Month: May 2024
College Football 25’s lightest touch — a ticket — is its most sentimental
When players return to EA Sports College Football 25 this July, they’ll make a familiar choice when they first boot… Continue reading College Football 25’s lightest touch — a ticket — is its most sentimental
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When players return to EA Sports College Football 25 this July, they’ll make a familiar choice when they first boot into the game: Pick your favorite school. From there, they’ll get a main screen customized to that college, with its colors, logos, and pictures of the team in action.
But there’s one tiny little feature that had me changing the favorite school setting repeatedly in my hands-on-time with College Football 25 at a preview event EA Sports hosted last week in Orlando. And that’s The Ticket.
In the lower right corner of the screen, amongst the other visual checks to the university’s football tradition, is a mock ticket stub mentioning the school’s home stadium. Look a little closer, and you’ll see this is a reference to its greatest, or at least its most memorable, game played there.
The tickets are the brainchild of producer Ben Haumiller, and I remember him talking about this with me almost two years ago. Ben was almost giddy, blue-skying some of the all-timers and no-brainers that these tickets would reference. (“I gave Miami a Wide Right,” Haumiller said, referencing one of two infamous games Florida State lost to the Hurricanes on a missed field goal.) However small it may seem, its another nod that, taken together, adds up to a huge affirmation of a player’s fandom, if not their own collegiate experience.
For N.C. State, where I graduated in 1995, Ben actually selected a game we both attended: a thundering 2012 upset of Florida State, where Ben graduated. We were at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., where Ben was showing me how EA Sports collected crowd audio for the NCAA Football series it published at the time.
State beat the No. 3 Seminoles 17-16, coming back from a 16-0 halftime deficit to shut out FSU in the second half and mount another inexorable Wolfpack comeback. The upset win resulted in one exuberant State fan getting memed into the stratosphere:
The ticket Ben used for State’s home screen is that guy’s seat. It’s so perfect, it damn near brings tears to my eye.
Among the other big games I saw, California, of course, seemed to be the oldest — 1982’s “The Play” against rival Stanford. Ben gave his alma mater “The Choke at Doak,” That was the 1994 game, in the last year when it was possible to have a tie, when the No. 7 Seminoles behind Danny Kanell and Warrick Dunn, scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to claim a draw with their despised rivals, the No. 4 Florida Gators.
Much as Ben would prefer to give his team an outright victory, if there’s a “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29” moment in major college football, this is it. “We know we’re going to hear in forums, ‘Hey, why didn’t you use this game, it’s a better one,’” Haumiller said. “And if so, we’ll look at it, and we can change it.”
I gave him one immediately. In the build I saw, Navy’s “ticket” was against rival Army, a game that has been played on a neutral field all but five times in 130 years. But in 1984, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, a going-nowhere 3-5-1 Midshipmen crew stunned undefeated and No. 2 South Carolina 38-21, erasing the Gamecocks from the national championship picture with just one game left. The pall of that loss still hangs over Sakerlina’s frustrated football program to this day.
How were College Football 25’s ‘Ticket’ games determined?
Haumiller could only guess at the hours he put into researching this, but as a through-and-through college football fan, he considered it time well spent, personally. “For some of the teams, especially the ones newer to FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision, the top tier] it was a little tough,” Haumiller said. “So I would look for close scores in rivalry games and use those.”
Another limiting factor is it has to be a home win; shocking upsets recorded by Appalachian State in 2007 against Michigan, and Georgia Southern against Florida in 2013, both came on the road (making them even more shocking). And Boise State’s electrifying, kitchen-sink playbook victory over Oklahoma in 2006, which landed quarterback Jared Zabransky on the cover of NCAA Football 07, was a bowl game played in Arizona.
Still, when College Football 25 arrives July 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, take a few minutes to change your favorite team, and just look at some of the tickets that are presented on their main screens. It’s a worthwhile trip deep into the record book, whether or not you’re a fan of the team.
The post College Football 25’s lightest touch — a ticket — is its most sentimental appeared first on ReadWrite.
8BitDo’s new IBM-like keyboard is all show but hits me in my mech heart
There’s something about that green power light on the keyboard’s top-right corner that overwhelms me with a sense of calm. | Image: 8BitDo
I love a good re-skin or fresh coat of paint, and I can be a sucker for a little nostalgia bait just like anyone else. But let’s not mince words here: there’s no way 8BitDo’s upcoming $100 M Edition of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard will stand up to the legendary IBM Model M keyboards of yore — not in sound, typing feel, or relative chonkiness. However, it certainly looks the business, especially with the slick new wireless numpad / calculator combo pad 8BitDo will sell alongside it for another $44.99.
Image: 8BitDo
Somebody tell 8BitDo it doesn’t need to write “Retro” on everything. The design speaks plenty.
The M Edition has the same exact specs as 8BitDo’s previous Retro Keyboards, right down to the top-mount internal design, hot-swap PCB, dual wireless / USB-C wired connectivity, and the included Kailh Box White V2 clicky switches. It’s even got the same big, customizable A and B macro buttons as the NES, Famicom, and Commodore 64 versions (albeit in more subdued colors) — the joyously oversized buttons my former colleague Jon Porter said “stole the show” from the keyboard when he featured them in our ongoing Button of the Month series.
What made the original Model M keyboards so special was their unique buckling spring mechanism, which made a loud and chunky sound with every keypress that was oh-so-pleasing to the ear (and the bane of many co-workers, roommates, and spouses). Any standard clicky Cherry-style switch, while still loud and fun, pales in comparison. 8BitDo demos this itself in its promo video for the M Edition, showing brief typing clips of an original Model M followed by the M Edition. I can appreciate that 8BitDo has no qualms with telling on itself here or trying to pretend the M Edition is anything more than a fun retro vibe.
Image: 8BitDo
Personally, I gave up on numpads when I fell in love with small-format mechanical keyboards. But I’m prepared to love again for some sweet calculator action.
If these retro feels are for you, the new M Edition keyboard and accompanying numpads (which are also coming in the other matching retro colors) are launching July 15th and can be preordered at Amazon or via 8BitDo’s own online store.
There’s something about that green power light on the keyboard’s top-right corner that overwhelms me with a sense of calm. | Image: 8BitDo
I love a good re-skin or fresh coat of paint, and I can be a sucker for a little nostalgia bait just like anyone else. But let’s not mince words here: there’s no way 8BitDo’s upcoming $100 M Edition of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard will stand up to the legendary IBM Model M keyboards of yore — not in sound, typing feel, or relative chonkiness. However, it certainly looks the business, especially with the slick new wireless numpad / calculator combo pad 8BitDo will sell alongside it for another $44.99.
Image: 8BitDo
Somebody tell 8BitDo it doesn’t need to write “Retro” on everything. The design speaks plenty.
The M Edition has the same exact specs as 8BitDo’s previous Retro Keyboards, right down to the top-mount internal design, hot-swap PCB, dual wireless / USB-C wired connectivity, and the included Kailh Box White V2 clicky switches. It’s even got the same big, customizable A and B macro buttons as the NES, Famicom, and Commodore 64 versions (albeit in more subdued colors) — the joyously oversized buttons my former colleague Jon Porter said “stole the show” from the keyboard when he featured them in our ongoing Button of the Month series.
What made the original Model M keyboards so special was their unique buckling spring mechanism, which made a loud and chunky sound with every keypress that was oh-so-pleasing to the ear (and the bane of many co-workers, roommates, and spouses). Any standard clicky Cherry-style switch, while still loud and fun, pales in comparison. 8BitDo demos this itself in its promo video for the M Edition, showing brief typing clips of an original Model M followed by the M Edition. I can appreciate that 8BitDo has no qualms with telling on itself here or trying to pretend the M Edition is anything more than a fun retro vibe.
Image: 8BitDo
Personally, I gave up on numpads when I fell in love with small-format mechanical keyboards. But I’m prepared to love again for some sweet calculator action.
If these retro feels are for you, the new M Edition keyboard and accompanying numpads (which are also coming in the other matching retro colors) are launching July 15th and can be preordered at Amazon or via 8BitDo’s own online store.
Sony is working on a PC adapter for the PlayStation VR2
Sony promised earlier this year that it would free the PlayStation VR2 from the shackles of the PS5 by letting folks use it with their PC. We’re starting to get a fuller picture of what that might look like, as the company appears to be working on a PC adapter for the headset.
A Korean filing recently unearthed by VR and mixed-reality enthusiast Brad Lynch (as noted by The Verge) indicates that the company has created such a peripheral. There are no details on how the adapter works, what it looks like or how much it will cost, but it lends credence to previous evidence that the headset would have a wired PC connection.
Sony is certifying an adapter to allow PSVR2 hardware to work on PCs pic.twitter.com/JFQDJVW7NP— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) May 29, 2024
It’s unclear what kind of connectivity Sony is looking at here. Unlike its convoluted predecessor, PS VR2 hooks up to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable. Meta Quest headsets, meanwhile, use a USB 3 connection for PC gaming. Perhaps Sony is looking at tapping into DisplayPort or HDMI ports to improve image fidelity.
The company will be hoping that PC support will help drive sales of its headset, which hasn’t exactly set the world alight. The PS VR2 hardware is actually pretty great, but it’s been held back by several factors, including a limited library of games via PS5. Users will have a far larger selection of VR games to dive into on PC.
As it happens, the PS VR2 is currently $100 off as part of Sony’s Days of Play sale. The discount applies to both the standalone headset (down from $550 to $450) and the Horizon: Call of the Mountain bundle, which has dropped to $500.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-is-working-on-a-pc-adapter-for-the-playstation-vr2-151529342.html?src=rss
Sony promised earlier this year that it would free the PlayStation VR2 from the shackles of the PS5 by letting folks use it with their PC. We’re starting to get a fuller picture of what that might look like, as the company appears to be working on a PC adapter for the headset.
A Korean filing recently unearthed by VR and mixed-reality enthusiast Brad Lynch (as noted by The Verge) indicates that the company has created such a peripheral. There are no details on how the adapter works, what it looks like or how much it will cost, but it lends credence to previous evidence that the headset would have a wired PC connection.
Sony is certifying an adapter to allow PSVR2 hardware to work on PCs pic.twitter.com/JFQDJVW7NP
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) May 29, 2024
It’s unclear what kind of connectivity Sony is looking at here. Unlike its convoluted predecessor, PS VR2 hooks up to the PS5 with a single USB-C cable. Meta Quest headsets, meanwhile, use a USB 3 connection for PC gaming. Perhaps Sony is looking at tapping into DisplayPort or HDMI ports to improve image fidelity.
The company will be hoping that PC support will help drive sales of its headset, which hasn’t exactly set the world alight. The PS VR2 hardware is actually pretty great, but it’s been held back by several factors, including a limited library of games via PS5. Users will have a far larger selection of VR games to dive into on PC.
As it happens, the PS VR2 is currently $100 off as part of Sony’s Days of Play sale. The discount applies to both the standalone headset (down from $550 to $450) and the Horizon: Call of the Mountain bundle, which has dropped to $500.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-is-working-on-a-pc-adapter-for-the-playstation-vr2-151529342.html?src=rss
Lego’s new 2,500-piece ‘Legend of Zelda’ set costs as much as a Nintendo Switch
The Lego set costs as much as a Nintendo Switch.
PREORDER: As of May 29, the new Lego The Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 set ($299.99) is available for preorder through the Lego Store. It starts shipping on Sept. 1.
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…Open your eyes… and your wallet. Lego and Nintendo have announced the first-ever building set based on The Legend of Zelda franchise, a brickified model of the Great Deku Tree that’s accompanied by Link and Princess Zelda minifigurines. It’s priced at $299.99 — the same as a regular (non-OLED) Nintendo Switch, for the record — and it’s set for release on Sept. 1, if you’re looking for a good Labor Day weekend project. Preorders are now live exclusively in the Lego Store.
Geared toward ages 18 and up, the 2,500-piece set can be built two different ways based on the Great Deku Tree’s two appearances in the Zelda series. The Ocarina of Time version features green leaves, a drop-down Skulltula enemy, and a miniature model of Link’s House, while the Breath of the Wild one has a rootier design, pink blossoms, a moving face, and a miniature model of the Master Sword pedestal.
Credit: Lego / Nintendo / Mashable composite
The set comes with four minifigs total: You’ve got Link and Young Link from OoT dressed in green tunics, plus Zelda and Link from BotW dressed in sky blue garb. They’re joined by a whole cast of buildable characters and critters, including Hestu the Korok (with his maracas), a couple of smaller Koroks, Deku Babas, Navi the Fairy, and the Deku Sprout. The gang’s all here.
“Our fans have been asking for a Lego set based on The Legend of Zelda series for a while so we were delighted to work with Nintendo to create the Great Deku Tree in brick form,” said Lego designer Wes Talbott in a press release. “As a fan of the franchise, it was great to work on this set and fill it with details and references from the games.”
Credit: Lego / Nintendo
The set represents an ongoing collab between Lego and Nintendo, which have previously teamed up on sets inspired by the Super Mario and Animal Crossing series. If their previous drops are any indication, this new 2-in-1 Great Deku Tree will likely sell out fast at launch despite its high price tag.
Sony’s next State of Play stream is 30 minutes of PS5 and VR games
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
It begins. The summer showcase of games technically doesn’t officially start until Summer Game Fest next week, but Sony decided it wanted to get a jump on things by announcing its next State of Play event on Thursday, May 30th, starting at 6PM ET.
State of Play returns with a 30+ minute broadcast this Thursday at 3pm PT / 11pm BST: https://t.co/eJWbP09sv3Tune in live for updates on 14 PS5 and PS VR2 titles, including a look at PlayStation Studios titles arriving later this year. pic.twitter.com/B6Uc6aLWKF— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 29, 2024
Sony’s showcase is expected to be densely packed, lasting 30 minutes but featuring 14 titles. That’s a game roughly every two minutes or a handful of premium games at several minutes apiece, with a shotgun blast of smaller games. Regardless of how the timing shakes out, we can probably expect some big announcements.
I’m hoping for more news on Kingdom Hearts IV. There’s probably going to be some news about a new Astro Bot game that was rumored to be announced soon. Bungie might show off a new Marathon trailer or share more details about Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion that’s launching next week. And we might get official confirmation regarding when PSVR 2 is getting PC support.
Sony’s not the only presentation slotted for tomorrow. At 7PM ET, conveniently after the State of Play is over, Konami’s putting on a Silent Hill Transmission event that will likely feature new info on Silent Hill F, Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake, and the upcoming movie. Brace yourselves, everyone. The summer showcase of games is officially here, and it is gonna be Like This for at least the next month.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
It begins. The summer showcase of games technically doesn’t officially start until Summer Game Fest next week, but Sony decided it wanted to get a jump on things by announcing its next State of Play event on Thursday, May 30th, starting at 6PM ET.
State of Play returns with a 30+ minute broadcast this Thursday at 3pm PT / 11pm BST: https://t.co/eJWbP09sv3
Tune in live for updates on 14 PS5 and PS VR2 titles, including a look at PlayStation Studios titles arriving later this year. pic.twitter.com/B6Uc6aLWKF
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 29, 2024
Sony’s showcase is expected to be densely packed, lasting 30 minutes but featuring 14 titles. That’s a game roughly every two minutes or a handful of premium games at several minutes apiece, with a shotgun blast of smaller games. Regardless of how the timing shakes out, we can probably expect some big announcements.
I’m hoping for more news on Kingdom Hearts IV. There’s probably going to be some news about a new Astro Bot game that was rumored to be announced soon. Bungie might show off a new Marathon trailer or share more details about Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion that’s launching next week. And we might get official confirmation regarding when PSVR 2 is getting PC support.
Sony’s not the only presentation slotted for tomorrow. At 7PM ET, conveniently after the State of Play is over, Konami’s putting on a Silent Hill Transmission event that will likely feature new info on Silent Hill F, Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake, and the upcoming movie. Brace yourselves, everyone. The summer showcase of games is officially here, and it is gonna be Like This for at least the next month.
Apple TV: The Latest Rumors About a New Model and Possible $99 Price
It has been over a year and a half since the current Apple TV was released, so you may be wondering when a new model will be released. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV, including new features and lower pricing.
The current Apple TV 4K was introduced in October 2022. Key new features compared to the previous model from 2021 include a faster A15 Bionic chip, a larger 128GB storage option, a slightly thinner and lighter design, HDR10+ support, a USB-C port on the Siri Remote, a lower $129 starting price vs. $179, and more.
In January 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that a new Apple TV was on track for release in the first half of 2024:Beyond the future smart displays and new speaker, Apple is working on revamping its TV box. A new version with the current design is in the works for the first half of next year with a faster processor, the people said.With only one month remaining in the first half of 2024, it is unclear if this timeframe remains accurate. A new Apple TV could be unveiled at the WWDC keynote on June 10, but no hardware announcements have been firmly rumored for the event.
Here is when the previous five Apple TV models were announced:
Third-generation Apple TV 4K: October 2022
Second-generation Apple TV 4K: April 2021
First-generation Apple TV 4K: September 2017
Apple TV HD: September 2015
Third-generation Apple TV: March 2012
Regardless of when it is unveiled, the next Apple TV is rumored to feature a faster processor than the current A15 Bionic chip, and even lower pricing. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the next Apple TV could have a sub-$100 starting price.
Both the second-generation (2010) and third-generation (2012) versions of the Apple TV were priced at $99 in the U.S. at launch, and Apple eventually lowered the price of the third-generation model to $69, so there is precedent for a sub-$100 Apple TV that would better compete with low-priced streaming devices sold by Google, Amazon, and Roku.
No major design changes have been rumored for the next Apple TV specifically, but Gurman said Apple has considered adding a built-in camera to a future model. tvOS 17 added a FaceTime app to the Apple TV, allowing for users to have video calls by using the rear camera on a connected iPhone or iPad. If the Apple TV gained a built-in camera, users would no longer need to rely on an external device for video calls on the TV.
Should the WWDC keynote pass without any new Apple TV announcement, then there will no longer be any active rumor for when the next model might launch.Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)Related Forum: Apple TV and Home TheaterThis article, “Apple TV: The Latest Rumors About a New Model and Possible $99 Price” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
It has been over a year and a half since the current Apple TV was released, so you may be wondering when a new model will be released. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV, including new features and lower pricing.
The current Apple TV 4K was introduced in October 2022. Key new features compared to the previous model from 2021 include a faster A15 Bionic chip, a larger 128GB storage option, a slightly thinner and lighter design, HDR10+ support, a USB-C port on the Siri Remote, a lower $129 starting price vs. $179, and more.
In January 2023, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that a new Apple TV was on track for release in the first half of 2024:Beyond the future smart displays and new speaker, Apple is working on revamping its TV box. A new version with the current design is in the works for the first half of next year with a faster processor, the people said.With only one month remaining in the first half of 2024, it is unclear if this timeframe remains accurate. A new Apple TV could be unveiled at the WWDC keynote on June 10, but no hardware announcements have been firmly rumored for the event.
Here is when the previous five Apple TV models were announced:
Third-generation Apple TV 4K: October 2022
Second-generation Apple TV 4K: April 2021
First-generation Apple TV 4K: September 2017
Apple TV HD: September 2015
Third-generation Apple TV: March 2012
Regardless of when it is unveiled, the next Apple TV is rumored to feature a faster processor than the current A15 Bionic chip, and even lower pricing. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the next Apple TV could have a sub-$100 starting price.
Both the second-generation (2010) and third-generation (2012) versions of the Apple TV were priced at $99 in the U.S. at launch, and Apple eventually lowered the price of the third-generation model to $69, so there is precedent for a sub-$100 Apple TV that would better compete with low-priced streaming devices sold by Google, Amazon, and Roku.
No major design changes have been rumored for the next Apple TV specifically, but Gurman said Apple has considered adding a built-in camera to a future model. tvOS 17 added a FaceTime app to the Apple TV, allowing for users to have video calls by using the rear camera on a connected iPhone or iPad. If the Apple TV gained a built-in camera, users would no longer need to rely on an external device for video calls on the TV.
Should the WWDC keynote pass without any new Apple TV announcement, then there will no longer be any active rumor for when the next model might launch.
This article, “Apple TV: The Latest Rumors About a New Model and Possible $99 Price” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
New European cities arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s City Update 7
Microsoft and developers Asabo continue to consistently upgrade and enhance Microsoft Flight Simulator, even with a new version of the… Continue reading New European cities arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s City Update 7
The post New European cities arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s City Update 7 appeared first on ReadWrite.
Microsoft and developers Asabo continue to consistently upgrade and enhance Microsoft Flight Simulator, even with a new version of the classic sim in the pipeline.
The latest addition is the serious upgrade of several of Europe’s most popular cities with the team saying, “The Microsoft Flight Simulator team and its partners captured these renowned cities in exquisite detail using recent high-resolution aerial imagery, digital elevation data, and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface modeling. This latest release invites simmers to choose their preferred aircraft to explore these vibrant locales, from the French Riviera to the skyscrapers of Stockholm.”
I actually thought that was a strange thing to say, ‘the skyscrapers of Stockholm’ as I have been there and can’t remember it being overly notable for skyscrapers. Even a quick Google reveals a relatively flat, yet beautiful city. Ah well, we all always adore alliteration so we will ignore that.
So these are the cities that have undergone the makeover this time around: – Sweden’s Stockholm, France’s Nice and neighboring Monaco, Portugal’s Porto, and Spain’s Barcelona and Madrid.
As ever the update is available totally free of charge to Microsoft Flight Simmers (and the game is on Game Pass if you haven’t tried it yet). Just head to the to in-game store and download it from there.
A new Local Legend aircraft – the Short SC.7 Skyvan, which is known as the ‘Flying Shoebox’ has also been released and this horrific-looking rectangular plane can also be taken for a spin around the new terrain.
Meanwhile the Top Gun: Maverick expansion was due to be removed last week as the movie license had expired, but this has now been extended for a further two months, meaning you have until July 25th to feel the need, the need for speed – maybe in the skies above a skyscraper packed Stockholm.
The post New European cities arrive in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s City Update 7 appeared first on ReadWrite.