The Apple Vision Pro is looking likely to see more software than the PlayStation VR2, according to a game developer survey.Read More

Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader sells 1 million copies | News-in-briefMilestone comes a year after the RPG's debut on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/SImage credit: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 This is a News-in-brief article, our short format linking to an official source for more information. Read more about this story by following the link below:Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader sells 1 million copies

Finland's Film Tampere appoints first head of games to "connect film and games creators""We are immensely proud to have persuaded one of the finest minds in Finlands games industry to join our mission" News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 The film commission for the Tampere city region in Finland has appointed its first head of games.Arto Kayhko - a "mobile games and digital-services veteran" - will promote the region's "fast-growing gaming industry on the international stage" as part of Film Tampere.Kayhko will also be charged in fostering closer links with Finland's gaming community and other digital content-creation industries.The Tampere region's first film/games collaboration is described as a cinematic action game project named Alma, co-developed by Dreamloop Games and Making Movies. It's an adaptation of an upcoming movie of the same name, which is set in Finland during the Second World War and centres on a teenage girl who acquires superpowers and uses them to save her father from the front line. Eighty years later, however, Alma "must pay the price.""We are immensely proud to have persuaded one of the finest minds in Finlands games industry to join our mission to create an integrated future for Tamperes content creation industries," said Film Tampere lead, Fanny Heinonen."Arto brings with him a rare combination of experience spanning games, digital, international and finance, not to mention his talent for relationship-building between shareholders and creatives. As we work to bring our regions creative communities together, these are exactly the skills we need to fuse and build solid partnerships and structures."With Artos help, were a giant step nearer to fulfilling our mission of transforming Tampere into a world-class creative hub."

Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that we are adjusting prices today across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers next billing cycle, according to Zhou.As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix, the companys letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time its raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months the most in its history during a single quarter bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them starting in the first quarter of 2025.RelatedEven with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The companys letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries its available in, which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that its rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.The streamer ended 2024 with a strong content lineup that included new seasons of Squid Game and the League of Legends spinoff Arcane.Netflixs approach to live content has also gotten more aggressive within the past several weeks, as it has gone from airing sports-adjacent events like a golf tournament that paired PGA players with Formula One drivers to full-blown NFL games featuring performances from Beyonc and Mariah Carey. But Netflix notes that its not focusing on acquiring rights to large regular season sports packages; rather, our live strategy is all about delivering cant-miss, special event programming.Despite running into some hiccups, the streamer also touted record-breaking viewership numbers for last years live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, while its WWE debut with Monday Night Raw locked in 4.9 million views, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

A video on Nintendos Switch 2 website shows how the trigger (or is it a button?) on the back of the Joy-Con controllers disconnects them from the console, as spotted by Polygon.In the video, the trigger is pressed down a tad before a final push releases it from the console. As the Joy-Con moves away, you can also see a small cylinder receding back into the top part of the inside of the controller; to me, that indicates that when you push the trigger, youre actually pushing out that cylinder to help bump the Joy-Con out. Heres a GIF of the relevant part of the video: GIF by Andrew Liszewski / The VergeThe mechanism to remove the Joy-Con controllers looks similar to what was included in a 3D-printed mockup that accessories-maker Genki brought to CES.However, as for how the controllers actually stay attached to the Switch 2, Nintendo so far hasnt said if the console uses magnets, as has been rumored. Its one of many unanswered questions hopefully, all will be revealed at Nintendos Switch 2-focused Direct on April 2nd.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have become pivotal in artificial intelligence, powering a variety of applications from chatbots to content generation tools. However, their deployment at scale presents notable challenges. High computational costs, latency, and energy consumption often limit their wider use. Organizations face the difficulty of balancing high throughput with reasonable operating expenses. Additionally, as models grow larger, the need for more efficient solutions becomes increasingly urgent. Addressing these issues is essential to making LLMs more practical and accessible.Snowflake AI Research team introduces SwiftKV, a solution designed to enhance LLM inference throughput while reducing associated costs. SwiftKV uses key-value caching techniques to reuse intermediate computations during inference. By eliminating redundant calculations, it streamlines the inference process and makes LLM deployments more efficient.SwiftKVs design targets the computational intensity of LLMs. Conventional inference pipelines often recompute identical operations for multiple requests, resulting in inefficiencies. SwiftKV introduces a caching layer that identifies and stores reusable computational results. This approach accelerates inference and reduces resource requirements, making it a practical choice for organizations aiming to optimize their AI operations.Technical Details and Key Benefits of SwiftKVSwiftKV incorporates a key-value memory system into the LLM inference architecture. Its operation can be summarized as follows:Key-Value Caching: During inference, SwiftKV captures intermediate activations (keys) and their corresponding results (values). For similar queries, it retrieves the precomputed values rather than recalculating them.Efficient Storage Management: The caching mechanism employs strategies such as least recently used (LRU) eviction to manage memory effectively, ensuring that the cache remains useful without excessive resource consumption.Seamless Integration: SwiftKV is compatible with existing LLM frameworks, such as Hugging Faces Transformers and Metas LLaMA, enabling easy adoption without significant changes to existing pipelines.The benefits of SwiftKV include:Cost Reduction: By avoiding redundant computations, SwiftKV significantly cuts inference costs. Snowflake AI Research reports up to a 75% reduction in costs in some scenarios.Enhanced Throughput: The caching mechanism reduces inference time, improving response speed.Energy Savings: Lower computational demands translate into reduced energy consumption, supporting sustainable AI practices.Scalability: SwiftKV is well-suited for large-scale deployments, meeting the needs of enterprises expanding their AI capabilities.https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/up-to-75-lower-inference-cost-llama-meta-llm/ResultsSnowflake AI Researchs evaluations of SwiftKV provide valuable insights into its effectiveness. For example, integrating SwiftKV with Metas LLaMA models led to up to a 75% reduction in inference costs without any compromise in accuracy or performance. These outcomes highlight the efficiency gains possible with this approach.Additionally, tests demonstrate significant reductions in inference latency, even for larger models. The caching system ensures that complex queries benefit from faster processing times. This combination of cost efficiency and performance optimization makes SwiftKV a compelling choice for organizations aiming to scale AI solutions affordably.The open-sourcing of SwiftKV encourages collaboration within the AI community. By sharing this technology, Snowflake AI Research invites developers, researchers, and enterprises to explore and enhance its capabilities, fostering innovation in LLM efficiency.https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/up-to-75-lower-inference-cost-llama-meta-llm/Conclusion: A Step Forward in LLM EfficiencySwiftKV offers a thoughtful solution to the challenges of deploying LLMs at scale. By tackling high computational costs and latency, it helps make AI applications more practical and accessible. The incorporation of key-value caching into inference pipelines showcases how targeted optimizations can drive significant improvements.As the field of AI progresses, tools like SwiftKV will continue to shape the development of efficient and sustainable technologies. Its open-source nature ensures that the broader community can contribute to its growth and application. By enabling more cost-effective and scalable use of LLMs, SwiftKV underscores the importance of innovation in making AI truly transformative for businesses and developers alike.Check out the Details and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences. Meet 'Height':The only autonomous project management tool (Sponsored)

The Potential Consciousness of AI: Simulating Awareness and Emotion for Enhanced Interaction 0 like January 21, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): James Cataldo Originally published on Towards AI. The Potential Consciousness of AI: Simulating Awareness and Emotion for Enhanced InteractionThe benefit of simulated consciousness, from virtual worlds to the real oneSource: AI generated image from perchance.orgWhether it is possible for artificial intelligence (AI) to become conscious or sentient is an ongoing and contentious debate in modern science and philosophy. It forces the question of just what consciousness is to begin with, which in itself has not been absolutely defined. Despite sensationalized false positives, the way AI models are built (at least the publicly known ones) precludes even the possibility at present. In addition, it is difficult to imagine any common application where true sentience would even be desirable. Yet while the question of whether AI will ever achieve true consciousness remains open, advances in AI technology have brought us to a point where creating artificial entities that can convincingly simulate aspects of consciousness, such as memory, emotion, and self-awareness, are within reach. This shift from theorizing about AIs potential for genuine consciousness to focusing on the practical benefits of simulating consciousness will mark a significant evolution in AIs role in various sectors. The latter holds considerable promise, and may also be a necessary step in moving the technology forward.Simulating Consciousness: Persistent StatesAIs ability to simulate consciousness doesnt require true self-awareness. I would postulate that it instead involves creating systems that incorporate persistent memory for the purpose of simulating subjective experience, which is an essential characteristic of human consciousness. This persistence would enable the continuous development of contextual awareness through memory, and thus the accumulated experience which is its outcome can inform and refine ongoing interactions. While current large language models (LLMs) and other AI systems formulate responses based on their pre-trained model, they possess no long-term contextual awareness from user inputs as they lack the memory required to retain prior interactions, limiting their ability to simulate real, ongoing awareness. Naturally, they cannot really learn anything that isnt already covered in the base model.The practical challenge now is determining how AI can simulate the behaviors associated with consciousness and how this simulation can improve human-AI interactions.Persistence and continuous learning are obviously not requirements or even desirable features for all use cases. For example it is unlikely that an AI enhanced ATM machine would require such capabilities. In fact there are more likely considerable cons to it. A smart home personal assistant on the other hand could be greatly enhanced by enabling such increasingly customized interactions.In practice, simulating consciousness in AI involves creating systems that mimic cognitive and emotional development over time. Memory retention is crucial for this simulation. If AI systems could recall past interactions, they could adjust their responses accordingly, creating a more dynamic and human-like experience. These interactions would not constitute true self-awareness but would be sufficient for many practical applications, including improving customer service, education, and healthcare. To be clear, recalling past interactions in this context equates to possessing the capacity to learn beyond the base model. There can be no meaningful recall, without that new information being integrated within the AIs reasoning processes.Furthermore, the integration of emotional intelligence into AI systems will play a vital role in enhancing both the realism and accuracy of these simulations. Emotional intelligence would permit AI to respond to users in a more intuitive and empathetic way, whether by recognizing when a user is frustrated, happy, or anxious. By simulating emotional responses, AI can create more meaningful and personalized interactions, even if these responses are purely algorithmic rather than based on actual feelings. Being able to take into account the emotional context will improve accuracy beyond simply understanding sequences of words.Damasios Theory: Emotion as a Gateway to ConsciousnessIn the context of simulating consciousness, Antonio Damasios theory of consciousness provides valuable insights. Damasio, a neuroscientist known for his work on emotion and cognition, suggests that emotion plays a central role in the formation of consciousness. According to Damasio, consciousness is not merely a result of abstract thought or reasoning but is fundamentally rooted in the brains ability to process bodily states and emotions. In his view, the feeling of being conscious arises from the brains integration of sensory information and the emotional responses to that information. Emotion, for Damasio, is not something separate from cognition, but rather an integral part of the process of creating a coherent sense of self.As he puts it, emotion acts as a strategy of life regulation based on overt information regarding the current state of life in an organism. Emotions begin as reactions to physical events affecting the body. These are stored in memory, and the concatenation of these memories create a map of meaning and subjective experience which allows the individual to intuit or predict responses to incoming events (from a machine learning perspective, this should sound familiar). This is subjective feeling. Starting from the purely physical, such as negative feelings of pain, it develops to more abstract concepts. From this we arrive at what most people would consider, or at least recognize as, consciousness.What Damasio calls feeling a feeling is the superstrate that exists beyond basic sensory input. In that if you burn your hand, the innate reaction is to pull it away. This initiates as a sensory reaction initially perceived by physical pain receptors, leading to the conscious mental perception of pain and injury, followed by the desire to avoid it. It is the memory of such events and their effects which leads to learned behaviors. Comparable to and compatible with the concept of Skinnerian conditioning, if you will.This theory has profound implications for AI. If AI systems can simulate emotional intelligence, they can mimic the brains process of integrating information to form a sense of awareness. By incorporating emotional responses into AI, we bring these systems closer to simulating aspects of consciousness. Damasios theory implies that emotion is essential for creating a subjective experience, and it would be difficult to deny that an individuals emotions are a major component of their subjectivity. While AI may never truly feel emotion, the simulation of contextually aware emotional responses allows for a more lifelike interaction, giving users the sense that they are engaging with an entity capable of subjective experience, even if that experience is entirely simulated.Memory and Persistent Interaction: Creating More Relatable AIRepresentations in science fiction of advanced artificial entities which are incapable of simulating credible emotional responses, or of understanding those responses in humans and other sentient beings, seem increasingly anachronistic. At its most basic, sentiment analysis algorithms are already fairly adept at this task, and computer vision applications can even visually identify emotional states with success. As with all deep learning models, this understanding is of course derived by forming statistical correlations from the available data set. Identification is but the starting point however, providing a baseline wherein the model can distinguish between different states and their interrelations. Making use of these identifications in a more sophisticated way which can be applied to practical applications requires a framework of its own.If a model can be trained to successfully manipulate language or play a game, it can also be trained to mimic emotional states and thus simulate what the average person would perceive as consciousness. Sentiment analysis models are already successful in identifying emotional responses, simulating them would be an extension of this data.Once again, allowance for contextual interactions which continuously develop is dependent on the introduction of retained memory. Easy to say, but of course modifying the underlying model in real time is not such a simple thing, and not possible with current computing resources. Fortunately alternatives are already emerging which could fill the gap. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models, for instance, allow AI to incorporate new information into its responses, simulating a growing body of knowledge which doesnt require retraining the base model. This area of research is receiving more attention, so we can anticipate more sophisticated solutions to this problem. Standard RAG implementations as they currently exist are probably not robust enough to handle this sort of real-time ingestion, particularly over longer terms. Though perhaps database driven weightings may also have a role to play, light weight and by nature more structured. After all emotion is non verbal at inception, language is applied to describe it after the fact.I would theorize that there may likely be a need for complex emotional analysis and processing to exist as a separate component working in tandem with, but independent of, the language model. The LLM component provides the communication frontend, but should not be expected to cover all cognitive functions, similar to how the human brain is compartmentalized.Simulated Consciousness in Virtual Worlds: A Testing Ground for AI DevelopmentThe use of AI in virtual environments, particularly in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, provides an ideal testing ground for simulations of consciousness. In these virtual worlds, AI can simulate complex emotional and cognitive development through non-player characters (NPCs).Typically these sorts of characters are extremely limited, in that they are almost entirely static. This need not be the case. Years ago when working on an MMO development project, I experimented with building a system where NPCs retained memory of player interactions. I say memory, but of course this had to be reduced to statistical data which could be contained in a database. This process demonstrates how AI can simulate a dynamic, evolving awareness, even in the absence of true consciousness. These NPCs could give the impression of developing relationships with players, becoming more trusting or hostile based on accumulated experiences. For example, an NPC dog might grow to trust a player who consistently feeds it or acts benevolently, or it could become hostile toward a player who harms it. If two players consistently interacted with the dog, it could mimic forming a preference for the player who had engaged in more positive interactions with it. This created a sense of emotional depth, even though it was all just statistical data. The evolving behaviors of these NPCs enhanced the players experience, making the virtual world feel more immersive. At the time of the experiment the AI tools we have today were not available, so all this was achieved by devising a points based system of weights, assigning values to different interaction criteria stored in an SQL database. The functional architecture was defined through scripts. The foundational structure was actually quite simple, but there is no hard limit to the layers of parameters and subsequent interconnections between them which could have been built into it. With sufficient parameters, the simulation could become quite sophisticated. Effectively this was a form of classical symbolic AI. There was no real intelligence imbued in the NPC agents themselves, but a player could be led to believe otherwise.This example illustrates how AIs simulation of memory and emotional responses can lead to a richer user experience, even when the NPCs are obviously not truly self-aware. A simulated subjective experience can be sufficient to provide real value.The Practical Benefits of Simulating Consciousness and EmotionThe ability to simulate consciousness and emotional intelligence in AI offers significant practical benefits across many sectors. In customer service, for instance, AI-powered agents can simulate empathy and emotional intelligence, leading to more satisfying and personalized interactions with customers. The ability to remember past interactions ensures that AI systems can tailor their responses to meet the specific needs and preferences of users, enhancing the overall experience.In healthcare, AI systems equipped with emotional recognition capabilities can detect when a patient is stressed, anxious, or in pain. By adjusting their tone or responses, these virtual health assistants can provide more supportive care, fostering trust and rapport with patients. Emotional sensitivity allows for a more human-like interaction, even though the AI is not genuinely experiencing emotions.Similarly, in education, AI tutors that simulate emotional understanding can improve learning outcomes. When a student shows frustration or confusion, the AI can respond by offering encouragement, simplifying explanations, or adjusting its approach. This ability to sense and respond to emotions can create a more effective and supportive educational environment.In entertainment, particularly in video games as already discussed, the ability of AI to simulate complex emotional responses and relationships with players enhances immersion. Non-player characters (NPCs) that remember past player interactions and adjust their behavior accordingly create a sense of continuity and emotional depth in the game world, making interactions feel more meaningful and engaging.Moreover, personal assistants like Siri or Alexa could evolve to become more emotionally intelligent, adjusting their tone based on a users emotional state. By remembering past interactions, these assistants can offer more personalized, empathetic, and helpful responses, improving the overall user experience. The potential to evolve into fully functional conversational companions is intriguing in a world where the trend is for people to lead more isolated lives.By extension, when the idea of advanced domestic robots becomes a reality, such features may well be viewed as necessary.The Future of AI Consciousness SimulationGenuine consciousness in AI may never be achieved in the same way humans experience it, and one would have to question what purpose there even is in attempting to do so. The ability to simulate the trappings of consciousness on the other hand is a valuable and achievable goal in its own right. This shift toward simulation opens up new possibilities for improving human-AI interactions, enhancing user experiences, and solving complex problems in fields ranging from customer service to healthcare and education.The practical benefits of simulating consciousness through emotional intelligence, memory retention, and adaptive behaviors are already apparent across multiple industries. Continued advancements in AI memory, machine learning, and real-time knowledge integration will make these simulations even more sophisticated and convincing. This should not be feared, nor should its implementation be disguised (in fact most would probably agree it should be made explicit). This sort of emotional intelligence may actually prove to be a crucial ingredient to generating a closer approximation of artificial understanding and thus is necessary to advance the state of AI overall.I suspect that for many applications simulating consciousness and sentience in AI is a necessary step toward advancing the field of artificial intelligence. The ability to simulate these complex behaviors allows for the creation of more sophisticated AI systems that can engage in dynamic, adaptive, and contextually aware interactions. By modeling the processes of memory, learning, and emotional response core components of consciousness AI can perform tasks that require nuanced understanding, personalization, and long-term adaptation. Simulating these traits provides a framework for developing machines that exhibit behaviors akin to awareness. This would not merely mimic responses but would require integrating feedback loops that enable AI to refine its actions based on past experiences, much like how humans learn and adapt. As AI systems simulate these cognitive and emotional processes, they will become increasingly effective in their interactions with humans. The act of simulating sentience, therefore, becomes a powerful tool for refining AIs capabilities.In addition, the utility of virtual environments such as MMOs as testing grounds for simulating AI consciousness is immense. These platforms provide complex, dynamic environments where AI-driven characters can interact with multiple human players in a variety of contexts, allowing researchers to observe how AI systems might utilize persistence to simulate emotion and cognition. Through these virtual worlds, the capabilities of AI systems to build memory, adapt to users, and simulate relationships over time can be refined. Not only as lab experiments but in the real world the fact that it is for entertainment purposes only is an added advantage, in that the security and ethical concerns which would be of greater concern in other fields are mitigated.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

Weve come a long way since "Ugly Sonic" first appeared in a trailer back in 2019. While the first Sonic movie wasn't necessarily the greatest video game adaptation of all time, it did kick off a world with Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and, with its newest instalment, Keanu Reeves as Shadow. In IGN's review of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, A.A. Dowd writes, "Better jokes, better imagery, and two (!) inspired comic performances by Jim Carrey give this Sonic sequel an edge on its overly kiddy predecessors." And we already know the series isn't sticking to a trilogy: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is already confirmed for 2027. If you're planning to watch the new Sonic movie in theaters or online, here's everything we know about its release: How to Watch Sonic 3: Showtimes, Streaming, and Physical Release StatusSonic the Hedgehog 3 is still showing in theaters. You can find showtimes near you at the main theater sites below: Where to Stream Sonic 3Sonic the Hedgehog 3 [Digital]Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are back for their most epic adventure yet. The team reunite to face a new formidable foe, Shadow, a mysterious hedgehog with powers unlike anything they've seen. Keanu Reeves joins the All-Star cast as the voice of Shadow.See it at Prime VideoSonic 3 just released on digital and is now available to rent or buy from marketplaces like Prime Video. The first place Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be available to stream is Paramount+, instead of Netflix or Disney+. While we don't have an exact release date, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was in theaters for a little over six weeks, and Paramount's 2024 releases, Smile 2 and A Quiet Place: Day One, followed a similar timeline. Based on that, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 should arrive on Paramount+ by mid-February 2025. Sonic 3 Physical Release Date Release Date TBASonic The Hedgehog 3 [4K Steelbook + Blu-Ray + Digital Copy]$44.99 at AmazonA 4K steelbook of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is already up for preorder on Amazon. A release date hasn't been announced, but you do get the comfort of Amazon's preorder price guarantee. Check out our guide to upcoming Blu-rays for more info on physical releases.What Is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 About? The third Sonic movie dives into the origins of Shadow the Hedgehog, who first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 and who also took the spotlight in this year's Sonic x Shadow Generations. Here's the movie's official synopsis: Sonic, Knuckles and Tails reunite to battle Shadow, a mysterious new enemy with powers unlike anything they've faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, they seek out an unlikely alliance to stop Shadow and protect the planet.How to Watch Sonic 1 and 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2-Movie Collection [Blu-ray]$20.67 at AmazonThe first two Sonic movies are available on Blu-ray, and are also pretty easy to find online. Both movies are streaming on Hulu and Paramount+, with the first Sonic additionally streaming on Peacock and Prime Video. Paramount+ is where you'll find most other Sonic adaptations, including the '90s cartoon and this year's Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog 1: Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Does Sonic 3 Have a Post-Credits Scene? Yes! Sonic 3 has both a mid-credits and post-credits scene, which leaked a few days before the movie came out. If spoilers don't scare you, you can check out our guide to the movie's ending. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Cast Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and John Wittington. It stars the following actors in a combination of voice and live-action roles: Ben Schwartz as Sonic the HedgehogColleen O'Shaughnessey as TailsIdris Elba as KnucklesKeanu Reeves as Shadow the HedgehogJim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik (and Gerald Robotnik)James Marsden as Tom WachowskiTika Sumpter as Maddie WachowskiKrysten Ritter as Director RockwellNatasha Rothwell as RachelLee Majdoub as Agent StoneAlyla Browne as MariaShemar Moore as Randall HandelAdam Pally as Wade WhippleSonic the Hedgehog 3 Rating and RuntimeSonic the Hedgehog 3 is rated PG for action, some violence, rude humor, thematic elements, and mild language. Its runtime is 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Samsung's most affordable big-screen OLED TVs are on sale with plenty of time to be delivered by Super Bowl Sunday, which lands on February 9 this year. You can pick up a 2024 65" model for about $998, or a massive 77" model for just $1,599. You'd be hard pressed to find better pricing on recent model brand name OLED TVs. This is the ultimate TV for HDR streaming, but it's also great for current-gen gaming on a PS5 or Xbox Series X console.Samsung OLED TVs on Sale65" Samsung S85D 4K OLED Smart TV77" Samsung S84D 4K OLED Smart TVThe Samsung S85/S84D isn't a "budget" TV per se, but this is Samsung's most cost-effective OLED TV series. The S84D is Best Buy's exclusive model, but it's more or less identical to the Samsung S85D. OLED TVs are still considered the best TVs you can buy in terms of picture quality. Compared to traditional LED LCD TVs, they offer better image quality, deeper blacks, better contrast ratio, wider color gamut, and super fast response times. Quantum dot panels up the ante even further by offering wider and brighter range of colors. Because of these advantages, QD OLED TVs are great for viewing 4K HDR content in all of its intended glory.The S85/S84D also has the features you'd want in a gaming TV. It has a native 120Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 ports capable of running 4K at 120Hz on a PS5 or Xbox Series X. It also supports variable refresh rate and auto low latency mode.Looking for more alternatives? Check out the best gaming TVs of 2025.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.So finished the party to end all parties in The Masque of the Red Death, one of Edgar Allan Poes greatest short stories, this about a cloistered group of elites who thought they could live free from consequence and the world outside their walls. Yet like nature, decay, and all other unwanted realities, the Red Death cannot be thwarted by prince and privilege, fiats and decadence. Its a lesson humanity seems doomed to repeat, so why not do it all again in a big splashy A24 horror movie starring Sydney Sweeney?!News of exactly that came Tuesday afternoon when DeadlineThe Plague. However, it is reported A24 wants the film to shoot later this year and that it will be a wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take on the short story.The words wildly and revisionist leave a lot of leeway about what this film could be, however the union of A24 and current It Girl Sweeney certainly shows promise. It was after all A24s partnership with HBO that made Sweeney a star on Euphoria, which is still expecting a third season. Since then Sweeney has gone on to do awards-nominated work in the likes of The White Lotus and Reality, and has produced her own hits, including another indie horror chiller from last year, Immaculate. It is on the last count that the material shows a lot of potential in 2025. After all, the Gothic horror aesthetic appears to be swinging back into popularity, and there is something incredibly Gothic about Poes original tale.While Edgar Allan Poe lived in 19th century America, his sense of literature was defined by an older sensibility. Hence like so many of his tales, 1842s The Masque of the Red Death is set in the Middle Ages where a proud and arrogant Prince Prospero invites a thousand lighthearted nobles of similar opulence and power into a walled abbey. It is there they intend to outlast the arrival of the Red Death (the bubonic plague in all but name) in style and grandeur. While the serfs are left to die outside, the nobles and their retinue will dine at an elaborate masquerade ball in ornately decorated rooms. Nonetheless, Death himself comes in human form to walk amongst them.The story has been adapted multiple times before, most famously by Roger Corman in a kitschy but amusing Vincent Price movie from 1964. That film took the medieval setting of the short story but not much else. It also added a bit of Satan worship and an overt insinuation that Prosperos shindig was devolving into an orgy.We dont know if the new film will get so lurid, or even if it will be a period piece, albeit the recent success of Robert Eggers pot-committed remake of NosferatuMasque revisionist might tease it will be a modernization (similar to how the story was adapted as just one episode in Mike Flanagans Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix in 2023). However, we think it might mean something a bit more fun such as Prospero now being a princess who invites the most debauched into her castle of frivolities.The greater appeal to the story is how timely it feels nearly 200 years after it was written and about 700 years after it was set. The 21st century just lived through a global pandemic that left millions dead, and yet some of the leaders who fiddled while it worsened are newly rewarded with power as they, in turn, attempt to rewrite history.Despite going through a plague, many still think money, power, and dishonesty can shield themselves from the horrors of the natural world or the suffering of others. They insist theyll just build the wall higher.It is in this vein, Sweeney makes a lot of sense considering she already starred in last years Immaculate, a film that was the first in what turned out to be a series of pro-choice horror movies about men trying to control womens bodies in a post-Roe v. Wade America. Bringing that same pointed and scathing sensibility to Poes already incredibly sardonic tale about a royal who thinks he can buy his (or her) way out of meeting the Grim Reaper couldnt arrive at a better moment.