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GTA trilogy boosts Grand Theft Auto franchise sales to $310 million
The Grand Theft Auto franchise just hit its second-highest quarterly revenues since GTA V's launch in 2013, once again proving the power of the series.
Grand Theft Auto is still as big as ever. In holiday 2021, the GTA series hit 370 million copies sold to date. Rockstar also generated more revenue from Grand Theft Auto products and services since GTA V's gargantuan launch in 2013 (which made $1.49 billion).
During Q3'22, the Grand Theft Auto franchise made $310.13 million in total revenues. This was driven by a number of things including sales of two mainline games, strong GTA Online microtransaction purchases, and big player counts in all three games.
Continue reading: GTA trilogy boosts Grand Theft Auto franchise sales to $310 million (full post)
PlayStation first-party game sales made up 12% of Q3 software
Sony's latest financial reports reveal how many PlayStation and PC gamers are buying first-party games.
With high production values, dramatic storylines, and blockbuster action, Sony's first-party games have traditionally been marketed as system-sellers. The reality is that while first-party games do sell respectable volume every year, most PlayStation gamers are buying third-party titles on the platform.
Based from numbers provided by Sony, we've compiled a list of first-party game sales from FY2018 through the current Q3'2021 period. The results are surprising; First-party game sales have capped out at 27% of total software sales and dropped as low as 10% through lull periods.
Continue reading: PlayStation first-party game sales made up 12% of Q3 software (full post)
Sony's new live games need to be F2P and not require PS Plus
Sony is going all-in on live games and plans to release 10 new live service games by 2026. Here's what it needs to do in order to maximize revenues.
Sony is no stranger to the live games business. Although PlayStation focuses mainly on singleplayer blockbuster games, Sony's games division makes most of its money through live games--and most of these games it doesn't even own. Fortnite, Apex Legends, Warzone, and Rocket League have generated billions for Sony over the years (Fortnite alone has made Sony $6 billion, as per court documents from the Epic vs Apple trial).
Now Sony wants to break into the live games business. Luckily it has had years to learn from the best in the business. If Sony wants to make serious live games cash it needs to follow a few simple rules.
Continue reading: Sony's new live games need to be F2P and not require PS Plus (full post)
Kirby may headline tomorrow's new surprise Nintendo Direct
Nintendo announces a new Nintendo Direct showcase for tomorrow, February 9, 2022 at 5PM EST.
A new Direct was surprise revealed today with the game-maker's usual cryptic messaging.
"Tune in for a Nintendo Direct livestream featuring roughly 40 minutes of information mainly focused on Nintendo Switch games launching in the first half of 2022," the announcement reads.
Continue reading: Kirby may headline tomorrow's new surprise Nintendo Direct (full post)
Intellivision has raised at least $39 million for the Amico
Intellivision has raised at least $43 million for the production of its new Amico console, our findings indicate.
Yesterday, Intellivision opened a new funding round on Start Engine, an investment startup site. Intellivision is currently selling up to $5 million in SAFEs (simple agreement for future equity) directly to consumers for $0.72 per share with a $500 minimum investment. Investors aren't actually buying a product--they're buying actual stake in the company itself. The company plans to sell 13,888 securities and has raised $30,512 at the time of writing.
The Start Engine campaign's Form C filing also confirms Intellivision's financials. The company currently has $8.52 million in net assets, $7.19 million in long-term debt, $1.5 million in short-term debt, and has reported a loss of $3.2 million.
Continue reading: Intellivision has raised at least $39 million for the Amico (full post)
FTX will give out free Bitcoin during the Super Bowl, here's how enter
FTX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced an addition to its planned Super Bowl advertisement.
The cryptocurrency exchange took to Twitter to announce that it will be giving away free Bitcoin to four lucky winners who retweet the pinned post on the FTX Twitter account. FTX details that the four randomly selected winners will split a total number of Bitcoins when the ad airs at the Super Bowl in the Eastern Time (ET) zone. The exchange notes that it doesn't actually know how much Bitcoin it will be giving away as the price, at the time of writing this, is increasing quickly.
According to the official guidelines by FTX, "Each winner will receive Bitcoin deposited into their FTX account. The amount of Bitcoin to be deposited will be equal to the ET time (hour and minute) that Sponsor's February 13, 2022 television commercial begins to be aired on NBC." For example, FTX's Super Bowl advertisement is scheduled to play during the second, and if it plays at 9:15, it will give away 9.15 Bitcoins to the winners, where they split the total four ways.
Continue reading: FTX will give out free Bitcoin during the Super Bowl, here's how enter (full post)
Lost range of 'supermountains' discovered, the size is hard to imagine
A new study has found a lost range of "supermountains" that played a big role in the evolution of Earth into what it is today.
A new study published in the journal Earth and planetary Science Letters details an extremely large and ancient mountain range that is believed to be as tall as the Himalayas and extending more than three or four times the current distance of around 1,500 miles.
According to postdoctoral student and lead author of the new study, Ziyi Zhu, mountain ranges such as the ones described in the study don't exist today, but when they did, they likely played a major role in two fundamental periods of Earth's history; the appearance of complex cells around 2 billion years ago and large quantities of marine life that emerged around 541 million years ago.
Continue reading: Lost range of 'supermountains' discovered, the size is hard to imagine (full post)
Antarctic glaciers are losing ice faster than ever documented
A new article on the waning glaciers has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Researchers from the University of Houston (UH) are studying three glaciers at the South Pole with a new, advanced remote imaging system known as synthetic aperture radar interferometry. The use of radar allows satellite observations to be taken in any weather conditions, through clouds, and without the need for sunlight.
Continue reading: Antarctic glaciers are losing ice faster than ever documented (full post)
New plastic recycling method ups the profit incentive and ease
A study describing the new recycling method has been published in the journal Science.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill have discovered a method of breaking down plastics to create new materials that are tougher and stronger than the original material. Plastics are traditionally difficult to recycle due to the strength of their carbon-hydrogen chemical bonds, but UNC chemists identified a new reagent to help them break these bonds.
Continue reading: New plastic recycling method ups the profit incentive and ease (full post)
New 'breakthrough' spinal cord implants allows patients to walk again
A new study on the technology has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Scientists implanted sixteen-electrode devices into the epidural space between the vertebrae and spinal cord membrane of three men's spines, all of whom were paralyzed due to severe spinal cord injuries. Pacemakers implanted under the skin in their abdomens could deliver electrical currents to the electrodes, allowing trunk and leg muscles to be stimulated.
The system can be controlled wireless with a computer, and the men were all able to take steps on a treadmill on the day following the surgery. Physical therapy and training over three to four months were necessary to complete tasks like climbing stairs or walking for 500 meters independently.
Continue reading: New 'breakthrough' spinal cord implants allows patients to walk again (full post)
New 5K video shows repairs done aboard the ISS in 360 degrees
The new video was uploaded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
The problematic piece of equipment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) being repaired is the Water On-Off Valve 8 (WOOV-8) behind EXPRESS-Rack 3. WOOV-8, along with WOOV-6 and WOOV-7, determines whether cooling water from Europe's Columbus module enters or bypasses the heat exchange system responsible for transferring waste heat to downstream cooling circuits outside the ISS.
It was previously replaced in October 2021 by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Nevertheless, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer has since tested a reserve valve to see if an unplanned conversion was possible due to continuing issues. In December 2021, the repair operation was completed, and the latest video posted shows the repair in progress.
Continue reading: New 5K video shows repairs done aboard the ISS in 360 degrees (full post)
Elon Musk to provide SpaceX Starship Mars rocket update this Thursday
Elon Musk announced the upcoming Starship presentation in a reply on Twitter.
The update will be given on Thursday, February 10th, 2022, at 9 p.m. EST (02:00 UTC on February 11th). The last in-depth update regarding Starship and its eventual journey to Mars was in September 2019, when Musk announced plans for the vehicle to be used for space tourist trips around the Moon, to Mars, and other destinations. Yusaku Maezawa, who recently visited the International Space Station for a tourist trip, already has a tourist trip aboard Starship booked.
SpaceX is currently awaiting completion of a programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before it can conduct its first orbital test flight of Starship from Starbase, SpaceX's South Texas launch site.
Continue reading: Elon Musk to provide SpaceX Starship Mars rocket update this Thursday (full post)
Tesla will integrate Bitcoin into its future, but there's a catch
It has almost been an entire year since Tesla first invested $1.5 billion into Bitcoin, causing a massive spike in the value of the digital asset.
Tesla has recently published its 10-K, which is a detailed financial report that the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission requires all publicly traded companies to provide annually. Within the report, Tesla discusses its investment into Bitcoin, stating that as of December 21, the company has profited $128 million by selling some of the Bitcoin it purchased in early 2021, while also stating it had recorded a loss of $101 million on its position.
This would make Tesla's net profit to be $27 million, but due to the accounting rules, or lack of for crypto assets, the company's exact net profit isn't completely disclosed. Tesla states within its report that as of December 31, 2021, the "fair value" of its Bitcoin, which takes into account value increase throughout 2021 as well as recorded impairment losses, was nearly worth $2 billion, putting the company's BTC position up $500 million.
Continue reading: Tesla will integrate Bitcoin into its future, but there's a catch (full post)
NASA's $800 million-dollar Mars lander killed by dust in just 4 years
NASA has announced a new timeline update for its $800 million-dollar InSight lander that has recently experienced a decently large Mars dust storm.
NASA explains that on January 7, the InSight lander went into safe mode as a regional dust storm rolled into the area its stationed within. On January 10, the InSight team was able to reconnect with the lander and found its power was holding steady but was quite low. Even before the most recent dust storm, martian dust has been accumulating on the lander's solar panels, reducing the overall power supply of the lander.
Dust storms can cause issues in two ways; dust accumulation on the solar panels, and reducing the amount of sunlight that can reach the solar panels. According to the Mars InSight mission website, the InSight team devised a way to reduce the amount of dust on the solar panels, and it involved using the landers robotic arm to scoop up dust and drop it upwind of the solar arrays.
Continue reading: NASA's $800 million-dollar Mars lander killed by dust in just 4 years (full post)
Joe Rogan offered $100 million to leave Spotify for a new platform
Amid the viral controversy surrounding Joe Rogan and some of the comments he has made throughout The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the famous comic and commentator has received an official offer to trade over to a new video platform.
The controversy Rogan has found himself in began when musician Neil Young requested that his music be removed from the platform as he didn't want to be associated with a platform that he believes was spreading misinformation through the JRE podcast. Following Young's request came other prominent figures requesting their content be removed as well, and then over the weekend, a compilation video of Rogan saying the n-word went viral, only adding more fuel to the fire.
Rogan has responded to both the controversy surrounding the misinformation and the racial slurs he used throughout the years of the JRE podcast. Now, while things are reaching its boiling point, Rumble, a video-hosting website that is attempting to compete with YouTube, has offered Rogan $100 million to leave Spotify and bring his infamous podcast over to Rumble. The offer came directly from Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski.
Continue reading: Joe Rogan offered $100 million to leave Spotify for a new platform (full post)
Zuckerberg threatens to kill Facebook and Instagram in Europe
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has threatened to shut down services for both of the platforms over a regulation issue.
According to a report from Euronews Next, the issue at hand is new regulatory measures being introduced that prevent Meta from sending, storing, or processing Europeans' data across servers in the United States. Meta recently released its annual report where it stated that it's likely that it will be able to reach a new agreement with European regulators, but if it doesn't, it will have to shut down Facebook and Instagram within Europe.
Previously, Meta was able to send, store and process European user data on US servers, but in July 2020, the European Court of Justice annulled the original treaty between countries and introduced new policies that have simply cut out Meta's data harvesting. Legal authorities argued that the previous standard was ineffective at protecting Europeans' privacy, hence the change. A European Commission spokesperson reassured the public that securing a new agreement between the US and the EU is of the highest priority.
Continue reading: Zuckerberg threatens to kill Facebook and Instagram in Europe (full post)
'SpaceX rocket' caught on film turning into a fireball in night sky
Multiple videos have been captured of is suspected to be a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket re-entering Earth and turning into an epic fireball as it plummets closer to the surface.
Residents in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico that looked up at the night sky witnessed a light show that rarely many get the pleasure to see. Reports indicate that many people were initially confused about what was causing the fireball to erupt in the sky, but now many people suspect that the fireball was an old second-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was launched in March 2017.
At the time of writing this article, SpaceX hasn't confirmed whether or not the debris was a Falcon 9 rocket stage, but regardless of whether it was, the onlookers that saw the event were able to witness something that some people go their entire lives without seeing. In other SpaceX news, another Falcon 9 rocket stage is expected to crash into the Moon. If you want to read more on that story, check out this link here.
Continue reading: 'SpaceX rocket' caught on film turning into a fireball in night sky (full post)
India to add a massive tax to cryptocurrency and NFT transactions
India's finance minister has announced a plan to tax all income from cryptocurrency and NFT transactions as the cryptocurrency space grows exponentially throughout the nation.
According to India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman who made announced this past Tuesday that the country will be introducing a tax on all income from cryptocurrency and NFT. Sitharaman proposed that regulatory agencies will be introducing a flat 30% on all cryptocurrency income and a 1% tax deduction on all purchases of virtual assets.
The proposal from the nation's finance minister follows an exponentially growing cryptocurrency and NFT space, as Binance-owned WazirX announced last month that the yearly trading volume throughout its platform on 2021 has grown "1,735%" to $43 billion, compared to 2020. Additionally, India's central bank will be proposing a federally backed digital currency throughout the next financial year. India seems to be taking steps towards legalizing cryptocurrency as a whole.
Continue reading: India to add a massive tax to cryptocurrency and NFT transactions (full post)
Palit GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock OC listed, 1890MHz GPU boost
Palit's new flagship GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock series of GPUs has been teased on their own website -- well, at least their Turkish website -- with the flagship Palit GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock OC graphics card.
The new Palit GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock OC graphics card was spotted alongside the non-OC regular GameRock edition on Palit's official Turkish website. They've been removed since, but they were kept thanks to Google web cache.
VideoCardz reports that Palit's upcoming flagship GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock OC graphics card will have 1890MHz GPU boost -- 30MHz above the RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition from NVIDIA -- and 10W higher than the reference RTX 3090 Ti specs.
Continue reading: Palit GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GameRock OC listed, 1890MHz GPU boost (full post)
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: over 2.5GHz GPU clocks, higher 350W TDP
AMD will be spitting out its refreshed RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6950 XT graphics card in the coming months, with new rumors suggesting GPU clocks will be over 2.5GHz.
The new rumors for the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT graphic card are coming from Greymon55 on Twitter, where he said that the RX 6950 XT boost "seems to be over 2.5GHz". This is 250MHz higher than the air-cooled RX 6900 XT and around 65MHz faster than the RX 6900 XT Liquid Cooled Edition.
AMD's air-cooled Radeon RX 6900 XT rocks the Navi 21 XTX GPU while the liquid-cooled Radeon RX 6900 XT and some of the custom RX 6900 XTs from AIB partners use the higher-binned Navi 21 XTXH GPU. The new Radeon RX 6950 XT should also use the Navi 21 XTXH GPU but with even higher clocks (2.5GHz+) and faster GDDR6 memory.
Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT: over 2.5GHz GPU clocks, higher 350W TDP (full post)






















