Tag Archives: author_name|Lawrence Bonk

The Yakuza series is finally coming to Nintendo Switch

Posted on by

Hell has frozen over. The famously violent Yakuza series is coming to the Nintendo Switch. Yakuza Kiwami, a remake of the very first game in the franchise, releases for the console on October 24, as announced at today’s Nintendo Partner Showcase event.

This is notable because the Yakuza series is known for being mature and morally ambiguous, and Nintendo doesn’t always like that kind of thing. Masayoshi Yokoyama, the head of the development team behind the series, once told GameSpot that Yakuza games would likely never come to a Nintendo console.

“First of all, whether our games will run on the Switch is probably the first question,” he said. “And when it comes to the Switch, it’s kind of a system for a younger audience. So do we want to put a title, where we're going and picking a fight with the world, and doing all this Yakuza stuff, on a Switch?”

It looks like the answer to that last question is a resounding “yes.” Yakuza Kiwami first released for the PS4 and Xbox One back in 2016, though there was a version that ran on the PS3. Given the Switch’s power, it should be able to handle a reworked PS3 port.

As for the console’s kid-friendly image, well, that hasn’t entirely changed in the intervening years, but the Switch has made serious inroads with older gamers. The console is home to all kinds of mature and violent fare, from 2016’s Doom to Red Dead Redemption and Mortal Kombat 1. 

The Yakuza franchise is on the upswing. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, a sequel to 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, was a bona-fide hit when it was released earlier this year. There’s also a franchise TV show coming to Amazon Prime Video on October 24. Wait a minute. That’s the same day that Yakuza Kiwami hits the Nintendo eShop. Gotta love that sweet, sweet corporate synergy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-yakuza-series-is-finally-coming-to-nintendo-switch-164657508.html?src=rss

Pizza Tower has surprise dropped for Nintendo Switch

Posted on by

The beloved platformer Pizza Tower is finally playable on Nintendo Switch, as revealed at the company’s Indie World event. As a matter of fact, it’s one of those surprise drops, so the game’s available right now.

It’s about time the title is on a Nintendo console as, well, it feels like a Nintendo game. Pizza Tower is a frantic 2D sidescroller that cribs a whole lot from the Wario Land franchise and, to a lesser extent, Mario and Sonic games.

You play as a balding chef named, and this is real, Peppino Spaghetti. The game tasks you with scaling the titular tower to fight a sentient pizza that is kind of like the Bowser of Italian food. The game was largely designed by someone named McPig and the soundtrack was created by a high school student. It’s an indie game miracle!

However, forget all of that. Gameplay is where Pizza Tower shines. The movement feels perfect so the platforming is, simply put, S-tier. It’s been polished to a Nintendo-like sheen, which is quite a feat for a high schooler and someone who goes by the moniker McPig. There are tons of fully-realized abilities and a dedication to speed pulled straight from Sonic. Also, Peppino can’t die, allowing for insane platforming experiments.

In other words, this is one heck of a game and now it’s on a Nintendo console. That’s gotta be quite a thrill for the development team.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/pizza-tower-has-surprise-dropped-for-nintendo-switch-152859625.html?src=rss

Balatro is crossing over with Witcher 3 and a bunch of other games

Posted on by

The incredibly popular (and addictive) poker-based roguelike Balatro just got an update that brings a whole bunch of other games into the party, as announced at the Nintendo Indie World showcase. This is separate from the forthcoming major gameplay update, which arrives in 2025.

Today’s update is called Balatro: Friends of Jimbo and includes crossovers with The Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver and Among Us. Basically, each of the aforementioned games will get their own themed deck of cards. For the uninitiated, you can choose from a bunch of decks when playing Balatro, and they all have their own perks and drawbacks.

It doesn’t look like the crossovers go beyond decks, so there aren’t any jokers based on the cook from Dave the Diver or anything. The developers did suggest that more cross-promotional team-ups would be coming down the line.

The good news? The update is available right now and it’s free. The bad news? It looks like it’s only for Nintendo Switch at the moment. The game’s Steam page makes no mention of the update, nor do the Xbox or PlayStation pages.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/balatro-is-crossing-over-with-witcher-3-and-a-bunch-of-other-games-143222539.html?src=rss

This Lego Labor Day sale discounts Star Wars and Mario sets by 25 percent

Posted on by

It’s almost Labor Day so the sales have started to trickle in. Here’s a cool one. A whole bunch of Lego sets are on sale for 25 percent off from, uh, Barnes & Noble. That may not make sense on paper, but we assure you that these discounts are very real.

It’s tough to pick the “best” deal here, but the fantastic Death Star Trench Run kit is on sale for $52 instead of $70. This is a diorama of Luke Skywalker’s famous journey toward blowing up the Death Star, so it includes a detailed section of the murderous satellite, his X-wing, two TIE fighters and, of course, Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced fighter. All told, it includes 665 pieces.

A set based on Boba Fett’s throne room, pulled from the end credits sequence of the season two finale of The Mandalorian, is available for $75 instead of $100. This one features side characters like Fennec Shand, Bib Fortuna and more.

There are also plenty of Mario sets here, including the Super Mario Adventures Starter Kit. This set comes with a battery-powered Mario with LCD screens in his eyes, mouth and stomach to display “over 100 different instant reactions.” The iconic plumber also has a built-in speaker that emits sounds and music from the games. Other related sets include a gigantic Conkdor from Super Mario 3D World and a Luigi-centric kit.

However, the sale isn’t just for Mario and Star Wars. There’s a nifty Lego recreation of the Atari 2600 console, a rabbit ranch from Minecraft and the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter series.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-lego-labor-day-sale-discounts-star-wars-and-mario-sets-by-25-percent-152319122.html?src=rss

Meta has reportedly killed its Apple Vision Pro competitor

Posted on by

Meta has canceled its plans for a long-rumored mixed-reality headset that was intended to compete with the Apple Vision Pro, according to reporting by The Information. The company told employees at Reality Labs to stop working on the device after a product review meeting attended by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as cited by Meta staffers.

The headset was internally referred to as La Jolla and was reportedly supposed to release in 2027. This mixed-reality device was allegedly heads and shoulders above the Quest 3, with ultra-crisp micro OLED displays. This is the same display technology used in the Apple Vision Pro.

Reporting indicates that a major sticking point was cost. The team wanted to get the device under $1,000, but those micro OLED panels don’t come cheap. The Vision Pro, after all, is $3,500.

Another likely reason the premium device got canned is that, well, there might not be that much hunger for expensive headsets. The Vision Pro’s sales have been sluggish and Meta’s own pre-existing high-end headset, the Quest Pro, was widely ridiculed for coming in with a $1,500 price tag.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean Meta is abandoning VR and MR devices. It’s just putting the kibosh on one expensive, high-end headset. There are plenty of rumors out there that a Quest 4 is coming, alongside a more budget-friendly version of the Quest 3. Meta is also reportedly prepping some new AR glasses that will likely be shown off at the next Connect event on September 25.

The CTO of Meta, Andrew Bosworth, echoed the above sentiment. He wrote on Threads that the company has "many prototypes in development at all times" and that "decisions like this happen all the time." 

The company is, however, shifting its strategy a little bit. Beyond canceling the aforementioned headset, Meta’s been trying to license its XR software to third-party hardware makers. The platform, which is called Horizon OS, might be licensed to Indian tech giant Jio as an opening move in this gambit. A deal with LG, however, fell through.

It’s always possible that the company will revive the concept of a high-end headset in the future, once the space gets more consumer traction. In the meantime, the Quest 4 will reportedly hit store shelves in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-has-reportedly-killed-its-apple-vision-pro-competitor-184446962.html?src=rss

Labor Day sales include up to 20 percent off Sonos speakers

Posted on by

Sonos has a number of Labor Day sales on speakers and bundles right now that discount gear by up to 20 percent. The most notable deal is for the Era 100 smart speaker, which has been discounted to $200, down from $250. The Era 100 made our list of the best smart speakers, and for good reason. This is a speaker designed, first and foremost, for audio quality. It includes two tweeters, where most smart speakers have one, and an extra-large woofer. All of that results in impressive bass, huge volume and great high-end clarity.

It’s also, of course, a smart speaker. The built-in microphones help to optimize the output based on where the speaker has been placed. It works with many smart assistants for voice control, including Alexa or the company’s proprietary assistant. It doesn’t work with Google Assistant, which could be a dealbreaker for some.

There’s a USB-C line-in and Bluetooth for multi-speaker setups. As a matter of fact, you can hodgepodge a decent surround sound home theater system by pairing two of these together with a soundbar.

This is a sitewide sale, so the Era 100 is far from the only available deal. The Move 2 portable speaker has been discounted to $360 from $450 and the Beam 2 soundbar is on sale for $400 instead of $500. The company's impressive Ace headphones have also been discounted to $400 from $450. 

The sale even applies to bundles, for those looking for a complete setup. A combo featuring both the Era 100 and the Move 2 is available for $578, which is a savings of $120. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/labor-day-sales-include-up-to-20-percent-off-sonos-speakers-153814854.html?src=rss

DeepMind workers urge Google to drop military contracts

Posted on by

Google DeepMind workers have signed a letter calling on the company to drop contracts with military organizations, according to a report by Time. The document was drafted on May 16 of this year. Around 200 people signed the document, which amounts to five percent of the total headcount of DeepMind. 

For the uninitiated, DeepMind is one of Google’s AI divisions and the letter states that adopting military contracts runs afoul of the company’s own AI rules. The letter was sent out as internal concerns began circulating within the AI lab that the tech was allegedly being sold to military organizations via cloud contracts.

According to Time, Google’s contracts with the United States military and the Israeli military allow access to services via the cloud, and this reportedly includes AI technology developed by DeepMind. The letter doesn’t linger on any specific military organization, with workers emphasizing that it’s “not about the geopolitics of any particular conflict.” 

Reporting since 2021 has slowly revealed the scope of tech supplied by Google (and Amazon) to the Israeli government via a partnership known as Project Nimbus. This is far from the first instance of Google employees openly protesting their work being used to support politically fraught military aims — the company fired dozens of staffers who spoke out against Project Nimbus earlier this year.

“Any involvement with military and weapon manufacturing impacts our position as leaders in ethical and responsible AI, and goes against our mission statement and stated AI principles,” the DeepMind letter says. It’s worth noting that Google’s slogan used to be “don’t be evil.”

The letter goes on to ask DeepMind’s leaders to deny military users access to its AI technology and to set up a new in-house governance body to prevent the tech from being used by future militaries. According to four unnamed employees, Google has yet to offer a tangible response to the letter. “We have received no meaningful response from leadership,” one said, “and we are growing increasingly frustrated.”

Google did respond to Time’s reporting, saying that it complies with its AI principles. The company says that the contract with the Israeli government “is not directed at highly sensitive, classified or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.” However, its partnership with the Israeli government has fallen under plenty of scrutiny in recent months. 

Google purchased DeepMind back in 2014, but under the promise that its AI technology would never be used for military or surveillance purposes. For many years, DeepMind was allowed to operate with a good amount of independence from its parent company, but the burgeoning AI race looks to have changed that. The lab's leaders spent years seeking greater autonomy from Google, but were rebuffed in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/deepmind-workers-urge-google-to-drop-military-contracts-190544509.html?src=rss

Peloton to ruin the secondhand market by charging a $95 ‘used equipment activation fee’

Posted on by

Peloton is in something of a financial rut lately, and we all know what companies do when that happens. They take it out on consumers. To that end, the exercise machine maker just announced it will be charging a $95 “used equipment activation fee” to anyone who buys one of its machines on the secondhand market, according to a report by CNBC.

The company made this announcement in its Q4 2024 shareholder letter. The fairly exorbitant fee will apply to any machine bought directly from a previous owner, meaning anything purchased via Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or, heck, even a neighbor down the street. Without tithing $95 to the church of Peloton, the machine won’t have access to any of the classes or features the company has become known for.

The company says this activation fee is just to ensure that new members “receive the same high-quality onboarding experience Peloton is known for.” In a recent earnings call, however, a company representative was more transparent, calling the fee a “source of incremental revenue and gross profit,” according to The Verge.

Users who pay this fee will be treated to a “virtual custom fitting,” in the case of the Peloton Bike and Bike Plus. They will also receive a summary of the hardware which will illustrate exactly how much the machine was used by the original owner, just in case the seller tries that whole “I only used it once” thing. Peloton also says that these second hand buyers will get discounts on accessories like shoes, mats and spare parts. So it’s not all bad.

Also, the $95 fee doesn’t apply to those who buy refurbished machines directly from the company or from any of its third-party distribution partners. It’s only those who sell or buy via traditional used equipment channels who gotta pay the troll toll.

Buying a preowned Peloton machine was one of the great joys of being a consumer. The standard Bike, for instance, sells new for nearly $1,500, but you can pick up a used one online for $300 to $500. Now, that price goes up to $400 to $600. Peloton also requires a monthly membership fee to access content, which is around $44.

This isn’t the only move that Peloton has recently made that could be seen, through a cynical lens, as nickel and diming consumers. It upped subscription prices for those who use the company’s app with third-party machines. There’s still a free tier, but it doesn’t offer access to any live classes.

However, the recent earnings call did offer a bit of good news for Pelo-heads (I just made that up). Shares have risen 15 percent this quarter and losses have been narrowed to $30 million, down from $241 million year over year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/peloton-to-ruin-the-secondhand-market-by-charging-a-95-used-equipment-activation-fee-155230509.html?src=rss

Lego’s first Mario Kart sets start throwing out shells on January 1

Posted on by

Back when Lego first announced that Mario Kart sets would be arriving in 2025, we didn’t expect them to release on the very first day of the year. However, the company just announced availability for these sets starting on January 1. It’s a New Year’s miracle.

Lego’s Mario Kart collection includes new buildable versions of iconic characters, like Yoshi, Peach, Baby Mario and Donkey Kong. Of course, there are several kart designs pulled from recent games, complete with paragliding sails, and motorcycles. Incidentally, these karts will actually shoot green or red shells in real life, which is a nice touch. Some figures also play sounds and music from the iconic kart racing series.

All told, there are six sets to choose from. These include the 133-piece blue Yoshi set, which comes with a Yoshi-themed motorcycle, and a 174-piece iconic Mario set, complete with a red kart and Toad dressed as a member of the pit crew.

The most impressive of the bunch is the 832-piece Grand Prix set. This one comes with a starting gate, three karts and four characters. The prices range from $15 for something like the aforementioned Yoshi set to $80 for the Grand Prix set.

An Animal Crossing set.
Lego

Lego has really been building out its portfolio of gaming-related combo packs. In addition to Mario Kart, the company just announced a few Animal Crossing sets. These also release on January 1. In recent years, there have been traditional Mario sets, comprehensive Zelda kits and Fortnite collections, among many others.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/legos-first-mario-kart-sets-start-throwing-out-shells-on-january-1-183551717.html?src=rss

Rotten Tomatoes further dilutes its utility with ‘Verified Hot’ badge

Posted on by

Rotten Tomatoes just added a new “Verified Hot” badge that indicates an overall positive user score that will join the “Certified Fresh” badge for critic scores. To qualify for this designation, a movie or show needs to have a Verified Audience Score of 90 percent or higher.

There’s also a “Hot” badge for content with a Verified Audience Score of 60 percent to 90 percent. Finally, the dregs will be slapped with a “Stale” badge, which is for any show or movie that falls beneath 60 percent.

Rotten Tomatoes is trying to get around review bombing here by mandating that user reviews be from people who actually saw the movie in question. There are a couple of little problems with this. It verifies that a consumer saw the movie via the ticketing firm Fandango, and there are plenty of other ticketing firms out there, including, you know, the theater cashier.

Also, Comcast owns both Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango, so this seems more like synergistic advertising than an actual way to beat review bombers. Finally, this whole verification thing is only for movies. There’s no way to verify whether someone watched a TV show or not, so this wouldn’t have helped all of those trolls descending upon the recently-canceled Star Wars show The Acolyte.

From a cynic’s perspective, this move only works to further dilute the utility of the entire site. There will be more uncertainty and plenty of more badges floating around, making the whole thing, well, messy. Will an average user be able to instantly know the difference between Hot and Fresh?

The critic score average was already problematic, as reputable reviewers are weighted the exact same as purveyors of internet garbage. However, Rotten Tomatoes is addressing that by updating the minimum number of critic reviews required before a Tomatometer score will appear. For smaller films, the site mandates at least ten reviews for a score. Blockbusters will require 40 reviews.

The Hot badge has already been issued to current barn-burners Deadpool & Wolverine, Twisters, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Fly Me to the Moon and It Ends With Us. The company says it has also retroactively awarded over 200 films.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/rotten-tomatoes-further-dilutes-its-utility-with-verified-hot-badge-163415420.html?src=rss