Sega tops Metacritic list of the best game publishers for third yearAdam StarkeyPublished March 5, 2025 6:10pmUpdated March 5, 2025 6:10pm Metaphor has kept Sega in the race (Sega)Metacritic has released its annual rankings of the best game publishers of the year and theres not a big name American company in the whole top eight.Last year may have been dismal for the games industry in terms of sales and layoffs, but there were still plenty of great games to sink yourself into.The positives from last year have been collated into Metacritics annual ranking of the most successful video game publishers. The list is based on the sites average review score across every game released in 2024, which is converted into points based on different brackets for great titles (above 90), good (75 and up), and bad (below 49).Last years list was topped by Capcom thanks to Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6, but Sega has clawed itself back to the top in 2024.Segas win is mostly thanks to Atluss Metaphor: ReFantazio, which earned a Metacritic score of 94. Other games from the company last year include Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (87) and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (89), with Segas average landing at 82.9 based on 12 games.Sega is now the first company to top the list three times, following previous wins in 2021 and 2016. Infinite Wealth was a hit among critics too (Sega)Last years winner Capcom was close behind in second place, with an average score of 82.1. The companys highest-rated game was Dragons Dogma 2 with a score of 88.Others in the top five include Aksys Games, which only released five games but had a 100% good rating across all of them. Then there was Sony, which was lifted by Astro Bot and Destiny 2: The Final Shape, and Focus Entertainment with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.Interestingly, aside from the California-based Aksys Games (which publishes Japanese-made games and indie titles from European publisher Rising Star Games), the only US-based companies in the top 10 are Microsoft and Annapurna Interactive at nine and 10, respectively.After hoovering up Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, Microsoft has a 79.4 average, while Annapurna was close behind with 79.2 thanks to Lorelei And The Laser Eyes.Surprisingly, Nintendo is way down at number 22 with an average of 76, thanks to poorly received games such as Endless Ocean Luminous and Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer. Its best received title was Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door with 88, but even that couldnt boost the overall number for the Nintendo Switchs last big year.Incredibly, Nintendo are even below Ubisoft. The publisher may have had a bad year sales-wise, but it managed to increase its Metacritic ranking by five places from last year to number 18, mostly thanks to Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown.The lowest on the list is the largely unknown Fulqrum Publishing, which achieved an average rank of 71.1, based on five games.More TrendingIt remains to be seen if Sega can hold onto the title in 2025, but the company has recently said it is planning to release fewer full games during its next fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026).Full games are categorised as those which arent free-to-play, in other words proper games like the upcoming Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance.In its latest earnings call, Sega also vowed to strengthen its current studios, specifically Atlus, Like A Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and Sonic Team.Atlus is an important studio for us to expand Japanese IPs overseas and we think it is necessary to strengthen it, and the studios involved in the Sonic and Like a Dragon IPs are also short of staff, and we are looking to reinforce personnel through additional hiring and M&A, the publisher said. Will Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds keep up the momentum? (Sega)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

Dragon Age: The Veilguard came out at a rough time (EA)This months PS Plus selection on PS5 includes an overlooked role-playing giant and one of the best 3D Sonic games.Developer BioWare has a storied history with role-playing games, with the studios biggest franchises including Baldurs Gate, Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age.The developers most recent release was Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the fourth mainline instalment in the series following 2014s Dragon Age: Inquisition. Despite positive reviews from critics, it was a significant flop for EA to the point where it might negatively impact the next Mass Effect.However, Dragon Age: The Veilguards low sales have turned into a positive for PS Plus subscribers this month, with the game now available on the Essential tier.Subscribers can claim the game from now until Monday, March 31. If youre working through the backlog but want to play it later, you can still claim the game before that date by simply adding it to your library in the PlayStation Store. It will then be accessible to download at any point, as long as you keep your subscription to PS Plus.In our 9/10 review of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, we described it as a triumphant return for BioWare, and a massive, action-intensive fantasy role-player, that combines a complex and intuitive fighting system with a great script.That isnt the only new game on PS Plus this month. Sonic Colours: Ultimate, one of the best modern entries in the series, is available on PlayStation 4. Its a revamped version of the original 2010 platformer, with improved visuals and a time trial mode.More TrendingFor retro heads, there is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. This compilation brings together 13 classic TMNT games, including the classic 1989 arcade beat em-up game and the trilogy of titles on the Game Boy.If youre a subscriber on Xbox Game Pass, this months new additions include Monster Train, Galacticare, One Lonely Outpost (March 6), Enter The Gungeon (March 11), Mullet Madjack (March 13), and a preview of 33 Immortals (March 18).As for what is leaving Game Pass on March 15, its soon to say goodbye to Evil West, Lies Of P, No More Heroes 3, Solar Ash, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, Yakuza 5 Remastered, and Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life. Sonic Colours is a solid 3D outing (Sega)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

And forthcoming mega-constellations will exacerbate the problem

Better batteries, cleaner bioplastics and more powerful semiconductors await

The end is nigh for the mega popular new-wave shonen anime series Demon Slayer, which will conclude its epic tale as a movie trilogy. Now we know when that begins: the first film in the animes final curtain call, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, will come to U.S. theaters September 12. Announced last June, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castlecomes off the heels of the animes cliffhanger fourth season. The series follows a boy named Tanjiro Kamado who, after the murder of his family at the hands of a demon, joins the Demon Slayer Corps in the hopes of turning his sister Nezuko, who was transformed into a demon. The final moments of Demon Slayers fourth season placed its heroes directly into the heart of the demons lair, the Infinity Castle, setting them on an irreversible course toward an explosive final battle. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, animated by Ufotable, will be distributed globally by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, excluding Japan and other select Asian territories. The film will be available in Japanese with English subtitles and an English dub, and will also have IMAX screenings. For international readers fortunate enough to spawn outside of the hellscape of the U.S., here are the release dates and territories for Infinity Castle. Be sure to check up on Crunchyrolls socials for additional dates). August 14: Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan August 15: Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam August 20: Philippines September 11: Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean (Jamaica, Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao), Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland (Italian-speaking), Syria, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates September 12: India, Mongolia, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Kenya, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Southern Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom September 17: Belgium, France, French-speaking Africa, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French-speaking) September 18: Moldova September 25: Austria, Germany, Switzerland (German-speaking) Crunchyroll Demon Slayer has been a phenomenal franchise, and we at Crunchyroll are delighted to have been a part of it from the beginning, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said in a previous press release. Crunchyroll is thrilled to be able to bring this trilogy of films to fans, on the big screen, and it promises to be one of the truly epic and consequential pop cultural events of our time when it hits theaters. In many ways, Demon Slayer is a series that popularized ongoing anime receiving worldwide theatrical releases. So its a bit poeticif not capitalistically motivatedfor Crunchyroll and company to capitalize on the animes finale with one final box office smash. Time will tell whether the film trilogy will be just that or if all parties involved will milk the franchise for all its worth with a subsequent anime TV season chopping up its theatrics in episodic chunkswith sprinkles of scenes that didnt make it past the films cutting room floor, as has happened in the past. (Heres hoping they dont do that this time around.) 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.

By Germain Lussier Published March 5, 2025 | Comments (0) | Drew Struzan's poster for the Star Wars Special Edition, which was *not* the version on Roku this week. Image: Lucasfilm No subtitle. No CG characters in Mos Eisley. Han shoots first. Those things and more were all back this past weekend as the original, unedited, unaltered version of George Lucas 1977 Star Wars was available on the Roku app Cinema Box. Or so weve read. That app is no longer available on Roku and with it went Star Wars too. For those who may not know, during the 20th anniversary of Star Wars, George Lucas released the Special Editions, new versions of the films with a bunch of changes that he deemed preferable to the original. And so, the Special Editions became the only versions Lucasfilm would release officially. When you watch the movies on TV, Disney+, or maybe even in a theater, theyre the Special Editions. The one exception was a 2006 DVD release that included the originals as special features. That, according to Screenrant, was the version that was uploaded to Rokus Cinema Box this past weekend. However, Mens Journal noticed that by March 4, not only was the original Star Wars gone, so was the Cinema Box app as a whole. Oops. io9 reached out to Lucasfilm for possible comment or clarification but didnt hear back as of publication. Nevertheless, even if you missed this entire ordeal, it makes you appreciate a few things. One, how fast the powers that be can react to something like this. And two, that while Lucasfilm and Disney may want to shove the Special Editions down our throats, there is still a large, large audience hungry for the versions they saw growing up. The ones they watched with their family on channel 9 on a Sunday afternoon. The ones they wore the VHS tapes out on. And heck, most people are even okay with the original minor alterations Lucas made, like calling the first film Episode IV. Its just the bigger stuffGreedo, Jedi Rocks, the Endor Celebrationthat still to this day feel a little off. And yet, as weve argued on this very website, if not for those Special Editions being released in theaters, Star Wars may have had a very different fate. At a time when the franchise was thought to be done, it was their success in 1997 that gave Lucas the nudge he needed to make the prequels, which brought Star Wars back to prominence. That later led to Disneys purchase and everything we have today. So, as much as the Special Editions can be dismissed, they did serve a purpose. We just wish they werent the only version we had of a galaxy far, far, away. 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.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By James Whitbrook Updated March 5, 2025 By Germain Lussier Published March 4, 2025 By Germain Lussier Published March 4, 2025 By Germain Lussier Published March 3, 2025 By James Whitbrook Published February 28, 2025 By Germain Lussier Published February 27, 2025

Louise Michel School Complex / Marjan Hessamfar & Joe Vrons architectes associsSave this picture! Jean-Franois TremegeArchitects: Marjan Hessamfar & Joe Vrons architectes associsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:4178 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Jean-Franois TremegeMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The Louise Michel nursery and primary school is an emblematic feature of the urban renewal scheme for the Aubiers "priority" district in Bordeaux, characterized by 1970s apartment blocks. We have worked to design a facility that would help to positively redefine the image of the area and sustainably improve the living environment for local residents.Save this picture!Save this picture!The project creates a dialogue between the different scales and reconnects the area with the rest of the city, opening up connections to the west and south. Designed as a "school-park", it mixes the inside and the outside through landscape-oriented architecture where greenery plays a key role and becomes a defining element. The L-shaped layout along the northern and western boundaries of the plot creates a landscaped perspective providing as much sunlight as possible into the playgrounds and indoor spaces of the school.Save this picture!All around the plot, an array of planted embankments hugging the slope of the terrain serves as the base for the building. These rises form a natural separation between public space and the classrooms and playgrounds. The plantings continue along all the facades of the building, on the ground floor, the upper level and even the roof, which is treated as a 'fifth facade,' providing all the areas of the school with a green foreground. The project's aesthetic is assertively mineral and its language very horizontal, accentuated by the wide roof overhang providing protection from the sun and sheltering the forecourt. The school's glass faade fits under this overhang, with vertical spines echoing its rhythmic pattern. On the playground side, the planted banks and overhang give way to a full-height open faade punctuated by columns and sheltered by a slatted concrete awning.Save this picture!The ground floor and first floor rise in stepped formation. The ground-level west wing of the building houses the nursery school and opens onto the playground. Its planted roof, defined by a pattern of mounds and topographical features that create differentiated spaces laid out playfully, offers students a real garden near the primary school classrooms. The north wing is on two levels. The ground floor houses part of the nursery school, the canteen and the administrative, multi-use and extracurricular areas of the primary school, while the upper level houses the primary school classrooms. The interior spaces are arranged around two patios which bring in natural sunlight and brighten the circulation areas. Each school has its playground, dotted with trees, plants, cork-floored play areas and benches. Special care has been taken over the design of the boundary between the two playgrounds. Treated as a continuation of the general landscaping, it features a series of planted mounds forming a green noise-filtering screen.Save this picture!Designed with energy efficiency, scalability and carbon footprint firmly in mind, the school complex is labelled E+C- level E3C1 and reached level 1 of the Biosourced Building French label. Bio-based materials, particularly wood, were used whenever possible (wood fibre ceilings, wood wool insulation, linoleum flooring, wooden interior doors, furniture and cladding, and play areas made of cork) and 230 solar panels on the roof provide renewable energy. Anticipating future changes, the floor plan and partitions as well as the overall structure and faades have been designed to ensure the durability, flexibility and scalability of the building. With this in mind, we opted for a concrete post-and-beam system which has the advantage of providing open-plan, modular interior spaces.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Bordeaux, FranceLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeMaterialsGlassConcreteMaterials and TagsPublished on March 05, 2025Cite: "Louise Michel School Complex / Marjan Hessamfar & Joe Vrons architectes associs" 05 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027298/louise-michel-school-complex-marjan-hessamfar-and-joe-verons-architectes-associes&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

For centuries, mathematicians and floor designers alike have been fascinated by the shapes that can tile a plane in particular, those that do so without repetition.Now, a team of chemists has described a molecule that naturally assembles into these irregular patterns, laying the groundwork for engineering materials that behave differently from regular solids.When these things seem to arise spontaneously in nature, I think its absolutely fascinating, says Craig Kaplan, a mathematician and computer scientist at the University of Waterloo in Canada who was not involved in the study. It feels like you found a glitch in the matrix.In 2018, chemist Karl-Heinz Ernst and colleagues were spraying a special hydrocarbon molecule onto a silver substrate and watching it form patterns through a microscope.We saw something that was quite surprising and amazing, says Ernst, of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology in Dbendorf. The deposited molecules formed three-armed spirals, which grouped together into triangles of slightly different sizes. In each of around 100 experiments, the researchers found new triangular sequences that never seemed to repeat. They sat on these images for years trying to make sense of them.A close-up simulation shows the two mirror versions of the molecule tris(tetrahelicenebenzene), which is made of carbon (blue) and hydrogen (white) atoms.EmpaThen, in 2023, Kaplan and collaborators stunned the mathematics world when they found the elusive einstein tile a single shape that can fill a floor only with a never-repeating pattern, meaning its aperiodic. The mathematical discovery helped Ernst and colleagues put the pieces together: It seemed as though theyd stumbled upon a sort of molecular einstein.Kaplan cautions that the patterns in this material arent aperiodic in the same sense as the einstein tile. The pieces dont fit together precisely, and its unlikely if not impossible that they can tile only with nonrepeating patterns. But even without achieving true aperiodicity, the novel patterning may be sufficient to grant the material some seemingly magical properties, Kaplan says.Physicists have known for decades that electrons behave differently in quasicrystals, materials whose atomic structure exhibits some large-scale order but lacks repeated patterns. Last year, physicist Felix Flicker at the University of Bristol in England helped build a computer simulation of a quasicrystal based on Kaplans einstein tile, which predicted it would act like a tricked-out sheet of graphene.How quasicrystals form in nature remains a big mystery, Flicker says. The spirals Ernst grew may provide some clues.The key to this molecules irregular behavior, reported in January 2025 in Nature Communications, may be the entropy of its constellations.Entropyis a measure of how disordered a material is, or alternatively, how statistically probable its atomic arrangement is. The molecule has two tricks that make it abnormally versatile: It can easily convert between two distinct mirror-image shapes, and it forms very weak intermolecular bonds, allowing it to switch between large-scale configurations relatively easily. These two properties together mean that there are many possible ways for the molecules to arrange without repeating, Ernst says. The molecules thus flock to higher-entropy, nonrepeating patterns ordering in the most disorderly way possible.Flicker says the new study provides a really nice example of this order by disorder theory of quasicrystal formation. Understanding the general principles of irregular ordering could point scientists toward better ways to engineer quasicrystals on demand. Flicker believes that uncovering new patterns that lie between regularity and randomness is bound to yield exciting connections in unexpected places.Sponsor MessageErnst is humbled by the fact that the molecules found these patterns all on their own. This is nature doing math, he says.

Nature, Published online: 05 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00542-0Clearing of Amazonian forest boosts rainfall during the wet season, but reduces it in the dry season, when the ecosystem needs water most highlighting the need to prevent further clearance of a climate-regulating environment.

Nature, Published online: 05 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00658-3Technology rivals ophthalmologists at detecting diabetic retinopathy, allowing more people to be screened globally.