Today's NYT Strands hints and answersCredit: New York TimesLooking for Thursdays Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:Weve come to the end of the week and very nearly the end of the year. Indeed, this will be my last Strands guide of 2024. I pass the torch to my colleagues Paul Tassi and Kris Holt, but Ill be back in a few weeks. We have a fun Strands to solve today, so lets go solve it!Strands is the newest game in the New York Times stable of puzzle games. Its a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day were given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the days theme.Spoilers ahead.Todays Strands HintsTodays Theme: Back in styleHint #1: Think a specific decade.Hint #2: You might listen to Bon Jovi or Madonna during this time period.Read More: Zorse Is A New Game Being Tested At The New York TimesTo help you uncover all the words, here are the first two letters of every word, including the spangram.WIMUNESPJUPEEIRemember, spoilers ahead!What Are Todays Strands Answers?Todays spangram is: EIGHTIESHeres the full list of words:WINDBREAKERMULLETNEONSPANDEXJUMPSUITPERMHeres the completed Strands grid:Today's StrandsCredit: Erik KainTodays Strands BreakdownStyle is cyclical, and I guess the 80s are back in style with todays fashionable youth. I can never keep up with this time traveling nonsense. I found MULLET first and then NEON just under it, at which point I sought out the spangram and quickly snagged EIGHTIES. The tough ones were SPANDEXI kept seeing SEX, naturallyand WINDBREAKER, which I got at the very end.How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!

A man opening an unwanted Christmas giftgettyEvery year, millions of people unwrap Christmas gifts that they do not love, need, or even like. The post-holiday season is filled with returns, exchanges, ormore worryinglyitems discarded entirely. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans returned $743 billion with holiday purchases comprises 15.4% of that figure. For many unwanted gifts, the journey ends in a landfill, contributing to waste and of course environmental damage.With sustainability becoming an urgent global priority, finding thoughtful ways to handle unwanted Christmas presents is more critical than ever. Here are ways you can tackle this issue while minimizing waste, promoting a circular economy, and aligning with sustainable practices.The Cost of Unwanted Christmas GiftsUnwanted gifts are more than just a personal inconvenience; they represent significant environmental and insurmountable financial costs. A 2024 report by Civic Science revealed that at the end of the holiday season, nearly 1-in-3 U.S. adults who received gifts plan to make a return or exchange. nearly 30% of holiday shoppers planned to return at least one item. Moreover, returned merchandise often does not go back on shelves. According to Optoro, the reverse logistics of US product returns contribute a staggering 16 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually. These returns also generate up to 9.5 billion pounds of landfill waste, equivalent to the weight of approximately 10,000 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes.Gifts at Brunssum, the Netherlands, - December 23, 2019. gettyThe majority of returned items rarely find their way back to retail shelves. According to the Guardian, they often end up at liquidation sales for example, a truckload of TVs might sell for $2,000. The next option for them, is to end up in landfills, which absorb around 40% of all returned item. Managing the logistics of this process falls to the retail returns industry, valued at an estimated $627 billion in 2023. The sector often involves labor-intensive activities such as collection, shipping, testing, sorting, and grading itemstasks that range from stain and sniff tests for clothing to repackaging and arranging transportation to either landfills or resellers. The top four solutions for dealing with unwanted Christmas gifts are regifting, reselling, donating and lastly, encouraging more thoughtful and sustainable gifts.Regifting: The Simple Solution to Unwanted Christmas GiftsRegifting, once a taboo practice, has gained popularity as a sustainable alternative to discarding or returning unwanted Christmas presents. Studies by Finder, forecasts that in 2024, an estimated 53% of American adultsroughly 140 million peoplewill unwrap at least one present that they wish they did not receive. With the average unwanted gift valued at $72, this trend will collectively cost Americans a staggering $10.1 billion. Finder also indicated that clothing and accessories top the list of most unwanted items, accounting for 43% of these unloved presents. However, regifting offers a silver lining, with 39% of recipients opting to pass these items along rather than let them go to waste.Read More: Will Climate Change End The Dream Of A White Christmas?Regifting helps to reduce waste and extends the life cycle of products. For example, a brand-new sweater that does not fit your style could be perfect for someone else. When regifting, ensure it is thoughtful and matches the recipients taste. Additionally, be sure to remove any personal inscriptions or tags.Turning Christmas Gift Clutter Into CashFor those who want to recoup value from unwanted Christmas gifts, reselling is an increasingly viable option. Online marketplaces like eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace and Depop experienced significant growth in recent years, driven in part by a rise in secondhand shopping. The global second-hand market is set to double by 2027, reaching $350 billion, driven by consumers seeking affordable, sustainable alternatives to fast fashion according to the 2023 Global Data Market Sizing and Growth Estimates.Thrift shopping is reshaping consumer habits by championing a sustainable alternative to the wasteful buy-use-dispose cycle of traditional modern consumerism. This shift is a vital step toward fostering an economy where resources are used efficiently and responsibly, especially those unwanted Christmas presents. Beyond its environmental benefits, thrifting offers practical financial advantages, enabling households to save significantly on purchases and redirect those resources to other priorities.Charitable Donation of Unloved Christmas GiftsIf regifting or reselling do not feel right, donating unwanted Christmas gifts is a meaningful way to make a difference. Nonprofits and shelters often welcome clothing, toys, and household items in good condition. Organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army provide convenient drop-off locations, while local shelters and community centers may have more specific needs.According to the EPA, textiles accounted for 17 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018, representing 5.8% of total MSW generated. Of this, only 14.7% was recycled, with a recycling rate of just 13% for clothing and footwear. Donating items that would otherwise be discarded keeps them out of the waste stream and ensures they find a second life with someone who needs them. It keeps items out of landfills, supports those in need, and promotes a circular economy.Rethinking Christmas Gifting for a Sustainable FutureThe key to reducing the environmental impact of unwanted Christmas gifts lies in rethinking how we give. Thoughtful, sustainable gifting not only minimizes waste but also creates more meaningful exchanges. Experiential gifts, such as event tickets or cooking classes, offer memories rather than clutter. Gift cards empower recipients to select items they genuinely need or desire, ensuring greater satisfaction. It is also an opportunity to support brands that embrace eco-friendly practiceslike carbon-neutral packaging or recycled materialsaligns gifting with sustainability values.Unwanted Christmas gifts do not have to contribute to landfill waste or logistical inefficiencies. Regifting, reselling, donating, or embracing more sustainable gifting practices are all activities that can transform the post-holiday cleanup into an opportunity for environmental responsibility. This shift is not only good for the planet; it is good for your wallet too. Putting sustainability at the forefront during the holidays not only reduces waste but also aligns with the growing consumer preference for eco-conscious solutions.

The big picture: Valve is one of the most important and influential companies in the PC gaming market. It's also one of the most unique due to its private nature and unusually small workforce relative to its impact and competitors. A recent analysis of data uncovered through an ongoing lawsuit against the company highlights how Valve starkly contrasts with the world's biggest tech giants. A Valve employee recently provided PC Gamer with a rough calculation of the company's per-employee income, revealing that Valve generates more money per person than several of the world's largest companies. While the data is a few years old and doesn't account for some significant recent trends in the tech sector, Valve's ranking in this metric likely hasn't shifted much over that time.Exact figures for Valve's per-hour and per-employee net income remain redacted. However, a chart from 2018 confirms that Valve's per-employee income exceeded that of companies like Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Alphabet/Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Amazon.Click to enlargeFacebook's second-place ranking of $780,400 per employee or $89 per hour likely stands far ahead of competitors such as Apple and Microsoft because Facebook employs just under 70,000 employees compared to the two PC giants, which each have workforces over twice that number. By contrast, Amazon, with a headcount of over 1.5 million, earned only around $15,892 per employee, or $1.81 per hour.Filings from a 2021 antitrust lawsuit brought by Wolfire Games revealed that Valve employed just 336 people at the time fewer than the development team for Baldur's Gate 3. Despite this relatively tiny workforce, Valve oversees Steam, which hosts nearly 40 million daily users and dominates the PC game sales market. Wolfire cited this discrepancy as evidence that Steam's 30 percent revenue commission for most titles is unjustified. // Related StoriesNotably, the available data doesn't reflect the impact of the Steam Deck, Valve's handheld gaming PC, which launched in 2022. It's unclear to what extent Valve hired or outsourced additional staff for the device's development and production, but it's unlikely the company expanded its workforce anywhere near the scale of other tech giants.Valve would likely remain at the top of a per-employee income ranking based on current data. However, recent trends such as widespread layoffs and the ongoing AI boom could shift the standings for other companies. It would also be intriguing to see whether Nvidia has entered the ranking, as the AI explosion has propelled its profits to new heights, recently making it the newest member of the $3 trillion club.

If Matthew Dominick ever offers to show you his travel photos, just confirm with him first that hes edited them down from the half a million pictures that he took during his trip.Yes, thats how many images the NASA astronaut captured during his six-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which ended in October.Recommended VideosOn Thursday, NASA posted a message (below) celebrating his impressive work, which besides visually stunning photos also include mesmerizing time-lapses taken from the ISS as it orbited Earth 250 miles up.Please enable Javascript to view this contentWhen you and your camera come together to maximize your joint slay Take a visual journey and see how @DominickMatthew captured the beauty of Earth, the cosmos, and @Space_Station life through his lens: https://t.co/eJJHO1SUgj pic.twitter.com/e1QD0P6njy NASA (@NASA) December 26, 2024RelatedNASA remarked on how Dominicks imagery, which the astronaut also shared on his own X account, showcased the beauty of our planet. From the ethereal glow of auroras dancing across the atmosphere to comets rising up over the horizon during an orbital sunrise, each meticulously captured image reflects his dedication to sharing the wonders of space exploration through social media, the agency said.NASA noted how Dominick also shared tips on how he achieved his images, revealing his camera settings and other parts of his creative process.The moon setting over the Pacific. Went to the cupola to shoot Tropical Storm Hone near Hawaii but right after we passed by the storm the moon started to set.400mm, ISO 500, 1/20000s shutter speed, f2.8, cropped, denoised. pic.twitter.com/YtboVnRNpF Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) August 24, 2024Some of his shots were simply breathtaking.Peering out a Dragon Endeavor window that frames red and green aurora streaming by Dragon Freedom docked to the front of the International Space Station. When Crew-9 arrived I moved out of my crew quarters on the ISS to make room for @AstroHague. I now sleep in Dragon Endeavor pic.twitter.com/34XfeLXpcH Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 7, 2024Amid his daily astronaut duties, Dominick dedicated personal time to this endeavor, amassing nearly 500,000 captivating photos of Earth and snapshots of life aboard the International Space Station, while having traveled 99,708,603 total statute miles around our home planet, NASA said. Through his lens(es), he invited us to experience the awe of space while highlighting the realities of life in orbit, fostering an authentic connection with those who engage with his work.Moonlight illuminates Cairo and the Mediterranean on a mostly clear night. We were up late last night sleep shifting in preparation for undocking and return to Earth in the next few days. Cairo at night is one of my favorite views. I am happy the timing worked out to see it one pic.twitter.com/zLmVozPvfL Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 20, 2024Dominick also documented the arrivals and departures of various spacecraft doing his half-year stay aboard the orbital outpost, while also sharing pictures showing scenes from inside the station.Zooming through the lab on ISS. pic.twitter.com/6jzajAyy1E Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) June 28, 2024What sets Dominicks account apart is his playful perspective, NASA said. He invites his audience into lighthearted moments whether hes cleaning his retainer in microgravity, relishing the arrival of fresh fruit, or sharing insights from the ISS toolbox. By documenting and sharing these experiences, he demystifies the complexities of space travel, making it an accessible and relatable journey for all. Through his engaging posts, Dominick cultivates a deeper connection with his followers, encouraging them to share in the beauty and reality of life beyond our planet.Comet rises up over the horizon just before orbital sunrise with aurora streaking by. 50mm, 1.2, 1/4s, ISO 6400 pic.twitter.com/SlwWdFwQgH Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) September 29, 2024Dominick is now back on terra firma, but fans of ISS photography can currently enjoy the work of another NASA astronaut, Don Pettit, who has been posting some equally amazing photos since arriving at the orbital facility in September.Editors Recommendations

An undersea cable in the Baltic Sea that provides power to Estonia was cut on Wednesday.Finnish authorities say they've seized an oil tanker they suspect caused the outage.Finland's president raised concerns of Russia's "shadow fleet" on social media.Finnish authorities said they've seized an oil tanker on Thursday as part of its probe into the cutting of an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea which provides electricity to Estonia.Finnish customs authorities and the European Union's executive commission said the tanker may be part of Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, The Associated Press reported. Finland police said in a news release that the vessel, Eagle S, was registered in Cook Islands. MarineTraffic, a global ship tracking website, also stated that the ship was flying under the flag of Cook Islands and was sailing between St. Petersburg, Russia, and Port Said, Egypt.On Wednesday, Finnish authorities began investigating the rupture of Estlink-2, an undersea power cable connected between Finland and Estonia, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on X. Finland police said in the press release that the case is being investigated as "aggravated criminal mischief."A spokesperson for Finland's police did not respond to a request for comment sent outside of working hours.Russia has been using a network of mostly aging ships that are difficult to trace back to the country in order to evade costly Western sanctions that were imposed after the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clear Air, a Finland-based think tank, more than half of the 369 vessels exporting Russian crude oil and oil products in November were shadow tankers."Our main task is to find effective means to stop the shadow fleet," Orpo said at a news conference, according to The New York Times. "The shadow fleet pumps money into Russia's war fund so that Russia can continue to wage its war in Ukraine against the people of Ukraine, and it has to be stopped." Finland's President Alexander Stubb also said in a post on X that the risks of Russia's shadow fleet need to be addressed. The damage to the Estlink-2 further highlights growing concerns among countries around the risks of sabotage against undersea power cables and pipelines.In November, two data cables were cut under the Baltic Sea, linking Germany and Finland as well as Sweden and Lithuania. German Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius said without evidence that the incident was no accident."We have to assume, without certain information, that the damage is caused by sabotage," he said.

In the season premiere of "The Flipping El Moussas," Tarek and Heather took on a trash-filled home in Los Angeles.Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa star in "The Flipping El Moussas." HGTV As the episode opens, Tarek and Heather check out a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Los Angeles.Tarek's company, Tarek Buys Houses, had purchased the 1,200-square-foot property for $430,000,They originally intended to sell the home to another flipper at wholesale, but because it was so dirty, Tarek and Heather would have had to invest money in cleaning it out before they could sell it to another flipper.Instead, they decided to flip it themselves. They set a budget of $184,000 for renovations and hoped to sell the home for close to $1 million. The home's large living area was full of garbage when Tarek and Heather started working on it.The house was full of trash. HGTV The large living area had an open-concept feel, though it was difficult to see the layout when Tarek and Heather first toured the property because it was covered in debris.Tarek said in the premiere that it took his team three days and 10 trips to the dump to clean out the property.Tarek and Heather decided to fully open the living area during the flip. The new living space felt large and airy after the renovation.They removed a wall to open up the space. HGTV Tarek and Heather took down the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the living area, making the space feel larger.The space was full of light thanks to its white walls and the sliding glass doors that took up nearly a whole wall in the living room. Touches like beachy lighting modernized the space. The backyard wasn't much to look at before the renovation.The backyard was in rough shape. HGTV The fenced-in backyard offered privacy, but that was the only redeeming quality when the El Moussas worked on the project. The grass had died, and the house wasn't in great shape.However, the El Moussas noticed that a raised patio would create a view of the area, so they decided to add it to the property. A patio made the house feel more luxurious.The patio made the yard feel bigger. HGTV The episode revealed that adding the patio to the home wasn't simple. The team originally constructing it built an unstable structure and burned a hole through it, to Heather and Tarek's dismay.But the final version of the patio created an indoor-outdoor living vibe thanks to the sliding doors.The El Moussas also added a new fence, grass, and a gravel area to the yard for additional seating. The kitchen was originally full of dark cabinetry.The kitchen was closed off. HGTV To make the kitchen feel grander, the El Moussas decided to place the oven and gas range in the center of the space so they were visible when you entered the home.They had to move some windows around to make the change, which ended up causing them weeks of delays on the flip. The delays were worth it, as the range became the centerpiece of the kitchen.The space felt bigger. HGTV The kitchen looked cohesive with the living room, featuring white counters, appliances, and built-in open shelves.A window above the sink overlooked the patio the El Moussas added to the backyard.Tarek and Heather wanted to modernize the fireplace in the living room.The fireplace had a stone exterior. HGTV A stone fireplace took up much of the central wall in the living room, but the dark color was dated and didn't fit the clean look Tarek and Heather were creating for the home. Floating shelves and white brick made the space feel fresh.White detailing made the space feel big. HGTV The new fireplace featured vertical white brick framed by built-in shelving made of wood.Large windows sat opposite the sliding glass doors, so light flooded the home. The primary bedroom wasn't as private as it could have been.The primary bedroom didn't have a true en suite. HGTV When Tarek and Heather first walked through the house, they found that the primary bedroom had a bathroom attached to it, but it was accessible from the home's laundry room and kitchen as well.The El Moussas decided to close off the bathroom and move the laundry room to a closet to make the bedroom bigger and have a true en suite. They made the space feel fresher.The room was enclosed. HGTV Rather than one large window, the El Moussas added two windows framing the bed in the primary to give it a sense of grandeur.A sliding door led the way to the en suite. The bathroom featured a large walk-in shower and double vanity.The bathroom had a walk-in shower. HGTV Heather and Tarek's vision for the bathroom paid off, as they were able to use the former laundry room to add square footage to the bathroom.The walk-in shower featured a bench, and tile floors with a star-shaped pattern brought a pop of color to the room.The wooden cabinetry also matched the shelving in the living area, giving the home a sense of cohesion. The flip took longer than the El Moussas wanted, but they still made a profit.They made a profit on the house. HGTV Due to project delays, Tarek and Heather spent 12 months flipping the property in Los Angeles.They also spent nearly $100,000 over their original budget on the renovation and invested $276,000 in the flip. Considering the carrying and selling costs, Tarek and Heather's breakeven price for the house was $793,000.They originally listed the house for $999,999 and got an offer of $920,000.

Meta's Horizon app topped Apple's App Store on Christmas Day, signaling strong VR headset demand.Quest headsets, starting at $299, are gaining mainstream traction in virtual reality.Despite strong demand, Meta's Reality Labs faces significant financial losses.Meta's virtual reality ambitions got a Christmas boost this year.On Christmas Day, the company's Meta Horizon app, which users must download to set up the Quest virtual reality headsets developed by Meta, was the top free app in Apple's App Store in the US and the UK, indicating strong holiday demand. Meta Horizon was the top free app on Apple's App Store. screenshot/App Store Meta has never disclosed how many Quest headsets it has sold. The surge in app downloads suggests that the Quest is solidifying its status as one of the most mainstream VR headsets. The devices, which start at $299 and are developed by Meta's Reality Labs division, are a relatively affordable gateway to virtual and mixed-reality experiences. They let people watch movies on giant virtual screens, play immersive games, and even work out.Meta did not respond to a request for comment about Quest sales from Business Insider.Quest competes with VR headsets from other companies, including Sony, HTC, and Apple, although Apple's Vision Pro headset costs much more, at $3,500.Meta has been working to make VR more accessible to a broader audience. In October, the company launched the Quest 3S, a less expensive version of the more advanced Quest 3, priced at $299 $200 less than the standard model. Like the Quest 3, the 3S lets people experience mixed reality in full color, making it a compelling entry point for VR newcomers.Meta's quarterly revenue from Reality Labs, which includes $299 Ray-Ban glasses that let people take pictures and talk to Meta's AI chatbot, was $270 million an increase of 29% compared to the same quarter the year before, the company announced in October.Still, Reality Labs continues to bleed money. In the third quarter of 2024, Meta reported that Reality Labs lost $4.4 billion, up from $3.7 billion in the same quarter of 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, Reality Labs lost nearly $13 billion, Meta's earnings report said, and the company has warned investors that it expects the division to lose even more money."Overall, I'd say Reality Labs is clearly one of our strategic long-term priorities," said Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer, responding to a question about Reality Labs' losses on the earnings call. She added that Meta expects it to "be an area of significant investment as we build out towards the very ambitious product road map that we have there."Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has remained bullish on the company's VR strategy. On the call, Zuckerberg highlighted the company's strong demand for its Ray-Ban glasses and expressed optimism about Orion, an early prototype of its glasses that superimpose digital elements onto the real world."We're not too far off from being able to deliver great-looking glasses that let you seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds," Zuckerberg said on the earnings call.Unlike the Meta Horizon app for Quest headsets, Meta View, the app for setting up the Ray-Ban glasses, however, isn't on the App Store's top charts.

Top 10 biggest video game news stories of 2024 from Xbox to ConcordGameCentralPublished December 27, 2024 1:00am Its mostly been bad news (Rockstar Games/Bloomberg/Sony Interactive Entertainment)2024 is over and once again turmoil has ravaged the video games industry, but what were the biggest stories of the year and how will they impact 2025?The worst thing we can say about 2024 is that it wasnt very different to 2023. It still had all the same problems, with constant job layoffs and a constant lack of big announcements. Publishers were still obsessed with live service games, despite most of them still flopping, and we never did learn anything new about the Switch 2 and GTA 6.By the very end of the year, after an unusually good The Game Awards, there were reasons to be optimistic for 2025, but the unfortunate truth is that for most of 2024 we were still in a holding pattern, although what exactly we were supposed to be waiting for still isnt clear.If Xbox and PlayStation have some great masterplan it really wasnt obvious, but let us remind you of the biggest stories of the year and you can draw your own conclusions about what they all add up to1. Xbox goes mostly multiformatAlmost the very first news story of the year was a rumour that Xbox exclusives were going to start appearing on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The fan response to this was predictably emotional, with most either denying it or accusing Microsoft of betrayal. In what became a pattern for the rest of the year, Microsoft allowed the speculation to drag on for weeks until they finally announced that four games were indeed coming to PlayStation 5 and, in some cases, Switch. Although for no good reason they refused to say which ones at first.Rather than pulling the Band-Aid off in one smooth action, the annoucement saw the assembled execs looking sheepish and embarrassed, while at the same treating the idea of games like Starfield and Indiana Jones coming to PlayStation 5 as absurd even though they ended up announcing one of those before the year was out.Even now, Microsofts exact policy with regards to multiformat releases isnt clear, despite a tacit admission that there are no redlines and that even key exclusives such as Halo and Gears Of War could come to PlayStation 5. Multiple sources, throughout the year, have suggested that Microsoft employees themselves have little clue what is going on, with one respected source proclaiming that Xbox is just a disaster.That shouldnt suggest that Sonys policies are much clearer though, with the company having made several extremely vague comments about supporting other formats, without ever specifying what it was talking about. Although given their claim that tentpole PlayStation 5 exclusives will not be released at the same time on PC, it seems as if theyre not giving up on the concept of console exclusivity just yet. Which is the opposite of what insiders claim for Xbox. The Blizzard staff behind Phil Spencer dont know whats about to happen next (X)2. Job cuts without endAt least 14,600 jobs have been lost in the games industry during 2024. Add that to the 10,000 layoffs in 2023 and its clear the post-pandemic period has been the most disruptive the video games industry has seen since the US crash of 1983. According to experts, the constant stream of layoffs and closures is certain to continue into 2025, making the video games industry seem an increasingly unappealing prospect for veterans and students.The reasons for all this are complicated but, as usual, mostly the fault of short-sighted companies who thought (or wanted to pretend to investors) that the growth seen during lockdown would continue forever. The same companies who also failed to prepare sensibly for the increasing costs of development and the fact that live service games were clearly not a licence to print money for everyone.This, together with Microsofts reckless spending spree which has in turn encouraged other publishers to get out their pocket books has led to thousands of job losses at Microsoft, over a thousand at Sony, and similar numbers at EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, Epic Games, Twitch and others.As was the case last year, the Japanese games industry has barely been affected at all, with what job losses there have been being restricted to their Western divisions. Except for the one Japanese developer Microsoft used to own.3. Disasters in live service gamingThe appalling level of job losses in the games industry right now are almost unprecedented but the nonsense over live service games is worryingly similar to the rush to copy World Of Warcraft (which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year) during the mid-2000s. Back then, every publisher under the sun tried to make their own rival MMO while ignoring the fact there was clearly only space for a small number of successful titles in the genre.Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League was clearly doomed, long before it eventually launched, and its complete failure came as a surprise to no one, the only silver lining so far being that developer Rocksteady hasnt been shut down as a result.Ubisofts XDefiant and Skull And Bones were also high profile victims, but the most infamous failure of the year was Sonys Concord. A multi-million flop that took eight years to make and didnt even last two weeks before it was announced it was being shut down. In its 30th anniversary year, it was the biggest flop in PlayStation history and yet their immediate response was to assure investors that they were still going to plough on anyway, with more live service games that nobody wants and the market hasnt got space for. Xbox dont seem to care if you buy a console or not (Microsoft)4. Xbox console collapseMicrosofts multiformat plans are just one part of the puzzle when it comes to the increasingly uncertain future of the Xbox brand. It was clear last year that Xbox console sales are already in a dire situation but Microsofts response to this was to announce that they are already making a next gen console, while constantly hinting at a portable as well although its still unclear if those are supposed to be one and the same device.Xboxs first party line-up this year has been better than previous years, in large part thanks to Indiana Jones And The Great Circle (coming to PlayStation 5 in spring), but Microsoft has long ago acknowledged that the Xboxs fortunes cannot be reversed by quality games alone, or at least not without something truly groundbreaking.Their bizarre This is an Xbox campaign, that seemed to actively encourage people not to buy an Xbox console, shows they think the future is streaming, despite the obvious technical and practical limitations. As Game Pass and PS Plus subscription levels continue to stagnant, its not clear that Xbox has any future beyond that of a third party publisher with their own streaming and subscription services.Theres no shame in that streaming is the future, at some point but the mixed messages and disingenuous comments from Microsoft execs has made this a frustrating and confusing year for Xbox fans.5. Live service games are not deadWhat a publisher tells the outside world and what it actually intends to do are not always the same thing, but while there has been some indication from Sony, and particularly Warner Bros., that they realise live service games are not the easy grift they initially thought, there have been enough successes from new titles to give publishers hope.None of Sonys homemade games have been a hit yet but they did publish Helldivers 2, which went on to become the fastest selling PlayStation exclusive of all time where the majority of its sales were on PC. Palworld was another smash hit at the start of the year, breaking Steam records and causing Nintendos lawyers to break out the heavy weaponry.But after the first few months both titles saw a significant dip in interest. While they are usually still within the top 50 played titles on Steam (the only real way to monitor their success) thats a far cry from their record-breaking beginnings and further proof that becoming the next Fortnite is a lot harder than games companies like to admit. And yet together they were just successful enough to ensure they wont give up just yet. PS5 Pro the worlds least cheap console (Sony Interactive Entertainment)6. PS5: the peak of hubrisWhile the problems at Xbox are clear for all to see, Sonys position is hardly any less precarious. PlayStation 5 console sales continue to trounce Xbox Series X/S, but theyve peaked early and are now falling faster than expected. Something which Sony doesnt seem to have connected with the fact that theyve announced and released so few first party games in the last two years.After the exit of Jim Ryan, PlayStation spent several months without any permanent boss, with the interim one making a number of disturbing comments about how he thought the PlayStation business doesnt understand growth and that there wouldnt be any major franchise releases for the entire financial year (the eventually award-winning Astro Bot apparently didnt count in his eyes).Instead, Sony continued releasing new hardware, rather than new games, with the incomprehensibly expensive PS5 Pro and its surreal unveiling, which seems specifically designed to show the console offered no obvious improvement at all.Sony did at least announce some new first party games this year, that werent live service titles, in Ghost of Ytei and Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, so there is some hope that 2025 will be more positive. But at the moment it is just hope and Sonys future intentions remain as opaque as when 2024 began. This is probably what the Switch 2 looks like (Reddit)7. Nintendo Switch 2: almost a secretIf Microsoft and Sony were having another annus horribilis, Nintendo were far more comfortable, as the Nintendo Switch did a final victory lap with a much busier year of releases than either of its would-be rivals have managed in years. The Switch is headed for retirement but in 2024 we learned almost nothing about the so-called Switch 2, other than itll definitely be revealed before April 2025 and that it is backwards compatible.Fans went crazy with theories and rumours, even going as far as to track shipping manifests around the world, but in the end the console was leaked via a series of production line photos and images of third party peripherals.The Switch 2 seems to look almost exactly the same as the original Switch, but with a couple of mysterious new buttons whose function can currently only be guessed at. Theres been no proper leaks about any of the games though (just that weird, semi-secret online game currently being tested on the Switch), so all that will still be a surprise in 2025.Current rumours suggest the unveiling will take place in the first half of January but considering how insiders havent been right about anything else yet its hard to know how much faith to put into that. Black Ops 6: Zombies now missing many of its voice actors (Activision)8. AI actorsWhile the constant job losses are very much a current problem in the video games industry, it seems clear that AI is going to be the next one after that. Games publishers already need little incentive to lay off talented creatives but the advent of AI (or rather the unreliable, plagiarism-based technology which is referred to as AI at the moment) has given them a whole new avenue of excuses.Again, one of the first news stories of the year was how badly publishers are handling the situation, with video game voice actors furious over a new deal forced on them, which eventually led to them going on strike the effects of which will become very obvious in two or three years, when the games they were meant to be working on come out.Overall though, big publishers have been slower to jump on the bandwagon, at least publicly, than you might have expected. EA seems keenest, and many of the voice actors from Black Ops 6 quit working with Activision, but Nintendo made it clear it didnt want to use the technology for anything substantial.It was impossible to understand what one of PlayStations bosses was saying about the subject though, when they tried to address it, so this is clearly not a subject thats going to go away quicklyTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5videoUp Next9. GTA 6 MIAThere were two subjects fans wanted to know about, above all else, in 2024 and that was the Switch 2 and GTA 6. Frustratingly though, we learned almost nothing about either. In fact there was more official information about Nintendos new console than there was Rockstars blockbuster-to-be.Not a single thing was said about it officially in 2024 and, surprisingly, there was no second trailer, after the first one premiered in December 2023. At the beginning of the year there were a lot of reports about the game being behind schedule and subject to a delay into 2026. Rockstar owner Take-Two went to great pains to deny this but no second trailer for more than a year is peculiar and theres now no way to predict when it will arrive.More TrendingA former Rockstar developer suggested that no decision will be taken until 2025, as to whether the game needs to be delayed or not, but at this point, and with the amount of hype already behind it, its clear they can afford to take as long as they like. Couldnt they just make some new games instead? (YouTube)10. The next gen no one wantedThe Nintendo Switch may be overdue a replacement but the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 were only four years old in November and while, under normal circumstances, that would be around the time youd expect to hear the first whispers of a new generation these are not normal circumstances. The pandemic meant serious stock problems for more than a year and combined with the sudden slowdown in new releases over the last two years it really feels as if the generation has barely begun.Not for Microsoft and Sony though, for who falling console sales means only one thing: begin planning in earnest for the next generation. Microsoft has officially announced its making a next gen console and has also heavily hinted about a portable, but its still not clear if theyre one and the same (the portable could be based on the Xbox Series X/S, although when they suggested it wouldnt be out for a long time that implied it wasnt).Sony has been less explicit about their plans, but rumours also suggest theyre working on a portable, especially after the PlayStation Portal did better than they expected. Although most rumours suggest somewhere between 2026 to 2028 for the next generation theres no reliable way to know at the moment, which makes it one of the key questions for 2025 to answer.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

As cinemas face a tumultuous future, and ticket prices continue to rise, movies and television at home are becoming the main option for family entertainment. But even as someone who considers themselves a cinephileI watch movies for a livingI didnt quite understand how dire the situation was with options at home until I had my baby earlier this year, and couldnt get to a movie theater nearly as often as I once had. And its all thanks to that little circle of buffering doom. Even Beyonce poked fun at it when she indirectly told Netflix they better not play with her NFL Christmas Halftime Show. We stan our disco space western songtress here, and agree: the biggest flaw with streaming is the inconsistency of connection, and the very inopportune moments that the suspension of disbelief in storytelling can be marked by glitches on any platform. At the start of the year, when I was early in my pregnancy, I was assigned to watch Furiosa at LAs glorious IMAX Headquarters. In order to prep, I thought Id just turn on Max and re-watch Mad Max: Fury Road. And to my surprise and quick consternation, what was discovered within a few minutes of watching the film is that something was off with the scores audio. My husband and I have long been appointment movie theater goerswere there at the first or second opening-day showtimeand we remember how Mad Max: Fury Road sounded. This was not it. Figuring that something must have gone wrong with Maxs streaming service compression of the audio files, we switched over to our digital copy. And still it didnt sound quite right. So we dug out our Blu-ray and popped it in, and there it was: the pristine sounds of Junkie XLs warring drums and guitars coming out of our soundbar. I knew that as a parent, Id have to get used to more home entertainment than before. Ill admit, even for re-watches or first-time viewings of classics I would prefer to experience them on the big screen at revival houses like the New Beverly, American Cinemathque, or Vidiots. If I loved it on the big screen, Id then go to the store or my fave used video shop to add that title to my collectiononly to watch if the occasion called for it.A scene from Blueys Dad Baby episode. YouTube Now that a future cinephile has joined our family, my husband and I are excited to curate their entertainment for as long as we can. And that goes for TV shows as well. Our home has been a Bluey household even before we welcomed our little one; there will be no Cocomelon, Peppa Pig,or Minions if we can help it. Going from childless millennials who loved Bluey to new parents has been a whole journey in making sure our kid gets to experience the show as its meant to be. It was unsurprising that when Disney acquired the Ludo Studio show, it did some editing and episode banning, though fortunately it has gone back on that for the most part. Still, we went and tracked down the first couple seasons on DVD to circumvent any unwanted sanitizing, and nabbed the music from the show on vinyl. Like, really, why do we have to sit through all the international credits in silence before the next episode plays?Being home postpartum during the holidays was a whole other learning curve; more often than not, it was typical buffering interruptions while on most streaming services. And sure, it could just be my internet connection but thats not an issue when you have a good Blu-ray player and disc. You might be asking, if I am so annoyed by watching movies on Max, Disney+, Netflix, and the rest, why dont I just watch them from my film snob collection? Funny you should ask, because its a not-so-funny story: I moved during the pandemic and someone stole our physical media collectionsave for one box of our absolute faves. Thats right, somewhere in the Valley someone acquired a film schools worth of greatest movies on Blu-ray and DVDs right off the curb next to a moving truck. Rude.And how does that come around to my current predicament as a parent? Our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizza box collection? Gone. How did we realize? Shortly before watching Mutant Mayhem we looked through our box. It wasnt there, so we went searching to see which platform had the original films. Paramount? Oh, we dont subscribe! Same goes for if you want to catch up on the Sonic movies before seeing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Passing the time with a baby at home has been a whole mess of trying to figure out which streaming service has what, seeing certain titles pulled, and trying to find out if we still owned what we wanted to watch.For example, were still in peak festive movie season; if you want to watch An American Tail for Hanukkah, tough luck. Amblin animated movies are not available on what youre paying for. You can rent or buy Fievels adventures on Prime Video, but if like most households youre paying for multiple platforms which you cant even share with loved ones anymore, its just adding to the cost. And even if you subscribe to Disney+ and want to watch Frozen, good luck trying to stream it at the same time as millions of others hanging out at home over the winter break. It kept getting frozenand I will not let that go. So unless you own them and are hoping your PS4 will still work, its a whole problem. A whole problem Ill be writing about in a new column about the importance of physical media and how best to watch it at home. Thankfully we got a PS5 for Christmas so the journey starts now and by the time Wicked is released on Blu-ray, well hopefully have some answers. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is making a comeback that no one asked for. Recent federal data shows that cases of the vaccine-preventable disease this year have reached the highest levels in a decade. As of December 14, there have been 32,085 cases of pertussis reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this year. Thats a fivefold increase from the tally recorded in 2023, which only saw around 6,500 cases. There are several factors to blame for the surge, experts say, including declining vaccination rates. Pertussis is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The infection typically causes respiratory symptoms, most notably fits of coughing that have inspired its nickname (the whooping refers to the noise people often make when trying to breath after coughing). Though pertussis is typically mild in adults, the infection can be more serious in young children or other vulnerable populations, such as people with weakened immune systems. While the first pertussis vaccine was invented over a century ago, it wasnt widely recommended and used until the late 1940s, when it paired with vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria. The combination shot has been a mainstay of vaccination programs in the U.S. ever since, and its helped greatly reduce the burden of pertussis. Prior to mass vaccination, for instance, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 cases of pertussis reported annually in the U.S.Since 2000, the U.S. had tens of thousands of annually reported pertussis cases. But as with many infectious diseases, the covid-19 pandemic indirectly reduced the spread of pertussis, thanks in part to people practicing social distancing. With the world and peoples social habits having largely returned to normal, the incidence of these diseases has climbed back up as well. So at least part of this years spike in cases could simply be a return to pre-pandemic trends, according to the CDC. That said, this years tally is unusually high for modern times. Its the highest number of cases seen since 2014, when there were 32,971 cases. And in some states, experts and health officials have blamed lowering vaccination rates among residents and their children for the rise.Another important factor concerns the vaccine itself. In the U.S. and many other countries, people have switched to a newer, different form of the pertussis vaccine. While this vaccine is safer than the older, whole-cell version, evidence has shown that it provides less immediate and sustained protection from pertussis overall. As a result of this switch, experts have argued that future outbreaks of pertussis are likely to be larger when they happen. Still, vaccination remains the most crucial tool to keeping pertussis in check, and the less people are vaccinated against it, the greater the risk of sustained outbreaks. Worldwideespecially in countries with low vaccination coveragepertussis causes 24 million annual cases, along with 161,000 deaths in children under five each year.In the U.S., about 80% of children under two have received the recommended full series of DTaP shots, 90% of teens have received at least one shot of the Tdap vaccine, and only 43% of adults over 18 have received a Tdap shot in the last ten years (boosters are recommended every decade).