Nintendo has plans to increase production of the Switch in the coming months, according to a new report.
According to a recent report by Bloomberg (opens in new tab), after lowering the projected sales for the Switch in November to 19 million units, Nintendo has told suppliers that it plans to increase production starting in April. While expectations are for sales of the six-year-old console to start diminishing, Nintendo has claimed that the slump they experienced at the end of 2022 was more to do with supply issues than a lack of demand, Bloomberg reports.
Problems with sourcing semiconductors and components have widely impacted the electronics industry. While it shortened the sales of the Switch, we also saw this impact the production of PS5, with Sony finally promising more widespread availability for the next-gen console in 2023.
Doomsday preppers
April signals the start of a new financial year, so it would make sense for Nintendo to change up its tactics in the pursuit of new targets at this time. April is also crucial for another reason. A month later, in May, Breath of the Wild 2 (officially known as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) is set to release – with the highly-anticipated sequel set to be one of Nintendo’s most significant releases in 2023.
The Switch has always seen great sales when it’s lined up with big game releases, whether that be Splatoon 3 or Animal Crossing: New Horizons. So Nintendo may be increasing stock to prepare for a hopeful surge in sales as people get ready to try out the next installment in the Zelda series.
This sales strategy isn’t unique in any way. Ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s release in November 2022, Sony began to increase the production of units (opens in new tab) in September. Acknowledging that Ragnarok would be its biggest title of the year, this was the best chance to encourage sales of the pricey and hard-to-come-by PS5. There’s nothing worse than releasing a game and fans being unable to play it due to console shortages.
Here’s hoping there’ll be more copies of the Switch available, and who knows, we may even get a special edition The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch as we’ve seen with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Following the announcement that Microsoft plans to cut thousands of jobs, the former Senior Multiplayer Designer for Halo has taken to Twitter to criticize the tech giant.
In a Twitter post (opens in new tab), Patrick Wren claimed that Microsoft’s “incompetent leadership” caused stress on developers during the making of Halo Infinite and also resulted in the recent layoffs.
“The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened, and Halo Infinite should be in a better state,” Wren wrote. “The reason for both of those things is incompetent leadership up top during Halo Infinite development causing massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be.”
“The people I worked every day with were passionate about Halo and wanted to make something great for the fans,” Wren continued. “They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.”
Microsoft recently announced plans to cut over 10,000 jobs due to fears of a slowing global economy. 343 Industries isn’t the only game studio affected by the cuts, with Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios also reporting significant layoffs.
More to come
Despite Halo Infinite having released in November 2021, developer 343 Industries has still put time and effort into patching Master Chief’s latest adventure post-launch. The final Halo Infinite update for 2022, released in December, was one of the biggest in recent memory and added a new Arena multiplayer map called Empyrean based on the Halo 3 map, The Pit. The close-quarters arena featured two hut-style bases for flags on each side, with opposing towers for snipers and a central hall in the middle. However, 343 changed some elements of the original map to fit Halo Infinite’s style. Scrap Cannons replaced Machine gun turrets at each base, and weapon spawns have been updated to use Halo Infinite’s weapon racks.
Along with various new armor core unlocks and new cadet coatings, 343 Industries also implemented networking improvements. These updates mean that damage dealt and received by players is now more consistent and manageable, as, in previous builds, it was possible for some Spartans to avoid harm by sliding.
While the future of this beloved series is still uncertain following Microsoft’s layoffs, Bloomberg reported that 343 Industries studio head, Pierre Hintze, reassured colleagues in an email that support for Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will continue. How that support will look, however, remains to be seen.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ first DLC now has a release date, a wacky new trailer, and a sassy frontman. Available January 26, The Good, The Bad and The Undead adds the wise-cracking, 4th wall-breaking Deadpool to Midnight Suns’ roster, as well as new story missions, more cosmetics, and upgrades to the Abbey – our heroes’ base of operations.
Deadpool is something of an anomaly in Marvel. He’s a sardonic mercenary, bursting with irreverent humor and meta jokes. He’s childish, incongruous, and disrespectful. I love him.
Judging by the trailer (which you can check out below), it looks like Deadpool is at least partially responsible for a sudden influx of vampires. It also seems as though he’s taking this problem about as seriously as you might expect, which is to say: not at all. In addition to this new set of story missions, Deadpool comes with a whimsical food truck for the Abbey, brand new attack and skill cards, and, best of all, a “new reason he doesn’t remove his mask”.
What fourth wall?
Marvel’s Midnight Suns has been something of an unexpected hit that [made me like superheroes again]. From its well-paced and immersive writing to the way in which it lets you wail on goons, Firaxis’ latest superpowered strategy game has a lot to offer.
What sets Midnight Suns apart, though, is the way in which it invites you to get to know the rest of your superhero team between missions. You spend time with your colleagues, hang out and develop friendships. You learn more about these people and you become drawn into Midnight Suns’ world through its enthralling and sometimes hilarious writing.
In its lighter moments, Midnight Suns’ boasts a playful sense of humor that seems compatible with Deadpool’s whole deal. I, for one, would love to see him crashing Blade’s book club or winding up Caretaker, the irascible stick in the mud who technically owns and maintains the Abbey itself.
However, the appearance of Deadpool does raise one or two concerns for me. Midnight Suns’ does have a healthy sense of humor, but it is, at its core, a game about a group of profoundly traumatized people trying to come to terms with their difficult pasts and uncertain future. Midnight Suns doesn’t shy away from Tony Stark’s struggle with alcoholism or Nico Minori’s abuse at the hands of her murder-happy mother.
Threading Deadpool into the delicate emotional tapestry of Midnight Suns is certainly a tall order. However, given how much Firaxis’ well-written strategy RPG has surprised us so far, it isn’t beyond the pale to suggest that they might well pull this one off, too.
Much of Avatar: The Way of Water’s rub-your-eyes-in-disbelief magic stems from its ability to convincingly blur the practical and the digital – and the animators at Wētā FX did such a good job in that department that director James Cameron was often duped into approving entirely computer-generated shots.
In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, Daniel Barrett, Senior Animation Supervisor at the New Zealand-based visual effects company, revealed that he and his team were sometimes forced to side-step Cameron’s desire to keep things as practical as possible in order to maintain the realism of certain shots.
“There’s a lot of interaction between [Na’vi] characters and Spider [played by Jack Champion] in The Way of Water,” Barrett explains, “and getting the kind of contact accuracy that you need in a stereoscopic film can be a real challenge. The planning on set was done to such a high level that many of those shots worked. But there were also times [when they didn’t].
“If you think of those shots where Quaritch is carrying Spider to the drop zone – that was all shot practically, but we realized pretty quickly that there were elements of Jack’s body that we needed to replace with a digital one to make sure we could get all of that contact done. Our digital doubles got to a really high level. We had plenty of situations on the film where we tricked Jim [Cameron] – where he thought we were practical, and we were in fact digital.
“We would make the decision: which is the path of least resistance to give Jim back his plate exactly as he shot it? And sometimes the savings were too great not to go digital […] But obviously there was still a lot of work to be done there. For the camera team to create matchmoves that are accurate enough to hold up in 3D movies, there’s a real challenge in that. And they did amazing work on this film to reconcile some of those situations for us.”
Animation 101 with Wētā FX
As someone whose team was “largely responsible for everything that moves” in The Way of Water, Barrett is among the few people who can give an informed answer to the question: how the heck did Cameron pull this off?
If you’ve seen any of the film’s behind-the-scenes featurettes, you’ll know that the processes involved in bringing the entirely fictional world of Pandora to life on screen must have been mind-bogglingly complex. So, naturally, we asked Barrett to explain – in layman’s terms – how Wētā turned the likes of Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis into 10-foot, water-dwelling Na’vi.
“The way we broke it up,” he begins, “there were certain teams for certain sequences, but we also have specialist artists. So, for instance, we have a facial team, who did the lion’s share of the facial work, and they sit as a separate department. We have a motion edit team whose starting point is the performance capture data – obviously, they did a huge amount of work on this film. Then we have the animation team, who do a little bit of everything – they’re responsible for all the creatures, vehicles and things like that. And we also have a crowds team, who deal with the bigger crowd [animations], whether it’s fish or birds or Metkayina at a village. So all of those groups of people, in those departments from what we call the motion realm, totalled about 150 at our peak.
“So the motion capture is captured – the bulk of that was done at Lightstorm [studios] – and [the footage] is then selected by Jim, whatever he likes,” Barrett continues. “Then it’ll be turned over to Wētā, where it comes through the motion capture team. The data tracking is done at Lightstorm, but we like to re-track it to make sure we maintain all the fidelity and detail of the performances. That will then go through to the motion edit team, who begin work on the bodies – and there’s sometimes a bit of cleanup involved in that [stage]. The motion edit team – also sometimes the animation team – will deal with the bits and pieces that you don’t get to capture,” Barrett explains, giving Na’vi fingers and tails as examples.
Image 1 of 2
“We like the bodies to be pretty much done before we move to facials – and on that note, there’s a huge amount of attention paid to what the head is doing, because your facial animation will fall over if you don’t have a very accurate version of the performance. Once that’s done, we move to facial [animations] – although sometimes, if we realize we’ve missed something with the head, we have to push it back one step. And that’s pretty much the process for performance capture, [with regards] to the motion team.
“Obviously, beyond us,” Barrett adds, “there’s an awful lot of work done prior in terms of the models, the rigging of the characters, the shading and the textures. But once the motion is there, the footage goes through the creatures team, who simulate cloth, costume and hair. And then of course we’ve got a very clever lighting team who work their magic, which is always such a wonderful thing. To see these characters finally rendered… oh, it’s just such a thrill. To have been working on something that looks a little cartoony and then see something that looks like the real thing. It’s such a pleasure, such a gift.”
Judging by The Way of Water’s near-$2 billion global box office receipts, audiences are enjoying the pleasure, too.
Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Popular web hosting (opens in new tab) provider Hostinger (opens in new tab) has begun shifting its website builder efforts away from its subsidiary, Zyro, following the launch of its new eponymous competing service.
Founded in 2019, Zyro (opens in new tab) has – for over three years – been the platform parent company Hostinger has pushed to the frontline when website building services are needed.
However, following the launch of its website builder (opens in new tab) service, which can now be purchased as a combo deal with its web hosting service, the company has made it clear to TechRadar Pro that all its resources will now go towards pushing the Hostinger site building platform.
What about Zyro?
In a recent blog post (opens in new tab), Hostinger announced that it has introduced Zyro into the Hostinger ecosystem and renamed it as Hostinger Website Builder.
“We want to have everything under one already recognizable brand so that customers (both – existing and new ones) would be aware of our ecosystem. However, Zyro will remain available for existing clients,” Daugirdas Jankus, Chief Marketing Officer at Hostinger, told TechRadar Pro.
Initiated in 2020, the Zyro platform was originally a Hostinger side hustle with the goal of helping users build their own online presence with a drag-and-drop website building tool.
Hostinger also mentioned that Zyro will still be available for new customer sign ups but they will cease all marketing activities to push the product out to gain new users.
The Hostinger website builder plan is available for purchase at $2.79 per month and includes web hosting, a free domain name, free email accounts, free SSL certificates, and up to 100 websites.
The features that come with Hostinger’s website builder service is almost identical to that of Zyro, minus the pricing (Zyro’s website plan costs $2.59 per month), and there’s a separate business plan for $3.59 per month for ecommerce platforms (opens in new tab).
Microsoft is currently experimenting with a new audio control feature on Windows 11 that allows users to control the volume of multiple apps from Quick Settings.
Volume Mixer, as it’s known, is currently available in Preview Build 25281 (opens in new tab) from the Dev Channel on the Windows 11 Insider Program. It’s being compared to software like Discord and EarTrumpet due to similar capabilities of adjusting volume levels for different audio sources. For example, you can keep the volume on a Skype call loud while quieting music playing on Spotify and having WhatsApp somewhere in between for notifications. It’s a level of management not currently seen as Windows 11 only currently offers universal adjustments. Users typically use third-party apps, like EarTrumpet, to gain this level of control.
What’s most interesting, though, is Microsoft made no mention of Volume Mixer in the Preview Build announcement. It was only discovered after users dug around the build’s files and found the hidden feature. Hopefully, the tool becomes a reality, because being able to individually adjust the volume on each app would be fantastic. Windows 11 is in need of a better audio tool.
We say “hopefully” because this is an experimental feature and there’s no guarantee it’ll ever be released. As stated in a Windows Insider Program post from 2022, some “concepts will never ship…” It’s possible Microsoft will take Volume Mixer back to the drawing board to improve upon it, but at this point, who knows?
New features and a redesign
As for what actually got revealed in Preview Build 25281, Windows Spotlight is getting a small redesign. The interface will display more detailed information about an image like the name of the subject and a brief description. The developers are also experimenting with different methods of switching pictures; such as whether or not it should be a “full-screen experience.” Adjusting graphical settings will be easier to do, according to Microsoft. Certain configurations like GPU Preference will now be displayed front and center in the Graphics section of the Settings menu.
Additionally, the Notepad app now supports multiple tabs so users can manage multiple files on one window. Similar to browsers, you can drag one of the tabs (opens in new tab) out to be its own instance. And there’s a new Notepad setting allowing users to decide “whether files open in new tabs or a new window by default.”
Other new Notepad features include additional keyboard shortcuts and the ability for the app to automatically create file/tab names based on the content present. The Notepad update appears to be separate from Preview Build 25281, so you’ll have to download both.
Microsoft is hard at work paving the way for Windows 11 to eventually take over as the company’s one and only supported operating system. In addition to sunsetting Windows 7 and 8.1, the company has recently announced it will no longer sell Windows 10 Home or Pro licenses on its website starting January 31.
Be secure to check out TechRadar’s guide on how to upgrade to Windows 11, if you’re thinking of finally taking the plunge.
For all those who feel a certain pride in playing Quordle, the five-letter word game best known for being four times as difficult as Wordle, your word quest is vindicated. Iconic dictionary brand Merriam-Webster bought up the popular online puzzler and announced it on Thursday.
Merriam-Webster, which is owned by Encyclopedia Britannica, quietly snapped up the game, which launched shortly after Wordle became an online phenomenon in late 2021.
Quordle has a lot in common with Wordle. Where Wordle asks you to solve a five-letter word puzzle in five guesses, Quordle asks you to simultaneously solve four five-word puzzles in nine attempts.
Both present you with a standard virtual keyboard and after you enter a five-letter word guess, letters appear across all four-word boards. Correct letters in the right spots are green and correct letters in the wrong spots are orange. Yes, just like Wordle.
The big difference is that one set of letters instantly applies to all four puzzles, which is why Quordle is considered so much more difficult. You’re solving four puzzles at once and with just nine attempts.
I’m delighted to announce that Quordle was acquired by @MerriamWebster I can’t think of a better home for this game. Lots of new features and fun to come, so stay tuned!January 20, 2023
See more
Quordle doesn’t have the same kind of rabid fanbase as Wordle (perhaps it’s just too hard), but Merriam-Webster’s backing could change that.
What most people didn’t know until Friday, however, is that Merriam-Webster purchased Quordle last year.
“The founder was a big fan of us being a home for the product….Me and our editors were huge fans. Negotiations were quick and happy,” Merriam-Webster President Gregory Barlow told me on Friday.
Barlow said that after the acquisition for an undisclosed sum, the dictionary website made just subtle changes to Quordle, like adding the Merriam-Webster logo last month. However, it wasn’t until they migrated the entire Quordle platform and URL over to Merriam-Webster’s servers on Thursdays (January 19), that Quordle creator Freddie Meyer shared the news on Twitter.
While the URL is different, Quordle fans should not expect any big changes.
“I don’t have any changes planned. We do have some new features and maybe some new game types coming, but the core game that people play every day, I would not expect it to change.”
More importantly, Merriam-Webster has zero plans to put Quordle behind a paywall. That should please a lot of devoted players. According to Barlow, 29.7 million users have played Quordle 410 million times over the last six months.
Are there, I asked Barlow, any concerns about The New York Times coming after the now more high-profile Quordle because of its similarities to Wordle?
“No. [It’s] definitely not copying Wordle. We like Quordle so much because it’s such a different game. Having to do four words introduces such different kinds of gameplay and tactics.”
And, yes, Barlow is a Quordle player, and was so long before Merriam-Webster bought the game.
Previously confined to the corporate boardroom, compact portable projectors are becoming a popular option for those who want to temporarily set up a big-screen display either inside or outside their home for a movie night or gaming. And with many new models featuring built-in streaming, it’s now easier than ever to get things up and running once you find a blank wall to beam images at.
We saw a number of innovative new projectors at CES 2023, including models from Xgimi, Formovie, and of course Samsung, which was showing a new and improved version of its The Freestyle, the top model on our list of the best portable projectors. Following in the wake of the Las Vegas tech-fest, LG has announced its own new portable, the PF510Q, and while the new LG isn’t as attention-grabbing as Samsung’s offering, it nonetheless looks to be a substantial addition to the compact on-the-go projector scene.
To be honest, the PF510Q actually looks like it just stumbled out of the IT department. But beyond its basic square white case, there are a number of compelling features that should make using this 1080p HD-resolution projector a fun ride.
First up is LG’s webOS 22 smart TV interface, which provides built-in streaming from apps such as Disney Plus, PrimeVideo, YouTube, and AppleTV Plus. AirPlay support is also onboard, letting you stream directly to the projector from your iPhone or iPad. If you’re not an Apple person, you can use the Screenshare feature to wirelessly cast content from an Android device.
LG’s projector features a 2 x 5-watt built-in speaker system, but more interesting is its dual Bluetooth audio output. This will let you stream sound to a pair of Bluetooth speakers for improved audio, or to two separate Bluetooth headsets for private listening while watching.
On the hardware side, the PF510Q’s LED light source is specced for 450 ANSI Lumens output, and will last for 30,000 hours. You can beam an image from 30 inches up to 120 inches, and there’s automatic keystone adjustment to make the picture perfectly rectangular after setup plus a manual focus adjustment. Two HDMI inputs are provided for connecting sources like a game console or Blu-ray player.
Analysis: Compact projectors are the new bedroom TV
While we were surprised by the number of cool compact projectors shown at CES, in some ways we shouldn’t have been – this category has been gaining traction for some time, and manufacturers are jumping at the opportunity to put their unique tech spin on it.
I gave my daughter a portable projector to use at university, and when she’s not playing games from Xbox Game Pass on the Xbox Series S with it, she’s streaming movies directly from one the best streaming services. (And also studying and doing well in classes, I hope.)
Being a video and movie geek, I of course made sure she had a 4K projector, though that’s probably overkill for dorm room use. But the gaming angle is the important one to discuss here, since gaming seems like the more obvious and better use for compact portable projectors.
At CES 2023, Samsung announced that the new version of The Freestyle would gain the same Gaming Hub found on the best Samsung TVs for cloud-based gaming via apps such as Microsoft Xbox, Utomik, and Amazon Luna. Two Freestyles can also be paired to create an ultrawide 21.9 display, a picture aspect ratio that works best for immersive gaming.
LG’s new PF510Q doesn’t appear to be similarly equipped with gaming features, though its 2023 TV lineup announced at CES does feature a Game Optimizer menu that lets users easily select and switch between gaming-related features. Maybe we’ll see the same thing introduced on the company’s portable projectors, but in the meantime the PF510Q, which is priced at $599 and available now, looks like a good, affordable option for console-based gaming.
A new Android app has been found tricking unsuspecting users (even those with clean devices) into visiting malicious versions of popular websites, where they might end up giving away their login credentials, or even worse – money.
The findings come courtesy of Kaspersky, which found a malicious Android app carrying the Wroba.o/Agent.eq (a.k.a Moqhao, XLoader) malware was being distributed.
When the app is downloaded, it will try to connect to the Wi-Fi router the mobile device is connected to. To do that, it will try the most usual username/password combinations, as well as those known to come with factory settings (such as admin/admin). Should it succeed, it will change the DNS server to a malicious one the threat actor has control over.
Roaming Mantis
That allows the malware’s operators to redirect all users connected to that specific Wi-Fi network, including those without the malware, to malicious versions of popular websites.
For example, if a compromised endpoint connects to a public Wi-Fi in a busy cafe, and ends up changing the DNS server settings in the router, everyone else in that cafe that tries to connect to Facebook will actually be redirected to a fake Facebook page. There, they’ll be asked to provide their login information and if they do, they’ll end up giving away their login credentials to the crooks.
The researchers did not name the apps being distributed, but did say that the APKs were downloaded at least 46,000 times across Japan, Austria, France, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, Malaysia, and India. With more than 24,000 downloads, Japan is by far the most affected country.
The group behind the apps is allegedly Roaming Mantis. To protect against this type of attack, the best course of action would be to avoid connecting to important accounts on public Wi-Fi networks.
Major video game developer Blizzard Entertainment is set to cease its operations in China as it has failed to extend its agreement with the Chinese provider NetEase.
This means that gamers based in the country will need to connect to the best China VPN services to keep playing the likes of World of Warcraft, Hearthstone or Starcraft.
The news comes as US video game giant Activision Blizzard’s subsidiary company reported that NetEase refused an extension of the 14-year licensing deal, about to expire, that permits Blizzard games to be distributed across mainland China.
Diablo Immortal will be the only game released under a separate contract. Other titles won’t be available for users connecting within the country’s borders from January 23 onwards.
Following the update from Blizzard Entertainment, which bemoaned their inability to negotiate a six-month extension prior to the shutdown of Blizzard games in China, NetEase has issued a fiery response and tore down their local Orc statue live on stream.https://t.co/OQ4Q8xlHus pic.twitter.com/AfOe9rEiGsJanuary 18, 2023
See more
Blizzard and NetEase tensions grow
“Unfortunately, NetEase is unwilling to extend the service for six months based on the terms of the existing partnership while we look for a new partner,” announced the video game provider (opens in new tab) via its Weibo page on January 17.
Both NetEase and Blizzard Entertainment first reported the end of their commercial agreement in November last year. Blizzard reported to have been trying to negotiate an extension of further six months, the time to look for another partner and keep the distribution going. NetEase refused.
“We will not give up and will still do our best for everyone. We want you to understand that it’s not over yet. We will still try to find a national partner who shares our beliefs,” Blizzard assures to users.
In a prompt response (opens in new tab), NetEase lamented how the six-months extension deal was proposed only a week before, branding such a move “unequal” and “unfair.”
“In our view, Blizzard’s proposal – including today’s surprise announcement – is brash, unseemly and commercially illogical,” wrote NetEase, describing such a behavior as “riding a mule while looking for a horse, divorcing but still trying to live together.”
The China-based games distributor also denied speculations around its desire to gain control of Blizzard’s IP addresses, promising it would do its best to serve users until the end.
Some of the games set to suffer include World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft 3: Reforged, Diablo 3, Overwatch 1 and 2, Heroes of the Storm, the Starcraft series, and Hearthstone.
Blizzard Entertainment said it’s still looking for a partner, but experts don’t expect (opens in new tab) the titles to be out anytime this year due to the stringent regulatory process.
In the meantime, Blizzard developers recommend Chinese gamers to backup all their data so that their game progress will be stored until the next release.
How a China VPN can help
As mentioned above, gamers playing across mainland China will need to turn to a VPN service to keep playing all their favorite Blizzard games.
A VPN is software able to spoof users’ IP addresses. That’s because the internet traffic will look like coming from one of its many international servers instead. Gamers can then trick their ISP to think they are in a completely different country in seconds.
A gaming VPN is even advantageous in terms of performances. The ability to switch among different servers can help them avoid ISP throttling and increase ping rates, for example.
Besides this, though, using such security software is recommended for everyday usage, too. For people living in countries like China it is pretty much a necessity.
A spoofed browsing location is essential for accessing the long list of censored sites, for example. By encrypting all the data leaving a device, a VPN is also needed to escape online surveillance.