Get a first look at Xenoblade Chronicles 3

To close out a presentation that did not feature Mother 3 or_Mario Kart 9_, Nintendo debuted the trailer for a hotly anticipated Japanese RPG series that hasn’t had a new entry in several years. No, not The Sequel To The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: it’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

The trailer felt very much like a Xenoblade game, featuring agonized possible 14-year-olds ruminating on the nature of war, weapons accented with neon lights, and lots of characters running in gorgeous valleys with unfathomably large structures in the background.

According to Nintendo’s press release, “Players will step into the roles of protagonists Noah and Mio amid turmoil between the hostile nations of Keves and Agnus.”

Though the trailer didn’t...

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The biggest news and trailers from the first Nintendo Direct of 2022

Nintendo Switch Sports.

Fresh off of launching the much-anticipated Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Nintendo held its first Direct presentation of 2022. And it was a big one: the livestream was 40 minutes long and featured surprises like a portable take on No Man’s Sky, the return of Super Mario Strikers, and a Wii Sports revival. Oh, and Mario Kart 8 is about to get a whole lot bigger.

If you weren’t able to catch the whole thing, here are the most important reveals.

Super Mario Strikers is back

Mario’s soccer spinoff is back after a long absence. Nintendo revealed Mario Strikers: Battle League, a sequel to the GameCube original, which looks to include the same wacky gameplay that makes it sort of like Mario Kart but for soccer. It also features support for up to...

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Reddit’s Clubhouse clone gets recordings and web support

You can now record and listen to past talks. | Image: Reddit

Reddit Talk, the platform’s audio-only chatrooms, now support recordings. As outlined in a post on Reddit’s blog, this means you can now listen to previous talks as well as use playback tools that let you jump to certain timestamps, pause / unpause recordings, and fast-forward or rewind them. This should make it even easier for users to record and distribute live podcast-like sessions.

Image: Reddit

Talk is coming to Reddit’s desktop app “later this month.”

Reddit also announced that it’s expanding Talk to the web and is bringing some handy features (that are already available on mobile) along with it. This includes the ability for listeners to raise their hands to speak and a way for moderators to mute users...

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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting 48 remastered courses over the next two years as paid DLC

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch is getting a massive influx of new content, with Nintendo announcing that it’ll be steadily adding 48 remastered courses from previous Mario Kart games to the title over the next two years as part of its new “Booster Course Pass” DLC.

Similar to how Nintendo released additional Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC characters, the reprised Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses will be added in six waves of eight courses each released over the next two years. Given that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe current has 48 courses, the expansion pass will double the number of courses available to players once it finishes up in 2023.

The first wave of courses is set to arrive on March 18th, and will include Coconut...

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Fired Peloton employees crash new CEO’s first all-hands

Will this drama never end? | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

New Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy’s first day is not off to a good start.

The company, which announced a major leadership shakeup at its Q2 earnings call on Tuesday, held an all-hands meeting meant to welcome McCarthy. Outgoing CEO John Foley was also in attendance. The all-hands was referenced in a blog penned by Foley revealing he was stepping down. While this is par for the course when companies change leadership, CNBC is reporting the meeting was cut short when angry ex-employees — who were just terminated — crashed the party.

Citing anonymous sources, the CNBC report says that current and former staffers flung accusations of mismanagement and vented about yesterday’s terminations. As part of cost restructuring measures, Peloton let...

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What I learned from the words and rhymes of alleged Bitcoin launderer Razzlekhan

Heather Morgan was arrested on Monday, and goes by the online persona “Razzlekhan.” | Image: Forbes

Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced it had finally recovered almost all the Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack with its “largest financial seizure ever.” The DOJ was, however, immediately upstaged — when people discovered that one of the people accused of helping launder billions of dollars of Bitcoin had posted rap videos to the internet.

She calls herself the “Crocodile of Wall Street.”

I’ve lost track of how many hours I just spent immersing myself in her music, writing, and Content to get an idea of what her deal is. And let’s just say that even her wacky viral videos (which have now largely vanished from her YouTube channel) did not prepare me for the full razzle-dazzle.

Anyhow, here’s just a taste of what I found...

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Nintendo is making a new Wii Sports for the Switch

Image: Nintendo

Nintendo is bringing back some of its classic Wii Sports games in a new game called Nintendo Switch Sports. You’ll be able to play tennis, bowling, and chambara, like what you might remember from the Wii Sports games, but Nintendo is also adding soccer, badminton, and volleyball.

Similar to how Wii Sports took advantage of the Wii remote’s motion-tracking technology to follow your tennis swing or when you threw a bowling ball, Nintendo Switch Sports will use the Switch’s detachable Joy-Con controllers to track your movement for playing the game.

Nintendo Switch Sports launches April 29th. There will be an online play test ahead of the game’s release on February 18th-20th, though you’ll need an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription...

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Mazda head units are getting bricked by a local NPR station in Seattle

Frozen Mazda | Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Some Mazda drivers in and around Seattle this week discovered they could no longer change the radio station or play anything else in their cars after listening to the local NPR station KUOW (via GeekWire).

The issue affected owners of various Mazda vehicles with model years ranging from 2014 to 2017 that were tuned in to the station. According to KUOW, it’s been happening for weeks.

Over the past couple of weeks, some people who listen to KUOW in their Mazdas say their car radio is permanently stuck on 94.9 FM. It’s only affecting KUOW, Mazdas from 2016, and we have no idea why. https://t.co/ffzJASFNBJ

— KUOW Public Radio (@KUOW) February 9, 2022

What the unsuspecting commuters tuning in discovered was a bug in the car’s infotainment...

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Here’s what separates each model in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup

A size comparison between the S22 Ultra, S22 Plus, and S22. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The latest iteration of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy series is official. The company announced the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus, and S22 Ultra during its Unpacked event today, ending months of speculation, particularly regarding the S22 Ultra. The standard S22 starts at $799.99, while the S22 Plus and S22 Ultra are priced at $999.99 and $1,199.99, respectively. Each is available for preorder starting today and scheduled for release on February 25th.

The new S22 models look similar to the outgoing lineup, with a few iterative upgrades. They all offer screens with a max refresh rate of 120Hz, which allows for smooth scrolling, and feature an ambient light sensor that will automatically adjust color and saturation levels to match your environment....

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The anti-vaxx Canadian truckers want to talk to you about Bitcoin

Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Canada Unity 2022, the group of anti-vaccine protestors who have snarled traffic in Ottawa and earned accolades in the right-wing media, wants to talk to you about Bitcoin.

A handful of the group’s organizers held a press conference on Facebook Live Wednesday that quickly devolved into a presentation on the popular form of cryptocurrency, confusing many of their supporters who were watching online.

“Are we at a press conference for Freedom Convoy 2022 or having some guy shove Bitcoin down our throats?” one commenter griped. “Very disappointed! I came to see updates about progress made by our Truckers.”

“Very disappointed!”

The convoy protests began in late January, after a loose affiliation of truckers banded together to drive from...

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Mario Strikers: Battle League comes to the Switch in June

Image: Nintendo

Nintendo is bringing the Mario Strikers soccer series to the Switch with a new title called Mario Strikers: Battle League. The company debuted the game at Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct.

In Battle League, teams of five will compete against each other in arcade-y soccer action. You won’t just be passing and kicking to try and score goals — you’ll also be able to tackle your opponents, send items their way, and use impressive special shots, all while playing as characters from the cast of the Mario universe. You’ll also be able to equip gear that affects stats like speed and strength.

For multiplayer, up to eight players can play together locally on one Switch. Nintendo is also offering online play. You’ll also be to make online clubs with...

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Futurama’s getting yet another chance at life with a Hulu revival

Hulu

Hulu’s sending the Planet Express gang on a new bunch of delivery jobs.

Hulu’s following in Comedy Central’s footsteps with a 20-episode revival of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s Futurama that’s due to hit the streaming platform sometime in 2023_._According to The Hollywood Reporter, original cast members Billy West (Fry), Katey Sagal (Leela), Tress MacNeille (Mom, many others), Maurice LaMarche (Kif), Lauren Tom (Amy), Phil LaMarr (Hermes), and David Herman (Scruffy) are all set to reprise their original roles. John DiMaggio, who voiced Bender along with a wide assortment of other background characters, is reportedly still in talks as to whether he will return.

Speaking to Variety, Hulu’s president of originals, Craig Erwich,...

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No Man’s Sky is coming to the Switch this summer

No Man’s Sky is coming to the Nintendo Switch, developer Hello Games revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct announcement. The Switch port is set to be released sometime this summer.

Originally released back in 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and PC, the original version of No Man’s Sky was fairly lackluster compared to the grand ambitions of the massive, procedurally generated universe that had been promised ahead of its release. But Hello Games steadily stuck with the title, with extensive updates that overhauled No Man’s Sky and added features like multiplayer, new vehicles and biomes, seasonal events, and more.

The game also expanded to additional platforms, with an Xbox One version released in 2018 and Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5...

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Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney Plus on May 25th

Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi will be available to stream on May 25th, the company announced Wednesday. The series will see Ewan McGregor reprise his role after playing the iconic Jedi across the prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005. Joining McGregor will be Hayden Christensen, who’s playing Anakin Skywalker after his transformation into Darth Vader, as well as series newcomers Moses Ingram and Kumali Nanjiani.

Beyond its cast, plot details on Obi-Wan Kenobi have been relatively thin. We know it’ll be set roughly 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and will see Obi-Wan watching over a young Luke Skywalker on his home planet of Tatooine.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, a limited Original series, starts...

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What’s the best student laptop? We asked students

The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best laptops for high school and college students. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Shopping for a laptop can be stressful — doubly stressful if you or your children will be learning online for the first time. Kids of different ages have a range of different laptop use cases and different needs. And as the choices for best laptop and best Chromebook evolve, so do students’ needs. So I spoke to some experts on the subject: students themselves.

My recommendations here are meant to accommodate a variety of preferences and price ranges. But they’re a jumping-off point rather than an exhaustive list: every student is different. Before making a decision, you’ll want to make sure you read reviews and try out devices yourself if you can. I’ll do my best to keep this article up to date with items that are in stock.

Best laptop...

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Samsung’s Galaxy S22 preorder site won’t let you preorder a phone

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Samsung just announced its highly anticipated Galaxy S22 lineup, but many who have tried to preorder the new smartphones report that they can’t actually complete their purchases. Many are reporting issues or just a blank screen that seems to load indefinitely at checkout, and that’s also where I ran into problems when trying to buy a few combinations of both locked and unlocked models of the phones.

Here are just a few examples of people writing to Samsung’s support account on Twitter asking for help:

@SamsungMobileUS@SamsungSupport
I can't pre-order the S22 ultra. Whenever I hit checkout. It loads for a bit and says, "We are unable to process your request at this time".

— Samiuddin (@9sami98) February 9, 2022

I really want to...

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Microsoft announces open app store rules to prove it’s okay with new laws

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge

Microsoft has announced a set of best practices called the Open App Store Principles for its Windows app store and future game console marketplaces. They amount to Microsoft directly promising not to do things that Google and particularly Apple have been accused of — like gaining unfair advantages over the developers that rely on their app stores. The principles are intended to allay fears about Microsoft’s recent Activision Blizzard acquisition and to distance the tech giant from two of its biggest rivals, whose app store restrictions have spurred lawsuits and legislation.

Microsoft says the Open App Store Principles are “grounded in app store legislation being considered by governments around the world,” including the United States and...

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Blumhouse’s Firestarter remake brings the heat in first trailer

Stephen King’s _Firestarter_novel tells the story of a young family on the run from the US government as it attempts to capture them and better understand the superhuman mental abilities they all developed after being exposed to an experimental chemical. Universal and Blumhouse’s upcoming adaptation of the book is likely to hit many of the same notes found in the source material and in Mark L. Lester’s 1984 film of the same name. But the new Firestarter’s first trailer leads with an energy that feels decidedly rooted in 2022, and it’s difficult to say whether that’s a good thing or not.

Firestarter revolves around haggard psychic dad Andy McGee (Zac Efron), whose ability to influence people’s minds in the novel appears to be reworked as...

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Sony proves to PS4 owners that they can play Horizon Forbidden West with a short clip

Horizon Forbidden West comes out on February 18th, and while Sony has spent the bulk of its time showcasing the upcoming open-world title on the powerful next-gen hardware of the PlayStation 5, the game is also coming out for the older PlayStation 4 lines of consoles. To prove it, developer Guerrilla Games has shown off a — extremely brief — preview of the game running on a vanilla PlayStation 4 for the first time.

Since Horizon Forbidden West was first announced in June 2020, Guerrilla Games has almost exclusively shown footage of the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel on the PS5. A short blog post at the end of January showed off PS4 Pro clips, but base PS4 gameplay has been scarce until now (a scant nine days before release).

The 22-second...

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Belkin’s Wemo is the best HomeKit video doorbell, but it’s not perfect

It’s fast and secure, but there are better options outside the walled garden

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Big Tech’s climate goals are weaker than they seem, report finds

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 22: Protestors line up as Andy Jassy the CEO of Amazon speaks at the ceremonial ribbon cutting prior to opening night for the NHL’s newest hockey franchise at the Climate Pledge Arena on October 22, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. | Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Tech giants’ climate plans aren’t as aggressive as they sound, according to an assessment of 25 of the world’s biggest companies published on Monday. The plans many companies have put together rely too much on offsetting their emissions through unreliable methods rather than setting specific targets to prevent pollution in the first place.

“We set out to uncover as many replicable good practices as possible, but we were frankly surprised and disappointed at the overall integrity of the companies’ claims,” Thomas Day, lead author of the new study released by the nonprofit NewClimate Institute, said in a statement.

The report, which includes both tech giants and other companies operating in sectors like shipping and brick-and-mortar...

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Microsoft hints it will open up Xbox store, changing its entire business model

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft has long argued that its Xbox store should be treated differently than the app store ecosystem around PCs or phones. The software giant takes a 30 percent cut on digital game purchases through its Xbox store, just like Apple takes from software purchased on its App Store. While Microsoft defended this business model during the Epic v. Apple trial last year, the Xbox maker is now hinting that it needs to make its Xbox store more open in a move that could change its Xbox console business model in the future.

Microsoft has unveiled a series of app store principles today that are similar to the ones it laid out two years ago. The principles are designed to “ensure we’re providing the best possible experience for creators and...

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Microsoft says it will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation ‘beyond the existing agreement’

Image: Sony

Microsoft says the _Call of Duty_franchise and other popular cross-platform Activision Blizzard games will remain available on PlayStation if and when its $68.7 billion acquisition goes through.

“To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision,” Microsoft says. “And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love.”

The company also said it plans on “taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform.” The announcement comes as Microsoft plans to...

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WarnerMedia and Discovery get US government approval to create their new media giant

Discovery and WarnerMedia are one step closer to merging | Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia got one step closer to fruition on Wednesday, with the deal clearing an antitrust review from US government agencies, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once finalized, the merged company will be one of the biggest media conglomerates in the US, blending Warner Bros.’ TV and movie assets with Discovery’s huge catalog of television programming.

According to the SEC filing:

As of February 9, 2022, Discovery, Inc. (“Discovery”) and AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) have satisfied the closing condition in Section 9.1(d)(i) of the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of May 17, 2021, by and among Discovery, AT&T, Drake Subsidiary, Inc. and Magallanes,...

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Sony’s new AI driver achieves ‘reliably superhuman’ race times in Gran Turismo

Photo by Clive Rose - Gran Turismo/Gran Turismo via Getty Images

AI agents have bested humans at many games, from chess to Go to poker. Now, the machines can claim a new high score on the classic racing video game series Gran Turismo.

Sony announced today that its researchers have developed an AI driver named GT Sophy that is “reliably superhuman” — able to beat top human drivers in Gran Turismo Sport in back-to-back laps. You might think this an easy challenge. After all, isn’t racing simply a matter of speed and reaction time and therefore simple for a machine to master? But experts in both video game racing and artificial intelligence say GT Sophy’s success is a significant breakthrough, with the agent showing mastery of tactics and strategy.

“Outracing human drivers so skilfully [...] represents...

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Everything announced at Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Unpacked event

The new Galaxy S22 lineup | Image: Samsung

At Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked event for 2022, the company introduced a new lineup of Galaxy S22 phones: the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus. Samsung also announced the Galaxy S22 Ultra with an included stylus. It is essentially a successor to the once-popular Galaxy Note line.

Samsung claims the S22 Ultra has a faster response time for the S-Pen. The other changes are a bit more minor, including a slight redesign and updated night capabilities in the camera. The Galaxy S22 and the S22 Plus are also a bit iterative, despite being Samsung’s mainline flagships. These phones are very similar to the previous year’s models but are more durable and have better portrait mode capability.

Finally, there’s also a new high-powered Android tablet...

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How to watch Nintendo’s big 40-minute Direct

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

It’s time for the next Nintendo Direct, which means it’s also time to dust off that bingo card of Nintendo-related announcements. This 40-minute presentation is airing on Wednesday, February 9th, at 5PM ET / 2PM PT, and there are, frankly, so many games that we're hoping to see. Perhaps Hollow Knight: Silksong will make its awaited return with a release date in tow, or maybe we’ll get some more gameplay footage of Bayonetta 3.

Nintendo has a lot of other big games slated to come out in 2022 that could see the spotlight in this presentation. Games like Triangle Strategy, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp will likely get a mention, as they are releasing in the next couple of months. But it’d be great to get...

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How to preorder the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series

Image: Samsung

Samsung’s latest Unpacked event has introduced a new lineup of tablets, the Galaxy Tab S8 series — the Galaxy Tab S8, S8 Plus, and S8 Ultra. Samsung has gone with the good, better (bigger), and best (biggest) approach on these. As the top end of the line, the Ultra touts a massive screen size of 14.6 inches with 2960 x 1848 resolution and starting price of $1,099.99. The Tab S8 Plus is the next size down with a formidable 12.4-inch, 2800 x 1752 display for $899.99, and the smallest Tab S8 has an 11-inch, 2560 x 1600 panel for $699.99.

These new models create a little more choice if you’re in the market for an Android tablet — a fairly small field outside of Samsung. We will have to do a full review before we can say how good the Tab S8...

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The Nintendo Switch is getting a rare discount at Woot

Save $20 on the classic Switch at Woot | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

The regular price for the standard Nintendo Switch is $299.99, but Woot is currently offering a rare discount on this popular handheld, lowering the price to $279.99 for Amazon Prime members. The standard Switch comes packaged with a pair of Joycons and a charging dock to connect the console with your TV. While the Switch does come equipped with built-in storage of 32GB, that space can go pretty quick with the number of titles available for this console. Besides being home to first-party Nintendo titles featuring Mario and Zelda, the Switch eShop is chock full of amazing indie titles like Shovel Knight and Hades.

The LG C1 OLED is a popular pick for _The Verge_staff,thanks to its combination of gaming features, slim profile, and image...

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Here’s how Samsung’s Galaxy S22 compares to the iPhone 13

We compare the new S22 line to Apple’s iphone 13

The Samsung Unpacked event revealed a number of new devices, namely a new iteration of its flagship Galaxy series of phones, the Galaxy S22. These new phones are set to release on February 25th and become the bleeding edge of Samsung’s smartphone lineup. Naturally, we’re curious to know how these stack up against Apple’s iPhones, so we’ve collected some of the most relevant features to show you how they stack up against the iPhone 13 lineup on paper.

The standard iPhone 13 and its variants came out last September and started at $699.99 for the 13 Mini, reaching all the way up to $1,099.99 for the 13 Pro Max. The Galaxy S22 and its other variants are set to release later this month and have a price point starting at $799.99 for the...

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