Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been announced, players and industry professionals have been weighing in on social media. Overall, the reactions to Switch 2 have been largely positive, but some are skeptical that it's going to be able to handle at least one of this year's AAA games.GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain had an apt analogy for the Switch and its successor.pic.twitter.com/eiXnsJ7O8F Tamoor Hussain (@tamoorh) January 16, 2025 Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski wasn't exactly impressed by the increased size.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Kadokawa is aiming to expand its operations after Sony acquired approximately 10% of its shares (this number includes the shares Sony previously owned). The total investment amounts to 50 billion yen (around $322 million) and was completed on January 7, 2025.

PlayStation Stores extending the new year celebrations with the January Deals promotion, starting January 15 for a limited time*. You can enjoy steep discounts on a variety of titles, including Gran Turismo 7 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition, EA SPORTS FC 25 Ultimate Edition, The Last of Us Part I Digital Deluxe Edition and many more.Head to PlayStation Store to see the full list and find out your regional discount.*January Deals promotion available on PlayStation Store from 00.00am JST, Wednesday January 15 until 23:59pm JST Wednesday January 29. Game selection may differ by region. Check PlayStation Store for more details. Not applicable for Indonesia.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been unveiled. But, in a minimal announcement video, Nintendo chose to mostly show off the new hardware, plus a small glimpse of what appears to be a new Mario Kart game. Its a deflating moment, and a curious decision. For Nintendo above all game console manufacturers, the link between hardware and software is an intense and symbiotic one and Nintendos exclusive games are the primary reason to buy its consoles.The Switch 2 will be no exception. In fact, this might be more true for the Switch 2 than many past Nintendo consoles, because the Switch 2 has no major new gimmick of its own, give or take what seems to be a mouse mode for its controllers. Its a straightforward hardware upgrade: a bigger, better Switch, with largely similar features. Why would players who arent fussed about upgrading to the latest tech bother getting one? To play the latest Mario Kart, Super Mario, or Animal Crossing, of course which makes the absence of more than one of these games from this initial sales pitch rather baffling.Well have to wait and see what Nintendos plans are for revealing Switch 2 games. Its notable that, while there have been leaks about the console itself for months (if not years) ahead of its announcement, there have been next to no leaks about its first-party games, Mario Kart aside and no substantive details about that game, either. The announcement video certainly doesnt give much away about it.Otherwise, the chatter is all about ports of existing or already announced third-party titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Red Dead Redemption 2, Metal Gear Solid Delta, and even Halo: The Master Chief Collection. These games are known quantities, and publishers interest in bringing their recent hits to a more powerful successor to the 146-million-selling Switch is surely a given.Nintendo itself has successfully kept its own Switch 2 titles locked down, and seems happy to wait a little longer probably until the Nintendo Direct on April 2 to reveal them. Perhaps Nintendo has some true surprises in store. Perhaps it wants to give each game its own time to shine. Or perhaps Nintendos marketers feel its better to wait to show the games until theres an opportunity for people to play them on the host hardware, to fully appreciate how the experience is different from playing on a Switch.Theres a very relevant comparison here, and thats the Switchs own announcement video. Like the Switch 2 teaser, this featured just one all-new reveal, and a similarly teasing one: a glimpse of the then-unannounced Super Mario Odyssey. But Nintendo showed quite a few other games playing on Switch, from both its own studios and other publishers. There was a port of Skyrim, an NBA game, and several ports of known or released Wii U titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8, and Splatoon 2. These games were used to illustrate some of the Switchs unique features, like its ability to switch between home TV and portable play, and its detachable controllers for portable local multiplayer.The Switch 2 is backward-compatible with Switch games, so since Nintendo is reluctant to reveal many of its new games why would it not use this same playbook again, and simply show some existing titles running on the new machine? The answer lies in the crucial difference in context between the launches of the Switch and the Switch 2.Firstly, the Wii U had been a sales flop. Games like Mario Kart 8 were consequently underplayed back in 2016, and a wider audience would have been excited at the prospect of getting its hands on these games on a new console, and thrilled at the prospect of the (already well publicized) new Zelda title coming to the new hardware. The same can hardly be said of Switch games; I assume most everyone watching the Switch 2 announcement video already has the means to play them. Even showing, say, a Switch 2 version of the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond risks sending the wrong message: Why do we need a new console again?Secondly, the Switch was a new concept that needed explaining when the original console was announced, and this would have been next to impossible to do without showing games being played in the new contexts afforded by Nintendos innovative design. The same is not true of Switch 2, which offers more of the same. It is very easy to understand what this console is from a simple reveal like this weeks video. Arguably, the addition of Mario Kart footage didnt add much to the video at all, beyond hinting at the future game reveals Nintendo has in store.Maybe Nintendo didnt focus on games in the Switch 2 reveal video simply because it didnt have to. With a massively successful console on the market, and with the confidence of fans and investors at an all-time high, theres no real reason for Nintendo to go straight for the hard sell on Switch 2 other than to satisfy our curiosity. It can afford to pace itself, not rush its marketing beats, and make us wait. But still. A little more would have been nice!

Another year, another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. The Android giant has gotten into a habit of hosting at least two of these events per year, one for foldables and one for pretty much everything else. With the foldables having gotten center stage last time, its likely time for the rest of its products, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, to get its turn. While only those under NDA know for sure what well see, heres what were expecting to see when the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked streams on January 22 at 1 PM ET.Samsung Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 UltraSamsung likes to kick off each year by announcing its latest non-folding phones, and theres no reason to expect this year to be different. Typically, this means a standard variant, a larger screen plus size, and a more powerful ultra version. Given that Samsung has already registered three new model numbers with the FCC (thanks, 91Mobiles), thats what we can expect this year, too (prior leaks had pointed at a "slim" model, although there's no FCC listing for it yet).As for specs, thats where it gets a bit interesting. The biggest tidbit from the FCC leaks is potential support for 45W fast charging, although Android Headlines claims to have pictures of the devices themselves. These show a move to rounded corners and thinner bezels, but the rest of the design looks largely untouched.As for internals, leakers are expecting all S25 models to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which was revealed in October and stated to be coming to Samsung products. This tracks with prior Galaxy devices, which also used the same chip across all models, although details have differed from region to region before. Now, said regional differences are said to not be in play.The Snapdragon 8 Elite promises improvements anywhere from 35 to 62% depending on the task at hand, with the biggest improvement being to web browsingkey for a mobile phone.Samsung phones are also known for their cameras, although both Android Headlines and popular leaker Ice Universe claim only the Galaxy S25 Ultra will see an improvement here, and only to its ultra-wide lens, which will go from 12MP to 50MP.Screens are unlikely to change from their current OLED setup, and as for software, the phones are set to use Samsungs One UI 7, which is already in beta and runs over Android 15. Also expect a bunch of AI-centric announcements, although solid leaks have yet to emerge there.Theres also potential accessory news on the horizon, as the Wireless Power Consortium has said that Samsung will support Qi2 wireless charging on its new phones. According to leaker chunvn8888, that doesnt mean itll have built-in magnets (which Qi2 supports), but Samsung will sell a case with a built-in magnetic ring.Galaxy Ring 2News on the Galaxy Ring 2 is a bit less clear, but hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes says Samsung might tease it during the event. The publication is expecting two additional sizes, updated sensors, and new AI features, but given that the first model launched in July, itll likely be some time until you can buy a follow up. However, Korean leaker Lanzuk says Samsung might launch the wearable a bit earlier than expected.Samsung AR and XRFinally, its possible well hear more about Samsungs augmented and extended reality initiatives. Samsung has previously announced an Android-based extended reality headset alongside Google called Project Moohan, so its possible the company might demo it during Unpacked, but dont expect it to be available right away. Google is still seeding developers with software and equipment for the new platform, although the company does say it expects Moohan to start selling by the end of the year.On that note, also dont expect to see anything substantive regarding Samsungs previously confirmed AR glasses. DigiTimes says the glasses will look fairly unassuming, but given that theyll also rely on Google tech, theyre probably still in the oven as well.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against General Motors and OnStar for allegedly sharing details about drivers to third parties without their consent. The agency launched an investigation into the automotive company after The New York Times found that GM had collected data about customers' vehicle use and sold it to third-party platforms used by insurance companies.The information came from the OnStar Smart Driver program, which customers with GM vehicles were encouraged to participate in or didn't realize they had agreed to join. The program gathered data about behaviors such as hard braking, late night driving and speeding and reportedly sold the information to LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk, which in turn sold that data to insurance companies. Shortly after the Times report, GM said it had stopped sharing the sensitive information with the two data brokers.Today, the FTC proposed a settlement that will see both GM and OnStar banned from disclosing consumers geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies for five years. These companies will also be ordered to take additional steps to increase the transparency and choice for customers surrounding the information they collect and share."GM monitored and sold peoples precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. "With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/ftc-bans-general-motors-from-selling-driver-data-for-five-years-000019615.html?src=rss

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The cuts are focused in Amazon's core retail unit, which spans a wide range of businesses, including fashion and fitness, Prime and private label brands.

In House of the Dragon Season 2, the Westeros world has turned even more magical with two incredibly beautiful wyverns named Moondancer and Silverwing. These animals with their fine detailing and realist movements have come out because of the hard work that Rodeo FX did with VFX. Advanced techniques at the studio brought these dragons to life, from the subtle shimmer of their scales to the fierce intensity of their fiery breath. The VFX team worked on every detail, ensuring the creatures not only fitted perfectly into the world of House of the Dragon but also stand out as some of the most realistic ever created on screen. The process was meticulous blending of live-action footage and CGI, to create seamless, dynamic interactions between the dragons and their environment. As Appreciate a Dragon Day is celebrated, Rodeo FXs work on these two wyverns stands as testament to the power of visual effects in bringing mythical creatures to life in ways that had never been possible before.The post House of the Dragon Season 2 VFX Breakdown by Rodeo FX appeared first on Vfxexpress.

In the great AI spending spree, does ROI matter?Thats a question that every tech-related company should be asking themselves. The right answer could save businesses a lot of grief while setting them up for success.There will be a projected $1 trillion in spending on artificial intelligence in the coming years. But not all spending is created equal. To give you an idea of how much economic value needs to be created with AI, lets consider chips. If AI providers spend $150 billion just on chips, assuming they need a 50-60% gross margin, they will need to sell $500-$600 billion in services. Those buyers will then need all those AI services to create $1 trillion in economic value.It may seem like a long way from here to ROI, but that math is similar to what the U.S. was facing at the start of the internet boom. Today, the debate about whether the U.S. is overspending on AI plays differently across industries, depending on how much your companys existence depends on it.I group companies into three categories:1. Big TechFor the hyperscalerstechs big cloud companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, there are two sides to consider. AI could open paths to even greater success and relevance in the future. Or AI could create a whole new level of innovation that disrupts their core business. Either way, those companies have every reason to invest heavily.Without knowing where the payoff will come from or what the killer app will be, Big Tech will have to explore nearly every avenue. There will be plenty of unnecessary investments, a few dead ends and even some fortuitous outcomes, but it will take years for this to play out.Fortunately for these companies, ROI wont be an immediate pressure, as long as their overall financial performance is solid and they are generating enough cash to make massive AI investments.2. Supply chainFor companies that make chips, servers, or operate data centers, there is a need to overinvest in capacity. Their priority is to meet demand, even if it means overestimating and having a surplus. In times of major AI investment its important to have ample AI infrastructure available, or your customers will go somewhere else.Its the game of supply and demand. Some companies may overextend, and others will fall short. If some collapse, there will be consolidation. Assuming theres ongoing demand, valuations will return to market levels.Of course, when you are an AI infrastructure supplier, your attention is on the volume of demand right in front of youthat makes your ROI time horizon more of a secondary concern.3. Applied AIFor companies already using AI, its easier to take a more measured approach to spending. At Verizon, we aim to be the best applied AI company in the U.S., so we make careful investments by setting ROI targets.This approach also helps to develop an AI spending strategy that starts at the implementation level. Earlier this year I cautioned against a centralized AI decision process and instead suggested empowered teams closer to the actual work to provide the insights.The agentic intertwining of AI with frontline agents is a pioneering area of customer care thats already paying off. Weve seen improvements in areas like call efficiency and effectiveness, personalization and satisfaction.With the right input you can focus investment on areas where youve shown progressareas where AI measurably improves your KPIs.History lessonSo are we overestimating the potential value of AI? Maybe not.Twenty-five years ago, the dotcom boom fueled massive investment in internet-based startups and fiber infrastructure. The spending may have been irrational but if you thought the internet was going to play a big part in our future, the logic was sound.When the bust came and the exuberance finally faded, there were a few survivors who went on to prosper. Others went broke, leaving some very attractive assets, like MCIs fiber network, to fall into our hands.For the most part, the internet worked out pretty well. Today, AI presents another enormous opportunity. As history has shown us, you have to take big risks. Right now, the U.S. is in the best position to do that.Sowmyanarayan Sampath is CEO of Verizon Consumer.