Sony is finally ready to share early details of PlayStation VR2's software experience, not just the hardware. The company has previewed a few key features for its PS5 VR headset, including livestreaming support. If you have a PS5 HD Camera, you can broadcast both gameplay and a view of yourself. As you might guess, that could be helpful for Twitch streamers, YouTubers and others who want to share their PSVR2 footage without relying on capture cards and green screens.
The company also explained how it will handle non-VR content. The PSVR2 headset will offer a 1080p "Cinematic Mode" that displays the PS5 interface and conventional games on a virtual screen at refresh rates between 24Hz and 120Hz. This is a very familiar experience if you've used VR before, but it will still be helpful if you'd rather not remove your headset to change system settings. Native VR content displays at 4,000 x 2040 with a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate.
Other known features exist primarily to prevent accidents. A "see-through" mode lets you quickly peek at the room to avoid a collision or find your controllers. You can also define a customized play area that will warn if you're too close to the couch or TV. This also isn't a novel concept, but it could prove crucial to apartment dwellers and anyone else with limited space for walk-around VR experiences.
There are still many more unknowns, such as the VR-native interface. Sony has promised that developers will "soon" have access to this latest experience, though, and it has teased upcoming details for the release date and more games. Don't be shocked if you hear considerably more about PSVR2 in the near future.
Ahead of its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event in August, Samsung is unveiling a new color variant of the flagship S22 it launched earlier this year. Called "Bora Purple" after the Korean word for purple, the new hue will be available only for the smallest S22, not the Plus and Ultra versions, though Samsung said the color will launch on "exciting new Galaxy devices later this year." You'll be able to buy the Bora S22 on August 10th for the same $800 as the original model, which also comes in violet, green, pink, white and black.
We've seen Samsung launch purple gadgets before, like the "Orchid Gray" Galaxy S8, "Lilac Purple" Galaxy S9 and the lavender Z Flip 3. The S22 series itself is already available in violet, but the Bora edition's contour cut camera housing is color-matched to the rest of the phone, while this part on the older handset is gold.
Samsung's obsession with the color purple is evident in the press release it issued to announce the launch of Bora. "[P]urple is for everyone, whether you’re a global pop sensation, someone with a playful sense of style or a teen who wants to stand out from the crowd," the company wrote. "In that sense, the purple stands for the same things as Samsung Galaxy: embracing diversity, pushing boundaries, and relentlessly innovating under the philosophy of openness."
The company's executive vice president and head of marketing Stephanie Choi also said in the statement “With its pastel and neutral tones, Bora Purple embodies optimism and a sense of calm. It will unfold your world with the power of choice." Choi added “You don’t need to be a K-pop star or a mythical creature to embody mystery or power, you just need to be yourself."
That is all technically true, with or without a purple phone. During my brief hands-on with the new Bora S22, I did not feel like a K-pop star or a mythical creature. I did not feel like I embodied mystery or power. I did not feel more optimistic or calm, though the phone is indeed quite pretty.
We're expecting Samsung to launch five new Galaxy products next month, including the next-generation Z Fold, Z Flip, Watch and Buds. Judging by the hint in today's announcement, it's likely that Bora Purple will be a launch color for these devices.
Sometimes the headline says it all: A chess-playing robot accidentally broke the finger of its seven-year-old opponent during an exhibition match in Moscow. The child apparently moved his piece too soon, and the robot grabbed his finger and squeezed it, resulting in a fracture.
A video shows the robot grabbing the boy's finger and holding it for several seconds before a group of people come to free him.
The boy competed the next day, finishing the tournament. His parents, however, have reportedly contacted the public prosecutor's office. Russian chess official Sergey Smagin downplayed the incident, calling it "a coincidence" and saying the machine was "absolutely safe." Which I’m not sure is true.
The initial line-up of GaNPrime devices: 5 products and a power bank.
Anker has revealed its third-generation gallium nitride (GaN) chargers, barely a year after the previous batch. The company is branding the new line-up of power bricks and portable chargers as GaNPrime. Anker said it worked with several partners to create products that last longer and are more sustainable. It claims GaNPrime is the "most intelligent, most powerful and greenest multi-device charging system ever created."
Its foundries will add 'significant capacity' for MediaTek in North America and Europe.
Intel and MediaTek have formed a strategic partnership to build chips. The aim is to ensure MediaTek has a "more balanced, resilient supply chain," with added capacity in the US and Europe. It looks like Intel won’t be building chips for smartphones but for less glamorous devices used in industrial computing, medical devices and internet-of-things applications.
NFL+ gives you access to live football streams and ad-free library content through the NFL App and the web, starting at $40 per year or $5 per month. Spend $80 per year or $10 per month on NFL+ Premium and you also get ad-free match replays. There are some catches, however. While you'll have live audio for every game regardless of device, live video is only available for live local and primetime games on phones and tablets — you can't use this to watch a playoff run on your TV.
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Google is… unveiling a new logo. No, no free games or trials, but you can get extra points if you’re signed into the app store’s rewards program. Which apparently exists.
Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It's making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller's Tales and TT Games. Funko says its first game will have "major third-party studio integration," which probably shouldn't be a big shock given the high-profile licensing deals.
Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It's making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller's Tales and TT Games. “By partnering with 10:10 Games and utilizing the best creators in the business, we will have the talent to deliver games that reflect Funko’s unique look and feel across its lines and varied products," Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter said in a statement.
The first game under the partnership is an action platformer that's coming to PC and consoles in 2023. Funko says the untitled game will have "major third-party studio integration," which probably shouldn't be a big shock given the high-profilelicensing deals Funko has for collectibles and Burton's experience with the various Lego games. Meanwhile, Funko expects the game to have a “T” for teen rating. The first teaser shows a Pop-style character called Freddie Funko, but offers few other details.
We are so excited to finally reveal that we have teamed up with Funko for our first game! pic.twitter.com/CKbyNK6FwO
Mercedes had a singular goal: Build a one-off concept vehicle that could travel 1000 kilometers (621 miles) on one charge from a battery pack slightly smaller than 100kWh. The result was the EQXX, a coupe that looks as good as the technology that powers it. Typically these vehicles are off limits to anyone outside of a chosen few within an automaker. But Mercedes decided to let us behind the wheel for a test drive.
Designed to slip through the air with as little drag as possible, the EQXX doesn’t wow with off-the-line performance. Instead, the power really comes after you’ve gotten to highway speed. But even then, the concept vehicle is an efficiency machine that feels like the future. Mercedes has no plans to put the EQXX into production, but what it's learning now will at some point land in its vehicles. Watch the video below for the full story.
Nearly a decade after it propelled creator Lucas Pope to indie game stardom, “dystopian document thriller” Papers, Please is finally coming to phones. On Saturday, Pope took to Twitter to announce he’s bringing the game to Android and additional iOS devices next month. “‘Papers, Please’ but small. August 5th,” he said. Before Saturday’s announcement, the game had been available on iPads since 2014.
On Twitter, Pope said he spent about eight months developing the new port. Most of the work involved updating the user interface and making minor tweaks to make the game playable on smaller screens. “No zooming,” Pope said in response to one question about the UI. “My vision is terrible and I wanted the game to feel natural on a phone so the interface is built around that.”
For those hoping to play Papers, Please on PlayStation and Xbox, Pope had news to share on that topic too. “On track for a console release in 2031,” he joked. In a later tweet, Pope said the mobile version would be a standalone release, but if you already own the game on iPad, you’ll get access for free.
The arrival of Papers, Please on phones will allow a new audience to experience one of the most creative games of the past decade. In Papers, Please, you play as a border control agent for a Soviet Bloc-esque country known as Arstotzka. Gameplay primarily involves you checking the documentation of immigrants who want to enter Arstotzka and looking for discrepancies among all their entry forms. At almost every stage of its story experience, Papers, Please presents the player with moral dilemmas, asking them to consider how someone maintains their humanity in a job that is so frequently heartless.
Warner Bros. Games' MultiVersus is a fun take on platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Brawlhalla. It's soon going into open beta with a roster packed with characters from across a wide range of WB franchises. Developer Player First Games is about to add one more to the mix: Space Jam: A New Legacy star LeBron James.
The NBA icon will join the lineup when the open beta starts on July 26th. Unsurprisingly, his offense centers around the use of a basketball. He can throw a ball at opponents or dribble one around his feet to damage enemies. James is also able to block projectiles by building a fence. Surprisingly (or not, depending on how much you appreciated his thespian skills in Space Jam), James isn't voicing himself in the game. Actor John Bentley will play him.
WB also announced that a couple of other fan-favorite characters will join the lineup soon, as Rick and Morty are on the way. Many of Rick's abilities are based around his portal gun. He'll be available when season one starts on August 9th. Morty, who will arrive later in the season, can whip himself at opponents and use grenades.
The trio will be added to an ever-expanding and fairly peculiar roster. Big names like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Bugs Bunny are all in the mix, as are Arya Stark from Game of Thrones and Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo. Tom and Jerry play as a single character, rather than trying to throttle one another.
The Iron Giant, the most recent addition, is portrayed as a gentle-hearted being in the film of the same name who only fights when it's completely necessary. In MultiVersus, he's beating up opponents like the rest of the cast, which the developers justified by saying the game takes place in an alternate universe.
If that's not odd enough, leaks have suggested Ted Lasso, Gizmo from Gremlins (you know, the cute one) and the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz are coming to the roster as well. For what it's worth, those leaks are from the same person who revealed the game's existence in the first place and who said LeBron, Rick and Morty were MultiVersus-bound too.
Shredder's Revenge is great if you want a modern take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat-'em-ups, but what if you'd rather stick with the classics? You won't have to wait long to revisit those, either. Digital Eclipse, Konami and Nickelodeon have announced that TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection debuts August 30th on PCs (via Steam), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The bundle includes all 13 home and arcade games from the golden era of the half-shell heroes, including the Japanese versions.
You can return to the days of pumping endless quarters with the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game and its Turtles in Time follow-up. If you're more familiar with the console titles, you can play everything ranging from the notoriously difficult TMNT for the NES through to the three Game Boy releases and Tournament Fighters for the Genesis and SNES. The games remain in their original aspect ratios, but you can play online with friends and take advantage of creature comforts like save games, rewinding and a gallery full of concept art.
You'll still want to play Shredder's Revenge if you prefer more recent game mechanics and up-to-date (if still retro-looking) graphics. Many of the frustrations you felt in the '90s will still be present in The Cowabunga Collection. All the same, it's easy to see the appeal — this is likely your best chance to play all of the early hits without running an emulator or digging your NES out of the closet.
Just a couple of short weeks before its next Unpacked event, Samsung has revealed that it shipped "almost 10 million foldable smartphones" worldwide. In a post on the Samsung Newsroom, the company's chief of Mobile Experience (MX) Business, Dr. TM Roh, said that's a 300 percent increase from 2020 and that he expects what he calls "fast-paced growth" to continue. Most of its foldable customers, 70 percent of them apparently, went for the clamshell-like Flip. That's not surprising in the least: Samsung previously admitted that the Flip 3motivated more people to switch brands than its flagships did.
The 10 million units Roh claims Samsung shipped last year is considerably larger than the shipment numbers IDC previously published, though. In a report by the International Data Corporation in February, it said it "witnessed worldwide shipments of foldable phones, inclusive of both flip and fold form factors, reach a total of 7.1 million units in 2021." Whichever figure is true, Samsung's MX division posted an increase in revenue last year, mostly due to the strong sales of its foldables and its latest Galaxy S devices.
In addition to giving an update on how Samsung's devices are doing, Roh has also confirmed that the company is introducing its next Flip and Fold models at its next Unpacked event. He also said Samsung made advancements to enhance users' experiences with the upcoming devices:
"I am excited to see people to discover new ways to do more of the things they love with the new foldable.... At our upcoming Unpacked on August 10th, you’ll see that the impact of our innovation is not only about what technology can do. It’s about what you can do. We’ve once again taken our inspiration from the most important source — Galaxy users — to push the limits of what’s possible. I can’t wait to show you the potential of our new Samsung Galaxy foldables as the ultimate tool for both productivity and self-expression."
Samsung's upcoming Unpacked event will take place on August 10th at 9AM ET. Join us at our YouTube channel to tune into our coverage, which begins at around 8:40AM.
I’m not sure what pulled me back into Overwatch. Correction: It was all Jessica Conditt’s fault. Her incisive overview on the Summer Game Fest, which noted the lack of fresh updates on AAA games – those major games we’re all excited about – got me thinking about which games I’m waiting to play.
One of those is Overwatch 2. Which is coming this year, has a release date and is just wrapping up its public beta. Oh, and it's completely rid of loot boxes. Rejoice!
The fact that the original Overwatch will evolve into its sequel, which will be free-to-play, rewired my brain. Before I knew it, I was back in the game's lobby waiting my turn to play as all of the popular characters (now categorized as Damage players).
I was already used to the notion that your team of heroes had to strike a balance between support (healers), Tank (damage sponges) and Damage (your, er, damage dealers). This dynamic makes for more strategic fights, even in casual match-ups. But it means I often don’t get to play with some of my favorite characters.
Blizzard
In casual games, there seems to be a dearth in Support players, sadly. (Luckily for me, Moria is one of my go-to characters.) Hopefully, Overwatch 2 will redistribute characters across those three categories — not to mention new additions and new skills and supers. Of course, these mandatory squad layouts were one of many major changes and shifts in Overwatch since it first arrived back in 2016.
Once upon a time, the dwarfy, Torbjörn had an upgradable turret gun and threw out armor packs, Reaper had to collect little orbs of death to gain health from his kills. Symmetra, one of the relatively late additions to the game, has had her abilities and ultimates reshuffled several times. At one point, she had two ultimate options, while another changed nerfed her sentry turret down from six turrets down to three. Outrageous!
The most controversial change was made to everyone’s go-to healer, Mercy. In the early stages of Overwatch, her ultimate attack would revive all KOed heroes in range. It was… rather overpowered. These days, it’s a more sensible single-person revive that charges faster – but some may never get over some of these shakeups. (They should.) [Ed. note: I won't.]
There are big changes afoot in Overwatch 2, too. After weeks of playing the beta, I was relieved that many of my primary characters really haven’t changed at all – at least, not yet. It’s unusual to see Bastion wheeling around as a tank (and I’m now bad at playing as Bastion?), while I’m still acquainting myself with Orisa’s changes, which completely shake up her playstyle (no shield?!). This will take some time. A few new skill effects are also a little hard to decipher visually. (You can check out my colleague Jessica’s deeper thoughts on the beta right here.)
I maintain, despite (or thanks to) the many, many additions, that Overwatch has the most iconic character roster of a game since Street Fighter 2. Still, I don’t like having to really dig for the lore and character backgrounds outside of the game to understand the motivations — or, at least, the sassy asides they say to each other. It’s funny I mention SF2, because the beta feels a little like Super Street Fighter 2, which gave us four new characters, a few more locales, but didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel.
The beta remains limited to standard versus matches, though you will occasionally get to test out the cute robot-tug-of-war matches every now and then. It’s mostly the same Overwatch experience. The two new characters, Junker Queen and Sojourn, are both compelling additions to the roster so far (even if there are still too many Damage characters). The Junker Queen, in particular, seems to offer some intriguing new moves to shake up the competitive meta.
I’m still hoping for more beyond the base game matchups though, whether that’s more cooperative set-pieces or something entirely new and different. Is that too much to ask from what will be a free-to-play game? Hopefully, Overwatch 2 will also better expand on narrative bits and pieces.
The addictive ebb-and-flow of the fights feel the same, but I wonder if Blizzard can continually evolve and expand the experience to keep me hooked this time, just like Roadhog would have wanted.
