Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft and other major players in the game industry have all confirmed that they would have no presence on the E3 2023 show floor. Now the event itself won't happen at all.

According to IGN, the Entertainment Software Association has begun notifying members that while the show "remains a beloved event and brand," the plans for E3 2023 "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength and impact our industry." 

The ESA has also published a statement from ReedPop's Global VP of Gaming, Kyle Marsden-Kish:

This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3. We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome. For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.

The event was supposed to run from June 13th to 16th in Los Angeles, and would have been the first in-person E3 event since 2019.

While the event may be cancelled, there will likely still be plenty of video game news to look forward to in June: Ubisoft previously announced that it would be hosting its own event around the same time, and Nintendo and PlayStation typically run digital events of their own in June. Microsoft previously pledged to be part of E3's digital show, and may still have announcements in spite of the lack of an E3 event itself. 

Engadget has reached out to the ESA for comment.

The NBA’s regular season ends in just a couple of weeks, but Google just surprise-dropped a major overhaul of its popular Pixel Arena feature. The original Pixel Arena was advertised as a virtual space for fans to fully experience the NBA, but there wasn’t much to do other than play trivia and watch 3D shot recaps. The new Pixel Arena, however, is chock-full of activities for the discerning basketball fan, according to an official blog post.

The biggest change is that users can now roam freely around the space, so the emphasis on menu-diving has been reduced in favor of natural exploration. As you roam about the virtual arena, you want to look your best for onlookers, so the avatar creation process has also been significantly overhauled. The updated avatar builder now takes more natural skin tones into consideration, with adherence to the 10-shade Monk Skin Tone (MST) scale.

Google was also not shy about adding new virtual fashion and accessory options, saying there are now over a “trillion style combos inspired by futuristic streetwear and basketball culture.” Of course, each avatar comes with a fake Pixel 7 Pro because brand synergy. Additionally, the highlight clips tool has been updated, allowing users to remix 3D highlights by spotlighting specific viewing angles and the like.

Google and the NBA have added some new mini-games to the roster, though they continue to be trivia-based. Still, the app is loaded with machine learning algorithms that automatically populate new trivia questions based on recent events. For instance, if a player scores a career high, you will likely encounter a relevant question sooner rather than later. All of those modes are available in single-player or multiplayer. If trivia isn’t your bag, try Niantic’s AR streetball app.

Google’s Pixel Arena is part of the official NBA app. Just sign-in with your NBA ID and head to the Discover tab and give it a go. New highlights will continue to be added as the season winds down and the playoffs begin. Despite being a Google offering, Pixel Arena is available for both Android and iOS phones.

Apple’s Major League Baseball broadcast lineup no longer includes free games for non-subscribers. The company announced today that its “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheaders, which resume on April 7th, now require an Apple TV+ subscription.

During the 2022 baseball season, anyone could stream the Friday night games on Apple TV+ without a subscription. However, the company did note at the time that the offer would only be available for a limited time. It was Apple’s first foray into live sports after negotiating a seven-year with MLB worth $595 million.

Although the games are now locked behind a subscription, Apple’s deal doesn’t include blackouts for local teams, a rarity in non-network-TV sports broadcasting. Additionally, it’s worth noting that while Apple bills its Friday-night lineups as “doubleheaders,” the two games often air simultaneously. The first game on April 7th is an exception, fearing the Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs at 2 PM ET and the San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves at 7 PM ET. You can browse Apple’s schedule (up to June 30th).

Apple’s 2023 in-game broadcast lineup includes Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst), Heidi Watney (sideline reporter), Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst) and Tricia Whitaker (sideline reporter). In addition, pre- and postgame coverage brings back host Lauren Gardner, along with Siera Santos, Xavier Scruggs, Matt Joyce, Russell Dorsey and former MLB umpires Brian Gorman and Dale Scott.

Although baseball was Apple’s first dive into live sports, the company also now hosts Major League Soccer Season Pass, which costs an extra $13 per month or $79 for the season ($15 / mo. or $99 / season for non-Apple TV+ subscribers). Additionally, Apple recently partnered with T-Mobile to give its wireless subscribers full-season access for free. Given that Apple TV+ is only three years old, the iPhone maker has moved quickly to flesh out its streaming platform far beyond Ted Lasso.

Sling TV is preparing for March Madness with several new features that make it easier to keep tabs on the tournament. It’s adding picture-in-picture viewing on desktop browsers, a new iOS widget and enhanced sports scores.

Picture-in-picture lets you watch NCAA Tournament games in the corner of your screen without minimizing whatever you’re supposed to be focused on at work. Sling calls the feature “Side View,” and you can activate it by clicking a button labeled, “Browse your computer while watching video” in the top-right corner of the Sling player in desktop browsers. You can then move the resulting pop-out window around the screen, and it will remain on top of any other active apps or web pages.

Sling also added an iOS widget displaying a custom channel list. For example, you can create a widget showing only the channels broadcasting March Madness (ESPN for the women’s tournament; TBS, TNT and truTV for men’s), providing a home screen shortcut to the action. It’s available in two-row and four-row sizes, and you can create widget stacks with different channel collections for each.

Sling

Finally, Sling has updated its in-app guide. During the tournament, the Sling TV app will display a dedicated March Madness row with live scores and game times, letting you quickly glance for nail-biters you don’t want to miss. (However, Sling adds the caveat that the feature “may not be available on all devices.”)

Watching games on Sling requires a Sling Orange (including both men’s and women’s tournaments) or Sling Blue (men’s only) subscription. Although you may see sign-up perks for first-time customers, the standard cost is $40 per month for each package after a price hike last year.

The selection committees have made their picks and the brackets are set. Another installment of arguably the best sports weekend of the year is about to tip off. March Madness or the NCAA basketball tournaments begin today with two First Four games on the men’s side. Thanks to the NCAA’s partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery for the men’s tournament, and Disney (ESPN) for the women’s, you can stream every game and some will even be available for free. Here's your guide on how to stream March Madness 2023, from where to watch to when the games begin.

When does March Madness start?

Depending on who you ask, the 2023 NCAA Tournament either begins Tuesday or Thursday. On March 14th and 15th, the March Madness schedule includes First Four or four “play-in” games take place. These allow four more teams to “make the tournament” than if the selection committee just filled the two 16-seed and two 12-seed slots with one school in each spot. Some people argue the entire event doesn’t really start until Thursday and Friday, March 16th and 17th, when the First Round officially tips off.

No matter which side you land on, the First Four games will start at 6:40PM ET each night on truTV while Thursday and Friday games begin at 12:15PM ET, with the first game on CBS. These two days are the busiest and some of the most popular of the tournament as 16 games take place on each. Yes, these are two of the least productive days of the entire year in the US. It’s also the most popular time to schedule a vasectomy. Action continues with the Second Round on Saturday and Sunday, March 18th and 19th, before a break until next Thursday. This is when the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds are played over the course of the second four-day weekend of the tournament. The Final Four is set for Saturday, April 1st while the National Championship Game will go down on Monday, April 3rd.

How to stream the 2022 Men’s NCAA Tournament

Lance King via Getty Images

Unlike during the regular season when you need to know which network your team’s conference has a broadcast deal with to find most of the games, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports holds the rights to the entire Men’s NCAA Tournament. This means you’ll be able to watch all 67 games, including the First Four, on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. If you have cable, you’re all set. If you pay for a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV or Hulu, you’re also in good shape. If you don’t have either, don’t worry, you can still watch a good chunk of the tournament.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will allow anyone to watch the games broadcast by CBS on the web and mobile devices without a TV provider log-in. Paramount+ users will be able to do the same through that streaming app. If you do have credentials from your TV plan, you can stream everything through March Madness Live that’s available on a host of devices. You can find it on Android and iOS for mobile and macOS and the web on the desktop. For streaming devices, it’s on Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, Roku and Xbox as well as some LG smart TVs.

With some of those home entertainment devices, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will give you a very handy feature. On Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV and Xbox One, the March Madness Live app will allow you to stream two games at once. On the web, however, is where you’ll find the best option. Starting this year, the broadcaster has added the ability to stream up to four games simultaneously. If you opt for mobile or tablet versions, you’ll get picture-in-picture viewing while you browse away from the main game. The company has also expanded its Fast Break whiparound broadcast beyond mobile and web for 2023, adding the real-time analysis of big plays to its apps for streaming devices, consoles and smart TVs.

NCAA/WBD Sports/CBS Sports

YouTube TV has also added multiview streaming just in time for the tournament, but the platform is only offering preselected groupings – you won’t have the ability to pick which games you follow on your own right now. YouTube TV’s version is also only available to selected subscribers in early access, but it will be available on any smart TV or streaming device that supports the service.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has also added CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility this year, giving you easy access to live radio broadcasts in the school pick up line. On iOS, the March Madness Live app now supports Live Activities, so you can get live updates right on your lock screen should you be burdened with a meeting during a game you’re interested in.

You can certainly use your cable interface or streaming TV service of choice, but Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has made March Madness Live a centralized hub for the tournament. If you have log-in credentials that get you access to everything, using those will allow you to jump from game to game much faster than scrolling through a guide. And the broadcaster also gives you all of the alerts and stats you could ask for, including the ability to easily follow picks from your March Madness bracket if you filled it out on NCAA.com.

Streaming the 2022 Women’s NCAA Tournament

USA TODAY USPW / reuters

As if one National Championship tournament in March wasn’t enough, the Women’s edition takes place at the same time. It’s March Madness, after all. The First Four is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, March 15th and 16th, with the March Madness schedule consisting of the First and Second rounds playing out between Friday, March 17th and Monday, March 20th. Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8 runs Friday to Monday again, starting March 24th, and the Final Four and National Championship Game are set for March 31st and April 2nd.

If you notice there are some scheduling differences so that there are only women’s games on Mondays and both the Final Four and championship are slotted between the same events for the men. So when it comes down to crunch time, you can watch the conclusion of both tournaments live without having to sacrifice viewing the other.

ESPN has the rights to the Women’s NCAA Tournament, so you can expect games to show up on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS. The first two of the First Four games will be broadcast at 7PM ET and 9PM ET on ESPNU Wednesday night with the second pair on ESPN2 Thursday evening. First Round matchups begin at 11:30AM ET on Friday and Saturday on ESPN2, with subsequent games on those days expanding to the other networks.

Once again, if you have a cable plan or streaming TV service with Disney’s sports channels you’re all set. However, the best place to watch all of the action will be the ESPN app. Here, you’ll get access to a multicast feature that will give you up to four games at once (YouTube TV didn’t specify if it would include women’s games in its multiview trial). Multicast will be especially handy during those first four days of the tournament when there’s lots of action happening at the same time. However, it's only available on Apple TV and Xbox One.

YouTube TV is now much more useful if you're a sports fan. The service is rolling out an early access multiview feature that shows up to four sports streams at once. Visit the "Top Picks For You" section and you can pick from pre-chosen multiview groups, such as NCAA March Madness games. You can jump to a full-screen view for each match, and switch the audio and captioning to the stream that captures your attention.

Importantly, the technology isn't limited to specific platforms or devices. It supports all smart TVs and living room media players that can run YouTube TV in the first place. You won't need a high-powered device like you do with some services. The trick, as the company's German Cheung explains, is to move the processing to YouTube's servers — your hardware only has to handle one feed regardless of how many streams you're watching. The tech is borrowed from YouTube's co-streaming feature.

 If you're part of the early access phase, you'll see both an alert and an email. YouTube TV expects to deploy multiview streaming for all subscribers in the "coming months." The company tells Engadget it plans to expand functionality over time, including the option to customize the stream selection.

The timing is convenient. March Madness is just getting started, and the MLB season start is weeks away. Multiview could make YouTube more compelling if you're deciding on a TV provider (particularly an internet-only service) and are determined to follow as many games as possible. The broad support may also be alluring if competing services don't offer this level of multi-stream support on your living room equipment of choice. The official March Madness Live app, for instance, only supports four-way streaming on the web — you're limited to two streams elsewhere.

When Cowboy, a premium European e-bike company, invited the media to an event in Paris, France, it faced some unexpected challenges. Along with torrential rain, there also were strikes and protests against changes to the country’s pension system. And then the big reveal was… not a new bike. Instead, the announcement was three springtime color options for the Cowboy 4 and 4ST (step-through) plus Adaptive Power, a software upgrade coming to Cowboy 4 bikes this month. So when I met the company’s execs, I already had my question: Where’s the new model?

But before I sat down to speak with them, I was able to try out Adaptive Power, touring a few blocks and dipping down and out of Parisian car parks. Would this smarter e-bike (with the same motor) translate to any tangible improvements? Fortunately, yes. Adaptive power works by tapping into the e-bike’s accelerometer and other sensors, based on the rider’s weight, momentum and other factors – even wind. The new feature adjusts the motor’s power without the need for gears or tapping a boost button. The sensors also seemingly detect inclines as soon as your front wheel hits them, increasing motor assistance. The update taps into the same sensors and tech already used for crash detection.

Mat Smith / Engadget

According to Cowboy, the e-bike should offer equivalent battery life between the two iterations, as the motors will likely work more than the last version when the bike needs more power, but also work less when it doesn’t. If you’re riding an updated Cowboy 4, you won’t be able to return to the previous system, but using the app, you can choose between adaptive and eco modes, with the latter offering reduced assistance.

I was able to compare the C4, both with and without the feature, and the biggest improvement from Adaptive Power was how it kicked in at the perfect moment while accelerating from stationary. That’s not to say the Cowboy 4, pre-Adaptive Power, was slow, but it felt smoother and more responsive – it’s impressive for a single-gear bike. Previously, the bike’s motor would respond to your pedal pushes. This time it takes in more information to decide whether to boost.

While that was the most convenient benefit, there’s also a tangible improvement when tackling hills and inclines. With Adaptive Power, steep hills demanded a bit of pedaling but were surmountable. Downgrading to a bike without Adaptive Power – but the same motor with 45 Nm of torque – it’s a journey on the struggle bus. This was a common complaint from Cowboy 4 riders, with several saying that hilly environments were difficult to tackle, even with electric support. This new feature seems to address that, judging by my brief ride on the updated Cowboy 4. (If Cowboy is looking for what to improve when it eventually gets to its fifth-generation bike, this city rider would appreciate a more comfortable saddle.)

This update plays to the Cowboy 4’s design, too. Unlike many e-bikes, there are no controls to tap directly into the electric motor. It’s meant to look (and ride) like a normal push bike and that’s what it does. The Cowboy 4 is also, still, a few kilograms lighter than VanMoof’s latest e-bike, its most comparable rival. Both are premium e-bike options with similar pricing and features, but if you’re lifting your bike up stairs, or into buildings, it’s worth considering.

While Adaptive Power has been in beta testing with users before now, the official launch coincides with three new color options of both the Cowboy 4 and 4ST. While it’s an impressive way to upgrade the e-bikes of existing users – and do it without having to take it to a service center– these are the same bikes that first launched in 2021.

Until now, Cowboy has iterated fast, with new models arriving at a similar cadence to flagship smartphones. We reviewed its first bike in 2019, which wasn’t long ago. But there are a few reasons for the company to stick with the Cowboy 4.

 A lot of e-bike tech will not change hugely in the next few years. Barring incremental efficiency updates, the motor inside most e-bikes likely won’t see generational updates. I also wonder how existing Cowboy e-bike owners see the company's updated models, having spent thousands on an e-bike 18 months earlier, only to see it replaced so soon. So why no Cowboy 5? For Cowboy, CEO and cofounder Adrien Roose told me the focus is on improving quality, efficiency and all the things that come with scaling up to sell more bikes. The C4 and C4 ST both remain priced at around $3,000, depending on region, and the challenge is getting e-bike prices low enough for wider-spread adoption.

Mat Smith / Engadget

The company has opened up flagship stores in Germany, Belgium and France – the countries Cowboy is intently focused on, and where it sells most of its bikes. So far it’s sold over 50,000 bikes, globally. But while the C4 is available in the US (and being a company called Cowboy), earnestly targeting the American market remains a future challenge. Roose told me they’re in “learning mode” regarding the US. The plan appears to focus on keeping the company healthy and profitable. Roose added that he believes that Cowboy should get to that point by next year. Maybe they’ll celebrate with a new bike?

Earlier this year, an amateur Go player decisively defeated one of the game’s top-ranked AI systems. They did so using a strategy developed with the help of a program researchers designed to probe systems like KataGo for weaknesses. It turns out that victory is just one part of a broader Go renaissance that is seeing human players become more creative since AlphaGO’s milestone victory in 2016

In a recent study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from the City University of Hong Kong and Yale found that human Go players have become less predictable in recent years. As the New Scientist explains, the researchers came to that conclusion by analyzing a dataset of more than 5.8 million Go moves made during professional play between 1950 and 2021. With the help of a “superhuman” Go AI, a program that can play the game and grade the quality of any single move, they created a statistic called a “decision quality index,” or DQI for short.

After assigning every move in their dataset a DQI score, the team found that before 2016, the quality of professional play improved relatively little from year to year. At most, the team saw a positive median annual DQI change of 0.2. In some years, the overall quality of play even dropped. However, since the rise of superhuman AIs in 2018, median DQI values have changed at a rate above 0.7. Over that same period, professional players have employed more novel strategies. In 2018, 88 percent of games, up from 63 percent in 2015, saw players set up a combination of plays that hadn't been observed before. 

"Our findings suggest that the development of superhuman AI programs may have prompted human players to break away from traditional strategies and induced them to explore novel moves, which in turn may have improved their decision-making," the team writes.

That’s an interesting change, but not exactly an unintuitive one if you think about it. As professor Stuart Russel at the University of California, Berkeley told the New Scientist, “it’s not surprising that players who train against machines will tend to make more moves that machines approve of.”

March Madness will return in just a few days, as the First Four play-in games start on March 14th. There will be even more ways to take in the tournament this year. For the first time, there will be a multiview streaming option on the web. You’ll be able to watch up to four games simultaneously.

Fans still have the option to stream two games at the same time on Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV and Xbox One. Fans apparently only wanted two simultaneous streams on connected devices. There’s a picture-in-picture option on mobile, tablet and desktop as well. 

The web multiview option should help make sure that you don’t miss any of the action in the early rounds — especially if you happen to be working at the time. If your manager happens to approach while you're watching March Madness games at the office, you'll be able to smack the Boss Button to hide your tracks. This time around, hitting the button will bring up an AI chatbot interface called BossGPT. Maybe the NCAA isn't entirely behind the times after all.

Games will stream in 1080p resolution with 5.1 surround sound. The NCAA, CBS Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (which manage the NCAA March Madness Live apps) say they've optimized the video player for improved performance across a swathe of devices, including older ones.

If you happen to be on the road while your team’s playing, you’ll have another way to stay up to date. The NCAA March Madness Live app will offer live game audio through CarPlay and Android Auto. This is powered by Westwood One national feeds. A Spanish audio option will be available for the Final Four and championship games.

Moreover, the app will harness the Live Activities feature on iOS 16. You can receive interactive notifications and have a faster way to start enjoying live games from your iPhone lock screen. You'll have to tap an icon on the app's scores page to activate Live Activities.

You'll be able to watch any game that airs on CBS on the web and mobile for free through Paramount+ without having to log in. However, you will need to sign in to stream games being broadcast on TBS, TNT and truTV digital platforms.

Along with having access to every game from the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, there will be some coverage from the concurrent women's tournament on the NCAA March Madness Live app and the NCAA website. That includes "game updates, legends of the game and greatest Final Four moments," according to a press release. You'll need to hop over to ESPN to watch games from the women's tournament, though.

Meanwhile, the Fast Break feature, which provides live whip-around coverage during the first two rounds of March Madness, will be available on more devices, including set-top boxes, consoles and smart TVs. It was previously only on mobile and the web. Fast Break offers highlights, real-time analysis and breakdowns of key stats.

I’ve always found the major criticism against Ted Lasso, that it’s too saccharine, to be quite unfair. This is a series in the Frank Capra mold, where the sunny skies and primary colors sweeten the bitter pills being handed out. For every scene of wish fulfillment designed to get you pumping the air, there are meditations on suicide, betrayal and emotional neglect. It’s also funny – enough that Emmy voters gave it Best Comedy two years in a row. Now the third and, far as we know, final season of the show will return to Apple TV on March 15th.

It picks up after the summer break, in the run-up to Richmond’s return season in the Premier League (EPL) after winning promotion by the skin of its teeth last time around. It’s been a long while since the second season aired, the longer gap attributed to behind the scenes issues. Jason Sudekis, who became co-showrunner this time around, reportedly ordered a ground-up rewrite after becoming dissatisfied with the original direction this season was taking. On the basis of the first four episodes, which Apple made available ahead of broadcast, our patience has been well-rewarded.

Such is the nature of Apple’s restrictive covenant on spoilers that I can’t talk about many specifics about the third season. The first episode is the weakest of the bunch, taking time to re-establish where everyone is after their summer break. (Are placeholder episodes necessary given the nature of streaming these days?) Keeley is finding the rigors of running her own business to be harder than expected, while Rebecca has taken Ted’s pledge of winning the league to heart. Ted, meanwhile, is feeling just as emotionally stunted as he has been previously, moreso after spending a summer with Henry, clearly having not dealt with Nate’s betrayal, or the contrived reasons behind it.

As part of Lasso’s evolution from a sitcom to a comedy drama, the runtimes of each episode are now firmly measured in hours, rather than half hours. The narrative has broadened out to cover the personal lives of many of the main footballers, as well as giving Keeley a whole new team to work with. We even get our first proper glimpse of Michelle and Henry back home in Kansas, not to mention the storylines featuring Sam and, of course, the dreaded Nate. That’s a lot for a show to handle, especially one that – similarly unfairly – was described as unfocused and messy in its second season. (Blame must go to Apple for that one, given its late-in-the-day request to add a further two episodes to the order.)

There are more threads in the storyline, but Ted Lasso has refocused its episodic structure around the Premier League season. And two parallel narratives come to the fore: Ted’s struggle to access his emotions in a healthy way, and the battle over Nate’s soul. Rupert, played with evil relish by Anthony Head, is the devil lurking on the wonder kid’s shoulder, dangling temptation before him at every turn. I probably can’t talk about [ACTOR] playing [CHARACTER], either, a condensed version of every mono-named prima-donna footballer that is often idolized and hated in equal measure.

I was interested to see how the show’s newfound embrace by the footballestablishment would alter its customary lack of grounding in reality. This season sees plenty of filming at some big name stadiums, even down to the retention of the sponsor walls for post-match interviews. But don’t go in expecting a new-found commitment to footballing verisimilitude, with the opposition teams all played by actors with little resemblance to their real-world counterparts. Just remember that this is still Ted’s world, we’re just lucky enough to spend a little time watching it.