Tag Archives: Arts & Entertainment

Dbrand’s Companion Cube is the perfect partner for your future Steam Machine

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Valve’s second attempt at a console-like gaming PC for your living room is hopefully going to be a triumph worthy of plenty of cake, with or without fun accessories. But if you really want to make the Steam Machine feel extra special when it arrives in early 2026, you’re going to want to dress it up in Dbrand’s Companion Cube skin.

A tribute to the iconic Weighted Companion Cube from Valve’s beloved Portal series, it’s such a fitting design that I sort of wonder if the company is kicking itself for not making something similar for its cube-shaped compact PC. Of course, putting your Steam Machine inside this will ensure it stands out from the other consoles occupying your TV unit, which is the opposite effect that the standard design is going to have. While it does have a customizable front plate and an LED light strip, the default all-black colorway could hardly be less attention-grabbing.

In case you missed yesterday's announcement, the Steam Machine is a Linux-based mini PC that runs SteamOS and is designed to be plugged into your TV, like a console. Valve says it’s roughly six times more powerful than a Steam Deck and is capable of supporting 4K/60fps gaming with FSR. You can also use it to stream VR games to the new Stream Frame headset, while the Steam Controller, with its distinctive trackpads, allows you to play your Steam games wirelessly.

Given that we don’t yet have a release date or price for the Steam Machine, Dbrand’s accessory doesn't have either of those yet either, but it is coming in 2026. And I’m fairly confident that isn’t a lie…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/dbrands-companion-cube-is-the-perfect-partner-for-your-future-steam-machine-161634417.html?src=rss

Fallout’s new season two trailer is filled with quick nods to the source material

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We are about a month away from the premiere of Fallout season two on Prime Video. The streaming gods have blessed us with a beefy two-minute trailer that's packed with "blink and you'll miss it" Easter eggs and nods to the source material.

This is the first real-deal trailer for the upcoming season, though we did get a teaser back in August. It checks in on every major character from the first season and, of course, is absolutely littered with New Vegas stuff. The first batch of episodes ended with an acknowledgment that the show would be visiting the iconic location and this trailer further proves that.

There are new actors coming to the show, many of which are featured here. Justin Theroux is playing Mr. House, a fan favorite character from the games who was originally voiced by the late, great René Auberjonois. Kumail Nanjiani shows up, and so does Macaulay Culkin. Ron Perlman can also be heard speaking during the trailer, and he did all of the opening narrations for the Fallout games.

We have no idea what will happen this season, as the show is set in the Fallout universe but is telling its own story. The first season took the world by storm, given that nobody really expected it to be quite that good. The new batch of episodes begin on December 17, but this is a weekly release schedule. There will be no Netflix-style drop here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/fallouts-new-season-two-trailer-is-filled-with-quick-nods-to-the-source-material-161533128.html?src=rss

A new Death Stranding series is coming to Disney+ in 2027

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Hideo Kojima has unveiled Death Stranding Isolations (working title), an original anime series based on his franchise, coming to Disney+ in 2027. The gaming legend made the announcement at a Disney+ event in Hong Kong alongside series director Sano Takayuki. It will be the first Kojima Productions' partnership with a global streaming platform, with Kojima serving as an executive producer.  

The series will tell a new story set within the Death Stranding universe and not draw from any of the games' narratives. All we know so far is that it "will follow a young man and woman as they set out on an adventure" and that traditional hand-drawn 2D animation will be used. Concept art displayed at the event was created by Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 character designer, Ilya Kuvshinov. 

Death Stranding (the game) originally launched in 2019 starring Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydou. The franchise finally got a sequel earlier this year with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

In 2023, Kojima revealed that production company A24 was collaborating with Kojima Productions on a Death Stranding live action film project. At the time, he said that "I aim to present a new dimension of cinematic adaptation that goes beyond merely turning a game into a live-action movie." That film will be directed by Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One).

Live action series and movies based on games seem to be everywhere of late, but the number of animated productions is also growing. Many of those are on Netflix, including Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, Arcane, Castlevania and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Death Stranding Isolations (working title), appears to be the first gaming IP-based animation series for Disney+. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/a-new-death-stranding-series-is-coming-to-disney-in-2027-133018605.html?src=rss

Spotify is adding recaps for audiobooks

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Spotify is testing a new feature that could make it easier to pick up an audiobook that you've ignored a little too long. The streaming service is rolling out recaps for audiobooks that can summarize the story up to where a user stopped listening. Recaps will be available once a user has gotten 15 to 20 minutes into the audiobook and will be updated to reflect the point the listener has reached without spoiling anything yet to come. It could help listeners to finish audiobooks they haven't revisited in awhile without needed to restart from the beginning, and it might be handy just to refresh your memory on the plot. 

This is an AI-powered feature, but Spotify noted that it will not be training any large language models on authors' content or developing voice generation from narrators' performances. For now, recaps are only available on Spotify's iOS app for a select number of English-language titles. The company said it plans to add recaps for more content in the future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/spotify-is-adding-recaps-for-audiobooks-133000324.html?src=rss

The Rogue Prince of Persia hits Switch and Switch 2 on December 16

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The Rogue Prince of Persia is coming to Switch and Switch 2 consoles on December 16. The game was in early access for around a year before being officially released for PC and consoles back in August.

This version has been "optimized for handheld and hybrid play" and includes all content from the original release. That means players will be able access a wide variety of biomes, weapons and secrets.

This is a unique take on the Prince of Persia franchise, bringing parkour-style movement and combat to the roguelike genre. It's a fun and frenetic experience that calls to mind another sidescrolling roguelike, Dead Cells. This game was actually co-developed by Evil Empire, the company behind Dead Cells.

This is a digital release, but collectors have something to look forward to. The Rogue Prince of Persia is getting a deluxe physical release on April 10 for Switch, Switch 2 and PS5.

This physical version ships with a game key card, a double-sided poster and a set of cards depicting scenes from the game. When flipped, the cards join together to make up a portion of the title's world map. Incidentally, there's no physical version coming for Xbox Series X/S, despite already being available to download.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-rogue-prince-of-persia-hits-switch-and-switch-2-on-december-16-194828522.html?src=rss

A Ratchet and Clank multiplayer game is coming to iOS and Android soon

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It’s been four years since the wonderful Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and, especially given the rate at which developer Insomniac churns out great games, I had hoped we wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for another installment of the long-running action platformer series. As it turns out, there is a new Ratchet & Clank game coming soon, just not on PS5.

Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble is a “fast-paced” multiplayer arena shooter that’s coming to iOS and Android soon. In fact, according to the game’s website, it’s already available in select countries. Folks in other locales who are interested can pre-register.

Mobile developer Oh BiBi took the reins from Insomniac for this one. There are still platforming elements in Ranger Rumble. It looks quite colorful and you’ll have a variety of weapons, abilities and characters at your disposal. There are several game modes, including a soccer-style one. Ranger Rumble is free-to-play, though it will likely have microtransactions. For what it’s worth, you’ll be able to customize your characters.

This isn’t the first time that the Ratchet & Clank series has made its way to mobile. Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile debuted in 2005, before the arrival of iPhone and Android devices. Endless runner Before the Nexus arrived eight years later.

A sequel to Going Mobile called Ratchet & Clank: Clone Home was originally slated to hit Java phones in 2006 before it was canceled. However, dedicated fans found a phone that had a copy of the game on it, then cracked the device’s encryption and last month made Clone Home available for anyone to download.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/a-ratchet-and-clank-multiplayer-game-is-coming-to-ios-and-android-soon-172634125.html?src=rss

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer confirms Rosalina and Bowser Jr. are in the sequel

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Following a teaser in September that confirmed the movie’s title, Nintendo and animation studio Illumination unleashed the first proper trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in a dedicated Nintendo Direct. The sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the highest-grossing movie based on video games, will hit theaters in the US on April 3.

The trailer opens with Bowser engaging in a little art therapy, which, honestly, could be really great for him. Mario can’t help put put down Bowser’s artwork, though. What a jerk. From there, the action riffs on Super Mario Galaxy as Peach and Toad use launch stars to travel to a different planet. I don’t want to give away everything that happens, so just watch the trailer. The visuals, as you’d expect from Illumination, look terrific.

The trailer also confirms the addition of two fan-favorite characters this time around: Rosalina (who takes out a giant robot with her abilities) and Bowser Jr, who is taking his father’s place as the sequel’s villain. Rosalina is played by Brie Larson, while Benny Safdie voice Bowser Jr.

An extra clip after the trailer shows Rosalina reading a story about Princess Peach to a group of Lumas. Another features Bowser Jr. promising that “the Bowser name shall be feared once more.” Ominous!

However, the Direct didn’t include any indication of Yoshi appearing in the film. An Easter egg at the end of the first movie showed Yoshi’s egg cracking. Plus, a Pillsbury cookie box — of all things — all but confirmed Yoshi would be in the movie, while hinting at the inclusion of Princess Rosalina and Bowser Jr. We’ll perhaps have to wait until the next trailer to get a glimpse of Mario’s dino pal, who’ll probably be green even though everyone knows in their heart blue Yoshi is the best Yoshi.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-super-mario-galaxy-movie-trailer-confirms-rosalina-and-bowser-jr-are-in-the-sequel-142815627.html?src=rss

New streaming app Coda Music is rolling out tools for labeling and blocking AI-generated tunes

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At this point, the streaming music landscape feels pretty well settled. Giants like Spotify, Amazon, Apple and YouTube duke it out at the top, while plenty of other players like Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer try their best to stand out from the pack. Somewhat surprisingly, though, a new player emerged in September. Coda Music used the recent backlash around Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek as a way to differentiate itself from the number one streamer, calling out Ek’s controversial funding of defense technology firm Helsing earlier in the year. (Spotify’s refusal to stop airing ICE recruitment ads certainly hasn’t helped the platform, either.)

Today, the fledgling service is announcing a new feature that feels designed to answer another of the recent Spotify controversies: AI slop music flooding the platform. In response, Coda Music is launching AI identification tools with the purpose of finding and labeling songs that weren’t composed by actual humans.

There are a few prongs to Coda’s approach. For starters, any artist added to Coda will be reviewed for AI origins, and their profile will be labeled “AI Artist” so that listeners know what they’re getting into. Coda is also letting users flag profiles of artists if they suspect the music is AI-generated; the company will then review them and label them if necessary.

Finally, there’s a toggle in settings that just lets you turn off AI artists entirely. Obviously, how useful this setting is will depend on how good Coda gets at labeling AI-created music as such, but I can definitely see the appeal in just flipping that to “off” and avoiding as much slop as possible.

Besides its stance on AI and the assurance that the company does not “invest in war,” there are a few other differentiators about Coda Music. The company says that it currently paying the “highest per-stream rate” in the industry — while at the same time, it acknowledges that no one is paying enough to artists. “The real problem isn’t how much is paid per stream, it’s that streaming alone doesn’t pay enough,” the company’s website says. “And minor improvements to a fundamentally flawed per stream model will not help.”

To that end, the company also lets users pick an “independent or qualifying artist” who gets $1 of their monthly subscription fee. Sure, it’s only a dollar, but it’s the kind of thing that sweetens the pot at least a little bit for musicians.

And Coda has good reason to want to make itself visible to users and artists alike. The last major differentiator for Coda is the company’s ambitions to turn its app into a social, music-sharing feed where you get recommendations from humans rather than algorithms. To that end, users can share anything from the app in their feed, and it also allows you to share external links and photos as well (go ahead and post your blurry images from that NIN concert!).

The app’s home page prominently features fan-made playlists and recommended users to follow in addition to the usual suggestions based on what you’re listening to already. And there’s a social tab where you can see posts from people you follow; share songs, artists or albums; and see posts from artists you follow. That last part is key, as Coda wants artists interacting and sharing as well as just end users.

It reminds me a little bit of the Fan Groups feature that Amazon Music just announced — and as with that feature, the problem facing Coda is getting people to start contributing to a new network rather than just posting things on whatever app they’re already using. Fortunately, music nerds love a community, so it’ll be interesting to see if this takes off at all.

As for the new features for reporting and filtering out AI music, Coda says they’re available as of today in its iOS and Android apps. The company doesn’t have a web interface yet, but says it is coming soon. If ducking AI-generated tunes is something that catches your attention, Coda currently costs $11 a month, or $17 per month for a family plan with up to four listeners.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/new-streaming-app-coda-music-is-rolling-out-tools-for-labeling-and-blocking-ai-generated-tunes-140000530.html?src=rss

Threads is adding features for creators to promote their podcasts

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Threads is working on new features that could make the text-based social network a bit more audio-friendly. Starting today, Threads is rolling out some new features for sharing podcasts and podcast episodes. Creators have the option to add the link to their show to their bio page; after that, their posts with show and episode links will appear with an audio preview. Non-hosts will also start to see the new previews when they post links to their favorite shows.  

For starters, the rollout is only supporting Spotify shows. Connor Hayes, who heads up Threads and also posted about the new feature, said in a reply to another user that Apple Podcasts will also eventually receive support. The previews are going live today and will become available to all users over the coming weeks.

In theory, this feature could help attract new listeners. However, Threads doesn't have a strong success rate when it comes to its users clicking on links. It should be interesting to see if the audiovisual addition makes it any more appealing for people to visit podcast pages.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-is-adding-features-for-creators-to-promote-their-podcasts-215711793.html?src=rss

Broadcom just announced an AI chipset that translates audio in real time directly on the device

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Broadcom and a company called CAMB.AI are teaming up to bring on-device audio translation to a chipset. This would allow devices that use the SoC to complete translation, dubbing and audio description tasks without having to dip into the cloud. In other words, it could massively improve accessibility for consumers.

The companies promise ultra-low latency and enhanced privacy, being that all processing is kept local to the user's device. The wireless bandwidth should also be drastically reduced.

As for the audio description piece, there's a demo video of the tool being used on a clip from the film Ratatouille. The AI can be heard describing the scene in various languages, in addition to a written translation appearing on-screen. This looks incredibly useful, particularly for those with vision issues.

Of course, we have no idea how this tech will work in a real world scenario. Also, we don't know how accurate the information will be. It does feature a voice model that's already being used by organizations like NASCAR, Comcast and Eurovision.

The companies boast that this will enable "on-device translation in over 150 languages." We don't know when these chips will begin showing up in TVs and other gadgets. Broadcom also recently teamed up with OpenAI to help the latter company to manufacture its own chips.

Update, November 11 2025, 12:18PM ET: This story has been updated to clarify the use of the tool in the above clip. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/broadcom-just-announced-an-ai-chipset-that-translates-audio-in-real-time-directly-on-the-device-050036717.html?src=rss