WiiBoy Color 2.0 transforms a full Wii into on-the-go handheld
The Wiiboy gets updated with a thinner design and will soon be open sourced so DIY enthusiasts can build their own.
Modders have done some amazing things with gaming tech over the years, including cramming an entire Wii console into an on-the-go handheld. We've seen a fe iterations of mini Wii systems, including the G-Boy handheld and ShankMods' PiiWii. Now we have the Wiiboy from YouTube tinkerer Ginger of Oz.
The new Wiiboy 2.0 features some upgrades over the original model, with a 480p IPS panel with bezel and a chassis that's half a millimeter thinner than the original Wiiby Color 1.0, but overall it's just another clear example as to the innovations being made in the modding and custom PCB scenes.
Continue reading: WiiBoy Color 2.0 transforms a full Wii into on-the-go handheld (full post)
Ubisoft doubling down on 'more profitable projects' after sunsetting XDefiant
After a string of disappointing games, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reiterates plans to focus on more profitable projects.
Ubisoft is under a lot of pressure right now. In a bid to stay competitive and capture more of the best-earning segments on the market, the French games-maker has spent multitudes of millions on failed game projects including XDefiant, a live service Call of Duty contender that was recently sunset by the group, who already operates the successful Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft has also missed the mark on other high-profile AAA game productions, including Star Wars Outlaws, a game that delivered soft sales and went under a radical re-work in an attempt to appease spurned fans.
Faced with growing costs and fiduciary duty to deliver growth to shareholders, Ubisoft has made all the usual cuts to reduce spending: Division-based layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations like the ill-fated XDefiant. One reaction to the Outlaws reception, and the current games industry market trends, was to delay Assassin's Creed Shadows outside of the critical holiday season and into February 2025. This delay was a major hit to Ubisoft's projected earnings--the company simply expected to sell a lot of copies of AC Shadows during Christmas.
Path of Exile 2 is a huge hit, breaks 459,000 peak players at early access launch
Path of Exile 2 releases into early access as a verified hit on PC, breaking more than 450,000 peak concurrent players on Steam.
The year of RPGs just keeps on giving as Grinding Gear Games today kicked of Path of Exile 2's long journey into early access. The game has been received well so far, but it's not free-to-play just yet: Users can buy early access to the game starting at $30, giving them a more direct stake in helping shape Path of Exile 2 over time.
Despite the high numbers, the launch hasn't been perfect. Massive popularity means massive strain on the servers. Path of Exile's online infrastructure buckled under the weight of interested gamers and the servers crashed throughout the day.
Marvel Rivals hero shooter explodes onto Steam with 444,000 peak players
NetEase's new Marvel game proves there's plenty of room for competition in the hero shooter genre.
Today, Marvel Rivals enjoyed a successful global launch onto consoles and PC. The free-to-play hero shooter has exploded onto the PC market and could be a contender for another top live service game. At launch, Rivals managed to break over 440,000 concurrent users on Steam. The game is currently not loaded into the PS Store best-seller tracker so we don't know how popular the game is on PlayStation. After this major milestone is reached, one big question remains: Can NetEase and Marvel keep up this momentum with seasonal updates?
The F2P PVP hero shooter has gained significant attention for its multiverse character designs and overall monetization strategy. Rivals packs in an eclectic variety of 33 different comic heroes across a wide range of series, all of which are wrapped up in an evolving narrative-driven storyline that will expand with new seasonal updates. If done right, Marvel could have its own Overwatch-Fortnite hybrid.
ASUS covertly teases 'world's first' 27-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor
ASUS has either intentionally covertly teased an impressive upcoming gaming monitor or accidentally revealed what it plans to showcase at CES 2025 in January next year.
Gaming monitor names, while being very unattractive and difficult to remember, do typically reveal some information about the monitor. For example, the ROG Swift OLED PG32UDCM is ASUS's 4K 32-inch OLED gaming monitor. This is a good rule of thumb when shopping for monitors, as the number in the model name typically represents the size of the display. Why is that relevant? Well, reports indicate that ASUS teased the launch of new OLED gaming monitors with a post on Instagram that has since been removed.
The post poked some fun at the company's monitor naming choices and then showcased the following text: "What're we calling our newest monitor?" - "ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM." Notably, the PG27UCDM doesn't currently exist, and if the naming is anything to go by, it will be a smaller version of the PG32UCDM, which means it will be a 4K OLED gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. The difference between the two displays will be pixel density, as the PG27UCDM will have a 166 PPI, ushering in incredibly crisp and sharp visual fidelity.
Continue reading: ASUS covertly teases 'world's first' 27-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor (full post)
Ubisoft responds to possible Tencent buyout that hinges on one condition
A new report from Reuters has claimed Ubisoft Entertainment SA is currently engaging in close discussions with Tencent on organizing a possible buyout of Ubisoft, the development studio behind popular video game franchise Assassin's Creed.
Reuters cites two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the publication on the condition of anonymity, and according to these sources, Ubisoft is attempting to initiate a buyout but keep the majority of control in the hands of the Guillemot family, currently the largest and founding shareholder. According to Reuters, the Guillemot family has been in talks with Tencent about the buyout, which currently owns a 10% stake in Ubisoft.
Reuters reports Tencent has yet to decide on if it will greenlight the buyout, as Tencent reportedly wants a greater say in future decisions made by Ubisoft's board, along with a cash flow distribution in return for financing the deal. The publication notes that discussions between Ubisoft and Tencent are ongoing as both parties want to prevent Ubisoft from suffering from a hostile takeover by outside investors. One of the sources told Reuters that Tencent's plan is to wait for the Guillemot family to agree to the terms of its current deal.
Microsoft sounds alarm on cyberspy group now targeting critical US infrastructure
Microsoft Threat Intelligence has warned that a Chinese government espionage hacking group is targeting critical US infrastructure, such as telecommunications networks, financial and legal services industries, and government and non-government agencies.
Sherrod DeGrippo, the director of threat intelligence strategy at Microsoft, spoke with The Register, saying the new group Microsoft is tracking under the moniker "Storm-0227" began targeting critical US infrastructure as soon as yesterday. DeGrippo says the group has been active since January but didn't say its total number of victims. Notably, DeGrippo said the group's members have some overlap with Silk Typhoon, a notorious Chinese government-affiliated hacking group known for healthcare, law firms, higher education, defense contractors, and non-governmental organizations.
Furthermore, over the past 12 months, Microsoft has seen a significant increase in the frequency of attacks by Chinese hacking groups. As for how the hacking is done, The Register reports Storm-0227 typically infiltrates a system by exploiting security vulnerabilities in public-facing applications and spear-fishing emails that contain contaminated links or attachments. The objective of Storm-0227 is to get a victim to click on a document that automatically downloads SparkRAT, an open-source remote administration tool that enables the controller administrative access to a machine.
Anker sounds recall alarm on some of its products being a fire safety risk
Anker has taken to its website to announce the recall of thousands of its Soundcore and PowerConf Bluetooth speakers, with the company citing a fault in the manufacturing process that has led to incidents related to affected devices batteries.
Anker wrote in a new announcement that a "small number" number of the affected speakers were manufactured between March and April 2023 and that Anker will be reaching out to customers who purchased one of the affected products between March 1, 2023, and June 6, 2024. According to reports, the affected products could be as many as 69,000 across the US, with an additional 9,764 sold in Canada. As for what products are affected, Anker highlights the following models as potentially being faulty: A3102016, A3302011, and A3302031.
So far 33 reports of problems with the aforementioned models have surfaced, with some of the reports claiming the device began smoking, started a small fire, and even one report cited a minor burn. It's advised to try to find the serial number on your speaker and then navigate to Anker's website to check if it is included in the recall. If you own an affected device, you are advised to immediately turn it off and contact Anker customer support, who will instruct you on how to dispose of it correctly.
Microsoft rolls out new AI feature that views everything you do on the internet
Microsoft has taken to its blog to announce the availability of Copilot Vision, a new Copilot Pro feature that is designed to provide a helpful AI companion for internet browsing.
Microsoft has detailed the new feature in its blog post where it states Copilot Vision will require permission of the user and, if enabled, will be able to see what webpage a user is on, digest the information on the webpage, and provide helpful answers and information about what the user is searching. The new feature is currently only available in the US to a small group of Copilot Pro subscribers, which is a $20 per month subscription that unlocks Copilot across Office applications, priority access to Copilot during peak times, and now Copilot Vision.
The Windows maker explains that Copilot will be able to "understand the full context of what you're doing online," and when Copilot Vision is enabled, it "sees the page you're on, it reads along with you, and you can talk through the problem you're facing together. Browsing no longer needs to be a lonely experience with just you and all your tabs." For those worried about security, Microsoft has emphasized that Copilot VIsion is an entirely optional feature that needs to be manually switched on by a user for it to be enabled.
NASA confirms cracked heatshield in Orion test won't kill the astronauts going to the Moon
NASA has wrapped up a two-year-long investigation into the cracked heatshield on the Artemis I Orion module that landed back on Earth after being sent on a journey around the Moon.
The space agency took to its website to announce the re-entry method of the Orion module during the Artemis I mission was the cause of the cracks. The re-entry method, known as a skip guidance technique, entails the spacecraft "skipping" across the atmospheric layers, analogous to how a thrown stone skips across the surface of water. NASA wrote that Orion dipped into the upper atmosphere and used atmospheric drag to reduce its speed. The spacecraft then initiated aerodynamic lift to skip the capsule back out of the atmosphere, then it re-entered for its final descent into parachutes and splashdown.
After performing more than 100 tests, NASA determined that between skips, Orion's heat shield didn't allow enough of the gasses generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape. This caused some of the material to crack and break off from the heat shield. Avcoat is designed to erode away from the heat shield as the module descends through the atmosphere, increasing in temperature due to friction.