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The Ole SwitcherooNo, you're not the only one that switches from your PS5 to PS Portal when your mum and dad come into the living room in the evening and say they want to watch something on the tellyTurns out it's working as intended!Image credit: Sony News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Dec. 29, 2024 The PS Portal is obviously meant to be a supplementary device, and some new data shows off some interesting play habits.When the PS Portal was announced, I immediately knew it wasn't for me. I really would rather have a PS Vita 2 - which Sony might actually be working on (kind of) - and even with that recent update that lets you play games on the Portal without a PS5, it just isn't for me. I like dedicated handhelds! Do you know who it is for though? People that share a TV with other family members and get booted off every night so that the matriarch/ patriarch can watch the latest episode of Eastenders or whatever. The convenient thing about the Portal is that it's not horrendously expensive, so it makes sense as a supplementary device for this sort of thing, and as it turns out, that's pretty much exactly how people use it.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Speaking to Game File, Hiromi Wakai, vice president of product management at Sony Interactive Entertainment, shared the different peak usage times of the PS5 and PS Portal. For the PS5, the peak time it's played is generally around 8pm, which makes sense given most people will have finished work at 5pm, will have travelled home, eaten dinner, and taken care of other chores, or in the case of kids and teens, come back from school and done homework etc. Interestingly, though, the peak time for the PS Portal is 9pm, an hour later."This could suggest scenarios like users playing on the console first, then later switching to PS Portal to play in another room - courtesy of PS Portals characteristics like the ability to play in another room - while their family is using the TV," Wakai explained. With handhelds becoming more and more prevalent in the games industry, it's interesting to say how that corresponds with particular playing habits.Wakai went on to explain that the PS Portal was a "new type of product for us, so we wanted to be extra careful to ensure our users get the best possible user experience," specifically in reference to the ongoing PS5 game-streaming beta. "We want to continue that approach with PS Portal, and make incremental steps based on community reception on the beta."And if you were wondering if those that own a PS Portal are more likely to play games than those that don't, there's a clear cut answer: "Players who own a PS Portal tend to spend more time playing games than those who dont. Of course, its likely that users who purchase PS Portal were naturally more engaged in the first place, however, our data shows that PS Portal owners tend to spend more time playing games compared to non-owners."Now all we need is that dedicated handle and we're golden!

Coming SoonGTA 6 is coming in 2025, but so is a Goro Majima pirate adventure, and if they're both as good as I hope, I'm liable to be a big, sticky messIm serious, its imperative for my health that at least one of these games is a bit crap.Image credit: VG247 Article by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Dec. 29, 2024 Look, its not my fault I like video games where you run around like a mischievous little Grinch ruining the Christmas that is people going about their everyday lives, by running them down with cars, slamming a bike over their head so hard they dont get up, or firing an RPG directly at the pavement in front of them.2025s shaping up to be a bumper year for sick freaks like me too, with two very different crime titles currently set to arrive at opposite ends of the calendar, and offer us the chance to unzip both our ego and superego, put them away on nice coat hangers, and spend hundreds of hours really unleashing the id.First of all, its not long until Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - a game with a title so wonderfully ridiculous I can still scarcely believe its an actual thing - drops in February. Its a month that, thanks to Assassins Creed Shadows and Avowed both getting the boot from 2024s autumn slate, is basically going to be some kind of video game release armageddon.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. But, if theres anything I trust to cut through despite that and still find a way to be memorable, its this game. For someone that likes taking the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series far too seriously, the idea of a game that really embraces its sillier side by letting you run around as an amnesiac pirate Mad Dog of Shimano is something Im really into. With just enough ship sailing to be a bit Assassin's Creed Black Flag and just enough Yakuza stuff to still look like a Yakuza thing, its hit that sweet spot where it just looks like itll be such a laugh that no onell really care about the s**t we usually get bogged down in with games.How does this fit into the timeline, without being explained away as several hardened Japanese gangsters spending a weekend at the beach snorting and smoking every hallucinogenic drug imaginable? Its a Goro Majima pirate adventure, man. Nobody cares. To do that though, its actually got to be as good as it looks. Will it be? Well see.That said, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii faces nowhere near the pressure the second of these games does to actually live up to the hype. Just look at this. It's nonsense. It's fantastic. | Image credit: SEGAGTA 6 is a thing people were losing sleep over the night after GTA 5 came out. How would Rockstar, the studio of games which are the biggest blockbusters in a medium that has plenty of those of the regular, the studio of masterpieces with horse balls that actually grow and shrink depending on the in-game temperature, follow on from its return to Los Santos?What would it add in to outdo 5 in the same way it had done to GTA 4, a brilliant game in its own right? How would it make this another game that you fired up and were immediately convinced that what youre playing isnt just a crime drama or action movie that puts you behind the controls, but something that feels like a landmark moment in gaming itself?Frankly, having only seen one trailer so far, Ive got no idea, aside from the introduction of some Florida man weirdness.Maybe thats what these two games have in common. Two Florida men, armed with a potentially endless jug of fun hijinks to step into our lives and pour over our heads, a slightly grottier version of the Matrixs very 3AM on a night out choice between blue and red pills.Im sure therell be plenty of very intelligent games that come out in 2025 which Ill also fall in love with, but Im in this to have fun. Im here for the rush, and these two games feel like theyve got the potential to be an adrenaline shot to the heart that wouldve brought Mia Wallace back to life so hard shed have been doing the twist on the ceiling.

Africas tech ecosystem just got a boost of attention, with South Africas TymeBank and Nigerias Moniepoint both raising funds in recent weeks at valuations of over $1 billion and joining the coveted unicorn pantheon. But those valuations dont just reflect investor confidence. They signal the success theyve had in taking disruptive fintech models originally developed for mature economies, and scaling by tailoring them to work in a region where nearly half the population remains unbanked.Both companies primary aim has been to simplify banking for individuals and businesses in two of Africas largest economies. TymeBank began by offering retail customers low-cost bank accounts and savings products before expanding into business banking, providing working capital to small businesses in South Africa.Meanwhile, Moniepoint started out in Nigeria supporting small businesses with accounts, payments, loans, and expense tools and has recently expanded into retail banking.Importantly, both fintechs are taking a hybrid approach to banking, blending the convenience of digital banking with real-world, physical touchpoints.In Africa, its a catch-22: you cant have one thing without the other, said Lexi Novitske, general partner at Norrsken22, an investor in TymeBank, to TechCrunch. Many tech companies must build customer acquisition and engagement through highly analog or physical efforts.Highly informal markets call for a mixed approachTheir strategy contrasts challenger banks in the U.S. and other developed markets. Revolut, Monzo, and Chime operate as their names suggest: digitally. Even some platforms in emerging markets, like Nubank and JPMorgans C6 in Brazil or small businesses like Open in India, have focused on digital-only channels to build regional category leaders.But a purely digital approach isnt ideal in Africa. There are exceptionssuch as Valar-backed fintech Kudabut theres a cap on the number of customers such a platform could reach. Thus, as Stephen Deng, co-founder at DFS Lab, an Africa-focused early-stage investor, puts it, they will run into (domestic) revenue ceilings.On top of this, its a region where cash is king, internet connectivity can be unreliable, and trust in purely online systems remains low.Cash remains the most dominant payment method across Africa, accounting for over 90% of all transactions, according to a McKinsey report. Meanwhile, GSMA says 43% of Sub-Saharan Africa has internet access. Tymebank and Moniepoint have crafted a middle path that thrives on meeting retail and business customers where they are. TymeBank currently claims 15 million users across South Africa and the Philippines, while Moniepoint says over 10 million people and businesses use its services. (Kuda,valued at $500 million, isnt far off, though, with about 7 million users.)When venture capital was abundant you could pay people to adopt your digital-only product, but there isnt enough average revenue per user (ARPU) out there to justify the costs longer-term, Deng said. Moniepoint, Tyme, and others have figured out that you need to build physical touchpoints that interface with the mass market while maintaining the ability to push your tech through those interfaces. We call this a cybernetic approach because it enhances informal often in-person channels with tech while not falling into the costly trap of trying to fully digitize those channels.Models tailored to the maturity of banking marketsOne of the key things TymeBank has done to scale is forge retail partnerships with supermarkets like Pick n Pay and Boxer to extend its reach in South Africa. These retail touchpoints act as quasi-branches: TymeBank uses kiosks and ambassadors at these stores to assist new customers in opening accounts and depositing funds, adding a human element to its operations for those who prefer face-to-face interactions.Its a model that works because it recognizes and adapts to how the average African consumer interacts with financial services. Walking into a supermarket to buy groceries and leaving with a new bank account feels natural for many people. TymeBank has over 1,000 kiosks and 15,000 retail points across South Africa. Meanwhile, its sister company, GoTyme a joint venture between parent company Tyme Group and local conglomerate Gokongwei Group, launched in 2022 adopts the same strategy and has nearly 500 kiosks and 1,500 bank ambassadors in the Philippines.In Nigeria, the QED-backed Moniepoint has taken a slightly different approach, building an extensive network of agents nationwide. About 200,000 of these agents are small business owners equipped with point-of-sale (POS) devices and act as human ATMs, enabling cash deposits, withdrawals, and bill payments. The system mirrors the model that has driven mobile money success in Africa, which Safaricoms M-Pesa pioneered in Kenya.Decentralizing its operations through agents bridges the gap between urban and rural populations by providing financial services in areas where traditional banking infrastructure, a bank or an ATM, is nonexistent or unreliable (The World Bank estimates just 16.15 ATMs per 100,000 adults in Nigeria as of 2022.)Similarly, countries like Nigeria thrive on so-called informal commerce beyond the purview of tax collections and other authorities which makes up nearly 60% of its GDP. Combining that with the high number of unbanked consumers and businesses, a model that has physical elements is more of a necessity than an innovation.Both companies now provide retail and business banking and have used the hybrid model as the foundation for adding other services, such as credit, working capital loans, business management tools, accounting and bookkeeping, and insurance.Following their recent unicorn rounds, both will be looking to replicate their designs beyond their home markets, where they claim to have reached profitability. For Tyme Group, which recently announced a $250 million Series D led by Nubank at a $1.5 billion valuation, an expansion into Vietnam and Indonesia is already underway. Much like Africa, emerging economies in Asia present a mix of digital adoption and offline dependence. If anything, GoTymes current growth trajectory makes the move a logical next step.After raising $110 million, Moniepoint will seek to deepen its operations in Nigeria and expand into other African markets, such as Kenya. It might also explore these markets through acquisitions, which would pave the way for more regional consolidation.Outlook outside of fintechIn all of this, perhaps the most compelling part of the hybrid model is what it reinforces for African fintech, as TymeBank and Moniepoint arent the first fintechs to deploy the model on their way to unicorn status.And this is playing out in their scale. The first set of billion-dollar African fintechs, including Interswitch and Flutterwave, provided infrastructure and payment solutions for local and global merchants across the continent. Subsequent fintech unicorns, including Softbank-backed OPay, Stripe-backed Wave, Chimera Investments-backed MNT-Halan, all provide financial services to tens of millions of customers across Africa using a mix of digital apps and real-world touchpoints.Fintech is arguably the most successful category of startups at the moment, accounting for eight out of nine startups valued at over $1 billion in the region. As it continues to capture more investor interest locally and globally, such a model could serve as a blueprint and best bet to attain venture-type returns and, at the same time, drive financial inclusion.Yet, at the same time, theres significant potential to apply the hybrid model in industries beyond fintech, especially in Africas informal markets. For example, telemedicine an industry that heavily depends on trust could leverage local, in-person touchpoints to onboard patients while streamlining operations through digital platforms, according to Novitske. E-commerce and group insurance models are other industries she cites.We think most successful startups in Africa will master a hybrid approach, Deng commented. The interface between digital and physical is often where innovation happens because aggregating informal markets requires physical touchpoints. In B2B marketplaces, procurement is often informal. In cross-border payments, including with stablecoins, domestic payouts are often informal. In local retail, payment and delivery is often informal.

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A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Z Fold 6 smartphone displayed at a Samsung store in Seoul, South ... [+] Korea, on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. Samsungis expected to report record-high revenue in the September quarter, buoyed by a recovery in chip prices and strong demand for AI-supporting high-bandwidth memory. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg 2024 Bloomberg Finance LPThis story was updated with new deal details on December 29th. pUpdate below. Samsung is running an early January sale for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 that includes high trade-in prices for your old tech, a free subscription worth $300, and discounted accessories.As is the case with almost all mobile devices in Samsungs new sale, the deal focuses mostly on higher trade-in prices instead of straight discounts. Money-off the headline price is almost always the best type of deal, but Samsung has upped its trade-in valuations to some of the highest I have ever seen.The best price is $500 for any Google smartphone. Samsung doesnt have an exhaustive list of what Google phones it will accept. It is not clear if it will take devices from the pre-Pixel era (the terms and conditions do not shed any more light). But I imagine if there was a cut off, Samsung would explicitly say that it will only accept Pixel handsets.At the very least, paying $500 for a 2016 Google Pixel 1 is an exceptional price that you will not get anywhere else. If you have an old Google device sitting around (and youre looking to buy the Z Fold 6) this is a no-brainer.MORE FOR YOUMore enterprising shoppers can get the original Pixel on the secondary market for less than $50. However, it may be difficult to find an old device that fits the below trade-in criteria.Samsung's trade-in criteria. SamsungIt will be easier to find newer smartphones, such as the Pixel 5a or Pixel 4 XL, in better condition that will net the full $500. Both of these can be picked up on eBay or Swappa for under $100.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Trade In PricesElsewhere, Samsung has similarly high prices for other smartphones. Here are the best valuations I could find for realistic trade-ins (phones that are more than two years old).Galaxy Z Fold 3 - $1000Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G - $800Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G - $800Galaxy S9 - $500Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max - $800Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max - $700Apple iPhone X - $550In typical Samsung fashion, the company has discounted accessories if theyre bought with the Z Fold 6. The Galaxy Buds 3 are $117 off, while the Galaxy Ring is $80 cheaper. These devices are subject to repeated discounts throughout the year so do not feel pressured to take Samsung up on this deal.The more intriguing bundle offer is two years of VIP Advantage membership, worth $300 in total. That includes Samsung Care Plus, which means unlimited repairs (but doesnt come with coverage for theft and loss). The VIP membership also knocks 10% off accessories, exclusive discounts (although, Samsungs hardware is often discounted anyway), and free simple installation, or 50% off complex installations and TV mounting.Again, this is being thrown in for free with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 so theres little reason to not take it. Just make sure you put a note in your calendar for when the promotion ends, otherwise, you may be automatically charged $149.Update December 30th: Amazon has given the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 one of the biggest discounts the phone has seen yet. The retailer has knocked $472.99 off the foldable phone, bringing the final price down to $1,547 for the 512GB storage model. That is a 23% discount.This is one of the biggest straight-money discounts for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 available right now. Amazon has made a habit of undercutting the competition recently, slashing huge amounts of money off the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Apple iPhones in recent months. The only catch is that the companys trade-in prices are terrible.For example, Amazon will give you $130 for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra compared to Samsungs $800 offer. Also, Amazon doesnt accept any Galaxy S phones after the S21 Ultra. Samsungs trade-in prices are far superior if you have a device to trade-in, or you can pick one up on the secondary market to sell to the Korean company (just make sure it fits the trade-in criteria). But Amazons upfront pricing remains the best right now.

Nintendo Switch OLEDNintendoNintendo has joyfully refused to give any information about the Switch 2 all year long, always making it clear they would not be talking about it with any new presentation. So, naturally, there have been a million different leaks about what it looks like, and how it will perform.The latest chatter (with admittedly nebulous sourcing) that is being virally debated on social media, is that the Nintendo Switch will run at PS4 Pro levels of power, a significant leap from its current capabilities that are more stuck in the PS3 era. Of course thats still a generation behind, but given how the performance gap has narrowed between console generations, that would still be extremely impressive, despite the Pro being a decade old.The catch, however is that the mode most people play the Switch in, handheld, would not have these same capabilities. The PS4 Pro idea is for the Switch when it is docked, not when its in handheld mode, and thats close to base PS4, allegedly. Some are saying this is bad and itis not bad. And it ignores what we just witnessed for this entire console generation.The Switchs power has come into play when it comes to some third party ports or things like the Pokemon series failing to even attempt to look good on the platform. But overwhelmingly power has not mattered for the Switch when its stylized visuals on mainly first party games do the trick. As such, the underpowered Switch has now become the third best-selling system of all time with 146 million units sold, just 14 million away from the PS2 at #1.MORE FOR YOUThere is no reason to imagine that the Switch 2 will not be a massive hit at really any somewhat significant power upgrade level. I think the only issue might be if Nintendo fails to differentiate it from the current system, running into a Wii/Wii U problem if they just call it the New Nintendo Switch Plus or something confusing. If they do a full-on push explaining clearly that its an entirely new system for an entirely new console generation after nearly a decade, thats all it would need.Even if these reports are off and the capabilities are just PS4 level, that is back in an era when the leap from PS3 to PS4 was more significant that 4 to 5, as weve seen. And there are only so many ways to say that the success of the Switch is not dependent on power, as has been true with essentially every Nintendo console for four generations now.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.

Destiny 2BungieWe are just days away from the beginning of 2025, the first year completely outside Destiny 2s decade-long Light and Darkness saga. And I would argue this is the year whether we find out whether Destiny 2 can survive. Possibly even if Bungie can survive long term, but thats a separate conversation, and heavily reliant on Marathon, which is too much of a question mark at this point.2025 will bring the final Episode of the year, one focused on the Hive and the return of the Dreadnaught. Then we launch into the new Frontiers era of Destiny 2 with a summer Apollo expansion and a winter Behemoth expansion, with quarterly, seemingly story-free Major Updates. No more seasons, no more Episodes. Apollo and Behemoth seem likely to be somewhere in between a traditional expansion and an Episode in terms of size.The challenges are as follows:Destiny 2 currently has its lowest (Steam) playercount in the history of the game on that platform, and console numbers are no doubt trending similarly. This is despite an episode adding some genuinely good activities, but these yawning gaps in between Acts create almost unprecedented levels of downtime. The same structure will exist next Episode, and it remains to be seen whether there will be enough changes to draw more players, or if these declines will continue.The Frontiers era has promised to take us out of the current solar system and into new places. But a test there is going to be what percentage of players actually show up for these new, smaller expansions. The Final Shape posted close to series highs, but given that we have ended up at series lows at the end of this year, it will take some heavy lifting to get players to return for Frontiers/Apollo. So whats it going to be, 70% of players return? 50%? 30% And what about as the year goes on without actual seasons or Episodes in the interim?Destiny 2 FrontiersBungieBungie is now down to just 850 or so employees split between Destiny and Marathon, half what it was a few years ago between layoffs and quiet departures. And, as Marathon aims for a 2025 release (probably 2026, if were being honest) more resources will shift over there, as that game being a hit is really the main key to Bungies survival. But whether its a hit or miss, future Destiny content will be reduced in scale.There are promising signs like Destiny 2 still ranking in Steams Platinum tier of earners in 2024, albeit that was again, the year of The Final Shape which put up huge numbers. And despite what it earns, Bungies burn rate of cash spend has always been enormous, which resulted in significant issues post-Lightfall and there have been cuts and cuts since then. It has not been healthy for a while now.I am legitimately wondering that if 2025 content does not perform the way it needs to, that Bungie may in fact consider putting Destiny on ice for the foreseeable future and devote everything to Marathon or other projects while keeping D2 in maintenance mode. Well, not everything, as I would hope the idea would to be to attempt to bring Destiny roaring back to life with a sequel say, five years from now, which I (and the playerbase) have said many times feels like the only way to fix things and stop these endless declines. But that would require work to essentially begin...now. It is hard to see Destiny 2 doing nothing but cranking out Frontiers-level content for the next five years without any sort of move toward an eventual sequel. The game is going to feel ancient the longer this goes, and we are speeding toward an entirely new console generation.Its possible Frontiers is a hit, and if content spend is reduced and player spend stays the same or even improves, that could mean a more profitable, slimmer Destiny really is the way forward. But I am seeing more red flags than green ones as we hit 2025 here, as much as Id like that not to be the case.MORE FOR YOUFollow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.

In a nutshell: Tesla finds itself at the forefront of a heated competition between South Korean semiconductor giants Samsung and SK Hynix. The electric vehicle manufacturer has reportedly reached out to both companies, seeking samples of their upcoming HBM4 memory chips. Tesla wants to integrate the next-gen high-bandwidth memory into its Dojo system. Dojo is a custom-built supercomputer designed to train the company's "Full Self-Driving" neural networks. Industry insiders suggest Tesla could deploy the upgraded memory not just in Dojo, but also in its data centers and future self-driving vehicles.Currently, the Dojo system utilizes older HBM2e chips to train the complex AI models underlying Tesla's Full Self-Driving capabilities. But, as a TrendForce report citing Maeli Business Newspaper highlights, the company wants to utilize the performance boosts promised by HBM4.For those unfamiliar, high-bandwidth memory like HBM4 represents a specialized type of RAM designed to provide tremendous data throughput while operating with greater energy efficiency. These qualities make it ideal for the kind of processing power required by cutting-edge AI workloads.SK Hynix claims its chip will deliver 1.4 times the bandwidth of the previous HBM3e generation while consuming 30% less power. If accurate, this indicates a bandwidth improvement exceeding 1.65 terabytes per second.Another anticipated HBM4 innovation is an integrated logic die acting as a controller underneath the memory stack. This change could unlock further speed and power optimizations ideal for AI data processing. // Related StoriesSK Hynix and Samsung find themselves in a fierce battle to stake their claim in the HBM market, which is projected to swell to $33 billion by 2027. The two rivals are reportedly working hard on HBM4 prototypes specifically for evaluation by Tesla and other major US tech titans, including Microsoft, Meta, and Google.Currently, SK leads this race by supplying chips to Nvidia, and it aims to kick off HBM4 production in late 2025. The company has also managed to pull ahead by launching its 321-layer TLC NAND flash memory first. Samsung looks determined to gain ground, though; it has partnered with TSMC to produce key components leveraging its advanced 4nm process node.

The HomePod mini first launched in 2020 to mediocre praise. While Apple fans celebrated the bite-sized speaker, other critics pointed out that it lacked the intelligence of its competitors. The main selling point of the HomePod mini is its sound quality; now that so many other smart speakers have rid themselves of the tinny audio that first plagued their launch, Apple will need to step it up if it introduces the rumored HomePod mini 2 next year.Unfortunately, it seems the planned upgrades arent that noteworthy, according to Bloombergs Mark Gurman. The new smart home speaker is said to come equipped with Apples in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. This would allow the HomePod mini 2 to connect more easily and with greater bandwidth than the current model of HomePod.Recommended VideosOtherwise, Apple has kept a tight lid on what it has planned. The few leaks weve heard relate to the upcoming FaceID smart doorbell and smart lock, as well as the long-rumored Apple smart home hub. If these rumors hold any water at all, then it seems to clear that Apple is planning for a larger presence in the smart home industry in 2025 and beyond.AppleIf only for the sake of consumers, the HomePod mini 2 deserves more upgrades than just a boost to its connectivity. At the very least, Apple should offer more color options, improved speakers, and other quality of life improvements but if the company plans to release a smart home hub, that might be where all of its efforts are going versus updating a product that only saw middling performance the first time around.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAnother obvious upgrade that Apple could make to all of its smart home tech and one that is a necessity to compete with Amazon and Google is the addition of Apple Intelligence. Improving Siris capabilities could unlock a new world for HomeKit users, but we wont know what the tech giant has planned until the official announcement.Editors Recommendations