Satya Nadella, CEO of the company, is very hard on exclusive games and PlayStation.
Harsh statements have been recently made by Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft. The top representative of the Redmond-based company has strongly criticized console-exclusive video games and also taken a swipe at its main rival at present, Sony, and its PlayStation division.
In the context of the ongoing FTC and Microsoft lawsuit over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by the latter, the head of Microsoft has stated, “If it were up to me, I would love to eliminate console exclusives, but that’s not for me to specifically define, as I have a low market share in the console market.”
Here, Nadella already drops the first bombshell, but the grand finale comes next: “The dominant entity [Sony] has defined competition in the market using exclusives, so this is the world we live in. I don’t like that world at all.” Clear, direct, and without mincing words.
These statements from Nadella come shortly after learning that Jim Ryan, the head of PlayStation, has also launched his attacks on Microsoft. In the trial, Ryan commented that Xbox Game Pass offers a “destructive to the value” of developed games, which is why Sony is investing “massively” in its own productions.
There is no doubt that Nadella’s comments are made from the perspective of being the third party in the market, as Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, also mentioned during this trial. Lagging behind Nintendo and Sony, Microsoft has a “low market share” (sic) and needs to make a leap to become more competitive. If Xbox exclusives were the ones achieving success instead of Nintendo or PlayStation, would we have heard him uttering these words? I have my doubts…
The Rockstar Games title is preparing with a lot of new content for this special week in the United States.
New week in Grand Theft Auto Online, new additions coming to the game; and to top it off, this week comes with many completely free elements. In celebration of Independence Day in the United States, players will receive a free Vapid Liberator monster truck, an off-road vehicle that can be found at Warstock Cache & Carry. Additionally, the Stars n’ Stripes Tire Smoke, Eagle Claw, Flag Eagle Claw, and Freedom for the Mobile Operations Center liveries are also free throughout the week.
From this great gift, Rockstar Games delights us with more updates for the online mode of GTA. To start with, there are 50% discounts on vehicles, customizations, weapons, fireworks, and more themed items. The list is as follows:
Western Sovereign (motorcycle)
Horns
Musket
Firework Launcher
Firework Ammo
Tire Smoke/Parachute Smoke
Face Paint and Clothing
Weapon Mk II Finishes
Selection of Haircuts
Masks
Patriotic Parachutes
USA Backpack
In addition to the above, if you locate the Mobile Operations Center, you can purchase the Firework Launcher and Musket at a discounted price.
Dynamic event and more
We have a new dynamic event called “Finders Keepers.” The objective is simple: keep an eye on the gangs transporting goods in Los Santos and disrupt their supply chains. From there, you can seize any of the found transport vehicles and take them to your own businesses to replenish your supplies. If you don’t meet the prerequisites for your business, you can deliver the goods to a drop-off point to earn GTA$ and RP.
Once you’ve acquired enough valuable contraband, you can unload it by land or air through the Smuggler Sell Missions at the Free Trade Shipping Co. on your hangar’s laptop. If you complete these missions before July 5th, you’ll earn double rewards, along with a series of additional bonuses before July 12th.
If you don’t already have them, purchase the Operations Center and Mammoth Thruster upgrades for the Mammoth Avenger to receive the Hinterland Bomber.
Sell contraband cargo worth $500,000 GTA before July 12th to receive the LS Pounders Cap.
Complete all 6 Airfreight Cargo missions before July 12th to unlock the Blue and Green Camouflage Cover for the Mammoth Avenger.
Complete all 3 LSIA Dispatch missions before July 12th to receive the Carrier Cover for the V-65 Molotok.
Keep an eye out for Business Battles happening in Freemode: not only will they offer triple GTA$ and RP throughout the week, but if you reach the top by collecting and delivering relevant cargo, you’ll earn bonus items such as the Pisswasser Cap, Benedict Cap, Patriot Cap, Supa Wet Cap, or Happiness Statue T-Shirt. Additionally, if you protect or attack a heavily armored aircraft en route to its destination, you’ll earn double rewards.
Vehicles for all
Players on PS5 and Xbox Series X | S can visit Hao’s Special Works to purchase customizations and take a spin in this week’s premium test vehicle: the Imponte Arbiter GT (supercar) with numerous modifications, ready to intimidate the competition, passengers, and pedestrians alike. Additionally, this week’s HSW time trial is a challenging stretch from Sandy Shores to La Puerta.
Now, on all platforms, let’s talk about luxury cars. This week, we have the following to try out:
Karin Boor (off-road) with the Patriot Stars and Stripes livery.
Truffade Z-Type (classic sports car).
Western Sovereign (motorcycle) with the Independence Day livery.
Annis RE-7B (supercar) with the Pegasus livery.
Vapid Bullet (supercar).
Meanwhile, at Luxury Autos in Portola, Rockford Hills, the cars available for purchase are:
Truffade Thrax (supercar).
Grotti Visione (supercar, 30% off).
At The Diamond Casino & Resort, players can win the Vapid Dominator GTX, a modern and formidable speedster, as American as tax evasion. Additionally, daring racers who finish in the top three of the Pursuit Series for two consecutive days this week will win the keys to the Grotti Cheetah Classic, a favorite among classic sports car enthusiasts and a speed demon in its own right.
And finally, by visiting the test track within the LS Car Meet, players can test drive a trio of sports cars: the Annis ZR350, the Invetero Coquette D10, and the Pfister Neon.
The Steam summer sales have arrived and we have made a selection of the best offers, taking into account budgets so that you can choose.
It has arrived that time of the year. The moment when our wallets cry because Gabe Newell decides it’s time to coordinate all the studios in the world to lighten our pockets. We’re talking about the Steam Summer Sale. That’s why, so you don’t get lost in the immense sea of games offered by Steam, we bring you a selection of the best games, divided into different budgets, and why you should play them.
My wallet doesn’t hurt (games of 40 euros or more)
This is the Crown Jewel. No deal is going to be juicier than this. The Steam Deck won’t have a replacement anytime soon, and it has a juicy discount depending on the version you’re interested in. 10% off for the 64GB, 15% off for the 256GB, and 20% off for the 512GB. If you’re considering buying a Steam Deck and have the money, this is the moment to go for it. It’s unlikely that you’ll find it cheaper than this in the near future.
This remake of the 2008 game developed by the sadly defunct EA Redwood Shores is one of the most surprising and chilling horror games of the year. Why? Its use of light and sound takes advantage of next-gen technology to make an already claustrophobic game even more intense. In terms of design, it not only hasn’t aged, but its weaker aspects, specifically the puzzle and exploration elements, have been greatly improved in this remake, which serves as a prime example of how a remake should be done when aiming to stay as faithful as possible to the original. Dead Space, the 2023 version, is the game we remembered in our heads as Dead Space from 2008. An absolute must-play for horror fans.
Although it originally released in Japan in 2014, we never got to see Like a Dragon: Ishin! in the West because Sega believed that no one outside of Japan would be interested in Japanese culture or samurai stories. An utterly incomprehensible thought for any Westerner. After the success of the seventh installment in the Yakuza franchise and its name change to the Japanese title, Like A Dragon, they decided to bring the game’s remaster to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. Gameplay-wise, it may not be as polished as the latest entries in the Yakuza series, but in terms of atmosphere and storytelling, it is an absolute fantasy. It’s a fun and tense game with a narrative full of bewildering twists that will delight fans of Yakuza, fans of samurai stories, and it also serves as a perfect entry point to the beat ’em up aspect of the franchise.
There’s little to say about Call of Duty that hasn’t been said already. Its fans hardly play anything else, while non-fans are unlikely to take interest in a game from the franchise. Sometimes their campaigns are good, other times they are a disaster, but their multiplayer is always excellent. In the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, it was one of those instances where the franchise offered us a decent campaign and a particularly polished multiplayer, making it one of the most solid entries in the franchise in recent years. If it has been a while since you played a Call of Duty game and you’re looking for one to invest hours in for the years to come, look no further: this is your Call of Duty.
Let’s not overdo it (Games between 20 and 30 euros).
Cyberpunk was a disastrous game at its launch, but it has gradually managed to redeem itself in the eyes of players. Let’s not deceive ourselves: it’s still not the marvel we were promised, with gameplay that is not always great and a narrative that sometimes stumbles. Does that mean it’s a bad game? Absolutely not. Cyberpunk is an interesting game, with ups and downs that, if we can overlook, provides us with a classic CD Projekt experience and countless hours of gameplay. Furthermore, with the DLC just around the corner, the game’s universe is only going to expand further.
Among arcade-style racing games that still maintain a touch of simulation, it’s undeniable that Forza Horizon 5 is the current king. Continuing with its open-world style, reinforcing the idea of navigating the map and trying out different challenges and events created by other players, it is an extensive and practically infinite game where the act of driving is not the least important, but rather driving in a specific way. The most important thing in Forza Horizon 5 is to enjoy the act of driving. Discovering what brings you joy, seeking it out, and never stopping unless you want to. Because that’s what the franchise is all about: having fun.
Hideo Kojima is one of the great creators in the gaming industry, and for good reason. Aside from creating the Metal Gear Solid series, he has made an indelible mark on the medium with many other games that have pushed the boundaries of what video games can be. Take, for example, Death Stranding. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the main mechanic of the game is walking. And Hideo Kojima manages to make walking fun. It’s a beautiful game, excellently written, and incredibly enjoyable to play.
If you enjoy classic J-RPGs in the vein of Terranigma, Final Fantasy VI, or Chrono Trigger, and you’re itching for something in that style but don’t want to play something retro, look no further. Chained Echoes is a game heavily inspired by 90s Japanese role-playing games, incorporating many quality-of-life features and a modernized approach to the genre. It offers both a nostalgic experience and holds up perfectly to the standards of 2023.
Resident Evil is a franchise that has been delivering great games ever since its triumphant return with Resident Evil 7. Thanks to that, we can now enjoy true masterpieces like the Resident Evil 2 remake for just ten euros, which is an absolute steal. Is the game only a couple of hours long, three at most? Yes, for each of the two main playable characters. That doesn’t even include the Mercenaries mode or any of the other additional content. Not to mention the periodic urge to replay it every now and then with the excuse that, hey, it’s actually quite short.
Disco Elysium is the best RPG released in the last five years, and this is not even up for debate. Narratively superb, artistically astounding, and musically awe-inspiring, it is a true masterpiece. What’s the synopsis? We play as a detective who has been sent to investigate a murder case in a neglected district forgotten by the government. Waking up with a deadly hangover, we don’t remember our names and we don’t have our gun, badge, or pants with us. Does it sound like a comedy? Well, this game will make you laugh as much as it will make you cry.
For strategy fans. For those who want to squeeze every ounce of gameplay. For those who want every euro they spend to translate into the maximum amount of gaming hours. Here it is. The ultimate cathedral of lost hours, the “just one more turn” syndrome, the game that makes you start playing at 5 in the afternoon and when you look at the clock again, it’s already 11 at night. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI follows a long lineage of great games, and its sixth installment does not disappoint in hooking us and never letting us go.
If you don’t have the budget for Call of Duty or have always felt that it lacks something, like more solid campaigns and better individual games, we have excellent news for you. Titanfall 2 has the best campaign of any shooter that has been released in many years, and it costs just a little more than a breakfast in a big city. With fabulous gunplay, amazing weapons, and incredible mech scenes, Titanfall 2 is a game that probably will never have, but deserves, a third installment.
Recommending Vampire Survivors is like recommending slot machines or cocaine. It’s simply not right to do so. Why? Because it’s highly addictive. It’s very straightforward: our character shoots automatically, and we have to move them to destroy enemies that appear in endless waves. But the sound, the lights, the effects—everything is perfect for keeping us in a constant trance-like state. And just when it seems like we’re about to lose ourselves, something pops up on the screen—we’ve gained a power, an attack, something new in this round or on this account. Vampire Survivors is addictive because it’s designed to be that way. Run in the opposite direction. Or dive headfirst.
Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.
16 minutes of an educational video about sex that, on top of that, you have to eat in an amusement park, on vacation and with your parents by your side.
When I was a teenager, I remember my parents buying me a video cassette titled ‘What’s Happening to Me?’ It detailed, in great detail, the physical and mental changes that occur during adolescence. It was a fun, educational, and entertaining tape that, undoubtedly, caused a lot of embarrassment. But there is always something that can take embarrassment to the extreme, as it’s now called “cringe”: getting caught by your parents on websites you shouldn’t be visiting? A sex scene in a movie? Those are trivial matters.
Imagine that it’s 1990 and your parents have finally taken you, after much insistence, to Disneyworld. While strolling through Epcot, the second of the four parks in the complex, twice the size of the Magic Kingdom, you come across a pavilion called Wonders of Life. Amid monorails and large glass pyramids, they’re showing a 15-minute film—an animated and live-action short titled ‘The Making of Me’—which is exactly what you’re thinking.
Sixteen minutes of an educational video about sex that you have to sit through in an amusement park, during your vacation, with your parents right beside you. I think I’ve had nightmares like that. And mind you, the video was actually designed specifically for the North American audience, known for its puritanical tendencies. In a “Back to the Future” style, we follow Martin Short (yes, the comedian you can now see in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ and who previously made all the dirty jokes in the world) as he learns about how he was created.
Luckily, nobody expected any explicit scenes in ‘The Making of Me.’ The short film simply explained how your parents went to the prom (you know, that prom in Cuenca), dated for a while, got married, and then, in great detail, it showed how dad planted a seed in mom. The audience left ‘The Making of Me’ feeling rather confused: yes, it was informative, but… why at Disneyworld? Why delve into such complex matters? What was the need for it?
In 2007, after 18 years of uninterrupted screenings, ‘The Making of Me’ was replaced with a food documentary, never to be shown again. Disneyworld learned its lesson, Martin Short avoided getting into trouble like that again, and the amusement park focused on much more ordinary things like a children’s Mickey Mouse disco or a short-lived electro-space music group. Disneyworld: a thousand stories, none of them ordinary.
Baldur’s Gate 3 had a close release date, but now it has become absolutely imminent with the date change they’ve made.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most anticipated game for many people, especially for fans of western role-playing games and Dungeons & Dragons in particular. It’s not surprising because, even though it’s still in early access, what can be played of the game is already absolutely fabulous and it has continued to grow over time, even with a lot of content yet to be added. The remaining content has now been finalized, and finally, an exact release date has been announced in a community update on the game’s Steam page. There’s great news for PC players and just a slight disappointment for PlayStation 5 players.
The game will be released on PC on August 3, earlier than its original release date of August 31. On the other hand, the PlayStation 5 version will have to wait six days longer than expected, as it will not be released until September 6. This delay is due to the difference in polishing both versions.
While the PC version is essentially complete, the PlayStation 5 version still needs some polishing. At Larian Studios, the studio behind the game, they aim to deliver a consistent 60FPS experience on PlayStation 5 without any drops, and although they are close to achieving it, they are still in the process of fine-tuning it. As they do not want to compromise the quality of the game by setting an arbitrary date that they believe they cannot meet, they have decided to prioritize the PC players by advancing the release date. Meanwhile, they will continue to work on polishing the details to provide PlayStation 5 players with the best possible version of the game.
Among other intriguing details that explain the heights reached by Larian in this game, it is said that Baldur’s Gate 3 has more cinematic dialogue than the three Lord of the Rings novels combined. Together. This is due to its 174 hours of cinematics, twice the length of each season of Game of Thrones. Together. This gives context to the absolutely massive volume that Larian aspires to achieve with this game.
Furthermore, they have specified some important details about what we can expect from the final version of the game. We will be able to choose from 12 classes and 46 different subclasses, 11 races and 31 different subraces, 37 feats to choose from at certain levels to enhance our characters, over 600 spells and subspells, a story mode, and a hardcore mode. Additionally, everything will be fully translated into both European Spanish and Latin American Spanish, with cinematics dubbed in English and Spanish subtitles. This demonstrates that Larian is not content with creating a good game; they aim to make an exceptional game. And if you are playing on PC, congratulations: you won’t have to wait much longer to experience it.
The curious thing is that researchers have discovered that, compared to opioids, a placebo is more effective in reducing acute back and neck pain – in the short term. Yes, the placebo.
Lower back and neck pain is a global issue. Clinical guidelines recommend opioids, a class of drugs that mimic the pain-relieving properties of opium derived from the poppy plant, to be prescribed when other forms of analgesia are contraindicated or have not worked.
Despite these guidelines, millions of people receive opioids as a first-line treatment after experiencing lower back and neck pain.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, opioids were dispensed at a rate of 43.3 prescriptions per 100 people in 2020. In other words, 43 out of every 100 people take opioids.
Although opioids are effective in reducing pain, they can lead to adverse side effects such as dependence, abuse, and overdose. Furthermore, there is no solid evidence to support their effectiveness in treating acute back and neck pain.
A study conducted by researchers from the University of Sydney (Australia) has examined the short-term and long-term effectiveness and safety of opioid use for treating acute back and neck pain. This study is the first of its kind.
The researchers recruited 347 participants with acute lower back pain, acute neck pain, or both. For the study, “acute” was defined as at least moderate pain lasting for 12 weeks or less.
— The Chubby News Linkdump Standard Herald Tribune (@ChubbyNews) June 29, 2023
After being randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or the opioid oxycodone, up to 20 mg daily, for six weeks, the participants were followed up for 12 months.
Both groups received standard care, which included avoiding bed rest and staying active, and the intensity of pain was measured at six weeks.
The study found that at six weeks, participants who received opioids did not experience greater pain relief than those who took a placebo.
Even short-term use of an opioid did not provide benefits in reducing pain and caused a slight increase in pain in the medium and long term compared to the placebo. More people in the placebo group recovered within the first 14 days than those in the opioid group.
Let’s look at a couple of tools to consider when blocking unwanted messages on the iPhone.
Occasionally, unwanted content finds its way into the Messages app on the iPhone. Whether they come from acquaintances, strangers, or even fraudulent sources, these messages can be truly bothersome, particularly when they persist. Fortunately, we can block them on the iPhone and also report them to both Apple and our carrier.
This free game demonstrates how, with Wordle’s design foundations, it is possible to make equally successful games… and much more difficult.
Wordle became a success because it offered simple and easily understandable entertainment, even for people without knowledge of video games or technology. It took a popular pre-existing knowledge and gave it a twist that could be endlessly iterated over time. Wordle is nothing more than a word-guessing game that can be replicated indefinitely and can spawn clones indefinitely. It is easy to play, easy to copy, and hard not to enjoy. This is also true for the game that is starting to make waves on the internet: The Password Game.
Neal Agarwal is a programmer who, in just two months, has developed a game called The Password Game. The rules are simple. We have to create a password following the rules. Each time we fulfill a rule, a new one is added. Fulfilling the new rules does not exclude having to fulfill the previous ones. That’s it.
The first four rules are simple. It must have at least five characters, include a number, have at least one capital letter, and at least one special character. A classic set of password requirements. The fifth rule complicates things a bit more. The digits in our password must sum up to 25. The sixth rule asks us to add a month of the year. The seventh rule requires a Roman numeral. The eighth rule involves one of the sponsors of the page. The ninth rule asks that our Roman numerals be multiplied by 35. The tenth rule introduces a captcha. From here on, the game only becomes stranger, more difficult, and more delirious. It forces us to visit other web pages, solve different games, and blindly navigate through a game that, with each answer, makes us review all the previous ones.
I can't believe people are actually beating the password game, the human spirit is strong
The Password Game, since its release on Tuesday the 27th, has already garnered over 11,000 retweets. Ironically, Neal Agarwal, the creator of the game, admits to being unable to beat the game himself. While it is not impossible to complete the game—some people have already done it—Agarwal has only managed to fulfill up to rule twenty-eight, as he shared in a conversation with Polygon. It’s not surprising considering how devilishly challenging it is, but it’s also incredibly fun. It hits all the right notes that Wordle did, but in a much more playful and, above all, sarcastic manner.
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed, the United States plunged right into the thick of World War II, and for whatever reason, Dumbo no longer seemed so important.
On March 3, 1923, exactly a century ago, Time magazine began appearing on newsstands across the United States with the idea of becoming a weekly publication delivering news with depth, significance, and importance. What is now known as “a long read,” so to speak. Four years after its launch, the magazine‘s editors had a brilliant idea: to award a Person of the Year, for better or for worse. For instance, in 1927, it went to Charles Lindbergh, who had just completed his transatlantic flight. Fifteen years later, the situation was very different, but it also involved soaring achievements.
All American presidents (except Gerald Ford) had their moment in Time magazine as Men of the Year, as did communist leaders, Popes, and even astronauts. In fact, Adolf Hitler even received the “Man of the Year” award in 1938. As we mentioned, the cover is given for better or for worse, and indeed, under Hitler’s photo playing the organ, the caption read “From the unholy organist, a song of hate.” As Indiana Jones would say, “Too many Nazis.”
The good news is that even we won the award in 2006, where the Person of the Year was “You,” referring to the Internet content creators. In fact, over the years, there has been a gradual shift towards awarding ideas rather than individuals: the spirit of Ukraine, the computer, Ebola fighters, American women, and so on. However, it has never been awarded to a fictional character… at least, not until 1941 when Dumbo, the Disney elephant, was about to grace the cover as the “Mammal of the Year.”
The Disney film meant everything or nothing for the studio. To put it in gamer terms, it was a final fantasy after the failures of ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Fantasia’. Even in the midst of World War II, the movie was a success and provided a much-needed boost before they closed (as we now know, they never did and grew to become everything). How could it not be immortalized?
In fact, Disney even created the cover for the issue, featuring a black and white Dumbo looking downtrodden and without a smile, reflecting the somber times. But on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the United States was thrust directly into the midst of World War II. For whatever reason, Dumbo no longer seemed as significant. The cover was changed to feature General MacArthur, and the Person of the Year became President Roosevelt.
However, inside the magazine, readers could still find pages dedicated to Dumbo, as if they had bestowed the honor on him due to lack of time to change it. It would have been quite a mess, and for whatever reason, it would have been considered in poor taste. Over the years, Time changed its way of thinking. “Man of the Year” became “Person of the Year,” and several covers were dedicated to showcasing the “Women of the Year” who had been overlooked since 1927. No fictional character has ever come close to winning the award. But you might believe that an elephant could indeed be the Mammal of the Year.
If you’ve ever looked with envy at an Instagram celebrity for having a check mark next to their name, you’ll soon be able to pay for it.
2023 will be remembered in the world of social media as the year when the trend of paying for verification began to spread. Verified badges or blue checkmarks were initially meant to highlight influential individuals from various fields, but both Twitter (the pioneer) and Meta have expanded that concept significantly.
While Twitter completely removed the old verification system, retaining only the Twitter Blue checkmarks, Meta’s plans are more moderate. They combine the traditional verification system for relevant individuals with a new subscription-based system called Meta Verified, allowing users to pay for a blue checkmark next to their names on Facebook and Instagram.
This subscription system was initially launched in February as a trial for users in Australia and New Zealand, and in April, it was rolled out in the United States. Now, Meta intends to expand access to this “eye-catching” feature and will launch Meta Verified in Latin America this week, followed by a global rollout in the coming months.
“We are thrilled to begin rolling out Meta Verified in most global markets in the coming months,” Meta commented in a blog post. “We have received positive feedback from creators during our initial testing and continue to gather insights on what is most valuable to subscribers. We will continue evolving Meta Verified based on what we have learned and explore new features and benefits that bring even more value to our subscribers.”
Meta Verified costs $11.99 per month in the United States if the subscription is purchased via the web, or $14.99 per month if acquired through the mobile app (due to digital store commissions). In addition to verification, the subscription provides users with direct access to customer support (something that should ideally be included by default, but that’s how the business world works, I suppose), as well as protections against identity impersonation and exclusive stickers.
Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.
