Tag Archives: Media

New California law will force companies to admit you don’t own digital content

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2426, a new law that requires digital marketplaces to make clearer to customers when they are only purchasing a license to access media. The law will not apply to cases of permanent offline downloads, only to the all-too-common situation of buying digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows or ebooks from an online storefront. The Verge spotted the development, which could see marketplaces facing fines for false advertising in the state if they don't use clear language to explain the limitations of what access entails. In other words, you won't be seeing language like "buy" or "purchase" once the law takes effect in 2025.

The move to digital storefronts has raised new parallel concerns about ownership and preservation for media in the modern age. Ubisoft's move to delete The Crew from players' libraries after the game's servers shuttered is one of the most recent examples of how customers can suddenly lose access to media they felt they owned. The new California law won't stop situations like The Crew's disappearance from happening, and it won't stop those losses from hurting. But it does make clearer that ownership is a pretty rare and intangible thing for digital media.

Governor Newsom is having a busy week. He also signed the state's "click to cancel" bill yesterday and last week signed two bills with protections against unwanted AI likenesses of actors, both living and deceased.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/new-california-law-will-force-companies-to-admit-you-dont-own-digital-content-203053750.html?src=rss

StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II are coming to PC Game Pass

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StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection are coming to PC Game Pass, as announced by Xbox at Tokyo Game Show. Both titles will be available on November 5 to anyone with a PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

The multiplayer components of both games are already free-to-play on PCs, but this will allow people to experience the single-player campaigns. Starcraft II: Campaign Collection, for instance, includes over 70 missions pulled from all of the various DLC, like Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, among others.

StarCraft: Remastered adds some modern goodies to the original game, like 4K visuals, enhanced audio and newly-designed leaderboards. This update has been floating around since 2017, but Game Pass availability should introduce the iconic 1998 real-time strategy (RTS) title to a new audience.

Despite getting a bit long in the tooth, both games still have active multiplayer communities. This also holds true in the world of professional competitive gaming. Many credit StarCraft II, which released back in 2010, with assisting in the rise of live streaming.

This isn’t the only Blizzard-centric news to come out of Tokyo Game Show. Overwatch 2 is getting (probably very expensive) skins based on the anime My Hero Academia. This promotion goes from October 17 to 30.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/starcraft-remastered-and-starcraft-ii-are-coming-to-pc-game-pass-170133814.html?src=rss

The Last of Us season two trailer shows Ellie in danger and Joel in… therapy?

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September 26 is The Last of Us Day and to mark the occasion, HBO has dropped the first proper trailer for season two of its misery simulator TV adaptation. This expands on a sizzle reel we saw several weeks ago, which included the first glimpses of Catherine O’Hara’s character (seemingly a therapist) and Kaitlyn Dever as a pivotal newcomer, Abby. There’s more of both here, including that terrifying sequence of infected nearly crushing Abby under a chain-link fence.

There are quite a few other recognizable moments from The Last of Us Part II in the new clip, including an encounter between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and an infected in an abandoned supermarket and a famous scene of her playing guitar for Dina (Isabela Merced). The game’s subway segment is featured, along with the Seraphites and Jeffrey Wright, who reprises his Part II role as the leader of a militant faction. Of course, Joel (Pedro Pascal) is featured throughout the trailer too — he plays guitar with Ellie and sheds a tear, seemingly while in a therapy appointment with O'Hara.

Unfortunately, the clip doesn’t narrow down the release date for the season, which will air in 2025. However, HBO boss Casey Bloys recently indicated it will arrive in the first half of next year to make it eligible for the next Emmy awards (the same goes for the next season of The White Lotus).

Elsewhere, Naughty Dog is marking TLoU Day in its own way with some new merch and other tidbits. There’s a new bunch of TLoU-related avatars and emoji you can pick up using Steam Points, along with a thematic Steam Deck startup video. Meanwhile, PS Plus Extra and Premium members have access to the PS5 remake of the first game at no extra cost starting today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-season-two-trailer-shows-ellie-in-danger-and-joel-in-therapy-160401898.html?src=rss

Blumhouse Games’ Fear The Spotlight set for release on October 22

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Blumhouse, the horror production company behind such big cinematic hits as Get Out, M3GAN and the Insidious films, has extended its creepy tentacles to scary shows and movies to scary video games.

Fear the Spotlight is Blumhouse Games’ first entry into gaming with the help of the indie developer Cozy Game Pals. The horror game will get a full release on October 22 and there’s a demo currently available for PCs on Steam.

Fear the Spotlight is a third-person horror adventure game that takes place in a high school after hours. Two curious teens Vivian and Amy sneak into Sunnyside High, a school with a dark, mysterious history, in the dead of night to perform a séance. A deadly creature with a bright, glowing gaze rises and starts roaming the halls of the school. The spotlight monster separates the girls and it’s up to Vivian to unravel the school’s mystery, find Amy and make it through the darkness alive.

The game uses PS1 style, polygonal graphics, which just adds to the game’s creepy aesthetic like some of those early horror classics including Nightmare Creatures and the first Silent Hill game. There’s just something about a square-ish head that sends a shiver down my spine. It’s one of many reasons I’m not looking forward to the new Minecraft movie.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/blumhouse-games-fear-the-spotlight-set-for-release-on-october-22-194907647.html?src=rss

Blumhouse Games’ Fear The Spotlight set for release on October 22

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Blumhouse, the horror production company behind such big cinematic hits as Get Out, M3GAN and the Insidious films, has extended its creepy tentacles to scary shows and movies to scary video games.

Fear the Spotlight is Blumhouse Games’ first entry into gaming with the help of the indie developer Cozy Game Pals. The horror game will get a full release on October 22 and there’s a demo currently available for PCs on Steam.

Fear the Spotlight is a third-person horror adventure game that takes place in a high school after hours. Two curious teens Vivian and Amy sneak into Sunnyside High, a school with a dark, mysterious history, in the dead of night to perform a séance. A deadly creature with a bright, glowing gaze rises and starts roaming the halls of the school. The spotlight monster separates the girls and it’s up to Vivian to unravel the school’s mystery, find Amy and make it through the darkness alive.

The game uses PS1 style, polygonal graphics, which just adds to the game’s creepy aesthetic like some of those early horror classics including Nightmare Creatures and the first Silent Hill game. There’s just something about a square-ish head that sends a shiver down my spine. It’s one of many reasons I’m not looking forward to the new Minecraft movie.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/blumhouse-games-fear-the-spotlight-set-for-release-on-october-22-194907647.html?src=rss

Google and Roblox teamed up on a weird game to teach kids about internet safety

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Google and Roblox have teamed up to create a game that teaches kids how to spot internet scams and to increase caution regarding the sharing of personal information online. The suite of experiences is called, and I quote, Be Internet Awesome World. Did Melania Trump name this thing?

This “gameplay experience” exists within Roblox, which Google says helps it “reach kids where they’re already spending time to teach them the basics of online safety.” It brings kids to the “magical world of the Internauts” which is home to a number of minigames that address various aspects of internet safety. Some of the games focus on phishing attempts, while others emphasize “practicing kindness online.” Good luck with that last one.

In any event, Be Internet Awesome World is available right now within Roblox, which leads us to the elephant in the room. Roblox may be a great place to reach kids, with nearly 80 million daily active users and many of them children. It’s also been accused of being an unsafe space for the younger gamers among us.

Turkey banned the app entirely on the grounds that it allows for the exploitation of children. Sony didn’t even want to bring the game to PlayStation consoles for similar reasons, before finally relenting last year.

There have also been accusations of kids being financially exploited on the platform, according to reporting by The Guardian. Popular creations can make the designers a lot of money, and the userbase is mostly children under 16. This has led many to accuse the app’s developers of gaining notoriety through an influx of child labor. The Roblox tagline, after all, used to be “Make anything. Reach millions. Earn serious cash.”

Roblox takes around 30 percent of all money made via the platform, so it has a vested interest in the creative contributions of children. Studio head Stefano Corazza once told Eurogamer that the ability for teenagers to make money on the platform represented the “biggest gift” and that these kids “didn’t feel like they were exploited.”

“You can say, ‘Okay, we are exploiting, you know, child labor,’ right? Or you can say: we are offering people anywhere in the world the capability to get a job, and even like an income,” Corazza continued.

All this is to say that perhaps Roblox should get its own house in order before trying to teach kids about how to avoid scams online. Roblox CEO and co-founder David Baszucki has started to address these concerns, heading to Washington DC earlier this year to discuss child safety with lawmakers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/google-and-roblox-teamed-up-on-a-weird-game-to-teach-kids-about-internet-safety-190007350.html?src=rss

Google and Roblox teamed up on a weird game to teach kids about internet safety

Posted on by

Google and Roblox have teamed up to create a game that teaches kids how to spot internet scams and to increase caution regarding the sharing of personal information online. The suite of experiences is called, and I quote, Be Internet Awesome World. Did Melania Trump name this thing?

This “gameplay experience” exists within Roblox, which Google says helps it “reach kids where they’re already spending time to teach them the basics of online safety.” It brings kids to the “magical world of the Internauts” which is home to a number of minigames that address various aspects of internet safety. Some of the games focus on phishing attempts, while others emphasize “practicing kindness online.” Good luck with that last one.

In any event, Be Internet Awesome World is available right now within Roblox, which leads us to the elephant in the room. Roblox may be a great place to reach kids, with nearly 80 million daily active users and many of them children. It’s also been accused of being an unsafe space for the younger gamers among us.

Turkey banned the app entirely on the grounds that it allows for the exploitation of children. Sony didn’t even want to bring the game to PlayStation consoles for similar reasons, before finally relenting last year.

There have also been accusations of kids being financially exploited on the platform, according to reporting by The Guardian. Popular creations can make the designers a lot of money, and the userbase is mostly children under 16. This has led many to accuse the app’s developers of gaining notoriety through an influx of child labor. The Roblox tagline, after all, used to be “Make anything. Reach millions. Earn serious cash.”

Roblox takes around 30 percent of all money made via the platform, so it has a vested interest in the creative contributions of children. Studio head Stefano Corazza once told Eurogamer that the ability for teenagers to make money on the platform represented the “biggest gift” and that these kids “didn’t feel like they were exploited.”

“You can say, ‘Okay, we are exploiting, you know, child labor,’ right? Or you can say: we are offering people anywhere in the world the capability to get a job, and even like an income,” Corazza continued.

All this is to say that perhaps Roblox should get its own house in order before trying to teach kids about how to avoid scams online. Roblox CEO and co-founder David Baszucki has started to address these concerns, heading to Washington DC earlier this year to discuss child safety with lawmakers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/google-and-roblox-teamed-up-on-a-weird-game-to-teach-kids-about-internet-safety-190007350.html?src=rss

Meta will stop selling the Quest 2 and Quest Pro by the end of the year

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Meta just revealed the budget-friendly Quest 3S VR headset at its annual Connect keynote event, but it also made a sad announcement about some of its previous headsets. The company will stop selling both the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro by the end of the year.

“With Quest 3S on the shelf, we’re officially winding down sales of Quest 2 and Pro. We’ll be selling our remaining headsets through the end of the year or until they’re gone, whichever comes first,” the company wrote in a blog post that also announced the pending launch of the Quest 3S.

The company will be selling Quest 2 and Pro accessories for “a bit longer” after the stock of headsets runs out. This includes the carrying case, the Touch Pro controllers and bundles like the Quest 2 Active Pack. Meta recently lowered the price of the Quest 2 to $200, and it’s still a decent headset for beginners. The Quest 3S is better in every way, but it starts at $300, while the standard Quest 3 costs $500.

It’s the end of an era for the Quest 2. This was a hugely successful headset, as it launched during the dog days of COVID-19. For many, it became a crucial item to survive endless isolation, along with stuff like Zoom and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

It’s the end of an error (see what I did there?) for the Quest Pro. This headset never caught on, likely because it was originally priced at $1,500 before being quickly lowered to $1,000. It still costs a grand from Meta, but can typically be found for around $900 via Amazon and other retailers.

As they say, out with the old and in with the new. The Quest 3S is, essentially, the new Quest 2. It starts at $300, boasts the same CPU as the original Quest 3 and handles full-color passthrough.

Catch up on all the news from Meta Connect 2024!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-will-stop-selling-the-quest-2-and-quest-pro-by-the-end-of-the-year-173704500.html?src=rss

Meta will stop selling the Quest 2 and Quest Pro by the end of the year

Posted on by

Meta just revealed the budget-friendly Quest 3S VR headset at its annual Connect keynote event, but it also made a sad announcement about some of its previous headsets. The company will stop selling both the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro by the end of the year.

“With Quest 3S on the shelf, we’re officially winding down sales of Quest 2 and Pro. We’ll be selling our remaining headsets through the end of the year or until they’re gone, whichever comes first,” the company wrote in a blog post that also announced the pending launch of the Quest 3S.

The company will be selling Quest 2 and Pro accessories for “a bit longer” after the stock of headsets runs out. This includes the carrying case, the Touch Pro controllers and bundles like the Quest 2 Active Pack. Meta recently lowered the price of the Quest 2 to $200, and it’s still a decent headset for beginners. The Quest 3S is better in every way, but it starts at $300, while the standard Quest 3 costs $500.

It’s the end of an era for the Quest 2. This was a hugely successful headset, as it launched during the dog days of COVID-19. For many, it became a crucial item to survive endless isolation, along with stuff like Zoom and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

It’s the end of an error (see what I did there?) for the Quest Pro. This headset never caught on, likely because it was originally priced at $1,500 before being quickly lowered to $1,000. It still costs a grand from Meta, but can typically be found for around $900 via Amazon and other retailers.

As they say, out with the old and in with the new. The Quest 3S is, essentially, the new Quest 2. It starts at $300, boasts the same CPU as the original Quest 3 and handles full-color passthrough.

Catch up on all the news from Meta Connect 2024!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-will-stop-selling-the-quest-2-and-quest-pro-by-the-end-of-the-year-173704500.html?src=rss

Meta AI can now talk to you and edit your photos

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Over the last year, Meta has made its AI assistant so ubiquitous in its apps it’s almost hard to believe that Meta AI is only a year old. But, one year after its launch at the last Connect, the company is infusing Meta AI with a load of new features in the hopes that more people will find its assistant useful.

One of the biggest changes is that users will be able to have voice chats with Meta AI. Up till now, the only way to speak with Meta AI was via the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. And like last year’s Meta AI launch, the company tapped a group of celebrities for the change.

Meta AI will be able to take on the voices of Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan Michael Key and Kristen Bell, in addition to a handful of more generic voices. While the company is hoping the celebrities will sell users on Meta AI’s new abilities, it’s worth noting that the company quietly phased out its celebrity chatbot personas that launched at last year’s Connect.

In addition to voice chat support, Meta AI is also getting new image capabilities. Meta AI will be able to respond to requests to change and edit photos from text chats within Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. The company says that users can ask the AI to add or remove objects or to change elements of an image, like swapping a background or clothing item.

Meta is testing AI-generated content recommendations in the main feed of Facebook and Instagram.
Meta is testing AI-generated content recommendations in the main feed of Facebook and Instagram.
Meta

The new abilities arrive alongside the company’s latest Llama 3.2 model. The new iteration, which comes barely two months after the Llama 3.1 release, is the first to have vision capabilities and can “bridge the gap between vision and language by extracting details from an image, understanding the scene, and then crafting a sentence or two that could be used as an image caption to help tell the story.” Llama 3.2 is “competitive” on “image recognition and a range of visual understanding tasks” compared with similar offerings from ChatGPT and Claude, Meta says.

The social network is testing other, potentially controversial, ways to bring AI into the core features of its main apps. The company will test AI-generated translation features for Reels with “automatic dubbing and lip syncing.” According to Meta, that “will simulate the speaker’s voice in another language and sync their lips to match.” It will arrive first to “some creators’ videos” in English and Spanish in the US and Latin America, though the company hasn't shared details on rollout timing.

Meta also plans to experiment with AI-generated content directly in the main feeds on Facebook and Instagram. With the test, Meta AI will surface AI-generated images that are meant to be personalized to each users’ interests and past activity. For example, Meta AI could surface an image “imagined for you” that features your face.

Catch up on all the news from Meta Connect 2024!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-ai-can-now-talk-to-you-and-edit-your-photos-172853219.html?src=rss