Table of ContentsTable of ContentsWearing the bandNomads coolest glow yetWorth buying?Since my Apple Watch Series 10 arrived Ive worn it with Apples Milanese Loop band, which is easily one of the best you can buy, but when Nomad announced a new glow-in-the-dark Sport Band, I thought it was time for a change. Turns out, getting it to glow was a bit of a challenge, and while it looks as outrageous as youd expect, I found I like it for a different reason.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsIll come to the glow in the dark bit next, but for me to even think about wearing Nomads Sport Band it had to come at least close to the Milanese Loops comfort. Im very pleased to say it does, and its an interesting alternative to Apples own Sport Band. The fluoroelastemer rubber material is surprisingly thick and therefore feels very durable. I could wear it for any sport or activity and not worry about it.Recommended VideosIts secured on your wrist using a metal pin-and-hole system, and cleverly the holes travel the entire length of both ends of the band, ensuring theres masses of air flow and plenty of adjustability. You have to tuck the end of the strap underneath the other, but Ive found it easy to get the right degree of tightness. Ive certainly never noticed it getting hot or sweaty, and while its a bit chunkier than I personally prefer to wear overnight, I doubt it would cause any discomfort. Best of all, it fulfilled my top priority for any watch band to be almost unnoticeable on my wrist during the day.1 of 3Andy Boxall / Digital Trends Andy Boxall / Digital Trends Andy Boxall / Digital Trends This is what has appealed to me more about Nomads Sport Band than the color or its glow in the dark feature. Apples own Sport Band is similarly excellent, and I also really like Casetifys Impact Band too, which matches it for comfort and is really lightweight. Where does Nomads Sport Band fit in? It appears to be tougher and feels a little more durable than both of them, and is more rugged in appearance, giving it a style of its own. All of this applies to any Nomad Sport Band which is available in a variety of colors, but Ive been wearing the one that glows in the dark, so whats it like?RelatedAndy Boxall / Digital TrendsThis is the third glow in the dark Apple Watch band Nomad has released, and its in a fantastic Icy Blue color. When its not glowing, the band takes on an almost off-white color with just a hint of cool minty blue, and its very special indeed. Its not in-your-face blue, even when glowing, and it goes with most outfits because of it. The Nomad Sport Band isnt dressy like the Milanese Loop, and is more rugged looking than Apples or Casetifys alternative, making it the most casual of these three excellent bands.The glow in the dark part is really fun, but it has taken some effort and patience for it to work for me. The band needs to see enough light to charge the photoluminescence up. Its winter in the U.K., where I live, at the moment and sunlight isnt very common. Because its cold, my wrists are almost always covered in several layers of clothing, meaning my Apple Watch gets hidden away most of the time.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsTo give the Nomad Sport Band a fighting chance I left if on the windowsill all day, and I finally got to see it glow after night fell. It looks excellent. Not too bright, but bright enough that everyone would notice it on your wrist. Its a uniform glow, with no hotspots or dull patches, and the Icy Blue tone gives it a sci-fi, Tron-like appearance that I adore. The previous lime green version wasnt to my taste, but this one is perfect. Its not a band for someone who doesnt want attention though, as people will notice it.It took a while, and some effort, to give the Nomad Sport Band enough sunlight to charge it up, but once the Watch was back on my wrist and hidden away, the glow sadly soon faded. Admittedly its not getting a full days sunlight at the moment (not even close) and it is still very new, so the length of time it glows for may change accordingly when conditions alter. Oh, the joy of winter time in the U.K., but the glow in the dark Nomad Sport Band really managed to brighten things up.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsAt the time of writing some versions of the limited edition Icy Blue glow in the dark Sport Band are still available on Nomads website, and given how the previous limited versions have entirely sold out, Id say if you want one itd be best to get one soon. Its well worth it too. Its more than just a fun glowing watch band due to Nomads attention to detail from ensuring the glow is consistent across the entire band, to not letting any additional treatments necessary affect the bands usual high level of comfort.Nomads not charging any more for the limited edition glow in the dark Apple Watch band either, and its yours for $60. Sadly the smaller 41mm/42mm version have sold out at Nomad, but you can still buy the 46mm/49mm version which fits bigger Apple Watch models and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Nomads glowing Icy Blue Sport Band isgoing to enter my regular rotation of Apple Watch bands, but I think Ill save it for the summer months when both it and I have a better chance of seeing some sun.Editors Recommendations

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Donald Trump holding an executive order announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris AgreementJIM WATSON/AFP/Getty ImagesA cheer went up from the crowd in a Washington DC stadium on 20 January as US president Donald Trump signed an order on stage to withdraw the US from the Paris climate treaty. The order said the move was in the interest of putting America first. But environmental groups condemned the decision, arguing the exit of the worlds second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the agreement will exacerbate climate damages while ceding US influence in global negotiations to its rival and clean-energy juggernaut, China.This is a matter of the US and the Trump administration shooting themselves in the foot, says David Waskow at the World Resources Institute, a global environmental nonprofit. It will sideline the US.AdvertisementThis is the second time Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, the landmark deal agreed upon in 2015 to limit global warming to well below 2C above the pre-industrial average. Due to the rules of the United Nations treaty, the first exit in 2017 took three years to become official, and the US only left for a few months before the former US president Joe Biden had the country rejoin in 2021.This time around, the rules of the accord stipulate it will take a year for the withdrawal to become official, at which point the US will be the only major economy not party to the agreement. The other countries that have not signed on are Libya, Yemen and Iran.This is definitely not good news for international climate action, says Li Shuo at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington DC. Unlike the first time the US withdrew, this second exit comes at a moment when the countrys appetite for ambitious emission reductions was already facing geopolitical, social and economic obstacles, he says. Last year saw record global emissions while the rise in global average temperatures surpassed 1.5C for the first time. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThe US exit will leave the country without leverage to push for deeper emission cuts, and could create an excuse for countries around the globe to decrease their own climate commitments. Climate momentum across the world, even before Trumps election, was declining, says Li.However, the US withdrawal wont mean the bottom drops out of global climate action, says Waskow. Countries representing more than 90 per cent of global emissions are still committed to the Paris agreement. Wind and solar energy, electric vehicles, batteries and other clean technologies also now play a much larger role in the global economy than the first time the US withdrew, he says.The rest of the world is shifting to clean energy, says Manish Bapna at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a US environmental advocacy group. This will slow that transition, not stop it. But it raises the question of what role the US will play in shaping that future, he says.Looming large is China, which dominates many of the key clean energy industries, from solar panels to batteries, and is increasingly exporting its technology to the rest of the world. The US wont only be ceding influence over how those markets are shaped, but will be ceding those markets period, says Waskow. I dont think other countries will think of the US first when thinking about who to engage with.The retreat from global climate action also comes as the new Trump administration moved swiftly to reverse, abandon or impede the previous administrations policies in a flurry of executive orders made in the first day in office. Those include a ban on federal permits for wind energy, and a rollback of policies Biden put in place to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. Others are aimed at expanding fossil fuel development on federal lands, in coastal waters and in Alaska and increasing exports of natural gas to solve what yet another order declares is a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill, he said in his inaugural address.Topics:

OpenAI spent $1.76 million on government lobbying in 2024 and $510,000 in the last three months of the year alone, according to a new disclosure filed on Tuesdaya significant jump from 2023, when the company spent just $260,000 on Capitol Hill. The company also disclosed a new in-house lobbyist, Meghan Dorn, who worked for five years for Senator Lindsey Graham and started at OpenAI in October. The filing also shows activity related to two new pieces of legislation in the final months of the year: the Houses AI Advancement and Reliability Act, which would set up a government center for AI research, and the Senates Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act, which would create shared benchmark tests for AI models. OpenAI did not respond to questions about its lobbying efforts. But perhaps more important, the disclosure is a clear signal of the companys arrival as a political player, as its first year of serious lobbying ends and Republican control of Washington begins. While OpenAIs lobbying spending is still dwarfed by its peersMeta tops the list of Big Tech spenders, with more than $24 million in 2024the uptick comes as it and other AI companies have helped redraw the shape of AI policy. For the past few years, AI policy has been something like a whack-a-mole response to the risks posed by deepfakes and misinformation. But over the last year, AI companies have started to position the success of the technology as pivotal to national security and American competitiveness, arguing that the government must therefore support the industrys growth. As a result, OpenAI and others now seem poised to gain access to cheaper energy, lucrative national security contracts, and a more lax regulatory environment thats unconcerned with the minutiae of AI safety. While the big players seem more or less aligned on this grand narrative, messy divides on other issues are still threatening to break through the harmony on display at President Trumps inauguration this week. AI regulation really began in earnest after ChatGPT launched in November 2022. At that point, a lot of the conversation was about responsibility, says Liana Keesing, campaigns manager for technology reform at Issue One, a democracy nonprofit that tracks Big Techs influence. Companies were asked what theyd do about sexually abusive deepfake images and election disinformation. Sam Altman did a very good job coming in and painting himself early as a supporter of that process, Keesing says. OpenAI started its official lobbying effort around October 2023, hiring Chan Parka onetime Senate Judiciary Committee counsel and Microsoft lobbyistto lead the effort. Lawmakers, particularly then Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, were vocal about wanting to curb these particular harms; OpenAI hired Schumers former legal counsel, Reginald Babin, as a lobbyist, according to data from OpenSecrets. This past summer, the company hired the veteran political operative Chris Lehane as its head of global policy. OpenAIs previous disclosures confirm that the companys lobbyists subsequently focused much of last year on legislation like the No Fakes Act and the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act. The bills did not materialize into law. But as the year went on, the regulatory goals of AI companies began to change. One of the biggest shifts that weve seen, Keesing says, is that theyve really started to focus on energy. In September, Altman, along with leaders from Nvidia, Anthropic, and Google, visited the White House and pitched the vision that US competitiveness in AI will depend on subsidized energy infrastructure to train the best models. Altman proposed to the Biden administration the construction of multiple five-gigawatt data centers, which would each consume as much electricity as New York City. Around the same time, companies like Meta and Microsoft started to say that nuclear energy will provide the path forward for AI, announcing deals aimed at firing up new nuclear power plants. It seems likely OpenAIs policy team was already planning for this particular shift. In April, the company hired lobbyist Matthew Rimkunas, who worked for Bill Gatess sustainable energy effort Breakthrough Energies and, before that, spent 16 years working for Senator Graham; the South Carolina Republican serves on the Senate subcommittee that manages nuclear safety. This new AI energy race is inseparable from the positioning of AI as essential for national security and US competitiveness with China. OpenAI laid out its position in a blog post in October, writing, AI is a transformational technology that can be used to strengthen democratic values or to undermine them. Thats why we believe democracies should continue to take the lead in AI development. Then in December, the company went a step further and reversed its policy against working with the military, announcing it would develop AI models with the defense-tech company Anduril to help take down drones around military bases. That same month, Sam Altman said during an interview with The Free Press that the Biden administration was not that effective in shepherding AI: The things that I think should have been the administrations priorities, and I hope will be the next administrations priorities, are building out massive AI infrastructure in the US, having a supply chain in the US, things like that. That characterization glosses over the CHIPS Act, a $52 billion stimulus to the domestic chips industry that is, at least on paper, aligned with Altmans vision. (It also preceded an executive order Biden issued just last week, to lease federal land to host the type of gigawatt-scale data centers that Altman had been asking for.) Intentionally or not, Altmans posture aligned him with the growing camaraderie between President Trump and Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai all sat directly behind Trumps family at the inauguration on Monday, and Altman also attended. Many of them had also made sizable donations to Trumps inaugural fund, with Altman personally throwing in $1 million. Its easy to view the inauguration as evidence that these tech leaders are aligned with each other, and with other players in Trumps orbit. But there are still some key dividing lines that will be worth watching. Notably, theres the clash over H-1B visas, which allow many noncitizen AI researchers to work in the US. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (who is, as of this week, no longer a part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency) have been pushing for that visa program to be expanded. This sparked backlash from some allies of the Trump administration, perhaps most loudly Steve Bannon. Another fault line is the battle between open- and closed-source AI. Google and OpenAI prevent anyone from knowing exactly whats in their most powerful models, often arguing that this keeps them from being used improperly by bad actors. Musk has sued OpenAI and Microsoft over the issue, alleging that closed-source models are antithetical to OpenAIs hybrid nonprofit structure. Meta, whose Llama model is open-source, recently sided with Musk in that lawsuit. Venture capitalist and Trump ally Marc Andreessen echoed these criticisms of OpenAI on X just hours after the inauguration. (Andreessen has also said that making AI models open-source makes overbearing regulations unnecessary.) Finally, there are the battles over bias and free speech. The vastly different approaches that social media companies have taken to moderating contentincluding Metas recent announcement that it would end its US fact-checking programraise questions about whether the way AI models are moderated will continue to splinter too. Musk has lamented what he calls the wokeness of many leading models, and Andreessen said on Tuesday that Chinese LLMs are much less censored than American LLMs (though thats not quite true, given that many Chinese AI models have government-mandated censorship in place that forbids particular topics). Altman has been more equivocal: No two people are ever going to agree that one system is perfectly unbiased, he told The Free Press. Its only the start of a new era in Washington, but the White House has been busy. It has repealed many executive orders signed by President Biden, including the landmark order on AI that imposed rules for government use of the technology (while it appears to have kept Bidens order on leasing land for more data centers). Altman is busy as well. OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank reportedly plan to spend up to $500 billion on a joint venture for new data centers; the project was announced by President Trump, with Altman standing alongside. And according to Axios, Altman will also be part of a closed-door briefing with government officials on January 30, reportedly about OpenAIs development of a powerful new AI agent.

The film editor for "The Brutalist" revealed the movie used AI in post-production.Writer-director Brady Corbet responded to the controversy and defended the film's use of AI.This likely won't affect the Oscar nominations, as voting ended before the controversy went mainstream.People online can't stop talking about "The Brutalist." But this time, the chatter isn't about the movie's over three-hour runtime, its eye-catching visual style, or the acclaimed performances propelling it to awards season glory. It's about AI, and whether the film's use of it should make it less deserving of artistic praise and potential awards. The controversy reached a peak this weekend after excerpts from an interview with "The Brutalist" editor Dvid Jancs went viral online.Jancs told online tech magazine Red Shark News that the production team used AI to perfect minute pronunciation details in the Hungarian accents of stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, who play Hungarian Jews who flee Europe after World War II in search of a better life in America. (The film includes scenes in both Hungarian and English.)Jancs, who is a native Hungarian speaker himself, said the language is one of the most difficult to learn to pronounce. So while Brody and Jones had dialect coaching and did a "fabulous job" learning the language, the filmmakers wanted to perfect the dialogue "so that not even locals will spot any difference."'The Brutalist' used AI to improve Adrien Brody's accentJancs said they first tried to use ADR (automated dialogue replacement) in post-production, but it didn't work. So the team opted to feed Brody and Jones' voices into Respeecher, a Ukrainian software company that uses AI to let one person speak in the voice of another, then fed in Jancs's own voice to finesse it."We were very careful about keeping their performances. It's mainly just replacing letters here and there," he said in the interview. Jancs added that generative AI was used to craft the final sequence where viewers see architectural drawings and completed buildings in the style of Adrien Brody's fictional architect Lszl Tth.The editor said that he knew it was controversial to talk about using AI in film, but maintained that "there's nothing in the film using AI that hasn't been done before.""It just makes the process a lot faster. We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn't have the money or the time to shoot," Jancs said.Some fans are turning on 'The Brutalist,' but the news won't impact Oscar nominationsThe revelation, which comes days before Thursday's Oscar nominations announcement, threw social media into a frenzy, with many film fans criticizing the movie's use of AI. Some have even suggested the movie (or Brody) should be disqualified over it.The nearly four-hour epic has been a sensation since premiering at the Venice Film Festival in September, where director Brady Corbet won the festival's Silver Lion award. In the months since, it's continued to rack up more wins, most recently taking home three Golden Globes: best director for Corbet, best actor in a drama for Brody, and best motion picture drama.Users on X joked that "The Brutalist" is the latest best picture contender to be knocked out of the race after "Anora" faced backlash for not using an intimacy coordinator, clearing the way for papal thriller "Conclave" to win. But if the Ralph Fiennes drama does clinch a nomination and "The Brutalist" doesn't, it likely won't be due to the latter's use of AI: Oscar voting, which was extended due to the LA fires, concluded on Friday January 17, after the interview was published but before online chatter over the controversy picked up steam that weekend.As for whether it will affect the chances of "The Brutalist" actually winning anything, that's less clear and all depends on how the voting bodies that make up the Academy feel about AI usage (that is, if the voters even finished watching the whole movie).Director Brady Corbet responded to the uproar In an email statement shared with BI by the film's distributor A24, Corbet defended and clarified the use of AI in "The Brutalist," maintaining that Brody and Jones' performances are "completely their own" and that nothing was substantively altered."Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed," Corbet said. "This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production. The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity's performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft."Corbet also said that AI wasn't used to render any of the buildings, which were all hand-drawn. "To clarify, in the memorial video featured in the background of a shot, our editorial team created pictures intentionally designed to look like poor digital renderings circa 1980," he said.The Brutalist' isn't the only movie to use AIAI has been major point of contention in Hollywood, particularly during the 2023 writers and actors strikes, when creatives demanded reassurances that the technology wouldn't replace their work.The popularity of AI, and Respeecher in particular, is growing. The company struck a deal with Lucasfilm to clone James Earl Jones' voice for use in the 2022 Star Wars series "Obi-Wan Kenobi.""The Brutalist" also wasn't the only film that used AI in 2024. Respeecher said in a Facebook post that "Emilia Prez," another awards season favorite, used its software, though it didn't say in what capacity.Reps for "Emilia Prez" didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but an interview with the movie's sound mixer indicates AI cloning tools were used to help Karla Sofia Gascn sing beyond her vocal range, per The Guardian.Other 2024 films like "Civil War," "Furiosa," "Alien: Romulus," and "Late Night With the Devil," also faced varying degrees of criticism for their use of AI in visuals.Reps for "The Brutalist" and Respeecher, as well as Brody, Jones, and Jancs, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Netflix had a blowout quarter, helped by live sports events.But Netflix insists it won't break the bank with sports.Netflix sees sports as part of live programming, which benefits its ad growth.Netflix just delivered another blockbuster quarter, helped by record-breaking sporting events. But the streamer was quick to tamp down speculation that it'll charge headlong into big (AKA pricey) sports deals.Netflix highlighted live sports events in ticking off the strengths of the fourth quarter. It mentioned the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout, which it called the most-streamed sporting event ever, and the NFL Christmas Day games, which it said were the two most streamed NFL games in history. Netflix just began a big partnership with the WWE and got exclusive US rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup for 2027 and 2031.Many analysts would like Netflix to add more sports as they become available, and sports-related questions were prominent on Tuesday's earnings call. "We believe NFLX would benefit from expanding its sports portfolio but note few US sports rights are up for renewal over the next few years," Citi analysts wrote in a recent note.The NBA is tied up for the next 11 years, and the NFL signed its 11-year deal in 2021. ESPN's UFC rights are coming up for grabs in 2025, though, and could look more attractive. That's especially true after the Paul-Tyson fight.Netflix execs were quick to emphasize Tuesday that they're not changing their strategy around sports. They said they plan to keep treating it as part of its live programming, which includes things like "The Roast of Tom Brady."Live programming sports especially can create a sense of urgency that can help fuel Netflix's ads business. Netflix is counting on ads to help it accelerate in 2025 and beyond.That said, Netflix doesn't want to give the impression it's giving up on cost discipline. With the cost of live sports skyrocketing, Netflix underscored in its shareholder letter that its live programming would "likely be a small percentage of our total view hours and content expense." Netflix has also expressed aversion to renting versus owning its entertainment.That could be music to the ears of some TV networks. They are being squeezed by the ever-increasing cost of live sports rights and are increasingly outbid by tech giants for them."We are constantly trying to broaden our programming, and live is one of those things, and sports is one of those live events," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the call. "But it doesn't really change the economics of full seasons sports being very challenging." "We're going to be mindful of the bottom line," he added.Of course, Netflix has been known to change its tune on things before like ads, password-sharing, and yes, live sports.

Assassins Creed Shadows a guaranteed hit? (Ubisoft)The Wednesday letters page is worried about the future of Mass Effect and BioWare, as one reader looks at the history of summer console launches.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukFan bubbleSo, its a pretty busy February this year, with a lot of big titles, and one of them is Assassins Creed Shadows. Theres been a lot of talk of Ubisoft being in trouble so theyre going to have a lot riding on this. My question is, will it be a success?On one hand youd probably say not, because of all the stuff with it not being historically accurate and whatever. But normal people arent going to have heard about all that. Assassins Creed is one of the biggest franchises out there, only a few steps down from Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC in terms of something that always seems to sell no matter the quality or controversy.Im sure sales go up and down between different games, but Ive never heard of Assassins Creed actually being a flop. I think too often we the sort of people that would be reading this get caught up in a kind of fan bubble where we assume everyone knows and thinks what we do.I know Ive been guilty of that before, and Id be very surprised if the vast majority of people looking at Assassins Creed Shadows didnt just see a cool samurai game and think about buying it. The biggest issue I can see is that theres a lot out that month, rather than anything about the game.FuttermanSummer lovingA June release date seems pretty weird for the Nintendo Switch 2; doesnt seem like something youd choose on purpose at all. I can only guess its either to stay out of the way of GTA 6 or Nintendo are worried theyd go too long without anything to sell.Im not a wholesaler or a manufacturer or whatever but I just cant imagine many people in June are going to have 300+ to spend on a new video game console. Especially as its six months to Christmas. The super fans will though and I guess thats all you really need when a console comes out, to build up the hype.I think theres an obvious reason why so few games are released during the summer but a portable console? That makes a bit more sense. Plus, it gives time for hype to build up for the Christmas season. Either way, I doubt Nintendos going to have trouble selling it.NixGC: March releases are relatively common for portables, but youd have to go back to the Mega Drive and SNES to find a major format that launched during the summer, and even then it was August.Beware BioWareA lot of people are worried about the future of Bungie at the moment, but I never really played Destiny, so I cant really comment on that. What little Ive read doesnt sound good, but I couldnt say whether theyll pull through or not.What I do know though is that Im really worried about BioWare. I just read that they havent even started full production on Mass Effect 4 yet, which means its going to be at least three years more. After the failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard I really do worry that EA is going to shut them down before they get much further.A reader asked yesterday why EA keeps making more Battlefield and Need For Speed games and I couldnt really tell you. But I do know that theyre not nearly as patient with anything else and at this point BioWare feels like it must be on very thin ice.84ColbatEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukFrom summer with loveWith all the talk about Nintendo Switch 2 at the moment (understandable, I realise) I cant help thinking about what FromSoftware are doing right now and when theyre going to announce it. Elden Ring Nightreign is clearly just a quick and dirty spin-off, so what is their next main game? Theyve said its not Elden Ring 2 and I cant imagine them going back to Dark Souls after all this time, so its either a new IP or a new Bloodborne.I do think theres a good chance of Bloodborne 2, as it has a very good reputation and its exclusive to PlayStation, but Sony dont have to worry about making it themselves. But From have said theyve got multiple games underway at the moment and that means that at least one of them has got to brand new.The best thing is that, except for Bloodborne, this is something to be excited about for Switch 2 too, since its bound to be on that too. Only thing is I dont know when any of this will be announced. The Xbox event this week? The imagined Sony one after? I think Summer Game Fest is probably the most likely.IcemanA better yearDo you plan on reviewing Eternal Strands?Last year was a great gaming year but lacked any really big releases. This year we are expecting some heavy hitters, but the first few months of this year already has a healthy list of games that I wouldnt say are massive releases but look very promising.Eternal Strands, Avowed, Split Fiction, Atomfall, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii all look good.SimundoGC: It does look interesting, so well try.Number valueGTA 6 $100 is 81.63 normal price. This raises standard prices by 10 above the new release of EA Sports FC 25 and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6.People are seeing the US market prices and not realising the price difference via currency exchange.Games are making more money over DLC and virtual currency, where GTA 5 is lacking from due to the number of mods now making the impossible very possible.This didnt exist until the PlayStation 3, where developers want more for very little. A suggestion to CMA to level the online playing field would be a singular price for battle passes, that include all features instead of charging a battle pass and single features such as skins.Console games are becoming expensive and going digital has ruined the gamers market, because of several reason a) You dont own the game and as soon as its removed from store the game disappears b) GAME, CeX, and various gaming shops would be forced to close their doors like Gamestation c) store closures mean more unemployed d) no more resales or trades and finally e) gaming storage will quickly fill up.KyleGC: If, and it is an if, its $100 in the US itll almost certainly be 100 here. The same happened with the price rise to $70/70.Astronomically unlikelyWith the Switch 2 release nearing Im wondering if theres any chance we might see Astro Bot on the platform.I think everyone would agree a game like that would find its natural home in Nintendo land and Id assume sell well, something it unfortunately hasnt seemed to do on PlayStation. It just seems like a win-win situation for both platforms.ChrisGC: Not unless Sony radically changes its multiformat policies.Big bangI would absolutely love it if Nintendo made their last Switch game a big fan service title that was doomed to failure. Unfortunately, unlike the previous reader, I cant really imagine that happening. Nintendo might be the nice console maker but that doesnt mean theyre happy to just throw money away. No company ever wants to do that, least of all one thats savvy enough to be over 130 years old.Unfortunately, I think it is the fate of all consoles to fade away rather than go out with a bang. Id love to be proven wrong, but I think we should feel lucky that last year was a good one for the Switch, rather than just being filled with remasters and other low rent stuff.I do hope though, that some of the forgotten franchises get updated for the Nintendo Switch 2. F-Zero might be a tricky one, in terms of what to actually do, but Star Fox is pretty malleable and can be almost anything sci-fi. Theres lots of other older franchises they could be back too, like Golden Sun, Kid Icarus, StarTropics, and Wario Land.I know they could just make a new series instead, but I think theres always a novelty in updating old games and seeing what can be done with modern technology and some new ideas. If anything was going to happen Id say Golden Sun was the most likely, as its by an outside developer, but Im still not getting my hopes up.Darth RyanInbox also-ransI was gonna write in about there being no games I want coming out in 2025 but then I read your release list. I was incorrect.BobwallettThis GTA 6 trailer theories are so insane. I cant believe the fans really believe them; its probably just an inside joke. The phases of the moon one was the best.DougMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.GameCentralSign up for exclusive 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

The 8 3DS games that deserve a Nintendo Switch 2 remasterMichael BeckwithPublished January 22, 2025 1:00am There are plenty of obvious choices (Nintendo/Metro)Weve seen plenty of Wii U ports for the Nintendo Switch so maybe its time for some classic 3DS games to make the jump to the Switch and its successor.While most of the Wii Us first party exclusives have long since been ported to Nintendo Switch (with probably the final one Xenoblade Chronicles X arriving in a couple of months), the same cant be said for the Nintendo 3DS.The shutdown of the 3DS eShop in 2023 means its digital library is now inaccessible and tracking down physical copies isnt always easy. Its a shame since there are some fantastic 3DS games still worth playing, that would benefit from a modern remaster, either for the Nintendo Switch or the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.Its not as if there isnt precedent. Nintendo has already brought Miitopia and Luigis Mansion 2 to Switch, and its been rumoured Kirby: Planet Robobot will follow suit soon. So, heres our wish list of 3DS games that could benefit from a second life on Switch.Kid Icarus: UprisingThe most obvious game that comes to mind when putting this list together is 2012s Kid Icarus: Uprising, an at the time modern reinvention of the long dormant series helmed by Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai.It was nothing like the original 2D platformers and instead a mix of an on-rails and third person shooter. That might sound a little limited but Kid Icarus: Uprising proved to be far more engaging and feature rich than expected.The biggest thing holding it back was its awkward control scheme, which had you using the stylus and touchscreen like a mouse. Even Nintendo recognised the problem, since the game came packaged with a 3DS stand to help players avoid hand cramp.A reworked Switch port would make the game far more accessible, especially if it came to Switch 2 and could make use of the new Joy-Cons that can function like a computer mouse.Metroid: Samus ReturnsThe Switch may already have Metroid Dread and the Metroid Prime remaster, but you know whats better than having two of the best Metroid games ever made on Switch? Having three of the best Metroid games ever made on Switch.Metroid: Samus Returns launched during a time when there hadnt been a traditional Metroid game in seven years, and that was the thoroughly unpopular Other M. This 2017 remake, of Metroid 2 on the Game Boy, took Samus back to her 2D roots and reemphasised why the series became as beloved as it is.Although Metroid Prime 4 (and probably remasters of 2 and 3) are on the way theres been no sign of a follow-up to Metroid Dread, so a remaster of Samus Returns, which was by the same developer, would be a good way to keep the 2D side of the series alive and give the game a graphical upgrade.Fire Emblem AwakeningFire Emblem fans are still waiting on that long-rumoured remake of Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War (aka Fire Emblem 4), but we wouldnt be shocked if a Switch remaster of Fire Emblem Awakening was being considered too.This is the game that saved the series after all, and thats not hyperbole. Fire Emblem Awakening was developer Intelligent Systems one last shot at sales success, and it achieved all that and more. If it had failed then the series probably never would have been heard from again.A brand new Fire Emblem probably isnt very high on Nintendos to-do list at the moment so a remaster of Awakening, and its follow-up Fates, would make a lot of sense.Nintendogs + CatsA part of us is surprised Nintendo never did more with Nintendogs. The original Nintendo DS game was the second best-selling DS game ever at 23.96 million units sold, though perhaps its because its 3DS sequel Nintendogs + Cats didnt do as strongly that the series was seemingly abandoned.There was chatter of a revival for mobile phones in 2023, but with Nintendos interest in mobile gaming waning over time the only real chance for a return now is on the Switch or Switch 2.Aside from it already having a winning concept, of raising a virtual dog or cat, the Switchs massive install base means there are loads of young players who missed out on the original and whose parents would be more willing to get them a fake pet than a real one.A remaster could add more modern online features and perhaps a more gameified structure, since the non-game stylings of the original have now fallen out of fashion.Tomodachi LifeWe admittedly didnt think too highly of 2014s Tomodachi Life, but thats precisely why Nintendos peculiar life simulator could stand to see a modern remaster.It may be harder to justify when Animal Crossing already exists, but Tomodachi Life was enjoyably surreal in how the Mii inhabitants would interact and its hard to completely hate a game that lets you write your own songs for your curated band of Miis to sing. (Assuming the Switch 2 has Mii avatars.)With some more engaging activities, be they offline or online, a remastered Tomodachi Life would not only appeal to established fans but potentially win over new ones. At the very least, a remaster could rectify the lack of same-sex romances in the original.Bravely DefaultWeve been focusing purely on Nintendos own games for this list, so lets give some attention to a couple of third party titles that have never managed to escape the 3DS. For instance, Square Enixs 2013 role-player Bravely Default.With Final Fantasy eager to leave its turn-based roots behind, Bravely Default feels more like the proper Final Fantasy that some fans feel Final Fantasy 16 failed to be. Its a fittingly brave title that successfully marries new ideas with nostalgic throwbacks to the early days of Japanese role-players.We werent as impressed with the 2021 sequel, so wed love to see the original made more widely available. It would admittedly require a significant overhaul if it came to Switch, since the original made interesting use of the 3DSs AR and StreetPass features. Although rumours suggest the Switch 2 may have its own AR capabilities.Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace AttorneyThis one almost feels plausible considering Capcom has gone to great lengths to bring the entire Ace Attorney series to modern platforms, even the Japanese-only ones like The Great Ace Attorney. Combined with Professor Laytons own comeback later this year, theres arguably no better time to revisit the 2014 crossover.Its status as gamings best crossover may have been usurped by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it remains a perfect combination of Layton style puzzle solving and Ace Attorney courtroom drama. Its also technically the first Ace Attorney game to feature a jury system and its DNA can be felt all over The Great Ace Attorney.More TrendingIt helps that the story is as gripping as other Ace Attorney games, managing to stride a fine line between charmingly comedic to shockingly serious as Layton and Phoenix deal with deadly magic and witch trials that suspend culprits over a pit of flames. With the re-releases attracting newer Ace Attorney fans, its criminal that there isnt an easier way for them to experience such a delightful crossover.The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3DThe dream for most Zelda fans is a full remake of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time for the Switch 2. If Nintendo has no plans for such a project, then an updated re-release of the 3DS remake might be the next best thing.Aside from throwing a bone to all the people who dont care for the series open world structure, as seen in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, Ocarina Of Time is a classic well worth experiencing today. The original Nintendo 64 version is available as part of the Switchs online subscription, but it obviously lacks the 3DS versions visual upgrades and quality of life touches.The 3DS version is arguably the best way to play Ocarina Of Time, but its locked to a handheld Nintendo no longer supports. Admittedly, its not especially difficult to track down a second-hand physical copy, but sometimes you want to experience a game on your big TV rather than a smaller screen. Plus, theres Majoras Mask 3D too. Dont pretend you wouldnt play Ocarina Of Time all over again if it got a Switch remaster (Nintendo)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.GameCentralSign up for exclusive 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

Its the time of year when the hater-ade gets unleashed by film critics and commentators for the annual Razzies. The funsuck awards show takes cheap shots at feature film releases that didnt fall into favor with wide audiences. For 2024, its putting a special focus on Madame Web and Joker: Folie a Deux. While neither film set the box office on fire, both have cult potential. Some of us might even agree with Quentin Tarantinos take on Joker 2 actually being an audacious take-down of its fans and the industry at large who didnt get the first Joker film. Lady Gagas performance was a particular standout; her character needed more songs, but we have a feeling the cut songs made it onto her Prince-esque Batman companion album inspired by (Har)Lee Quinn. Among other more regrettable genre films like Eli Roths Borderlands, Jennifer Lopez Netflix vehicle Atlas, and Bill Skarsgrds Crow reboot, well still defend Madame Web. She lost her mother who died while researching spiders in the Amazon, for shame! However, Mufasa: The Lion King deserves the ire. Heres the list as shared by Deadline: Worst Picture Borderlands Joker: Folie a Deux Madame Web Megalopolis ReaganActor Jack Black / Dear Santa Zachary Levi / Harold and the Purple Crayon Joaquin Phoenix / Joker: Folie Deux Dennis Quaid / Reagan Jerry Seinfeld / UnfrostedActress Cate Blanchett / Borderlands Lady Gaga / Joker: Folie Deux Bryce Dallas Howard / Argylle Dakota Johnson / Madame Web Jennifer Lopez / AtlasSupporting Actor Jack Black (Voice Only) Borderlands Kevin Hart / Borderlands Shia LaBeouf / (in drag) Megalopolis Tahar Rahim / Madame Web Jon Voight / Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land & StrangersSupporting Actress Ariana DeBose / Argylle & Kraven the Hunter Leslie Anne Down (as Margaret Thatcher) / Reagan Emma Roberts / Madame Web Amy Schumer / Unfrosted FKA twigs / The CrowDirector S.J. Clarkson / Madame Web Francis Ford Coppola / Megalopolis Todd Phillips / Joker: Folie Deux Eli Roth / Borderlands Jerry Seinfeld / UnfrostedScreen Combo Any Two Obnoxious Characters (But Especially Jack Black) Borderlands Any Two Unfunny Comedic Actors / Unfrosted The Entire Cast of Megalopolis Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga / Joker: Folie Deux Dennis Quaid & Penelope Ann Miller (as Ronnie and Nancy) in ReaganPrequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel The Crow Joker: Folie Deux Kraven the Hunter Mufasa: The Lion King Rebel Moon 2: The Scargiver Screenplay Joker: Folie Deux Kraven the Hunter Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan Any films above you think shouldnt have been nominated? Or that totally deserves it? Let us know in the comments below. 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.