement for app stores. And a Texas law requiring porn sites to conduct age verification is currently before the Supreme Court.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/arkansas-social-media-age-verification-law-blocked-by-federal-judge-194614568.html?src=rss

Thanks to Nintendo's January 16 teaser trailer, we've long known what the Nintendo Switch 2 will look like, and that it will arrive in 2025 over eight years after its predecessor. Now it's time for the other shoe to drop: A special Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct streaming on YouTube tomorrow (April 2) at 9AM ET is expected to reveal the all the other key details, including the price, release date and pre-order details. And we might see a few new games, too.We already know quite a bit about the new console, thanks to the January reveal. The Switch 2 looks very similar to the original system, albeit with a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons and a sleeker design. The company also reaffirmed that the upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch games.Looking to catch up on everything we know or think we know about the Switch 2? Read on.What are the key last-minute Switch 2 news and rumors?The livestream placeholder for the April 2 Switch 2 Nintendo Direct is now live on YouTube, counting down to the 9AM ET start time. Nintendo has also confirmed that the presentation will last "approximately 60 minutes," which is more meaty than many of its recent game-only streams.If that first burst of Switch 2 news isn't enough for you, Nintendo will following up with gameplay video on April 3 and 4 at 10AM ET as well.The Nintendo Switch 2 was announced on January 16The rumor mill had heavily suggested that Nintendo would pull back the curtain on the Switch 2 on January 16, and that turned out to be the case.The company hasn't changed the core form factor. It's a portable console with detachable Joy-Cons. The Switch 2 can be placed in a dock for big-screen gaming. There are some significant differences from the original console, however.The most obvious one is that the next-gen Joy-Cons will no longer slide into place mechanically. Instead, they appear to attach to the main unit magnetically. There is a small connector that's likely used to charge the controllers. It's unclear at this point if Joy-Cons from the original system will be compatible with the Switch 2.One other big (and very welcome) change is the addition of a second USB-C port on the top of the device. That should make it much easier to plug in accessories while the Switch 2 is docked. FCC filings suggest that you'll be able to charge the console using either USB-C port, which is another nice quality-of-life change.It's great to see that Nintendo has kept the headphone jack as well. Let's just hope that Bluetooth headphone support is live from the jump this time and Nintendo doesn't leave everyone waiting four yearsfor that feature.The kickstand is getting an upgrade. As with the Switch OLED, it spans the length of the console this time around. But, according to the reveal trailer, this one looks fully adjustable, so you can tweak the viewing angle to one that works for you.There are still a great many unknowns regarding the upcoming console. We don't really know the specs yet, or what type of display it uses. We also don't know anything about battery life, the UI or launch games. We'll surely learn a whole lot on April 2.When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?2025. That's all we know for sure at this point.It's highly unlikely that Nintendo will release the console before the dedicated Direct on April 2, and not only because that's at the start of Nintendo's next financial year. Accessory manufacturer Genki, which had been a major source of leaks before Nintendo's January reveal, claimed the console would be released in April. Other reports have pegged June as the release window, as have several analysts.In any case, we should learn the release date during the April 2 Direct.When can I pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2?As with the release date, we expect clarity on this during or after the April 2 presentation. A Best Buy Canada post spotted on Reddit (since deleted, but archived) states that pre-orders will open on that day, but that has yet to confirmed.When can I try the Nintendo Switch 2?Nintendo is planning a worldwide roadshow to let gamers go hands-on with the console. These events start in New York and Paris on April 4-6, with others taking place throughout the following two months. That lends credence to some suggestions that Nintendo will release the Switch 2 in June.Ticket registration for many of the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events has closed, but waitlists are available. However, given that Nintendo is taking a first come, first served approach, your chances of attending the roadshow if you don't already have a ticket (or unless you signed up for the waitlist immediately) seem very small at this point.The full list of Nintendo Switch 2 Experience dates is as follows:North America:New York, April 4-6, 2025Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025Dallas, April 25-27, 2025Toronto, April 25-27, 2025Europe:Paris, April 4-6, 2025London, April 11-13, 2025Milan, April 25-27, 2025Berlin, April 25-27, 2025Madrid, May 9-11, 2025Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025Oceania:Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025Asia:Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025Hong Kong, To be announcedTaipei, To be announcedWill the Nintendo Switch 2 have some weirdness?Everything we've seen and so far about this console has been fairly, well, traditional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That's awesome, but will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Maybe! There are two puzzling additions that folks can't make hide nor hair of.Genki, the accessories manufacturer, just published a landing page for their Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. This landing page features a video that includes a very detailed look at a Switch 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025 Keen eyes will have noticed a new button on the bottom of the right Joy-Con. Promotional images for a new app called Nintendo Today!, which the company says will provide users with daily news updates about things like games and the Switch 2, confirmed that it is a C button.However, it is not yet clear what this button does. Could it initiate voice chat during gameplay? Could it calibrate the controllers? Could it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We'll have to wait and see.Now onto the updated Joy-Cons. There appears to be a new sensor on the connecting side of each controller. It looks a whole lot like an optical sensor, which is what a computer mouse uses. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse. Of note: the trailer shows the Joy-Cons moving along a flat surface, connector side down and looking suspiciously like a mouse.But why would anyone even want this? We can think of three words. New Mario Paint.Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up just the Switch 2, optical sensor is literally flashing in this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd Ash (@Ashinarii) January 8, 2025 Mouse control isnt the only too strange for any company but Nintendo rumor floating around. A patent filed by the company suggests you can swap the Switch 2s Joy-Cons, snapping them onto either side of the console. That would align with the magnetic Joy-Con attachment scheme.But much like the weird mouse rumors, it doesnt necessarily align with, well, any logical reason for why youd want to do that. The patent suggests it could allow for more user choice in where the headphone jack is. But since its Nintendo, the company that brought us Labo cardboard peripherals and the Game Boy Advance e-reader attachment, we have to wonder if there are quirkier designs at hand.Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?The company confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles.In the initial Nintendo Switch 2 press release, Nintendo reiterated that physical and digital Switch games will work on the new system. However, it noted that "certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2." More details about which games those are will be revealed later.During a Nintendo Direct on March 27, the company revealed a new system for loaning digital Switch games out to friends and family members. Virtual Game Cards are designed to make it easier to start a game on one console and continue on another as well. Although Nintendo's approach to this is not as simple as it perhaps should be, Virtual Game Cards will also be available on the Switch 2.Will old games be enhanced in any way?The original Switch has, to put it mildly, struggled to run some of the late-generation software that's come down the pike. Could these games be enhanced to take advantage of the increased horsepower of the Switch 2? We have no idea. We also don't know if any of these releases will receive graphical upgrades, perhaps taking advantage of upscaling tech.What will the cartridges taste like?You may remember that the original Switch cartridges taste absolutely awful. This was on purpose, to discourage folks from putting the games in their mouth. Will the successor follow suit and continue to dip cartridges in a foul-tasting bitter coating? Only time will tell.What about specs?The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so its tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: Itll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks, as these specs are about as underpowered now as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console will include 12GB of RAM.Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We actually wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series back in 2018.)There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers.As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch LCD screen. The Switch 2's display certainly looks larger than that of the original Switch in a side-by-side comparison in the reveal trailer. Some folks have worried that the Switch follow-up may actually be too big, especially for kids.Certain analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of (surprise!) mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black.We're hedging our bets here. We think itll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so thats certainly a possibility at launch.As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch.More tenuous leaks have intimated that the Switch 2 could also support a faster microSD card standard known as microSD Express. This allows for significantly faster transfer rates than the common UHS-I cards supported by the Switch today. Its technically been around for several years, but weve only recently started to see microSD cards that take advantage of the spec hit the market.We actually tested one of them from SanDisk for our microSD card buying guide and found it could reach sequential read speeds up to around 900 MB/s. With the current Switch, microSD transfer speeds top out closer to 100 MB/s.So, in theory, all of this could bring a sizable boost in load times and general storage performance for the Switch 2 (though its still not likely to be on par with the SSDs in the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S). But again, these rumors are far from concrete. Its also worth noting that microSD Express cards cost significantly more than what we usually see today the SanDisk card we tested, for instance, starts at $45 for just 128GB of storage.Recently-unearthed FCC filings also indicate that the console will support Wi-Fi 6 and NFC. The latter indicates that the Switch 2 will continue Amiibo integration.How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300.However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Several analysts are expecting Nintendo to hike the price to at least $400 and possibly even as much as $500. Rising costs of components and development, as well as US tariffs, are likely to mean that the Switch 2 is more expensive than its predecessor.Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make the Switch 2 nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.Again, we should get confirmation of the price during the April 2 Nintendo Direct.How well will the Nintendo Switch 2 sell?Even with an expected price increase, Nintendo is likely to sell boatloads of Switch 2 consoles. The company seems to be positioning itself to shatter sales records. Reports suggest that Nintendo wants to have as many units ready to sell as possible on release day. One analyst told Bloomberg that they expected Nintendo to have an inventory of between 6 million and 8 million units at the outset.As Bloomberg notes, the company sold 2.7 million Switch units in that console's first month. Sony's PS4 and PS5 each sold 4.5 million units in their first quarter on the market, though it's worth noting the PS5's early momentum was hindered somewhat by shortages.Nintendo has sold more than 150 million Switch units. Given that many fans are more than ready for an upgrade (and to perhaps give their old Switch to a young relative or sell it on the cheap), the Switch 2 is very likely to go gangbusters right out of the gate.Do we know about any launch games?Not so much. The reveal trailer offered a peek at a new Mario Kart game. Nintendo released Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U over a decade ago and it's been milking that cash cow ever since, having sold more than 64 million copies of the game across that console and the Switch. It's definitely time for a new entry!It's certainly been a long time since weve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure as well, so a new one could be a launch title. That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as ours. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch. One report suggested that PowerWash Simulator 2 is bound for the Switch 2, so that's something.If theres a gimmick or hook involved with the console, well also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility.It's all but nailed on that we'll learn much more about the Switch 2 launch lineup during the April 2 Nintendo Direct, which starts at 9AM ET. You'll definitely want to set your Alarmo for that one.That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.Update, January 24, 2025, 12:36 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about price, potential game enhancements and the taste of cartridges.Update, February 5, 2025, 9:30AM ET: This story has been updated to note the time when the April 2 Nintendo Direct starts.Update, February 24, 2025, 12:30 PM ET: This story has been updated to include speculation about storage and information about the new microSD Express standard.Update, March 6, 2025, 2:30PM ET: This story has been updated to note recent FCC filings to indicate the presence of Wi-Fi 6 and NFC support.Update, March 14, 2025, 12:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include pricing and sales speculation from analysts.Update, March 20, 2025, 12:45PM ET: Updated to include a note about the Seattle Mariners new jersey patches featuring Nintendo and the Switch 2.Update, March 27, 2025, 3:50PM ET: Updated to add details about the C button, Nintendo Today! and Virtual Game Cards.Jeff Dunn contributed to this report.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-everything-we-know-about-pre-order-plans-specs-pricing-games-and-more-195136485.html?src=rss