AIs emissions are about to skyrocket even further Its no secret that the current AI boom is using up immense amounts of energy. Now we have a better idea of how much. A new paper, from a team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, examined 78% of all data centers in the country in the US. These facilitiesessentially buildings filled to the brim with rows of serversare where AI models get trained, and they also get pinged every time we send a request through models like ChatGPT. They require huge amounts of energy both to power the servers and to keep them cool. Since 2018, carbon emissions from data centers in the US have tripled.Its difficult to put a number on how much AI in particular is responsible for this surge. But AIs share is certainly growing rapidly as nearly every segment of the economy attempts to adopt the technology. Read the full story. Googles big week was a flex for the power of big tech Google has been speeding toward the holiday by shipping or announcing a flurry of products and updates. The combination of stuff here is pretty monumental, not just for a single company, but I think because it speaks to the power of the technology industryeven if it does trigger a personal desire that we could do more to harness that power and put it to more noble uses.Read more here. This story originally appeared in The Debrief with Mat Honan, our weekly take on whats really going on behind the biggest tech headlines. The story is subscriber-only sonab a subscriptiontoo, if you havent already! Or you cansign upto the newsletter for free to get the next edition in your inbox on Friday. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Mysterious drones have been spotted along the US east coast People are getting a bit freaked out, to say the least. (BBC) Although sometimes theyre just small planes, authorities say.(Wired) Trump says they should be shot down.(Politico) 2 TikTok could be gone from app stores by January 19 Last week, a US appeals court upheld a law forcing Bytedance to divest. (Reuters) The rationale behind the ban could open the door to other regulations that suppress speech.(Atlantic) Influencers are putting together their post-TikTok plans.(Business Insider) The long-shot plan to save TikTok. (Verge) The depressing truth about the coming ban.(MIT Technology Review) 3 Authorities in Serbia are using phone-cracking tools to install spyware Activists and journalists found their phone had been tampered with after a run-in with police. (404 Media) 4 Cellphone videos are fueling violence inside US schools Students are using phones to arrange, provoke and capture brawls in the corridors. (NYT) 5 AI search startup Perplexity says it will generate $10.5 million a month next year Its in talks to raise money at a $9 billion valuation. (The Information) AI search could break the web. (MIT Technology Review) 6 How Musks partnership with Trump could influence science Even if he cant cut as much as hed like, he still stands to make big changes. (Nature) Is deleting the IRS his worst idea yet?(Washington Post) The top cybersecurity agency is bracing for Trump. (Wired) Trumps win is a huge loss for the climate.(MIT Technology Review) 7 AI firms will scour the globe looking for cheap energy Low-cost power is an absolute priority. (Wired) Its an insatiably hungry industry.(Bloomberg) 8 Anthropics Claude is winning the chatbot battle for tech insiders Its not as big as ChatGPT, but it's got a special something that people like. (NYT) A new Character.ai chatbot for teens will no longer talk romance. (Verge) How to trust what a chatbot says.(MIT Technology Review) 9 The reaction to the UnitedHealthcare CEOs murder could prompt a reckoning Healthcares algorithmic decision-making turns us into numbers on a spreadsheets. (Vanity Fair) Luigi Mangione has to mean something. (Atlantic) 10 How Chinas satellite megaprojects are challenging Starlink Between them, Qianfan, Guo Wang and Honghu-3 could have as many satellites.(CNBC) Quote of the day Weve achieved peak data and therell be no more. OpenAIs cofounder and former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, tells the NeurIPS conference that the way AI models will be trained will have to change. The big story How to stop a state from sinkingApril 2024 In a 10-month span between 2020 and 2021, southwest Louisiana saw five climate-related disasters, including two destructive hurricanes. As if that wasnt bad enough, more storms are coming, and many areas are not prepared. But some government officials and state engineers are hoping there is an alternative: elevation. The $6.8 billion Southwest Coastal Louisiana Project is betting that raising residences by a few feet, coupled with extensive work to restore coastal boundary lands, will keep Louisianans in their communities. Ultimately, its something of a last-ditch effort to preserve this slice of coastline, even as some locals pick up and move inland and as formal plans for managed retreat become more popular in climate-vulnerable areas across the country and the rest of the world.Read the full story. Xander Peters We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?Drop me a lineortweet 'em at me.)+ How to make the most of yourjigsaw puzzlestry them on hard mode. +Mr Tickleis a maniac who needs to be stopped.+ Asong about Christmasthat probably many of us can relate to, if were honest. + If the original Home Alone was wince-inducing in terms of injuries, thesequelis even more excruciating.+ The best crispy roast potatoes ever?Ill let you be the judge.

Last week, this space was all about OpenAIs 12 days of shipmas. This week, the spotlight is on Google, which has been speeding toward the holiday by shipping or announcing its own flurry of products and updates. The combination of stuff here is pretty monumental, not just for a single company, but I think because it speaks to the power of the technology industryeven if it does trigger a personal desire that we could do more to harness that power and put it to more noble uses. To start, last week Google Introduced Veo, a new video generation model, and Imagen 3, a new version of its image generation model.Then on Monday, Google announced a breakthrough in quantum computing with its Willow chip. The company claims the new machine is capable of a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of todays fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 1025) years. you may recall that MIT Technology Review covered some of the Willow work after researchers posted a paper preprint in August. But this week marked the big media splash. It was a stunning update that had Silicon Valley abuzz. (Seriously, I have never gotten so many quantum computing pitches as in the past few days.) Google followed this on Wednesday with even more gifts: a Gemini 2 release, a Project Astra update, and even more news about forthcoming agents called Mariner, an agent that can browse the web, and Jules, a coding assistant. First: Gemini 2. Its impressive, with a lot of performance updates. But I have frankly grown a little inured by language-model performance updates to the point of apathy. Or at least near-apathy. I want to see them do something. So for me, the cooler update was second on the list: Project Astra, which comes across like an AI from a futuristic movie set. Google first showed a demo of Astra back in May at its developer conference, and it was the talk of the show. But, since demos offer companies chances to show off products at their most polished, it can be hard to tell whats real and whats just staged for the audience. Still, when my colleague Will Douglas Heaven recently got to try it out himself, live and unscripted, it largely lived up to the hype. Although he found it glitchy, he noted that those glitches can be easily corrected. He called the experience stunning and said it could be generative AIs killer app.On top of all this, Will notes that this week Google DeepMind CEO (the companys AI division) Demis Hassabis was in Sweden to receive his Nobel Prize. And what did you do with your week? Making all this even more impressive, the advances represented in Willow, Gemini, Astra, and Veo are ones that just a few years ago many, many people would have said were not possibleor at least not in this timeframe.A popular knock on the tech industry is that it has a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver. The phone in your pocket gives the lie to this. So too do the rides I took in Waymos self-driving cars this week. (Both of which arrived faster than Ubers estimated wait time. And honestly its not been that long since the mere ability to summon an Uber was cool!) And while quantum has a long way to go, the Willow announcement seems like an exceptional advance; if not a tipping point exactly, then at least a real waypoint on a long road. (For what its worth, Im still not totally sold on chatbots. They do offer novel ways of interacting with computers, and have revolutionized information retrieval. But whether they are beneficial for humanityespecially given energy debts, the use of copyrighted material in their training data, their perhaps insurmountable tendency to hallucinate, etc.is debatable, and certainly is being debated. But Im pretty floored by this weeks announcements from Google, as well as OpenAIfull stop.) And for all the necessary and overdue talk about reining in the power of Big Tech, the ability to hit significant new milestones on so many different fronts all at once is something that only a company with the resources of a Google (or Apple or Microsoft or Amazon or Meta or Baidu or whichever other behemoth) can do.All this said, I dont want us to buy more gadgets or spend more time looking at our screens. I dont want us to become more isolated physically, socializing with others only via our electronic devices. I dont want us to fill the air with carbon or our soil with e-waste. I do not think these things should be the price we pay to drive progress forward. Its indisputable that humanity would be better served if more of the tech industry was focused on ending poverty and hunger and disease and war. Yet every once in a while, in the ever-rising tide of hype and nonsense that pumps out of Silicon Valley, epitomized by the AI gold rush of the past couple of years, there are moments that make me sit back in awe and amazement at what people can achieve, and in which I become hopeful about our ability to actually solve our larger problemsif only because we can solve so many other dumber, but incredibly complicated ones. This week was one of those times for me. Now read the rest of The Debrief The News Robotaxi adoptionis hitting a tipping point. But also,GM is shutting down its Cruise robotaxi division. Hereshow to use OpenAIs new video editing toolSora. Blueskyhas an impersonator problem. The AI hype machine iscoming under government scrutiny. The Chat Every week, I talk to one of MIT Technology Reviews journalists to go behind the scenes of a story they are working on. This week, I hit up James ODonnell, who covers AI and hardware, about his story on how the startup defense contractorAnduril is bringing AI to the battlefield. Mat:James, you got a pretty up close look at something most people probably havent even thought about yet, which is how the future of AI-assisted warfare might look. What did you learn on that trip that you think will surprise people? James:Two things stand out. One, I think people would be surprised by the gulf between how technology has developed for the last 15 years for consumers versus the military. For consumers, weve gotten phones, computers, smart TVs and other technologies that generally do a pretty good job of talking to each other and sharing our data, even though theyre made by dozens of different manufacturers. Its called the internet of things. In the military, technology has developed in exactly the opposite way, and its putting them in a crisis. They have stealth aircraft all over the world, but communicating about a drone threat might be done with Powerpoints and a chat service reminiscent of AOL Instant Messenger. The second is just how much the Pentagon is now looking to AI to change all of this. New initiatives have surged in the current AI boom. They are spending on training new AI models to better detect threats, autonomous fighter jets, and intelligence platforms that use AI to find pertinent information. What I saw at Andurils test site in California is also a key piece of that. Using AI to connect to and control lots of different pieces of hardware, like drones and cameras and submarines, from a single platform. The amount being invested in AI is much smaller than for aircraft carriers and jets, but its growing. Mat:I was talking with a different startup defense contractor recently, who was talking to me about the difficulty of getting all these increasingly autonomous devices on the battlefield talking to each other in a coordinated way. Like Anduril, he was making the case that this has to be done at the edge, and that there is too much happening for human decision making to process. Do you think thats true? Why is that? James:So many in the defense space have pointed to the war in Ukraine as a sign that warfare is changing. Drones are cheaper and more capable than they ever were in the wars in the Middle East. Its why the Pentagon is spending $1 billion on the Replicator initiative to fieldthousands of cheap dronesby 2025. Its also looking to field more underwater drones as it plans for scenarios in which China may invade Taiwan. Once you get these systems, though, the problem is having all the devices communicate with one another securely. You need to play Air Traffic Control at the same time that youre pulling in satellite imagery and intelligence information, all in environments where communication links are vulnerable to attacks. Mat:I guess I still have a mental image of a control room somewhere, like you might see inDr. StrangeloveorWar Games(orStar Warsfor that matter) with a handful of humans directing things. Are those days over? James:I think a couple things will change. One, a single person in that control room will be responsible for a lot more than they are now. Rather than running just one camera or drone system manually, theyll command software that does it for them, for lots of different devices. The idea that the defense tech sector is pushing is to take them out of the mundane tasksrotating a camera around to look for threatsand instead put them in the drivers seat for decisions that only humans, not machines, can make. Mat:I know that critics of the industry push back on the idea of AI being empowered to make battlefield decisions, particularly when it comes to life and death, but it seems to me that we are increasingly creeping toward that and it seems perhaps inevitable. Whats your sense? James:This is painting with broad strokes, but I think the debates about military AI fall along similar lines to what we see for autonomous vehicles. You have proponents saying that driving is not a thing humans are particularly good at, and when they make mistakes, it takes lives. Others might agree conceptually, but debate at what point its appropriate to fully adopt fallible self-driving technology in the real world. How much better does it have to be than humans? In the military, the stakes are higher. Theres no question that AI is increasingly being used to sort through and surface information to decision-makers. Its finding patterns in data, translating information, and identifying possible threats. Proponents are outspoken that that will make warfare more precise and reduce casualties. What critics are concerned about is how far across that decision-making pipeline AI is going, and how much there is human oversight. I think where it leaves me is wanting transparency. When AI systems make mistakes, just like when human military commanders make mistakes, I think we deserve to know, and that transparency does not have to compromise national security. It tookyearsfor reporter Azmat Khan to piece together the mistakes made during drone strikes in the Middle East, because agencies were not forthcoming. That obfuscation absolutely cannot be the norm as we enter the age of military AI. Mat:Finally, did you have a chance to hit an In-N-Out burger while you were in California? James:Normally In-N-Out is a requisite stop for me in California, but ahead of my trip I heard lots of good things about the burgers at The Apple Pan in West LA, so I went there. To be honest, the fries were better, but for the burger I have to hand it to In-N-Out. The Recommendation A few weeks ago I suggestedCa7riel and Paco Amorosos appearance on NPR Tiny Desk. At the risk of this space becoming a Tiny Desk stan account, Im back again with another. I was completely floored byDoechiis Tiny Desk appearance last week. Its so full of talent and joy and style and power. I came away completely inspired and have basically had her music on repeat in Spotify ever since. If you are already a fan of her recorded music, you will love her live. If shes new to you, well, youre welcome. Go check it out. Oh, and dont worry: Im not planning to recommendBillie Eilishs new Tiny Desk concertin next weeks newsletter. Mostly because Im doing so now.

The hardest part of divorce was being without my kids, especially during the holidays.I felt overwhelmed with pressure to compensate by making them extra special.Relaxing on what I thought the holidays were supposed to look like has allowed us to start new traditions.I sobbed as I sat surrounded by the remnants of Christmas morning half-eaten cinnamon rolls, discarded wrapping, and little piles of presents my 3 and 6-year-old daughters stacked up before they left to spend the rest of Christmas break with their dad.I was still getting used to sharing custody, and the hardest part was being without them, especially during the holidays.This was my new normalIt felt so wrong, but it was our new normal, thanks to a divorce and custody order specifying that we would only spend every other birthday and major holiday together.I was devastated, my mom guilt was in overdrive, and I felt overwhelmed with pressure to make the holidays better than ever, to compensate for my children's suffering, our lack of time together, and what I perceived as my failure to fix everything.I set unreasonably high standards for myself in the hopes of making every Christmas better than the one before more gifts, extravagant decorations, and fun, memorable experiences. It was exhausting, I never felt good enough, and I was spending money I couldn't afford as a single parent raising two kids in one of the nation's most expensive cities.In my quest to make up for what we'd lost, I'd unwittingly turned half the year from Halloween through their first-quarter birthdays into my own unwinnable marathon of misery.I was setting a poor example for themIt took me a while to understand that our enjoyment of these special days was inversely proportional to the size of my ever-growing to-do list, but once I did, there was no going back. Especially when I realized what a poor example I was setting for my daughters by reinforcing the patriarchal message that women, especially mothers, are responsible for everyone else's joy, even when it means abandoning our own.Moving forward, I decided to change my approach and relax my death grip on what I thought the holidays were supposed to look like. Most importantly, this meant reducing the number of items on my to-do list so I could spend more time just being with my kids and savoring their easy, childlike joy.This may sound simple, but it's just not. The expectation that moms create an abundance of magic is so ubiquitous that we're not often aware of how we surrender to it.I changed how I did thingsSo instead of spending time I didn't have putting up lights I couldn't afford, we packed into the car and drove around listening to cheesy Christmas music while admiring our neighbor's decorations and drinking to-go cups of hot chocolate not the kind you film yourself making from scratch at an Insta-worthy cocoa bar with 10 toppings, but the kind you buy for $3, mix with warm milk, and call it good.Instead of competing with my ex-husband to buy the best gifts, I finally admitted to myself that I would never be able to match his budget and decided that it was in fact a win to let him buy the laptops, smart phones, and sneaks, while I focused on more affordable and traditional gifts like books, music, and pajamas.As I began to prioritize my own needs, I realized that the religious holidays my ex-husband favored were less important to me than nature-based ones like spring equinox and winter solstice, which relieved even more competitive pressure. This was also an important reminder that holidays are just an arbitrary day on the calendar, and we could celebrate anytime.Later, when my daughters were in high school, I gave them cash for birthdays and Christmas instead of spending hours searching for the perfect gifts. They loved being able to buy what they wanted, and I loved saving myself the time, effort, and worry that they wouldn't like my selections.As a single mom of two daughters, the freedom to adapt and reimagine the holidays on our own terms was the gift we needed to truly enjoy them.

A virus that affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem causes polio.A young girl using an abacus in a bed at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, circa 1950. Douglas Grundy/Three Lions/Getty Images Polio mainly affects children under the age of five. Most people only have mild symptoms, but one in 200 cases causes irreversible paralysis. Between 5% and 10% of paralyzed patients die when muscles used for breathing can no longer move, according to the World Health Organization. The US had several polio epidemics in the 20th century, including in 1916 and 1937.A doctor removes special casts to examine the a polio patient's legs in 1916. Bettmann via Getty Images Polio was first identified in 1909, though it had been around for centuries, and the US had a serious outbreak in 1916, which started in New York.At the time, doctors understood very little about the disease, including how to treat and prevent it.An estimated 6,000 people died and 21,000 had resulting paralysis from the 1916 outbreak. There were a series of polio outbreaks in the 1940s and 1950s.Two-month-old Martha Ann Murray is watched over by a nurse in an iron lung in 1952. AP Photo The number of polio cases rose from eight per 100,000 in 1944 to 37 per 100,000 in 1952, according to Yale Medical Magazine. During that period, about 60,000 children were contracting the disease each year.There was an increase in people over the age of 10 getting the virus, too. Treatments for polio included hot wool and physical therapy.Larry Becker draws a hospital floor plan using his right foot in 1955. AP Photo Early on, some doctors would put patients in full-body casts, which could make paralysis permanent.Roosevelt sought relief by taking dips in Georgia's warm springs.During a 1940s polio outbreak, the Hickory Emergency Infantile Paralysis Hospital in North Carolina tried treating patients withboiled wool "hot packs" for the skin and physical therapy. Patients with severe cases lived their entire lives in iron lungs.A nurse oversees a boy with polio in an iron lung in 1955. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis/Getty Images Bellows inside the large metal box provided suction to help patients breathe when they could no longer do so on their own. The device was first used to save the life of an eight-year-old patient in 1928. Some famous people contracted polio as children, including Mia Farrow and Alan Alda.John Farrow carries daughter Mia out of the hospital in 1954. Bettmann via Getty Images Farrow, the daughter of director John Farrow and the actress and Tarzan-girl Maureen O'Sullivan, became ill during an LA polio outbreak in the summer of 1954."What I saw will never leave me in the hospitals and in the public wards for contagious diseases," Farrow said in 2000. Franklin D. Roosevelt started the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now known as the March of Dimes, to find a cure for polio.Children with polio meet Basil O'Connor, president of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Matty Zimmerman/AP Photo Roosevelt founded the organization with his former law partner, Basil O'Connor, to help fund research into a polio vaccine.Roosevelt knew the effects of polio first-hand. He was diagnosed with polio in 1921 at the age of 39 and used a wheelchair, mainly in private, while he was president.Celebrities such as Grace Kelly and Joan Crawford helped promote campaigns for a vaccine.Grace Kelly with Mary Koloski at a March of Dimes event in 1955. API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images These campaigns helped raise half of all donations to health charities in the US, PBS reported. Jonas Salk was one of the researchers working on a polio vaccine.Developer of the polio vaccine, Dr. Jonas Salk in a laboratory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1954. AP Photo At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Salk began developing a vaccine in the early 1950s.He grew polioviruses on cultures of monkeys' kidney cells and then used formaldehyde to kill the virus.When he injected the dead virus into live monkeys, it protected them from the disease,according to the Science History Institute.After his vaccine proved successful on monkeys, Salk began testing children.Jonas Salk gives a vaccine to a child in the 1950s. Mondadori via Getty Images Salk first injected children who had already had polio. He noted that their antibody levels rose after vaccination, a promising sign that it helped the body fight the infection. Roosevelt's foundation also backed another potential prevention method, gamma globulin.A line of children and parents wait to be immunized with gamma globulin in 1953. Paul E. Thomson/AP Photo In the early 1950s, over 220,000 children were injected with gamma globulin, proteins in blood plasma that are rich in antibodies. The hope was that the serum would boost kids' immune systems and keep them from contracting polio.After looking at the data, though, a committee of epidemiologists and other experts concluded that gamma globulin wasn't effective. The gamma globulin trials helped pave the way for similar trials with Salk's vaccine.Salk gives a shot of the polio vaccine to a girl during test trials in 1954. Bettmann/Getty Images In 1954, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis sponsored a trial to test Salk's vaccine.Nearly 2 million children between 6 and 9 years old participated. They were called "Polio Pioneers."Participants were divided into three groups: the first group received the vaccine, the second received a placebo, and the third received neither the vaccine nor a placebo.The following year, in 1955, the vaccine was declared 90% effective against Types 2 and 3 poliovirus. It was 60% to 70% effective against Type 1. Nearly 2 million children participated in the trials, and the vaccine was found to be 90% effective.Jonas Salk arrives in Pittsburgh with his family in 1955. AP Photo At a press conference, Thomas Francis Jr., director of the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University of Michigan, called the vaccine "Safe, effective, and potent."It was headline news. "The story has blanketed the front pages of all the papers I have seen along a 1,600-mile route from New York to Saint Louis, to Memphis and Dallas," Alistair Cooke reported for The Guardian at the time.Though he had some detractors, Salk won many Americans' trust.Joans Salk's polio vaccine in 1955. AP Photo It took mere hours for Salk's vaccine to be licensed for use after the announcement of its efficacy. Vaccine distribution began almost immediately.Polio vaccines are shipped to Europe in 1955. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images NFIP had already funded facilities that could start producing the vaccine right away. The US sent some vaccines to Europe, and some countries started up their own productions.Children would receive a series of shots to complete the vaccination process.Eight-year-old Ann Hill gets the polio vaccine days after Salk's announcement that it's effective. AP Photo Children needed three shots, each costing between $3 and $5 (around $35-$59 today), according to The Conversation. Shortly after the vaccine program began, a tragic incident caused several deaths.Vaccines are prepared to be distributed around the West Coast from Cutter Laboratories in April 1955. Ernest K. Bennett/AP Photo One of the facilities manufacturing the vaccine, Cutter Laboratories, had kept the live polio virus in hundreds of thousands of doses.In April 1955, over 400,000 children received the improperly prepared vaccines. The mistake led to 260 cases of polio-based paralysis and several deaths, according to the National Institutes of Health. Despite the incident at Cutter Laboratories, hundreds of thousands of children were vaccinated in 1955.Son of the US Surgeon General Leonard McCormick "Bobo" Scheele receives the polio vaccine in May 1955. Byron Rollins/AP Photo The incident at Cutter Laboratories panicked many parents and the vaccine was pulled from the market on April 27, 1955.However, after a massive effort to recheck all the vaccines confirmed they were safe to use, immunization resumed on May 15, 1955. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of children received the vaccine. Elvis got the vaccine backstage during the "Ed Sullivan Show."Oct. 28, 1956: Elvis Presley receives the polio vaccine in New York City. AP Photo If people were hesitant to have their children vaccinated, Elvis may have helped persuade them. After he got the jab in the fall of 1956, many followed suit.Within six months, 80% of America's youngest generation were vaccinated, Scientific American reported in 2021. Other celebrities, including Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, also promoted the vaccine to help inform people of all races and genders.A nurse prepares elementaary school children for a polio vaccine shot. Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images Roosevelt's foundation was heavily involved in promoting the vaccine and recruited celebrities like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald for their campaigns."There was a very early recognition that you couldn't just have white people talking about the vaccine," Stacey D. Stewart, former president and CEO of the March of Dimes, told NPR in 2021. The polio vaccine quickly began protecting people against the virus.Edward Scheffler with his mother after traveling by railroad in 1957. AP Photo Between 1953 and 1957, cases in the US dropped from 35,000 to 5,300 a year, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, Salk's rival, Albert Sabin, was still working on his own polio vaccine.Mark Stacey is visited by Albert Sabin (right) and Dr. Walter Langsam (left) in 1959. Gene Smith/AP Photo Sabin disagreed with Salk's method of using a vaccine with a killed virus. Instead, he preferred a live, yet weakened form that could be taken by mouth instead of injected.Once Sabin showed his version was effective using a trial in the Soviet Union, it was approved for use in the US in 1961.Because Sabin's vaccine was inexpensive and easy to administer many countries began using the oral method. In fact, the song "A Spoonful of Sugar (Helps the Medicine Go Down)" in the 1964 film "Mary Poppins" was inspired by Sabin's polio vaccine. A combination of the two vaccines helped nearly eradicate polio worldwide.An emergency polio ward in Boston, Massachusetts in 1955. AP Photo During the 2010s, the world eradicated polio Types 2 and 3. Only Type 1 remains. The World Health Organization hopes to wipe out the final strain by 2026, but that goal is impossible without polio vaccines.This story was originally published on August 13, 2022, and updated on December 16, 2024. Jake Johnson contributed to a previous version of this post.

President-elect Donald Trump has been talking for years about pardoning the people who took part in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, and he could do so on day one of his second term.In a March post on his social media network Truth Social, he said he would Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned! In 2022, Trump promised full pardons and apologies, and claimed he was financially supporting people associated with the insurrection. All that culminated last weekend when, in an interview with NBC Newss Kristen Welker, Trump again said he may pardon people who had been convicted of crimes related to the insurrection.Those pardons would be well within the presidents powers. And they would be a remarkable victory for a collection of groups that have spent the last few years agitating for them. They would also provide Trump with a political win, allowing him to simultaneously reward some of his most fervent supporters while also undermining a legal system he has long claimed is unjust. Who are the insurrectionists? What charges do they face?There are roughly 1,500 arrested, charged, or imprisoned January 6 insurrectionists, and among their number are all sorts of people.The January 6 defendants arent just hard-boiled leaders of militant groups; the insurrectionists included an actor, small-business owners, and even a self-proclaimed shaman, many of whom voiced a belief in conspiracy theories. However, some of the January 6 insurrectionists were affiliated with a variety of radical anti-government movements, most notably the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, right-wing paramilitary groups recognized as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Those convicted have been found guilty of a range of crimes, from low-level offenses like trespassing or property damage to grave offenses like seditious conspiracy. How did pardoning the insurrectionists become a cause for those on the far right?The push for freeing insurrectionists has its roots in the false assertion, popularized by Trump, that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. That false claim, based on a variety of conspiracy theories, asserts that the 2020 election was improper; thus the insurrectionists were justified in taking action. Furthermore, the insurrectionists supporters claim, Justice Department investigations into Trump show that it is weaponized against those on the right, and that makes the prosecution against insurrectionists improper and invalid. Trump has encouraged this line of thinking, repeatedly claiming that the DOJ is being weaponized against him and his supporters, often saying, as he did following an indictment, Theyre coming after you and Im just standing in their way.As the trials of insurrectionists unfolded, several groups began to work to draw attention to the trials and recast them as persecution. One leader of these efforts is Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, a woman shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer during the insurrection. (The officer was investigated by the DOJ; he was cleared of any wrongdoing.) Witthoeft moved to Washington, DC, from San Diego to support January 6 defendants and hold vigils in support of the cause. Trump has supported the narrative that January 6 defendants are the victims, with Babbitt cast as a martyr and the convicted as political prisoners. To be clear, theyre in prison not for expressing political beliefs but for interfering with the political process, committing serious violence, and other crimes. Now, there is a constellation of pro-insurrectionist groups, like Justice for January 6 (J4J6), American Patriot Relief, J6 Pardon Project, and stophate.com, all of which have called for pardons. Proud Boys leadership has requested clemency, and a slew of other groups and individuals associated with the January 6 insurrectionists have asked for pardons, too. What happens if Trump does pardon the insurrectionists?A pardon would help validate two arguments that Trump has made: that the Justice Department was weaponized against him and his supporters and that the 2020 election was rigged.It would also help to fully bring the insurrectionists many of whom are aligned with the far right into the GOP fold.I think we can look at the movement behind the pardoning, the desire for those individuals to be pardoned, as part and parcel of the mainstreaming of the extremist elements that comprised the Stop the Steal movement now becoming a centralized part of a mainstream political party in the United States, Matthew Kriner, managing director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium, told Vox.January 6 insurrectionists have already started running for office themselves, and once freed, those now imprisoned could join their number. Groups like Look Ahead America are not only advocating on behalf of January 6 defendants, but also engaging in political organizing, including voter registration, turnout, and lobbying efforts all on behalf of the Republican Party.Pardoned insurrectionists could also go back to the groups that radicalized them in the first place. Some of these groups, like the Oath Keepers, have essentially collapsed following the imprisonment of their leaders, but right-wing antigovernment groups are still plenty active in the US. A pardon would mean that some of the more extreme insurrectionists could see themselves as having been given a permission structure to use politically motivated violence, Kriner said. Its a clean slate for them to come back and essentially pick right back up where they were before.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to halt refugees from coming to the US in his second term a promise that will largely be within his power as president to keep.Trump has said he plans to suspend refugee admission, stop the resettlement, and keep the terrorists the hell out of our country on his first day back in office. The rules for refugee admissions were established by Congress, including in the 1980 Refugee Act, but also via legislation directly following World War II. Therefore, any effort to formally end the refugee program would take an act of Congress. However, the president has lots of authority over refugee admissions and Trump exercised that authority during his first term.It is up to the president to decide how many refugees will be allowed to enter the US in any given year, and Trump significantly lowered the cap on refugee admissions during his first term. Presidents can also pause admissions, as President George W. Bush did in the wake of 9/11.Every president has used their powers to either expand or contract as circumstances might fit, Eric Welsh of Reeves Immigration Law Group told Vox. Its something that is very, very susceptible to his influence.Given how significantly Trump eroded the US refugee program during his first term, its not unreasonable to fear that he would do even more damage this time around. While there are technically legal limits to how much Trump can do to dismantle the refugee program, there is plenty the administration could do practically to gut it.How does the US refugee system work?Refugees are migrants hoping to escape threats and extreme conditions in their home country to settle in a safe country, in this case the US.To be classified as a refugee, migrants must go through a vetting process while they are outside the US. Potential refugees are typically first screened by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and then by the US government. After they pass the vetting process, they then receive visas to come to the US, where they are assisted with basics like finding housing, getting children enrolled in school, and signing up for government benefits by the US Refugee Admissions Program.Refugees can work once theyre in the US, and can apply for US citizenship when they have legal status in the US.What did Trump do in his first term?The first time he took office in 2017, Trump paused the refugee admissions for three months. The justification was to determine if [the US refugee program] was safe and secure because of alleged security risks, Welsh said. Trump also barred Syrians from the refugee resettlement program indefinitely; Syrians were not accepted again until 2018.And then he kicked that a step further with the Muslim ban, by specifically banning [refugee] applicants from certain countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, Welsh said. The Supreme Court allowed a version of that ban to stand following more than a year of litigation. Trump also greatly reduced the overall number of refugees allowed into the US over the course of his first term. For example, Trump set a ceiling of only 15,000 refugees for 2021; under Biden, that number has grown to 125,000 for this past year. What else can Trump do to the refugee program in a second term?Given his first-term actions to limit refugees, refugee advocates are concerned Trump will go further this next term and there are several things he could do to increase pressure on the refugee program.First, he has promised to freeze the program as he did his first term, but its not clear for how long the process would be paused or what the justification would be. He could also institute something similar to the 2017 travel ban, Welsh said. The concern is, this time around with four years to think about it Trump would try and do [a travel ban] again and do it better, because he has so much authority in this arena, Welsh told Vox. Of course, Trump could also simply lower the ceiling for how many refugees are permitted into the US on a yearly basis, as he did during his first term.There are administrative ways Trump and his government could hollow out the program, too, Chris Opila, staff attorney at the American Immigration Council, told Vox. The Trump administration could elect to reallocate refugee officers to different tasks, such as asylum within the United States, or credible fear proceedings at the border and sort of pull adjudicative resources away, Opila said. Under the previous Trump administration, with the [federal] resettlement agencies, some of the changes caused them to close some of their offices. And I think that some of what we can anticipate would be similar in terms of measures that slow processing and limit the number of people who can come in, Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an attorney with the Migration Policy Institute, told Vox. Ultimately, Welsh said, Trump is unpredictable, and its impossible to say what he will or wont do come January. But if his first term is any indication, refugees hoping to come to the US could face an increasing number of obstacles to a safe future. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Architectural surrealism is Monument Valleys signature. Austere, beautiful structures transform and rotate at the players touch, creating new paths and staircases for its minimalist characters to traverse. Doorways can lead anywhere. Switches cause columns to rise out of the ground, a perspective shift can reveal a cache of hidden pathways. Since 2014 these games have been smartphone must-plays, one of the best and most elegant examples of satisfying touch-screen puzzlers. But the third in the series, released last week, is a little different.The Moroccan-inspired architecture that made the game famous is still present, but this time your geometric character Noor walks alongside blooming flowers and twisting vines, too. She sails a small boat. She gets lost in fields of bright yellow wheat. And there are many more people around her: she is a lighthouse-keepers apprentice, charged with the welfare of her community which, a few scenes into the game, is ravaged by a flood. In some scenes she is accompanied by someone else, or there is someone there to rescue. It is a game about buildings still, but also a game about rebuilding, together.Monument Valley is a Netflix game now all three entries are free to download for the services subscribers and it is still made at Ustwo Games, a small studio in London. Some of the creators of the first game are still present, but as you would expect after 10 years, the staff has evolved. Monument Valley 3s director Jennifer Estaris joined the company in 2020. She is a climate activist as well as an experienced game designer, and is heavily involved with the UNs Playing for the Planet initiative: an extra chapter for Monument Valley 2, The Lost Forest, was created as part of its Green Game Jam. These sensibilities shared by everyone I spoke to at Ustwo Games have had a clear influence on the game.Calmly satisfying Monument Valley 3. Photograph: Ustwo/NetflixI think green nudging is important, and I also believe in systems change and how we might portray that in a game, Estaris tells me. That was one of my main ideas for Monument Valley 3: how do we change what it means to be part of a community, to be sustainable and resilient in a way that is a hopeful future? [We were] thinking about nature-based solutions, but also about how we can live more in harmony with nature in order to provide the solutions that we need.The resulting game is a calmly satisfying and profoundly aesthetically pleasing puzzle game thats also, on one level, about climate migration. With its more natural forms and shapes, it breaks some of the rules of Monument Valley, mixing and matching styles and ideas more freely. Some scenes emerge from stained-glass windows in the lighthouse. One unfolds beautifully on coloured pieces of paper. Others have you experimenting with portals, or Mbius forms. Plants grow and intertwine through the architectural geometry.I feel like we looked at Monument Valley, with its big tall monuments and mysterious, aloof characters, and thought: Can we do this differently? says lead designer Emily Brown. One of [lead artist Lili Ibrahims] earliest sketches was of a little village on a hillside and all the buildings were much smaller. It still had illusions, and it was still a puzzle, but it was different. We were asking something different of this world.Appropriately, one of Browns very first experiences with games involved things that were not as they seemed. Growing up between the UK and Oman, her family had some off-brand Nintendo Famicom that came with a strangely distorted version of Mario: one half of the screen showed the game as it was supposed to be, but on the other half, nothing was real. You would see a tunnel, but when you got there it would turn out to be a hole. It was a different version of the game with this conceit of, what you see is not what youre going to get, she laughs.It was impossible for the team not to bring some of themselves to it Monument Valley 3. Photograph: Ustwo/NetflixPart of the power of Monument Valley has been that it is minimalist and austere it leaves you space for your thoughts. People bring their own feelings and stories to it. The visual style sticks in the mind, but so does that sense of space. Adding a little more of a message to the game risks occupying some of the space that was previously left intentionally blank but as Estaris says, it was impossible for the team not to bring some of themselves to it. Brown adds: I hope that people can see theres a journey we can take together. And that things will be better if we do things that way. An ambitious hope for a very abstract game.It is interesting that the concept for this game was first devised in 2021, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. With its themes of community, togetherness and recovery from disaster, I wonder if it is the first of a wave of games conceived during that time that will carry messages of connection and hope.When we first started making this game we were excited by the idea of hope-punk, says Estaris. It shouldnt be rebellious to be hopeful. More and more games are hopeful now, but I would love for people to feel that theres more than doom and gloom: that we can overcome. But we have to do it together.

TechBest Christmas gifts for PlayStation 5 owners from games to earbuds and moreSony's PlayStation 5 continues to be the console to beat, and with such a huge library of fantastic games it's not hard to see why here are our picks for PS5 gifts this ChristmasdailystarBookmarkShareTechByLloyd CoombesGames Writer17:13, 16 DEC 2024BookmarkYour PS5 is about to get a ton of new games to play (Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)Sony has picked up right where it left off with the PS5 generation, continuing running with fantastic exclusives and a whole host of third-party titles. With so much to play, it can be confusing if you're buying for a PS5 owner this Christmas, but we've done the hard work for you. From the latest games, to key accessories, we've got everything you need for a fantastic gift right here. Here's everything you need to take the PS5 to the next level, but we've also got a list of the best PS5 and PS5 Pro accessories, too. The Daily Star joins Bluesky as we Make Social Media Fun Again Come and join The Daily Star on Bluesky, the social media site set up by ex-Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. It's now the new go-to place for content after a mass exodus of the Elon Musk-owned Twitter/X. Fear not, we're not leaving Twitter/X, but we are jumping on the bandwagon. So come find our new account on https://bsky.app/profile/dailystar.co.uk, and see us social better than the rest. You can also learn more about The Daily Star team in what Bluesky calls a Starter Pack. So what are you waiting for?! Let's M.S.M.F.A (Make Social Media Fun Again) Headsets & Earbuds CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua Our pick for the best traditional gaming headset is the Logitech Astro A50. These are fantastic, offering a comfortable build for long gaming sessions and connectivity with multiple devices. Buy it now for 259 CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua Alternatively, I often use the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. These are a little like AirPods for your console, with Bluetooth or dongle connectivity and noise cancelling to help you get in the zone. Buy them now for 159 Controller Dock CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua The PS5's DualSense controllers are great but it'd be fair to say the battery life leaves something to be desired. That's a problem handily solved by a controller dock that keeps them ready to go. Buy it now for 11.99 Games Astro Bot CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua What was once a VR tech demo has become one of PS5's best games, with Astro Bot finally capturing the spotlight and earning the coveted Game of the Year gong at this year's Game Awards. Buy it now for 43.99 Helldivers 2 CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua Sony's other huge hit this year, albeit one available on PC too, was Helldivers 2, the co-op shooter that sees players liberating distant worlds and spreading democracy with friends and strangers alike. Buy it now for 25 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua After the fantastic Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Rebirth continues our heroes' story as they leave Midgar and explore a huge open world. One of the best-looking games on PS5, Rebirth has scooped numerous awards this year. Buy it now for 58.99 EA FC 25 CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua It won't change your mind if you're not into virtual football, but EA FC 25 is stacked with modes, including big improvements to Career Mode, as well as the all-consuming Ultimate Team. Buy it now for 54.29 Dragon Age: The Veilguard CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua It's been too long since we've been to Thedas, and while The Veilguard might be more action-heavy than some of its predecessors, it's a fantastic RPG that's well worth sinking hours into this Christmas. Buy it now for 45 Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Space Marine 2 is great even if you have no interest in Warhammer Whether you're a fan of Warhammer or not, Space Marine 2 is a fantastic third-person shooter that has players carving their way through the Emperor's enemies in gory combat that's even better in co-op. Buy it now for 39.99 Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero CAPTION: PS5 Gift Guide https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAGON-BALL-Sparking-ZERO-PS5/dp/B0D6NNW5J6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=QU3Y37BADXP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kofBVBMytc2eTC4dQRdOAZqZmzfTjCfqJNcGh4uy2PqaQYpoLBz7r99SDVu_pied6Ou1B8sO6afINoEZf9ES8JniS4IVyHafI5oroWGM5RKXS88Y0rktwRgBe_qQDCQxKcfxqpb9hG1zvOtzDslJtbMyIhpa8hUjKT1ILm2JS8ppju8un_lqznsRJ-oWjhEJcx5Iqn-7iPsYu3viy0N8xC66874mt4bUfnq62D4cbMA.QQJtopbaUXV7Lgy74dG75uDvPudb6rbuwNzlJ2xn_k0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+ball+sparking+zero&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542826&sprefix=dragon+ball%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warhammer-40-000-Marine-Playstation/dp/B0CV488L16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38JZ0JHSM24OJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8LzS22aQ8arn1_QSythGUp6KeuTyiMlcXiqdV-OpnbGqRM2rV87MAMvSqBgBcMHtA273f1W94mxImE8tadE7zyPEDZk9CZtKKNePx4EmHJRKYvqHBjm7Jfq6pFncztiiihtc95RYJe6BKoIdlXzT5yjZgEBFwCD4ZqFp0flCv5Uv1pPWufabQG57dkkxiqhk4bBq6tQ3QthXjrOkF-7B1kjrYS779h4p3jxtvhZobBQ.Y9PcKLw7tQOi-cV4TOx9m_cN9przWn8InPDr6eNYHHw&dib_tag=se&keywords=space+marine+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542859&sprefix=space+marine+2%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/PlayStation-HELLDIVERSTM-2/dp/B0CJK25G16/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZMJDUOEVN419&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Oa111w-g-GPxh7k1wK6OBccOwM5MNiS1W28aULW0-vslwJqmR_eGZpYtCIlmchpsAMXA_xFfwPcOCcIY7Hj3bFo1rf4kG1BnmxTdywDQDFcLMy-7e9-n-bTZbCyikPXIqwbO696YSTZvVmoPk6_pt-yUeZfYzCRUq52P0rG-iZY4PxvPN2QX5tKo5G9dYzmiiMjIZ8qysTao6XAhhMj_1YFAAiuPiHieZ9a2K_LB4k.hR8PO2o0w0yuBYrypL5qebJaUkmXasq_o4P-kuK0Jg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=helldivers+2&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1732542918&sprefix=helldivers+2%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Age-Veilguard-Standard-VideoGame/dp/B0DCGDQF1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N18A54FRYY12&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dU9dojKhT9lspGGdxXBdVzLPsk_r3xrQOSVTNbB_4GURzAE5oUuCeUy38zbxSkipwNJ7oik8cKGlezd0DBdN6OZHggDW7nteyQGZiPBWsY_gelzFSeXvLW5kHzdQwHqMLRR1gbPo66BIv6t490nRElz_5jb2dwMz279znWUITg8QYKBPWrHhV2kLSf1UTrvrO3Qlp4s5vnO2HYcZkMflluGcLYpoQcuDZCNFRGF8qIU.Wg0INqQRDBCzAXkzYkwZ_dBU3nVEKiNmKcTM1Dcoou0&dib_tag=se&keywords=dragon+age+the+veilgua Bizarre title punctuation aside, Sparking! Zero dares to ask the question "what if you had 182 Dragon Ball characters in a single game", pitting everyone against everyone in a toybox of anime scrappers. Buy it now for 59.99 TMNT: Mutants Unleashed Mutants Unleashed is ideal for younger players One for younger gamers, Mutants Unleashed is a TMNT adventure featuring all four turtles as playable characters, with plenty of exploration across five boroughs of the city. Buy it now for 31.99 For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.More On

EXCLUSIVE: We had the opportunity to talk to Frontier Developments President and Co-Founder David Braben about the legacy of Elite, from its earliest days to the 10-year anniversary of Elite DangerousTech15:00, 16 Dec 2024Updated 16:57, 16 Dec 2024Elite Dangerous has been here for a decade(Image: Frontier Developments)If you're anything like me, there's magic to be found in deep space. The freedom to chart a new course, save the universe, or just run a mildly successful freighter business.One of the most popular space sandboxes is Elite Dangerous, and it celebrates its ten-year anniversary this year. The latest entry in a series that began back in 1984, every Elite game has been built on a series of ambitious promises to players.Go where you want, play how you want, and create your own story among the stars, is essentially the series MO, but with the 40th anniversary of Elite as a whole, and the tenth of its current instalment, I was lucky enough to speak to its creator, David Braben, President and Founder of Frontier Developments, about the long, winding journey that brought us to this point.Strap in, Commanders.All we learned from Witcher 4 reveal trailer as fans desperate for moreGTA 6 fans pray new trailer release date is closer than ever as CEO dubs game 'extraordinary'Come and join The Daily Star on Bluesky, the social media site set up by ex-Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. It's now the new go-to place for content after a mass exodus of the Elon Musk-owned Twitter/X.Fear not, we're not leaving Twitter/X, but we are jumping on the bandwagon. So come find our new account on https://bsky.app/profile/dailystar.co.uk, and see us social better than the rest.You can also learn more about The Daily Star team in what Bluesky calls a Starter Pack.So what are you waiting for?! Let's M.S.M.F.A (Make Social Media Fun Again)David Braben has been developing games for 42 years, founding Frontier 30 years ago to work on Elite.In that time development, and just about everything around it, has changed dramatically, he tells me. In the early 1980s it was super-amateur (not always a bad thing).All the best games start as a labour of love but getting them into the hands of players was a big challenge back then, when the internet as we know it today, was a distant dream.Most games then were still sold by the people writing them, via small ads in the back of computer magazines. They would use a cassette-tape duplicating machine to put their games on to blank cassettes, put them in jiffy bags, and then post them off to customers.My first game, 'Elite, which I wrote with a friend at University, Ian Bell, came out in September 1984 and was not like this, but was published first by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro.The original Elite was seemingly too ambitious for one publisher(Image: Frontier Developments)It had previously been rejected by another publisher because it was apparently too different to the other games in the market at the time it needed a score, three lives, and a total play time of no more than ten minutes a go, and should not require a save. They saw the game arcades of the time as the best-in-class, and lost sight that the game was going to be played at home by a very different audience.For the first decade of game development, there were no tools to help you develop. No 3D modelling tools, no debuggers as we know them now, no audio tools, no third party game engines.Computer code was almost exclusively written in native assembly language, with no debugger, and few restrictions, and it was difficult, and often ground-breaking. If you need a tool to do something, you made it. Much midnight oil was burned, but it was also great. It felt quite swashbuckling!So how does one go from developing a game too ambitious in scope for one publisher to forging a career from it?It's easy to spend hours in Elite Dangerous seeing what kind of mayhem you can cause(Image: Frontier Developments)At the launch of the original Elite game at Thorpe Park, all the press got to ride on the newly opened Space Station Zero rollercoaster, now sadly closed, Braben recalls.This was Thorpe Parks first coaster and one of the world's first underground coasters. The ride was space-themed, with the ride starting off in a dark launch tunnel with dim lights along it, launching into utter blackness, then after a steep bend, emerging into a brightly lit cavern, with a large model of a moon scape with a base in it, which the coaster swooped above, before it re-entered another black tunnel, he says, comparing it to the feeling of launching into the vastness of space in Elite.This whole experience the process to get to this point, giving interviews to the press, the setting, showed what potential there was. I think it was at that point I realized my University work had become my hobby."There's a huge galaxy to explore, even ten years on(Image: Frontier Developments)In a world of live-service games, Elite Dangerous launched in the same year as Bungies first Destiny game, not too long after Warframe, and before Tom Clancys The Division and Rainbow Six: Siege. While those titles have seen varying degrees of success in their commitment to regular updates, Elite just keeps on (space) trucking."With Elite Dangerous, we are still on a journey, Braben explains.We have an epic player-led story reflecting the worst and the best of humanity, and there are more surprises and interesting player decisions to come. I love the player creations like The Fuel Rats, The Distant Worlds expeditions, and look forward to seeing what players will do with System Colonisation, which is coming soon.There are the exciting new ships of course, but there is also the epic Thargoid story, a continuation from the three previous Elite games across five decades which is unfolding in the Sol system.Elite Dangerous lets players fly some colossal ships(Image: Frontier Developments)That continual narrative is something even industry juggernaut World of Warcraft would struggle to beat in terms of pure longevity.That Thargoid story started in the 1980s with alien ships attacking human ships in hyperspace, but as the story unfolded, humanity came up with a deadly mycoid, a fungus that ate away at the Thargoid ships (grown from seeds), and the Thargoids themselves, based on an engineered version of the terrifying cordyceps mycoid," Braben explains.It was down to the players whether to release this and we almost wiped them out. And now theyre back and were going to wipe them out again.For all of Elite Dangerous popularity, theres certainly other titles that play in the same sort of sandbox, with the most notable one being No Mans Sky from Hello Games. The game arrived atop a wave of promises, but was met with criticism for missing a lot of proposed features at launch.Elite lets players explore space at their own pace(Image: Frontier Developments)Given many of those features, like multiplayer, were already available in Elite Dangerous, I was curious as to how the team at Frontier reacted.The internet is a funny place, and there are a great many people that care passionately about games, and unsurprisingly there is criticism too, Braben said.The key thing is to make a great game that is enjoyable and memorable for all the best reasons. I think the team have done a great job with Elite Dangerous, and that is what matters. We have the real galaxy to explore, all roughly 400 billion star systems of the real Milky Way. We have real distances, a real night sky, and many millions of players have experienced it over the years.Hes not kidding, either. At last count, Frontier told me only 0.06% of the games rendition of our universe has been seen in ten years.Odyssey added on-foot exploration(Image: Frontier Developments)So, how does a team continue to deliver for fans that may never see everything their game has to offer?The game has added new ships, new weapons, new modules, new threats, entire fleet carriers and more, but Braben says the teams biggest accomplishment is the Odyssey update."Changing the galaxy from (essentially) metre scale to millimetre scale. Mixing players on foot, in vehicles, and in ships that can travel at huge speed in the same play space and having them interact" is how he described it.This is not a session-based arena shooter, perhaps 10 miles across where everyone joins at the start, but on the surface of a real-sized planet ten thousand or more miles across, rotating, and orbiting a star at tens of thousands of miles an hour within an environment that is light years across, and any player can walk/drive/fly in any direction and meet each other seamlessly.It brought a wide range of additional experiences to an already great game.Players can now explore planets on foot(Image: Frontier Developments)Still, Odyssey wasnt without its challenges, and many subsequent updates were shelved to deliver the best experience possible to players.The game worked well during the beta, and seeing players taking their first steps on foot was a wonderful moment, Braben explains.However, we found that adding all of these extra features had an impact, particularly on lower-spec machines. It was essentially merging a whole new game into an already well-oiled, live-service machine.We worked closely with our Commanders [the games community] to identify what we could change, but we continued to enhance Odysseys additions, and that work continues today with the introduction of entirely new gameplay experiences such as System Colonisation.There are still plenty of stars to see, and claim(Image: Frontier Developments)System Colonisation is another ambitious feature which will let players claim star systems as a solo entity, a group, or a faction, with a beta slated for early 2025. Itll tie into Powerplay 2, a recently redesigned way in which players can work to help or hinder various entities in the solar system, but with so much added, I wondered if the team would ever consider moving onto a new game something the team isnt looking to do."I look forward to the expanding stories within the game, and how players will choose to react in the future, Braben said.Some shocking things are happening right now in Elite Dangerous but the consequences are not yet clear, he teased.Heres hoping were back to discuss the games 20th anniversary soon, but for now, I need to get back to space trucking in celebration.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED

Black Myth: Wukong devs were crying after losing at The Game Awards 2024Adam StarkeyPublished December 16, 2024 5:47pmUpdated December 16, 2024 5:47pm Did it deserve more than two awards? (Game Science)Astro Bots win at The Game Awards came as a big surprise to the creators of Black Myth: Wukong, with the developers CEO sharing a lengthy statement.While you might have missed them between all the trailers and adverts, there were actually some awards handed out at The Game Awards 2024.The big Game Of The Year prize went to Astro Bot, which beat Balatro, Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Black Myth: Wukong to take the award.Astro Bots win prompted one of the best speeches of the night from Team Asobi director Nicolas Doucet, where he graciously toasted Nintendo, but it seems like one studio was rather sour over the games win.In a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, following The Game Awards, Game Science CEO Feng Ji shared a lengthy statement (as translated on Reddit) where he said there was a sense of loss and regret, despite Black Myth: Wukong winning both Best Action Game and Players Voice.While he noted that winning the latter was gratifying, Ji appeared to question the criteria required to win Game Of The Year. The games nominated this year were all exceptional, but honestly, I still cant figure out what the criteria were for Game Of The Year, he wrote in the translated post. I feel like I came all the way here for nothing!He went onto admit that he had written his Game Of The Year acceptance speech two years ago, only to never get the chance to deliver it. Astro Bot was a worthy winner (Sony Interactive Entertainment)He added: Since last night, Ive seen a lot of strong dissatisfaction and frustration in players comments often expressed humorously or ironically, which made me laugh.I completely understand these feelings and share the frustration, because behind these emotions lies not pain or malice, but dignity and confidence. When youre so confident and yet dont receive the recognition you expected, its natural to feel upset.While theres a chance the tone of Jis comments may have been misconstrued in translation, it appears as if he isnt the only one from developer Game Science who was, at the very least, surprised and upset, after Black Myth: Wukong lost the award.In a clip which has circulated on X, Alanah Pearce, a former writer at Sony Santa Monica who was at the event, claimed she saw members of the Black Myth: Wukong team crying when Astro Bot got Game Of The Year.Its definitely unusual, she said. Clearly it meant a lot to them, they did an amazing thing, but I did find that surprising.When asked if it was celebratory cry, Pearce replied: No, they were upset. Definitely upset that they didnt win. Which is also fair, but it was still surprising.GameCentral has reached out to Game Science for comment.Black Myth: Wukong is the first major release from Chinese developer Game Science. The game sold 20 million copies within its first month on sale, and it went onto win Game Of The Year at the Golden Joysticks 2024 which unlike The Game Awards is voted on purely by the public.More TrendingAside from Astro Bot, the other big winners at The Game Awards were Metaphor ReFantazio, Balatro, and Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2. It had a fighting chance, at least (Game Science)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive 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