In another 'Only in Japan' post -- you can stay overnight in the Asahi Ryokan hotel for just $1 per night, but there's a big catch -- you'll need to livestream your stay 24/7.

Asahi Ryokan owner Tetsuya Inoue made the changes not long after taking on the business after his grandmother founded it, and tried to improve it for the new economy of 2019 and beyond. Asahi Ryokan is now offering guests rooms for just $1 per night if they agree to allowing their stay overnight (or longer) to be livestreamed.

There are rules and at least some privacy, with Asahi Ryokan not placing cameras in the bathroom, guests can turn the lights in the room on or off, and most importantly the livestream is video-only, so there's no audio to listen to that gives a thin layer of privacy. Inoue began running the hotel starting in 2018, explaining: "This is a very old ryokan and I was looking into a new business model. Our hotel is on the cheaper side, so we need some added value, something special that everyone will talk about".

Disney has set another record in 2019 at the box office, with Frozen 2 becoming the largest debut of an animated movie ever with $350 million in its opening weekend.

Frozen 2 has already dethroned Toy Story 4 and its global record haul of $240 million back in June, and far exceeds expectations of the opening weekend sitting at around the same $240-$250 million mark. I think people underestimate the power of Frozen and how badly people wanted a sequel given how much the original movie went mega viral.

The domestic opening weekend of Frozen 2 was a big one, with around $130 million in box office sales in the US so far. This means that Disney sees Frozen 2 becoming the fifth highest opening of a movie in November of all time, behind Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($158M), Twilight Saga: New Moon ($142.8M), Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 ($141M), Breaking Dawn 1 ($138.1M) and ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ($125M).

The rumors on Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 console are flying thick and fast, and while there are questions around what exact type of storage the PS5 will have -- we know it'll be super-fast, but at what capacity? 1TB? 2TB? We know from the latest rumors that the PlayStation 5 will reportedly sell for $499 and launch on November 20, 2020.

PlayStation 5 leaker PSErebus tweeted a couiple of days ago that the next-gen PlayStation 5 will ship with 2TB of storage for $499, which is a big deal. I would've thought the regular PS5 with 1TB of storage would've sold for $499, while a larger capacity PS5 with 2TB of super-fast SSD storage would've sold for a higher cost like $599.

We know from PlayStation architect Mark Cerny that the ultra-high-speed SSD inside of the PlayStation 5 is the "key" to the next-gen console. Cerny said in an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine earlier this year: "An ultra-high-speed SSD is the key to our next generation. Our vision is to make loading screens a thing of the past, enabling creators to build new and unique gameplay experiences".

Microsoft came out and said the Xbox Scarlett will kick the PlayStation 5's next-gen ass, but in development kit form the PS5 has the performance edge over Xbox Scarlett -- for now, that is.

According to a new leak that an insider posted on the Reset Era forums, who said that the PlayStation 5 is the fastest console behind the scenes right now which he says comes down to the "PS5 development hardware and software are in a more advanced state. I fully expect Scarlett to close that gap once they ship more mature dev kits and software".

The leaker added: "It must be said, since software, not hardware, is a traditional Microsoft area of expertise, it's very possible that they could ultimately deliver more advanced DirectX development software, in the end, allowing games to run better on Scarlett even if the hardware is less capable. I don't know this to be the case, but the possibility can't be discounted".

Valve surprised all gamers with the super-surprise announcement and mind blowing trailer to Half-Life: Alyx just a few days ago, but what will you need to run the latest adventure in the Half-Life universe?

First off you're going to need a VR headset as there is no non-VR version of Half-Life: Alyx planned, with Valve building the game for the virtual world of VR. As for the minimum requirements, Valve is asking for an Intel Core i5-7500 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor, 12GB of RAM and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 with at least 6GB of VRAM.

Half-Life: Alyx is powered by the current Source 2 engine, and sees Valve adding an entire new level of physics that is unparalleled -- as well as including a physical player body. You can freaking pick up individual shot gun shelves off shelves as you rummage for ammo... we're talking next level Half-Life in VR gameplay here.

NVIDIA has been pretty quiet when it comes to multi-GPU rigs with their latest Turing-based GeForce RTX and GeForce RTX SUPER graphics cards, but is all of that about to change? Quite possibly.

The creator of SLI Compatibility Bits, a super-useful tool for SLI and NVLink users, recently spotted that NVIDIA silently added Multi-GPU Checkerboard Rendering in their latest GeForce drivers. You'll need to manually enable this feature inside of the NVIDIA Inspector Profile tool by changing some of the settings including SLI compatibility bits (for DX10, DX11, and DX12) as well as the SLI rendering mode options.

Checkerboard rendering isn't something new as it's a method of rendering that's used in some console games, including the PlayStation 4 Pro and its upgraded 4K graphics in some games. But when we're talking multi-GPU configurations the kinda doors that Checkerboard Rendering can open are extensive -- like multi-GPUs working in DX10, DX11, and DX12 titles even if the game itself doesn't directly support it.

Back in 2016, CD Projekt RED announced an ambitious five-year strategy that called for two games to be shipped by 2021: Cyberpunk 2077, which is on track to release in 2020, and a new unannounced AAA RPG, which has remained quite nebulous. Now CDPR hints the new RPG could be delayed.

CD Projekt RED has been developing an RPG outside of Cyberpunk 2077 for years now, but we don't know how far along the project is. The company hasn't updated its five-year strategy for years now, making the outward appearance that the unannounced AAA RPG is progressing according to plan. We don't know what CDPR is working on, and the company hasn't talked about it too much, but there's reason to believe the unannounced game is set in The Witcher universe.

Now in a recent earnings call, CDPR says it could refresh its strategy sometime next year after Cyberpunk 2077 is shipped.

Want to play The Witcher 3 or even Cyberpunk 2077 in VR? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that probably won't happen.

CD Projekt RED is skeptical on the VR market, at least in terms of overall sales. With such a small install base of headsets, the VR market just isn't big enough to justify the development effort and spending--at least right now. Valve's new VR-exclusive Half-Life game could kick off a big HMD spending spree and expand the userbase. But as it stands right now, CDPR doesn't see much value in adapting its sprawling singleplayer epics like Cyberpunk 2077 or The Witcher 3 for virtual reality headsets.

In a recent Q3'19 earnings call, CD Projekt RED execs were asked two big VR questions: Are they threatened by Half-Life: Alyx's launch in March, just a month before Cyberpunk 2077, and will they adapt their games for VR headsets? The answer to both is no.

Project xCloud will be powered by Xbox One S server blades when it launches, but Microsoft may eventually beef up its racks with Project Scarlett hardware.

Microsoft's new next-gen Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU-powered Project Scarlett console will power Project xCloud game streaming at some point in the future. Right now each of Project xCloud's server blades are powered by 8 Xbox One S systems, but that could change a few years after Scarlett's on the market.

"We designed Scarlett with the cloud in mind as well, and just as you're going to see our console product family evolve with that next generation, the cloud is going to evolve along with it," Microsoft cloud exec Kareem Choudhry said in a recent interview with Stevivor.

Back in 2018, Intel filed a patent for a video games controller that looks suspiciously like an OnLive controller. Now that patent has been published, giving some clues on the company's foray into cloud gaming.

Intel's controller patent isn't particularly exciting. The patent is maddeningly vague and doesn't give actual details on the device's functionality, which is strange: Most patents have pages and pages detailing how the devices might actually be used. The patent only shows reference designs of the controller's chassis and buttons, strongly indicating it's focused on multimedia as well as gaming. It has a DualShock 4-like touchpad at the top, as well as very OnLine-esque multimedia buttons on the bottom, and doesn't look particularly ergonomic, somewhat resembling the old NVIDIA Shield TV controllers.

Intel currently has no plans to actually make its own game-streaming service (the company is mostly focused on enterprise hardware, not gaming services), but instead will use its potent Xeon and Iris Pro processors to power Tencent's new game-streaming service called Start for the Chinese market.

Way back in 2017, we predicted Cyberpunk 2077 would have an online mode. We also guessed it'd have microtransactions or be monetized in some way. Now CD Projekt RED has confirmed both are true.

Cyberpunk 2077's new "seamless online multiplayer" mode is far from ready. It'll ship after the main game launches in 2020, long after post-release expansions and DLC are out. The project likely being developed with the help of the online gaming experts at DigitalScapes.

But what about monetization? Isn't that why any online game is made? CDPR isn't a stranger to microtransactions anymore--they made Gwent, a free-to-play card game with mTX--and we could see extra in-game purchases pop up in Cyberpunk 2077's online mode. CDPR didn't give any specifics on Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer monetization, but they did say the system will be fair and balanced.

Tesla made waves all around the world with the unveiling of its futuristic Cybertruck, which Elon Musk himself has now tweeted that the company has received 146,000 pre-orders so far.

Musk even provided the split of numbers between potential customers of the Tesla Cybertruck with its single-, dual-, and tri-motor options. Musk said that out of the 146,000 ordered so far 42% of customers chose the dual-motor Cybertruck, while 41% went for the flagship tri-motor model while just 17% went for the single-motor Tesla Cybertruck.

Tesla Motors' own numbers directly from company CEO Elon Musk show that more customers want the higher-end models versus the single-motor Cybertruck. If the calculation of the 146,000 models seeing half of them with the optional Autopilot upgrade that costs $7000, that means Tesla has had over $7.5 billion worth of pre-orders of the Cybertruck already.

Everyone wants to know if we are alone in the universe, or if there was some form of life outside of our moderately-sized blue planet. Perhaps there was, and we already have the photos.

Entomologist, William Romoser gave an extensive presentation on his analysis of NASA's Mars rover images this past Tuesday. Romoser claimed throughout the presentation that through his analysis of the images, he can provide evidence to support that life was once and still is present on our red neighbor. Looking at the above image, Romoser says, "Once a clear image of a given form was identified and described, it was useful in facilitating recognition of other less clear, but none-the-less valid, images of the same basic form."

Romoser claims from the images that reptiles and other insect-like forms of life were once on the red planet, and that NASA's rover images are evidence of that. Romoser also says, "There has been and still is life on Mars. There is apparent diversity among the Martian insect-like fauna which display many features similar to Terran insects that are interpreted as advanced groups - for example, the presence of wings, wing flexion, agile gliding/flight, and variously structured leg elements."

CD Projekt RED's games are typically future-proofed to embrace next-generation technologies, whether they be higher-end graphics cards or new beefy consoles. This trend should continue with Cyberpunk 2077, which should get optimized for PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett.

We've already heard rumblings that CD Projekt RED wants to bring Cyberpunk 2077 to next-gen consoles, and now the company reinforces those claims. In a recent Q3'19 financial earnings call with investors, CD Projekt RED discusses next-gen and hints a new unannounced standalone game (likely that new AAA RPG) will release on PS5 and Project Scarlett, but it won't be Cyberpunk 2077 (which is obvious since it's coming to PS4 and Xbox One in 2020).

"When it comes to next-gen, our game is coming to the current-gen consoles. This is what we have announced. And of course we do have insight into what's around the corner, with what's happening with PlayStation and Xbox. We're watching it closely, and one may safely assuming that we're going to do something with the next-gen consoles. However, we can not really be very specific on what that might be, or when exactly that might be," CDPR joint CEO and president Adam Kicinski said.

Even as the project enters its final stage of development, CD Projekt RED is still spending big bucks on Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an immensely expensive game, and CDPR has sunk lots of money, manpower, and future-proofed tech development into the project over the last six years or so. Even though the game is almost finished, the company isn't taking any chances and has injected a ton of cash into Cyberpunk 2077's last phase of dev to ensure it lives up to our expectations.

In its recent Fiscal Q3'19 earnings report, CDPR confirmed it spent a record-breaking 43 million PLN (roughly $10.7 million) on games development, up a mighty 14% year-over-year.

CD Projekt RED formally buys its HQ office space, cementing a huge workspace to develop Cyberpunk 2077 and future games.

In its recent Q3'19 earnings report, CD Projekt RED confirms it now owns a huge 193,750 square feet of usable area for its workers to develop new games. The huge office space is comprised of two major complexes: One at Jagiellonska 74, where CDPR's HQ has sat for the last 20 years, and the other in the nearby complex at Jagiellonska 76 in Warsaw, Poland.

"For over 20 years now CD PROJEKT has been conducting its business from offices located in the buildings on Jagiellonska 74," said Adam Kicinski, CEO of CD PROJEKT. "This is where we've brought amazing worlds and adventures to life, and invested in infrastructure allowing us to create great games. This is where we've put down our roots as a company and where we want to continue to grow moving forward. But we want to do that on our terms - by making it the company's true HQ, one that we can freely shape to our needs and vision as its owners."

In what has become one of the largest data leaks from a single source in history, the personal data of over 1.2 billion people has been exposed -- including names, email addresses, phone numbers, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and more.

The leak was discovered by Bob Diachenko and Vinny Troia on October 16, 2019 in an open Elasticsearch server that had 4 billion user accounts inside of over 4TB of data. There were 1.2 billion unique people discovered inside of the leak, residing on an unprotected and totally-open Elasticsearch server with no password or any means of authentication protecting it -- so you could just download all 4TB of it easily.

The data in question comes from two brokerages, with California-based People Data Labs selling the data to advertisers who could use them for commercial purposes. User content to use this data commercially has not been approved, according to Troia. This particular data set has 622 million email addresses, 50 million unique phone numbers, and a bunch of different details from social media platforms.

No, Sony's PlayStation 5 won't use expandable SSD cartridges. The cartridge patent wasn't for PlayStation hardware, but instead for Sony's line of Toio kids toys.

Just as we warned, those purported PS5 cartridge patents aren't for the PlayStation 5 at all. The tiny cartridges are used by Sony's family-friendly Toio gaming system that's designed for kids, not an enthusiast-grade next-gen console designed for a mass-market audience of gamers.

Sony published a new Toio video on November 11 that showed the new cartridges. The previous Toio systems used a different cartridge--the older USB dongle-esque design that also caused a tizzy in the gaming sphere.

The internet has been abuzz recently with a swath of videos showing celebrities saying things ranging from funny to downright odd or alarming. This is the world of deepfakes, and MIT thought it proper to represent the power of the new deepfake video capabilities by making one of their own.

As you can see above, that is a small clip from the https://moondisaster.org project which is designed to simulate an alternate reality where the Apollo 11 astronauts did not land on the moon, but instead were stricken by tragedy and the ultimate result of the entire cred perishing on earth's largest satellite.

The video clip, while brief, is created by the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality. While it may be cool to see how computer technology can be used for lifelike recreations or even film production, it can be disturbing to think that world events by trusted individuals, reporters, or world leaders could be potentially skewed by those wishing to cause disorder or chaos.

For those of you excited for the newest high-speed 5G technology, you may be waiting a bit longer. AT&T, which is scheduled to roll out its new 5G service on the 850MHz spectrum, looks to be nothing more than the new band with expected performance similar to the companies' much-despised "Fake 5G" offering of "LTE Advanced" or "5G E".

Users in late 2018 and early 2019 were understandably underwhelmed and upset when they saw a 5G E icon pop up on their AT&T smartphone. They were initially thrilled at the possibility of new insane speeds, only to be met by performance in many cases well under their average 4G LTE speeds.

AT&T has made some very bold claims in regards to 5G service and their capabilities and roadmap, the timeline they provide is for test markets of 5G to be live in late 2018 with devices in hand the same year. We can only assume this was the 5G E service they are referencing, but the fact that the move to actual 5G may be as underwhelming as the 5G E service is not a good sign. We can only hope that this is a mere stepping stone to the actual true 5G, which will come to pass on the 700MHz band sometime soon.