SwansongThe creator of Final Fantasy is looking to squeeze out one more game as part of his "farewell note", and he's hoping it'll be a successor to a fan favourite entry in the series"Humans are greedy creatures, arent we?" News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 26, 2025 Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has at least one more game left in him, and it might just take some cues from a much-beloved entry in the series.There are few developers out there who have as lengthy a list of iconic titles under their belt like Sakaguchi, but I suppose that's likely to happen when you're the creator of Final Fantasy. For a long while now he's been doing things over at his own studio, Mistwalker, most recently having worked on Fantasian (which just got a re-release on consoles just last month), and as it turns out, the developer is still planning on making at least one more game. Sakaguchi recently spoke with The Verge about Fantasian, as well as what it's been like working with Square Enix again, but most interesting of all are his comments on the next game he wants to work on.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. "I was thinking of making Fantasian Neo Dimension my final work, but the fantastic team that was assembled to complete this project was so enjoyable to work with that I found it hard to part ways," Sakaguchi explained when asked if he'll stick to familiar styles and genres or do something new. "Humans are greedy creatures, arent we? For that reason, Im currently working on a new project with the same team that worked on Fantasian Neo Dimension. Its generally going to follow a similar style to my previous works, and itll be something that can be a successor to Final Fantasy 6 in a good way - our goal is to create something old but new at the same time. Itll be part two of my farewell note."As bittersweet as that point about it being part two of his farewell note, it is exciting to hear he's working on something inspired by Final Fantasy 6. While it could be argued that every entry in the mainline Final Fantasy games is a fan favourite, 6 is definitely high up on that list, almost definitely in part because it was the last game before the switch to 3D, but also because of its big, dramatic, and emotional story. I'm sure we can expect to wait a while for it, though, so maybe just spend that time on a replay of 6, or even give the quite good Fantasian Neo Dimension a go.

Solo SamuraiNo, Assassins Creed Shadows' Yasuke isn't an assassin, and yes, that does mean he won't play the same way the series' protagonists traditionally have"Yasuke is not an assassin, because the narrative makes sense that he is not."Image credit: Ubisoft News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 26, 2025 Yasuke, co-protagonist of the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows, is not one of the titular assassins, which means that he'll play a bit different than you're used to.For the most part across the Assassin's Creed series you do, in fact, play as an assassin, but there are occasions where you don't even if they're few and far between. You do still get to be on in the upcoming Japan-set Shadows, as the game's other protagonist Naoe is one, but in a recent interview with GamesRadar, game director Simon Lemay-Comtois made it clear that Yasuke isn't one, and took the time to explain why, and what difference that makes. "Yasuke is not an assassin, because the narrative makes sense that he is not," Lemay-Comtois said.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. While Lemay-Comtois didn't go into story specifics, the developer did make it clear that Yasuke "works with [fellow protagonist] Naoe, but he's not an assassin, and he doesn't have to be." We already know Yasuke won't play the same as Naoe, meaning combat will be different depending on who you are, but it obviously means he won't have the same stealth tools as her. This difference in design meant that Ubisoft had to "always embrace" the fact that they are so different.In turn, that meant they couldn't just give Yasuke something like the iconic Eagle Vision just because - "No," Lemay-Comtois explains, "he needs to not have it so you play different with him than you play with Naoe." As mentioned, there are some major characters other games, like Haytham Kenway in 3, Black Flag and Rogue, who isn't an assassin, or like Barnabas in Odyssey, but unlike him Yasuke is "much more involved in the story" of Shadows, with Lemay-Comtois noting "he doesn't have to be an assassin, he has his own motivation and core beliefs that align with Naoe's, and off they go."Shadows received yet another delay earlier this month, with its new release date a month later, now March 20 this year, but our own Dom did say in a recent hands-on preview that the dual-protagonists might be offering a much needed refresh for the series, so perhaps the wait will be worth it.

Jack and beans.Welcome to Catch-up Crew, where USS Nintendo Life officers slingshot around the sun and go back to play something a crewmember missed back in the day.We went back to the first WarioWare game last time, but today our destination is the year 1999 when Pokmon Snap first appeared on a chunky N64 cartridge. For anyone looking to play or replay this mon-based snap 'em up, it's part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack library.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

More startups shut down in 2024 than the year prior, according to multiple sources, and thats not really a surprise considering the insane number of companies that were funded in the crazy days of 2020 and 2021.It appears were not nearly done, and 2025 could be another brutal year of startups shutting down.TechCrunch gathered data from several sources and found similar trends. In 2024, 966 startups shut down, compared to 769 in 2023, according to Carta. Thats a 25.6% increase. One note on methodology: Those numbers are for U.S.-based companies that were Carta customers and left Carta due to bankruptcy or dissolution. There are likely other shutdowns that wouldnt be accounted for through Carta, estimates Peter Walker, Cartas head of insights.Yes, shutdowns increased from 2023 to 2024 in every stage. But there were more companies funded (with bigger rounds) in 2020 and 2021. So we would expect shutdowns to increase just by nature of VC naturally, he said.At the same time, Walker admitted that its difficult to estimate exactly how many more shutdowns there were, or will be.I bet were missing a good chunk, he told TechCrunch. There are a number of companies who leave Carta without telling us why they left.Meanwhile, AngelList found that 2024 saw 364 startup winddowns, compared to 233 in 2023. Thats a 56.2% jump. However, AngelList CEO Avlok Kohli has a fairly optimistic take, noting that winddowns are still very low relative to the number of companies that were funded across both years.Layoffs.fyi found a contradicting trend: 85 tech companies shut down in 2024, compared to 109 in 2023 and 58 in 2022. But as founder Roger Lee acknowledges, that data only includes publicly reported shutdowns and therefore represents an underestimate. Of those 2024 tech shutdowns, 81% were startups, while the rest were either public companies or previously acquired companies that were later shut down by their parent organizations.VCs didnt pick winnersSo many companies got funded in 2020 and 2021 at heated valuations with famously thin diligence, that its only logical that up to three years later, an increasing number couldnt raise more cash to fund their operations. Taking investment at too high of a valuation increases the risk such that investors wont want to invest more unless business is growing extremely well.The working hypothesis is that VCs as an asset class did not get better at picking winners in 2021. In fact, the hit rate may end up being worse that year since everything was so frenzied, Walker said. And if the hit rate on good companies remains flat and we fund a lot more companies, then you should expect many more shutdowns after a few years. And thats where we are in 2024.Dori Yona, CEO and co-founder of SimpleClosure, a startup that aims to automate the shutdown process, believes that in 2021, we saw a large number of startups receiving seed funding probably before they were ready.Merely getting that money may have set them up for failure, Yona explained.The rapid capital infusion sometimes encouraged high burn rates and growth-at-all-costs mentalities, leading to sustainability challenges as markets shifted post-pandemic, he noted. As such, in recent years, many high-profile companies ceased operations despite significant funding and early promise.The primary impetus behind the shutdowns is an obvious one.Running out of cash is typically the proximate cause, Walker surmises. But the underlying reasons are likely some combination of lack of product-market fit, lack of ability to get to cash-flow positive, and overvaluation leading to an inability to continue fundraising.Looking ahead, Walker also expects well continue to see more shutdowns in the first half of 2025, and then a gradual decline for the rest of the year.That projection is based mostly on a time-lag estimate from the peak of funding, which he estimates was the first quarter of 2022 in most stages. So by the first quarter of 2025, most companies will have either found a new path forward or had to make this difficult choice.AngelLists Kohli agrees. Theyre not all washed out, he said of the startups funded at unreasonably high valuations during those heady days. Not even close.Already this year, weve seen Pandion, a Washington-based delivery startup, announce it was shutting down. The company was founded during the pandemic and had raised about $125 million in equity over the last five years. And in December, proptech EasyKnock abruptly shut down. EasyKnock, a startup that billed itself as the first tech-enabled residential sale-leaseback provider, was founded in 2016 and had raised $455 million in funding from backers.Startups dying across industries, stagesThe types of companies impacted last year were across a range of industries, and stages.Cartas data points to enterprise SaaS companies taking the biggest hit making up 32% of shutdowns. Consumer followed at 11%; health tech at 9%; fintech at 8%, and biotech at 7%.Those percentages align pretty well with the initial funding to those sectors, Walker said. And essentially what this says is that every startup sector has seen shutdowns and none vastly outperformed, which gives support to the theory that the main cause of the increase is macro-economic, i.e. interest rate changes and the lack of available venture funding in 2023 and 2024.Layoffs.fyis much smaller subset found that finance accounted for 15% of the shutdowns with food (12%) and healthcare (11%) coming in second and third.When it comes to stage, SimpleClosures data found that 74% of all shutdowns since 2023 are either pre-seed or seed, with the plurality (41%) at the seed stage.Most startups tend to shut down when the coffers are completely dry, though some see the writing on the wall early enough to give a bit back to their investors.The majority of startups (60%) that fail dont have enough capital left to return to investors, Yona said. Founders that do plan on returning funds have an average $630,000 of investments left about 10% of total capital raised, on average.Yona also predicts the rate of startup closures will notslow down anytime soon.Tech zombies and a startup graveyard will continue to make headlines, Yona said. Despite the crop of new investments, there are a lot of companies that have raised at high valuations and without enough revenue.

Published January 26, 2025 10:00am EST close Secret Service cracks down on Florida credit card scams Fox News Danamarie McNicholl reports alongside the Secret Service as it detects and prevents the use of credit card skimmers, traced to a crime ring led in Eastern Europe. Credit card fraud has been on the rise in recent years.The Federal Trade Commissions most recent database indicates that 416,582 cases of credit card fraud were reported in 2024, making it one of the most common forms of identity theft. You know you've been a victim of this fraud when you notice unauthorized transactions on your credit card bill.These transactions are usually below $100 to avoid detection. However, sometimes they can exceed $1,000. One such incident happened with Martin from Martinsville, Virginia, when he was randomly charged $1,095 in Hong Kong."Hello, I recently received a fraud alert from my credit card company that said that there was a $1,095 charge on my credit card in Hong Kong. I use my iPad and Safari browser to buy online. Can you please explain how this could happen? By the way, my credit card company canceled my credit card and will send me a new Mastercard in the mail, and Im not responsible for the charges on my credit card. What can I do in the future to prevent this from happening again?"I'm sorry to hear about the fraudulent charge on your credit card, Martin. Its good that your credit card company is handling it and that youre not responsible for the charges. For future reference, I'll be discussing how this could have happened and how to stay safe. A woman using her credit card to shop online (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How credit card fraud happensCredit card fraud can happen in several ways, often without you even realizing it. One common method is when fraudsters get hold of your card information throughdata breaches at online stores or banks, which means your details get leaked without your knowledge.Another sneaky tactic isphishing, where scammers trick you into giving away your card info by posing as legitimate companies via emails or fake websites.Theres also the risk of "card skimming," where devices at ATMs or gas stations secretly capture your card details when you swipe it. In some cases, fraudsters might also exploit weak security onpublic Wi-Fi networks or compromised apps to access your information while youre shopping online. A man using his credit card to shop on his phone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Credit card fraud is way too commonA report from Security.org reveals that52 million Americans experienced credit card fraud in 2023, a figure even higher than theone reported by the FTC. With four out of five American adults owning at least one credit card, the report found that three in five cardholders have faced unauthorized charges an estimated 128 million victims. Even more concerning, 75% of these victims reported having their credit card information stolen more than once.The typical unauthorized transaction is around $100, which adds up to approximately $5 billion in criminal purchases each year. Interestingly, most unauthorized transactions involve credit cards that werent physically lost or stolen, highlighting the growing risks of online fraud and data breaches. A woman using her credit card to pay (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The need for identity theft protectionData breaches are one of the main ways credit card fraud happens. Hackers often get unauthorized access to sensitive information stored by businesses or institutions. When a retailer, financial institution or online store experiences a data breach, the hackers usually go after the payment systems where customer credit card details are kept.If these systems arent properly secured, hackers can grab things like credit card numbers, expiration dates and sometimes even security codes. Once they have that info, they can either use it themselves or sell it to others.But its not just credit card information at risk.Data breaches can also expose personal details like names, email addresses and phone numbers. Scammers can then use this stolen info to launch phishing attacks, pretending to be trusted companies and tricking you into giving away more sensitive information.WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?This is why identity theft monitoring is so important. Identity theft companies can monitor personal information like your Social Security number, phone number and email address and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account. They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals.One of the best parts of some identity theft protection services is that they have identity theft insurance ofup to $1 million to cover losses and legal feesSee my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft. Illustration of a credit card crook (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)10 ways to protect yourself from credit card fraud1. Notify your credit card issuer immediately: If you notice fraudulent charges on your credit card, start by calling the number on the back of your credit card. From there, you should get more detailed information on what to do next.2. Monitor your statements regularly: One of the best ways to catch credit card fraud early is to keep an eye on your statements. Review your transactions regularly to spot any unfamiliar charges. The sooner you notice something suspicious, the quicker you can report it to your credit card company and prevent further damage.3. Regularly check your credit report: In addition to monitoring your credit card statements, periodically review your credit report to catch any unauthorized accounts opened in your name.4. Use strong, unique passwords: Always use strong, unique passwords for your online accounts, especially those that store payment details. Avoid using easily guessable information, and consider using apassword manager to store and generate secure passwords. This reduces the chances of fraudsters accessing your accounts.5. Use credit card alerts:Set up transaction alerts with your credit card company. This way, youll receive a notification via email or text for every transaction made with your card. If you receive an alert for a purchase you didnt make, you can take immediate action to report it and prevent further charges.GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE6. Be Cautious with public Wi-Fi:Avoid making purchases or entering sensitive information when connected topublic Wi-Fi networks because theyre often not secure. If you need to make an online purchase while on the go, consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to encrypt your connection and keep your credit card details safe from hackers.For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices7. Don't store credit card info on browsers and websites:Storing your credit card information on browsers or websites can make it convenient, but it also exposes you to a higher risk of fraud. If your browser or the websites security gets compromised, hackers could gain access to your saved card details. To stay safe, avoid saving your credit card information and manually enter it each time you make a purchase. If a site offers to save your details for future use, think twice before accepting. It's better to take the extra step to enter your information each time, ensuring your data stays secure.8. Use EMV chip technology: When making in-person purchases, always use the chip reader instead of swiping your card. Chip technology provides an extra layer of security against fraud.9. Be wary of phishing attempts and have strong antivirus software: Be cautious of unsolicited emails, texts or phone calls asking for your credit card information. Legitimate companies typically don't request sensitive information through these channels. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.10. Keep your card in sight:When using your card in restaurants or stores, try to keep it within view. This reduces the risk of someone copying your card details.Kurts key takeawayIt's clear that credit card fraud is more prevalent than ever, affecting millions of Americans each year. The good news is that there are effective steps to protect yourself from becoming a victim. By staying vigilant and employing best practices like monitoring your statements and using strong passwords you can significantly reduce your risk. Remember, awareness and proactive measures are your best defenses against credit card fraud.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPHave you or someone you know ever experienced credit card fraud, and how did it impact you?Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/ContactFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/NewsletterAsk Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to coverFollow Kurt on his social channelsAnswers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Samsung's new flagship phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, has arrived. Here's how it stacks up with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Scream VINetflixNetflix has just landed another new-era horror classic, as they really do tend to grab a lot of these through licensing, which has proven to make for a pretty impressive collection over the years.That new film would be Scream VI, obviously the sixth film in that franchise, which was released in early 2023. While critics said it was good, not amazing, it is what appeared to be the best audience-scored horror film of that year. As a comparison point, here are the top 10 critic scored horror movies of 2023, plus their audience scores, as opposed to Scream VI:Huesera: The Bone Woman 97% critic, 66% audienceWhen Evil Lurks 96% critic, 79% audienceAttachment 95% critic, 60% audienceTalk to Me 94% critic, 83% audienceM3GAN 93% critic, 78% audienceInfluencer 91% critic, 69% audienceBrooklyn 45 91% critic, 41% audienceTotally Killer 86% critic, 76% audienceThe Blackening 87% critic, 85% audienceSick 85% critic, 72% audienceScream VI 77% critic 90% audienceScream VINetflixIve looked through dozens of horror films from that year and I cant find one with a higher audience score. It really is pretty tough to please a critical mass of audiences with a number of controversial horror films, but Scream VI managed to do so. How? A few reasons:First, its good! Those are still solid critic scores, and its a great entry in the Scream franchise which has been pretty hit or miss over the years. So its not like audiences are propping up some sort of bad movie here.It stars Jenna Ortega in the midst of her massive breakout period, becoming a fan favorite with Wednesday and also this film as one of her highest profile outings as a new go-to horror girl.It stars Melissa Barrera, an excellent actress who was kicked out of Scream VII for her pro-Gaza social media statements. Fans and other actors raced to support her.It brought back series veterans like Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich and Hayden Panettiere to satisfy longer term fans of the franchise.That may not be the whole story, but this plus other X-factors did add up to Scream VI being the highest profile, audience favorite horror film of 2023. Scream VII will bring Neve Campbell back to the franchise, but the film has lost Ortega and Barrera, and I cannot imagine it will be as well-received by fans as a result. Judge for yourself by watching on Netflix.MORE FOR YOUFollow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.

Forward-looking: Researchers have unveiled a small but powerful modification to the Linux kernel that could significantly reduce energy consumption in data centers. The proposed alteration comes at a crucial time, as computing currently accounts for about 5 percent of the world's daily energy use, with data centers being major contributors to this consumption. Researchers at the University of Waterloo's Cheriton School of Computer Science, led by Professor Martin Karsten and including Peter Cai, identified inefficiencies in network traffic processing for communications-heavy server applications. Their solution, which involves rearranging operations within the Linux networking stack, has shown improvements in both performance and energy efficiency.The modification, presented at an industry conference, increases throughput by up to 45 percent in certain situations without compromising tail latency. Professor Karsten likened the improvement to optimizing a manufacturing plant's pipeline, resulting in more efficient use of data center CPU caches.Professor Karsten collaborated with Joe Damato, a distinguished engineer at Fastly, to develop a non-intrusive kernel change consisting of just 30 lines of code. This small but impactful modification has the potential to reduce energy consumption in critical data center operations by as much as 30 percent.Central to this innovation is a feature called IRQ (interrupt request) suspension, which balances CPU power usage with efficient data processing. By reducing unnecessary CPU interruptions during high-traffic periods, the feature enhances network performance while maintaining low latency during quieter times.The effectiveness of this solution has been tested, and the code has now been incorporated into the latest Linux kernel, release version 6.13. This inclusion opens the door for widespread adoption across the tech industry. // Related StoriesProfessor Karsten emphasized the potential global impact of this development, noting that if major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta choose to implement this method in their data centers, it could lead to savings of gigawatt-hours of energy worldwide. "All these big companies Amazon, Google, Meta use Linux in some capacity, but they're very picky about how they decide to use it," he said. "Almost every single service request that happens on the Internet could be positively affected by this."This breakthrough comes at a critical time, as recent reports indicate that global data center electricity consumption is expected to more than double by 2026. The International Energy Agency predicts that data center electricity usage could rise from 460TWh in 2022 to between 650TWh and 1,050TWh by 2026, driven largely by the growth of power-intensive workloads such as AI and cryptocurrency mining.

The big picture: When Microsoft flipped the switch on its new AI-powered Copilot features for Microsoft 365 earlier this month (formerly Office 365), it might have anticipated celebratory reactions from its millions of loyal subscribers. After all, it's artificial intelligence, apparently the hottest frontier in tech. But not everyone's a fan. The biggest point of contention was the substantial 30% price increase that accompanied Copilot's rollout.For the uninitiated, Microsoft announced earlier this month that it was bundling its new Copilot AI features into the Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans, resulting in a price increase of $3 per month. The monthly cost rose to $9.99 from $6.99, while the annual fee went up to $99.99 from $69.99. Microsoft attributed the hike to the advanced AI capabilities now baked into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other apps.While it had been over a decade since Microsoft last raised rates for its productivity suite, that markup caught many off guard. The lack of clear advance notifications about the changes and price increase also irked customers.ZDNet's Ed Bott asked Copilot to do the math: A $3 monthly price hike for 84 million subscribers equals $3 billion in extra annual revenue. But at what cost to customer trust?Now, there are alternative versions of those plans on offer for existing users who have no need for the AI features. But they are only available to existing Microsoft 365 subscribers.The launch also had other issues that left many users baffled. Some saw phantom pop-ups claiming their subscription rate had inexplicably jumped into the thousands of dollars per month. Others had the Copilot software forcibly installed on their machines, with no clear initial option to disable it. // Related StoriesFurther frustration arose from the confusing cross-subscription policies. ZDNet's Ed Bott, who pays for both work and personal Microsoft 365 plans, was essentially blocked from using Copilot features on one of those accounts due to a technical limitation Microsoft apparently didn't properly communicate.Moreover, most users agree on how terrible Microsoft 365's new name and logo look. As if ditching the "Office 365" branding for "Microsoft 365" wasn't enough, it's further muddied the waters with yet another rebrand to include the word "Copilot."Had Microsoft introduced this as an opt-in beta, the reception likely would have been much warmer, but that's not to say Copilot 365 lacks potential. There are valid productivity uses for automating rote tasks like text generation and data analysis as these technologies mature.

In the aftermath of Luigi Mangiones story going viral, Dave Francos phone blew up. The actor toldThe Hollywood Reporter that anyone who knew him said he looked like the now infamous young man, who is accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York City.Ive never received more texts in my life about anything, Francosaid. Not just friends anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it.Recommended VideosFranco, who was being interviewed alongside his wife Alison Brie, said that he had yet to receive any official officers to play the man, although Brie agreed that the resemblance was undeniable.Please enable Javascript to view this contentComparisons between Franco and Mangione came almost immediately after his identity was revealed, but theres one small hiccup in the fantasy casting happening now. Franco is 39, whereas Mangione is just 26. Thats not to say that older actors have never played younger characters before, but if Hollywood goes all in on telling the official version of his story, they might want someone who is closer to his actual age.Franco was being interviewed to promote his new Sundance movie Together, which he co-stars in with Brie.I do my best work when Im working with Dave because I cant make a false move in front of him, Brie explained. He knows me better than anyone in the world, so theres an inherent authenticity and comfortability when were working together. [In Together], we really have to go out on a limb for a lot of scenes, and were doing some crazy stuff, and theres no self-consciousness because hes seen me at my worst, hes seen me at my best, and everything in between. So it was like, Lets just jump right in!'If an offer comes in for Mangione, it seems Franco might be interested. Until then, though, hes got plenty to keep him busy.Editors RecommendationsIn the Lost Lands trailer: Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista team up for fantasy adventure