Nintendo is weathering the storm
Nintendo is weathering the storm

Things aren’t going so well in the video game industry. Consoles are getting more expensive, games are shutting down, layoffs are prevalent, the live-service space is a mess, major platforms are entering eras of uncertainty, and AI is infiltrating the medium in frustrating ways. Finding a bright spot is rare. But amid all of that, […]

There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series
There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series

In the coming years, HBO wants its new Harry Potter series to become “the streaming event of the decade” as it adapts each of the franchise’s seven original books. The show could very well become a hit that captures the imaginations of a new generation of fans who weren’t there for the first wave of […]

Why OpenAI killed Sora
Why OpenAI killed Sora

On Tuesday morning, everything was business as usual at OpenAI. By the end of the day, the company had announced that it would scrap its video-generation app, Sora, and reverse plans for video generation inside ChatGPT; it would wind down a $1 billion Disney deal; it would shuffle the role of a high-level executive; and […]

Judge sides with Anthropic to temporarily block the Pentagon’s ban
Judge sides with Anthropic to temporarily block the Pentagon’s ban

After Anthropic’s weeks-long standoff with the Pentagon, the company won one milestone: A judge granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit, which sought to reverse its government blacklisting while the judicial process plays out. “The Department of War’s records show that it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk because of its ‘hostile manner […]

Disney’s big bets on the metaverse and AI slop aren’t going so well
Disney’s big bets on the metaverse and AI slop aren’t going so well

Less than a week into his tenure as Disney’s newly appointed CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is already dealing with two separate crises that have cast a shadow over the company’s future plans. OpenAI is shutting down its Sora image-generation program just months after Disney announced a $1 billion dollar collaboration to bake the tech into Disney […]

Live-service games are such a mess even Fortnite is struggling
Live-service games are such a mess even Fortnite is struggling

For years, major game publishers and developers have been chasing a particular north star: Fortnite. With its internet-shaking live events and copious celebrity cameos, Epic’s battle royale shooter became the epitome of what a live-service game could be, one that reached a level of cultural ubiquity that few other entertainment products could match while also […]

Trump takes another shot at dismantling state AI regulation
Trump takes another shot at dismantling state AI regulation

The Trump administration on Friday unveiled its new legislative blueprint for AI regulation, and the seven-point plan includes a clear message: The federal government should avoid many AI regulations beyond a set of child safety rules, and it should bar states from messing with the “national strategy to achieve global AI dominance.” The plan advises […]

Weird Nintendo never went away
Weird Nintendo never went away

Nintendo has been playing it safe of late, whether it’s the conservative nature of its Switch successor or the squeaky-clean image presented in its museum. As the company has expanded its ambitions, it’s done so while largely trying to avoid risk, which can seem at odds with the playful Nintendo that brought us the likes […]

Ikea tried to build a smart home for everyone — here’s why it’s not working yet
Ikea tried to build a smart home for everyone — here’s why it’s not working yet

Ikea’s new Matter-over-Thread products were supposed to prove that the smart home could be cheap, accessible, and reliable. The highly anticipated line – which includes sensors, remotes, smart plugs, air-quality monitors, and smart bulbs – has most everything you need to build a smart home, with prices starting at $6. It’s an exciting idea, but […]

Nvidia’s DLSS 5 is like motion smoothing for video games, but worse
Nvidia’s DLSS 5 is like motion smoothing for video games, but worse

Yesterday Nvidia revealed its latest upscaling tech, called DLSS 5, which it described as “the company’s most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing in 2018.” Sounds good, until you actually see it. According to Nvidia, the tech “infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials,” but all anyone seemed to […]